Chapter 11 Resentment
An unusual phenomenon enveloped Chongxiao Garden, prompting various branches of the Wu family to take action, especially the members of the Ninth Branch, who immediately began searching in the direction of the purple pillar of light.
As the eldest son of the ninth branch, Wu Shaoshan lived in one of the several large courtyards in the garden, which was divided into several courtyards and contained many smaller courtyards. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the pillar of light was shining on a certain spot in the backyard, and naturally, he headed straight for it without hesitation.
Not only Wu Shaoshan, but also his many wives, concubines and children rushed to the scene.
As the group drew closer to the pillar of light, they soon arrived at the largest side courtyard—the residence of Li Ruer, Wu Shaoshan's legal wife. The only child she cared for, who was not yet three years old, was Wu Dongxiao.
Li Ruer stood in front of the wide-open door, not daring to enter rashly.
Wu Dongxiao, who should have been taking a nap in the room, looked up at the halberd in the sky through the hole—it was the halberd that broke through the roof with purple light the moment he opened the secret treasure.
Wu Shaoshan and Li Ruer watched Wu Dongxiao nervously.
Behind them, other family members, descendants, and relatives huddled together, their expressions not very pleasant.
Especially the eldest son, Wu Donghong, who was a top-tier Xuan-grade talent and originally the most talented among Wu Shaoshan's children, has been cultivated by his parents. But now that a top-tier Di-grade talent has appeared, it will definitely affect his future resources.
His two legitimate sons, one eight years old and the other three, were originally being held and led by Wu Donghong, but now, sensing Wu Donghong's anger, they both developed a strong aversion to Wu Dongxiao.
No one dared to say anything, but since they had vested interests, they each had their own calculations in mind.
—With such good qualities, why didn't they fall to me?
—It's Wu Dongxiao! The main wife is going to be so smug again! Yang'er's two children are about the same age as that kid; let them go and coax him, they can get some benefits too. But those other bitches also have grandchildren of similar age, they'll definitely want to get some too, I need to teach the kids how to coax them properly. I also need to watch out for Xiang'er's temper, I need to be a gentle older sister.
—Children are easy to fool. Jin'er and Fang'er are his nephew and niece. If we flatter them a bit, maybe...
·
People from other households also arrived one after another. Many came on their own, while others sent their servants to inquire about the situation.
Soon, the news spread rapidly, and the area around Wu Shaoshan's compound became noisy and bustling.
Suddenly, a powerful pressure surged forth, startling everyone around, who all looked toward the source of the pressure.
A middle-aged couple dressed in fine clothes walked over, their faces showing urgency.
Wu Shaoshan quickly ushered the person inside.
These two people are the current head of the Wu family and his wife, Wu Mingzhao and Yang Jingfei.
The couple breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Wu Dongxiao, who was full of spiritual energy.
It really is their grandson! That's wonderful!
Wu Mingzhao's face was radiant.
Yang Jingfei's expression also took on a gentle and loving quality.
·
Jiangheyuan, Huxinju.
Wu Shao'an suddenly overturned the table, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins from anger.
"Another one! Another one! And it's Wu Shaogan's nephew!"
The dozen or so servants around him all knelt on the ground, drenched in cold sweat, not daring to utter a sound.
Wu Shao'an's face was contorted, wishing he could reach out and tear the strange phenomenon in the air down!
·
At the age of two, Wu Shao'an activated his Divine Soul Treasury and summoned the Purple Shadow Bow, a medium-grade Earth-level weapon.
The best among the Wu family's children of this generation was only of medium aptitude, and before Wu Shao'an, no one with such aptitude had appeared for more than ten years. Naturally, he received the family's attention, preferential treatment in resources, and the support of clansmen... His parents also treated him with boundless love and care, being meticulous in every way.
Cultivators above the Earth Rank are born with a good memory, and Wu Shao'an remembered everything clearly, enjoying it immensely.
However, just three months later, an incredibly terrifying phenomenon suddenly appeared in the sky. Its immense scale and power made it impossible for the entire city of Kunyun to sleep peacefully, and many people stayed up all night.
The Wu family has produced a prodigy with top-tier aptitude!
It was Wu Shaogan who was born, and even what he summoned was a large bow—the Sun-Shooting Bow.
It firmly pressed down on Wu Shao'an's Purple Shadow Bow.
Overnight, all attention turned to Wu Shaogan, while Wu Shao'an was forgotten and relegated to being merely a slightly more valued member of the clan.
Even Wu Shao'an's parents, although they still care about him, no longer have that strong expectation. Occasionally, they would sigh softly in private, regretting the bad luck of their eighth branch of the family.
Wu Shaogan's aura was boundless, and even the elders would take the initiative to come and visit him.
