Wusheng Temple.
Fang Qing slowly raised his head from the dossiers he had been reading, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.
He had never paid much attention to the Fang Family’s petty affairs to begin with. The only order he had given Xu Hei was to ensure the Fang Family bloodline did not die out completely.
Not to mention himself, even Xu Hei, now that he controlled the merchant association, likely no longer cared much about the profits from a mere Greenjade ore vein. Compared to the intelligence network in his hands, one that tracked the shifting storms of the entire Ancient Shu world, such disputes were nothing more than battles over a snail’s horn.
‘Letting the Fang Family suffer a crushing loss and learn a lesson might not be a bad thing either.’
‘As long as the entire clan is not wiped out, it does not matter. Even if they are exterminated, there are still the two branch bloodlines left as backups.’
Yuyi Market.
This marketplace originally only opened on the fifth day of each month. However, with the increasing number of cultivators in Xituo Commandery over recent years, along with the arrival of the Four Directions Merchant Association, it had gradually become a permanent daily market.
Inside a teahouse.
“Master, please.”
Although Xu Hei had broken through to Dao Foundation and grown somewhat taller, he was still short in stature.
At this moment, he wore a smiling expression as he poured tea for Fayuan.
“This humble monk would not dare…”
Though Fayuan looked considerably older than before, his complexion remained rosy and glossy with health.
“This time, our two sides are each taking what we need. We should continue looking after one another.”
Xu Hei merely waved his hand dismissively.
Fayuan instantly understood he was referring to the matter of the Qingli Fang Family.
“Amitabha, failing to educate one’s children destroys three generations. This is what the Buddhist path calls karmic sin.”
Fayuan wore a sorrowful expression filled with false compassion. “I imagine this time Senior Xu will finally obtain what he desires and take away that Azure Mulberry Jujube Tree?”
“Haha. One mere spirit root for Qi Ingestion is nowhere near enough.”
Xu Hei slammed his palm against the table. Greed and viciousness flashed through his tiny eyes.
“This old man wants not only their spirit root, but also all their spirit fields! That brat borrowed twenty thousand jin of spirit rice from me. I assume he borrowed quite a bit from you as well?”
‘These Dao Foundation great cultivators truly devour people without spitting out the bones.’
Fayuan sighed inwardly. Joining his palms together, he assumed the appearance of an honest monk.
“Not much, not much. Only ten thousand jin.”
Although he had some friendship with Fang Yixin, business was business.
A fat pig delivered willingly to the slaughterhouse deserved to be butchered. Why should he refuse?
“Excellent. Then transfer that debt contract to this old man.”
Xu Hei finally revealed his true intention.
“This… this old monk has shared many years of friendship with the Fang Family…”
Fayuan’s face filled with hesitation.
“I’ll add extra spirit funds.”
Xu Hei spoke calmly.
“Deal!”
Fayuan immediately lifted his teacup, inwardly delighted. Even the tea suddenly tasted far more fragrant.
After Fayuan departed, Xu Hei’s expression instantly darkened.
“Bah! That rotten greedy bastard. He forced this old man to pay a fifty percent premium.”
He snorted coldly.
“He feasts on flesh from every side. One day he’ll choke himself to death.”
Looking at the spirit contract glowing atop the table, Xu Hei’s own expression became rather conflicted.
“Sigh… making this old man play the villain. Young Master, you truly have…”
“You’ve made things difficult for me.”
At the same time.
Within another establishment in the marketplace, the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion.
Music and dancing filled the upper floors, while alluring fragrances drifted through the air.
Fang Shanglin still remembered the first time he had come here and met Brother Zeng Yuancheng.
Back then, the kindness the other party had shown him left a deep impression.
He had said: “Brother Fang is the son of an esteemed clan. Naturally, you should sit among us.”
That had been the very first time Fang Shanglin felt genuine respect.
And it had come from the son of a Dao Foundation clan. After all, he too had a Dao Foundation father.
Yet his family always avoided discussing the matter, while his mother merely wept in silence.
