Chapter 11 A Gift of Papaya Returns with a Gift of Jade (Revised) Chu Xingjin…
The Grand Elder had a long white beard and a dignified, otherworldly air about him, much like the stereotypical image of Laozi.
His voice was like a booming bell, making people's heads buzz, leaving no space to think about anything else except his words.
"The so-called Spirit Fixing Day is a grand event held every two years in the entire Golden Spirit City..."
Talents like spiritual roots and physiques are not apparent in childhood, showing no signs at all until the age of sixteen. Therefore, the great families of Tianji in the Central Plains would immediately have their descendants' talents assessed as soon as they turned sixteen.
At this point, for those who might not know, the Grand Elder specifically explained the hierarchy of aristocratic families. It's divided into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow, each further divided into upper, middle, and lower grades. The Chu family was once at the lower Yellow grade, while the Xie family, along with the other two aristocratic families in Jinling City, were both at the upper Yellow grade.
The Grand Elder stroked his beard, his tone filled with pride: "Although it is not as generous as in the Central Plains, the various families in Golden Spirit City set up a Spirit-Fixing Day every two years for their descendants to determine their spiritual root physique. Afterwards, they will cultivate your spiritual roots and officially begin your cultivation. This matter costs a lot of money, which is the family's deep love and care for you."
Despite her proud tone, Xie Jiaoyue understood the underlying meaning in her words.
The reason it is held every two years is probably because the Xie family has too few resources to provide much assistance to their descendants. Therefore, a delay of one or two years is not a big deal.
The Yellow-rank Upper Grade, in the end, is only slightly stronger than the former Chu family; it is still a weak family in the entire cultivation world.
However, she was lucky; she was born on the day of her final resting place shortly after turning sixteen.
The only thing she couldn't understand was that although the three families of Jinling City all had to test the spiritual roots of their descendants, they didn't gather together. So why was the Spirit-Setting Day set three days before and after?
The Grand Elder then answered Xie Jiaoyue's question.
"On the Spirit-Fixing Day five days from now, we will invite a Golden Core senior to come and test your spiritual roots. At that time, you must perform well and not displease him."
It turns out that they needed to rely on other powerful figures. In order to save costs, the three families roughly shared the expenses of hiring the staff, which is why the setup was so compact.
The elder went on and on about etiquette, worried that the younger generation might not take the matter seriously enough and might offend someone they shouldn't.
After talking until his lips were dry, he reluctantly felt relieved and asked, "Children, is there anything else you want to ask?"
They were all children, and many of them were seeing someone like the Grand Elder for the first time. They were so nervous that they didn't dare to ask any questions.
The nonchalant Xie Xinghui raised his little sparrow: "Elder, I have a question."
The elder stretched out his hand, a flash of cold light appeared, and Xie Xinghui cried out in pain as the thin rope in his hand snapped, and the sparrow flew away.
"You can ask now."
Xie Jiaoyue almost burst out laughing.
Xie Xinghui rolled his eyes at Xie Jiaoyue, finally straightened up, and asked the First Elder, "First Elder, I want to ask, is spiritual root talent unchangeable? Is whatever the test result shows? Will the family use this as the standard to train us from now on?"
The elder stroked his beard twice: "Actually, if there are precious elixirs, it is not impossible to change the situation."
Upon hearing this, the children below became excited.
"However, these kinds of spiritual herbs are extremely rare. Even the most basic Pei Gen Dan is a Xuan-level spiritual pill. I'm afraid you can't find a single one in the entire Jinling City."
Bacon Pill? Xie Jiaoyue couldn't suppress the smirk. What a weird name! It made her mouth water just hearing it.
With the first person asking the question, the others became bolder and couldn't help but ask, "Even if it's expensive, can't we save up for a few more years and buy it when we've saved enough?"
The elder sighed and shook his head: "It's unlikely to work. These kinds of elixirs usually only work before the age of eighteen."
He looked around with loving eyes: "Pills are just pills after all. At most, they can only improve your talent by one or two percent. You still have to rely on yourselves for the rest."
"You are the future hope of the Xie family. If one day you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, or even further to the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stage, perhaps your next generation will never have to worry about pills again."
The last unparalleled genius of the Xie family was Xie Qingyun, but unfortunately he died young. The Grand Elder hoped more than anyone else that there would be another one.
His gaze fell on Xie Jiaoyue, Xie Qingyun's daughter. There was something to look forward to, but it was a pity that her physique was probably inherited from her mother, and she was probably not suitable for cultivation.
How tragic and lamentable.
The elder was giving motivational speeches one minute and sighing the next, but the children below didn't listen to a word he said.
They all pricked up their ears.
Xie Xinghui nudged Xie Jiaoyue with his shoulder: "I heard you have some Bacon Pills in your private stash?"
Xie Jiaoyue was baffled: "How would I know? If you're so sure, ask my mother."
Xie Xinghui said, "Stop pretending. Your eldest son's family has so many spirit stones. The First Madam will definitely find a way to buy you a Bacon Pill."
