Three days later, Xu Fugui's residence was hung with lanterns and colorful decorations, brimming with festive cheer.
Lin Changheng activated the "Aura Concealment Technique," which he had cultivated to the proficient stage, concealing his mid-stage cultivation, and arrived on time.
He brought two standard-grade [Wood Origin Pills] as his gift, worth at least four Spirit Stones-a rather generous offering.
"Brother Lin, come in, come in!"
Xu Fugui beamed with delight and hurriedly welcomed Lin Changheng inside. He personally escorted him to a banquet table and poured him a cup of wine before returning to greet the other guests.
Soon, several Immortal Seedlings he knew came over and sat at his table.
They fell into familiar conversation.
At the last gathering celebrating the birth of Fugui's child, the Immortal Seedlings had still been somewhat reserved. Lin Changheng's standing was no longer what it once was, and they had not dared to treat him as casually as before.
Lin Changheng could not help sighing inwardly, either.
Yet, unexpectedly, after each had downed half a catty of spirit wine and exchanged a round of toasts, the barriers between them crumbled instead.
Things returned to how they had been before.
Naturally, Lin Changheng was glad to see it. Perhaps someday he would stand alone, remaining evergreen with no one beside him, but at least that day was not today.
After all, a person was the sum of all their social relationships, and that saying still held true during the Qi Refining stage.
While waiting for the banquet to begin, they talked about many things.
Lin Changheng also learned something: among those who had died in the swamp last time was someone at the third level of Qi Refining, one of the Immortal Seedlings who had come to the Xu Family with them.
At the mention of this, the other Immortal Seedlings all looked sorrowful.
Lin Changheng let out a long sigh, unsure what to say. Inwardly, however, he became even more determined to make steady, cautious progress his guiding principle.
He knew that Immortal Seedling. Though the man had married into the family, he had never fathered a child, instead cultivating with all his might. In the end, he had been conscripted for the battlefield and lost his life.
"Perhaps I'll be sent to the Frontier Reclamation Battlefield before long, too."
An Immortal Seedling named Bai Fengxian abruptly drained a cup of wine and spoke gloomily.
"Didn't you father two sons? Why would you still have to reclaim the frontier?" another man asked in surprise.
"Unfortunately, neither has spiritual roots. Once things turn critical at the front, I'll have to go. Damn that disobedient thing of mine-it can't give me a child with spiritual roots!"
Bai Fengxian drained another cup and offered a brief explanation, his voice full of resentment at his own inadequacy.
Lin Changheng did not know what to say, either. There truly were risks in everything. Presumably, if conscription continued, even Immortal Seedlings with children who had spiritual roots would be called up.
As a Pill Master, I should be among the last Immortal Seedlings sent into battle. If it truly reaches that point, I can consider making a run for it.
If even Pill Masters are sent into battle, the Xu Family will most likely be on the verge of collapse. Why stay?
Around the table, they suddenly found themselves looking at one another in silence. No one said anything more; they simply raised their cups and drank together.
Before long, the boisterous crowd suddenly fell quiet.
Lin Changheng looked up to see Xu Fugui accompanying a group inside. At its head was none other than Xu Xuheng, the Xu Family patriarch. Beside him stood a young woman in a pale-purple dress, radiant and striking-the Xu Family's eldest young lady, Xu Hanji.
Xu Xuheng went to the center of the main hall and offered a few words of congratulations, drawing waves of applause. After the cheers, he departed with his entourage.
Yet everyone present with clear eyes and a discerning mind knew that this brief appearance by the patriarch and the eldest young lady was simply a declaration of their stance.
The wedding banquet was halfway through.
Thoroughly tipsy, Xu Fugui greeted his guests with the air of a man riding high on a spring breeze, his waist and belly having grown broader.
Beside him stood a demure female cultivator in bright-red robes, seemingly in her early twenties.
Standing next to the dark-skinned Xu Fugui, she gave the impression of a young wife beside an older husband.
The cultivation world had no rule forbidding women from appearing in public, so they toasted the guests together.
