The An Family

Song Chengan left Xuanqing Temple.

He toyed with the Demon Subduing Staff in his hand.

The more he dealt with Master Ciren, the more he felt that this monk possessed unfathomable abilities.

Leaving aside everything else, his Artifact Refining skill alone was miraculous beyond measure.

"Still, Master Ciren and the monks of Xuanqing Temple do not seem to be cut from the same cloth."

Song Chengan looked up.

The monks of Xuanqing Temple moved among the worshippers. Though each was dressed as a monk, their robes and kasayas were all made from the finest fabrics. None wore tattered monk's robes like Master Ciren.

"Still, Master Ciren's seniority should be quite high."

Song Chengan shook his head and returned to Lingqiu County.

Master Ciren had now recommended him to the Demon Suppression Division. All he needed to do was wait for their reply.

Was this what they meant by good deeds receiving good returns?

Master Ciren must have thought Song Chengan was the same kind of person as himself, which was why he had recommended him.

But Song Chengan felt that Master Ciren might have misunderstood something.

Because in the beginning, Song Chengan had only gone for the hundred taels of silver.

At the time, he had not known that silver was of little use to cultivators. He had wanted to earn silver for cultivation, so he had gone to Zhao Family Village to kill that Monster.

Then, by a twist of fate, Master Ciren had recognized him at the Ghost Market.

"Master Ciren is a true High Monk."

Song Chengan left Xuanqing Temple and returned to Lingqiu City.

"Should I go fish for a while?"

"Forget it. It's a little late today. I'll go fishing tomorrow morning."

"I should go see my sister."

Song Chengan had not seen his sister for some days and wanted to visit her.

So he bought some pastries, carried them with him, and headed for An Mansion.

"Song Chengan, why are you here again?"

"Master has business today, so do not come here and make trouble.

An Mansion.

The moment several servants saw Song Chengan, they waved him away.

Song Chengan did not get angry.

"I came to see my sister."

"What sister? I think you came to borrow money again."

Song Chengan felt rather helpless.

Petty devils were always hard to deal with.

"Song Chengan..."

Just then.

A carriage came over.

A man in his sixties stepped down from the carriage, followed by a young man in his twenties.

The young man gave Song Chengan an indifferent glance, then walked straight into An Mansion.

"Young Master!"

"Young Master!"

The servants bowed and scraped.

An Mingxin?

Song Chengan knew this man.

Steward An had still had no son in his thirties, so he took two concubines in succession. Whether taking concubines brought him good fortune or not, the First Madam gave birth to An Mingxin that very year.

Later, An Mingxin had been found to possess the aptitude for cultivation. An Immortal Master had taken a liking to him and brought him away to cultivate.

Had he returned home?

"Brother-in-law!"

Song Chengan clasped his hands.

Steward An gave Song Chengan an expressionless look. "There is no need to call me brother-in-law. What business do you have at my house?"

He was thoroughly sick of Song Chengan.

Yet Song Chengan had no sense of propriety and kept coming to the An household whenever he had nothing better to do.

"I have not seen my sister for many days, so I bought some pastries to visit her."

"Your sister is busy."

"She has no time to see guests lately."

"Give me the pastries. I will deliver them to her for you."

"Then thank you, Brother-in-law."

Song Chengan handed the pastries to Steward An and left.

Since Steward An said his sister was busy, he naturally could not see his sister, Song Cui, now. But it did not matter. He could come again in a few days.

To put it plainly, his reputation had been too poor in the past, so no one welcomed him.

Steward An entered An Mansion.

"Master!"

"Master!"

He casually handed the pastries to a servant.

"Take them and eat them."

At the dinner table.

"Come, Mingxin. This is the braised pork you loved most when you were little!"

"Mother specially had the cook make it."

The First Madam served him food as she spoke with a smile.

An Ruifeng also had a smile on his face. "You have grown taller. You are already taller than your father."

"Of course." The First Madam smiled. "They say the green comes from the blue, yet surpasses the blue. Should Mingxin not be taller than you?"

