True Solution of the Sword Dao

"Something happened to my fourth uncle’s family. What’s the situation now?" Lin Fei asked, a bit worried about Jiang Nan, that girl. In his previous life, he never heard that Jiang Nan got married. She always relied on him for everything since they were kids, always clinging to him when they were at their grandma’s house, happily calling him ’brother’ this and ’brother’ that. When he was younger, he often found her annoying. Later, he scolded her impatiently a few times, and their relationship gradually lost its initial closeness, but Jiang Nan still always liked to play with him. That never changed.

So, now that something happened to his fourth uncle’s family, the first person he thought of was Jiang Nan.

"What else could happen? Going there early this time meant there was an intent to ask everyone to help out and discuss solutions. Yuansheng’s family even put their house on the line this time, ending up with no place to live. Jiang Yan is doing fine; she went away to university and manages to scrape by each year with her scholarships, but Jiang Nan is in trouble. She’s still in high school, and with her family’s situation, even paying tuition is uncertain," Jiang Feng said worriedly, "Fortunately, they still have an old house to live in. But that house is in Wuxi County."

"This time going to your grandma’s place is probably to think of ways to help Yuansheng get through this tough time," Lin Jianguo said solemnly.

Lin Fei nodded understandingly. In his previous life, his fourth uncle also went quiet around this time, but because Lin Fei disliked their family, he didn’t care much, only hearing during Chinese New Year that his uncle had moved to Wuxi County. However, it wasn’t as bad as now; in the previous life, they just lost their fortune without incurring huge debt. It seems the butterfly effect is at work. Although he could help solve this problem, given his fourth uncle’s personality, even if he helped, he probably wouldn’t feel the slightest gratitude. He would just take it for granted. This type of person didn’t need his help. But, solving Jiang Nan’s situation was something that needed thinking through.

The family took a taxi to their grandmother’s place.

Honghu Community, an old residential complex, where the buildings are all clad in gray-brown wall bricks, clearly showing their age. The roads within the community are flanked by tall, dense trees—a great spot for cooling off during the summer. However, Lin Fei and Lin You didn’t have much of an emotional connection with their grandmother, having been raised by their other grandmother, so they felt closer to her and more unfamiliar with this place.

After getting out of the taxi, Jiang Feng said she needed to withdraw some money as Honghu Community, being an older and larger complex, has an Agricultural Bank branch amid its shady trees. Jiang Feng had brought an Agricultural Bank passbook. Lin Jianguo went with her to withdraw money, while Lin Fei and Lin You waited outside. Lin Fei leaned against the ATM’s sunshade, partly distracted by his cultivation practice of the Tracing Shadow Sword Art. Lin You glanced at him sidelong, not saying a word. Even though she found his look a bit strange, Lin Fei’s facial features had changed significantly these past few months, from being average to somewhat delicate, and now whatever clothes he wore no longer looked as dull and ugly as before; instead, there was a unique charm about him. This was part of Lin Fei’s original plan; he planned to slowly correct his appearance, and although the effects weren’t significant, he could gradually make adjustments. At least he wanted his family to recognize him, planning little by little to adapt his present guise, allowing people around to gradually get used to the changes, then with time, align closer to his true appearance, which had also been modified by Yan Shi during his developmental period. Even though the effects wouldn’t be substantial, at least he shouldn’t be unrecognizable to those around him.

Now according to Lin You, his face was: not too embarrassing to be seen in public.

Therefore, Lin You’s attitude towards Lin Fei had improved from before. She admitted she judged people by their appearance, but what of it?

"No one wants their circle of friends to be filled with unsightliness, right? After all, people do have aesthetic needs," was the reasonable explanation provided by the black cat Feil. "So, judging by appearance isn’t wrong, but it shouldn’t be the standard for recognizing people. I was initially suspicious whether your brother was truly related to you, but now it seems it was just a late developmental correction."