"Hanling, these are all old friends of your husband. And this is Brother Lin, whom I just told you about!"
Coming to the Immortal Seedlings' table, Xu Fugui introduced everyone with easy familiarity, placing particular emphasis on Lin Changheng at the end.
"Greetings, everyone. Greetings, Brother Lin."
Xu Hanling was quite sweet and obedient, doing as he said.
The Immortal Seedlings showed no surprise at Xu Fugui introducing Lin Changheng separately. Instead, they all responded with smiles and raised their cups in return.
Lin Changheng also nodded with a smile and wished them "ten thousand years of harmony."
He watched the newlyweds move to the neighboring table to offer their toasts.
Even after all the other guests had left, the Immortal Seedlings remained, having been personally asked to stay by Xu Fugui.
They indulged in another lavish round of drinking and feasting.
Seeing how late it had grown, Lin Changheng urged him to hurry to the bridal chamber. Only then did Xu Fugui reluctantly bring things to a close and head toward the rear courtyard.
His courtyard was now larger and more spacious than those of all the other Immortal Seedlings, Lin Changheng included.
Nor was it within the Tide Listening Dojo, where the Immortal Seedlings lived together.
Such treatment clearly meant that he was already regarded as one of the Xu Family.
Lin Changheng and the others left together. Before they reached the Tide Listening Dojo, however, they saw a tall female cultivator standing quietly beneath the moonlight, her bearing suffused with nobility.
Tantai Feiyue.
Whether because it was so late or for some other reason, Tantai Feiyue was no longer surrounded by a dense crowd.
"Fellow Daoist Lin, might I borrow a moment for a few words?"
Her elegant voice reached him, like a golden songbird in a jade hall, lilting yet noble.
The other Immortal Seedlings immediately began winking and making faces at Lin Changheng. A beauty inviting him aside late at night inevitably stirred the imagination. Moreover, they had drunk too much, and their wandering minds naturally conjured scenes of heated revelry.
Then they tactfully hurried into the dojo, leaving the two of them some space.
Lin Changheng chuckled helplessly at their antics, then turned to Tantai Feiyue and asked with a faint smile,
"Were you waiting here specifically for me, Fairy Tantai? Is there something important?"
Lin Changheng remained still, but Tantai Feiyue approached with light, lotus-like steps, stirring a waft of feminine fragrance. Neither orchid nor musk, it nevertheless seeped into the heart.
"Brother Lin, I don't recall ever offending you. Why do you keep me at such a respectful distance? We are both Bing-Gui Immortal Seedlings. Surely there ought to be some friendship between us..."
Lin Changheng had made many guesses about why she had sought him out, but he had never expected Tantai Feiyue to open with such faintly plaintive words.
It rather caught him off guard.
"You misunderstand, Fairy Tantai."
After a moment's consideration, a faint smile curved Lin Changheng's lips. "I simply... dislike trouble by nature."
She burst into a soft laugh.
Tantai Feiyue suddenly spread her broad sleeves and spun gracefully before Lin Changheng, her skirts fluttering. In the darkness, beneath the moonlight, she looked like an immortal taking flight.
"Brother Lin, look me over. Where do you see any trouble now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Those Xu Family disciples spent all day chasing beauty and neglecting their duties. They went too far, so the patriarch ordered them reprimanded and told their parents to discipline them strictly and make them study their arts and attend to their work. Otherwise, every last one would be sent to the front to reclaim the frontier..."
She abruptly stopped and lifted her face, fairer than frost and snow, to look at Lin Changheng.
"In that case, we Immortal Seedlings can certainly spend more time together."
Something stirred in Lin Changheng's heart. He gave the female cultivator a long look and said with a smile.
"As we should."
Tantai Feiyue's bright eyes gleamed. Having obtained the result she wanted, she took her leave.
Only Lin Changheng remained where he stood, his slender figure casting a cool, lonely silhouette beneath the moonlight.
As long as I'm not beset by senseless trouble, what harm is there in a little contact, even if she has her schemes?
Besides, she is also a ranked Talisman Master. She could be of some help to me.