New Residence Completed

"Here, this way—yes, yes, move it a little farther in!"

In the spacious, brightly lit hall, Jiang Fu'an raised his hands, directing the Xu brothers as they arranged the newly made furniture.

This residence, which had cost him nearly a thousand taels of silver and taken eight months of work from start to finish, had finally been completed.

The entire estate was divided into five separate courtyards. One of the smaller quadrangle courtyards had been assigned to Uncle Xu and the Xu brothers.

Jiang Fu'an's own family moved into the largest courtyard in the center.

There were thirty rooms in all, more than enough to live comfortably.

At last, they could set aside one room and properly furnish it as a "Hall of Sacrifice."

The remaining three smaller courtyards were left empty for the time being.

Once his children grew up and the family branches spread and flourished, they would naturally come in handy.

"Father, Lord Sun and Ma the Immortal Elder have arrived!"

Stone came running in from outside to deliver the news.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Fu'an immediately turned toward the gates, giving Stone instructions as he walked:

"Stone, go urge Cuihua and the others in the kitchen. Tell them to move quickly—the dishes need to be ready."

Sun Xiuyuan and Ma Ping had been specially invited by him.

First, to celebrate the housewarming;

Second, because over the past few months, whenever they gathered, those two had always hosted.

This time, it was his turn to arrange a feast.

At the estate gates, the two men stood with their hands behind their backs, looking over the brand-new residence.

Hearing footsteps, Sun Xiuyuan turned first. A smile immediately spread across his face as he cupped his hands and said:

"Brother Fu'an, congratulations, congratulations! Your new residence is complete—it truly is impressive!"

Ma Ping turned as well, undisguised envy filling his eyes. Smacking his lips, he said:

"Brother Jiang, this estate of yours is truly not bad. Spacious and dignified."

Jiang Fu'an hurriedly waved his hands, his tone sincere:

"Brother Ma, you jest. Mine is merely a humble little courtyard. How could it compare to the grandeur of the Wang Family estate?"

Yet Ma Ping shook his head and let out a sigh:

"Ah, no matter how fine that estate is, it isn't mine. Unlike this place of yours—every brick and every tile was earned by your own hands."

He truly envied him.

Over the past few months, it was not as though he had not considered doing something to make those Wang Family members look at him properly, but how could worldly affairs ever be so easy?

His circumstances had not improved much from before.

Seeing his expression, Jiang Fu'an understood, but it was not his place to say much more.

At present, the only way he himself could earn money was by hunting in the mountains. He could not offer much help.

He led the two men into the main hall.

On the Eight Immortals table in the center sat a platter of braised pork knuckle, its skin glossy with oil as steam and fragrance curled lazily into the air.

"Brother Ma, Brother Sun, please sit. Try this pork knuckle. It's from one of our own pigs, freshly slaughtered."

Jiang Fu'an gestured for them to take their seats.

Ma Ping fixed his eyes on it and could not help uttering a surprised "Eh?" His face showed astonishment.

"Brother Jiang, this... could it be a Half-Spirit Boar? Where did you buy the piglets?"

Jiang Fu'an smiled and explained:

"I didn't buy them. Some time ago, while hunting in the mountains, I got lucky and came across a litter of piglets, so I brought them home to raise."

They were the six piglets Yue'er had discovered back then. By now, they had all grown plump and strong.

There were many guests today. Besides Sun Xiuyuan and Ma Ping, there were also the craftsmen who had helped build the residence, as well as Uncle Xu and the Xu brothers' family. Jiang Fu'an had simply slaughtered one so everyone could have a taste.

As they spoke, the maidservants brought up dish after dish on wooden trays.

If it was not Half-Spirit Beast meat, then it was meat from ferocious beasts hunted in the mountains. The plates and bowls were piled high.

When a bear paw braised until tender and falling apart was brought to the table, Ma Ping could not help clicking his tongue.

"Brother Jiang, your Hunting Team is truly remarkable. You can even bring down such a dangerous black bear."

Speaking of hunting, Jiang Fu'an had indeed made considerable progress these days.

