The Home Was Robbed

For the next two days, the father and daughter were inseparable.

Under Seedling's meticulous guidance, Jiang Fu'an came to understand the essentials of cultivating the Eternal Spring Technique and the art of breath circulation more and more thoroughly.

Yet beneath heaven, there was no feast that never ended.

The day of parting had come in the end.

As the county magistrate, Sun Xiuyuan had countless backlogged documents in the yamen awaiting his attention.

Now that the Wang Family had a spiritual vein, the family was flourishing. As one of its members, Ma Ping naturally had plenty to do as well.

Jiang Fu'an, too, worried about his wife and children back home. He had been away for so many days and had no idea whether they were all safe and sound.

Three days later, beside the long pavilion outside Melodious Sound City.

The morning mist had yet to disperse, and dewdrops clung to the blades of grass.

Seedling and Sun Xiuyuan's daughter stood side by side on the bluestone road, watching the carriage slowly make its way onto the official road.

Sun Xiuyuan leaned half his body out through the carriage window, waving nonstop at his daughter, his eyes even beginning to redden.

Although Sun Zhiwei had not come to see him these past two days, leaving a trace of resentment in his heart—

Seeing his daughter here to see him off now made those tiny grievances vanish like smoke in the wind.

The carriage gradually traveled farther down the official road, finally disappearing amid the morning mist and the shadows of trees.

Sun Zhiwei looked in that direction and spoke softly.

"Sister Jiang, you haven't returned to the sect these past two days. Quite a few people have been talking, saying that you're too attached to mortal family ties and may not be able to go far on the path of Dao in the future."

Jiang Xianghe's expression did not change. She merely turned to look at her and asked in return,

"Is that what you think too? Is that why you didn't come out to see Uncle Sun?"

Having her thoughts exposed, Sun Zhiwei's ears grew faintly warm. Somewhat embarrassed, she asked,

"Don't you care about what they say, Sister Jiang?"

"Of course I don't."

Jiang Xianghe's tone was calm.

"Who says becoming immortal means abandoning your family and kin? Look at the ancestors of the seven great cultivation families of the Song Kingdom—which one of them doesn't have children and grandchildren filling the halls, with clan relatives surrounding them?"

With that, she turned and headed toward the mountain gate of the Melodious Sound Sect.

Jiang Xianghe knew perfectly well that the elders of the Melodious Sound Sect loved to repeatedly lecture their disciples to "set their hearts upon the Great Dao and regard family ties lightly."

They merely feared that disciples would have attachments in their hearts and could not be used wholeheartedly by the sect.

Inside the carriage, Jiang Fu'an deliberately took out the Eternal Spring Technique and carefully leafed through it by the light streaming in through the window.

Ma Ping, seated opposite him, caught sight of the qi-circulation diagrams on the pages. His eyelids twitched, and he recognized them at once.

He asked in surprise,

"Brother Jiang, are you studying an immortal cultivation technique?"

Jiang Fu'an's voice held a hint of pride.

"That's right. My daughter gave it to me. She said practicing it could prolong my life and told me to cultivate it whenever I had nothing to do."

Naturally, he was not doing this to show off.

He simply wanted to lay some groundwork in advance, so that when his cultivation bore fruit in the future, the two men would not find it too abrupt.

Sun Xiuyuan listened from the side, feeling sour inside.

At this meeting, his daughter had not given him a single thing.

Ma Ping shook his head and kindly advised him,

"If I remember correctly, Brother Jiang, you have five spiritual roots, right?"

"That aptitude is already exceedingly poor, and Peace Town's spiritual energy is thin to begin with."

"I'm afraid that even after twenty years of bitter cultivation, you may not reach the first layer of Qi Refinement."

"Take this old brother's advice. Rather than spend your time on that, you would be better off considering some other line of work."

Jiang Fu'an smiled and did not argue.

"Brother Ma is right. At my age, how could I still dare dream of immortal cultivation?"

"It is only my daughter's heartfelt gift. When I have nothing to do in the future, I'll practice a little and treat it as a way to pass the time."

