Cultivation Talent

The sudden shout startled the women in the hall. The aunt clutched her chest and complained:

"Speak properly, are you trying to scare me to death?"

Old Lady Ji Baiqing glanced at her but said nothing.

The aunt, oblivious to the gaze from her sister-in-law, looked at Xu Qi'an and asked:

Is there a problem?

Xu Lingyue looked at her eldest brother immediately, and her birth mother followed suit.

"My woman has suddenly become an elder; do you think that's a problem?" Xu Qi'an chuckled dryly.

"There's no problem, it's just... her identity is a bit inappropriate."

As soon as she finished speaking, her aunt sighed:

"I know everything."

Her face wore a sorrowful and compassionate expression.

"What do you know?" Xu Qi'an remained rationally silent, waiting to see what his aunt would say.

Aunt said:

"I know everything. My sister's husband has offended a cunning, treacherous, lecherous villain, someone he can't afford to offend."

"A villain murdered my sister's husband in full view of everyone, leaving her a widow. You were close friends with her husband, and upon learning of this, you avenged her and took good care of her, inviting her to stay at your home for a few days."

Mu Nanzhi cooperated by displaying a sorrowful expression.

Xu Qi'an was almost stunned. He thought to himself, "Could that cunning, treacherous, lecherous villain be me?"

Auntie said again:

"As the saying goes, 'A widow's door is always a source of gossip,' and my sister couldn't stay in the mansion without a reason, which is why I became sworn sisters with her. From now on, you should call her Aunt Mu."

To this day, my aunt firmly believes that Mu Nanzhi and her nephew are innocent.

Xu Lingyue, on the other hand, believed that Aunt Mu, whose identity was unknown but who was destined to be noble, had fallen in love with her elder brother after her husband died and wanted to have an affair with him—this was what Xu Lingyue herself had discovered through testing.

However, Xu Lingyue firmly believed that this was Aunt Mu's one-sided affection.

The Flower Goddess won the trust of the Xu Household with her outstanding beauty.

Mu Nanzhi glanced at Xu Qi'an and smiled:

"I am fifteen years older than Ningyan, so calling me 'Auntie' isn't unreasonable."

Xu Qi'an's lips twitched, and he called out with a forced smile:

"Aunt Mu."

The Flower Goddess nodded in satisfaction.

Ji Baiqing looked at him, hesitant to speak.

Xu Qi'an understood immediately and said calmly:

"I will bring Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai out tomorrow. Aunt, I'll trouble you to arrange accommodations for my mother and the two younger relatives."

The Xu Residence was originally a three-courtyard compound. Later, Second Uncle Xu bought the neighboring courtyard, broke down the wall, and expanded it to be even larger.

Because the Xu Household was small, there were empty rooms everywhere.

However, Xu Qi'an's idea was that his birth mother could live in the inner courtyard of the Xu Residence, while Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai would have to move to the newly purchased courtyard next door, making a proper division.

Otherwise, if three strangers suddenly moved in, not only would the Xu Household feel uncomfortable, but Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai might not be at ease either.

Of course, Xu Qi'an wouldn't object if the three of them wanted to move out, but he wouldn't offer to let them live outside.

That's what he thought: Ji Baiqing's love for him was genuine; if she hadn't gone to great lengths to escape back to the capital and give birth to "Xu Qi'an," he wouldn't be who he is today.

Therefore, as the eldest son, he would not shirk his responsibility to "support" his widowed mother.

Ji Baiqing breathed a sigh of relief. Now that Xu Qi'an had accepted her and Yuan Shuang and Yuan Huai could still stay by her side, she had no regrets.

She did want to live in the Xu Residence, but not in the way of seeking refuge when she was homeless; she simply didn't want to be too far from her eldest son.

She had longed for this son for twenty-one years, and now that they were finally reunited, she was unwilling to let go easily.

Phoenix Palace.

The Empress Dowager felt drowsy in the spring and lay on her side on the soft couch, drifting off to sleep.

Squeak~

She heard the sound of the outer door being pushed open, but without opening her eyes, she frowned and said:

"I'm tired, stop nagging."

She thought it was a palace maid who had come in.

The Empress Dowager was of a detached nature, rarely getting angry or happy. She was too lazy to reprimand the palace maids and eunuchs in Fengqi Palace if they did something wrong.

Therefore, it was inevitable that there would be some palace maids and eunuchs who did not follow the rules.

The door creaked shut, and steady, slow footsteps approached.

The Empress Dowager did not speak again, remaining silent for about ten seconds before slowly opening her eyes.

During this process, her gaze did not directly fall on the newcomer, but first looked at the boots, then the robe, and finally landed on the newcomer's face.

Like a gambler who has lost everything, revealing their last card.

She was not disappointed; she saw his handsome features, slightly graying temples, and gentle eyes that held a sense of life's experiences.

The Empress Dowager's vision blurred instantly.

The man laughed:

"I'm here. It's not too late, is it?"

Tears welled up instantly, and the Empress Dowager turned her face away, letting the tears stream down her face.

She waited half her life for those words.

As dusk settles, the city lights begin to twinkle.

At the dining table, Xu Xinnian held his bowl, eating with his head down, occasionally glancing up to scrutinize Ji Baiqing.

