Qiao Town, the Lin Household's grounds.
Only moments after the armored guard had left, the current patriarch of the Lin Household learned that his ancestor had returned from the sect. He immediately set aside the household affairs he was handling and hurriedly led a great crowd of Lin clansmen pouring out of the Lin residence.
"Quick, lead the way! Where is the ancestor?!"
Lin Changge, usually so composed, was now visibly anxious. Upon hearing that Lin Xiye had returned, the other Lin elders and members of the younger generation... all wore expressions of curiosity and reverence.
In everyone's eyes, Lin Xiye was a being like an immortal! If Lin Xiye stayed to oversee the Lin Household for the long term, the household's development... would surely advance another step.
"The ancestor is drinking tea over there..."
Seeing the somewhat flustered Lin Changge and the many Lin clansmen, the armored guard led them to an elegant teahouse.
At that moment, Lin Xiye, dressed in a gray robe and with a head of snowy white hair, leaned back in a wooden chair, leisurely sipping a cup of tea.
Through the teahouse's wooden door, the instant they saw Lin Xiye, Lin Changge and the many clansmen... all felt a connection of blood!
"This junior, Lin Changge, the current patriarch of the Lin Household, leads the entire household in respectfully welcoming the ancestor home!!"
Thump! Lin Changge dropped to his knees, his voice respectful and fervent, and kowtowed heavily to Lin Xiye three times.
"Respectfully welcoming the ancestor home!!"
"Respectfully welcoming the ancestor home!!"
Whoosh!!
After Lin Changge knelt, the many Lin clansmen also prostrated themselves on the ground and began performing three kneelings and nine kowtows to Lin Xiye...
"We're all family. There's no need for ceremony. Get up, all of you..."
Looking at the younger clansmen outside the teahouse, Lin Xiye slowly set down his teacup, his tone calm and detached.
Lin Xiye was quite fond of the Lin Household.
In the Four Body Tempering Realms, cultivators still could not practice Grain Avoidance. Over the years, the household had supplied most of Lin Xiye's food, clothing, and daily necessities at the sect.
After all, the sect was no charity. If it provided free food and drink for tens of thousands of disciples... even the Falling Rosy Clouds Sect would struggle to bear the cost!
Having been supported by the household, Lin Xiye was willing to help it develop further, to the best of his ability, during the final ten years of his life.
"Ancestor, please enter the sedan chair!"
"This junior has always had people tend to and maintain the residence and courtyard where you once lived..."
"Now that you have returned, Ancestor, please offer us your guidance in all the Lin Household's affairs in the future."
Lin Changge walked up to a magnificent gold-inlaid wooden sedan chair and personally drew back its curtain for Lin Xiye.
"You've been thoughtful."
Looking at the deeply respectful Lin Changge, Lin Xiye nodded slightly, then turned to the many Lin clansmen and spoke calmly.
"All right, you may all withdraw. Those who should be resting, go back and rest... there's no need to mind an old man like me."
Hearing Lin Xiye speak, the many Lin clansmen dared not disobey and withdrew to either side of the street.
They did not dare walk ahead of Lin Xiye.
Seeing this, Lin Xiye had no choice but to enter the gold-inlaid wooden sedan chair. Then, with Lin Changge personally accompanying him, he headed toward the Lin residence...
"Ancestor, in the hundred years since you left for the Falling Rosy Clouds Sect, our Lin Household has grown to a population of over twenty thousand!"
"But after you, Ancestor, no other member of our Lin Household has been born with a Spirit Root... that is also why our Lin Household has never been able to expand beyond Qiao Town."
"Those cities with populations of over a hundred thousand are mostly controlled by major households. Our Lin Household has no chance of laying a finger on them."
"Especially the Purple River City Zhao Household, which has repeatedly suppressed our Lin Household. If the Zhao Household did not have your presence to consider, Ancestor... I'm afraid our Lin Household would struggle even to hold on to its foundation in Qiao Town."
Walking beside the gold-inlaid wooden sedan chair, Lin Changge gave Lin Xiye a detailed report on the Lin Household's current predicament and the surrounding powers.
The Purple River City Zhao Household was a very powerful immortal cultivation household! The Zhao Household was said to have dozens of immortal cultivators.
Compared with the Zhao Household, the Qiao Town Lin Household might look prosperous and populous, but its only true immortal cultivator was its ancestor, Lin Xiye!
Around Qiao Town, besides the Zhao Household, the most powerful of them all, there were also the Xu Household, the Zhou Household, the Bai Household...
But those households were roughly the same size as the Lin Household.
Yet among the immortal cultivation households in the area, the Lin Household's situation could be called the worst! If Lin Xiye fell and the Lin Household no longer had an immortal cultivator to deter its enemies... what awaited the Lin Household would surely be decline, or even the extermination of the entire clan!!
Creak...
Carried by four Lin Household servants, the gold-inlaid wooden sedan chair took about two quarters of an hour to reach a quiet, elegantly old-fashioned courtyard. (Note: One quarter of an hour equals 15 minutes.)
The residence had five main gates and four side gates... nine entrances and nine exits, rich with meaning!
Looking at the courtyard, Lin Xiye could not help being swept up in memories.
Before entering the Falling Rosy Clouds Sect, he had lived and grown up in this courtyard.
"Ancestor, please go inside and rest first."
"This junior has already arranged for maids and servants in the courtyard... if you need anything, Ancestor, you can tell them."
Lin Changge spoke respectfully once more.
Lin Xiye was quite satisfied with Lin Changge's arrangements.
Stepping out of the gold-inlaid wooden sedan chair and into the courtyard, Lin Xiye discovered that everything there... was almost exactly as it had been a hundred years ago!
His hazy childhood memories seemed to be stirring awake.
"Greetings, Ancestor!!"
"Greetings, Ancestor!!"
Wherever Lin Xiye passed, the many servants and maids lowered their heads, paying their respects and bowing in worship.
"You may all withdraw."
"Without my permission, none of you may come and disturb me..."
Lin Xiye looked around and gave the servants and maids their instructions.
As an immortal cultivator, Lin Xiye was more accustomed to peace and quiet.
It was a habit formed over a hundred years of cultivation.
And although he had only ten years left to live, Lin Xiye still had not given up.
As long as he cultivated to the Body Tempering and Bone Refining Realm, he could extend his life by twenty years... as long as he was alive, there was still hope!
His mind filled with countless thoughts, Lin Xiye passed through corridor after corridor and crossed the garden, arriving before an utterly ordinary little courtyard that drew no attention at all.
This little courtyard was where Lin Xiye's father had lived.
His father had also once been the patriarch of the Lin Household, and his cultivation had reached Early-stage Bone Refining! If he had not made a mistake in the Falling Rosy Clouds Sect, Lin Xiye's father would already have become an inner disciple, perhaps even a core disciple!
Had that happened, with the shelter of his father's legacy, Lin Xiye's cultivation path... might have been much easier.
After hesitating for a long time before the courtyard's wooden gate, Lin Xiye finally... gently pushed it open.
As the wooden gate opened, many neatly arranged objects, marked by the passage of time, came into Lin Xiye's view.
Among them were wooden dolls from Lin Xiye's childhood, a wooden sword he had begged his father to carve... and an exquisite little jar for keeping crickets.
Besides Lin Xiye's belongings, there were also some things left behind by his mother and father.
Looking at them, for a moment... Lin Xi felt as though his heart had been struck by some invisible force.