【You have signed in at the bank in Lingchuan County and received 50 taels of silver.】

【You have signed in at the antique shop in Lingchuan County and received a handle-style backflow teapot.】

【You have signed in at the silver shop in Lingchuan County and received a string of Eight Treasures Beads.】

【You have signed in at the pastry shop in Lingchuan County and received a box of freshly baked plum blossom cakes.】

【You have signed in at the inn in Lingchuan County and received a travel gift package.】

【You have…】

Gu Qingyan walked and signed in nonstop, touring an entire street in one go. Only when his system backpack was full to the brim did he finally stop.

As expected, most of the sign-in rewards were related to the businesses of the shops, though the value of the items in Lingchuan County was noticeably lower than those in Qingzhou Prefecture.

【County Office of Lingchuan discovered. Spend 1 point to sign in?】

Gu Qingyan was tempted, but unfortunately, the county office was guarded and did not allow unauthorized people near.

Madam Liu didn’t understand why, after entering Lingchuan County, Young Master Yan was so excited—rushing around like a street urchin.

Worse still, he entered shops but didn’t buy anything, just looked around.

She quickly tugged his sleeve. “Young Master Yan, this is the county office. You can’t just go near it like that.”

“Mother, I want to ask about the location of Meiling Village. Besides, I need to sort out my household registration—otherwise, I’ll be undocumented.”

Gu Qingyan found a good excuse for himself.

He still didn’t know what the wooden token Pei Xuan had given him was or what it could do, but for now, he didn’t plan on using it.

Madam Liu, naturally wary of the authorities, whispered, “Why not ask someone else? How can we just go into the county office for that?”

Gu Qingyan wasn’t ready to give up this sign-in spot.

He’d never signed in at a government office before and was curious what kind of reward it would give.

“Mother, I’ll just ask a quick question. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll leave. Nothing will happen.”

Unable to stop him, Madam Liu could only watch anxiously as he approached.

Before he got close, two yamen officers barked, “This is the county office! No loitering! Move along, move along!”

“Sirs, I’ve come from Qingzhou Prefecture and have a few questions,” Gu Qingyan said earnestly, slipping them two pieces of silver.

The two officers exchanged a look and became more polite. “What do you want to ask? You can’t just walk into the office. See that drum for petitioning? If you bang it without cause, you’ll be flogged.”

Gu Qingyan nodded quickly. “Understood, understood.”

【You have signed in at the Lingchuan County Office and received one copy of Lingchuan County Gazetteer.】

A county gazetteer? What a waste of two silver pieces.

Gu Qingyan felt disappointed and was about to leave after a few casual words, when one of the officers suddenly grabbed his arm.

“What did you say your name was?”

Gu Qingyan was puzzled. “Gu Qingyan.”

“You—you’re not that child born to Third Uncle Gu, are you?” The officer grew excited.

Gu Qingyan was stunned. He didn’t expect that a casual visit to get directions and a free reward would lead to meeting someone who knew him.

He nodded. “If you mean the child who was mistakenly raised in the Daoist temple in Qingcheng, then yes, that’s me. Do you know my biological father? Where is he?”

The officer looked sorrowful. “Third Uncle Gu passed away a while ago. You didn’t know?”

“What?” Gu Qingyan genuinely didn’t know.

It had all happened so suddenly. Madam Xu had abruptly kicked him out, saying the child had been mistakenly raised, handed him a new travel permit with his name changed, and said from now on he would be known as Gu Qingyan—not to be associated with the Li family anymore.

Gu Qingyan had only known that he had to come to Lingchuan County, but didn’t know what the situation was with his real parents.

At the time, he even wondered if his biological parents didn’t want him either—why else hadn’t they come to fetch him from Qingzhou?

The officer suddenly thought of something and quickly said to his partner, “You came just in time—come with me.”

After pulling him a few steps away, Gu Qingyan quickly asked, “What’s going on? Can you explain properly?”

“No time to explain—I’ll tell you on the way.”

Seeing this, Madam Liu hurried to catch up. “Young Master Yan!”

Gu Qingyan could tell something major must have happened in the Gu family.

He quickly handed his bundle to Madam Liu. “Mother, there’s a deed to a house inside. Go settle in first. I’ll return once I’m done here.”

Madam Liu, knowing her presence might be awkward, nodded in agreement.

The officer pulled him along in a run. When Gu Qingyan struggled to keep up, the man bent down and said, “Get on—I’ll carry you.”

“No, no, I’ll just walk slowly,” Gu Qingyan said, overwhelmed by the enthusiasm.

But the officer insisted, “Come on, or we’ll be too late.”

Before he could protest again, the officer had already hoisted him up and was running.

Gu Qingyan was helpless. Why was everyone so tall and strong? It made him feel thoroughly outmatched.

“At least tell me what’s going on! Is my father sick or something?”

The officer paused, then picked up speed. “So you really don’t know anything.”

“Your Third Uncle and Aunt passed away two years ago. As for the rest, I don’t even know where to start. You’ll have to see for yourself.”

Gu Qingyan was speechless. “At least let me prepare before I show up like this—it’s rude to just barge in.”

But the officer just kept running. “We’re almost there.”

【Meiling Village in Lingchuan County discovered. Spend 1 point to sign in?】

Gu Qingyan saw the sign-in prompt—but by the time he saw it, they’d already rushed past it.

He looked up toward Meiling Village.

