Let's Go Back to Jixia Together

Bang!

Fang Lin jolted awake, his heart pounding like a drum, his back drenched in cold sweat.

He had returned!

Why? Was it Brother Jiang this time?

Fang Lin stared blankly at the ceiling. Its simple decor soon made him realize this was not his home in Jixia.

What met his eyes was a neat, clean bedroom. The room was small overall and held a faint, delicate fragrance. The desk beside him was piled with Daoist scriptures, and sheets of talisman paper were held down on its surface.

A bird chirped once or twice outside the window from time to time. Judging by the sun, it was probably afternoon. The temperature was not high, and sunlight spilled lazily over a corner by the window.

Fang Lin narrowed his eyes and leaned against the soft headboard. It was quiet here. All was still outside the room, and there was little noise in the residential compound outside either. The familiar presence in the room put Fang Lin's body and mind considerably at ease.

This had to be Brother Jiang's home!

Once he understood the situation, Fang Lin sank his awareness into his Qi Sea. Sure enough, it was a tangled mess, and the light of his six wheels had dimmed. But a stream of spiritual essence with a gentle, harmonious presence flowed through the meridians of his body from time to time, helping him stabilize his current dire condition.

A third-grade spell, the Moon-Worshipping Spirit-Calming Benediction.

This spell exclusive to the Immortal Foundation "Autumn Moon Osmanthus" could knock directly on the gates of Vast Cold Heaven in the Northern Lands. Its wondrous uses went far beyond simply healing injuries!

Prayers, averting calamity, refining artifacts, drawing talismans, making medicine, refining pills, and so on-as long as it was related to the hundred arts of immortal cultivation, a Moon-Worshipping Spirit-Calming Benediction could be added to increase the chance of success. This was a wonder unique to the path of Grand Yin!

Only those who had cultivated the Immortal Foundation "Autumn Moon Osmanthus" could use it!

Such a heaven-gifted genius had actually been attacked in secret in Lüyu, and at the critical moment of breaking through to Foundation Establishment, no less. For such a shocking event to occur right under the True Lord's nose was truly unheard of in a hundred years!

"Bro! Can I really cultivate this Method Formula well?"

The sound of a door opening came from outside the room, and several sets of footsteps entered. "That's a fifth-grade Cultivation Method, fifth grade! And someone like me, who can't even understand basic Dao theory, is supposed to cultivate a fifth-grade Cultivation Method?"

"That's right! Wangxuan, can Dezhao really manage it? I heard that the Cultivation Methods Huaqi enlightens children with are chosen according to their aptitudes. We haven't had anyone in Luzhou receive a method above the fifth grade in over a decade. The last one was his sister!"

Ms. Wang had been going on about it all the way home. Her youngest son had had no affinity with cultivation since he was little, so how had he obtained such a high-grade Cultivation Method this time? Had there really been no mistake?

If he failed to make anything of it, wouldn't he make his older brother and sister lose all face?

"Mom, Huaqi can't be wrong. Since he was given the Mystic Horn Spring-Abiding Scripture, he should cultivate it properly. It's the Cultivation Method best suited to Dezhao. Maybe this method really does have an affinity with the kid."

As soon as Jiang Wangxuan got home, he looked toward his room. That trouble had finally woken up.

Some faint sounds came from the room at just the right moment. The living room, lively only a moment ago, fell silent. Then a square-faced man pushed open the bedroom door, all smiles.

"Brother Jiang, such a great kindness cannot be repaid with words. I have no way to repay you for saving my life!"

Fang Lin immediately made as if to bow down in gratitude, but Jiang Wangxuan cut him off with a wave. "Brother Fang, don't start with that. You'll frighten my family!"

The magical power throughout Fang Lin's body was unstable now. He was completely powerless to resist Jiang Wangxuan, and simply could not bend his waist.

In the living room, Ms. Wang and little brother Jiang both looked curiously at the down-and-out cultivator Jiang Wangxuan had brought home a couple of days ago.

