A Clever Granddaughter

Zhou Ning watched the figure, snowlike and moonlike, disappear from sight, his heart full of feeling.

The gulf between people was simply too vast.

Old Jia said she seemed to be a member of the Su Household too, but a rift had formed between her and the direct line, so she lived alone on a small island.

The Su Household really is teeming with talent.

Su Youyou is at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining and possesses exceptional array skills. I wonder how many years she has cultivated and what kind of Spirit Root she has?

Zhou Ning couldn't help speculating.

A moment later, he dismissed the thought. Whatever she was like, her status was far above his.

And as for strength?

Array masters were supposed to be the best at defeating the strong with the weak. According to Old Jia, Steward Su bowed and scraped before Su Youyou. Surely that wasn't just because of the difference in their status?

Forget it. I'd better cultivate the Xinsi Golden Scripture to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refinement as soon as possible.

Only then, with both the status of an Alchemist and the strength to back it up, would he no longer be at others' mercy at every turn.

All day long, he was like a beggar waiting for handouts!

A few days later.

Old Jia rode his green leaf Law Artifact down in front of the courtyard.

He instinctively spread his Divine Sense and swept it over Xu Qinghou. Hmm, the lad was still at the Third Layer of Qi Refinement, but he had reached perfection. He only needed to take a Three Flowers Pill to break through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage at once.

To get that Three Flowers Pill, Xu Qinghou had borrowed money from Yuan Dahu and asked Old Jia to buy it for him. It had cost a full two Spirit Stones!

Fortunately, Old Jia had made that deal this month, or things would have been hard for him lately.

Then, as usual, he probed into Zhou Ning's courtyard to see whether the lad was squandering his money.

But something strange happened. His Divine Sense could detect only a patch of gray-white mist, and no matter what he did, it could go no farther.

Old Jia was shocked. "An array?"

And a first-tier Bewildering Tracks Array at that. Such things were priced in Spirit Stones!

Zhou Ning could afford one?

Old Jia hurriedly found Scholar Xu and brought him to Zhou Ning's door.

"Try it. What can you see?"

Some things had to be seen to be believed.

Scholar Xu was a little bewildered. Facing the tightly shut wooden door, he widened his eyes and asked in confusion:

"I see a door. What else could there be?"

Old Jia slapped his thigh in agitation. "How is that possible?"

Suddenly, he froze. "Oh, you haven't developed Divine Sense yet. Never mind, then."

Scholar Xu's face turned green with anger!

He had been cultivating peacefully at home, only for the damned old man to drag him out of his room for no apparent reason and humiliate him!

He wanted nothing more than to return to his room and take the Three Flowers Pill to break through immediately.

Old Jia coughed awkwardly, then looked at Zhou Ning's courtyard and said, "There's a Bewildering Tracks Array set up in the courtyard."

Scholar Xu immediately exclaimed, "A bewildering array? Where did he get the money?"

He had to admit that Zhou Ning's fish-hunting skills had improved greatly over the past six months. Though he couldn't compare with net fishermen like them, he was certainly among the best of the retainers.

But Zhou Ning usually refined Stasis-Clearing Pills, and the ingredients for a single batch were worth more than ten jin of spirit rice. Who could afford to squander money like that?

Just as the two were racking their brains, the wooden door opened.

Zhou Ning smiled. "Well, well, when did my home acquire a pair of door gods?"

Old Jia seized the chance to ask, "Your array?"

Zhou Ning had no intention of hiding it. He admitted, "Fairy Su rented it to me, of course."

"How much spirit rice?"

"Fifty."

Old Jia's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Fifty...

Fairy Su was an exalted array master. When had she become so cheap?

Earlier, when Steward Su had asked Fairy Su to set up an array, he had treated her with the utmost courtesy, and it had still cost him two Spirit Stones!

How had a fisherman like Zhou Ning managed it?

Scholar Xu was just as shocked and thought Zhou Ning was boasting. But on second thought, Zhou Ning had no reason to lie, did he?

He couldn't help pondering, Could he really have some special talent?

The two humbly asked him for guidance.

Zhou Ning said that Fairy Su valued his potential in alchemy and had deliberately placed her bet on him early.

The two gave dry chuckles.

After trying for ages to pry something useful out of him and getting nowhere, they finally left in disappointment.

Zhou Ning felt pleased.

This time, though, Scholar Xu didn't ask whether he needed any Essence-Nourishing Pills, which left him feeling a little regretful.

The chill had faded entirely.

Early that morning, a thin layer of mist hung over the lakeshore.

