Lin Qingxiu’s lament over her lack of spiritual roots was abruptly interrupted by an exclamation from in front of her.

“It’s the Water and Wood dual spiritual roots! Both are of high quality. Qi Zhi, quickly relay this to Master!” The young cultivator, who had previously appeared indifferent, suddenly stood up, his eyes locked onto Lin Qingwan with an intense, almost blinding gaze.

Lin Qingwan was already bewildered, and with the cultivator’s piercing stare fixed on her, she took a step back, hiding behind Lin Qingxiu.

Lin Qingxiu pressed her lips together and cleared her throat lightly. Only then did the cultivator snap out of it and quickly temper his previously intense gaze.

“Cough, don’t be afraid,” he said. “I am Qi Xiu, the seventy-third generation disciple of the Lingyun Sect in the Immortal Cultivation Realm.” He then pointed to his side, where his excited junior was whispering to a stone, and continued, “This is my junior brother, Qi Zhi. Given your talents, Miss, you are sure to become the next disciple of our Lingyun Sect.”

After finishing his introduction, Qi Xiu pulled a jade medallion engraved with the character “雲” from his sleeve and handed it to Lin Qingwan.

It was customary for those with spiritual roots to receive a jade medallion and await further news, so Qi Xiu’s actions were not unusual. Lin Qingxiu instructed Qingwan to accept the medallion.

However, she saw a fleeting expression of satisfaction and cunning cross Qi Xiu’s face as Lin Qingwan took the medallion.

Lin Qingxiu: “……” Did she see that correctly?

She looked toward the two groups of cultivators standing nearby. Their faces were filled with anger, and they had turned their backs to whisper privately with their communication stones. It was then that she vaguely understood what was happening.

“Aren’t you from the same sect?” Lin Qingxiu asked with a glance.

Qi Xiu, taking advantage of the situation and feeling quite pleased with himself, responded with an overly friendly attitude toward Lin Qingxiu: “Yes, that’s right. In the world of cultivation, everything depends on chance. Since you’re in our group, it means you have a connection with the Lingyun Sect.”

Lin Qingxiu responded coldly with an “Oh.”

She had no intention of believing his words!

Lin Qingwan, realizing the issue only after hearing the vague answers to the questions, suddenly understood the problem.

She looked down at the jade medallion in her hand, hesitating but ultimately deciding not to return the unique medallion to Qi Xiu.

Qi Xiu then asked Lin Qingwan a series of questions about her age, family, and address. After noting down her responses with a smile, he said, “Miss Qingwan, you may return home for now. Our Master will visit you personally in a few days. Once the ceremony is over, we’ll return to the Immortal Cultivation Realm, so you’ll have time to prepare.”

Lin Qingxiu thanked him and led Lin Qingwan to the edge of the group.

“What’s wrong, Ah Wan? Are you so happy that you’re acting silly?” Lin Qingxiu gently pinched Lin Qingwan’s cheeks, amused by her rare, goofy expression.

Lin Qingwan turned her head, pulling away from the pinch, and bit her lip, looking troubled. “Sister, I never imagined I’d be chosen.”

She had only come to watch, and now she had become the coveted bearer of dual spiritual roots?

A look of unease, mismatched with her youthful face, spread across Lin Qingwan’s features.

Lin Qingxiu couldn’t help but burst into laughter, causing Lin Qingwan to blush with embarrassment. “Sister, are you mocking me?”

Lin Qingxiu shook her head vigorously, still stifling her laughter. She managed a strangely pitched cough before replying, “No, I’m happy for you. If Ah Wan can enter the Immortal Cultivation Realm and become a deity, of course, I’m thrilled!”

Lin Qingwan although feeling mollified, accepted her sister’s words with a touch of pride.

“Ah Wan’s not going to keep watching the excitement?” Lin Qingxiu asked with a playful tone.

Lin Qingwan held her breath, realizing her sister was teasing her. The force with which Lin Qingxiu held her hand suddenly increased.

All she wanted now was to go home and tell her mother that she had been chosen by the immortals!

