Chapter 201: Guiding Light

When others asked what had happened to them, they remained silent and only said, "Try going in yourselves, and you'll see."

However, after witnessing their previous dazed expressions, who among the crowd would dare to step in just to find out what had occurred?

In the end, the matter was left unresolved.

The arrival of a group of outsiders also alerted the village chief.

Many villagers, seeing the commotion, temporarily put down their tasks and followed along to see what was happening. Some even sent their children to fetch the village chief.

At this moment, the villagers surrounded the outsiders, watching them converse among themselves.

At the same time, they whispered to each other.

"I passed by this North Mountain path just last month, and it wasn't like this. When did our village have so many peach trees…?"

"I'm telling you, the second son of the Lin family has truly become an immortal! That kid is really something. When the immortals came to take disciples, he didn't go, and yet he became an immortal on his own..."

"You're wrong! I heard that when the immortals came to recruit disciples, they secretly took a liking to the second son of the Lin family. But he didn't agree to go. The immortals, not wanting to waste his talent, let him cultivate at home. And from time to time, they even descend to guide him in secret..."

The villagers' whispers grew more and more fantastical.

Those city tourists didn't stay long either. They had come to Shushui Village to sightsee, but after this incident, regardless of whether they had been trapped on the mountain path or not, their minds were filled with all sorts of thoughts, and they lost all interest in sightseeing.

After confirming that the trapped individuals were unharmed, the group, accompanied by their servants, left Shushui Village and returned to the city.

Seeing the outsiders leave, the villagers lingered for a while, chatting and speculating, before dispersing and returning to their work, though some were still filled with curiosity.

Some, with nothing better to do, even made a trip to the old Lin family residence.

They intended to chat with old master Lin and gather some information.

However, they were disappointed.

The gate of the Lin family's old residence was tightly shut, with no signs of movement inside, indicating that no one was home.

What the villagers and the members of Lingxian Sect didn't know was that the very next day, the incident spread to the county seat.

The news even reached the county office.

When Wen Keming, the magistrate of Anqun County, heard the news, he was both surprised and skeptical.

Not long ago, he had personally received the immortals from Shangyang Sect.

And because he had personally interacted with those immortals, he found it even more unbelievable.

How could those haughty immortals possibly reveal any signs of their presence in the remote Shushui Village?

They wouldn't even bother to treat a commoner who suddenly fell ill on the road.

Yet, one of those trapped on the mountain path was none other than his mischievous son, Wen Yuejun.

Though his youngest son had a mischievous nature, Wen Keming knew that he never lied.

Last night, when his son returned home and told him about the incident, Wen Keming initially wondered if his previously honest child had suddenly begun lying.

Seeing his father's disbelief, Wen Yuejun didn't argue. He simply closed his mouth, said, "I'm full," and left the table, heading to his room.

Wen Keming was accustomed to his son's habit of abruptly leaving the table in silence when things didn't go his way, so he was somewhat surprised when his son actually made a brief comment before leaving.

The next morning, Wen Keming received a report from his subordinates about the strange rumors circulating in Shushui Village.

Only then did he realize that his son hadn't lied after all.

He felt a twinge of guilt, but it quickly passed.

After all, he was the father; there was no need to feel guilty toward his child.

He would simply talk it over with Yuejun later.

With that thought, he pushed the matter aside. After pondering for a moment, he ordered his men to assemble a team, as he intended to visit Shushui Village personally.

Anqun County wasn't particularly close to Shushui Village.

If Wen Keming left early and hurried along the road without delay, he might just make it back to the county before nightfall.

After giving his orders, his men quickly began preparing.

At this moment, Lin Xiao was unaware of all this as he stood in the sect hall, meticulously planning for his upcoming seclusion, ensuring everything was arranged.

As he reviewed his personal storage, he suddenly noticed a plain-looking item in the corner.

It resembled a wooden lantern.

Upon closer inspection, he found that the item was called a "Guiding Light."

Puzzled, he promptly used the identification function.

[Guiding Light: A lamp that guides people from darkness to light. It has the effects of calming the mind, dispelling evil, and has a range of five hundred meters.]

Upon reading this description, Lin Xiao felt a surge of joy.

This was a great item.

If he placed it at the entrance to the mountain path, wouldn't it mean that the safety of the area outside the protective barrier of their sect would be greatly enhanced?

Excitedly, Lin Xiao rushed to the mountain path entrance and placed the Guiding Light there.

But unexpectedly, the system suddenly spoke up:

[Do you confirm the placement of the Guiding Light here?]

Lin Xiao decisively chose yes.

[Guiding Light is being placed.]

Immediately, Lin Xiao faintly sensed that beneath the Guiding Light, numerous invisible threads seemed to be extending into the ground.

It seemed that this Guiding Light even had an anti-theft function.

Lin Xiao was delighted.

But then he suddenly paused.

Where had this item come from?

His personal storage couldn't have suddenly developed a self-production function, could it?

Just then, the system spoke again:

[Friendly reminder: Host, this is a reward from the Sect Construction Task: Surrounding Construction (1), for completing the private school building task.]

Hearing this, Lin Xiao remembered that there was indeed such a thing.

A few days ago, when he was preparing to return from Yuanling City, he had received a reward.

However, at the time, he was too busy preparing to return and hadn't bothered to check the reward, eventually forgetting about it.

He hadn't expected the task's reward to be this good.

After placing the Guiding Light, Lin Xiao was about to head back up the mountain.

But as he turned around, he noticed a familiar figure on the distant ridge, greeting the villagers in the fields while making his way toward the mountain's base.

Lin Xiao's vision was now exceptionally sharp.

Even though the figure was still far away, appearing as just a small black dot to ordinary people, Lin Xiao could see him clearly.