Chapter 190: Chapter 190: The Arrival of the Talisman Master
While sleeping, Lin Dayou dreamt that after a day of farm work, he returned home only to find that Lin Xiao was up to no good again. In his dream, he gave Lin Xiao a thorough scolding, and finally, the boy behaved himself. Satisfied, Lin Dayou went back to rest, but suddenly, he heard a loud bang outside, as if Lin Xiao had broken down the door!
In his dream, Lin Dayou was furious, feeling that the boy had become too bold. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, until he suddenly woke up, sitting up in bed.
Realizing it was just a dream, he wiped the sweat off his forehead. It was a hot night in June, and he was about to go back to sleep when he heard Lin Xiao's voice outside.
"Father! Your beloved son is back! Aren't you coming out to welcome me?"
The voice wasn't loud, but it was full of mischief. Without hesitation, Lin Dayou grabbed the shoe by his bedside and walked outside.
In the courtyard, under the bright moonlight, he saw a familiar figure. Though the boy seemed taller, there was no mistaking it—it was his son.
Lin Xiao, on the other hand, quickly spotted his father coming out of the house with a shoe in hand. He rushed over, giving his father a big hug and speaking rapidly:
"Father, I missed you so much! I'm back, but I'm off to bed now. Goodnight!"
Before Lin Dayou could react, Lin Xiao released him and dashed into his room, locking the door behind him.
Meanwhile, Lin Yun, in the adjacent house, had also heard the commotion in the courtyard. He smiled to himself but chose not to go out. It was late, and he didn't want to disturb the neighbors with noise. Though he missed his younger brother, he decided to wait until morning to see him. With that, he resumed his meditation.
Back in the courtyard, Lin Dayou stood there holding the shoe, not having had the chance to use it. He stood in the bright moonlight for a moment before silently making up his mind. From now on, he would work harder in his cultivation so that his mischievous son wouldn't be able to escape his discipline anymore.
Returning to his bed, Lin Dayou put the shoe down and lay back, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he drifted off to sleep.
His son had returned, safe and sound.
The next morning, Lin Xiao greeted his early-rising brother, Lin Yun, with enthusiasm. Afterward, he made a trip to the old family home to greet everyone there, reassuring them that he had returned safely.
Seeing the joy on his grandparents' faces filled Lin Xiao's heart with warmth. Once the greetings were done, he quickly made his way up the mountain.
By then, most of the sect members had already gathered at the sect. They had heard from Xiao Luan, who had been eagerly waiting by the peach blossom tree, that Lin Xiao and Liao Pantu had returned, bringing a new member with them.
Instead of heading to the training hall as usual, everyone had gathered under the peach blossom tree, waiting for Lin Xiao to arrive.
When Lin Xiao arrived at the mountain, he saw the group waiting for him under the peach blossom tree. He understood their intentions immediately. Part of the reason they were here was to see him after his long absence, but more importantly, they were eager to hear about his adventures in the cultivation world.
And as expected, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, the group quickly got to the point:
"Xiao, tell us, what exciting things did you experience in the cultivation world this time?"
"Yes, yes! Tell us all about it, so we can broaden our horizons!"
With no other choice, Lin Xiao found himself playing the role of a storyteller, recounting the ups and downs of his journey in the cultivation world. The group listened with wide-eyed amazement, occasionally letting out gasps of surprise.
Mo Yuanjiao and Tietou were particularly enthusiastic, contributing the loudest cheers, exclamations, and applause. Even Sun Yigao, usually focused on his private studies, was engrossed in the story, almost forgetting that this was only the second day of his private lessons. Fortunately, Yang Jinshu kept track of the time and reminded him.
After finishing his tale, Lin Xiao introduced Liu Chun to the group. When they learned that Liu Chun was a talisman master, they were in awe, even if they didn't fully understand what that entailed.
So far, aside from Lin Xiao, no one in the sect had managed to perfectly draw the talismans from the Basic Talisman Crafting Manual. Only two people had yet to try: Sun Yigao and Yang Jinshu.
Sun Yigao had been busy with his private lessons since his return and hadn't had the chance to attempt it. Yang Jinshu, on the other hand, had refrained from trying because she didn't want to waste the precious talisman paper after seeing everyone else struggle.
This situation had been carefully noted by Liu Yunan, who, with his little notebook, had meticulously recorded all of the sect's current affairs. He relayed this information to Lin Xiao after the group had taken Liu Chun to the training hall.
Lin Xiao then instructed Liu Yunan to let everyone know they could learn talisman crafting from Liu Chun in the talisman hall later on. Of course, they would be learning the talismans from their sect's Basic Talisman Crafting Manual. As for Liu Chun's own talismans, Lin Xiao didn't impose any requirements.
He had already spoken to Liu Chun before. Lin Xiao didn't demand a certain number of talismans from him, nor did he require Liu Chun to teach the sect his personal techniques. What Lin Xiao needed was for Liu Chun to be available to answer the disciples' questions as they learned talisman crafting.
He had also told Liu Chun that if he saw any promising disciples and wanted to take them on as talisman apprentices, he was welcome to do so. Additionally, Liu Chun was free to study any of the sect's cultivation techniques in the training hall. If he wished to switch to their sect's cultivation methods, Lin Xiao would gladly allow it.
Initially, Liu Chun had been cautious upon hearing these terms. He had already decided that, as his savior, Lin Xiao could ask for almost anything, and he would do his best to comply.
But Lin Xiao's conditions were far from excessive. In fact, they were well within Liu Chun's limits. He had expected to be asked for much more.
Even without these favorable conditions, Liu Chun would have agreed.
However, when he stepped into the training hall, he was once again surprised—something that had happened to him several times in just one day at this sect.
The spiritual energy in the training hall was nearly twice as dense as it was outside! This level of spiritual energy surpassed that of the Wu family's rented spiritual vein branch by a large margin.
Afterward, led by the other disciples, Liu Chun browsed the shelves at the back of the training hall, which were filled with cultivation manuals. Though Liu Chun, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, couldn't easily judge the rank of these manuals, the cultivation methods and principles inside were entirely different from what he had practiced, making him realize that these manuals were anything but ordinary.
He picked up a random manual titled The Sunflower Manual and decided to give it a try.