·
Just as the Purple Shadow Bow is far inferior to the Sun-Shooting Bow, even with Wu Shaogan around, no one could see Wu Shao's saddle.
Wu Shao'an had already resigned himself to his fate, but Wu Shaogan was schemed against because he was too outstanding, and became a cripple, and was even forced to marry a male wife with low aptitude! Wu Shao'an was naturally gloating, thinking that he could finally hold his head high, but he was happy for only a few days, and the Ninth House produced another top-grade Earth Rank!
As smug as he had been before, Wu Shao'an was now furious. He suddenly closed his eyes, and a trace of resentment slowly rose from the depths of his heart.
After a long while, he opened his eyes, summoned his bodyguard, and ordered with malice, "Xia Jiang, go and find out how Wu Shaogan and his new wife are doing lately."
A drab figure suddenly appeared, knelt in a gesture of respect, and then vanished in the blink of an eye.
·
As evening approached, Zhong Cai had finished refining several batches of Qi-replenishing pills and was feeling a bit tired.
Wu Shaogan had already ordered the meal to be prepared. Seeing this, he pulled him up and said with a smile, "Come on, let's go fill our stomachs."
Zhong Cai was listless, entrusting most of her body to Wu Shaogan.
Wu Shaogan dragged Zhong Cai into the courtyard, and the strange phenomenon in the sky had dissipated at some point.
At this moment, Xiang Lin suddenly appeared in front of the second gate.
Zhong Cai turned her head and saw it, then asked, "Is something the matter?"
Xiang Lin reported: "Young Master Shao'an's bodyguards were spying in the vicinity this afternoon."
Wu Shaogan frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled as to why Wu Shaoan would spy on him. In his memory, although they were close in age, he was not familiar with this cousin and had never spent any time with him.
Zhong Cai suddenly remembered and blurted out, "Is it that cousin who has a problem with you? He sent someone to spy on you, what kind of trouble is he trying to cause?"
Wu Shaogan was taken aback and looked at Zhong Cai.
Seeing his expression, Zhong Cai couldn't help but guess, "Could it be... that you have no idea this guy hates you?"
Wu Shaogan was a little embarrassed.
Zhong Cai burst out laughing: "Hahaha! You really didn't know!"
Wu Shaogan said helplessly, "Stop laughing. How do you know he hates me?"
Zhong Cai curled her lip and directly described Wu Shao'an's face that day.
“If it were another man who married into the family, and he was broad-minded, it would be fine. He would know that it was a mutually beneficial arrangement and wouldn’t care what the Wu family’s attitude was. But if he was narrow-minded, and he couldn’t afford to offend the Wu family, wouldn’t he have to hold his breath?”
"The Wu family is taking someone from the Zhong family to cure your illness. Even if they give you the Soul-Stabilizing Fruit, it might not be of any use, and you'll be finished!" Zhong Cai put his arm around Wu Shaogan's shoulder, punched him in the chest, and snorted angrily, "He hates you so much that he wants to kill you, and you're still clueless. You're really thick-skinned!"
Wu Shaogan was speechless.
This... was indeed unexpected; he didn't recall ever offending Wu Shao'an.
However, Wu Shao'an's audacity in embarrassing Zhong Cai disgusted him greatly.
Zhong Cai chuckled: "What's so surprising about that? Jealousy is the original sin. You were so radiant back then, there must have been a lot of people who didn't like you behind your back, definitely not just Wu Shao'an. But whether it's envy or jealousy, it's all human nature. People like Wu Shao'an who couldn't wait to come up with bad ideas are still a minority."
Wu Shaogan didn't care how many people disliked him; he only cared about Zhong Cai's feelings.
"Then..." he hesitated before speaking, "have you ever felt sad because of me?"
Zhong Cai laughed loudly: "When you were in the wild, I sewed your clothes back together because they were torn. Would you look down on me just because I can sew clothes and you can't?"
The words were a bit convoluted, but Wu Shaogan understood them and smiled with a relaxed expression.
·
Of course, Zhong Cai's lack of any dark feelings towards Wu Shaogan was not only due to the fact that the two got along very well, but also largely due to his poor heart condition before transmigrating and his retention of memories from his previous life after transmigrating.
His past life memories shaped Zhong Cai, preventing him from being too influenced by this world.
People in this world admire strength, prioritizing talent above all else. But for Zhong Cai, surviving and seeing the scenery of another world was already a huge gain. While Wu Shaogan was undoubtedly highly talented, there were countless big names in various fields in his previous life. Did he envy the little painter next door just because he couldn't paint? Did he envy the singer just because he had a great voice? Did he envy the scientist just because he wasn't intelligent?
