Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

The double doors creaked in the wind, and four supports stood outside to hold up the ceiling. Underneath the square ceiling was a complete set of tableware.

Zhang Ruoxue still remembers that on sunny days, her family would serve tea and rice wine, and her parents would sit under the roof chatting while she and her younger brother played in the muddy yellow open space outside the door.

Memories of the past appeared before Zhang Ruoxue's eyes as if they were real scenes.

Just as she was hesitating about how to meet her parents, the creaking door was slowly pushed open.

He was a middle-aged man with somewhat messy hair, wearing a white shirt that was not very neat and even a little sloppy, and sparse leg hair was exposed roughly under his brown shorts.

He carried an empty gourd in his pale, calloused hands, suggesting he was going out to fetch water.

"Hmm, shouldn't this door be repaired again? Otherwise, in the future..."

At that moment, the man was scratching his head, staring at the wooden door with some annoyance. Then he looked up and met those incredibly familiar eyes.

Those were the eyes of his own daughter.

In the blink of an eye, the man's movements stopped.

His lifeless pupils gradually began to sparkle with a brilliant light, like starlight blooming in the night sky. The gourd in his right hand slipped from his grasp.

"Xue'er?! Xue'er?!"

The fallen gourd had become nothing more than worthless trash to him.

At that moment, the man's eyes reflected only the girl's beautiful face; nothing else mattered.

"father……"

Zhang Ruoxue instinctively wanted to rush up and hug the slovenly man. He looked the same as he did two years ago, but he had aged considerably compared to ten years ago.

Zhang Ruoxue may not have realized how hard this man who had supported the family his whole life had worked, but now she really wanted to hold him tightly.

But she can't.

Zhang Ruoxue slowly withdrew the step she had subconsciously taken, instead of directly confronting him.

Because she was uncertain, uncertain whether the most tender part of her heart had suffered some unimaginable misfortune.

"Xue'er, it really is you!!"

The man's legs trembled with excitement. He took three quick steps forward, but soon his expression turned ugly. He looked down at his stained clothes and gave a bitter laugh.

"Xue'er, don't worry, Dad... Dad will call your mother out right away! She's been missing you for a long time and has been talking about you a lot lately!"

"father……"

Before Zhang Ruoxue could speak, the man rushed back into the room with an embarrassed yet excited and joyful smile.

What followed was a somewhat hoarse gasp of surprise.

The woman, who no longer possessed that voluptuous figure and was nearly fifty years old, ran out of the house. Her clothes looked extremely shabby, with so many patches that they almost covered her chest.

Despite the many wrinkles on her face, one could still tell from her dignified features that this woman must have been a renowned beauty in the past, and her appearance bore a five or six-point resemblance to Zhang Ruoxue now.

Upon seeing Zhang Ruoxue not far away, she suddenly covered her mouth, and two large tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks. For a moment, she stood there in a daze, as if possessed.

Zhang Ruoxue smiled slightly and took a few steps forward. "Father, Mother, I'm back."

There is probably nothing more exciting in the world than this statement.

The elderly couple were at a loss for words to describe their feelings; excitement filled their nearly withered hearts.

The two elders hadn't seen their daughter for a long time, so how could they not be excited when Zhang Ruoxue suddenly returned!

In front of her closest relatives, Zhang Ruoxue gradually lowered her guard. She wiped her eyes slightly, forcefully held back her tears, and began to talk to her parents.

All of this was observed by Fan Luokui.

In fact, from the moment the two elderly people appeared, Fan Luokui secretly began to circulate the internal energy within her body. If the two elderly people did anything improper to Senior Sister Zhang, she would not hesitate to step forward to stop them.

However, judging from the current situation, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with it?

The two of them were just ordinary people, without any cultivation or weapons. Let alone plotting to kill Senior Sister Zhang, they probably couldn't even scratch her skin if they tried their best.

Even so, Fan Luokui still dared not slack off. In such a strange Jingyuan Village, she could not afford to be lazy in the slightest.

Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous.

After a brief conversation, the two elders naturally turned their attention to Fan Luokui.

"Xue'er, is this...your fellow disciple?"

The old woman's questioning gaze swept over Fan Luokui for a moment, then she looked at her red and white shrine maiden outfit with great puzzlement.

This outfit, in the old man's eyes, was clearly not something a respectable person would wear.

