Winning a Smile from His Father

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Chapter 18: Winning a Smile from His Father

"Fellow Daoists, that's all for tonight's livestream. See you next time."

The instant Chen Beiwu finished speaking, his phone screen went black.

A string of question marks immediately popped up in the darkened livestream chat.

"This guy really knows how to slack off. He only streams for an hour every time. Not a shred of professionalism," Xu Ziqing grumbled.

Xu Lingling looked relieved. "Fishing is so boring. The sooner it ends, the better."

Hearing that, Xu Ziqing gave her best friend a strange look.

"What? Is my makeup smudged?" Xu Lingling touched her face.

"Don't you usually seem pretty fond of Chen Beiwu?" Xu Ziqing suddenly asked.

Xu Lingling instantly blushed. "Nonsense! Who would like that jerk?"

"So you don't like him." Xu Ziqing smiled and said, seemingly in jest, "Then I'll go after him."

Xu Lingling's eyes widened, her mouth falling open in disbelief.

Then she stammered, "Didn't you say when you were little that you'd reach Golden Core first and start a family afterward?"

"I didn't know any better when I was little." Resting her chin on her right hand, Xu Ziqing chuckled. "My mom said good men are in high demand these days. If you meet someone who makes your heart flutter, you have to make your move right away, or you'll definitely regret it later."

At that, she looked solemnly at her best friend and clenched her fair left hand into a fist. "I'm not afraid of missing a good match. I'm afraid of leaving a knot in my heart. If cultivating immortality can't let me live as my heart desires, how could it ever lead me to eternal life?"

Xu Lingling pressed her lips together, a trace of reluctance and regret welling up inside her.

If she had resolve like Xu Ziqing's, she wouldn't have spent an entire year stuck at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining, much less missed her chance with Chen...

Meanwhile, Chen Beiwu arrived at his front door and happened to meet Chen Dong, who was leaving for work.

"How was your haul today?" Chen Dong glanced at the fishing box.

He knew his son's luck was peculiar. He could never catch fish, but often reeled in all sorts of strange things instead.

"Hehe, I got lucky today. I caught a fifty-jin wild black carp. We can steam it or braise it." Chen Beiwu opened the fishing box and pulled out an enormous, vigorously wriggling fish, showing it off like a treasure.

Chen Dong glanced at the fish's head, then suddenly asked, "How much was it per jin?"

"Not expensive. One cent per jin."

The moment the words left his mouth, Chen Beiwu knew he had exposed himself.

Holding back his laughter, Chen Dong said with a straight face, "Not bad. The wild fish from the market really do taste good."

Seeing the smile that had long been absent from his father's face, Chen Beiwu smiled too.

Not bad, not bad. In ancient times, King You of Zhou had fooled his lords with beacon fires to win a smile from Bao Si. Today, Chen Beiwu had passed off a market-bought fish as his catch to win a chuckle from his father.

"The big black carp was only a small part of today's haul." He deliberately glanced around before pulling Chen Dong inside. "As for the big prize, we'll talk about it indoors."

"Quit fooling around. I still have work." Chen Dong waved a hand.

It wasn't as though he had never fished in the Pearl River himself. What good things could anyone catch there?

"Ta-da-da-da-da!"

Under Chen Dong's curious gaze, Chen Beiwu solemnly took out an iron box that looked quite old.

Sure enough, another heap of scrap metal, Chen Dong thought.

Chen Beiwu handed him the iron box. "Dad, open it and take a look."

Chen Dong casually opened the box. The serrated leaves revealed inside made him freeze for a moment, and even his arms began to tremble.

"Where did this come from?" he asked in disbelief.

"Where else? I just fished it out of the Pearl River. It hasn't been out of the water long. Look, it's still wet inside." Chen Beiwu poked the bloodface vine.

Chen Dong paused, then said in astonishment, "You... you can catch Second-Tier Spirit Medicine in the Pearl River?"

