No choice—don’t both Daoism and Buddhism talk about karma and cause and effect? If those people go and cause trouble for Andrew Grant’s family, and Heaven holds them accountable, wouldn’t they die a most unjust death?

The experience in the inner room had completely terrified them!

“Kid, what exactly did you do to them? Are you sure nothing happened?” In William Grant’s family-run guesthouse in Gejiayang Village, William Grant held a thousand yuan in his hand, feeling uneasy.

“Don’t worry, Dad, what could possibly happen? I just scared them a bit so they wouldn’t come looking for trouble with our family later.” Andrew Grant replied with a relaxed smile.

“Really nothing happened?” William Grant put away the thousand yuan, still a little uneasy.

“Really, Dad, I know my limits.” Andrew Grant said helplessly again.

“That’s good. I know you’ve learned some skills from your master. Even though times are different now—things like drawing talismans and exorcising ghosts won’t get you paraded through the streets and thrown in jail like in your master’s day—who knows how the world might change? You still need to be careful. When you get to the county, focus on your studies and never show off the skills you learned from your master, so you don’t get into trouble.” William Grant knew his son had always been more mature than other kids, and seeing him repeatedly promise there was no problem, he finally let go of his worries and earnestly advised him.

“Dad, I understand! If I hadn’t been worried those people would come back to cause trouble, I wouldn’t have used any tricks to scare them.” Hearing this, the youthful face of Andrew Grant immediately turned serious, and he nodded solemnly.

Because he understood even better than his father that the skills he had learned were extraordinary and completely out of place in this society and era. Moreover, when his master was on his deathbed, he had specifically warned him to be careful about these things. The reason his master often acted crazy was closely related to that frenzied period of “Smash the Four Olds.”

“Good, that puts my mind at ease.” William Grant nodded.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll go out and help Qiuzi tidy up the house.” Andrew Grant said.

“Go on.” William Grant waved his hand.

Seeing his father wave, Andrew Grant quickly left the inner room. The conversation they’d just had wasn’t suitable for outsiders to hear, so William Grant had specially called him into the inner room.

People from the city usually left Baiyun Mountain and returned to the city by evening, so the guesthouse really only did business at lunchtime; by evening, there were no more customers.

During the day, his mother Grace Howard had gone back to her parents’ home, so she wasn’t there. In the evening, she returned and cooked some home-style dishes, and the family sat in the small courtyard to eat.

The mountain breeze was gentle, stars twinkled, cicadas and insects chirped. The family sat around a small wooden table in their own courtyard, eating together—it was especially warm and cozy.

“Dongxu, you’ve always been sensible and capable, so I shouldn’t have to worry. But thinking about how you’ve never stayed in the city alone, I still feel uneasy. When you get to the city, you must be careful, focus on your studies, and try to get into a good university in the future.” While eating, thinking of her son leaving for the county tomorrow, Grace Howard couldn’t help but remind him anxiously.

A mother always worries when her child travels far!

“Mom, don’t worry! I’ll be careful.” Andrew Grant had never worried about going to the county himself, but seeing his mother’s anxious face, he couldn’t help but feel a little emotional and quickly reassured her.

“Mm.” Grace Howard nodded, then added, “You said you don’t want to live in the school dorm because of your training and want to rent a place outside, right? Today I went to your grandpa’s house and asked him to call your eldest uncle. No matter what your aunt is like, your uncle is still family, and staying at his place is better than living outside.”

“Mom, what are you doing? Isn’t it bad enough being looked down on by my aunt? It’s not like I don’t have money—why should I stay at their place!” Andrew Grant immediately protested.

His grandfather had three sons and two daughters, and the family was well-off. Grace Howard was the youngest, and even though she was a girl, she finished high school.

At that time, for someone like Grace Howard to finish high school was already impressive. She could have found a decent job in town or the county, but by chance, she met William Grant, they fell in love, and she insisted on marrying into the poor Gejiayang village. As a result, Grace Howard, the youngest, ended up being the least well-off among her siblings.

This wouldn’t have mattered—everyone makes their own choices and lives their own lives. But his eldest aunt was a typical snob. Since both she and her husband worked in the county, she especially looked down on their family. When Andrew Grant was little, he didn’t notice, but as he grew up, he came to dislike this aunt very much.

“You child, no matter how your aunt is, she’s still your aunt. Why hold a grudge?” Grace Howard scolded, glancing at William Grant as she spoke.