Chapter 8: Who Exactly Are You Talking About? You Might As Well Speak Plainly |
An overnight spring rain fell, as fine as hair. When Yulou stepped out of his room, the fresh air rushed against his face.
"You must be Young Master Yulou?"
The female worker from yesterday was drawing water from the spirit well in the backyard of Fortune Source Residence. Seeing Yulou emerge, she greeted him somewhat timidly.
"Yes. Yu'an and I will be imposing on you from now on. How should I address you, Fellow Daoist?" Yulou asked with a smile.
"I am Bailu. You are esteemed young masters of the Wang Clan, so it is no imposition at all. I will deliver water to the front first, then draw water for you to wash your faces."
The female cultivator named Bailu lifted the bucket, nervously bowing her head as she replied.
"There is no need to trouble yourself over such a trivial matter. I was just wondering... are you employed by Fortune Source Residence, or are you an outer-surname member of the Wang Clan?"
Yulou only knew that the Wang Clan would send members with slightly inferior aptitudes to serve in the family's various external businesses. He was not entirely sure if this female cultivator named Bailu belonged to the clan.
"This..."
"What is it? Is it hard to talk about?"
Seeing Yulou furrow his brow slightly, Bailu acted like a startled little beast and hurriedly replied.
"Uncle Tang took me in, and I acknowledge him as my godfather. Because he found me right around the White Dew solar term, he named me Bailu. I am not an outer-surname member of the Wang Clan.
"I just do whatever I can to repay Uncle Tang, so I am not exactly an employee of Fortune Source Residence either."
Good heavens. Yulou had not expected a casual question to unearth such a massive piece of gossip.
Tang Nianqiu had taken in a goddaughter, and this goddaughter was working for free at Fortune Source Residence out of gratitude for her adoptive father's care. This sounded perfectly fine on the surface.
If this followed the typical plot of a storyteller's tale, this Bailu might even have a romantic entanglement with a Wang Clan scion like Yulou or Yu'an.
But...
The difference between a few ounces and a thousand pounds sometimes simply came down to whether someone put it on a scale.
If Bailu was Tang Nianqiu's goddaughter, she should have been sent back to the Wang Clan as an outer-surname member to receive nurturing for the Qi Induction stage. Afterward, she would be dispatched to her designated location under the Wang Clan's unified arrangement system.
If Bailu was a rogue cultivator hired by Fortune Source Residence in Clear Stream Market, then she should be officially employed by them and receive a regular salary of spirit stones—the Wang Clan was going to audit Tang Nianqiu's account books!
Bailu clearly did not understand the intricacies involved and had accidentally exposed Tang Nianqiu's scheme of using a goddaughter to embezzle phantom wages!
"Doing whatever you can... so, how many spirit stones do you receive as compensation each year?"
Yulou suppressed the shock in his heart and asked gently.
She was a nominal goddaughter but an actual off-the-books worker. Tang Nianqiu had clearly never explained the management model of the Wang Clan's external businesses to her.
Thus, this foolish girl answered straightforwardly.
"Compensation or no compensation, I am only at the fourth level of Qi Induction right now. For rogue cultivators like us, just having a safe place to cultivate is already incredibly fortunate.
"Helping out at Fortune Source Residence is entirely to repay my godfather's kindness. Young Master Yulou, I must hurry and deliver this spirit water to the front."
Watching Bailu's retreating figure, Yulou felt a bit conflicted.
Old Tang, oh Old Tang, clan uncle Rongyuan just said you were reliable two days ago.
And in the blink of an eye, I caught you slipping up.
Leveraging the Wang Clan's trust and heavy reliance on you to pull petty tricks within their businesses was no trivial matter.
The reason the Wang Clan of Anbei Kingdom had "Anbei Kingdom" prefixed to its name was because the immortal clan had a thousand-year legacy and also managed a mortal dynasty—the Anbei Kingdom.
If the Wang Clan were viewed as a kingdom composed of immortal cultivators, Tang Nianqiu's behavior was akin to a provincial governor transforming into a warlord. And the type of warlord who secretly raised death squads and private armies using the Wang Clan's spirit stones at that!
You are just an outer-surname member, yet you dare to secretly embezzle phantom wages?
No, it might not necessarily be phantom wages. What if Tang Nianqiu had never even added Bailu to the account books?
It would only be considered embezzling phantom wages if he listed Bailu as a hired rogue cultivator and withdrew spirit stone compensation from the accounts for her.
Standing in the doorway, Yulou fell into deep thought.
Should he investigate? And if he did investigate, where should he start?
Forget it. He should keep a low profile, focus on his cultivation first, and worry about this after reaching the Qi Refining stage.