An Ruifeng chuckled.

"By the way, Father found someone to invite Captain Wu to dinner tonight."

"You will come along then. If nothing unexpected happens, one of the Demon Suppression Division's slots will certainly be yours this time."

"Master, you got a slot?" The First Madam asked happily.

She had heard that even the great families of Liang Province had to go through great trouble to obtain a single slot!

Everyone knew that once one entered the Demon Suppression Division, the future would be bright and boundless.

"I spent some extra silver to buy a slot from someone else."

"Now all we need is Lord Wu's approval. I had someone arrange a dinner with Lord Wu."

"When the time comes, we only need to present Lord Wu with another sum of silver."

"That must cost a great deal of money, must it not?" the First Madam said.

"What is money? For Mingxin, it is all worth it."

Hearing that, the First Madam looked at An Mingxin with a doting expression. "Exactly. He is the most promising person in our An family."

"Mingxin's master even wrote me a letter. He said Mingxin could become a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the future."

"When I told others that heavenly fire had fallen into the An household when I gave birth to Mingxin, they did not believe me and laughed at me. They said I was dreaming of giving birth to an immortal."

"Now every one of them envies me. Whenever they see me, they call me Madam An!"

"They used to think I was merely a merchant's wife and looked down on me. Now, each and every one of them speaks to me politely!" Madam An smiled so broadly that her mouth could not close.

An Mingxin was somewhat helpless. "Mother, talk if you want, but stop putting braised pork in my bowl. It is too greasy."

In his bowl.

The braised pork was practically piled into a mountain. Every time his mother said a sentence, she added another piece.

"It is all Mother's fault."

"If you do not like it, do not eat it. Tell Mother what you like, and I will have the cook make it for you tonight."

An Mingxin shook his head. "Anything is fine. I am not a picky eater."

The few of them were enjoying themselves in perfect harmony.

Second Madam Wen quietly ate her meal.

As for Third Madam Song Cui, she carefully kept An Mingxu, her son, company.

Today, she had heard that her younger brother had come looking for her again and had run into An Ruifeng. She was worried that Steward An would get angry again.

Yet beneath her worry, sorrow welled up in her heart.

It was not that she had any thoughts of making her son compete with An Mingxin for the family fortune. As a concubine, how would she dare entertain such thoughts?

She was simply sad.

Other people's sons were heaven's favored children, while her own son was a fool. Her younger brother was useless as well.

When all was counted, she could not even compare to Second Madam Wen.

Though Wen had been born a concubine's daughter in the Wen family, she still had the Wen family behind her. The First Madam was always polite when facing her.

Only she, Song Cui, had nothing and was nothing.

"Mother, do not eat meat."

Song Cui came back to herself and saw her son looking at the meat in his bowl as he spoke.

"I am sorry. Mother forgot that you do not eat meat." She hurriedly picked the piece of braised pork back out.

Song Cui's son, An Mingxu, was a fool.

He was four or five years old and still could not speak.

He had also had a strange quirk since childhood: he never ate meat. As a result, even at twelve or thirteen, he remained thin and frail.

"Mingxu, this is your elder brother."

Their conversation caught An Ruifeng's and the First Madam's attention.

An Ruifeng rarely smiled at this foolish younger son of his. He spoke to An Mingxu.

"Mingxu, hurry and call him Elder Brother."

Song Cui hurriedly tugged An Mingxu and said.

"Call him Elder Brother!"

"Hurry!"

Song Cui was anxious.

But An Mingxu kept his mouth shut and did not say a single word.

"What elder brother? He cannot even call me Father."

An Ruifeng said this and heavily slapped his chopsticks against the table.

"Eat."

Song Cui's face turned pale, but she did not dare say anything.

"By the way, Master, when Mingxin was gravely ill back then, we made a vow." The First Madam suddenly spoke.

An Ruifeng was stunned. "What vow?"

"When Mingxin was three, his fever would not break. You vowed that if Mingxin grew up safely, you would send someone to cultivate at a temple and serve the Bodhisattva. Have you forgotten?"

