While Ning Wangshu was paying his respects to his mother, in a villa in Linchuan City...
"Grandpa, I'm here to see you! And I thought I'd come by for a free meal, hehe..."
Lin Qingzhu pushed open the villa door and called out excitedly.
Hearing her voice, an elderly man sitting in the living room raised his head and chuckled. "You little rascal. You've finally decided to come visit your grandpa."
"I'll have Aunt Liu make a couple of extra dishes for you..."
As he spoke, the old man started to get up.
Just then, Lin Qingzhu noticed how pale her grandfather looked. His face was drained of color. Alarmed, she hurried over to support him. "Grandpa, what's wrong? Sit down. Don't get up..."
The old man smiled and waved a hand. "It's nothing. Your grandpa's not in any serious danger. Don't worry too much, and don't tell your parents, or they'll come running over and bother me again..."
Seeing how unconcerned her grandfather seemed, Lin Qingzhu grew so anxious she almost wanted to cry. "Grandpa, what happened? Why do you look so awful?"
Lin Anguo glanced at his granddaughter and sighed helplessly. "Don't worry. This old body of mine is tough. I'm just a little injured. After resting for a while, I'll gradually recover."
"Injured?"
Lin Qingzhu froze and frowned in surprise. "Grandpa, how did you get hurt? Did you try to force your way into the Golden Core Realm and suffer a Qi deviation?"
"Otherwise, with your cultivation, who could possibly hurt you?"
Lin Anguo gave a wry smile. "Little Qingzhu, I used to think there couldn't be many people in this world who could hurt me either. But this time, I've learned what it means that there's always a higher sky and someone greater than you..."
"Huh? Grandpa, you mean... someone really did hurt you? Who could possibly have done that?"
Lin Qingzhu asked in shock.
Lin Anguo sighed and didn't hide anything. "Last night, a wealthy businessman invited me over... Later, his son came home, and I discovered that someone had planted a deadly Curse Seal inside him."
"So I mentioned it to the businessman. He asked me to break the Curse Seal in his son's body, and I didn't think much of it before making the attempt."
"Who could have known that just as I was about to break the Curse Seal, the person who'd cast it sensed what was happening and cast a spell from afar, seriously injuring me!"
Lin Anguo was none other than the elderly man who had been at Xu Yiming's home the night before.
Hearing her grandfather's words, Lin Qingzhu was stunned, her eyes wide. "W-what!? They seriously injured you with a spell cast from afar?"
"Mm!"
Lin Anguo nodded slightly. "If my guess is right, that person must have already entered the Golden Core Great Path! Otherwise, there's no way they could have seriously injured me with a spell cast from afar!"
"And they even showed restraint, just giving me a warning. If the full force of that Curse Seal had rebounded onto me, you might not be able to see your grandpa now..."
As he spoke, Lin Anguo gave a wry smile, with a hint of relief.
"Gasp..."
Lin Qingzhu drew in a sharp breath, deeply shaken.
She knew exactly how strong her grandfather was. He'd already reached the Forming Yuan Stage Peak, just one step away from the Golden Core Great Path!
He was a prominent figure not only in little Linchuan, but throughout the Cultivation World!
And yet now, someone had seriously injured her grandfather with nothing more than a spell cast from afar...
One could only imagine how shocked Lin Qingzhu felt!
Seeing her expression, Lin Anguo smiled and patted her hand. "Don't worry. My injuries aren't light, but they haven't damaged my foundation. I just need some time to recover."
Lin Qingzhu came back to herself and looked at her grandfather. "Grandpa, do you know who attacked you? There are only a handful of people in the Cultivation World who've reached the Golden Core Stage."
Lin Anguo pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "That... is hard to say!"
"Besides, although only a handful of Golden Core Stage experts are known in the Cultivation World, there are still some reclusive masters nobody knows about."
After a pause, Lin Anguo smiled again. "All right, let's not talk about that. You still have class this afternoon, don't you? I'll have Aunt Liu hurry up with lunch so you won't be late..."
"Mm! Grandpa, make sure you rest and recover during this time. I'll come visit whenever I can!"
Lin Qingzhu said.
Lin Anguo nodded with a chuckle. "All right, I will!"
"By the way, your College Entrance Examination is less than half a month away. Have you decided what school you want to apply to or what major you want to study?"
At that, Lin Qingzhu replied, "I haven't decided yet. It depends on how well I do on the exam."
"Mm. Then make sure to study hard during this time and do well on the College Entrance Examination!"
Lin Anguo said with a smile.
Qingniu Mountain Cemetery.
After burning all the Joss Paper, Ning Wangshu stood before his mother's grave for a long while. At last, he let out a deep breath and said to his sister, "All right, Ruoxuan. I'll take you back to school first."
"You haven't eaten lunch yet. Make sure to grab something to eat soon, then head back to class..."
"Mm."
Ning Ruoxuan answered, then asked, "What about you, big brother? Did you make any money this morning? And when are you planning to go back to school and study?"
Ning Wangshu smiled. "I've already made some money—one million. This afternoon, I'm planning to buy a few things and get a replacement ID card and bank card."
"After that... if nothing comes up, I should go back to school tomorrow!"
Hearing this, Ning Ruoxuan was shocked and couldn't help exclaiming, "One million!?"
"Big brother, y-you're amazing! You made that much money in just one morning!?"
Ning Ruoxuan's eyes widened.
To her, one million was an astronomical sum. Her brother had earned that much in just one morning, so it was no wonder she was so shocked!
Ning Wangshu smiled. "It's not a big deal. It's only one million. Making money is easy for me."
"So you don't have to scrimp and save like you used to. You've got your big brother now. Whatever you want to eat or buy, just get it. Your big brother has plenty of money."
As he spoke, he handed Ning Ruoxuan the two thick bundles of cash he'd taken from the suitcase earlier. "Here, Ruoxuan, take these twenty thousand yuan for now."
"Once I get my bank card sorted out and deposit the money, I'll transfer some more to you..."
Ning Ruoxuan hurriedly waved her hands. "No, big brother, I still have a few thousand yuan of my own. You should keep this money. It wouldn't be safe to carry so much cash around."
Ning Wangshu realized she had a point and said, "All right. Once I've got my bank card and deposited the money, I'll just transfer it to you!"