Ma Ping said nothing more. Though he knew Jiang Fu'an had not taken his words to heart,

once the man cultivated for a while, he would surely regret not listening today.

They took the same road back that they had come by, but the journey was much slower.

The reason was simple—Sun Xiuyuan could no longer endure it.

On the way there, he had carried the hope of seeing his daughter in his heart. No matter how rough the ride, he could bear it.

Now that his wish had been fulfilled, he relaxed all at once, and every bone in his body felt as though it had fallen apart.

After the carriage traveled for half a day, he called for it to stop and insisted on getting down to rest.

But Jiang Fu'an was an arrow returning to the heart.

The moment the carriage entered Peace Town's territory, he hurriedly bid the two men farewell and strode toward home.

Having been away from home for a full month, a stone had hung over his heart the entire time, and he feared something might have gone wrong.

Yet what he feared most came to pass.

As soon as he reached the village entrance, Xu the Elder spotted him from afar and hurried over at a jog.

"Master, you're finally back! Some thieves broke into the house a few days ago, and Stone was even injured!"

Jiang Fu'an's heart tightened, and his pace quickened.

"Was Stone badly hurt?"

"Not badly! After recovering for the past few days, he's already much better."

Xu the Elder stayed close at his side. Then his tone changed as he ground his teeth in hatred.

"Master, that gang of thieves was actually those bastards from the Mountain-Calming Martial Hall!"

"The Mountain-Calming Martial Hall? Didn't they run away long ago?"

Jiang Fu'an asked in confusion.

He remembered that after the Wang Family destroyed the Rong Family, they had immediately gone to settle scores with the Mountain-Calming Martial Hall, only to find the martial hall already empty.

"They did run, but for some reason, they actually found their way to our home."

Xu the Elder lowered his voice.

"I've been asking around everywhere these past few days. I heard that a new band of highly skilled brigands has appeared on the mountain road between Peace Town and Clear River Town."

"I reckon there's an eighty-percent chance that it's that bunch from the Mountain-Calming Martial Hall, changing their faces and taking up this business with no capital."

Jiang Fu'an silently committed it to memory, deciding to consider the matter later. He instead asked,

"Tell me in detail how Stone was injured."

"That night, in the middle of the night, I heard movement from that side of the residence and hurried over after throwing on some clothes."

"The moment I entered the courtyard gate, I saw three people lying on the ground. None of them was breathing."

"Stone was standing nearby, with several cuts across his body. Blood had dyed his clothes red."

As he said this, a trace of admiration appeared on Xu the Elder's face.

"Later, Stone said those three had climbed over the wall to get in."

"Stone noticed them, quietly circled behind them, and made his move..."

"I've seen all three of them on the battlefield. Their martial skills were formidable. In a one-on-one fight, I definitely wouldn't have been able to beat them."

"But Stone has only practiced martial arts for a few years. He actually fought three at once and finished them off so quickly."

Jiang Fu'an was somewhat surprised when he first heard this.

He had seen the skills of those people from the Mountain-Calming Martial Hall for himself.

Stone was only a half-grown boy, and he had not trained in martial arts for long.

But when Jiang Fu'an thought of Stone's injuries, an idea suddenly stirred in his heart—

Could it be that fate of "living on in the face of death"... had taken effect at a critical moment?

The closer one came to a desperate situation, the more this fate could force out one's potential.

Since Stone had suffered several wounds, he must truly have been hanging by a thread at the time.

As they spoke, they had already arrived before the residence gates.

Jiang Fu'an pushed the gate open, expecting to see Stone lying in bed recuperating.

To his surprise, he looked up and saw the boy slowly pacing around the courtyard.

Hearing the movement, Stone turned his head. The instant he discovered Jiang Fu'an, his eyes lit up, and he shouted joyfully,

"Father, you're back!"

As he spoke, he quickly ran over.

Jiang Fu'an hurriedly raised a hand.

"Slow down. Watch your injuries!"

Seeing that his father already knew about it, Stone scratched his head sheepishly.

"Hehe, I've been fine for ages!"