Chapter 202: County Office

The person approaching was none other than Qin Jianghe.

Seeing that his long-absent good brother had returned, Lin Xiao didn't hurry back up the mountain but waited at the mountain path entrance.

Soon enough, Qin Jianghe arrived.

Lin Xiao called out:

"Jianghe!"

Qin Jianghe saw Lin Xiao standing at the entrance, knowing he was waiting for him, and immediately quickened his pace.

"Brother Xiao! What are you doing here?"

"We're connected in spirit. I sensed you were coming back, so I came to greet you," Lin Xiao said with a grin, fabricating the reason.

Qin Jianghe chuckled, not exposing the lie. His eyes swept over to the private school, partially hidden in the bamboo grove nearby, and he said with a smile:

"Is that Yi Gao's private school over there?"

Lin Xiao nodded:

"Yes, it's class time right now. Let's head back to the sect, and when the private school breaks for lunch, you can go have a look."

Qin Jianghe nodded with a smile and was about to start up the mountain. But as he noticed the drastically changed path, he hesitated and said:

"This is the Path of Reflection that Baldy mentioned in his letter, right? Brother Xiao, do you think I can still make it through?"

Lin Xiao looked at him and confidently said:

"Don't doubt yourself; you can definitely make it through."

Hearing this, Qin Jianghe felt a wave of relief wash over him. He let out a breath and smiled:

"Alright, if you say I can make it, then I definitely can!"

With that, he didn't hesitate any longer and lifted his foot, stepping onto the Path of Reflection.

In the next moment, his previously confident expression vanished, replaced by a vacant look.

Lin Xiao thought for a moment and decided not to return up the mountain. Instead, he sat down cross-legged next to Qin Jianghe, waiting patiently.

Meanwhile, in the village, some idle villagers, frustrated by not seeing a single person from the Lin family's old residence during the day, decided to shift their focus. They went to visit the families of those boys who were close to the second son of the Lin family.

Early in the morning, after finishing breakfast, a few villagers began trying to "coincidentally" run into the families of Fuzi, Tietou, and Qin Jianghe.

They hoped to dig up some gossip.

However, although their close relatives knew what they were up to, they stammered through their answers, claiming they didn't know much.

And those who weren't close didn't know anything either.

In the end, the villagers couldn't find out anything substantial.

Some villagers grew dissatisfied.

Who knows if these boys had really become immortals, or if they were bewitched by some mountain demon, intending to harm people?

Wouldn't that put the whole village in danger?

Thinking this way, a few villagers started discussing amongst themselves, deciding that this matter couldn't just be left unresolved.

These boys needed to provide an explanation to everyone.

This sentiment resonated with some of the villagers, and after a bit of discussion, they went to the village chief and a few elders, presenting their concerns. They insisted that they needed a reasonable explanation.

After all, they were all from the same village. The boys couldn't just mess around on the mountain without letting everyone in the village know what was going on.

The village chief and the elders listened to the villagers' demands and agreed to talk to Lin Xiao.

At the same time, they asked the villagers not to spread any more rumors or bother the boys' families.

Seeing the village chief and the elders agree, the villagers stopped pressing the issue and returned home to wait for updates.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, it reached noon.

On North Mountain, the members of Lingxian Sect finished their daily cultivation and emerged from their training rooms.

As usual, Jiang Youfu went straight to the kitchen and quickly prepared lunch for everyone.

However, today, he didn't stay to eat with them. Instead, he grabbed a piece of silver-tailed fish he had set aside earlier, greeted everyone, and left the sect to head down the mountain.

Yesterday, his grandmother hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day and had spent most of the time lying in bed. It was only after he gave her one of the pills Brother Xiao had sent, which nourished her body, that she felt slightly better and managed to drink half a bowl of rice porridge.

Today, Jiang Youfu wanted to bring some silver-tailed fish home and cook a meal for his grandmother.

Since discovering his passion for cooking, he hadn't yet cooked a meal for his family.

As Jiang Youfu hurried down the mountain with the silver-tailed fish, he saw Lin Xiao and Qin Jianghe at the foot of the mountain.

"Brother Xiao? Jianghe? Oh, Jianghe, you're back!"

Lin Xiao, who was meditating on the ground, opened his eyes and nodded at Jiang Youfu:

"Yes, he just returned. He's currently on the Path of Reflection."

Remembering it was noon, Lin Xiao asked:

"Are you heading home?"

Jiang Youfu nodded:

"Yes, I brought a piece of silver-tailed fish to cook for my grandmother."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao said:

"Then you should hurry back. Grandma Jiang hasn't been feeling well lately. Make sure to use your spiritual energy to help smooth her meridians."

Jiang Youfu smiled and nodded:

"Got it, Brother Xiao. I'll head off now."

With the silver-tailed fish in hand, Jiang Youfu hurried home.

But before he even reached the door, his sharp ears picked up the sound of his mother's crying from inside the house.

Jiang Youfu froze for a moment, then his heart tightened. He immediately rushed into the house.

"Mother! What's wrong?"

In the courtyard, his mother, her eyes red from crying, was escorting an elderly doctor with a medicine box out of his grandmother's room.

Hearing Jiang Youfu's shout, she looked up at him and gestured for him to be quiet. She then turned to the old doctor and said:

"Thank you, Doctor Jiang. Please prescribe the medicine as usual. No matter how expensive it is, we'll find a way."

The old doctor, whom Jiang's mother called Doctor Jiang, stroked his long, white beard, sighed, and shook his head slightly:

"Her body is beyond the help of medicine. Continuing to prescribe medicine would only be a waste of money.

Ah… It's just a matter of days now. You should prepare yourselves. Life and death are natural occurrences. Don't be too sad."

With another deep sigh, he shook his head and left.

Jiang's mother followed him to the gate.

Seeing this, Jiang Youfu immediately understood the situation. Without asking his mother any questions, he rushed into his grandmother's room.

Inside, he found his grandmother lying weakly in bed, while his elder brother was by her side, trying to feed her some rice porridge.

However, most of the porridge dribbled from her mouth as she could barely swallow.

His elder brother, holding back tears, patiently continued to feed her. His grandmother was so weak that she couldn't even open her mouth. His elder brother gently pried her mouth open with a spoon, trying his best to get the porridge in.