Chapter 52 – The Prodigal Son Returns

Yun Xian had wanted to say that maybe the granny had already met Naya, but then she thought of something and decided not to say it after all.

Their conversation was hidden using special means, so Lynn Naya didn’t hear it. She went downstairs, had Auntie Fengprepare two pounds of sliced pork for her, paid, and then went back home.

This unexpected encounter didn’t cause much of a stir in Lynn Naya’s mind.

Wen Zaituo. That was the name of the original owner’s ex-fiancé. And from what she had just heard, it was without a doubt that Yun Xian’s Senior Brother Wen was the original owner’s ex-fiancé.

She knew that the original owner’s ex-fiancé had entered the Dao Palace, but she hadn’t expected him to be so talented. He was about the same age as her, twenty-two or twenty-three years old, but he was already at least at the late stage of QiCondensation. He had a good chance of reaching Foundation Establishment in this lifetime.

Although she felt that there would be a follow-up to this, Lynn Naya believed that as long as she was determined to not have any contact with Wen Zaituo, everything would be fine.

When she got home, she was just in time for dinner, and the sliced pork she had brought back was perfect as an extra dish.

The fresh pork had been salted beforehand. It had alternating layers of white fat and lean meat. It was delicious just boiled, but you could also dip it in some seasoning if you wanted. Everyone loved this extra meal, especially the children, who ate until their mouths were greasy.

This made Lynn Naya think of the first time she had eaten meat after she had transmigrated. Back then, she would dream about it, and now her small goal had been achieved. She had meat at every meal and white rice at every turn. If she worked hard enough in the future, she might even be able to eat spiritual rice.

Speaking of spiritual rice, Lynn Naya couldn’t help but ask Scarface Qing, “Is no one selling spiritual rice in the market yet?”

The original farmlands at the foot of the mountain had all been planted with spiritual rice. Planting spiritual rice took a lot of time and was not good for cultivation, so no one in their courtyard had gone to rent a field to plant it. She still hadn’t had a taste of it.

“The Dao Palace has priority to purchase it. All the spiritual rice that can be sold will be sold to the Dao Palace. It’s rare to see it in the market, and when it does appear, it’s bought immediately. I’ve only seen it three times in total,” ScarfaceQing said. “It’s just that there isn’t enough land. If there was enough land, we would eventually be able to enjoy it too.”

“Land, huh.” There was nothing to be said about that. The area was only so big, and the population wasn’t that big yet. When it grew, she didn’t know how crowded it would become.

But those were problems for the future. She would worry about them later. For now, she would just live in the present.

After that day, Lynn Naya continued to cultivate and go out to the wilderness to rob people as usual. The incident from that evening was put to the back of her mind.

However, three days later, Uncle Wang and his wife and Zhao Laoer and his wife, who she hadn’t seen in a long time, came to her house to visit.

It had been three or four years since they had split up. The four of them had aged a lot, especially Zhao Laoer, who had lost an arm and now had gray hair at his temples.

“Someone came to ask us about you yesterday, Talisman Master Lynn. We thought about it and felt that this might not be a good thing, so we came to let you know.” Fan Shi said, no longer having the haughtiness she used to have. She lowered her eyes and twirled her fingers together, looking a little nervous.

“Oh, that’s not a big deal. It’s a small matter.” Lynn Naya could probably guess who was looking for her. She poured them some water while thanking them. “But I still have to thank you for coming to let me know in advance. Otherwise, I would have been kept in the dark.”

“You don’t have to pour water. We’re not thirsty,” Fan Shi said, waving her hand. “We’re leaving soon. We have other work to do tonight.”

She was very constrained now. From the big courtyard she had just entered to the beautiful and spacious house, it all made her feel inferior. She heard that Healer Lynn was now a talisman master. One talisman alone could sell for at least one spirit stone. They had never even seen what a spirit stone looked like.

In just a few years, the other party had become someone they couldn’t hope to latch onto.

“Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Brother Xue Yong and the others went to the market and will be back later. We can all get together then.” Lynn Naya invited them to stay.

But when they heard that Xue Yong and the others were coming back, Fan Shi and the others immediately stood up and quickly said their goodbyes after a few more pleasantries.

Seeing how uncomfortable they had been since they entered the gate, Lynn Naya didn’t try to persuade them to stay. But before they left, she gave each of them a Qi-Blood Pill as a token of her gratitude.

Fan Shi took it in silence. When she and her husband left Lynn Naya’s courtyard, she couldn’t help but look back. “Do you think that if we hadn’t split up, we would also be living like this?”

Zhao Laoer’s muffled voice answered her. “Let’s go. We chose our own paths.”

*

After Fan Shi and the others came to visit, Lynn Naya knew that Wen Zaituo would definitely come to find her again. She was also prepared to have a talk with him, but she didn’t expect to wait for over half a month.

When Wen Zaituo came to find her, it was already late spring. The leaves on the jujube tree in the courtyard had mostly grown out. The new leaves were a vibrant green, and they and the grapevines in the corner were the only two decorations in their courtyard.

That day, Lynn Naya returned from outside as usual. When she pushed open the courtyard door, she saw a person standing under the jujube tree at the entrance. This person was wearing a blue robe, had white hair and translucent white skin. Because she was so close, she could even see that his eyebrows and eyelashes were white too.

Yanxi?

Subconsciously, Lynn Naya backed out of her gate and looked at it again. It was indeed her house, and the jujube tree was also her jujube tree. Nothing was wrong.

