Bab 4: Chapter 4 Spreading Rumors
As Xie Jiuniang stepped over the threshold, she suddenly remembered a scandal from her previous life involving the eldest branch of the family.
Her elder uncle had a concubine, who bore him an illegitimate child. His wife nearly turned heaven and earth upside down over the matter.
Later, when Xie Ying became a single spiritual root, under the pressure of the sect, the elder uncle had no choice but to send the child to the Sword Sect of the Northern Region.
She left the great hall.
And encountered three people coming her way!
It was the constant thorn in her side, Xie Ying and Lin Wangchen, along with her grandfather's younger sister, Xie Wenshuang.
Xie Wenshuang had taken the Appearance-Fixing Pill and still looked like a young girl of eighteen, but her eyes were no longer clear and bore the marks of time. A Golden Core cultivator and the only sixth-ranked pill master in the clan, she held a high position.
However, Xie Jiuniang did not like her.
In her previous life, she had requested Xie Wenshuang to refine the Soul Cleansing Pill, but she ended up giving it to Xie Ying without permission.
This time, she would rather let the Cleansing Spiritual Grass rot than seek her out. Alas, only she knew the grievances of her past life, and thus, she could not use them as an excuse to sever ties.
Xie Jiuniang approached politely and greeted, "Good day to you, third aunt."
"Hmm," Xie Wenshuang nodded with aloofness, about to speak when she suddenly leaned in and sniffed around Xie Jiuniang.
Xie Jiuniang stepped back in fright, "Third Aunt, what are you...?"
"The scent of medicine! High-grade?" said Xie Wenshuang, not as a question but with certainty.
Xie Jiuniang was inwardly shocked.
A dog's nose? She could smell that?
The faint scent of medicine from yesterday should have dissipated by now.
Xie Jiuniang denied it and puzzledly with a small face asked, "What are you talking about? What medicine scent?"
Xie Wenshuang said displeased, "You have the scent of a high-grade spirit plant on you."
"Ah? That... I am not sure about, I just had a spirit fruit at grandfather's place." It was something Xie Jiuniang could not admit.
Xie Wenshuang was suspicious, but with others present, it wasn't appropriate to inquire further. The medicine scent was extremely faint, a rare fragrance that she couldn't immediately place, so she hurried off to meet her elder brother. As the only sixth-ranked pill master in the clan, any good medicine would eventually end up in her hands.
Xie Jiuniang parted ways with the three and decided to head back to her own courtyard first.
"Young daoist, please wait a moment."
The voice of Lin Wangchen suddenly rose from behind her.
Xie Jiuniang paused, quickly steadied her emotions, turned around, and asked with confusion, "You are...?"
Seeing her play dumb, Lin Wangchen didn't get angry; he smiled and said, "Ha, have you already forgotten me? We just met yesterday. I came out for training this time, incidentally delivering something for Brother Haoran to the Xie Family's main house. I didn't expect you, young daoist, to be a member of the Xie Family. What a coincidence."
Indeed, quite a coincidence.
A calamitous one!
Xie Jiuniang's mind wavered for a moment.
On the surface, Lin Wangchen didn't mention the life-saving grace and also explained his reason for being in the Xie Family, brushing off any suspicion of expecting a favor in return. If it were the naive Xie Jiuniang of the past, she probably would have truly believed it to be fate.
But her thoughts now...
Heh, isn't he just reminding her that he has a life-saving favor over her?
What is his purpose?
Xie Jiuniang didn't believe Lin Wangchen just wanted to exchange a few pleasantries.
As expected...
Lin Wangchen probed, "Young daoist, did you happen to pick a spirit plant from the Lion and Tiger's Territory?"
"Yes," nodded Xie Jiuniang.
"Would you sell it to me? Name your price."
"Sorry, I can't do that." Xie Jiuniang spread her hands and blurted out a prevarication, "I just gave it to an elder, you're too late."
Lin Wangchen felt regret.
This was a missed opportunity!
The Lion and Tiger's Lair had the Earth Spiritual Flower.
The Lin Family's ancestral records noted that nearby the Earth Spiritual Flower, there was an eighty percent chance of finding Cleansing Spiritual Grass, which was also said to be a companion plant to the Earth Spiritual Flower.
Before leaving Yunmu Mountain, he could have robbed and killed for treasure. But now...
Lin Wangchen didn't get his way but didn't press the matter.
After he left.
The relaxed look on Xie Jiuniang's face vanished. In her previous life, Lin Wangchen hadn't known about the Cleansing Spiritual Grass.
What caused this change of events?
Could it be because she hadn't allowed him to escort her back home, giving him the chance to search the Lion and Tiger's Cave and find the hole where she had dug up the medicinal plants?
It must be said that Xie Jiuniang guessed the truth in an instant.
Upon returning to her bedroom, Xie Jiuniang immediately activated the formation, and with a heavy heart, took out the Cleansing Spiritual Grass.
"Can it still be saved this time?"
A secret isn't a secret once others know about it.
She had to think of a way to deal with this! Sadly, the Cleansing Spiritual Grass needed to be combined with other Spirit Plants and refined into pills to be effective; it couldn't be taken directly...
...
