We Are Still Young, We Have Plenty of Time to Plan All This

"No way?! That actually happened?"

Bibi Dong was somewhat shocked upon hearing this, her eyes widening into perfect circles, before she shook her head with a wry, helpless smile.

"Could this be the work of my teacher?"

"It very well might be." Yan Lingji covered her lips and chuckled softly. "No one else would have the guts to pull off something like this."

"I suppose that's true." Bibi Dong nodded with a strange expression. "Those old fossils in the Consecration Hall would never do such a thing; they are all too full of themselves, cherishing their reputations more than anything else."

"As for the others... it really only leaves my teacher."

As she spoke, she suddenly began to laugh again, "That teacher of mine, she really is..."

"Alright, let's set that aside." Zhao Linchuan straightened his expression, set down his teacup, and fixed his gaze on Bibi Dong's flushed face. "You've broken through?"

"I have."

At these words, Bibi Dong immediately puffed out her chest, a hint of pride appearing on her face.

"This Saintess has now stepped into the ranks of the Soul Saints. I only need one more soul ring to become a genuine Soul Saint."

"Then let your husband offer you a betrothal gift." Yan Lingji chimed in. "Once we return, you should move in and live with us."

"Oh! Sister Lingji!"

Bibi Dong's face turned bright red. She stomped her foot, her voice tinged with a mix of embarrassment and anger.

"Can you stop teasing me all the time!"

She turned her face away, avoiding Yan Lingji's knowing, playful gaze, and muttered:

"Besides, I never agreed to marry him!"

"What if I don't have feelings for him?"

"Is that so?"

Yan Lingji rose slowly, walked around the stone mill, and came to Bibi Dong's side.

She leaned in slightly, whispering into Bibi Dong's ear in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Who is it that sneaks off every morning to wash their 'undergarments'~, hmm?"

The voice was as light as a feather brushing against her ear, yet it left Bibi Dong frozen as if struck by lightning.

"Ah!!"

"Stop it, don't say any more!!"

Bibi Dong was so mortified she wished she could crawl into a hole in the ground. She spun around abruptly and lifted her feet to flee into her room, but just then, a commotion erupted from outside the courtyard.

"You fatherless brat think you can see the Soul Master? Keep dreaming!"

"That's right! Your mother is a sickly wretch and you're a bastard—why would a Soul Master ever see you?"

"Soul Master! Soul Master!! Please! I beg you! Please, just see me once!"

The voice was choked with sobs, hoarse and desperate, like the mournful cry of an injured cub in the wilderness.

Bibi Dong's footsteps halted instantly, and the three of them looked outward in unison.

"What's going on?"

"We'll know once we take a look."

Zhao Linchuan stood up and strode toward the courtyard gate.

Yan Lingji and Bibi Dong exchanged a glance and followed quickly behind.

The gate pushed open.

On the dirt road outside, several children, roughly ten years old, were surrounding a boy of similar age dressed in rags.

They stretched out their arms to block the boy's path, hurling insults at him.

Seeing Zhao Linchuan and the others emerge, the children froze.

Immediately after, someone shouted, "The Soul Master is here!" and they scattered in a panic, vanishing in the blink of an eye, leaving only the dust they kicked up to settle slowly in the air.

The boy who had been surrounded stood where he was, gasping for air, his chest heaving violently.

He caught sight of Zhao Linchuan, paused for a moment, and then, as if grabbing a lifeline, ran over quickly.

He dropped to his knees with a heavy thud, his kneecaps striking the hard earth, and bowed his head low.

"Soul Master, please, save my mother! I beg you!"

His voice was hoarse and frantic, laced with tears, like a string pulled too tight, ready to snap at any moment.

"Get up and speak." Zhao Linchuan's voice was calm and indifferent as he looked down. "Tell me exactly what is going on."

"Yes! Soul Master!"

The boy straightened his torso but dared not stand, remaining on his knees.

He took a deep breath and began to recount his story in broken sentences.

The gist of it was that his mother was frail and sickly, spending almost all her time bedridden, leaving him to shoulder all the work at home alone.

Last winter, his mother caught a cold. She had almost recovered, but a spring rain fell a few days ago, and because the window wasn't shut tight at night, she caught a chill, causing her old illness to relapse. She had been running a high fever and remained in a coma for days.

Seeing that she was on the brink of death, he had no money to hire a doctor, and the village physician, upon hearing of his family's situation, refused to even step out of his door.

He wanted to go to town, but it was too far; by the time he arrived, his mother would likely have already...

He heard that several Spirit Masters had arrived in the village, so he clung to a final shred of hope and risked his life to run over here.

However, the village children bullied him and wouldn't let him near the courtyard gate, calling him a fatherless bastard who wasn't worthy of seeing the Spirit Masters.

After he finished speaking, he kowtowed heavily again, his forehead striking the yellow earth with a dull thud.

"You are quite filial." Zhao Linchuan's tone softened slightly. "Lead the way."

"Thank you, Spirit Master! Thank you, Spirit Master!!"

The boy kowtowed once more, then hurriedly scrambled to his feet and said:

"Spirit Master, this way, please..."

About a quarter of an hour later.

Zhao Linchuan stood in the clearing before a tiled house, his hands clasped behind his back as he gazed at the rolling mountains in the distance.

The woman's illness had been cured, and she was now resting inside the house.

Yan Lingji stood beside Zhao Linchuan, looking at the dilapidated house, and remained silent for a long time.

Complex emotions surged in her eyes, as if she were recalling some distant past.

"Husband." She spoke slowly, her tone uncharacteristically serious. "The power of the Spirit Hall's Spirit Masters is so great, why don't we unify the continent?"

"If the continent could be unified under the rule of the Spirit Hall, I think... such tragedies would be greatly reduced."

Zhao Linchuan did not answer immediately; he continued to gaze into the distance, his eyes as calm as still water.

A moment later, he turned his head to look at Yan Lingji, his tone indifferent yet earnest. "Would you be willing to be a subject of a conquered nation?"

"This..." Yan Lingji was stunned for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. "Of course not."

"They aren't willing, either."

Zhao Linchuan withdrew his gaze and looked back toward the horizon, his voice steady and unhurried.

"If we use force to unify them, we will inevitably be met with resistance."

"Aside from those who hate the heavens and the earth, no one wants to be a subject of a conquered nation."

He watched the scenery on the horizon, his fingers tapping lightly against his back.

"If we want to unify the continent, we must first make them loathe their own countries."

"The logic behind this is simple, so I won't say much more."

Zhao Linchuan turned around, his gaze sweeping across the faces of Yan Lingji and Bibi Dong, and said calmly:

"We are all still young; we have plenty of time to plan all of this."