A Surprise for Liu Laizi

At dinner.

His mother, who usually loved chatting with him about family matters, was unusually silent today. Su Xinghe had been preoccupied with cultivation techniques these past few days and had not noticed.

It was not until they were clearing the dishes that Chen Guilan suddenly said:

"Someone came to propose marriage today."

"I don't want to!"

Su Xinghe blurted it out instinctively.

Only after the words left his mouth did he realize he seemed to have missed something.

Fortunately, Chen Guilan did not leave him to wonder for long and began explaining.

"Oh, you child."

"It's your younger brother, Haitao..."

"The girl is also from an old farming family outside the city. The two of them... have already pledged themselves to each other in secret."

The heart Su Xinghe had raised settled back down.

"That's a good thing..."

Seeing that his mother seemed to have something difficult to say, he continued asking:

"What is it? Is there something inappropriate about it?"

Chen Guilan sighed.

"That child Tao doesn't know any better. He never discussed it with his father. Now the girl is pregnant, and her family is making a huge fuss."

Hearing that, Su Xinghe cursed his little brother in his heart.

That was far too irresponsible.

They were not even married, yet he had dared not take any precautions.

But he immediately grasped the crux of the matter.

The two had probably been together for a long time. But half a year ago, he had taken all the family's silver to buy the "Ascending Dragon Stance," and that had delayed the marriage.

Thinking back to their neighbor Zhao Jing, if not for that incident with the Peaceful Heaven Sect, the original owner of this body would probably have started a family long ago as well.

Still, it was fine. He was free and unfettered on his own now.

"Mother, tomorrow I'll have someone make a trip to the farm and call Father back. I'll handle the betrothal gifts, but we should still ask Father and Tao about the details of the marriage."

Now that there was a child, the marriage could not be delayed.

As for whether he himself would marry and have children in this life, he was still uncertain. The task of carrying on the Su family line would be left to his younger brother.

"Sigh..."

Chen Guilan let out a distant sigh.

Betrothal gifts were no small sum, yet her son said he could solve it.

She thought of the changes at home lately.

The money he gave for household expenses had kept increasing, and now he brought home large amounts of meat every day.

How were they supposed to live like this in the future?

Sometimes, she truly suspected that her eldest son had gone down the crooked path.

"Xiao He, the betrothal gifts aren't urgent."

"Your father and I will find a way. If it truly comes to it, we can discuss it with the in-laws and pay part of it first, then let Haitao and his wife slowly repay the rest."

"But those people who lend money at interest, we absolutely must not touch them."

She tried to put it as tactfully as possible, afraid of hurting the young man's pride.

"Mother, don't worry."

"I've already signed a contract with a Brokerage Guild in the south of the city. As long as I make another breakthrough in martial arts, I can become a steward of the Brokerage Guild."

Su Xinghe felt that he would soon break through to Inner Tempering and meet the old gang leader's second requirement. Saying it a few days early would at least put his mother's mind at ease.

But Chen Guilan had heard such words so often over the past half year that her ears had grown calluses. She only thought her eldest son still refused to give up practicing martial arts and was still striving to join a Martial Arts School to learn kung fu.

But becoming a martial artist was not so easy, especially when their family was so poor.

"All right, Xiao He. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

"By the way, why haven't we seen Jing'er from Aunt Wang's family come by lately? Did you two have a quarrel?"

"That child has been obedient since she was little, and she's pretty too..."

How could Su Xinghe fail to understand what his mother meant?

Now that his younger brother's lifelong affair seemed to be settled, the family naturally had only him, the "older leftover bachelor," left.

But leaving aside Zhao Jing's current attitude toward him.

He himself was already very clear-headed. Outside, there was the powerful enemy of the Peaceful Heaven Sect lurking at his side; within, there was the peak of martial arts waiting for him to climb.

Even if he were to start a family, he would first have to make something of himself.

For example, becoming a Martial Arts Grandmaster or something.

After cleaning up the kitchen.

Su Xinghe returned to his room and fed Little White Bat in advance.

