Is It Reasonable for Me to Start a Sect at 12?

The young man was tall and slender, with delicate features and an air of scholarly refinement that immediately marked him as a bookish type. Clearly unused to physical labor, he had just managed to fill one bucket with water, only to spill half of it on himself. His light blue robe was now mostly soaked.

However, the young man remained calm, showing no signs of frustration. He wrung out his robe, then bent down to fill the bucket again.

After a considerable effort, he finally filled both buckets. Awkwardly balancing them on a carrying pole, he carefully adjusted them to ensure they were even before struggling to lift the load and cautiously made his way back home.

Lin Xiao wasn't familiar with Sun Yigao.

His family lived far from Jiang Youfu's, and since Sun Yigao was usually confined to his home for studying, it wasn't surprising that Lin Xiao didn't recognize him.

After packing several small baskets of shrimp, Lin Xiao washed his hands and stood up.

"Let's go show off our sect to our friends in the village."

Hearing this, Jiang Youfu's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Can we tell them now? Haha, I can't wait to tell Iron Head that I'm a cultivator!"

Lin Xiao turned and reminded Jiang Youfu, "You don't need to be too serious about it. If they all want to become cultivators and stop working, what if their families come after us? Not everyone has the freedom we do to laze around."

Lin Xiao didn't work in the fields because his father, Lin Dayou, worried about his health after a severe illness in childhood. Despite always complaining about Lin Xiao playing around and not helping, Lin Dayou would be the first to stop him from working, saying, "You're still too young—don't mess up my crops!"

In reality, Lin Dayou believed that at only twelve years old, Lin Xiao didn't need to work since he and his eldest son could handle it. He wanted to wait a few more years until Lin Xiao was stronger.

As for Jiang Youfu, he was simply spoiled. His entire family, including his brother and sister-in-law, doted on him like a child. Of course, they still made him do small chores, like cleaning out the rabbit pen, but most of the village's boys envied the carefree lives of Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu.

For them, work was just a brief interruption in a day filled with play.

The two headed toward the village.

It was midday, and the warm sun shone brightly. The village was mostly deserted, with most people eating in the fields. Only a few old men sat under a large tree, eating and chatting.

As they walked through the village, Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu greeted the elders they passed, heading toward their friends' houses.

They happened to pass by the Sun family's estate.

The gates were wide open, and several village women stood at the entrance, gossiping and peering inside.

The Sun family was a small landlord family in Xiushui Village, owning about a hundred acres of land in the surrounding villages. As a result, they were the only family in Xiushui Village that could afford to support a scholar.

However, in this era, a hundred-acre landlord wasn't considered a big deal. The Sun family was merely modestly wealthy, far from the grand estates of larger landlords with servants at their beck and call.

Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu curiously peeked inside the open gate.

They saw someone dressed oddly, hopping and chanting in the courtyard.

It turned out that they had hired a spirit medium for a ritual.

Could something strange have happened at the Sun family's home?

As a former atheist, Lin Xiao had begun to believe in the existence of supernatural beings after his own transmigration and learning that cultivation was real in this world.

The women at the gate voiced his thoughts.

"Brother Sun, what's going on at your house?" one of them asked in a hushed tone, clearly afraid of disturbing the ritual.

Normally kind and polite, Sun Deacon seemed distracted as he sighed and replied, "Yigao's mother has been in a daze since this morning, not fully conscious. We called Doctor Jiang from Renxin Hall in town, but he couldn't find anything wrong. My in-laws think she might be possessed, so we invited Granny Song, the local spirit medium, to drive away the evil spirit."

One of the women, a long-faced villager, slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "Oh my! The Sun family has been possessed! Who knows what kind of spirit it is? Could it harm our village? I'd better go home before it gets me!"

With that, she turned and hurried away.

The remaining women exchanged glances, quickly said their goodbyes to Sun Deacon, and left in a hurry as well.

Sun Deacon, familiar with the gossiping nature of the village women, didn't take it to heart and returned his focus to the ritual with a worried expression.

Inside the house, Sun Yigao's maternal grandmother, having heard the commotion, peeked out the window to watch the women leave. She spat in their direction before closing the window again.

In that brief moment when the window was open, Lin Xiao sensed a faint but unusual aura, one that seemed oddly familiar.

At that moment, Sun Yigao returned with the water.

Seeing him, Sun Deacon rushed out to help him carry the buckets inside to fill the water tank.

Lin Xiao thought for a moment and then remembered the strange aura he had sensed on the mountain earlier that morning.

Looking at Sun Yigao as he walked into the courtyard, Lin Xiao had an idea.

He signaled to Jiang Youfu, then quickly stepped forward and slung his arm around Sun Yigao's shoulders.

Since Sun Yigao was taller, Lin Xiao had to stand on his tiptoes.

Jiang Youfu, though puzzled, quickly followed suit.

Lin Xiao then spoke, his words as smooth as ever.

"Brother Sun, I'm glad you're back. I've made up my mind about the matter we discussed."

Sun Yigao was utterly confused by this stranger suddenly draping himself over his shoulder.

"I don't..." know you.

But Lin Xiao cut him off before he could finish. "Come on, Brother Sun, let's step aside and talk."

Jiang Youfu, catching on quickly, helped Lin Xiao drag the tall, slender fifteen-year-old boy to a more secluded spot.

Sun Deacon glanced at them and, seeing that they were village children—one of whom he recognized as the youngest of the Jiang family—felt a surge of satisfaction.

"My son finally has friends," he thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu led Sun Yigao to a hidden corner before stopping.

Sun Yigao shook off their grip and glared at them angrily.

"What do you want?"

Lin Xiao rubbed his nose and said, "Calm down, Brother Sun. We only did that because the situation is urgent. Please forgive us."

Sun Yigao, known for his gentle temperament, softened slightly at Lin Xiao's words.

He straightened his rumpled robe and asked, "What is it that you need from me?"

Seeing the wet spots on Sun Yigao's clothes and the mud on his shoes, Lin Xiao replied, "If I tell you outright, you probably won't believe me. So why don't I show you instead? Watch closely."