Chapter 219: You Are a Guest
Within the sect, senior sisters naturally took precedence.
But once outside the sect, a junior brother acted on his own, and a senior sister's orders did not necessarily have to be followed—except for the eldest senior sister.
Well… the third senior sister was also an exception.
These two senior sisters had fully inherited their master's true teachings, and Cui Hao would occasionally feel inferior to them.
In short, Cui Hao no longer listened to what the fourth senior sister said.
Cui Hao had come along not to follow the fourth senior sister's orders.
Therefore, regarding Lin Luoyu's proposal, Cui Hao treated it as if he had not heard it at all. Ignoring the villagers nearby who were itching to step forward and guide the way, he simply followed his fourth senior sister and continued on.
Having taken part in the turmoil of the Demon Nation, Cui Hao understood that those demons were extremely ferocious. One should not become complacent and rush forward only to get beaten.
Moreover, he had always remembered his master's teachings—if a group beating was possible, never fight alone.
If they were truly going to subdue demons and eliminate evil, he would do it together with the fourth senior sister. If they truly could not win, then they would get beaten together.
Together, they would then be mocked by the master or the eldest senior sister who came to the rescue.
Lin Luoyu did not say anything further and tacitly allowed Cui Hao to follow her.
Lin Luoyu was familiar with this village, so the village head and the others did not put on any airs to lead her.
Perhaps the earlier shouts had summoned villagers who had temporarily gone farther away. At this moment, along the direction Lin Luoyu was heading, quite a few villagers were also hurrying over.
Seeing Lin Luoyu, whose appearance had almost completely changed, many of them were momentarily unsure whether to recognize her.
After all, aside from a somewhat familiar face, everything else about her no longer resembled the Lin Luoyu of the past.
Occasionally, someone would muster the courage to ask, "Is that… Luoyu?"
Lin Luoyu would gently nod and offer a greeting in return.
The scene was somewhat noisy. Some scolded villagers who directly called Lin Luoyu by name, saying they should address her as an immortal.
Others looked at Lin Luoyu in shock. The Lin beggar who had once been so thin she looked like a stick had truly embarked on the path of immortality.
When news of Chu Xingchen's sect recruiting disciples had spread here, Linjiagou had not sent only Lin Luoyu, but also several young men from the village.
However, among those from Linjiagou, Lin Luoyu had been the only woman.
When Lin Luoyu had wanted to seek the path of immortality, many people had secretly mocked her—how could a beggar dream of becoming an immortal?
Unlike the other young men, who were given travel funds uniformly by the village, Lin Luoyu had set out on the immortal path with only a few copper coins in her pocket.
The village quotas had been decided by drawing lots—and Lin Luoyu had not been eligible.
Not only did she have to hurry along the road, she also had to plan how to earn money for food in the future.
Perhaps because hunger had shadowed her childhood, Lin Luoyu always prepared in advance, saving a bit more for tomorrow's meals.
Although she was much slower than those young men, she still managed to reach Yuzhou City before the disciple recruitment assembly began, and even managed to save a small amount of money.
However, aside from Lin Luoyu herself, no one knew just how difficult that journey had been.
When the news that only Lin Luoyu from Linjiagou had been accepted by a sect was brought back by those young men, the villagers felt not only shock and doubt, but also endless envy—or resentment.
All professions are inferior, only scholarship is noble, but compared to cultivating immortality, how could a century of yellow earth compare to ten thousand years of immortality?
Thus, seeing Lin Luoyu now truly walking the immortal path, clad in splendid silks and satins, with an obviously expensive immortal artifact hanging at her waist, envy could scarcely arise anymore, and all resentment had turned into fear.
Had they once cursed or mocked Lin Luoyu? Had they offended her before?
Would Lin Luoyu still remember these things?
In truth, Lin Luoyu did not care about any of it.
Even during the time when she had not yet cultivated immortality, she had not cared, let alone now that she had.