The excitement could wait!

Lin Qingxiu, smiling, hurried to keep up with her rapidly increasing pace.

Lin Qingwan’s exceptional dual spiritual roots and the appearance of the Lingyun Sect were indeed as described in the novels. However, with Lin Qingwan’s offhand comment, Lin Qingxiu no longer felt constrained by the novel’s plot twists.

The real world can’t be compared to a confined novel. Even if there were similarities, so what? A butterfly’s light flutter can cause a significant reaction, let alone a living, thinking person.

If one were to follow novel plots as if they were unassailable truths, that would be foolish!

Lin Qingxiu thought about how long she had been trapped in such foolishness and let out a heavy sigh.

As the accumulated frustration drained from her, her senses seemed to clear in an instant.

Just as she was about to take a few more steps to leave, she suddenly felt a chill on her back.

It felt as if a cold, sinister presence had attached itself to her, and she abruptly halted.

“Sister?” Lin Qingwan, confused, stopped and turned to look at her.

Lin Qingxiu’s heart was pounding, leaving her unable to answer. Her gaze swept quickly over the crowd.

She wasn’t even sure what she was looking for, relying solely on her intuition to guide her.

Then her eyes fixed on a young girl in a blue dress.

“Ah Wan, do you know her?” Lin Qingxiu asked softly, frowning.

Even though the girl was turned slightly away from them, looking harmless, Lin Qingxiu felt an uneasy chill.

Lin Qingwan, puzzled, followed her sister’s gaze to the girl in the blue dress standing diagonally across from them. The girl, about fourteen or fifteen, had fair skin and delicate, refined features. Her frail appearance stood out sharply among a group of peasant women.

Next to her was a neatly dressed middle-aged man, who resembled her with some similarity, suggesting he might be her father.

She shook her head. “I don’t recognize her. She doesn’t seem to be from the village.”

Seeing Lin Qingxiu’s complex expression, Lin Qingwan quickly tried to flatter her, adding. “She’s not bad-looking, but she can’t compare to you, Sister. You’re the most beautiful person in the village!”

Lin Qingxiu couldn’t help but smile, her complicated feelings lightened by her sister’s words. She gave Lin Qingwan a gentle poke on the forehead and said. “You’re such a sweet talker!”

“Of course, I’m the sweetest!” Lin Qingwan tilted her head, ignoring the poke, and continued to walk confidently, hand in hand with her sister.

Before leaving, Lin Qingxiu glanced back once more.

The girl in the blue dress was looking up and speaking to the middle-aged man. Lin Qingxiu noticed that many of the local children and teenagers were watching the strikingly beautiful girl with interest.

She shook her head, dismissing her earlier unease as perhaps an overreaction.

When they arrived home, they were immediately met with a devious attack from the red-feathered rooster.

Lin Qingwan, swift on her feet had just pushed open the gate when the rooster pecked her sharply on the leg. “Ah Mao, you’re asking for it!” she exclaimed, wincing in pain and hissing through her teeth. Grabbing a broom from the side of the door, she began a fierce battle with the rooster.

In no time, feathers were flying and the yard was in chaos, accompanied by Lin Qingwan’s spirited shouts and cheers.

Seeing the commotion, Lin Qingxiu hesitated at the threshold.

Fang Xiu, hearing the noise, came outside to find feathers scattered all over the yard, with not only the red-feathered rooster but also several other chickens having suffered unwarranted misfortune.

“Aiya Ah Wan, are you craving chicken? Don’t tell me you’re not even going to bother scalding it first?” Fang Xiu teased.

As soon as Fang Xiu spoke, both Lin Qingwan and the red-feathered rooster calmed down.

The rooster, limping on one injured leg, hobbled back into the frightened flock, pecking at the feathers it had lost and silently declaring Lin Qingwan’s misdeed.

Seeing the scene, Lin Qingxiu couldn’t help but think that the rooster must be some sort of demon in disguise!

