"It works!"
Old Madam Meng waved her hand, "That Rogue Person Withered Wood is just a rogue Rogue Cultivator in the Middle Qi Refining Stage. He's good at bullying mortals and making a little money, but if he really faced a disciple of the Jade Spring Sect, he wouldn't dare! We're just asking him to back down that Chen Household brat. He'll just breathe a sigh of relief and won't pursue the matter further."
"At the same time, first thing tomorrow morning—no, right now—Huaiyuan and Huaide, you two must personally go to the Chen Household family to apologize, bringing with you the deeds to my three most lucrative estates outside Meng Household City, the deeds to the two prime shops in the city, and the century-old ginseng treasured in the storeroom!"
"Be sincere and humble. Say you've been misled by a villain and acted rashly, with no intention of being enemies with the Chen Household. Place all blame on the deceased Chen the Third and his foolish wife. Our Meng Household is willing to give everything to beg for Old Master Chen's forgiveness!"
"What?!" Meng Huaiyuan's face contorted with heartache. "Those three estates and two prime shops represent nearly 30% of our family's assets! And that old ginseng..."
"Idiot!"
Old Madam Meng shouted sternly, "You can earn more money if you lose your business, but if you lose your life, you lose everything!"
After helping Old Master Chen into his room to rest, Chen Shuangbai had a brief conversation with Uncle Li, learning about the major and minor events that had occurred in the family during her five-year absence.
Uncle Li's position in the Chen Household is rather special because he was originally a close friend of Chen Shuangbai's parents, so unlike other servants, he does not have a contract of indenture held by the Chen Household family.
Furthermore, since he was a first-rate mortal innate master, the Chen Household treated him with great courtesy, which prevented the Meng Household from being wary of him and daring not to confront the Chen Household on their own.
" Uncle Li, I won't say anything else. If Brother Yuan has a son or daughter in the future, or if they have Spirit Root, I will definitely promise them a bright future."
Uncle Li's son, Li Yuan, is quite scholarly and is currently studying at the Imperial College in Jinghua Prefecture. He is essentially being supported by the Chen Household.
It is precisely because of this deep bond that Uncle Li has always protected Old Master Chen.
Uncle Li nodded and replied in a slightly hoarse voice, "Yuan'er has his own destiny. Take good care of yourself, and that will be enough for me to live up to your parents' expectations."
Neither of them were the type to be long-winded. After a brief chat, Chen Shuangbai gave Uncle Li two bottles of tonifying pills and a brocade pouch, telling him that it contained talismans that could be activated with incantations without the need for Law Power, and that he should use them to protect himself and, incidentally, also to protect the Chen Household for Chen Shuangbai.
Uncle Li patted his chest to indicate that he understood.
After the two left,
Chen Shuangbai returned to her room intending to cultivate, but after trying for a while, her expression became rather unpleasant.
"Although I know the area down the mountain is not as good as the area up the mountain, this much polluted air..."
Chen Shuangbai has been on the mountain for five years. The mountain formations stand tall, connecting the primordial energy of heaven and earth above and the moisture from the earth's veins below. The mountain is filled with pure and spiritual energy, and he has long been accustomed to it. However, the environment of the county town at the foot of the mountain is simply unsuitable for cultivators to practice.
"No wonder the cultivators and immortals in the stories all live in seclusion in deep mountains and forests, in paradises, while only those fake Daoists mingle in the mortal world. It's because one can't cultivate in the mortal world."
Chen Shuangbai sighed slightly.
He dared not draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from the outside world, for fear of absorbing the turbid energy of the mortal realm, which would pollute his foundation and taint his Law Power. Therefore, he could only use the Spirit Stone in his Storage Bag to cultivate.
Even so, I still felt extremely uncomfortable.
"There really is a difference between immortals and mortals..."
Knock knock knock.
After a rhythmic knocking, Chen Zhuang's voice came from outside.
"Young Master, Master sent me to summon you. The Meng Household... have come to apologize."
Chen Shuangbai was not surprised at all.
Although he had his men surround the Chen Household to keep the news from getting out, the fact that he made such a big commotion in the city during the day meant that anyone in the Meng Household who wasn't a fool would know that something must have happened at the Chen Household tonight.
Mortals are no match for cultivators, so the Meng Household will definitely resort to the tactic of begging for mercy, hoping to gain a chance to survive and have their lives spared.
Chen Zhuang added, "It was the eldest and second masters of the Meng Household who came, carrying several camphor wood chests behind them. I heard... the sound of silver clinking."
You guessed right.
Chen Shuangbai asked, "What did Master say?"
"The old master said it's entirely up to you, young master."
"Not see."
"Knew."
Listening to Chen Zhuang's footsteps gradually receding into the distance, Chen Shuangbai's heart remained as calm as a lake, but beneath that lake, there seemed to be an invisible behemoth churning, as if it would unleash a raging torrent the moment it saw the light of day.
The luminous moon in Chen Shuangbai's sea of consciousness remained unmoved throughout the ages, casting its clear light upon every inch of it.
The eldest and second sons of the Meng Household were turned away at the gate of the Chen residence and slunk back to the Meng residence.
All of this was observed by the third-party force in White Water County, namely the county magistrate.
After listening to his subordinates' report, the county magistrate sighed softly and said, " The Meng Household... is most likely finished."
Even a mortal like him was aware of the Jade Spring Sect's formidable reputation.
Now that the eldest son of the Chen Household has already become a disciple of the Jade Spring Sect, his purpose in returning this time is clearly to deal with the Chen Household's enemies.
He only hoped that the commotion tomorrow wouldn't be too great, and that he could at least leave the county town relatively intact.
Chen Shuangbai sat on the bed cultivating, his mind preoccupied with another matter—
The White Water Chen Clan is a branch of the Jingxuan Chen Clan, but they have now become independent. However, they still recognize the Jingxuan Chen Clan as their main family, so they have exchanges and offer gold and silver tributes every year.
The Jingxuan Chen Clan family... was once a Lineage cultivators.
However, this generation of the Jingxuan Chen Clan is still much more declining than the Jingxuan Chen Clan of more than two hundred years ago. Many of the family's businesses related to cultivation have been lost, and they have become a mortal Aristocratic Clan.
Chen Shuangbai only found out about the Jingxuan Chen Clan's origins after he had gradually established himself within the Jade Spring Sect. He learned that the family had produced two Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators more than two hundred years ago, but both of them died suddenly, leading to the family's decline.
The Jingxuan Chen Clan had initially set their sights on the White Water Chen Clan's ability to make money. Several elders within the family, under the guise of the main family's division of the family, wanted to increase the annual gifts from the White Water Chen Household. However, this was rejected by the Old Master Chen, so they sent people to mock and ridicule them, which also implied an intention to seize the property.
However, according to Uncle Li, they made no further moves after learning that Chen Shuangbai had joined the Jade Spring Sect, which suggests that they must have known the power of the Jade Spring Sect Sect's disciples.
The room was pitch black, Chen Shuangbai said in a low voice.
"I hope you know what's what, otherwise... don't blame me."
He didn't have much time to spare in White Water County, so he didn't want to cause any more trouble for the Jingxuan Chen Clan. If they continued like this, it would save him some time.