"What Second-Tier Spirit Medicine? Why are you dreaming this late at night? Why haven't you gone to work yet?" Hearing the commotion in the living room, Huang Xiaoling came out.

"Dear, you're more knowledgeable. Help me check whether this is real," Chen Dong said solemnly.

Huang Xiaoling stepped forward to look, surprise appearing on her face. "A Second-Tier Spirit Medicine, bloodface vine. Over a hundred years old!"

"Impressive, right? I caught it!" Chen Beiwu pretended to look smug.

"Bloodface vine is a superior-grade, Second-Tier Spirit Medicine of the water aspect. It only grows in the habitats of third-tier treasure beasts, with a small chance of appearing where a second-tier spirit beast has died. It's one of the more valuable Second-Tier Spirit Medicines.

"This special spirit herb can't be refined into pills, nor can cultivators refine and absorb it to raise their cultivation. But it can purify the bloodline and cultivation of a water-aspect companion beast. Its usual purchase price on the market is five hundred spirit stones.

"And bloodface vine over a hundred years old has potent medicinal properties, equivalent to a superior-grade, second-tier pill. It can fetch as much as nine hundred spirit stones."

After explaining this, Huang Xiaoling knitted her brows slightly and looked her son up and down.

"What's wrong? Is there something off about the quality of this spirit herb?" Chen Beiwu feigned curiosity.

He had originally intended to save this bloodface vine for his as-yet-unmet companion

beast.

But the atmosphere at home had been rather strange lately. Even his father had taken a brick-firing job, trading his health for money. Clearly, they were desperately short of spirit stones.

As it happened, bloodface vine liked water, blood, and rust. It could remain underwater without rotting or losing its medicinal properties, so he had thought of using fishing-a slightly risky method-to give it a plausible provenance.

"The quality is perfectly fine," Huang Xiaoling said seriously.

Hearing that, Chen Dong looked eagerly at his wife.

There was hope!

The bloodface vine could sell for nine hundred low-grade spirit stones on the market. Even if an herb shop's purchase price was ten or twenty percent below market value, it would still be worth at least seven hundred low-grade spirit stones-more than enough to cover the treatment and surgery fees.

"This bloodface vine matches your spirit root's affinity. It'll be perfect for your future companion beast," Huang Xiaoling said with a smile.

Hearing this, Chen Dong hesitated. Several times he wanted to speak, but his wife stopped him with a look each time.

Chen Beiwu said bluntly, "We're short of money at home. Let's exchange it for spirit stones first. I'm sure I'll catch an even better spirit herb later."

With that, he turned and left, giving his parents no chance to refuse.

Watching their son disappear from sight, Huang Xiaoling and Chen Dong looked at each other.

For Beiwu to encounter such good fortune even once was already a blessing from fate. How could it possibly happen again?

"Let's sell the bloodface vine."

"Quit the brick-firing job."

Huang Xiaoling and Chen Dong spoke at the same time.

Then they exchanged a smile, all the weariness accumulated in their hearts melting away.

On the second floor, Chen Beiwu looked solemnly at Iron Egg.

"Do you want to cultivate with me?"

"Woof."

"Very good. Then do you know what matters most when cultivating with me?"

"Woof, woof!"

"An excellent answer. Loyalty matters most." Chen Beiwu nodded slightly and reminded him, "As the saying goes, loyalty that isn't absolute is absolute disloyalty!"

Hearing that, Iron Egg flattened his ears backward and wagged his tail with a series of thuds, even leaving red marks on Chen Beiwu's calves.

"None of that." Chen Beiwu grabbed Iron Egg's tail.

Besides his innate ability to command flames, Iron Egg possessed terrifying physical strength.

His usual displays of affection were one thing, but if Iron Egg turned vicious, his tail could shatter solid rock in an instant. Its destructive power was fully comparable to the Middle-Grade First Tier special art, Sharp Gold Art.

(End of chapter)