As evening fell, Li Baolong arrived at his cousin's house in Jianzhou. The familiar aroma that greeted him as soon as he entered warmed his heart. His cousin beamed with joy at his arrival; they were having dinner, as it was New Year's Day. His cousin Chunhua was busy preparing the meal in the kitchen, and Li Baolong, without any hesitation, sat down and joined the two elders for dinner, chatting about everyday things.

As they ate, Uncle brought up Huang Jian again, frowning as he said, "That kid's been doing business in Myanmar for almost two years now, and we haven't heard a word from him. I'm always worried he might have broken some law abroad and gotten arrested. What will we do then?" The whole family fell silent after he said this.

Li Baolong quickly reassured him, "Uncle, don't worry too much. Huang Jian is only interested in making money; he's not the reckless type and definitely won't take risks easily. It's just that the timing isn't right right now. The jade business has been tough these past few years, and the economies of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan aren't doing well either. He's waiting for a better opportunity, and he'll come back sooner or later. Oh, by the way, I own a real estate company in Xiamen. If you're interested, you can come and help out. I'll just give the general manager a call, and I guarantee there won't be any problems."

My cousin Chunhua's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she said excitedly, "That's great! I've wanted to quit my job for a long time."

After finishing his meal, Li Baolong returned to the room where he had slept when he first arrived in Jianzhou. Lying on the small wooden bed, he could almost smell the familiar scent he had left behind, and soon he fell into a deep sleep.

Just as dawn was breaking, Li Baolong was awakened by the noise of cooking. He rubbed his eyes and got up to see that his cousin Chunhua and aunt had already prepared breakfast perfectly. After eating breakfast, Li Baolong planned to say goodbye to his uncle and go visit his uncle in the countryside.

Just as he was about to leave, Sister Chunhua called him from downstairs, saying mysteriously, "Do you remember Yuanyuan? She's about your age, the one who used to work with me at the beauty salon. You even showed her a video!" Upon hearing this, Li Baolong immediately nodded and said, "Of course I remember her. What happened to her? Didn't she get married?"

Sister Chunhua sighed and continued, "They were planning to get married in their hometown, but a month before the wedding, her boyfriend was diagnosed with a serious illness and needed a kidney transplant. This ordeal dragged on for a whole year, they spent all their money, and he passed away. Yuanyuan was devastated. She ended up working at a bar in Chengdu. A while ago, she called the bar looking for me, asking if I wanted to earn money, saying that working at the bar could bring in a couple hundred yuan a day. She also asked how you were doing, whether you got into that university in Chengdu, and said she wanted to visit you. I told her you got into Western Jiaotong University."

Li Baolong simply nodded and said, "Yes, we'll definitely meet when we have the chance. Sister Chunhua, this is my phone number. Call me if anything comes up."

After saying that, Li Baolong drove off. He arrived at Sancha Town in no time, bought a large amount of food, and then rushed to his uncle's house in the countryside.

Upon seeing his limping uncle, Li Baolong felt a surge of warmth and kinship, and the uncle's face was full of smiles. Li Baolong quickly unloaded the things he had bought from the car, and then the uncle and nephew worked together to prepare lunch. Li Baolong skillfully stir-fried green peppers and eggs with cured meat, made a stir-fried cabbage with meat, and also cooked a pot of egg drop soup. These were all his specialties. Before long, the food was on the table, and the uncle and nephew chatted as they ate.

Li Baolong smiled and said to his uncle, "Uncle, I now run my own company in the real estate business. I'd like you to move to Chengdu; I'll buy you a house." His uncle shook his head and refused, saying, "Baolong, I'm used to living in the countryside. I love this old house and never want to leave."

Li Baolong then said, "Uncle, let's renovate this house and build a two-story house so we can live more spaciously." The uncle waved his hand again, "No need, no need. The house is fine as it is. It doesn't leak wind or rain, and I'm perfectly satisfied."

The old man had no great desires in his life. He spent his days tending to this small world, living a simple and unpretentious life, eating three meals a day and experiencing the four seasons. He was ordinary yet content and at peace.

That evening, the uncle and nephew sat on wooden stools in the living room, sipping tea and chatting enthusiastically about their family's long-forgotten past. The uncle said with deep emotion, "My child, our family isn't native to Sichuan! Your grandfather's generation told me all this. Back in the early Qing Dynasty, our ancestors migrated here from faraway Guangdong, enduring countless hardships."

Li Baolong listened intently and couldn't help but interject, "Then why did you move to such a far place?" His uncle sighed softly and continued, "Back then, there were frequent wars and chaos. Most of the people here were brutally murdered, almost all of them were wiped out! So the imperial court had no choice but to organize people from all over the country to migrate here, replenish the population, and reclaim this barren land. That's how our ancestors came here with the main force."

Uncle paused, gazing into the distance as if he could see the hardships his ancestors faced when they first arrived. He continued, "Our family has lived on this land for hundreds of years! We've weathered storms and witnessed the changes of the times. Now, we have a deep affection for this land. No matter how the outside world changes, we can't bear to leave!" Li Baolong nodded thoughtfully, indicating his understanding and agreement.

At night, Li Baolong sat alone on his wooden bed, gazing at the moon outside the window. He was puzzled. He had been so busy lately that he had neglected his cultivation of Taoist arts, and he felt that his Taoist arts had reached a bottleneck again, which he couldn't seem to break through.

He couldn't help but recall the old Taoist priest, who had cultivated to the eighth level of perfection and then attempted to break through to the ninth level, but failed for several years. As he grew older, he had no choice but to descend the mountain to seek opportunities, only to meet with misfortune in the Western Regions and lose his life in Loulan. Li Baolong then pondered his own situation. He had accidentally consumed an elixir, which had significantly boosted his cultivation, allowing him to learn Taoist magic and understand half of the celestial book. He knew that without this level of Taoist cultivation, the power of that celestial book would be reduced by at least half.

He was lost in thought, unable to find a direction. Suddenly, a thought struck him: Why not go and check out the old Taoist temple? It wasn't too far away, only a two-hour drive. With that in mind, he didn't hesitate and decided to set off early the next morning, heading straight for Qingcheng Mountain to find out.