When the carriage entered Dalin Village, Lin Yan almost thought he had come to the wrong place.
The poor, quiet little village he remembered had been transformed. Level flagstone roads had replaced the muddy dirt paths, and many of the low, dilapidated adobe houses along them had become brand-new brick-and-tile homes. Beneath the old locust tree at the village entrance, there were even several new stone stools and a stone table, where a few well-dressed, ruddy-faced elders sat chatting leisurely. The faint clang of construction still drifted through the village; clearly, more houses were being built.
The carriage had barely stopped before a sharp-eyed villager recognized Lin Yan.
"Oh! Lin Yan's back!" The cry was like a pebble cast into a still lake, instantly stirring ripples.
Villagers streamed over from their houses and the edges of the fields, surrounding him with warm, even ingratiating smiles.
"Lin Yan's back! You've grown taller, and you look even sharper!"
"Studying at the academy must be hard work, right?"
"It's all thanks to you, Lin Yan! Our village is a different place now!"
Greetings and praise came at him from every direction, their enthusiasm catching Lin Yan somewhat off guard.
He looked at those faces, familiar yet a little strange. Their eyes were full of gratitude, but mingled with it were more complicated feelings he could not make out at first.
Lin Yan smiled as he exchanged pleasantries, unloading the sweets and pastries he had bought in Nuoding City to distribute among the children gathered around him. He also gave several of the older villagers the soft pastries he had prepared especially for them. The children cheered and bounced with delight, while the adults thanked him repeatedly, making for a lively scene.
After finally distributing all the gifts and politely declining several families' invitations to come over for a meal, Lin Yan picked up the tea and gifts he had prepared for Village Chief Lin Daniu and headed toward the chief's home as he remembered it.
The closer he came to the village chief's home, the more the surrounding clamor seemed to settle. The chief's house had been renovated as well. Though hardly grand, it was now a sturdy gray-brick house, far better than before.
He had just reached the courtyard gate and had yet to knock when a familiar roar suddenly rang out from inside, trembling with extreme fury:
"Get out! All of you, get out! Have you no conscience?! Who do we owe these good days in Dalin Village to? Who made it possible for every household to build a new home and have enough food and warm clothes? It was that child Lin Yan, who selflessly gave us his secret wound medicine formula!"
It was Village Chief Lin Daniu's voice.
Lin Yan's steps stopped short outside the courtyard gate.
"He's a child with neither father nor mother, relying on that little share to pay his tuition and living expenses! He only takes twenty percent! Twenty percent! I, Lin Daniu, can say with my hand on my conscience that even that is too little! And now look at you! Just because the boy hasn't been in the village for a long time, you've started scheming to swallow his share too? Are you even human?! Get out! I, Lin Daniu, have no ungrateful fellow villagers like you!"
Next came the sounds of shoving and disorderly footsteps from the courtyard, along with several resentful, muttered protests.
"Chief, that's not what we meant..."
"We just thought that, after all, he hasn't done any of the work..."
"That's so much money. A child like him couldn't spend it all anyway..."
"Shut up! Get out!" Lin Daniu roared again.
With a crash, the courtyard gate was flung open from inside. His face livid and his breath coming hard, Lin Daniu shoved three or four middle-aged men out. Shame and resentment marked every face; they kept their heads lowered, still muttering something.
The moment they emerged, they came face-to-face with Lin Yan, who stood expressionless at the gate.
The air froze.
The villagers' faces flushed crimson at once. Their eyes darted away, not daring to meet Lin Yan's gaze, and they wished they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. Stammering, "Lin Yan's back," they hurried away with their tails between their legs.
Lin Daniu saw Lin Yan too. The anger on his face instantly froze, then gave way to immense embarrassment and a barely perceptible trace of heartache. He opened his mouth, somewhat at a loss. "Y-Yan, lad? Why... why have you come back so suddenly? You didn't even send word..."
Lin Yan looked at the elder before him. After a year apart, he looked a little more weathered, yet more vigorous than ever. Only now, anger had flushed his face red, and fatigue and disappointment showed around his eyes and brows.
A jumble of feelings stirred in Lin Yan's heart. He stepped slowly forward and handed over the gifts and tea. "Uncle Chief, the academy's on break. I came back to see you."
Lin Daniu accepted them with slightly trembling hands. He sighed and stepped aside. "Come inside first. We'll talk inside."