She nodded lightly in response to greetings, but her steps did not pause as she walked straight toward a low hill.
Cui Hao did not ask anything further and simply followed the pace of his fourth senior sister.
The hill was not tall, and there was a staircase that had clearly been repaired.
Following the steps upward for a short while, one could see a small courtyard situated slightly above the foot of the hill.
The courtyard was not elaborate, merely enclosed by a fence.
A simple house stood within it.
Lin Luoyu looked at the house and finally stopped. With a serious expression, she instructed Cui Hao beside her, "You may listen if you want, but later do not speak, and especially do not speak carelessly. Otherwise, I really will beat you."
Cui Hao hurriedly nodded to indicate that he understood.
Lin Luoyu nodded lightly, glanced once more at the familiar small house, then casually pushed aside the fence and walked toward the house.
Cui Hao looked around. There was not much in the courtyard—just a rocking chair under the eaves, and some chickens and ducks penned in a corner.
Lin Luoyu walked to the door and stood there for a moment before gently knocking.
"Come in…" a slightly hoarse female voice sounded from inside.
Cui Hao immediately felt puzzled. That title, Li Junzi… could it actually belong to a woman?
Before pushing the door open, Lin Luoyu still gave Cui Hao a warning look. Only after he nodded again in assurance did she push the door open.
Cui Hao followed closely behind Lin Luoyu, his gaze quickly sweeping curiously through the room.
The room was not large, with very few partitions, and at a glance one could almost take in the entire layout.
There was a square table by the window, and on one side stood a wooden bookshelf. The books on it were neatly arranged, clearly well cared for, and free of dust.
This indicated that the owner often read these books and cherished them greatly. They were frequently handled yet showed no signs of wear.
By contrast, the books in Cui Hao's own study—unless they were made of iron—were basically no longer fit to be called books.
Against the right wall of the room was another table, with four bowls and two pairs of chopsticks.
On the left was a rather simple bamboo bed, but the bedding was folded neatly.
From these details, it was clear that the owner of the house was an extremely orderly person.
This type of person left Cui Hao with a fixed impression—rigid, dull, and inflexible.
After taking in these details, Cui Hao's gaze finally settled on the only person in the room.
A middle-aged woman with black and white hair intermingled, bound with a scholar's crown. At least by appearance, she could not be considered old.
Her attire, however, was somewhat masculine.
The middle-aged woman wore no makeup. Her lips were pressed lightly downward, and she was dressed in somewhat faded clothing. A book lay on the table, and she was sitting upright, reading it intently.
Hearing the door open, she first stood up. As she looked toward the entrance, she reached out and smoothed her clothing.
Cui Hao looked at the woman. Her features were neither ordinary nor particularly beautiful, yet neither could they be called ugly.
What stood out most were her eyes. There was no trace of spiritual energy fluctuations on her body, yet those eyes were steady like deep water, clearly conveying an unyielding vitality.
When the woman saw that the visitor was Lin Luoyu, the words she had been about to speak were gently pressed back.
Lin Luoyu cupped her hands in greeting and said, "Sir, have you been well recently?"
"The same as usual. I do not know whether that counts as being well," Li Junzi replied, returning the salute. Her gaze then fell on Cui Hao behind Lin Luoyu. "And this is?"
"Cui Hao, my junior brother."
Li Junzi nodded lightly and also cupped her hands toward Cui Hao. "My surname is Li, courtesy name Junzi. You may simply call me Li Junzi."
After returning the salute, Cui Hao nodded slightly. From these few exchanges, she did not seem especially rigid.
Li Junzi smiled faintly and pointed toward the table with the bowls, where two chairs stood.
"Sit first. I will make tea for you."
Lin Luoyu stepped forward and said, "Sir, allow me."
Only after Lin Luoyu finished speaking did Li Junzi raise her hand slightly to stop her.
"You are a guest. How could I let a guest prepare the tea?"
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