Zhou Ning formed a Method Formula with his fingers. The furnace spout moved, spitting out pills that flashed with clear, crystalline spiritual light. They spun into a line.

There were five Spirit Essence Pills in all, each of excellent quality and giving off the fragrance of plants and herbs.

The corners of Zhou Ning's mouth rose slightly, and he looked gratified. "The last batch of ingredients finally yielded five pills!"

"Even if I only sold Spirit Essence Pills now, I could fill my pots and bowls to overflowing."

He was utterly certain of it.

"Next, I'll go to the meeting we agreed on seven years ago. After that, I'll keep up the act for another year, then reveal my alchemy skills!"

Seven years had passed since he failed the Azure Mystic Sect's selection and joined the Su Household.

From seventeen to twenty-four, he had devoted the best years of his youth to the Su Household. Ahem...

"It's time to go to Yongyang Commandery."

A few days earlier, Gu Xiangning of the Azure Mystic Sect had sent another letter, telling them to attend.

The city of Yongyang Commandery was several thousand li from Cuiwei Lake. The journey would probably take quite some time.

Xu Qinghou had done well hunting fish and had already bought a green leaf flying Law Artifact.

He had also asked Yuan Dahu to help rent one for Zhou Ning, so they could travel together and look after each other.

On the surface, Zhou Ning was still a pauper who spent everything he had on alchemy.

Outside the door.

When Old Jia heard that Xu Qinghou had a friend in the Azure Mystic Sect, he saw him in a new light yet again.

Before Xu Qinghou set off, Old Jia pulled him aside to impart some wisdom on dealing with people.

Xu Qinghou had recently taken the Three Flowers Pill and broken through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage. He felt his strength had soared and was full of high spirits.

At the same time, facing Old Jia at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer Great Perfection, he understood more and more how formidable the old man was.

He often had to ask Old Jia for help, too, so he listened patiently.

"When you're away from home, every friend is another road. When you're down and out, what do you call someone who can give you one Spirit Stone? A good brother of yours from Cuiwei Lake."

"Who can give you ten Spirit Stones?" Old Jia asked.

At this point, he looked at his granddaughter Jia Tingwan, who stood beside him.

Jia Tingwan had the day off and had happened to come here to spend time with her grandfather.

The young girl wore a short crimson jacket. She was in the bloom of youth, with a graceful figure and delicate features, touched with a hint of charming innocence.

At that moment, she was watching the two men with her almond-shaped eyes.

Xu Qinghou was a clever man. He immediately thought of Old Jia's granddaughter, whom the old man was doing everything he could to nurture. He had heard that she possessed a top-tier Low-Grade Spirit Root.

So he answered, "It must be family, someone very close to you."

Old Jia was delighted. He said to the genius who had become a scholar at fifteen, "This child can be taught."

"But for people like us, from ordinary families, human strength has its limits."

Old Jia posed a question from the depths of his soul. "So, do you know who can give you a hundred Spirit Stones?"

Xu Qinghou sucked in a breath. "A hundred Spirit Stones?"

What an enormous sum that was!

Surely it could buy a Foundation Establishment Pill?

Old Jia smiled smugly and was just about to steer the conversation toward the benefactor in the Azure Mystic Sect...

Beside him, Jia Tingwan tilted her head. "Grandpa, I know."

"Oh?" Old Jia was even more delighted. Had his granddaughter finally seen the light?

Rather than a foolish granddaughter, he wanted a clever one.

Jia Tingwan said as though it were obvious, "A pillow, of course! A pillow!"

Zhou Ning stepped out just in time to hear this and immediately found it hard to keep a straight face.

The corners of Old Jia's mouth twitched with anger, and his arms were trembling. "Don't call me Grandpa! I don't have a granddaughter as stupid as you!"

He was filled with regret. If he had known it would come to this, he should never have had his granddaughter learn talismans in the first place. What a waste of Spirit Stones!

Jia Tingwan's world-shaking wisdom had suffered a crushing blow.

For a moment, she was somewhat dejected.

Just then, she saw Zhou Ning come out and raised her eyes to study him curiously.

Before coming to Bamboo Creek Island, she had often heard her grandfather say that a good-for-nothing with a Middle-Grade Spirit Root lived next door.

A Middle-Grade Spirit Root was a cut above even her top-tier Low-Grade Spirit Root.

She had assumed he would be utterly unremarkable, but to her surprise, he was rather handsome.

His cultivation wasn't high, though. He was only at the Third Layer of Qi Refinement, inferior to Brother Xu, whom her grandfather held in such high regard, and he was addicted to squandering money.

She supposed he probably wasn't very clever either.

Xu Qinghou said, "It's time. Let's set off!"