The older Fang Shanglin grew, the less he understood. It was Brother Zeng who taught him the etiquette and conduct of noble clans, who brought him into that circle.
There, everyone discussed profound arts and cultivation freely, living with carefree elegance and delight.
This was true immortal cultivation.
Not the life back home, where they faced the yellow earth with their backs bent toward the heavens. During busy farming seasons, even he, a young master of a cultivation clan, had to work the fields personally.
How could that possibly be reasonable?
‘As long as this succeeds… just this once…’
‘I’ll obtain a massive amount of spirit funds, gain the respect of the family, and even board the ship of the Zeng Family.’
‘Once that happens, Dao Foundation will no longer be an impossible dream!’
Just as Fang Shanglin was lost in his fantasies, a hand suddenly pressed down onto his shoulder.
Pain shot through him instantly. The hand felt like forged iron and steel.
Turning around, he saw his second uncle.
Fang Wujiu.
“One… Second Uncle…”
For some reason, Fang Shanglin felt inexplicably guilty.
“If Master Fayuan had not sent monks to notify the family, we would never have known you had already borrowed grain from those two parties.”
Fang Wujiu’s expression was icy cold. If this had been his own son, he might well have beaten him to death already.
But Fang Shanglin was the only surviving male descendant of his eldest brother’s direct line. He could only force himself to endure it and soften his tone as much as possible.
“Borrowing grain is not the issue. Our family can afford that little bit of interest money. But where is the grain?”
Anxiety and faint hope both stirred within him.
As long as the transfer had not yet been completed, they could still intercept the grain, return it to the temple and the Four Directions Merchant Association, and at worst lose some interest money.
Their family could still bear such losses.
“The grain?”
Fang Wujiu asked again. Seeing Fang Shanglin’s expression, his heart immediately sank.
“It… it’s stored in the market warehouse. The spirit token for retrieving the grain has already been handed over to the Zeng Family.”
The faster Fang Shanglin spoke, the quicker his tone became.
“Second Uncle, you came at the perfect time. Quickly transport the family’s spirit rice over, sign the spirit contract, and our family will…”
Smack!
Before he could react, a slap landed across his face, burning hot with pain.
“Second Uncle… you… you hit me?”
Fang Shanglin stared in shock.
“I only regret not hitting you harder.”
Fang Wujiu’s voice turned grim.
“This family fortune was built little by little by your grandfather and me working the fields day after day. Your mother suffered and scrimped, even cutting from her own cultivation rations to save up these resources. And now… after only a few days as family head, you dare gamble away so much of the family’s foundation?”
His voice trembled more and more as he spoke.
“Go. Bring that spirit token back to me. I do not care whether you threaten them, bribe them, or kneel and beg. Today, if you cannot retrieve it… if you cannot retrieve it…”
By the end, his voice had become choked with emotion.
If it truly could not be recovered, what could he possibly do to his elder brother’s only son?
Back then, even Qingli Mountain had been won through his elder brother risking his life.
Could this truly be fate?
“But… I already boasted confidently before Brother Zeng…”
Fang Shanglin lowered his voice.
“And besides, we already agreed beforehand. Once the spiritual resources are transferred, neither side can regret the deal. Second Uncle, trust me! Trust your nephew this once!”
Suddenly, Fang Wujiu seemed to lose all strength.
Too exhausted to continue forcing his nephew, he slowly turned and walked back.
Under the setting sun, even his back appeared slightly hunched.
Watching that scene, Fang Shanglin felt a trace of emotion stir in his heart.
‘Second Uncle already split from our branch long ago, yet he has always helped support our family, almost like a steward managing everything for us…’
‘But in the end, I am still the legitimate eldest grandson of the main branch. I am the family head!’
He entered Drunken Fragrance Pavilion and familiarly made his way to a private room.
The sound of a zither drifted through the air, lingering beautifully like an echo that would not fade for days.
Several finely dressed young men sat drinking together. When they saw him enter, they immediately laughed.