This person's appearance was both unexpected and unsurprising to him.

When an elder suddenly joins the family, unexpected events are inevitable.

It wasn't surprising, since he knew that Nangong Qianrou had led her army to wipe out Qianlong City, so it was perfectly normal for her to bring back a few "prisoners."

He thought it was fine; since his older brother had brought his birth mother back, then this aunt must be alright.

After Xu Xinnian and Xu Pingzhi returned to their residence, especially the latter, the harmonious atmosphere that had prevailed during the day suddenly became somewhat stiff and heavy.

Perhaps only the fox cubs failed to notice the subtle shift in atmosphere. Bai Ji stood upright on Mu Nanzhi's lap, her two front paws digging into the edge of the table. Wanting some roast chicken, she pointed with her little paws and said in a childish voice:

"I want to eat this!"

If you want to eat braised pork, just raise your paw and point at the braised pork.

Mu Nanzhi would then pick it up.

After greeting his sister-in-law, Xu Pingzhi, who hadn't spoken since, finally couldn't help but ask after finishing a pot of wine:

"Ningyan, where did Xu Pingfeng escape to?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Xinnian subconsciously looked at his elder brother.

The two brothers kept Xu Pingfeng's murder a secret from their Second Uncle Xu, and didn't tell him.

Having met his sister-in-law today, Second Uncle Xu finally couldn't help but speak up.

Xu Qi'an chewed his rice and said in a calm, even tone:

"He's dead. He died the day I returned to the capital. I killed him myself."

Xu Pingzhi paused for a moment, then gave a blank "Oh," before continuing to eat, shoveling rice into his mouth much faster.

Before long, he was the first to finish his meal, wiped his mouth, and said, "I'm done eating."

Without giving anyone a chance to speak, he got up and left the inner hall, heading towards the inner courtyard in the night.

Within two or three minutes, the people in the hall heard faint sounds of wailing coming from the inner courtyard.

No one spoke; they all pretended not to hear and continued eating.

Bai Ji's pointed ears twitched a few times. She turned to look at Mu Nanzhi, and just as she was about to speak, a piece of meat was stuffed into her mouth.

Bai Ji happily ate the meat.

"Cough cough!"

After his father's crying subsided, Xu Erlang cleared his throat, raised his chin, and announced:

"I have advanced to the Sixth-Rank Confucian Scholar Realm. You may not know this, but in the Confucian School system, the sixth rank is a watershed. Only students who reach this level can be considered true pillars of society."

"Because a sixth-rank Confucian scholar possesses considerable combat strength, making him one of the best among those at the same level across various systems."

He used terms like "pillar of strength" and "outstanding individual" to imply that his ability to achieve this level at his age was enough to demonstrate his exceptional talent.

Xu Qi'an nodded:

"Indeed, Erlang's talent is quite remarkable."

Just as Xu Erlang was about to say a few words of modesty, he heard his elder brother say:

"If we don't count Auntie, Erlang's talent is a bit stronger than Second Uncle's, so he'd be fourth in the family."

What does "fourth" mean? Is my older brother jealous of my talent and trying to suppress me? Xu Xinnian said calmly.

"Brother, you must be joking. Who's second or third?"

Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment and said:

"It's hard to say who's second or third, but you're definitely fourth."

Xu Xinnian raised an eyebrow and said irritably:

"Could it be that Lingyue has a better talent for cultivation than me?"

Xu Qi'an immediately looked at the beautiful and refined girl:

What rank is Lingyue now?

With his current level of cultivation, he had long ago realized that Xu Lingyue was secretly practicing Daoist School mental techniques.

Xu Lingyue said in a soft voice:

"I've already inquired about the seventh-grade Qi-cultivation technique with the masters at Lingbao Temple."

A string of question marks flashed through Xu Erlang's mind.

Lingyue official?

It seems that she began her Daoist practice after her elder brother traveled the world, and she became a disciple of Lingbao Temple to learn Daoist School cultivation methods.

It seems like only four months have passed?

Upon realizing this, Xu Erlang was stunned.

To advance to the seventh rank in just four months—what kind of talent is that?

Xu Lingyue said aggrievedly:

"I didn't know this was a seventh-grade Qi-absorbing ability, because I was just figuring it out on my own and practicing haphazardly."

As she spoke, she flicked her finger to summon a dish of food, which floated in front of her.

He learned to be at the seventh rank on his own?! Xu Xinnian's mouth opened slowly, staring at his sister in utter astonishment.

"Father, let's cry together." He suddenly turned his head and looked towards the inner courtyard.

In the pitch-black seabed, the enormous body of "Huang" drifted with the dark currents. When it reached a certain abyss, five or six thick tentacles suddenly emerged from the lightless depths, menacingly blocking its path.

"What bad luck, to run into this thing here." Huang's voice was both grand and ethereal.

PS: Xu Qi'an only knew that "Huang" was a descendant of Gods and Devils, but he didn't know that it was Gods and Devils itself. Only the Witch God and Salun Agu knew this. This book has quite a few details, so sometimes I'll keep emphasizing certain details repeatedly, just in case everyone forgets. Now you know that wasn't filler, right?