Lin Qingwan, equally furious, glared at the red-feathered rooster with such intensity it seemed like flames would shoot from her eyes. The rooster, unfazed, continued pecking at the ground with exaggerated difficulty.

“What are you standing outside for, Ah Xiu? Is the show so entertaining?” Fang Xiu glanced at Lin Qingxiu with a commanding look, drawing her into the fray.

Lin Qingxiu grimaced, reluctantly stepped inside, and felt a pang of resignation.

“Clean up the yard. If I hear another noise, you can forget about lunch!” Fang Xiu ordered with authority.

“Oh.” Lin Qingxiu and Lin Qingwan instantly transformed into obedient little lambs.

Lin Qingwan’s enthusiasm thoroughly disrupted by the rooster, and had no choice but to glare viciously at it one last time. Under Fang Xiu’s watchful eye, she begrudgingly started setting everything back in place, then channeled her frustration into aggressively sweeping up the scattered feathers!

By lunchtime, Fang Xiu returned to her usual calm and indifferent demeanor.

“How did the testing go today?” she asked casually.

The moment she mentioned it, Lin Qingwan who had been sulking while shoveling rice into her mouth, suddenly lit up like a monkey spotting a climbing pole and shot right up in excitement.

“Mom, I was chosen!” Lin Qingwan’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Hearing this, Fang Xiu’s expression froze for a brief moment before returning to its usual calm. She deliberately ignored the eager anticipation in Lin Qingwan’s voice and shifted her attention. “And what about you, Qingxiu?”

Lin Qingxiu pressed her lips together briefly, recalling what Qingwan had said earlier. She smiled and replied, “I don’t have any spiritual roots, so I’ll be staying here to keep you company.”

Fang Xiu snorted, “Keep me company? I’d be perfectly fine enjoying my peace alone in the village!”

Despite her words, the hint of relief in Lin Qingxiu’s voice didn’t go unnoticed, and Fang Xiu’s heart subtly eased.

Yesterday, when Lin Qingxiu mentioned calling off the engagement, Fang Xiu maintained a flawless exterior, though deep down, she was affected. The fact that her eldest daughter had come to a decision so quickly brought her some relief.

“But as for you, Qingwan, when you leave don’t start crying.” Fang Xiu teased, finally shifting her focus back to Lin Qingwan after a long pause.

Upon hearing this, Lin Qingwan turned her head with voice firm and indignant. “I won’t!”

Both Lin Qingxiu and Fang Xiu laughed.

Fang Xiu never played by the rules. For instance, when Lin Qingxiu came to her yesterday about canceling the engagement with Su Yan, she brushed it off with just a few casual words, the same way she had now quickly deflated Lin Qingwan’s enthusiasm with a couple of sentences.

Despite the Lin family producing a “dual spiritual root” genius, life went on as usual.

Fang Xiu continued her embroidery in her room, while Lin Qingxiu and Qingwan, after their afternoon nap, cheerfully grabbed their tools and headed out to the fields.

Having lived in a modern city for most of her life, Lin Qingxiu had only planted trees during a high school event. Now, with the original owner’s memories, she found farm work oddly refreshing.

The two of them finished plowing the remaining patch of land, and still, only half of the afternoon had passed.

“Sister, if I really leave for the cultivation world, would you miss me?” Lin Qingwan asked, tugging Lin Qingxiu along as they climbed onto a large bundle of straw stacked next to the field. She turned her head, eyes filled with curiosity.

The straw pile was made from leftover wheat stalks after last autumn’s harvest. After enduring the winter, the stalks had softened and weren’t as prickly anymore.

Lin Qingxiu, having never tried lying on such a pile before felt a bit nervous at first. But after realizing the center was solid, and that even if the outer layers slipped down, she wouldn’t actually fall and hurt herself, her fear faded.

“What about you? Aren’t you the one who’s really going to miss me and mother?” Lin Qingxiu teased as she turned on her side to face Qingwan and tapping her nose lightly.

“Exactly!” Lin Qingwan rubbed her itchy nose as her brows furrowed, but her expression was sincere. “I haven’t really decided yet whether I want to go to the cultivation world.”

