Lin Yin gazed at the bustling, lively scene of villagers coming and going.
It had been three whole years, yet she had never witnessed such worldly clamor and joy.
“Che’er, I miss you so much,” she silently called out in her heart.
“If only you were here…”
For three years, no matter what happened, Lin Yin’s first thought was always Jiang Che.
She lived as if seeking atonement, burdened by the guilt she defined as losing her disciple Jiang Che.
Seeing the joyful village, Lin Yin suddenly felt lost.
“Uh, elder? Are you free? Our Village Head requests your presence.”
“Hm?”
Lin Yin turned her head at the sound, spotting a middle-aged man standing respectfully nearby.
“Oh?” Lin Yin slightly nodded. “The Village Head wants to see me? What for?”
“It’s like this: our Village Head heard there’s a cultivator here in the village, so he sent me to invite you.”
Lin Yin instantly understood and thought to herself that perhaps she could glean news about her disciple from the Village Head. That would be much more efficient.
After a moment, Lin Yin was led to a modest, plain house—typical of those in the village.
She was brought inside. At the head of the room sat an elderly man around sixty, presumably the Village Head.
Wrinkles etched deeply and shallowly across his face, his back slightly hunched.
“You must be the cultivator the villagers spoke of? Please, have a seat, please.”
The Old Village Chief laboriously raised his hand, gesturing for Lin Yin to sit on a small wooden stool nearby, his voice hoarse.
With trembling hands, he lifted a coarse clay teapot from the table and poured her a cup of clear tea.
“Didn’t expect someone so fresh and refined…”
The old man’s cloudy eyes lingered on Lin Yin’s elegant, otherworldly face, recalling the sly, lecherous-looking ‘Jia Xianzhang’ he had invited a few days ago.
They were worlds apart—heaven and earth.
He muttered inwardly: This is what a proper Immortal Master should look like.
Lin Yin was not displeased by his scrutiny. She thanked him softly and accepted the cool teacup.
Humbly, she said, “Village Head, you flatter me. The guide said you have lived in the village for many years and know the villagers best?”
The Old Village Chief was just about to sit back down, and upon hearing this, replied casually.
“Yes, this old man has lived in Shuiquan Village his whole life… Oh, I haven’t yet asked which Immortal Sect you come from, miss?”
He settled onto the low stool and rubbed his aching old waist.
“Shenxiao Sect,” Lin Yin answered calmly.
“Bang!”
Almost at the same moment she spoke, the Old Village Chief’s body twitched sharply and he fell back in his chair, his lips trembling.
Muttering under his breath, “Shen… Shen… Shenxiao Sect?!”
Who on this continent didn’t know the Shenxiao Sect?
The preeminent name in the ten-thousand-year Immortal Path, even in such a remote village, the name thundered like a storm—a presence to be admired from afar.
Seeing his intense reaction, Lin Yin quickly asked, “Village Head, are you alright?”
“No, no, I’m fine…”
The Old Village Chief hurriedly composed himself, waving away his embarrassment. He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.
“Old, old ailments. This waist and legs aren’t what they used to be, a fright like that…”
He settled back down, taking deep breaths to suppress the storm of emotions in his chest.
“I heard you’re looking for someone? Villagers told me about it, but sorry, no one fitting the description of a roughly eight-foot-tall blind man has appeared here.
Tell me… what’s the name of the person you’re looking for? Our village is small; every family knows each other well. A name would help me keep an eye out.”
The Old Village Chief’s tone was cautious. Compared to that Jia Xianren, this one was tens of thousands of times better.
Lin Yin’s previously dim eyes brightened again.
“He… his name is Jiang Che. He’s my disciple, Jiang Che.”
Jiang Che… the Old Village Chief silently noted the name.
Helping an Immortal Master was a good deed, and a bond to open doors later.
Wait! Jiang Che!
The Old Village Chief’s eyes suddenly widened. What a coincidence.
Wasn’t there a blind man named Jiang Che in the village?
Though the height didn’t match, matters of cultivation were complicated and unclear.
The Old Village Chief grew restless and uneasy.
At that moment, a middle-aged man poked his head in at the door, gestured silently to the Village Head, who nodded.
Then turning to Lin Yin with a forced smile, he said, “Well, that’s settled for now. There’s a celebration in the village today. Food will be brought over later, and we hope you’ll join us. I have some business to attend to and must leave for a bit.”
Lin Yin smiled faintly in reply. She hadn’t expected the village to be so kind, caring even for a child.
If only she had treated her disciple better, perhaps things would have turned out differently.
The Old Village Chief stepped out of the stuffy room; the cool air outside brushed his face but did nothing to ease the furrows between his brows.
Wang Dazhuang, the middle-aged man who had just peeked in, quickly approached, lowering his voice.
“Village Head, everything is ready.”
“Hm.”
The Old Village Chief responded heavily, the sound like a stone sinking deep.
His murky gaze swept Wang Dazhuang’s somewhat flickering eyes. “What’s this? Feeling guilty?”
Wang Dazhuang gave a dry chuckle but said nothing. His smile was strained and uneasy.
“Sigh,” the Old Village Chief sighed deeply, a weariness and helplessness filling his breath.
“Our village has always been peaceful. Not a single troublesome event for decades… but what can we do now? We have no choice.”
His voice lowered as if talking to himself or trying to convince his own heart.
Just like Hu Qiao’er said, this village truly was simple.
Peaceful and stable, but in this world, rituals of sacrifice were too common.
As the old saying went, the wind and water turn in cycles; next year, it could be your home.
But everyone felt guilty, so they suggested holding a ceremony for Jiang Che.
The Old Village Chief looked back into the room, still feeling a trace of fear when Lin Yin mentioned Jiang Che’s name.
“Village Head, maybe we could try asking this person here?”
Hearing this, the Old Village Chief sighed again.
“Forget it, forget it. Those big sects only protect villages that offer tributes. Our village has never had dealings with the Shenxiao Sect. I’m an old man now, can’t afford the trouble.”
Just as he was frustrated, a small figure dashed in like the wind from a nearby alley, voice trembling with tears: “Grandpa!”
It was his granddaughter, Sun Yaoyao.
About eleven or twelve, with two little braids and a chubby, youthful face.
“Oh, what’s wrong, my little granddaughter?”
Seeing her, the old man’s irritation faded significantly, his face softening into a kindly smile.
Sun Yaoyao didn’t answer but buried her face in the Village Head’s clothes.
After a moment, she whimpered, “Grandpa, I heard you’re going to offer Brother Jiang Che to the River God. Is that true?”
The Old Village Chief stiffened. He had said these matters were to be kept secret; how had this reached his granddaughter?
He took a deep breath, crouched down, and tried to soothe her calmly.
“Yaoyao, don’t you usually dislike Jiang Che the most? What’s this all about today?”
He recalled that during these three years, his daughter would avoid Jiang Che whenever he was around. Could there be something he didn’t know?
Sun Yaoyao said, “I don’t dislike him. It’s just Da Ming and those others, always teasing me, asking if I’m going to marry Jiang Che when I grow up, so…”
She hid her face again.
Hearing this, the Old Village Chief understood.
Children’s jokes, just teasing whoever got along well.
Especially when one side had such a huge flaw.
He comforted his granddaughter and told Wang Dazhuang to take her home. Then he sighed and walked in another direction.
He reached a house guarded by two men, who stepped aside upon seeing him.
The Village Head pushed open the door and saw Jiang Che sitting inside.
In front of Jiang Che were plates of delicious food—his first such encounter in three years.
He had originally come to find Hu Jingzhong to talk about exorcising demons, but hadn’t expected this.