So in Zhong Cai's eyes, Wu Shaogan was just a promising newcomer in the "cultivation field," so was there any need to be jealous? Even if he was a little envious at times, Zhong Cai could quickly digest it. Don't be fooled by how lively he was in front of Wu Shaogan; in reality, his emotions were quite stable.
Zhong Cai is quite content with her current lively and energetic state. Being able to cultivate is already a bonus. Living an extra year is a bonus, and she doesn't necessarily want to be seen as the sun hanging in the sky.
·
Zhong Cai looked at Xiang Lin and gestured, "You continue."
Xiang Lin continued his report, stating succinctly: "I sent him back."
Zhong Cai was immediately delighted.
Wu Shaogan nodded and said, "Even if I have lost power now, it is only right to fight back if someone tries to spy on me."
He bowed to Xiang Lin and left through the door, clearly having nothing more to say.
Zhong Cai then said to Wu Shaogan, "Old Wu, next time we draw cards, let's train Xiang Lin properly. If his strength improves, we'll be safer when we go out."
Wu Shaogan agreed, saying, "Let's train him first, and we can also find some resources from Zhong Da to help him enter the palace as soon as possible."
·
For families like the Zhong and Wu, which have a long history, there are many ways to ensure the safety of their descendants. However, each family has different rules and methods, but generally they will arrange a relatively powerful protector for their descendants, who will be supported by the families themselves.
The protectors are responsible for guarding the clan's descendants when they are weak, and they become the clan's right-hand men as the descendants grow stronger.
Regardless of whether they are direct descendants or collateral branches, once their descendants unlock the secrets of their divine souls, they will have a Death Guard at the appropriate time. If they fail to unlock the secrets, they will still have a Death Guard when their descendants turn twenty.
The qualifications and strength of the Death Guards are allocated based on the qualifications of the Wu family descendants.
For example, although Wu Shaogan was born with top-tier Heavenly Qualities, he still needed the care of his elders. Therefore, when he was three years old and began to cultivate, his bodyguard Xiang Lin was assigned to him.
At the same time, Xiang Lin was the most talented among that batch of death guards, possessing top-tier Xuan-grade talent and strength at the first level of the Palace Opening Realm—after fifteen years of cultivation, he is now at the fourth level of the Palace Opening Realm.
The guards assigned by the Zhong family were only given to the direct descendants; those from collateral branches were not.
Because only the direct descendants will produce Soul-Stabilizing Fruits from the Soul-Stabilizing Tree after birth, and the Zhong family's resources are insufficient to train guards for every descendant, they have given this special treatment to the direct descendants.
Whether they are death guards, bodyguards, or protectors of younger generations from other families or forces, they are almost always trusted absolutely. The reason for this is that they have all signed a death pact with the younger generation early on.
This death contract is not the same as the indenture Zhong Cai brought for his servants. It is a contract that requires swearing an oath with one's blood and is bound by a special talisman. From then on, their lives are completely tied to their master. Once their master dies, they will also die—and the death contract cannot be broken.
So even if Zhong Cai got married and Wu Shaogan was ruined, Zhong Da and Xiang Lin still had to stay by their side.
Wu Shaogan currently has limited resources and no room for improvement. Zhong Cai is not only at a low cultivation level, but also has to cultivate and refine pills simultaneously, which will definitely slow down her breakthrough speed. Their safety can only be entrusted to their trusted confidants.
Zhong Da was of mediocre talent, only reaching the Yellow Rank, and was also dull-witted and had average comprehension. Even with ample resources, it would take him quite a while to reach the Palace. Zhong Cai's only requirement for him was to be obedient.
As for Xiang Lin, his aptitude is already very high, so it would be a good deal to give him a lot of training.
·
Meanwhile, Xia Jiang, who had suffered internal injuries, returned to the Lakeside Residence and knelt down to beg for forgiveness, saying, "This subordinate is incompetent; Xiang Lin discovered our whereabouts."
Wu Shao'an frowned: "Your strengths are about the same, how did he discover you?"
Xia Jiang lowered his head, not daring to explain—what else could it be? Because Wu Shaogan had amassed countless accolades over the years, and he hadn't neglected his trusted confidants, providing Xiang Lin with considerable resources. Furthermore, he frequently took Xiang Lin deep into the dense forest to hone his skills, offering him much guidance. Therefore, although the two death guards were at the same level, their strength differed; Xiang Lin was far superior to Xia Jiang in both combat experience and comprehension of techniques.
However, Wu Shao'an had no intention of hearing these blunt truths.
Xia Jiang immediately admitted his mistake, saying, "I failed in my duties."
Wu Shao'an never cared about Xia Jiang, nor did he pay attention to his current pale face and obviously serious injuries. He only ordered firmly, "Find another opportunity to investigate carefully, and report back immediately after you find out."