The main room was simply furnished but clean. Lin Daniu poured Lin Yan a bowl of water, fell silent for a moment, then heaved a deep sigh, his face full of guilt. "Yan, lad, just now... ah, did you hear everything?"
Lin Yan nodded, his tone calm. "I heard some of it. Uncle Chief, don't get angry. It isn't worth damaging your health over this."
His calm only made Lin Daniu feel worse. The old man's eyes reddened slightly. "That pack of white-eyed wolves! Money really does change people! When they first took the formula you gave them, every last one was overflowing with gratitude. Now that business is steady and they're earning more, they've started eyeing your twenty percent of the profits! Saying you shouldn't get so much because you haven't helped with production or sales... bullshit! Without your formula, they wouldn't have a damn thing!"
Lin Yan listened quietly, his heart largely unruffled. Such was human nature. He had anticipated this, just not so soon.
Only after Lin Daniu had calmed somewhat did Lin Yan speak, his voice steady. "Uncle Chief, there happen to be two things I wanted to discuss with you on this visit. The first is about my share from the formula."
Lin Daniu immediately grew anxious. "Yan, lad, don't listen to their nonsense! As long as I'm here, you won't lose a single coin you're owed! We put that agreement in writing back then!"
Lin Yan smiled, a detachment and composure beyond his years in his expression. "Uncle Daniu, hear me out. I never intended to live off this formula for the rest of my life. I gave it to the village partly to repay everyone's past kindness, and partly because I believed you could lead them to a better life. From the looks of things, those goals have already been achieved."
Lin Yan paused, then looked at the village chief and said earnestly, "So, starting today, I won't take that twenty-percent share anymore. Consider the secret wound medicine formula my formal gift to the village, with full authority over it left to you. How much or how little it earns from now on will be the village's business, with no connection to me personally."
"How can that be acceptable!" Lin Daniu sprang to his feet and said urgently, "Absolutely not! This belongs to you!"
"Uncle Chief," Lin Yan said firmly, "my mind is made up. This is for the best. It will keep everyone from arguing over my affairs and putting you in a difficult position. I'm not short of money now, and I won't be in the future."
Looking into Lin Yan's clear, unquestionable gaze, Lin Daniu opened his mouth, but in the end, all his words became one long sigh.
He understood that this child's heart and outlook were far broader than those of the villagers who cared only for the profits before their eyes.
"Then... what's the second thing?" Lin Daniu asked, his voice a little hoarse.
"The second thing," Lin Yan said, "is that, as you know, my Innate Soul Power is only half a level. After I return to the academy this time, I may apply to graduate early, then leave Nuoding City to travel and seek an opportunity to become a Soul Master and advance further. After that... I may not return for a very long time. I came back especially to let you know, so you won't make a wasted trip to the academy to see me later."
Lin Yan did not tell the village chief that his Soul Power had already reached level ten. If someone with only half a level of Innate Soul Power like him reached level ten Soul Power in roughly a year and a half, and that secret accidentally leaked, there was no telling how much trouble it might bring. It might even bring death upon him.
A long silence fell over the room.
Lin Daniu looked at the child, his eyes full of heartache. He knew about Lin Yan's training. In one year, Lin Yan had gone from being as thin as a bundle of sticks to his current muscular build and had shot up in height as well. Lin Daniu knew how much hardship that had taken.
After a long while, Lin Daniu reached out and patted Lin Yan heavily on the shoulder, his voice somewhat choked. "Good... good boy... you've got promise! It's good to venture out into the world! Your Uncle Daniu supports you! While you're out there... be sure to take care of yourself. Be careful in everything... come back to visit when you have time."
The next day, after spending the night at the village chief's home, Lin Yan politely declined Lin Daniu's plan to gather the villagers to "set the record straight" for him and give him a send-off. He merely took a short walk around the village.
When the villagers saw him again, their eyes were evasive, their politeness tinged with obvious embarrassment. The families of those driven out the night before stayed behind closed doors.
Lin Yan did not mind. He wandered around the hill behind the village where he used to go, then visited the site of the shabby little house he had once lived in. It was now overgrown with weeds.
That afternoon, he boarded the carriage he had arrived in and left the village.
The carriage traveled farther and farther away, leaving behind Dalin Village, its appearance transformed and its people's hearts gradually changing.
Lin Yan glanced back without much lingering attachment. To him, this place was more like a starting point. With this thread of worldly ties severed, his steps would be lighter as he headed toward the world of Soul Masters, full of unknowns and possibilities.
His future was not here.