It looked much the same as the villages they’d passed along the way. Meiling was fairly ordinary, though here and there, brick houses with tiled roofs showed it was slightly better off than those at the base of the mountain.

At this moment, a large crowd had gathered outside one of the brick houses. They were all members of the Gu clan.

The village head, who also served as clan leader, frowned deeply and spoke with authority, “This house was left behind by Old Third. He had a son and left no heirless line. No one else has the right to decide its fate.”

Behind him stood a pair of sisters, trembling with fear.

Facing them was a man in his early thirties with a scar on his face, flanked by several rough-looking companions.

“Village Chief Gu, whether Gu Tongsheng left heirs or not has nothing to do with us. Just look at this land deed—it’s signed and sealed. Gu Fengmian took the money and walked. Now we’re here to take the house, and you’re stopping us? What kind of logic is that?”

Village Chief Gu was shaking with rage. “Who’s Gu Fengmian? He bears the surname Li and belongs to the Li family of Qingzhou. If you’ve got a problem, go settle it with him!”

At that, the surrounding Gu clan members began to speak up one after another.

“Exactly, he’s a member of the Li family, not of our Gu family. What right does he have to sell a Gu family house?”

“Shameless scum! The Gu family raised him for fifteen years, and he just left like that. Not only that, he sold the house before leaving. What a heartless bastard—may he die without descendants.”

“I always knew he wasn’t a true Gu. No one from our Gu family would act so despicably.”

“The sins of the Lis have nothing to do with us. Why are you coming after the Gu family?”

“If you want the house, you’ll have to step over our dead bodies first!”

Scarface wasn’t intimidated. He shouted back loudly, “You people are being unreasonable! Everyone in Lingchuan County knows Gu Fengmian was part of the Gu family, the eldest son cherished by Scholar Gu and his wife!”

“He came with the deed and sold the house. How was I supposed to know there was some legal dispute behind it?”

“Whatever problems you have between the Gu and Li families, sort them out yourselves. That’s none of my business. But this deed—it’s an official red-sealed deed. You can’t deny it. Even if we go to the magistrate, he’ll still recognize it.”

“Village Chief Gu, I came here out of respect, to talk nicely. But if you’re going to flat-out refuse, then there’s nothing more to discuss.”

“Uncle…” The two sisters pleaded softly.

They had been living in constant fear these past days, growing so thin they were practically skin and bones.

After their parents passed, life had already become difficult. Then out of nowhere, people from Qingzhou Prefecture came, claiming their older brother was actually a member of the Li family and would be returning there to live a life of wealth and luxury.

The sisters were terrified and anxious. But worse news followed: not long after their brother left, someone came claiming he had sold the house before leaving.

As long as they had the house, the sisters could at least rely on help from the clan. But if even the house was gone—what would they do?

The village chief looked troubled as well. He hated Gu Fengmian for being so heartless and shameless, but there was nothing he could do.

Scarface glanced at the Gu family members. “Alright, how about this? This house was sold for twenty taels of silver. If you can come up with the money, I won’t ask for a coin more.”

“Twenty taels!” the village chief exclaimed.

Scarface said, “The house is spacious—three big rooms, made of quality bricks and tiles. The price was generous.”

The Gu family looked at one another. If it had been just three or five taels, maybe the families could have pooled something together. But twenty taels? No household could afford that.

Even the village chief had no way to produce that amount. He looked at the two girls, thinking to himself how unfortunate they were.

“Qingqing, Yanyan, how about coming back home with me?” His words meant the house couldn’t be reclaimed—but he could still take care of the two sisters.

The sisters were filled with despair and fell to their knees. “Uncle, this is the house our father left us. It can’t be sold!”

“Uncles, aunties, please—we swear, even if we have to sell everything we own, we’ll repay every coin!”

The Gu family sympathized with the sisters, but twenty taels was simply too much.

One soft-hearted aunt began crying along with them, but could only offer comfort: “As long as this aunt has a bite to eat, you two won’t go hungry.”

Just then, a constable came charging in with Gu Qingyan on his back.

“The real Gu Fengmian is here! He’s the third uncle’s true son. That other guy had no right to sell the third uncle’s house!”

Gu Qingyan, sweating profusely, sat atop the constable’s back as they barged into the courtyard.

What a dramatic scene.

The constable shouted, “Father, this is the third uncle’s son. No one else had the authority to sell his house!”

The village chief was first shocked, then overjoyed, but soon his excitement turned to frustration. Once a red-sealed deed is issued, it’s out of their hands.

Scarface, seeing Gu Qingyan dressed in a constable’s uniform, grew uneasy.

But he quickly regained his composure. “Young man, you’d better watch what you say. That deed was personally drafted by the magistrate’s clerk. You saying it’s invalid?”

He eyed Gu Qingyan suspiciously.

Gu Qingyan patted the constable and jumped off his back, stretching out his limbs.

“Just arrived, pleased to meet you all. Now, can someone please explain what the hell is going on here?”

“You really are Old Third’s son?”

The village chief squinted at him, eyes turning red. “You look just like him. It’s like you were stamped from the same mold.”

Gu Qingyan scratched his cheek, a little uncomfortable with the elder’s emotional reaction.

Then he looked behind him—at the two sisters still kneeling.

His biological sisters. Was he going to step in or not?

Gu Qingyan met their tearful eyes.

[Resentment from Scholar Gu detected. Use 5 points to intervene?]

Yes. He had to step in.