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

Lin Xiao gathered his thoughts and entered Liu Yunan's room, finding him already awake and trying to sit up. Rushing over, Lin Xiao helped him up and asked, "What do you need? Bathroom? Or water?"

Liu Yunan pointed weakly at a nearby bowl and said, "Water."

Lin Xiao quickly fetched the half-filled bowl and handed it to him. After gulping down most of it, Liu Yunan let out a long breath and asked with a bit more strength in his voice, "Xiao, how are my mother and little sister?"

Lin Xiao patted his chest confidently and said, "Don't worry, I took care of everything!"

Then, with a grin, he added, "By the way, your big uncle? I cut the tendons in his hands and feet. He's completely crippled now, so he won't be able to trouble your family ever again! How do you feel about that? Happy?"

Hearing this, Liu Yunan's eyes widened in shock, looking at Lin Xiao with disbelief. "Did you really cripple him?"

Lin Xiao nodded, "Would I lie to you?"

A wave of relief washed over Liu Yunan, making the pain in his body seem to fade away. He laughed, "Haha! Finally, Liu Dashan gets what he deserves! Haha, Xiao, you're a true brother! Next time, I'll catch a snake and have my mother make snake soup for you! Let me tell you, my mom makes the best snake soup. My dad used to catch snakes..."

Their lively conversation was interrupted by voices shouting from the courtyard.

"Hey, Baldy! You home? We came to see you!"

"Brother, I brought you a big bone!"

"Shhh—keep it down. What if Baldy is still resting?"

It was none other than Jiang Youfu, Hu Liang, and Qin Jianghe. The three of them, seeing the broken gate propped against the wall and the open courtyard, walked in without hesitation.

They found their way to Liu Yunan's room, where they saw Lin Xiao and Liu Yunan chatting away.

"Xiao, Baldy went through all this, and you didn't even let us know?" Jiang Youfu scolded.

Lin Xiao shrugged, "I felt uneasy after dinner last night, so I went out for a walk to digest. I just happened to come across it."

Qin Jianghe playfully hooked his arm around Lin Xiao's shoulder and said with a grin, "Xiao, your excuses are getting worse. A walk from the east side of the village all the way to the west?"

Except for Liu Yunan, all of them lived in the eastern part of Shuili Village, with Lin Xiao's house being the furthest east. So, to them, Lin Xiao's explanation was flimsy at best.

Lin Xiao couldn't help but chuckle. What could he do? Aside from omitting the part where the system alerted him to Baldy's sudden advancement to Qi Refining Stage One, everything else he said was true.

Liu Yunan, sitting on the bed, laughed, "If Xiao hadn't come last night, my family would be finished. Stop picking on him."

As they discussed the events of the previous night, the others became even more eager to hear the details. After all, although the village gossip had spread rapidly that morning, the stories were all muddled and contradictory. They only knew that Liu's big uncle had been crippled, but the rest was unclear.

When Liu Yunan took off his shirt to show them the numerous bruises and cuts, and told them how he had been beaten to the point of vomiting blood, the others were enraged.

"What kind of uncle is this?! He's more like an enemy!"

"Exactly! It's bad enough that he's been taking advantage of your family all this time, but now he wanted to sell your sister and beat you like that? Xiao crippling him was too lenient! If it were me, I'd have cut him down with a blade!"

As they talked, Liu Yunan glanced towards the door. Usually, when guests arrived, his mother would be the first to greet them, but she hadn't shown up yet. He turned to Lin Xiao and asked, "Xiao, is my mother out?"

Lin Xiao suddenly remembered he hadn't mentioned Aunt Liu's departure and nodded, "Yeah, your sister likely caught a cold from the rain last night. Your mother said she had a high fever this morning, so she took her to town to see a doctor."

Liu Yunan froze for a moment, clearly not expecting this answer. He lowered his gaze. Going to town for medical treatment… But they only had twenty coins left. Would that be enough?

Tietou, concerned for his friend, asked, "Baldy, can you still come up the mountain to cultivate with us?"

Pushing his worries aside, Liu Yunan nodded vigorously, "Of course! My shoulder is hurt, not my legs. Let's go up the mountain!"

It wasn't just for the camaraderie or to learn new spells that Liu Yunan was eager to cultivate. He had a new, more pressing reason—he needed to protect his mother and sister. If he had Lin Xiao's strength last night, he wouldn't have ended up so helpless against that scoundrel!

Half an hour later, they arrived at the mountainside. For some reason, they all felt like they were returning to a second home. Especially when Luan, their little chicken friend, greeted them with a series of clucks.

They quickly took out the grains they had secretly brought from home and placed them in a small wooden bowl for Luan.

By now, the sun was fully up, and Lin Yun and Sun Yigao were already sitting in the straw hut, meditating. Seeing the others arrive so late, Sun Yigao didn't ask why. He just greeted them and then cast a worried glance at Liu Yunan. Seeing that he seemed in good spirits, Sun Yigao relaxed and resumed his cultivation. Clearly, he had already heard about the events at the Liu household the night before.

Lin Yun had also been informed by Lin Xiao that morning, but since he wasn't very close to Liu Yunan, he didn't think it was appropriate to bring up the matter, so he just expressed his concern briefly.

As usual, today at Lingxian Sect, the disciples and sect members were diligently cultivating in the straw hut while the sect master pondered the development of the sect under the peach blossom tree.

Lin Xiao first checked on the growth of the Mist Spring Grass and Spirit Gathering Grass in the spirit field. The tender shoots had grown a bit larger and darker in color but showed no other changes.

Remembering the twenty spirit grain seeds in his private stash, Lin Xiao used the synthesizer to create another 3x3 square meter patch of spirit soil. Like a diligent farmer, he carefully planted sixteen of the spirit grain seeds, saving the remaining four in case of failure.

Of course, he had thoroughly studied the Beginner's Spirit Herb Cultivation Manual before planting them.