Fan Luokui was naturally aware of this, and immediately cursed inwardly at the peculiar quirk of that bastard teacher. At the same time, she replied with a straight face, "I am Senior Sister Zhang's junior sister. As for this outfit, please don't overthink it, it's just a Taoist robe."

"Oh...this immortal's robe is indeed very unique."

The old woman looked genuinely moved, with no hint of sarcasm.

But it was precisely because of the other person's serious remark that Fan Luokui started thinking about how to change out of this outfit.

—That guy, a teacher, did such a thing, he has no shame!

Silently cursing that old rogue again, Fan Luokui slowly calmed down and returned to her usual icy expression.

At this moment, Zhang Ruoxue stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Alright, Father and Mother, please go inside and sit down. I have something to say to my junior sister."

"Oh, okay! Okay! You two go first—" The man nodded quickly, pulling the woman beside him into the house. "You two talk about your sect's affairs first. Your mother and I will go inside first. Oh, and your younger brother is in the house too. He's sleeping right now. I'll wake him up in a bit."

"okay."

Zhang Ruoxue smiled as she watched the two elders leave.

Immediately, she slowly turned her head, and the smiling face vanished instantly, replaced by a solemn expression as if facing a formidable enemy.

Fan Luokui knew that her senior sister Zhang had made a new discovery.

"Senior Sister Zhang, what did you find?"

“It’s not exactly a discovery, it’s just… things are getting even stranger.” Zhang Ruoxue gasped and said to Fan Luokui, “When I came back here two years ago, I stayed for three days.”

"You saw traces of something you did again?"

“No.” Zhang Ruoxue shook her head. “I didn’t do anything. I’ve been with my parents for the past three days.”

This time, it was Fan Luo Kui's turn to be puzzled. "What are you trying to say?"

"clothing."

"clothing?"

Seeing the incomprehensible expression on Fan Luokui's face, Zhang Ruoxue lowered her head and spoke in an extremely low voice.

Did you see the white shirt my dad was wearing just now?

"I saw it."

—These words fell.

A certain possibility suddenly popped into Fan Luokui's mind.

If she remembered correctly, the white shirt looked very worn and had a frightening number of patches.

There's nothing wrong with that; both she and her husband are like that. And judging from the house they live in, Zhang Ruoxue's family isn't wealthy; in fact, they could be described as poor.

But the problem is, she remembers...

Grandma Lin's clothes also had many patches.

The old woman who lived next to Grandma Lin's house, basking in the sun, also had many patches on her clothes.

Looking back carefully, many people's clothes were very worn out along the way.

It is not surprising if a village has many poor people and many who cannot afford clothes.

But if the whole village can't afford clothes, then something's not right.

She stared at Zhang Ruoxue in surprise, while the latter looked up and gazed at her intently.

"Two years ago, I stayed in Jingyuan Village for three days. I remember those three days very clearly. I especially remember that on the last day, my father changed into a clean, snow-white shirt."

“That was a gift from me to him.”

Zhang Ruoxue shook her head, her face full of shock.

"But now, that garment is covered in patches and is very worn out..."

"This means that the two years have not disappeared."

"They truly spent two years of their lives together!"

What exactly is going on...?

23. The only clue

Two years have truly passed.

But everything around her was exactly the same as it had been two years ago. Grandma Lin, whose lifespan should have ended long ago and who should have returned to dust and soil, still had six months to live.

why?

They couldn't understand it. No matter how quickly their brain cells grew and died, no matter how fast their thoughts moved, the two of them still couldn't figure out the reason.

This small Jingyuan Village was like a boundless, pitch-black cage, trapping the two female disciples, Zhang and Fan, within it. Countless chains of mystery bound the cage tightly, constantly emanating an aura of despair.

Zhang Ruoxue's breathing was heavier than ever before, her trembling eyes fixed on the familiar little wooden house in front of her, the creaking wooden door that swayed in the wind—the very door she used to push and pull when she was a child.

But now, she was hesitant to step inside.

Surprising.

All of this is too bizarre.

Unconsciously, Zhang Ruoxue felt a heavy pressure swirling in her heart, like a thorny vine coiling around her soul. A deep sense of powerlessness made her lose even the courage to take a step.

Were those people in that house, who had just warmly and excitedly greeted me, really that kind old couple, really my parents?

Zhang Ruoxue didn't know, and dared not know.

The endless silence was like a still mirror. Because Zhang Ruoxue's home was located in a very remote area, there were no neighbors around, and even birds and beasts were rarely seen.

Therefore, it was completely silent at this moment.