An Ruifeng suddenly understood.

"Oh, that matter."

"Let Mingxu go," the First Madam continued.

The chopsticks in Song Cui's hand clattered to the floor.

"Master, Mingxu is not bright. He will be bullied if he goes to the temple."

"Could we choose someone else from the An family to go?"

Song Cui pleaded anxiously.

An Ruifeng hesitated somewhat.

But he made up his mind at once. "Let Mingxu go."

"It concerns the Bodhisattva, after all. Sending Mingxu will show more sincerity."

"Master, people at the temple will bully him. He does not like speaking." Song Cui was truly anxious.

"Our An family has donated so much incense money to Xuanqing Temple. Why would anyone bully him?"

"Besides, he dislikes moving about so much. Going to the temple to chant scriptures is just right for him."

"Do not mention this matter again. It is decided."

An Mingxu continued eating. He did not understand what going to the temple meant.

Only Song Cui wore an expression of despair.

Her son was a fool, but as his mother, she did not want him to become a monk.

"Why do you not eat meat? Why!"

In the corridor.

For the first time, Song Cui struck her son. She pinched his arm and demanded harshly.

An Mingxu pursed his lips. "Mother... slaughtering pigs is cruel. I will not eat it..."

Song Cui froze.

But in the end, she said nothing. She merely rubbed her son's arm and led him away.

"This outfit looks good!"

"It will surely make all the young ladies in the city lose their heads." The First Madam adjusted her son's clothes as she spoke.

An Mingxin was somewhat helpless.

He had returned this time because his master had told him about the Demon Suppression Division's selection, saying that if he had the chance, he had to give it a try. It was an excellent opportunity.

His master held no great status or position within the sect.

If An Mingxin remained in the sect, he would not achieve much in the future.

Even reaching Foundation Establishment would not change that.

Because in that sect, Foundation Establishment cultivators were nothing remarkable.

But joining the Demon Suppression Division was different.

After all, the world belonged to the Chen Kingdom.

His master had told him to come back and try.

So he had returned.

And now, those so-called young talents in the city had organized a gathering.

It was set for tomorrow, and they had sent him an invitation.

He did not want to go.

But his mother insisted that he go, saying it was time for him to consider the matter of marriage.

"Mother, why must Mingxu be sent to the temple?"

"Isn't that going too far?" An Mingxin said as he let his mother fuss with the expensive clothes she had put on him, clothes that made him feel rather uncomfortable.

He had actually disliked An Mingxu as well.

Because after An Mingxu was born, An Ruifeng favored the young Mingxu more.

At the time, An Mingxin had felt neglected, and so he came to dislike An Mingxu.

And later, after An Mingxu became foolish and dull-witted, they had rarely spoken.

But now, when An Mingxin saw this younger brother, he felt nothing in particular. An Mingxu was a fool, after all; he was not so petty as to keep holding a grudge against a foolish younger brother.

First Madam's expression changed slightly when she heard this.

But in the end, she felt there were some things she still had to tell her son.

"After An Mingxu was born, Mother always dreamed of a faceless person chasing you."

"Every night, Mother would wake up terrified."

"Mother could not see that person's face clearly."

"Even after all these years, Mother still occasionally has that dream."

First Madam's expression was incomparably serious.

An Mingxu said helplessly upon hearing this, "Mother, that is just blocked qi and blood causing nightmares."

"I'll write to my master and ask him for a pill for you."

"Could it be that Mother thinks Mingxu will harm me just because of a dream?"

"No, no, Mingxin," First Madam said. "Mother is not some vicious person either."

"But as your mother, I cannot allow even the slightest possibility."

An Mingxu said, "Mother, you have always believed in this sort of mystical nonsense."

"Forget it. Do as you please."

"But this will inevitably leave Third Madam resentful."

First Madam said disdainfully, "She is only a concubine. What resentment could she have after giving birth to a fool?"

"Could it be that, at her age, she can still give birth to another Foundation Establishment son?"