Chapter 13

Perplexed, he walked closer for a closer look and discovered that not only was the blue line grass withering, but even the purple night flowers on the opposite side were withering to varying degrees, though not as severely as the blue line grass.

He clearly remembered that the herbs were lush and thriving at noon. How could they have withered so much in just one afternoon? He grabbed the withered blue line grass and examined it closely. From its appearance, it had lost all its moisture, causing it to wither. His face showed a thoughtful expression as he touched the soil and found it to be very moist, perfectly suitable for the growth of the herbs. This made him even more puzzled.

After a long while, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he muttered to himself, "This afternoon, only one person came here. But he is just a registered disciple. How could he cause these herbs to wither?"

Thinking about this, he decided to investigate. Without a word, he flicked his sleeve, and his body immediately floated up. A rainbow-colored cloud appeared beneath his feet, and he quickly left the main courtyard. In no time, he arrived at the place where the registered disciples handled miscellaneous tasks.

"Which disciple is in charge here?" Elder Sun barked, his voice like a series of thunderclaps. The yellow-robed Liu disciple, who was in charge of the area, hurriedly ran out of his room, his face pale with fear. He fell to his knees with a thud and began to kowtow repeatedly.

Elder Sun frowned impatiently and asked, "Do you have Wang Lin's registration here?"

The Liu disciple's heart skipped a beat. He never expected that the high-ranking elder would personally come to inquire about a mere waste of a person. Terrified, he recalled how he had made things difficult for Wang Lin in the past, and his face turned ashen. He stammered, "Disciple... has... has Wang Lin's registration. Wang Lin is diligent and studious, always working conscientiously. Disciple... disciple has always looked up to him as a role model... an example... I..."

Elder Sun couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, but he was inwardly pleased. The more nervous the other person was, the more they feared him. After all, the status of an elder in the Hengyue Sect was not very valuable. All second-generation disciples were called elders, but if they were inner disciples, they would be called Uncle.

Although he was an elder in the eyes of the registered disciples, he actually had no standing among the second-generation disciples and was considered one of the weakest. Even the third-generation disciples looked down on him.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been assigned to handle the trivial task of approving leave applications for registered disciples.

With a stern face, Elder Sun asked, "Where does Wang Lin live?"

"It's... it's in the Earth Annex in the northwest corner..."

Before he could finish, Elder Sun's body moved, and he transformed into a rainbow, darting northward and disappearing in the blink of an eye.

The Liu disciple became even more nervous, his heart filled with regret. He secretly vowed that if he ever saw Wang Lin again, he would never mock him and would instead flatter and fawn over him, treating him like his own grandfather. After all, Wang Lin was someone whom an elder had personally inquired about.

After arriving at the Earth Annex, Elder Sun scanned the area with his divine sense but found no sign of Wang Lin. After a moment's thought, he entered the registration office, found Wang Lin's room number, and headed straight there. Zhang Hu was snoring loudly, completely unaware of Elder Sun's arrival.

Elder Sun carefully probed the room with his divine sense, his brows furrowed. He muttered to himself, "He left so quickly. Humph, I can check when he returns."

Wang Lin walked through the mountains, a magical talisman attached to his leg. The talisman was indeed miraculous. After attaching it, a warm current flowed into his body, gathering in his feet and emitting a blinding white light. From a distance, he looked like a true immortal.

Especially the wild beasts in the forest, which quickly fled upon seeing the white light, dared not approach.

A gentle breeze blew, and the mountain air was fresh. Wang Lin felt joyful and moved quickly, following the direction he remembered.

The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, as the sky began to brighten, he took a sip of spring water from his gourd, feeling refreshed. He turned around and saw that he had already left the forest, and it was only a short distance to the county town. From there, he could follow a small path back to his village.

Without stopping, he walked quickly. By the time the sky was fully bright, he had entered the county town. It was market day, and the place was bustling with people. Wang Lin wandered around, bought some gifts for his parents, and then hurriedly left.

By mid-morning, Wang Lin finally returned to his village. From a distance, he saw a tall red banner hanging from his house, with a large character for "longevity" written on it.

There were many carriages outside, and people were coming and going, making it very lively.

Wang Lin was taken aback and quickly approached, stopping at the door. His appearance was so astonishing that the relatives gathered to celebrate his father's birthday saw a flash of white light, and then Wang Lin appeared before them.

Everyone looked at him with envy and began to praise him.

"Brother, Wang Lin is back. Look at this child, he is truly a fine young man, a potential immortal."

"Indeed, the immortal must have made a mistake at first, but later he regretted it and took Wang Lin as a disciple. Our Wang family will rely on these three children in the future."

"My old eyes must have been failing me. I didn't see the child's potential. Now I see that Wang Lin is in no way inferior to Wang Zhuo and Wang Hao. He is clearly a dragon among men. Good, good, good!" The oldest uncle of the Wang family, stroking his white beard, praised loudly, seemingly forgetting his malicious face from a month ago.

"Wang Lin has been smart since he was a child. I always said he would be taken in by an immortal. Last time was just an accident. Even immortals can make mistakes, let alone us mortals. Wang Lin, don't bear a grudge against Uncle. I apologize to you here."

Everyone spoke, and all the relatives changed their attitudes, each with a smile and a friendly expression.

Wang Lin inwardly sneered. At that moment, his father, surprised, came out of the house, holding Wang Lin's hand and asked with concern, "Tiezhu, why are you back? Didn't I tell you to stay at the Hengyue Sect and not to always worry about home?"

Wang Lin looked at his father and clearly saw that the wrinkles on his face had decreased, indicating that he had been very happy recently. He smiled and said, "Father, don't worry. Each disciple in the sect has three opportunities to visit home each year. I'll return immediately after your birthday."

Wang Lin's father proudly looked around at the relatives, then pulled Tiezhu into the house and called out loudly, "Wife, look who's back."

Wang Lin's mother, surrounded by a group of women, was discussing various matters. Hearing her husband's words, she quickly looked up, ran over, and grabbed Wang Lin's hand, asking him about everything with concern.