"Uncle, you're awake! My brother said you were a guest cultivator who had nowhere else to turn and sold yourself to our family. Is that true?"

Ms. Wang promptly smacked the silly boy on the head. "How can this brat not hear that his brother was joking?"

"Auntie Jiang, I am Fang Lin, a son of the Fang Clan. It is a pleasure to meet you!" Fang Lin greeted her with his family's ancient rite.

Ms. Wang was not intimidated. Although she had spent much of the past few years at home, she sometimes attended small gatherings to broaden her horizons.

Her son had brought a cultivator covered in injuries home, which meant he had truly saved the man's life. It was only right for her to accept his bow, so that he could stay and recover in peace.

"Come, come, young man, sit down. Where did all those injuries come from? Public security in Luzhou has always been pretty good. How did you end up hurt like this?"

Ms. Wang was quite warm. The young man looked square and solid, and very dependable. "Dezhao, go pour some tea! Don't mind what this boy just said. His brother was only teasing him!"

Jiang Dezhao dutifully poured a cup of plain boiled water and handed it to Fang Lin. Ms. Wang, who had just taken Fang Lin's hand and was about to chat with him, immediately darkened. What was this brat playing at?

Fang Lin could see it now too: little brother Jiang had a problem with him. Then, seeing how the younger brother stuck close to his older brother as soon as he finished pouring the water, Fang Lin understood at once.

He had a brother complex!

Jiang Dezhao sat up straight beside his brother, eyeing the big man. Even when he wanted to enter his brother's room, their mother would not let him, yet this man had come along and slept soundly in it for three whole days!

Smiling, Fang Lin drank the boiled water in one gulp. "Auntie Jiang, I just heard you talking in the room. Did little brother Jiang just receive a Cultivation Method from Huaqi?"

"Yes, young Fang, Dezhao is a little special. He has a Wood Virtue Spirit Root and was given the Mystic Horn Spring-Abiding Scripture, which cultivates Horn Wood. His brother came back this time to deal with his affairs!"

The mention of a Wood Virtue Spirit Root left Fang Lin a little bewildered. That really exists? Damn, I still don't know enough.

After thinking for quite a while, Fang Lin took Ms. Wang's hand and said, "That's a good thing! Brother Jiang is exceptionally gifted, and little brother Jiang has received a fifth-grade Cultivation Method. I hear Brother Jiang also has a younger sister in Lüyu. That's incredible!"

"Auntie, as I see it, Luzhou is too small a place for our Jiang Household. You should move somewhere else to develop. The Jiang Household is bound to become a great Aristocratic Clan in the future. Luzhou isn't suited to a heaven's chosen like Brother Jiang. Would you be interested in settling down in Jixia?"

Huh?

What does he mean, "our Jiang Household"? Is his surname Jiang? What does he mean, Luzhou isn't suited to us? What's wrong with this big guy? Why is he stirring up trouble as soon as he wakes up? Little brother Jiang was ready to hiss!

"My Fang Clan has a modest fortune in Jixia and quite a few vacant properties. Since little brother Jiang has just received his Cultivation Method, we can move to Jixia and hire renowned teachers to tutor him. He might not be able to get into a university under Xuantian in the future, but he'd still have a very good chance of getting into a key university!"

Ms. Wang's head was buzzing. How had he gone straight to worrying about Dezhao's future? Still, there was one point on which she thought the young man from the Fang family was right.

Luzhou really was not very suitable for the Jiang Household. Every time she went out, there were almost enough people hiding around her to make up a security team. It was a bit too much!

"Brother Fang!"

Jiang Dezhao hurriedly cut in. "I've never had much comprehension since I was little. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had my Spirit Root implanted only at fourteen. I'm already apprehensive about having been lucky enough to get a Cultivation Method. Going to the imperial capital, Jixia, is even more of a pipe dream!"

Hearing her youngest son say this, Ms. Wang immediately came to her senses. The square-faced young man had poured her a bowl of bewitching soup and left her dizzy. Jixia was not such an easy place to live!