The secret struggles between the core family members and the outer-surname members were matters for the Patriarch to consider. Yulou did not believe that his combined lifespan of less than fifty years across two lifetimes could outwit clan elders who were over a hundred years old.
Furthermore, the Wang Clan still had a Foundation Establishment stage Patriarch leading them. If the sky fell, the Foundation Establishment Ancestor would hold it up!
Speaking of which, the Patriarch and Yu'an's father, Clan Elder Rongwen, would be arriving at Clear Stream Market soon.
——
"Hmph, some people are truly favored; they get to eat spirit rice even at the Qi Induction stage.
"Sigh, pity me, Wang Yu'an. I also have a dual spirit root, and my aptitude is even better than a certain someone's, yet I don't get any spirit rice to eat."
Eating his ordinary breakfast, Yu'an grumbled and complained, showing absolutely none of his open-mindedness from the previous night.
Yulou was left speechless. He looked at the spirit rice in his bowl, then looked at Yu'an, and said,
"How about this, we split it half and half."
Yulou: Who exactly are you talking about? You might as well speak plainly.
Did Yu'an actually want the spirit rice?
No, he just wanted to make a few snide remarks at Yulou's expense!
"I don't want it. This is clan uncle Rongyuan's earnest expectation for you. How could I dare eat it?
"Yulou, you need to cultivate diligently, reach the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible, and hold up a new sky for the Wang Clan.
"Do not let down this half-catty of spirit rice, and certainly do not let down clan uncle Rongyuan's expectations for you.
"Do you understand?"
Yu'an wagged his head, putting on the airs of a senior elder, completely infuriating Yulou.
You couldn't say he was malicious, as he only wanted to gain the upper hand verbally.
But you couldn't say he wasn't malicious either, because his smug face when taking advantage was truly detestable.
"I have spirit stones, so on what grounds can I not stay at this inn? Is this how your Fortune Source Residence does business?"
A noisy clamor drifted over, drawing Yulou's gaze.
At the counter in the lobby of Fortune Source Residence, Bailu was anxiously trying to explain something to several rogue cultivators, her face flushed.
"Fellow Daoists, our Fortune Source Residence has been open for business for decades. Normally, it is three spirit stones for a one-month stay, honest prices for all. But the situation is different now.
"The Merit Hall branch of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect is arriving at Clear Stream Market shortly. Because of this, the Town Guardian Cultivator just collected a Unity Fee.
"We were forced to raise our prices recently out of sheer necessity. If we do not raise prices, we will soon have to close our doors!"
Bailu had grown up in Fortune Source Residence. Having honed her customer service skills over so many years, she knew perfectly well how to deflect conflict.
Fellow Daoists, we didn't want to raise prices either; it was all the fault of that greedy Town Guardian Cultivator!
If you have a problem with it, go take it up with the Town Guardian Cultivator!
In any case, Gao Jian, Jiang Baobian, and their group couldn't possibly make trouble for Fortune Source Residence over these few words—they really had collected the Unity Fee, and a hefty sum at that!
"Fine, I understand your price increase, but I've already been staying here for half a month. Can't I just renew for another half month at the original price?"
The rogue cultivator making a fuss knew that anyone capable of opening a shop in Clear Stream Market was no ordinary person, so he didn't dare to truly cause trouble.
His only demand was to continue renewing his room at the pre-increase price, nothing more.
"I cannot make that decision... How about you wait until the Red Lantern Illumination Sect's Merit Hall leaves before coming back?
"By then, our prices will definitely return to normal."
You want to stay at an inn without money? Keep dreaming!
Bailu was polite to Yulou and nervous when chatting with him because Yulou was the Wang Clan's Qilin child.
He had just finished testing his spirit root and was directly escorted to Clear Stream Market by Clan Elder Rongyuan, paying a heavy price to enter under the tutelage of Householder Redbrow, a man who could call the Town Guardian Cultivator Jiang Baobian a brother.
If that wasn't a Qilin child, what was?
The bottom-rung cultivators toiling like beasts of burden for the sect?
What a joke!
The resources that core descendants of the Wang Clan received before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage were vastly superior to what the sect disciples of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect received!
Naturally, Bailu would not give face to a rogue cultivator looking to take advantage.
At that moment, the worker who had gone to notify Tang Nianqiu returned. He lifted the curtain at the back door of the lobby, and Tang Nianqiu, a Qi Refining cultivator dressed in a purple robe, strode out with powerful, tiger-like steps.
All Qi Refining cultivators possessed divine sense. The first thing Old Tang did was nod in Yulou's direction as a greeting.
Only then did he look towards the rogue cultivator at the counter and speak in a deep voice.
"Are you the ones causing trouble here?"
