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Chapter 222: A Discussion Among Three
🕑 Added 2024-09-21 08:40:51 +0000 UTCEarly the next morning, Liu Yunan gathered Liao Pantou and Sun Yigao, bringing out the scroll they had received. The three of them read it together.
After finishing, they realized that the emperor's intentions were exactly as Lin Xiao had predicted. The emperor wanted to recruit them, hoping that their sect would support the imperial court's rule, just like the three major sects, without interfering in the various policies and implementations of the court.
However, the content of the scroll was quite vague. It didn't detail specific conditions or benefits but merely suggested that their sect should send someone to the capital for further discussions.
After reading, Liao Pantou was the first to speak. Stroking his beard, he let out a light hum and said, "This kind of half-hearted gesture, we can just look at it and move on. They'll likely visit us several more times. For now, I think we should just ignore it."
Hearing this, Liu Yunan hesitated. "Is that really okay? I mean, this is the emperor we're talking about."
Before he began cultivating earlier this year, Liu Yunan was just an ordinary young man from Shoushui Village. The highest-ranking official he had ever seen was the village head. Now, being told to ignore a personal letter from the emperor, he couldn't help but feel a strange mix of emotions.
Now, having met various local wealthy individuals, the county magistrate, and even the prefect, and facing the decision of whether to ignore a letter from the emperor himself, Liu Yunan felt a deep sense of awe.
He sneaked a glance at Elder Liao. This is what it means to be a cultivator, he thought.
The difference between mortals and cultivators was indeed a significant test of one's mentality.
Sun Yigao, smiling, then said, "We shouldn't be too obvious about it. We can take a more delaying approach. Didn't Yuanjiao send word that the court hasn't informed the three major sects about our existence? Now that they've sent this letter, we can give them a vague, distant time frame to stall and observe how things unfold."
Liu Yunan nodded in agreement. "That makes sense. We can delay for now. Who knows, by then Xiao might have already come out of seclusion, and we can reassess the situation then."
Seeing that their ideas aligned with his, Liao Pantou said no more.
Thus, the matter was settled.
On the third day, Liu Yunan was already hiding in the bushes near the village entrance at dawn. He figured Wei San wouldn't come when there were too many people around—he'd likely show up either early in the morning or late at night. So, Liu Yunan had risen early, before the sun, to wait.
Sure enough, after waiting for only a short while, he spotted Wei San appearing at the end of the path.
Liu Yunan quickly used his object manipulation technique to discreetly place a letter a short distance ahead, ensuring that Wei San would see it as he approached.
Since the letter was placed right in the center of the path, it was hard for Wei San to miss it when he got closer.
But because it was still not fully light, Liu Yunan prepared for the possibility that Wei San might not see it. If that happened, he was ready to make him trip and fall face-first into the letter—there’d be no way he could miss it then.
Fortunately, Wei San, with his years of martial training and keen observation, avoided such a mishap.
As he neared the spot, his sharp eyes caught sight of the letter on the ground, and he bent down to pick it up.
Seeing the elegant script on the envelope reading "For His Majesty's Eyes Only," Wei San carefully tucked the letter into his robes. After scanning his surroundings to ensure no one was watching, he quickly left the area.
Satisfied that the letter had been delivered successfully, Liu Yunan stepped out of the bushes.
Thinking that most of the villagers wouldn't be up yet, he leisurely strolled along the village path. Ever since he began managing the sect's affairs, he had gained a deeper appreciation for how busy Xiao usually was.
However, after only a few steps, he spotted two elderly men greeting each other under the shade of a tree. It was none other than Village Chief Du Liushui and Clan Leader Hu Deli.
During this time, to avoid being bombarded with questions from the villagers, the members of Lingxian Sect had perfected the art of early departures and late returns. Whenever they accidentally encountered villagers, they would evade them if possible.
Ironhead and Qin Jianghe had even built a few more rooms near their homes on Guiyuan Mountain, moving their families up the mountain to cultivate together. Jiang Youfu had also brought his family to the mountain, though only temporarily, to avoid the current commotion. They planned to return to the village once everyone had gotten used to the idea of Lingxian Sect.
After all, Grandma Jiang had lived in Shoushui Village her entire life and wasn't willing to leave behind the home she and Grandpa Jiang had built together.
However, this time, Liu Yunan decided not to avoid them as usual. Instead, he walked straight over.
Before going into seclusion, Xiao had said that the sect's future development in the village would rely on the support of the village elders and the village chief. It was essential to cooperate with them on various matters.
As he pondered the recent development of Shoushui Village, Liu Yunan quickly approached the two elderly men.
Seeing him, Clan Leader Hu Deli smiled and greeted him, "Isn't this the young lad from the Liu family? How's your arm now, all healed up?"
Hearing Hu Clan Leader's question, Liu Yunan paused, remembering that he was referring to the time his uncle had broken his arm. He then raised his arm with a smile and replied, "Thank you for your concern. It's all better now. Have you both had breakfast?"
Village Chief Du Liushui nodded with a smile, "Yes, we've eaten. What about you? Are you busy? If not, why not stay and chat with us for a bit?"
Liu Yunan, seeing no reason to refuse, obediently sat down on a stone stool beside the two elders.
As the younger one, he felt it was his responsibility to start the conversation, so he asked, "How have you both been feeling lately?"
Village Chief Du Liushui, showing his still-intact but aged teeth, smiled and replied, "We're doing well. The village is thriving, and I’m so happy every day that I find myself eating an extra half bowl of rice."
As soon as Du Liushui finished speaking, Clan Leader Hu Deli chimed in, as if on cue, "Indeed, our village is doing so well now, thanks to your sect."
Not used to chatting with such kind elders alone, Liu Yunan wasn’t sure what to say, so he just laughed and replied, "It's all thanks to Xiao leading us. We owe our current success to him."
Village Chief Du Liushui nodded thoughtfully and said, "Xiao is a good child—dutiful and filial. Ah, I still remember the day his mother passed away. He was just a tiny baby, lying in his father’s arms, crying as if he knew he'd lost his mother. He cried until he fell asleep from exhaustion, and when he woke up, he stayed quiet, nestled in his father’s arms. But if you looked closely, you could see that his eyes were still filled with tears, silently streaming down."
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