"Young Fang, my boy is right. He just can't get the hang of things. It's fine for him to stay in Luzhou and live his own modest life without causing his big brother trouble. Auntie appreciates your kindness!"

Seeing Auntie Jiang back down, Fang Lin finally turned the conversation to Jiang Wangxuan. If he could lure the Jiang Household to Jixia at this point, perhaps the future he had seen would be different?

Jiang Wangxuan did not take up the subject. Instead, he asked, "Brother Fang, can you still hold out?"

Fang Lin, who had just been talking nonstop, was struck speechless on the spot. Somewhat helplessly, he said, "Brother Jiang, you saw through it at a glance. My Qi Sea is in turmoil, and my six wheels have dimmed. If the Moon-Worshipping Spirit-Calming Benediction weren't nourishing me, I'm afraid my cultivation would regress on the spot!"

At that, Ms. Wang's expression changed. "How are you hurt so badly? Young man, shouldn't you hurry and find a teacher or elder to look at you? It's already reached the point where your cultivation could regress. You can't delay!"

"Brother Fang, hurry back to Jixia tomorrow! If your injuries are left any longer, they'll undermine your foundation. If I weren't worried about causing too much of a stir, I would have contacted the Jixia Fang Household to take you back long ago!"

Fang Lin gave a bitter laugh. "Brother Jiang, I've only just woken up, and you're already in such a hurry to send me away. How about it-sorry for the trouble, Brother Jiang, but could you escort this injured man to Jixia?"

Big Fat Fish immediately jumped up in the Rising Yang Mansion, cursing. "I knew this bastard was up to no good. Trouble, big trouble!"

"Brother Fang, how about I call your family right now? The Jixia Fang Clan's contact information is easy enough to find in Lüyu!"

Fang Lin surrendered on the spot. If the elders of his family came charging over, there was no telling what this would turn into!

He could not cause the Jiang Household any more trouble!

That evening, Ms. Wang made several soups for the injured man. As Fang Lin drank, he praised Auntie Jiang's soup as truly excellent!

Ms. Wang was so pleased that she immediately gave him another bowl of rice. Father Jiang, having returned from work and heard that he was from Jixia, also kept putting food in his bowl!

Little brother Jiang watched this damned Brother Fang charm his parents until they could no longer tell north from south! This cultivator was nothing like he had imagined: glib-tongued, with none of a cultivator's bearing at all.

After eating and drinking his fill, Jiang Wangxuan leaned lazily against the balcony railing.

He had been home for several days, and his Lüyu uniform had long since been put away. Now he wore only a plain casual shirt, its sleeves casually rolled up to his forearms.

The evening breeze swept through the apartment, setting the hem of his clothes fluttering. The wind traced the smooth lines beneath his shirt: broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a straight back. He looked a little more relaxed and at ease than he did in Daoist robes.

He tilted his head slightly, letting the night breeze tousle the loose hair on his forehead. His gaze rested on the lights flickering in the distance, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Fang Lin always felt that even the sect Dao children of the recent ancient era amounted to little more than this beside his Brother Jiang. He had no idea how Jiang Wangxuan had acquired such bearing; he looked even more otherworldly than Fang Lin's own older male cousin!

He could only say that anyone who could cultivate the Grand Yin Dao Lineage was no ordinary genius!

"Brother Jiang..."

"Just call me Jiang Wangxuan!" Jiang Wangxuan turned a pair of peach-blossom eyes toward him, a half-smile on his lips. "It must be hard on a son of the Jixia Fang Clan to eat the coarse fare of a small place."

"Brother Wangxuan, your temperament seems rather nasty!"

That remark left Fang Lin at a loss for words. Looking at Luzhou beneath the setting sun, sharing the same evening breeze at Jiang Wangxuan's side, he had an indescribable dejection in his eyes. After a long while, he finally voiced the request he had held back for so long.

"Jiang Wangxuan, would you come back to Jixia with me?"