24th

Memorizing the Mixed Element Decision's cultivation technique, Lan Tian tried to sense the Spiritual Energy around her. A whole night passed, and Lan Tian didn't sense anything; she just sat there until her body grew sore and numb. She got out of bed and did some stretching exercises to limber up her muscles before heading out slowly.

It was a rainy day, and everyone was staying at home bored stiff, but Lan Tian's days were busy and fulfilling. She practiced cultivation at night and learned medicine from Mo Yuanle during the day. Time flew by so fast that she forgot all about her friends.

After half a month of rain, it finally cleared up. The day to start school had arrived.

During breakfast, the three adults were discussing, and Lan Tian listened in. They were talking about Mo Yuanle and his wife's plans for the future. After all, being related, living there for a prolonged period would surely provoke idle gossip in the village. Mo Yuanle suggested that he and his wife should move to a plot provided by the village chief, where two other families were also living.

Lan Tian curled her lip, thinking of all those chatty busybodies eating and idling their time away. In her opinion, a family should live together as a matter of course! As for what others have to say, it's really none of her concern; just a waste of breath and hurtful words.

Grandma Sun would certainly disagree, considering they have several mouths to feed, a household of seven or eight. It's too crowded for two families, with constant squabbles. The houses were already fully occupied, and for the two of them to move in, a cottage had to be vacated. Who would vacate it? The other two families would end up fighting, and if someone got hurt, it wouldn't look good inside or outside the village.

The three adults talked it over and over without reaching a conclusion. Lan Tian interjected, "What's wrong with living here? Uncle, auntie, let me ask you, didn't you plan to take care of grandma before she adopted me?"

"Yes!" Mo Yuanle and his wife nodded, feeling that Lan Tian was asking something obvious.

"By adopting me, does it mean you no longer plan to care for grandma? What if I become ungrateful in the future? What will grandma do?" As soon as Lan Tian finished speaking, she got a knock on the head from Grandma Sun, causing her to grimace in pain, "Grandma, why hit me, I didn't say anything wrong!"

Grandma Sun glared at Lan Tian and raised her hand as if she was going to strike again. Seeing Lan Tian's pain, the grandma's heart cursed, 'Serves you right. See if you can keep your mouth shut from now on, spewing such nonsense.' She poked Lan Tian's head, "You ingrate." But there wasn't much anger in her voice.

"I'm just making a comparison. That good-for-nothing in the village didn't support his mother and ran off with a woman."

"He didn't run off. That good-for-nothing became a live-in son-in-law. What do you know?" Grandma Sun gave Lan Tian a look, "Don't talk nonsense in the village, especially in front of that good-for-nothing's mother. She's a pitiful soul."

That good-for-nothing's mother was a widow. Her husband had passed away when the good-for-nothing was still a child. She never remarried and raised him all by herself. However, her son was enticed away by a woman to become a live-in son-in-law in town, abandoning his old mother. He left for several decades and returned less than five times, each time sneaking around, just passing through, and every visit was to ask for money. Without money, he would steal chickens and ducks from the house to sell. He almost drove his mother to despair. It was only after the village chief organized people to drive away the good-for-nothing, breaking one of his legs, that he never came back.

A typical negative example used by the village elders to discipline the mischievous children.

Mo Yuanle thought about it seriously and said earnestly, "Regardless of whether you'll be filial to your grandma in the future, your aunt and I will take care of her until the end."

"See, there you have it. Uncle and auntie will care for grandma as if she were their own mother, and grandma will treat you two as her own children. It's only natural for a family to live together." Lan Tian argued self-righteously, needing no thunderbolt from a clear sky to prove her point, "Besides, our house collapsed and can't be fixed right away. Staying elsewhere for too long can lead to issues. I consider you my own parents, and the money you earn will be mine in the future. If you waste my money, when you're old, I won't... Ow!"

Before she could finish the word "take care of you," Lan Tian received another strike on the head from Grandma Sun. In pain, her bun face twisted, and Grandma Sun demanded with a stern face, "Who told you this nonsense?"

Lan Tian was on the verge of tears, always the one getting hit. Rubbing her head, her eyes welled up, "Black Dog said it." A dead Taoist friend is better than one alive; it wasn't that she lacked loyalty, but sometimes one has to bow to the inevitable. Besides, Lan Tian didn't falsely accuse Black Dog; he had indeed said that, with Shitou and Tie Jun present.

Zhao Li felt distressed seeing her with tear-filled eyes, comforting Lan Tian by rubbing her head and instantly adopted a motherly demeanor, "Auntie, don't hit her. Let's talk this out nicely. What does a child know?"

Grandma Sun laughed but was also annoyed, "A few words and she's already won you over. See, she doesn't think of herself as an outsider. You see, the money she earns is hers, and the money she spends is also hers. You'll all be crying later. Indulge her, why don't you." She then warned Lan Tian, "Stay away from Black Dog and friends in the future, learning who knows what."

Mo Yuanle had a serious look on his face, but inside he was overwhelmed with joy. He glanced at Lai Zhao Li, who was cradling the complaining Lai Pi in her arms, finding her irresistibly adorable. Hear that? He's her real father.

Grandma Sun looked at the pair's silly expressions and slapped her forehead. "It's done," she said. "Lanlan is right; We're one family. If not here, then where? You're not going anywhere else. As for the gossips, let them talk."

Lan Tian defiantly exclaimed a curse, "Exactly! We've got nothing to do with them!"

Grandma Sun glared at her, and jabbed Lan Tian's head hard, "A lady should speak elegantly. Who would want to marry you when you're grown up?"

Lan Tian looked like a deflated balloon, sulkily rubbing the floor with her feet, mumbling, "Even better if no one wants to marry me! I don't want to. An Immortal like me isn't someone that ordinary mortals should covet." Catching a glimpse of her grandma getting angry again, Lan Tian quickly changed the subject, "Grandma, are we registering for school today?"

"Yes, today is the first day of school." She had been preoccupied with scolding her granddaughter and nearly forgot the important matter. She added another bowl of porridge for Lan Tian, "Eat up quickly and then go with your uncle to register. Listen to the teacher at school, okay?"