Chu Xingjin heard this too. Yes, if the eldest son doesn't have one, who else in the entire Jinling City would?
On the way back to the main house, Chu Xingjin kept thinking about the Pegen Pill.
He felt that this thing should belong to him.
In fact, ever since he came to the Xie family, he had been pondering a question: why did Xie Jiaoyue love him so much, yet insist on making him her son-in-law?
That person, of course, was him.
While people generally don't know their talents before the spirit is fixed, there are some special cases where talents can be predicted before the spirit is fixed.
For example, he himself showed a special physique from a young age, and spiritual energy would avoid him, so people concluded that he had no talent for cultivation.
Of course, he knew that this must be a rumor, a trial he had to go through as the protagonist. When the spirit was truly established, he would shine brightly and shock everyone.
Perhaps Xie Jiaoyue had a similar problem. However, Xie Jiaoyue was not as lucky as him and could not defy fate. She could only become his foil during the spirit-fixing ceremony.
His little fiancée is so pitiful, but it doesn't matter. Now that he's here, Xie Jiaoyue and the First Madam can stop being so strong-willed; they can have everything he needs.
What is a single Bacon Pill compared to such a glorious future?
Chu Xingjin thought that Xie Jiaoyue must have already prepared to give it to him, and it was just a matter of time.
He knew the girl was shy.
Chu Xingjin quickened his pace and picked a fresh, delicate purple flower from the ground.
He turned around, looked at Xie Jiaoyue, and said affectionately in a bubbly voice that could make fish swim, "Jiaoyue."
Xie Jiaoyue: "Huh?"
Chu Xingjin tenderly raised his hand and placed the small purple flower on Xie Jiaoyue's head.
"This is for you; it suits you perfectly."
Xie Jiaoyue felt baffled. Today she was dressed in a light yellow and light green outfit, and the jewelry she wore was naturally light green gemstones.
No matter how I look at it, it doesn't match the deep purple flowers at all.
To maintain her public image, she politely said, "Thank you."
Chu Xingjin was slightly taken aback: "And then?" He decided to make the hint even more obvious, "I gave you a gift, aren't you going to reciprocate?"
If you give someone a papaya, you should repay them with a precious jade; this is how lovers should act.
Xie Jiaoyue tentatively asked, "Shall I pick one for Brother Chu too?"
Her aesthetic sense is better than Chu Xingjin's; she'll definitely be able to choose someone better-looking.
Chu Xingjin's lips twitched. This woman, how come she doesn't understand romance at all!
It's boring, really boring.
He turned to leave, but halfway there he turned back angrily, ripped the little purple flower off Xie Jiaoyue's head, and strode away without looking back.
Xie Jiaoyue said from behind, sounding aggrieved, "Hua Yi, why is Brother Chu angry with me? I feel so wronged."
Of course she knew what Chu Xingjin wanted, but since he was too proud to say it directly, she was too naive and innocent to understand anyway.
Hua Yi patted Xie Jiaoyue and thought to herself, "She didn't even go up and slap Chu Xingjin. Miss really loves him."
...
Meanwhile, the members of the second branch of the family did not return to their rooms to rest. Xie Yuehua and Feng Gulan were led by servants to the courtyard of the second master, Xie Qingfeng.
When Xie Qingfeng returned from his errands, he heard the gossip and was instantly enraged, wanting to beat his shameful son to death.
Inside the main hall, Xie Qingfeng's reprimands rang out repeatedly: "Why didn't you tell me about such a big thing? And you even ruined it, you useless thing."
"You too, I don't think you care about your son at all."
A surge of anger welled up in Feng Gulan's heart: "I didn't care? At least I went to Fucheng with my son, what about you?"
Xie Qingfeng raised his voice: "What else can I do? Of course, I serve the clan! If it weren't for my hard work in maintaining the clan, what would our family eat and drink? What would our son use in the future?"
Feng Gulan said, "If you weren't so useless, would we be in such a difficult situation? Xie Qingyun's daughter has the Peigen Pill, but our Hao Yuehua doesn't."
Xie Qingfeng was so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged: "Fine, fine, now you think I'm useless, huh? Why didn't you marry me in the first place? Why didn't you marry Xie Qingyun instead?"
Feng Gulan said, "Do you think I don't want to? If I had married Xie Qingyun, it would be my son who is using the Peigen Pill right now."
It's always the same.
Xie Yuehua's head was throbbing: "Stop arguing! Xie Jiaoyue is not Uncle's daughter at all! That Bacon Pill should never have been given to her!"
Xie Qingfeng & Feng Gulan: "What?"
Xie Yuehua closed the door and said in a low voice, "I saw with my own eyes that there was a talisman on the main house's private vault. I recognized the pattern on the talisman; it was a bloodline seal. When Xie Jiaoyue tried to touch something in the vault, the talisman was triggered, and she was attacked."
A note from the author:
Based on what I've gathered from Weibo, some stingy men are indeed like that.
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