By evening, the thing Xie Jiuniang worried about arrived.
The Xie Clan Leader sent someone to summon her.
All five people present were from the Clan Leader's direct lineage, even the eldest aunt didn't qualify to participate.
The Xie Clan Leader sat at the head seat.
Seated on either side below him were Eldest Uncle Xie An, Xie Ying, and Xie Wenshuang.
To Xie Jiuniang's surprise, she also saw Second Uncle Xie Ping, who usually indulged in the Talisman Path and having children, and rarely made an appearance.
When Xie Ying saw Xie Jiuniang, though she tried to appear calm on the surface, her eyes betrayed a hint of excitement.
Seeing this situation, Xie Jiuniang remembered her past life and guessed what was about to happen.
Xie Jiuniang entered and first paid respects to her elders, as she was the youngest in the hall, and not taking the initiative to do so would seem uncultured.
The Xie Clan Leader was the first to speak up, "Jiuniang, someone claimed you've picked Cleansing Spiritual Grass?"
"Not at all, who's the bastard spreading rumors? They're simply asking for a beating." Xie Jiuniang denied resolutely and with justified indignation.
Before the Xie Clan Leader could say anything, Xie Wenshuang at his side sharply scolded, "Liar! You clearly have the scent of Cleansing Spiritual Grass on you."
Eldest Uncle Xie An said gravely, "At such a young age, you've learned to lie and deceive your elders. I don't know how your third uncle has been teaching you, come on now, bring out the Cleansing Spiritual Grass. It is of great importance to our clan."
Xie Jiuniang wasn't angry.
She had seen through the nature of certain people in her previous life, including the character of the clan's most formidable Alchemist, Xie Wenshuang.
In Xie Wenshuang's eyes, the main family was legitimate, born nobler than the concubine-born, and those from the concubine side should depend on and unselfishly serve the main family.
Eldest Uncle Xie was no better, always bullying Second Uncle behind his back, and constantly shearing wool from the third family, although he wasn't vile enough to covet his brother's life, just disgustingly annoying.
Xie Jiuniang coolly said, "My parents only taught me what honor and integrity are, what loyalty and kindness mean. They wanted me to grow up without forgetting my roots and to hold onto the baseline of being human. They especially warned me, bullying the weak and taking by force are the actions of beasts, never to partake in such evil deeds, lest it affect my cultivation..."
Xie Wenshuang's face turned rigid.
Unanimously, the three people from the main family turned their gaze towards the Xie Clan Leader.
The Xie Clan Leader calmly sat, sipping tea, inscrutable.
Second Uncle Xie, on the other hand, nearly laughed out loud.
Well said!
It was as if she had just peeled the skin off some people's faces and trampled them on the ground. Being elders and still not as clear-headed as a youngster.
Second Uncle Xie praised with a smile, "Good awareness, your parents have taught you very well. Snatching others' opportunities is not the way of righteousness, much less seizing from one's own family. Father, we cannot set this precedent. It's not terrifying for a family to decline, what's fearful is if it rots from the roots."
The Xie Clan Leader nodded indifferently, saying nothing.
Eldest Uncle Xie, his face full of shame, said, "Father, I was only thinking of the clan's future and did not consider all aspects thoroughly in my haste."
Then, turning to Xie Jiuniang, Eldest Uncle Xie said, "Jiuniang, the Cleansing Spiritual Grass is too important for the family. We won't take it from you for nothing; you will definitely be well compensated."
Xie Jiuniang sneered internally, but pretended to be unaware and asked curiously, "Eldest Uncle, who is it for?"
"It's for your older sister. A Single Spirit Root has extraordinary potential, which is of great significance for the clan's future development," argued Eldest Uncle Xie to persuade their father, although the father's attitude was ambiguous, having neither agreed nor stopped them.
Xie Ying stepped forward, saying with guilt, "Jiuniang, this time I've wronged you. In the future, if you need any help after I join the Sect, just speak up. We are real sisters, one family, there's no need to divide us."
Eldest Uncle Xie said with an air of satisfaction, "Ying'er, you need not feel too guilty. Jiuniang has always been sensible. Today she's just not thinking clearly, she won't really blame you for it."
"Daughter knows Jiuniang is good," responded Xie Ying.
What a farce this father-daughter duo are playing!
Xie Jiuniang rolled her eyes inwardly.
The Xie Clan Leader sat at the highest position, seemingly an outsider to the situation.
Second Uncle Xie looked towards his father with this attitude and sighed inwardly.
Before Xie Jiuniang had arrived, they had already had a debate.
The recruitment of new disciples by the Great Sects was imminent, and Dual Spiritual Roots provided far less benefit to the family than having a Heavenly Spiritual Root. At this point, Jiuniang certainly couldn't resist, just as an arm couldn't twist a thigh.
Second Uncle Xie knew that his daughter had always liked Xie Jiuniang and didn't want to see her end up with nothing after all the commotion.
Therefore, he covertly transmitted a message to Xie Jiuniang: "Jiuniang, the old ancestor's lifespan is less than a hundred years. Xie Ying has promised to obtain a Divinity Transformation Pill within a hundred years..."
Xie Jiuniang was stunned.
So that's how it is… No wonder!
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