To her, the cultivation world felt more like a beautiful dream.

She longed to grasp the wonders of the dream, yet feared that reaching for it would cause the precious things around her to vanish like a fleeting illusion.

Lin Qingwan lay back again, gazing up at the clear and untroubled blue sky. Her voice was muffled as she murmured. “I’ve heard the villagers say that once you go to the immortal world, you might not come back for years, maybe even decades…”

Lin Qingxiu lay down beside her, the vast sky fully exposed before her eyes, opening up both her mind and body.

“Are you afraid that after decades, mother and I might forget you? Or that we might be too old by then?” Lin Qingxiu teased, laughing heartily.

Noticing Lin Qingwan’s breath quicken as if to retort, Lin Qingxiu quickly cut her off. “Don’t worry, our Qingwan is one of a kind!”

She turned back to meet Qingwan’s slightly confused gaze, gently brushing the stray wheat stalk from her hair. With a warm, affectionate smile, she continued. “What mother and I want most is for you to pursue the life you desire.”

Lin Qingwan stared at her sister’s deep, dark eyes like polished jade, took a deep breath, and nodded solemnly.

For dinner, Fang Xiu was once again in charge of the kitchen. To Lin Qingxiu and her sister’s surprise, she had indeed killed a chicken… though not the red-feathered one.

Lin Qingxiu looked at the plate of stir-fried chicken cubes on the table, then glanced at the red-feathered rooster standing in the corner of the yard like a statue. She couldn’t help but feel a peculiar sense of joy.

Lin Qingwan was also thrilled. She immediately grabbed the chicken wing pieces from the top of the dish with her chopsticks, but instead of eating, she waved them toward the red-feathered rooster with a mischievous grin.

The scene was quite amusing.

“Clang, clang, clang!” Fang Xiu tapped the bowl. “Now, eat your meal properly!”

Lin Qingwan was ordered to sit up straight, her mouth crunching on the chicken bones with a satisfying crack. Lin Qingxiu took another glance at the red-feathered rooster, now frozen in place like a statue and felt a twinge of sympathy.

“I’m planning to go to town tomorrow. You both should come with me.” Fang Xiu announced.

Lin Qingxiu’s heart skipped a beat, while she heard Lin Qingwan immediately ask. “Mother, what do you need to go for? It’s not even the middle of the month yet.”

Fang Xiu usually went to town around the middle of each month to buy essential supplies and deliver embroidery to the Su family’s shop. Although Lin Qingxiu had been engaged to the Su family’s eldest son for two years, the routine trip to town had continued.

But it was only the tenth day of the month—why go now ah?

Fang Xiu cast a mild, reproachful glance at the two of them. “Aren’t you going to the Immortal Realm soon? You always complain that I never buy you anything. If I don’t get you something now, you’ll only remember the bad.”

Lin Qingwan laughed. “Oh, no, no! Mother, you’ve always been the best to me. I never forget that.”

After Father Lin passed away, Fang Xiu had single-handedly supported the family, and their early days had been very tight financially. When Lin Qingwan was younger, she would see everything as a novelty during town visits and begged for various items, but Fang Xiu couldn’t afford to buy them.

As she grew older, Lin Qingwan stopped demanding things that the family couldn’t afford but still enjoyed picking up small treats from street vendors. Fang Xiu felt those items were not very clean and only bought them occasionally when she was in a good mood.

Lin Qingwan would start to make a fuss, but with Fang Xiu’s authoritative presence, she couldn’t resist, so she would quietly complain to others.

Fang Xiu couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head as she recalled the time when Hei Niu’s mother had discreetly advised her not to be too frugal.

Fang Xiu shot Qingwan a playful glare before turning to Lin Qingxu with a smile in her voice. “It’s not just for you. I also plan to visit the Su residence. Since you’re feeling better, it’s a good opportunity to inform them.”

Lin Qingxu’s hand froze mid-motion as she ate.

In truth, she was curious to see what Su Yan, the young master of the Su family, was really like.

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