Chapter 63

Lin Fan directly hit Sanzhen's sore spot, causing Sanzhen to fly into a rage. A soil thunderbolt and a tile flew out. Lin Fan chuckled, twisting his body like a water snake to dodge. But he didn't expect Sanzhen to cheat; the soil thunderbolt exploded, and half of Lin Fan's face was blackened. Lin Fan, enraged, urged his true qi, and countless embroidery needles shot out from the sword array, heading straight for Sanzhen.

"Boring!" Being too close to fully dodge, Sanzhen pretended not to care, his protective true qi swelling up to deflect the needles, showing that he didn't even bother to dodge.

At this moment, a black shadow came from the east, moving incredibly fast. Sanzhen glanced at it and immediately landed, regaining the demeanor of a sect leader: "You have a guest."

"Meeting the True Person." The newcomer was Gu Yan. It had been almost two years since they last met. Gu Yan's skin was a bit darker, his body more robust, but his eyes remained as determined and resolute as ever.

Lin Fan was delighted: "Senior Brother Gu Yan, please sit. I'll go make some tea."

"Hmm?" The sect leader was about to fetch water but then realized something was off and glared at Lin Fan.

"I'll go." Lin Fan wiped his sweat, fetched water into the kettle, and threw a flame spell at the bottom of the kettle: "Senior Brother Gu Yan, why do you have time to visit me today?"

"The Sect Leader ordered me to come out of seclusion. The sect leader said you came to see me multiple times, so I came to ask if you needed anything."

Chatting with this person was exhausting. What could you need? Friends should sit down, play a game of Xuanhe, drink tea, and chat. Lin Fan said helplessly: "I heard Senior Brother Gu Yan has been in seclusion for over a year, so I was worried and came to visit the Tianxing Sect."

"Thank you, Junior Brother Lin Fan, for your concern. Since there's nothing, I'll return to the sect."

"Um... take your time."

"Stay here." Gu Yan left.

Sanzhen couldn't help but laugh at Lin Fan's frustrated look: "Lin Fan, you can fool around with Bai Mu and Ye Wushuang, but Gu Yan's personality is like this. A gentleman's friendship is as light as water. I think he considers you a friend, but his way of expressing it is different. I heard that Gu Yan never talks nonsense in the Tianxing Sect. For him to sit down for you is already quite good."

Lin Fan said: "Then I should thank him."

Sanzhen ignored him and said: "Gu Yan's personality hasn't changed after his seclusion. I think he has already mastered the ancient family's sword flight technique. What he lacks now is a sword to control... Since you're friends, why don't you let him kill Lin Xuege and take the sword?"

Before Lin Fan could speak, they heard a bustling noise from the mountain and the sound of a child crying. Sanzhen and Lin Fan went to the edge of the mountain and saw True Person Qianyu and two disciples accompanying over a dozen children climbing the mountain. Sanzhen's face changed: "Trouble."

"What's wrong?"

"A few days ago, I was called by the Hidden Immortal Sect's benefactor. My master's senior brother scolded me for being lazy and only having two disciples after fifteen years, one of whom was given by Old Zhang. I didn't dare to argue and said I would definitely expand the Zhengyi Sect and widely recruit disciples. True Person Qianyu took the opportunity to send me people."

Lin Fan gloated: "That's good. How long has this hall not been cleaned? The protective array of Zhengyi Mountain has become useless. When guests come, I have to boil water myself."

"Be careful. I'll go into seclusion tomorrow, and you, the senior brother, will have to teach them." Sanzhen was puzzled: "What did I do to offend the Sect Leader that he won't let me live in peace?"

Is that so? Of course not. True Person Qianyu realized that Lin Fan's cultivation and realm were higher than she had imagined. Besides Lin Fan's innate talent, it was also due to Sanzhen's teaching. Other sects had too many disciples, and the sect leaders couldn't teach them carefully. Moreover, most sect leaders and the Hidden Immortal Sect's benefactors were dissatisfied with Sanzhen. Coincidentally, there was a plague in a town a hundred miles away, causing many deaths. The Yunqing Sect sent people to set up soup kitchens and pharmacies, and then took in some orphans. Those with relatives were sent to their families, and those without were helped to find foster homes. Those with nowhere to go were taken into the Yunqing Sect.

Within a hundred miles of Yunqing Sect, everyone knew it was a fairy mountain. The Yunqing Sect often helped nearby villages and towns. For example, when Lin Fan went out to exorcise ghosts, it was because someone came to the mountain gate to request help, and the disciples reported it to the hall, which then assigned it to the Zhengyi Sect.

Because of the prestige of the Hidden Immortal Sect's seniors, Sanzhen couldn't escape. He looked at the children standing in front of him—twelve children, the youngest six or seven years old, the oldest thirteen or fourteen, both boys and girls. Sanzhen said: "Qianyu, I need to hire a cook for them."

"Yingying!" True Person Qianyu called out the oldest girl: "Can you cook?"

The girl named Yingying nodded: "Yes, I can cook, wash clothes, clean the chicken coop, and feed the pigs." Despite her messy hair, Yingying had bright eyes and looked at Sanzhen with hope.

True Person Qianyu said: "You are a family now. The older ones should take care of the younger ones, understand?"

Some answered yes, some were stunned, and some were afraid...

True Person Qianyu said to Sanzhen: "I'll send food and daily necessities and a few disciples to help."

Sanzhen whispered: "Qianyu, can you take them away? There's still a girl here."

"The girl is too young. Take care of her for now. We'll talk about it when she's sixteen." True Person Qianyu whispered: "If you don't take them, I'll go to the Hidden Immortal Sect... Actually, this Yingying has excellent bone structure and high potential, and she is both smart and sensible." She used both soft and hard tactics.

"Fourteen years old, old enough to get married. It's too late to lay the foundation now." Sanzhen replied.

"Ah, then should I let her go back and continue selling herself, and then be bought by a brothel?"

Sanzhen scanned the group of children: "Except for Yingying and those two, the others are quite ordinary."

Lin Fan whispered: "Sect Leader, we'll have someone to handle the miscellaneous tasks on Zhengyi Mountain in the future."

Sanzhen was about to speak, but True Person Qianyu said: "Settle in here first, Yingying, you and the others will go through the initiation ceremony."

"Initiation my ass. Those over nine years old, go to the hall and copy the sect rules ten times. The rest, find your own place to stay and clean up. No food today, we'll see about it tomorrow. Lin Fan, watch them and don't let them cause trouble." Sanzhen said and walked away angrily.

True Person Qianyu gave Lin Fan a few instructions and left with her disciples. The group of children looked at Lin Fan. Lin Fan said: "Those over nine years old, go copy the rules. The rest, follow me."

There were many rooms in the Zhengyi Sect, all near the hall. Lin Fan assigned them one by one, too lazy to ask their names: "This house hasn't been lived in for decades. Clean it up yourself. Water is over there, and cloth is on the table. Don't go near the cliff, don't cry, don't fight, and stay quietly in your rooms after cleaning."

Poor children grow up fast. These little ones started working. Lin Fan looked back and saw that the older ones were helping the younger ones. Lin Fan entered the hall: "Those who finish copying the rules, go clean the kitchen. There's firewood behind the hall."

After giving the instructions, Lin Fan returned to the roof of the hall, stretched out, and took out a packet of glutinous chicken from his bag to eat. Why didn't Lin Fan share the food? It was impossible. He didn't bring these children to be pampered; they had to become part of the sect. Unless they were about to starve, they had to fend for themselves.

PS: If you have time, remember to vote for the Three Rivers and recommend the book. I am very grateful.

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