Attacked by the Female Demon at the Beginning - Chapter 123

Chapter 123: Sublimation of the Mind

Hearing the question, Jiang Hao replied with a light smile.

“You jest. I started chopping wood when I was four or five years old. It was quite difficult back then due to my small strength.”

Right here, in this place, in this position.

Jiang Hao placed the chopping axe on the wood, weighed it lightly a couple of times, then with a bit more force, he secured it in place.

With two heavy strikes, the wood split apart.

“Four or five years old?” the old man exclaimed.

“You could barely hold the axe steady, right?”

“It was indeed difficult at that time,” Jiang Hao said with a smile.

Decades have passed, and he would feel nostalgic about his past experiences, but he harbored no hatred.

Apart from remembering his stepmother scolding him, he didn’t even remember the bad things she did to him.

Moreover, he was beginning to forget what his stepmother even looked like.

“It seems you really did come from a poor background,” the old man said, somewhat incredulously.

Chopping wood, Jiang Hao felt as if he had returned to his childhood.

Unfortunately, not many memories remained.

As a cultivator, his memory should have been excellent, but he hadn’t started cultivating before he left.

He had also spent a lot of time improving himself afterward.

As the years passed, the events of the past gradually became blurred and forgotten.

“Are you here to inquire about the Jiang family?” the old man asked curiously, looking at Jiang Hao.

“What is your relationship with them?”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hao paused, looking at the old man in front of him.

Despite some signs of age, he had a good spirit and an air of quality about him.

He must have been a respected figure in his youth.

Hesitating for a moment, he truthfully said.

“Their son.”

“Their son?” the old man was shocked.

“That can’t be. When I bought the house from them, I never heard they had a son.”

“Yes,” Jiang Hao nodded and said casually:

“I was sold away when I was five years old. Today, by chance, I returned to Luo City and wanted to see them.”

The old man looked at Jiang Hao in surprise, his mouth opened but no words came out.

After Jiang Hao chopped some more wood, the old man finally asked/

“When did you leave?”

“About seventeen years ago,” Jiang Hao replied.

“I bought this house sixteen years ago,” the old man thought for a moment and continued.

“I heard they were moving to another place.”

The year after I was sold?

Were they worried I would survive joining the Demon Sect and come back for revenge?

Jiang Hao thought bitterly.

He wouldn’t go that far.

Even though life in the Tianyin Sect wasn’t easy, he would not resort to such measures.

“Did they say where they were moving to?” Jiang Hao asked.

“No,” the old man shook his head:

“But it’s probably one of the towns nearby. If you want to see them, you could look around.”

Jiang Hao looked down, not responding.

He had come out with Hong Yuye this time and couldn’t possibly wander around the nearby towns.

It was already fortunate that he could come here.

Being in the Demon Sect, he had made many powerful enemies.

It was a luxury to go out safely, and now no one knew he still had relatives in the secular world.

It would not be good if it were discovered.

He wasn’t worried this time because of Hong Yuye; her strength could shield all dangers.

“Seventeen years ago, I remember there was a famine, right? It was a difficult time for the entire city,” the old man added.

“Yes, I have some recollection,” Jiang Hao nodded.

Looking at Jiang Hao, the old man could somewhat understand his feelings and asked.

“Do you hate them?”

“Not really, just a bit of resentment,” Jiang Hao replied softly.

“That’s quite rare. Anyone else would hate them to death,” the old man said with a smile.

Jiang Hao didn’t say much more, just quietly continued chopping wood.

After a long while, he finished chopping all the wood.

“I’m leaving now,” Jiang Hao said politely as he stood up.

“Let me see you out,” the old man said, rising to escort Jiang Hao.

Walking along, Jiang Hao was lost in his memories, memories that were hazy.

He could find a sense of familiarity in many places, yet he couldn’t recall the specifics.

Finally, he stepped out of the gate, feeling an inexplicable sense of loss.

He bowed with his hands clasped in front of the elders, and then Jiang Hao strode away.

After some time, he heard the sound of the gate closing behind him.

Only then did he stop, turn around, and look back at the door.

It was an old house that seemed to have witnessed the vicissitudes of time. For a moment, he felt as if he had returned to seventeen years ago.

That year, he had also looked back to see the closed gate.

Back then, he hadn’t felt that his home would be gone, but now…

With another turn, there was no longer a home, and he would not return.

This place had nothing to do with him anymore.

Feeling a bit reluctant and a sense of emptiness in his heart, he had nowhere to place it.

Finally, Jiang Hao bowed deeply, a bow of farewell.

After rising, he turned and left.

Had he let go?

No.

But he had resolved a matter of the heart.

The past could be reminisced, but the road was still ahead.

At that moment, Jiang Hao felt as if a light burst forth in his heart, and power surged within him.

His state of mind elevated, and his cultivation soared.

In the blink of an eye, he was not far from breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.

This short half-hour surpassed the half-year he spent in the Spiritual Medicine Garden cultivating his state of mind.

He began to understand that the change in his state of mind was not about loneliness.

It was a resonance, detachment, and clarity.

To pick up, one must be able to let go.

To possess, one must understand.

To lose, one must comprehend.

Leaving the residential area, Jiang Hao once again returned to the main road.

The street was bustling with people and filled with vendors’ calls.

Just moments ago, his mind was clear as if isolated from the world, and now it was as if he had entered the mundane world anew.

“What a strange feeling,” he said to himself with a hint of self-mockery, planning to go back and find Hong Yuye.

Passing by a teaware shop, he suddenly stopped.

After thinking it over, he realized the teaware at the inn was quite ordinary and had been used by who knows how many people.

Would Hong Yuye use it?

After hesitating, he entered the teaware shop.

“What kind of teaware would you like, sir?” the shopkeeper immediately asked.

Jiang Hao looked around and finally noticed a set of pale red teaware.

Its color was translucent and not too conspicuous, its craftsmanship as fine as art, with patterns that were few but particularly fitting.

“How much?” he asked, pointing at the teaware set.

Fifteen taels.

With the shopkeeper’s flattering words, Jiang Hao bought the teaware.

On the way back, he caught a whiff of a fragrant scent.

It was the smell of tea snacks.

He turned his head to see a very ordinary pastry shop.

As a child, he had wanted to come here but never had the chance.

After a moment’s hesitation, he bought some.

It was like fulfilling a childhood dream.

Carrying his purchases, Jiang Hao hadn’t gone far when he suddenly looked towards an alley and something flew towards him.

It was a stone.

Jiang Hao controlled it through the air and caught it.

Ensuring it was safe, he examined it closely in his hand.

Feeling something was off but finding nothing, he decided to use his divine power.

“Appraisal.”

【Secret Whisper: A stone used by the Great Thousand Divine Sect to convey messages. Crush and place in water to reveal the content.】

“The Great Thousand Divine Sect?”

Jiang Hao was puzzled.

Why would the Great Thousand Divine Sect contact him?

And how had he come to their attention?

With these questions, Jiang Hao returned to the inn.

Perhaps he could ask Hong Yuye.

“Bring a basin of water to Room No. 1 Yunshang,” he instructed the inn’s servant before heading straight to Hong Yuye’s door.

At that moment, the door opened automatically.

Jiang Hao saw Hong Yuye sitting by the window, looking at him with a smile that was not quite a smile and said:

“I thought you had run away.”