Perhaps because his Qi-Blood had surged greatly lately and his blood was full of nutrients, the little fellow seemed to have grown a whole round fatter. Its body was plump and soft, and even the two fleshy wings on its back were pink and tender.

After telling his mother that he was going to find a friend to pass along a message, he hurriedly left.

Little Beggar lived in Tongzi Ward, only a few alleys away from the Su Family home.

When passing the alley next door, he deliberately glanced over and saw a group of children playing beneath a tree.

He made his way through the darkness to the alley where Little Beggar lived and found that dilapidated little temple whose door could not even close properly.

It was pitch-black inside. The other party seemed to have gone to sleep already.

He tried pushing it.

With a crack, the door opened in response.

It turned out that his recently increased strength had snapped the wooden stick propping the door shut.

"Who is it?!"

A crisp young girl's voice came from the side hall.

Su Xinghe froze and quickly looked around.

This was the place, all right.

Could that guy have a girlfriend?

For anything else, he would not have bothered visiting in the middle of the night. He could have made the trip himself. But this was about sending word to Lu Family Farm outside the city, where there was also a Peaceful Heaven Sect organization he could not deal with for the time being.

The fact that he could die and come back to life was far too fantastical, and it would be difficult to explain how he remained lively and vigorous after having his Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi broken.

If he went back and ran into those people, there was a high chance he would be treated like a white mouse in a laboratory.

"Is Little Beggar here?"

At the sound of his voice, a sudden clatter erupted from the side hall.

Su Xinghe was in no hurry.

After all, anyone whose good thing had been interrupted would fumble about in a panic for a while.

After waiting roughly ten breaths, the door creaked open.

"Boss, you were looking for me."

Perhaps he had just bathed, but Little Beggar's hair hung loose, and he wore a black cloak over himself.

"Who was that girl just now?"

Though he did not want to meddle in the other party's private affairs, this involved the confidentiality of their cooperation, so he still asked.

"What girl?"

"Oh... she's my younger sister..."

Little Beggar seemed a little shy and unable to speak of it. He immediately changed the subject.

"Boss, did you need something?"

"Yes."

Su Xinghe kept it brief and asked him to make a trip to Lu Family Farm outside the city tomorrow to call his father, Su Cheng, and his younger brother home.

Little Beggar agreed, promising to set out at daybreak.

After leaving, Su Xinghe did not return home. Instead, he avoided the crowds and slipped out of Tongzi Ward under cover of darkness.

Along the way, he also took a look at a certain small courtyard.

Like the many gambling dens in the west of the city, Lucky Fortune Card House stayed open all night. But because it was located in the west of the city and close to Tongzi Ward, those going in and out were all poor people in rough cloth with only a few copper coins in their pockets.

So-called all-night gambling was impossible. At most, they would play two rounds before leaving the table and rolling out.

Su Xinghe waited at the mouth of the alley for more than ten minutes before he saw one of Liu Laizi's thuggish companions come out to relieve himself.

About half an hour later, a bald figure with a head full of lumps appeared by the corner of the wall. After cursing and swearing as he relieved himself with his companion, the man immediately returned to the card house full of spirit.

It looked like he still had a little capital in his pocket.

After confirming his target, Su Xinghe immediately began heading back to Tongzi Ward.

By then, the night was deep, and the people cooling off in the alleys had already dispersed.

He made his way in the dark beneath a plane tree. The little brats who had been playing there earlier had long since vanished. Following a branch marked with a sign, he indeed found a tree hollow as wide as a bowl.

He reached in and felt around, touching a soft cloth bundle. It weighed roughly five or six pounds and gave off a pungent smell of black powder.

This stuff was controlled even more strictly than blades and swords within the city. Once discovered by the Public Security Office, the result would be losing one's head.

So Su Xinghe had been quite careful.

He had only had Little Beggar obtain some sulfur for repelling insects outside the city, while he himself had secretly mixed several packets of medicinal powder with the pharmacy boy.

As for the rest, his own kitchen had it.

Once he had the item, he did not dare delay. He quickly entered an abandoned courtyard nearby and found another bundle he had prepared.