Six days later.
At the home of Xu Taiping's second uncle.
"What? You're going to sell Taiping?!"
Xu Taiping's second uncle, Xu Erniu, stared at his wife in disbelief.
"Shh! ..."
His aunt, her face thick with fleshy folds, raised a finger, signaling for Erniu to lower his voice.
"What do you mean, sell him? Becoming a servant at White Household Manor is an opportunity most people couldn't get even if they begged for it."
His aunt rolled her eyes at his uncle.
"That may be true, but he'll still be entered in the Slave Register..."
His uncle hesitated.
"In the White Household, he'll eat well, drink well, and have fine things to use. So what if he's in the Slave Register? Stay out of this. I've already taken the deposit."
His aunt waved her hand, settling the matter with utter high-handedness.
"All right."
Unable to stand against his wife, Erniu sighed softly and nodded.
"Where's Taiping?"
His aunt asked next.
"He's still in the Spirit Hall. Today is the seventh day since Father died. Taiping wants to keep vigil for him."
Dressed in mourning clothes, Erniu wiped his mouth as he answered.
"The people from White Household Manor are already waiting at the village entrance. Tell him to hurry back."
His aunt rolled her eyes at Erniu.
"They're here already?"
Erniu was a little surprised.
"The young master of White Household Manor starts private school next month, and he just happens to need a study attendant. Why else would they come so quickly? Stop wasting words and fetch that boy from the Spirit Hall."
His aunt shot his uncle a vicious glare, then urged him on again.
"But... but today is the seventh day since Father died. Can't we let Taiping stay through tonight before he leaves?"
His uncle scratched his head, looking troubled.
Ever since Xu Taiping's grandfather died, the couple had been discussing how to get rid of Xu Taiping, their unwanted burden. Still, his uncle retained some affection for him and did not want to send Taiping off to serve the White Household before the seventh day of mourning was over.
"The seventh day, the seventh day! So what if it's the seventh day? Is that more important than silver? Honestly, you!"
Exasperated by his hopelessness, his aunt jabbed a finger at his forehead, then leaned mysteriously toward his ear and whispered:
"Do you know how much silver the White Household is willing to pay? Thirty taels! Thirty taels!"
His aunt's eyes brimmed with greed.
At those words, his uncle froze for a moment, then nodded firmly and said:
"I'll go fetch Taiping right now."
An hour later.
At the entrance to Green Ox Village.
Xu Taiping cast a reluctant glance toward the Spirit Hall, then pleaded with his uncle and aunt standing before him:
"Second Uncle, can't I really leave tomorrow?"
"Taiping, becoming a servant at White Household Manor is an opportunity that comes once in a thousand years. If you don't go now, you won't be able to go tomorrow even if you want to!"
His aunt spoke to Xu Taiping with a smile plastered across her face.
"Aren't you just worried you won't get a good price for me tomorrow, Aunt?"
Xu Taiping gave her a cold look.
Although he had spent the past few days keeping vigil, he had tasted both the warmth and coldness of human hearts since childhood. How could he fail to see the dealings his aunt and uncle had been conducting behind his back?
Taiping had not refused or resisted partly because he had no way to fight back, and partly because he himself felt that going to White Household Manor might be a decent choice. After all, his grandfather was dead, and he no longer had anything to hold him here.
"You brat, is that any way to speak to your aunt? She's doing all this for your own good!"
Hearing Xu Taiping say that, his uncle glared fiercely at him.
"Stop dawdling and get into the carriage. A rat demon has been prowling this area at night lately. We need to reach Green Bamboo Ridge before dark."
Just then, the White Household's steward called impatiently from the carriage behind Xu Taiping.
"Coming, coming!"
At that, his uncle and aunt each seized one of Taiping's arms without another word and forcibly dragged him toward the carriage.
Xu Taiping did not resist. He merely felt a chill in his heart.
"Boy, take a good look. This is the bond of servitude you signed with the White Household. From this day onward, you are a slave of our household, with no further ties to Green Ox Village or the Xu family."
In front of the carriage, after Xu Taiping had pressed his fingerprint onto it, the White Household's steward lifted the bond of servitude and waved it.
"Mm."
Taiping nodded expressionlessly.
It looks like the pill Grandpa gave me didn't work. Six days have passed, and no immortal has come down to fetch me.
While the White Household's steward spoke with his uncle and aunt, Xu Taiping silently raised his head and gazed up at the sky.
He was not actually very disappointed about seeking immortals. After all, his greatest reason for wanting to become one had been to cure his grandfather's illness.
"Huh? There's a white crane up there bigger than a water buffalo!"
"Where? Where?"
"Wait, on that white crane... there seem to be two people standing!"
Just then, the villagers watching at the entrance suddenly burst into cries of surprise.
Hearing them, Xu Taiping, the White Household's steward beside him, and Erniu and his wife all looked up. Sure enough, a huge white crane had appeared in the sky overhead, with two figures faintly visible standing on its back.
"Im... immortals?"
After staring blankly for several seconds, Xu Taiping slowly uttered the word.
"They're immortals! They must be immortals!"
By then, many of the villagers had begun shouting as well.
"Kree! ..."
At that moment, accompanied by a crane's cry, two figures descended from the sky and drifted slowly down before the crowd at the village entrance.
They were a man and a woman, one dressed in a sky-blue robe and the other in a red dress. The man had sword-like brows, star-bright eyes, and a strikingly handsome bearing. The woman's features seemed those of a heavenly maiden descended from the highest heavens, her beauty making everything around her pale in comparison.
"Please pardon the intrusion, everyone. I am a disciple of the Azure Profound Sect of Cloud Cottage Mountain. My junior sister and I have come down the mountain today in search of a boy."
The young man politely cupped his hands toward the crowd.
At his words, the people of Green Ox Village erupted into an uproar. They had never expected these two to truly be immortals, much less immortals from nearby Cloud Cottage Mountain.
"May I ask whether there is a boy named Xu Taiping in this village?"
The red-clad female disciple from Cloud Cottage Mountain also cupped her hands toward the crowd and asked with a smile.
Her smile set hearts fluttering-not only those of the men who saw it, but even those of the women.
"Xu... Xu Taiping?"
"Him! He's Xu Taiping!"
After a few stunned seconds, several villagers immediately pointed toward Xu Taiping beside the carriage.
Most people in Green Ox Village knew one another. Besides, Xu Taiping's family was one of the few in the village with a different surname, so most of them knew him.
"You're Xu Taiping?"
The red-clad disciple stepped forward, looking at the boy Xu Taiping with delight.
"Mm."
Xu Taiping nodded.
In truth, he had already guessed who these two were.
"Senior Brother."
Seeing Taiping nod, the woman hurriedly turned toward the young man behind her.
"The Cultivation Transmission Jade Slip is reacting. He's the one we're looking for."
The young man nodded and held up a jade slip emitting a faint blue-green glow for the female disciple to see.
"F... fairy, has my nephew done something wrong?"
At last, his uncle Xu Erniu could not help asking.
"Who told you to stick your nose into this?"
No sooner had Xu Erniu spoken than his aunt pulled him back, continuing to keep five or six feet between herself and Xu Taiping.
They were not the only ones. The other villagers also backed away, putting some distance between themselves and Xu Taiping.
Clearly, most of the villagers, like Xu Erniu, suspected that Xu Taiping had done something wrong and brought the immortals down the mountain.
Green Ox Village was close to Cloud Cottage Mountain, after all. Even if they had never personally witnessed immortals coming down the mountain to slay demons, they had at least heard of it.
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