“Shanglin, why are you so late? Come, come. Listen to Miss Huang Ying’er’s zither music. Lady Huang once received personal guidance from the great Yin Ping’er Courtesan herself. Not only that, she possesses remarkable skills as well. She is the unrivaled jewel of our pleasure quarters! Hahaha!”
“Brother Zeng…”
Fang Shanglin sat down, drank a cup of wine, and finally found an opportunity to speak.
“That spirit token… could it perhaps…”
“Brother Fang came over because you’ve already made your final decision about when to transport the grain?”
Zeng Yuancheng laughed. “We sons of noble families deal in businesses worth over ten thousand jin with a few words and a smile. Ah... don’t tell me, worthy brother, that you still cannot make decisions in your own household?”
“How could that be?”
A surge of hot blood rushed through Fang Shanglin’s chest as he declared loudly, “This business deal, I’m taking it no matter what.”
“Excellent!”
The young masters all burst into laughter, each more unrestrained than the last.
…
The days passed one after another.
Fang Shanglin returned home several times, explaining the profits and losses involved and trying to persuade the family to support him. In response, Fang Yixin rarely lost his temper and personally beat him severely. Even with the physique of a Qi Ingestion cultivator, Fang Shanglin was bedridden for days afterward, unable to rise.
Still, one had to admit that Ancient Shu’s lack of spirit stones as a universal currency did have its advantages.
Large-scale transactions had to be tied to substantial physical assets, and such assets could hardly be packed away into a few storage bags.
So long as Fang Yixin guarded the warehouse array core personally, Fang Shanglin had no means whatsoever of moving anything. Even his authority seal as family head had been confiscated.
Several more days passed.
Yue Mingxue, now already bearing the appearance of a woman past her prime, entered Fang Shanglin’s room carrying a wooden tray laden with food.
“Mother…”
Seeing her enter, Fang Shanglin tried to sit up, only to tug at his wounds and hiss in pain.
“There is news from the commandery. That Greenjade ore vein has already begun operations.”
Yue Mingxue set down the tray and looked expressionlessly at her son.
“Haha... I knew Brother Zeng was a man of integrity!”
Fang Shanglin beamed with delight. “Mother, just wait. Once the spirit resources arrive, I’ll buy you a superior-grade Qi Ingestion magical artifact.”
“No need.”
Yue Mingxue stared at Fang Shanglin’s face, which faintly resembled her late husband’s, yet no matter how she looked at him, she could not understand how father and son could differ so greatly in temperament.
“That Greenjade ore vein, the greater share belongs to the masters of Wusheng Temple. The Zeng Family provided the money and labor, running around handling everything, and even then they only received thirty percent.”
She shook her head.
“And you still think you were going to receive a share?”
“What?”
Fang Shanglin felt as though he had been struck by lightning.
“That’s impossible. Brother Zeng wouldn’t deceive me. We’re all children of noble families. We should naturally support one another…”
His eyes lost focus as he muttered to himself.
“Heh. What noble family are you?”
Yue Mingxue’s anger at his uselessness finally erupted, her words growing sharper and harsher.
“Your father and mother were tenant farmers of the Zeng Family back then. Mud-legged peasants from the fields. You want to call yourself the son of a noble house? Have you even washed the dirt from your body clean?”
She had not originally been this kind of person. But after her husband’s early death, she had no choice but to become fierce and hard-edged.
“I... I don’t believe it. I’m going to find Brother Zeng. I’m going to Yuyi Market!”
Fang Shanglin struggled to his feet and staggered toward the door.
“Brother…”
A gentle-looking married woman stepped out, wanting to stop him.
“Don’t stop him. Let him go once and see for himself. Better that he completely gives up!”
Yue Mingxue shouted coldly before letting out a weary sigh.
“I’ll go apologize to your grandfather and see how we can fill this hole your brother has dug…”
After a pause, she added quietly, “Back when your father divided the family, our branch and your second uncle’s branch had already become separate households. I truly don’t know whether your father intended it or not, but because of that, at least one branch of the Fang Family managed to survive. A small blessing amidst misfortune.”
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