Forget it. It was better to keep a low profile and focus on cultivation. He could worry about these things after reaching the Qi Refining stage.
The hidden struggles between the direct family line and those with different surnames were matters for the Patriarch to consider. Yulou did not believe that his combined experience from two lifetimes, totaling less than fifty years, was somehow greater than that of centenarian clan elders.
Furthermore, there was the Foundation Establishment Ancestor watching over the Wang Clan. If the sky fell, the Foundation Establishment Ancestor would hold it up!
Speaking of which, the Patriarch and Yu'an's father, Elder Rongwen, would be arriving in Clear Stream Market very soon.
—
"Hmph, some people are just favored, getting to eat spirit rice even at the Qi Induction stage.
"Sigh, poor Wang Yu'an. He also possesses a dual spirit root and has even better aptitude than some, yet he gets no spirit rice."
While eating his ordinary breakfast, Yu'an grumbled, showing absolutely none of his open-mindedness from the night before.
Yulou was speechless. He looked at the spirit rice in his bowl, then at Yu'an, and said,
"How about we split it half and half?"
Yulou thought, 'Who exactly are you talking about? You might as well speak plainly.'
Did Yu'an actually want the spirit rice?
No, he just wanted to make a few snide remarks at Yulou's expense!
"No way. This represents clan uncle Rongyuan's earnest expectations for you. How could I dare eat it?
"Yulou, you must cultivate diligently and achieve Foundation Establishment early to hold up a new sky for the Wang Clan.
"Do not let down this quarter-kilogram of spirit rice, and even more importantly, do not let down clan uncle Rongyuan's expectations.
"Do you understand?"
Yu'an shook his head and swayed, putting on the airs of a senior elder, which infuriated Yulou.
To say he was being malicious would be wrong; he purely wanted to take advantage verbally.
But to say he wasn't being malicious would also be wrong; his smug expression was truly detestable.
"I have spirit stones, so why can't I stay here? Is this how Fortune Source Residence does business?"
A noisy clamor drifted over, drawing Yulou's gaze.
At the counter in the main hall of Fortune Source Residence, Bailu was anxiously explaining things to several rogue cultivators, her face flushed with urgency.
"Fellow Daoists, our Fortune Source Residence has been open for business for decades. Normally, it costs three spirit stones to stay for a month—a fair trade for everyone. But the situation is different now.
"The Merit Hall branch of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect will arrive in Clear Stream Market very soon. Because of this, the Town Guardian Cultivator has just collected a Unity Fee.
"Our recent price increase is forced by circumstance. If we do not raise prices, we will soon have to close our doors!"
Having grown up in Fortune Source Residence and honed her customer service skills for years, Bailu knew exactly how to deflect conflict.
'Fellow Daoists, we do not want to raise prices either. Blame it all on that greedy Town Guardian Cultivator!
'If you have complaints, go report them to the Town Guardian Cultivator!'
Regardless, Gao Jian, Jiang Baobian, and their lot could not possibly cause trouble for Fortune Source Residence over these few words—they had indeed collected the Unity Fee, and a hefty amount at that!
"Fine, I understand your price increase. But I have already stayed for half a month. Can I not just extend it for another half month at the original price?"
The complaining rogue cultivator knew that anyone able to open a shop in Clear Stream Market was no ordinary person, so he did not dare cause a real scene.
His only demand was to renew his room at the pre-increase price, nothing more.
"I cannot make that decision... How about you wait until the Red Lantern Illumination Sect's Merit Hall departs before coming back?
"At that time, our prices will certainly return to normal."
Wanting to stay at an inn without money? Keep dreaming!
Bailu was polite to Yulou and nervous when chatting with him because he was the Qilin child of the Wang Clan.
He had just finished testing his spirit root and was personally escorted to Clear Stream Market by Elder Rongyuan. They had paid a heavy sum to place him under the tutelage of Householder Redbrow, a man who could call the Town Guardian Cultivator Jiang Baobian a brother.
If this was not a Qilin child, then what was?
The bottom-tier cultivators slaving away for their sects?
What a joke!
The resources obtained by the direct descendants of the Wang Clan before Foundation Establishment were far superior to those of Red Lantern Illumination Sect disciples!
Towards a rogue cultivator trying to take advantage, Bailu naturally would not give any face.
Just then, the worker who had gone to notify Tang Nianqiu returned. He lifted the curtain to the hall's back door, and the Qi Refining cultivator Tang Nianqiu, dressed in a purple robe, strode out with the vigorous steps of a dragon and tiger.
Qi Refining cultivators all possessed divine sense. Old Tang's first action was to nod toward where Yulou was sitting as a greeting.
Only then did he look at the rogue cultivator at the counter and speak in a deep voice.
"Are you the ones causing trouble?"
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