Capítulo 89: Chapter 89: Mending the Pot

In the orange glow of the setting sun, the villagers carried their hoes on their shoulders as they returned to the village, their shadows stretching long behind them.

The young boys weaved between the villagers, laughing, teasing, and chasing each other. Their lively laughter echoed in the evening sky, dispelling the weariness that had settled on the villagers after a long day of work.

After parting ways with the others, Lin Xiao walked alone along the narrow paths of the village. As he passed by Elder Hu's house, he suddenly heard a woman's startled cry from inside.

The courtyard gate was ajar, so he peeked inside. He saw Elder Hu's daughter-in-law holding a large iron pot, emerging from the kitchen. She raised the pot, showing it to Elder Hu, who was resting in the courtyard.

"Father, the pot's broken! I was planning to cook a big meal tonight to give Ji Fa and the others some nourishment, but now what? It costs quite a bit to get a pot mended in town..."

Elder Hu glanced at the worn-out bottom of the pot. He recalled how, in his haste a few days ago, he had accidentally damaged it with too much force. Embarrassed, he stroked his graying beard, about to speak, when a clear voice interrupted him from outside the courtyard.

"I can fix the pot, Grandpa Hu. Let me help you."

Elder Hu and his daughter-in-law turned toward the gate. Seeing it was Lin Xiao, Elder Hu smiled warmly and nodded.

"Good lad, come in, come in."

He then turned to his daughter-in-law and said, "Give the pot to Xiao, he can fix it."

Though she hesitated, Elder Hu's daughter-in-law trusted her father-in-law and handed the iron pot to Lin Xiao, who had entered the courtyard.

"Alright, I'll go finish preparing the other dishes," she said before returning to the kitchen.

At that moment, the rest of the Hu family was still out working, so only Elder Hu and Lin Xiao remained in the courtyard.

Without hiding anything, Lin Xiao performed a bit of alchemy right in front of Elder Hu, repairing the iron pot with ease. He had created several elemental techniques to prepare for the Green Wilderness Secret Realm, and one of the first he developed was related to the five elements.

While these techniques hadn't been used much in the secret realm, they had proven to be quite useful in daily life.

Elder Hu watched the entire process with a smile, his eyes full of warmth, as if he were looking at one of his own children. He observed Lin Xiao making a hand gesture over the iron pot, and the hole in the bottom quickly mended itself, leaving the pot as good as new.

Stroking his beard, Elder Hu asked gently, "Xiao, that dreadful weather won't return, will it?"

Lin Xiao nodded and replied softly, "It won't happen again."

Hearing this confirmation, Elder Hu let out a long breath of relief as he lay back in his chair.

He recalled the sudden change in weather a few days ago, just like eleven years ago, and it filled him with unease. But unlike back then, when the deadly cold and snow had arrived, this time, the weather had warmed up again just as quickly.

He remembered that after the weather had returned to normal, as he was heading back home after notifying the villagers, he had seen Lin Yun, drenched in sweat, carrying the unconscious and pale Lin Xiao back to the village at full speed.

At that moment, Elder Hu felt as if he understood something.

Now, with Lin Xiao's reassurance, his mind was finally at ease. The terrible weather that had once claimed so many lives would never return.

As Elder Hu sat in his chair, lost in thought, Lin Xiao quietly bowed and left without disturbing him.

Meanwhile, Elder Hu sat silently, replaying the scene of snow falling in the middle of June in his mind. He thought of his late wife, who had passed away during that cold spell, and his old eyes welled with tears once again.

When the rest of the Hu family returned, they found their patriarch sitting alone in the courtyard, quietly wiping away his tears.

After leaving Elder Hu's house, Lin Xiao made a quick visit to the Lin family's old residence to show his relatives that he had fully recovered before finally heading back home.

After dinner, Lin Xiao sat in his room, contemplating what items to prepare for Sun Yi Gao and Qin Jianghe for their upcoming journeys.

First, he considered that their cultivation shouldn't lag behind too much. After all, the spiritual energy in the sect's cultivation room was far more abundant than what they would find outside. So, they needed something to help with their cultivation.

Not knowing how long they would be away, Lin Xiao decided to take out twenty spirit stones from his personal stash, intending to give them ten each.

He also thought about creating a portable Spirit Gathering Array for them.

Then he realized they might also need something to conceal their cultivation level. After all, even though they were in the mortal realm, there was always the possibility of encountering a wandering cultivator.

As for those Nascent Soul cultivators who could see through one's cultivation with just a glance, Lin Xiao dismissed that idea. What kind of Nascent Soul cultivator would be bored enough to linger in the mortal realm and take an interest in Qi Refining cultivators like them?

With that in mind, Lin Xiao noted that he should also figure out how to completely conceal his own spiritual energy fluctuations in the future. He mentally added it to his list of things to explore later.

Thinking about how to create items for hiding cultivation and a portable Spirit Gathering Array, Lin Xiao absentmindedly drummed his fingers on the edge of the bed.

Array formations… could they perhaps be created by drawing an array diagram or something similar?

Lin Xiao decided to head up the mountain right away to consult Elder Liao. If he could learn how to draw a Spirit Gathering Array and a Concealment Array, it would be incredibly helpful.

With the success of his previous creations, Lin Xiao had grown more confident in the system's item creation tool. It seemed that as long as the materials he used weren't too outlandish, the system would generate items that matched his expectations.

Once on the mountain, Lin Xiao made a beeline for Elder Liao's residence in the "Guiyuan Mountain Dwelling."

To be honest, Lin Xiao felt a bit embarrassed. So far, Elder Liao was the only resident of Guiyuan Mountain Dwelling. Although everyone was excited to have their own space, they still had to return home in the evening. After all, staying alone in a house on the mountain was a bit intimidating.

Even though Yang Jinshu and her two children spent most of their time cultivating in the sect, they still had a small plot of land to tend to, which made living on the mountain inconvenient. So, like the others, they returned home each evening.

Moreover, once night fell, it was easier to practice spells in the fields without being seen by the villagers.

Still, everyone had gradually started bringing small personal items to the mountain dwellings, so the space was being used, albeit sparingly.

Looking at the nearly empty Guiyuan Mountain Dwelling, with only Elder Liao residing there, Lin Xiao sighed deeply.

It was clear that the sect's most urgent needs were money and resources. Once those were secured, everyone wouldn't be bound by their daily needs and could stay on the mountain.

Fortunately, the spiritual grains they had planted were already growing, so it was only a matter of time before the issue of food was resolved.