Facing his two sons' confusion, Old Man Yu took a deep breath and said slowly, "Originally, I didn't plan to tell you about this just yet, especially not the eldest.
But I realized I was wrong.
If I don't tell you now, who knows what you might do?"
"Father, stop keeping us in suspense. What opportunity does our family have, exactly? Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
Yu Ershan couldn't help asking.
"That's right, Father. Hurry up and tell us."
Yu Dashan muttered too.
But Old Man Yu didn't immediately unveil the mystery. Instead, he said to Yu Ershan, "Second Son, go outside and take a look around."
"Okay."
Though his father hadn't said it outright, Yu Ershan understood what he meant. He left the house at once, using the excuse of going to the Spirit Field to remind Yu Xiaoshan not to slack off, then circled around their home.
"Father, no one's around."
When Yu Ershan returned, his father and elder brother were already standing in the courtyard. He nodded.
"Do you see this tree?"
Old Man Yu pointed at it.
"A tree?"
Yu Dashan had naturally spotted the little tree in the corner, but he looked completely bewildered.
Yu Ershan, on the other hand, seemed to realize something.
"This isn't an ordinary little tree. It's a Rare Species."
Old Man Yu lowered his voice.
"What? A Ra—"
Yu Dashan couldn't help raising his voice. If Old Man Yu hadn't glared at him, he would have blurted out the last two words.
"Father, are you sure?"
Yu Ershan asked in a hushed voice too, his eyes shining brighter than ever.
"There's no mistake. I've seen it several times already. Every night, it breathes beneath the moonlight, its whole body giving off a faint glow, as though it's cultivating. Judging by those extraordinary signs, it's definitely a Rare Species."
Old Man Yu said with certainty.
He was fifty years old, after all. Even if he'd never seen a Rare Species with his own eyes, he'd heard plenty about the extraordinary signs they displayed.
After checking again and again, he was certain.
"Father, then let's sell it right away. Once we sell it, we'll have enough Spirit Stones to enter the Blessed Land, and we won't have to take any more risks."
Yu Dashan said without hesitation.
"Second Son, what do you think?"
Old Man Yu had never expected much from his eldest son.
"We can't sell it!"
Yu Ershan said firmly, without the slightest hesitation.
"Why can't we sell it?
If we don't sell it, where are we supposed to get the Spirit Stones?
Second Son, don't tell me you want to watch Father stay behind and die?"
Yu Dashan asked anxiously.
"Shut up. Make one more sound and I'll kick you out."
Old Man Yu glared at his eldest son again, then turned to his second son.
"Second Son, explain why we can't sell it."
"At a time like this, it's not just selling it that we can't do. If even the slightest bit of news gets out, everyone in our family will die."
Yu Ershan said calmly.
"Exactly. That's why I didn't tell you earlier. I planned to wait until before you left for the Blessed Land, then quietly tell Second Son. But..."
Old Man Yu shook his head.
They said plans never kept pace with change.
If Second Son hadn't discovered the eldest secretly signing up and stopped him this time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
So he'd decided not to keep it secret any longer.
Fortunately, after all this, outsiders would be even less likely to suspect anything.
After all, even Yu Dashan had secretly gone off to join the Insect Hunter Team. How could anyone think his family was still hiding something valuable?
It wasn't that Old Man Yu could be blamed for being so secretive. This matter concerned the life and death of his entire family, and no amount of caution was too much.
Seeing that Yu Dashan still didn't quite understand, Yu Ershan patiently explained, "Eldest Brother, a single Rare Species could fetch at least tens of thousands of Spirit Stones. Certain special varieties would go for even more.
How many forces in the entire settlement could afford that many Spirit Stones?
If we'd found it earlier, we could have sold it to a merchant caravan. After all, those caravans traveled between many settlements and relied on their reputation.
For those caravans and the Lineages behind them, it wouldn't be worth ruining their name over tens of thousands of Spirit Stones. That would only cost them more in the long run.
We could also have accepted fewer Spirit Stones in exchange for having them escort us to the Blessed Land.
But this year is different. All the merchant caravans have already returned to the Blessed Lands early.
As for the settlement, whether it's the Zhou Family or the Qi Refining Realm cultivator representing New Moon Blessed Land, even if they seem willing to make a deal with us, and even if they can produce that many Spirit Stones, who's to say they won't turn around and take it all back?
Even if they don't rob us, don't forget that more than three hundred people in the settlement have no choice but to stay behind this year because they don't have enough Spirit Stones.
Most of them are ordinary people who haven't even reached Fetal Movement, but many of their family members who went to the Blessed Land have achieved Fetal Movement Major Accomplishment.
If they find out our family has a Rare Species, and even sold it for tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, do you think they'll just turn a blind eye?
For the sake of their own relatives, quite a few of them have chosen to join the Insect Hunter Team or sell themselves into servitude.
So why should our family get to take tens of thousands of Spirit Stones to the Blessed Land and live well from then on?"
By the end, Yu Ershan's voice had grown very quiet, but his words sent a chill through Yu Dashan.
That was right. Why should they?
"Now do you understand why I didn't dare tell you? With that blunt personality of yours, if I'd told you, you might have let something slip and aroused suspicion."
Old Man Yu looked at his eldest son.
"But now I know. What do we do?
How about you beat me up again, hard enough that I can't get out of bed? Then I can stay home every day, and I won't have to go out or worry about giving anything away."
Knowing he was in the wrong, Yu Dashan hurried to make amends.
"Idiot!"
Old Man Yu kicked him, making Yu Dashan stumble and nearly fall.
Yu Dashan only grinned, not minding at all.
He'd long understood that when it came to scheming, he was nowhere near as good as Second Son. His family already had a clever one, so he could be the fool. Besides, if they actually fought, Second Son couldn't beat him.
"Second Son, what do you think we should do?"
Old Man Yu simply turned to his second son.
What the other had just said proved that his earlier decision had been the right one.
"Father, you intend to keep this Rare Species and make it our family's chance, don't you?"
Yu Ershan didn't answer immediately. Instead, he asked a question in return.
"That's right. Since Heaven has given our family this opportunity, we have to seize it and hold on tight."
Old Man Yu said.
"In my opinion, we definitely can't sell it this year. As for when we should sell it, that actually depends on Eldest Brother."
Yu Ershan thought it over before answering.
"Depends on me?"
Yu Dashan was at a loss. Did that mean he had to make the decision?
But when he recalled Second Son's reasoning, his head began to ache.
What could he do?
Before you continue