"Little... Little Yao."
Lin Feng stared blankly at the tightly shut door, his heart aching.
The beautiful scene of a family reunion he had imagined didn't appear; instead, it was so desolate.
Or perhaps, from the moment he was taken back to the mountain by the Old Man ten years ago, it was destined to end in tragedy.
Lin Feng stood in front of the door, panting for a long time before his emotions gradually calmed down.
He had to admit, the Old Man's harsh training had really affected him; he felt as if his blood had turned cold, as if no matter what happened, he could quickly adjust his emotions.
Lin Feng exhaled a breath of turbid qi and slowly explained: "Little Yao, I really went to cultivate immortality back then, and I was trapped in a place for ten years! I just got out today..."
But inside the house, there was no response at all.
"Little Yao, no matter what, now that I'm back, I won't leave again! I don't care about the demolition compensation at all; you're my sister, and I have the duty to protect you!
From now on, it'll just be the two of us siblings relying on each other, and I won't let anyone bully you again."
Click~
The door opened.
Lin Yun Yao looked at Lin Feng with a complicated expression.
She naturally didn't believe Lin Feng's story about being trapped somewhere for ten years.
"Is there any point in saying all this?"
"Little Yao, with Mom and Dad gone, you must have had a hard time these years, right?" Lin Feng said with a pained expression.
"It's none of your business."
Lin Yun Yao slammed the door shut again.
Then, leaning against the door, she covered her mouth tightly with her hands, tears streaming down her delicate face.
She really wanted, just like when she was a child, to throw herself into her brother's arms and cry for comfort.
But thinking about how her brother left for a woman right after graduating from college, leading to their parents' deaths, she couldn't bring herself to forgive him.
Especially since her brother showed up at such a sensitive time as the demolition, it was hard not to speculate about his true intentions for returning.
"Little Yao, get a good night's sleep. I'll be outside if you need anything," Lin Feng said quietly.
Then he found a flat spot in front of the door and sat down cross-legged.
His mind was in turmoil, and he needed to sort through his thoughts.
His parents died in a car accident while looking for him,
His sister lived alone in hardship for so many years.
It was imaginable, how much grievance and suffering his sister endured.
"Now that I'm back, no one will bully Little Yao anymore..."
Lin Feng exhaled a breath of turbid qi.
With his parents gone, taking care of his sister and pursuing immortality were his only priorities now.
"As for Yinuo..."
Lin Feng sighed again.
Chen Yinuo was his girlfriend back then.
They had been together for seven years.
Three years in high school, four years in college.
Although they were deeply in love, it was ultimately a relationship without a future.
Ten years had passed, and Chen Yinuo was thirty-two now, probably with kids of her own!
"Forget it, what's the point of thinking about it now? In the end, I let her down."
Lin Feng stopped dwelling on it.
He began to sit cross-legged, practicing the Breath-Gathering Technique.
The breathing technique he practiced was called the "Nine Heavens Immortal Derivation Art."
According to the Old Man, it was a supreme immortal art, obtained at great risk from an ancient ruin!
Unfortunately, ordinary people couldn't practice this art; only those with an Innate Spirit Body could. That's why the Old Man was so excited when he saw Lin Feng...
And now, Lin Feng could guess why the Old Man was so harsh and unfeeling towards him.
The Old Man was extraordinarily talented, achieving the Tribulation Crossing Realm in the Age of Dharma Decline, but ultimately couldn't overcome the scarcity of this world. As his lifespan ran out, he couldn't reach the Immortal Ranks.
The pursuit of the Immortal Ranks was the Old Man's lifelong obsession.
So, in the last ten years of his life, he found Lin Feng and taught him everything he knew, hoping Lin Feng could break the shackles of heaven and earth and break the curse of not becoming immortal in later generations.
Under the Old Man's devilish training, Lin Feng was quite promising.
In just ten years, he became a peak Golden Elixir stage cultivator.
The path of cultivation is divided into: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Elixir, Elemental Infant, Out of Body, Divine Transformation, Void Refinement, Body Fusion, Great Ascension, and Tribulation Crossing.
Each stage is further divided into smaller stages.
For example, the Golden Elixir stage can be divided into: Gathering Elixir, Forming Elixir, and Elixir Transformation. The Elemental Infant stage can be divided into: Gathering Infant, Forming Infant, and Infant Transformation.
Breaking through each small stage is a significant breakthrough for a cultivator, with strength increasing exponentially.
In this Age of Dharma Decline, with Lin Feng's peak Golden Elixir stage cultivation, he could almost sweep the world!
Of course, that's just what the Old Man told him before he died.
Lin Feng wasn't sure about the specifics, as he hadn't encountered any other cultivators yet.
***
The night passed in the blink of an eye.
Lin Feng opened his eyes from cultivation and exhaled a breath of turbid qi.
After breaking through the Golden Elixir stage, progressing further wasn't easy.
Due to the scarcity of Spiritual Qi in this world, condensing the Elemental Infant would take a long time through meditation alone. To break through quickly, he would have to find another way.
Just then, the door of the house opened.
Lin Yun Yao came out with a basin of clothes, ready to wash them in the small pond in front of the door.
Lin Feng immediately went to his sister's side.
"Little Yao, washing clothes? Let your brother help you."
"No need."
Lin Yun Yao replied coldly.
Last night, Lin Feng sat outside cross-legged all night, and she saw it all.
But even so, it couldn't erase the resentment in her heart.
She still believed her brother's return was mostly about the demolition.
"Don't be polite with your brother."
Lin Feng directly took the basin and walked towards the pond.
But as soon as he squatted down, he realized something was wrong because the basin was full of women's underwear...
To wash or not to wash?
Lin Feng was a bit troubled.
Even though she was his sister, there was still a difference between men and women.
Moreover, such intimate clothing...
Using his hands to scrub them felt a bit inappropriate.
But then again, looking at the worn-out underwear, Lin Feng felt a bit distressed.
For a girl, underwear should be replaced frequently, but his sister's seemed to have been worn for years.
"What's wrong? Even someone like you can feel embarrassed?" Lin Yun Yao said coldly from the riverbank.
"These clothes are too old. I'll buy you new ones later," Lin Feng said softly while washing the clothes.
"Stop pretending!"
Lin Yun Yao turned and went back into the house.
Seeing this, Lin Feng couldn't help but smile wryly.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan