Starting Cultivation During a Trip

"Old Ge, stop the car over there. Let’s rest by the lake and enjoy the scenery."

"Alright." Ge Shuangxiu turned the steering wheel and parked the car.

The three of them arrived covered in dust, yet found a moment of leisure to admire Pearl Lake’s view.

"Zhang Fan, do you know why Chen Dragon came here?" Ge Shuangxiu asked, hands in his pockets, finally broaching the main topic of the journey.

"Our ancestral mansion is here. My dad told me, since my grandfather’s generation it’s been here," Zhang Fan said in a deep voice.

More than eighty years ago, the Daoist Sect experienced a great tribulation, since then Dragon Tiger Mountain closed its gates, with only some Zhang Family disciples escaping.

The last Celestial Master, Zhang Tai Xu, divided this group of Zhang Family disciples into two parts, thus becoming the North and South branches.

These people are counted as the first generation disciples.

Like Zhang Tian Sheng, who is considered a second-generation disciple, their family traveled and eventually settled in Qin Ancient Town.

Later, South Zhang was annihilated. At that time, Zhang Lingzong was still young, barely a teenager, faced with great changes, left home, and wandered in Jianghu, never returning.

Only when Li Linglong was pregnant with Zhang Fan did Zhang Lingzong bring her back here.

After Zhang Fan was born, at the age of three, the family left again.

Since then, they never returned.

"Chen Dragon also has the surname Zhang. He returned here only for the ancestral mansion," Zhang Fan said sternly.

Chenlong Zhang Nanfeng, during his time in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, he called Zhang Tian Sheng ’Second Uncle,’ and Zhang Lingzong ’Fifth Brother.’

At that time, Zhang Fan knew this person had deep ties with their Zhang Family.

"Humans are creatures that move forward continually. If they look back, it must be for something," Li Miaoyin spoke.

"Search!" Zhang Fan uttered a single word.

The tacit understanding between Zhang Fan and Li Miaoyin was hard to express, their thoughts were as one.

"Search?" Ge Shuangxiu asked, puzzled.

"Exactly."

"Either looking for old friends, searching for something, or recalling memories," Zhang Fan analyzed.

The Zhang Family ancestral mansion is already abandoned, the old family members are all dead, so Chen Dragon can’t be looking for people.

A person like him, severed of emotions and desires, peaceful and empty-minded, can’t possibly come so far to reminisce about the past.

The only possibility...

"Does your ancestral mansion have something he’s looking for?" Li Miaoyin said in a deep voice.

"It’s very likely." Zhang Fan nodded.

"Then where is your ancestral mansion?" Ge Shuangxiu couldn’t help but ask.

"I don’t know." Zhang Fan shook his head.

"You don’t know?" Ge Shuangxiu was stunned.

"You don’t know where your own family home is?"

"I left with my parents when I was three, and never returned since." Zhang Fan spoke softly.

"How would I know where the ancestral mansion is?"

"What about visiting the graves during Qingming Festival? Don’t you need to return to sweep the tombs and honor ancestors?" Ge Shuangxiu pursued.

"Never. My dad said, everyone’s dead anyway, whether you sweep or not doesn’t matter much."

"..."

"Your dad sure is filial."

"But he did instruct me, if he ever passes, I must burn more offerings for him every year."

"..."

"Then why did we come here?" Ge Shuangxiu couldn’t help but ask.

The Rat shared such critical information with them, having seized the opportunity, yet Zhang Fan doesn’t even know where the ancestral mansion is, it’s like getting up early to attend a late gathering.

"We don’t need to do anything." Zhang Fan said casually.

"The Rat sharing such information with me must have ulterior motives."

"Think about it, even if Chen Dragon knows where the ancestral mansion is, if we encounter him, we can’t beat him."

As these words fell, Li Miaoyin and Ge Shuangxiu both fell into silence.

Zhang Fan was right; Chen Dragon is a master of the Celestial Master realm. Trained in Five Elements Mistaken King, his strength is among the top.

If the three young ones really met him, it would be disastrous for them.

"Then what are we doing here?" Ge Shuangxiu asked.

"We don’t need to do anything." Zhang Fan chuckled.

"Before we came, I already submitted a report to the Daoist Alliance Headquarters, telling them Chen Dragon, of the Thirteen Zodiacs, is here."

At this moment, Zhang Fan seemed possessed by Zhao Jie Xuan.

"Daoist Alliance? Report?" Ge Shuangxiu asked in amazement.

"Of course, fighting against evil forces and providing information is every citizen’s duty."

Strictly speaking, the Wuwei Sect can indeed be considered among the evil forces, having been purged for thousands of years but never thoroughly.

Zhang Fan declared righteously, "I cannot coexist with evil."

"You sure are quite conniving." Ge Shuangxiu muttered with disdain.

In terms of positions, he openly belonged to the Ge Family, but secretly also to the Wuwei Sect.

"Are you sure the Daoist Alliance will send experts?" Ge Shuangxiu asked.

"Absolutely."

Zhang Fan nodded, "Have you heard the story of Wula and the West Sea?"

"Hmm!?"

"Between them, conflict is certain!" Zhang Fan laughed.

His own strength is limited, but the Daoist Alliance’s power is limitless.

By this act, he indirectly defended righteousness, raised the high banner of the Daoist sect’s values, contributing his part in eliminating evil.

"The conflict between the Daoist Sect and Wuwei Sect is like the rising and ebbing tides, never-ending."

At this moment, Ge Shuangxiu, gazing at the vast Pearl Lake, couldn’t help but sigh.

"I’ll quit someday, and find a secluded mountain to cultivate."

"Hahaha."

Zhang Fan burst into laughter upon hearing that.

"Why are you laughing?" Li Miaoyin asked curiously.

"When I just started working, a colleague named Jiang Hu said to me, in the workplace there’s a certain kind of person..."

"Every day they shout about resigning, every month they earn full attendance, curse leaders behind their backs, sing ’The Heart of Gratitude’ at the end of the year."

As Zhang Fan spoke, his face showed more amusement, staring at Ge Shuangxiu.

"We call this type of person a ’workaholic dog.’"

With these words, even Li Miaoyin couldn’t help but laugh.

"You both laugh as much as you want."

Ge Shuangxiu rolled his eyes and walked ahead along the shore.

Willows swayed gracefully, waves arose with the wind, occasionally people passed by.

Nearby, an old man entered their sight, standing before a canvas, surrounded by portrait frames displaying vivid and lifelike drawings.

In a scenic spot like this, there were many photographers, but few drew portraits by hand, especially not at such an old age.

The old man, with white hair and beard, wore a ragged straw hat, slim body, slightly dark skin, yet spirited, with bright eyes that have clearly endured years of the lake’s weather.

"Sir, how much for a portrait?" Zhang Fan asked casually.

"Two hundred."

"That’s pricey." Zhang Fan couldn’t help but grumble.

"Too expensive? Young man, you probably don’t have a girlfriend yet," the painting old man raised his head, looking at Zhang Fan, grinning with yellow teeth.

"How do you know?" Zhang Fan asked curiously.

"Being stingy like this, how can you have a girlfriend?" the painting old man laughed.

"..."

Li Miaoyin, hearing this, couldn’t help but chuckle.

Zhang Fan pursed his lips, ready to leave, but suddenly his gaze shifted, landing on a painting in the display rack, stopping him cold.

The background was the vast Pearl Lake at sunset, a lone sail in the distance, a girl standing on the shore with shoulder-length short hair and dazzling eyes...

"Jiang Lai... she was here!?"

Zhang Fan raised his eyebrows, stepping to the portrait, unable to resist asking, "Sir, when did you see this girl?"

The painting old man remained silent, extending one finger.

"What do you mean?"

"One hundred."

"..."

Zhang Fan frowned slightly, pulled out his phone, and scanned the QR code, transferring one hundred yuan.

"I can’t remember," the painting old man replied.

"..."

"Then when did you paint this?" Zhang Fan pursued.

The painting old man extended another finger.

Zhang Fan repressed his frustration, transferring another hundred yuan, planning to burn down the stand if he didn’t get an answer.

"Doesn’t the painting have a date?" The painting old man grinned, smiling heartily.

He hadn’t encountered such a fool in a long time.

"It must’ve been ages ago. That girl was quite beautiful, now she must be older," the painting old man muttered to himself.

Zhang Fan looked at the long-yellowed paper, noting the date in the corner.

"Xin Si year..."

"That was twenty-four years ago!?" Zhang Fan raised his eyebrows, fixing on the date at the bottom.

"Ninth day of the ninth month!"

At this moment, his expression shifted again.

Twenty-four years ago, the ninth day of the ninth month.

That was the date of his birth!!!