But why was Yanxi at her house?

She glanced at the main house. Of course. Not only was Yun Xian there, but Qing Xiaozhou and Wen Zaituo were also there. This was the annoying thing about having high cultivation. Her spiritual sense had only sensed Yun Xian just now.

Her actions made Yanxi, who was looking up at the tree, look at her. He gave her and the others behind her a slight nod as a greeting and then continued to look up at his tree.

Xue Yong and the others looked at each other. Although they were curious about what he was looking at, they ultimately didn’t dare to disturb him and quietly walked into the courtyard. Lynn Naya followed them, a headache forming.

She didn’t know if Yanxi had noticed the array running underground in her house. It was supposed to be hidden during normal times, and most people wouldn’t be able to sense it, but she always felt that Yanxi was an exception.

After all, geniuses were always full of surprises.

Men are so troublesome. As soon as they show up, they cause such a big problem for me.

But after calming down and thinking about it, even if the array was discovered, it shouldn’t be a big deal. The worst-case scenario was that she would have to come clean about the evil cultivators. In any case, it had been over half a year, and the things she had consumed had long been digested. Even Yanxi couldn’t make her throw them up.

“Do you guys feel a little cold?” Zhou Yuan whispered to Lynn Naya and the others. “When I walked past that person just now, I felt like the wind around him was cold.”

“I felt it too.” Xue Yong also whispered.

Lynn Naya, who was in the middle of them, just chuckled. Do you really think he can’t hear what you’re saying?

After crossing the courtyard and arriving at the main house, as soon as Lynn Naya entered, she saw Yun Xian winking at her. Wen Zaituo looked at her with a clear gaze, but that didn’t stop her from finding him a little annoying.

She first greeted her guests and then said that she would go back and get cleaned up before leaving the main house.

Shortly after she returned to her house, she heard Wen Zaituo asking her from outside if he could come in.

What has to come will eventually come.

Lynn Naya didn’t let him in. Since they all had thousand-mile ears, there wasn’t much of a difference between being inside and outside the house. She didn’t even have to deliberately use her spiritual sense to know that the people in the main house were probably all craning their necks to listen.

“Just say what you need to say out here.” Lynn Naya said.

Wen Zaituo was very mindful of privacy. Before he started talking, he used a talisman. “This is a sound-concealing talisman. They won’t be able to hear our conversation.”

“Oh.” Lynn Naya’s attitude remained cold.

Her attitude made it difficult for Wen Zaituo to speak. After standing there for a moment, he said, “I went to your neighbors a while ago to ask about your past. I learned from them that your family came from Western Proximity City, and your father’s name… was the same as a very close friend of my father’s. I felt that so many coincidences couldn’t be just a coincidence. You are the junior sister from the Lynn family, aren’t you?”

Without waiting for Lynn Naya to answer, he continued, “I know you haven’t had a good life these past few years, and you’re the only one left from your past. So I specifically asked the Sect Master for a favor to allow you to come to the mountain and become a core disciple of the Dao Palace.”

In a time when mortal cultivators didn’t have an official way to enter the Dao Palace, granting her an exception to become a formal disciple was a huge benefit.

But unfortunately, Lynn Naya didn’t want to receive these benefits because of him.

“I’m not,” Lynn Naya said, looking directly into Wen Zaituo’s eyes. “I am not the real Lynn Naya. She died a long time ago. I know you heard from the people around here that our family came to the Dao Palace together, but the truth is that the real Lynn Naya died on the way. I was a child her parents picked up on the road. Because I was about the same age as Lynn Naya, they raised me as her to console themselves for the loss of their daughter. I am not Lynn Naya. I shouldn’t be the one to receive these benefits. Do you understand what I mean?”

The “truth” of the matter made Wen Zaituo’s eyes widen slightly. He really hadn’t expected such a complicated story behind it, but he quickly regained his composure. “That’s okay. Even so, you are still Uncle Lin’s daughter. I believe they would still want me to take care of you.”

“But I don’t want you to,” Lynn Naya said, rejecting him again. “I already owe them too much. Now, if I receive your help because of them, it will only make me feel like I owe even more, and over time, it will become my inner demons. I’m doing very well right now, and I don’t need your help. So please, let’s just pretend we don’t know each other and never see each other again.”

“…” Wen Zaituo really hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. He wanted to say something, but seeing the woman’s solemn expression, he felt like he was being a nuisance. He cupped his hands and apologized awkwardly. “I’m sorry. I was too arrogant and didn’t even consider if you would want this. Don’t worry. I will never bother you again.”

With that, he turned around and walked out of the courtyard.

The moment he moved, Yanxi, who had been looking at the tree, finally lost interest in it. She didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but as Wen Zaituo walked past Yanxi, she thought she heard Yanxi say, “Serves you right.”

Uh…

Not having time to think about it too much, Lynn Naya felt relieved as she watched Yanxi being led away.

In that short amount of time, Yanxi hadn’t spared her a single glance. Did that mean her disguise had fooled him?

This is the downside of having low cultivation. I always feel on edge around Yanxi. When I break through to Core Formation and reach Nascent Soul, I’ll definitely pull his hair. After all, Yun Xian said his highest cultivation is Core Formation. As a Nascent Soul old ancestor, I’ll be able to beat him up whenever I want.

No, not beat him up. It’s called caring for a junior.

With this strange dream, Lynn Naya had a little more hope for the future.