Xia Jiang accepted the order and left again.
Wu Shao'an looked extremely unhappy and grew increasingly disgusted with Wu Shaogan.
·
Wu Dongxiao's talent offered some consolation for the Wu family's disappointment at losing a top-tier prodigy, but a top-tier Earth-grade talent was far inferior to a top-tier Heaven-grade talent. Therefore, although the ancestors were somewhat relieved, they would not come to visit him in person.
But for Wu Mingzhao and Yang Jingfei, this was actually better—the top-tier Heavenly Grade was more dazzling than they had expected, which would have made their efforts go to waste. The top-tier Earthly Grade was different; although it was still prestigious, it wouldn't be so feared that people would want to destroy it.
After discussing it, the couple decided to take Wu Dongxiao back to their courtyard to raise him.
Wu Shaoshan and his wife Li Ruer were even happier to have their parents take care of their youngest son, since that would allow them to reap more benefits, wouldn't it?
Wu Dongxiao did not disappoint the family head and his wife. His companion treasure, the Black Dragon Halberd, brought him a near-heavenly-grade inheritance. He could advance rapidly in cultivation as long as he did so casually.
Meanwhile, countless people flocked to the Wu family to inquire about the situation, almost breaking down the Wu family's doorstep.
The Wu family announced this joyous occasion to the world, which once again aroused the jealousy of various forces. In the past, apart from Wu Shaogan, the best talent in Kunyun City was only of the upper-grade Earth rank. Wu Dongxiao actually exceeded one level, which was really rare.
From then on, the Wu family, which had been hit hard by Wu Shaogan, regained a lot of face because of Wu Dongxiao.
·
More than a month has passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan were oblivious to everything else, focusing solely on refining elixirs in the cultivation room.
Because Wu Shaogan couldn't cultivate, he stayed with Zhong Cai. At first, he could only help him clean the alchemy furnace, but gradually he was able to help him process medicinal herbs, saving Zhong Cai a lot of unnecessary repetitive work.
Therefore, Zhong Cai initially took more than half an hour to refine one batch of pills, then gradually reduced it to one batch every half hour, and then to one batch every two to three quarters of an hour, which was basically the limit.
Roughly calculated, Zhong Cai opened the furnace 800 times, starting with a success rate of around 30%, which later stabilized at 70%, for a total of 400 batches of Qi-replenishing pills. And the number of pills produced each time, after overcoming the initial setbacks, eventually stabilized at the highest level for extraordinary alchemists—eight pills per batch.
·
Zhong Cai unusually did not enter the cultivation room that day, but instead sat cross-legged on the ground, rummaging through the box with jade chopsticks.
In front of him were three boxes of different sizes, all containing the Qi-replenishing pills he had refined.
Wu Shaogan sat cross-legged opposite Zhong Cai. In front of him was a large box, but it was empty.
Zhong Cai picked up a pill from the large box and tossed it into the box next to Wu Shaogan's, muttering, "One." She picked it up again, tossed it over, picked it up again, tossed it over again, "Two, three..."
Wu Shaogan watched with amusement as Zhong Cai counted the number of pills, and he counted them in his mind as well.
Gradually, Zhong Cai's speed increased, and the chopsticks were almost blurry. It took him almost two quarters of an hour to say with a sigh of relief, "One thousand six hundred and twenty-two low-grade Qi-replenishing pills."
Wu Shaogan nodded and poured the Qi-boosting pills back into Zhong Cai's large box.
Zhong Cai then began placing the pills from the medium-sized box one by one towards Wu Shaogan, counting them as she went.
Finally, he said with certainty, "Nine hundred and sixty-six."
Wu Shao chuckled and said, "That's right." He then poured the counted pills back into the medium-sized box.
Zhong Cai carefully picked up the smallest box. This one didn't require so much counting; he could tell at a glance that it contained twelve pills—the very high-grade Qi-replenishing pills he had finally obtained after so much hard work.
Wu Shaogan was somewhat amazed by Zhong Cai's talent. He never expected that after mastering the skill, he could improve his Qi-replenishing pill technique to such a level in less than two months. Even if he never made any further progress, this one pill alone would be enough for him to stand on his own in the world.
Zhong Cai carefully closed the small box and handed it to Wu Shaogan, instructing him, "Keep this. If you ever need to use your strength in the future, use it to tide you over. But don't eat it right away. Keep it for later use. If I can refine something even better in the future, I'll replace it for you."
Wu Shaogan took it and carefully put it away.
The twelve top-grade pills were all refined in the last two days, and Zhong Cai only stopped to rest after obtaining them. He naturally understood the reason why... He had obtained many higher-level treasures before, but none of them were as precious as this one.
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