Lin You found this explanation quite credible. Since stepping into the Supernatural World, she’d come to treasure the warm atmosphere of casual bickering at home more and more. Previously, she possessed it but didn’t realize its value, only now understanding how precious such a life was. Thus, her impression of her brother gradually improved.

"Hey, Lin Fei," Lin You called out, turning her head.

Lin Fei was distracted, guiding his cultivation of the Tracing Shadow Sword Art, only partly paying attention to the outside.

"What’s up?" he replied somewhat absentmindedly.

Lin You immediately became a bit infuriated.

"Don’t think you’re all that just because you’ve practiced some skills. There are many things you haven’t encountered and don’t understand the danger of! Didn’t I tell you to go out less at night before?" She hadn’t intended to bring this up, but seeing Lin Fei like that made her angry, and she couldn’t help but switch to this topic.

"I didn’t go out though?" Lin Fei looked innocent.

"Really?" Lin You was taken aback, suddenly confused. She actually didn’t know, as she had to go to a mysterious person for training every night, a routine recently, and therefore she wasn’t present for the events at home.

"Yes, I always study in my room." Lin Fei nodded seriously. Faced with Lin You, he was already very experienced; this girl was adorably foolish, and merely going along with her a little made it easy to deal with her. Moreover, what left him speechless was her total inability to tell the difference between what was true and what was mere politeness.

"By the way, Lin You." Lin Fei suddenly thought of something and smiled.

"What?" Lin You blinked her eyes, looking at Lin Fei warily.

Lin Fei leaned in and whispered a few words. Lin You’s eyes widened in shock.

At that moment, Lin Jianguo and Jiang Feng walked out of the bank. They caught sight of Lin Fei and Lin You whispering closely together. Both of them felt a sense of relief; since childhood Lin You had never liked Lin Fei, and Lin Fei always enjoyed provoking Lin You. Now, they finally seemed to look like siblings, which comforted them as parents.

"Let’s go, Feifei, little You," Jiang Feng called out softly.

"Oh," Lin Fei smiled and walked away from Lin You.

The latter humphed and followed, holding a black cat.

The grandmother had originally been a textile worker; the grandfather had died early. She had raised several children by herself through years of hardship, which had left her with many ailments. Now in her eighties, she could no longer walk well, managing only to move around the house. Rheumatoid arthritis made it painful for her to stand for long. Seeing Lin Fei’s family arrive, the old woman greeted them with a delighted smile. Usually, she was alone at home, with her children occasionally dropping by, but ultimately, she was lonely. So, whenever they visited, she was always in good spirits.

Soon after the four of them sat down in the living room, the families of the second, third, and fourth uncles also arrived. The living room quickly became lively.

Jiang Yuansheng’s family was still dressed as before, but the arrogance that had once been visible on his and his wife’s faces had vanished. As soon as they entered, they were all smiles, showing no sign of recent major troubles. They even took the initiative to shake hands and greet Lin Jianguo.

After sitting for a while, Jiang Feng got up to start cooking. However, Jiang Yuansheng gently squeezed his wife’s hand, and understanding the gesture, she too stood up and followed Jiang Feng into the kitchen.

The elderly lady sat in the main seat, motioning for the younger family members to come closer. She whispered to them that the firecrackers were hidden behind the TV cabinet, to be set off later that evening.

Jiang Nan entered and immediately went to stand behind Lin Fei.

"Brother Feifei," she whispered.

Lin Fei ruffled her head and smiled without saying a word. Nearby, Lin You noticed this gesture and her expression soured even further.

"Shall we set off firecrackers together later?" Jiang Nan looked somewhat pale, likely distressed by recent events.

"Sure." Lin Fei recalled a previous life when Jiang Nan, after moving to the county town, had been deceived by a boy, got pregnant, and was thereafter completely ostracized by her family, eventually running away from home. He didn’t know what had ultimately happened to her. Thinking back to the little kid who used to cling to him all the time, he naturally couldn’t let such a thing happen again.