Especially after discovering that Yue'er's "Lucky Star Shining" constitution was of great help in hunting, he often brought the little girl with him into the mountains.

The Xu brothers had watched them return almost every day laden with spoils, and their eyes had burned with envy for a long time. After hesitating again and again, they finally joined them.

With the two of them taking the lead, several strong men in the village also gathered their courage and volunteered to join.

Gradually, it developed into a team of more than ten people.

Now, the entire Hunting Team worked together with increasing coordination. Even when facing a black bear with the strength of a thousand jin, they were confident they could kill it.

After three rounds of wine and several dishes, Ma Ping suddenly set down his chopsticks and looked around.

Seeing that there was no one else in the hall apart from the three of them, he lowered his voice.

"By the way, Brother Jiang, there is something I may need to ask your help with."

Seeing his serious expression, Jiang Fu'an straightened his posture as well.

"Please speak, Brother Ma."

"Have you heard the news that the Bamboo Mountain Miao Family was exterminated?"

Jiang Fu'an froze, then shook his head with a bitter smile.

"To be honest, Brother Ma, let alone hearing that they were exterminated, this is the first time I have even heard the name 'Bamboo Mountain Miao Family.'"

Sun Xiuyuan, who had been listening quietly beside them, smiled and interjected:

"Heh heh, it seems Brother Jiang truly knows very little about the powers in our Song Kingdom's cultivation world.

"Brother Ma, you should explain it to him first."

As he spoke, he stood up and personally walked to the door, gently closing the two carved wooden doors of the main hall before carefully bolting them shut.

Seeing their actions, Jiang Fu'an knew that what they were about to discuss was no trivial matter. He could not help raising his guard to the utmost.

Ma Ping cleared his throat and slowly said:

"In our Song Kingdom, the foremost cultivation power is naturally Mysterious Elixir Valley. There is no need to say more about that.

"Below it are the four great sects. Each has several Golden Core True Persons holding the fort. Melodious Sound Sect is one of them.

"Below those are the seven great cultivation families. Each of these families has at least one Core Formation True Person guarding its foundations.

"And the 'Bamboo Mountain Miao Family' I mentioned just now was once one of those seven great families."

After hearing this, Jiang Fu'an's heart jolted.

A family guarded by a Core Formation True Person had simply been wiped out?

This world was even more dangerous than he had imagined.

Ma Ping continued:

"After the Miao Family fell, several cultivation families within the Song Kingdom that had relied on them suddenly lost their backing.

"Among them is one called the Sparrow Forest Rong Family.

"At present, their family has only one Qi Refining Late-Stage cultivator left to uphold its name, yet they occupy a first-tier Spiritual Vein.

"Now, our Wang Family intends to replace them."

As he said this, a sharp light flashed through his eyes.

"If I can establish an achievement weighty enough in this battle, I will surely make those Wang Family people—especially my wife—look at me with new eyes."

Hearing this, Jiang Fu'an's heart gave a thump. This is bad.

Could Ma Ping be planning to drag him into attacking the Rong Family?

Sure enough, Ma Ping's next words confirmed his suspicion:

"According to the intelligence we have gathered, the Rong Family has somewhat fewer cultivators than our Wang Family. Victory should not be a problem.

"But the troublesome part is that the Rong Family has raised a considerable number of mortal martial artists.

"If we leave them unchecked during the battle, those martial artists will cause no small amount of interference for our cultivators.

"Therefore, the Wang Family also intends to recruit a group of reliable mortal martial artists as support."

His gaze burned as he looked at Jiang Fu'an.

"I have seen the skill and coordination of the Hunting Team under your command, Brother Jiang. They are quite good.

"Well? Would you be willing to bring them along and take part in this matter?

"I, Ma Ping, guarantee here and now that once it is done, the reward will be exceedingly generous!"

Sun Xiuyuan added at the right moment:

"I can find a way to provide military heavy crossbows and a batch of specially made arrows.

"If Brother Jiang's team can be equipped with them, their combat strength will surely increase greatly.

"They will have an even better chance against the Rong Family's martial artists."