Chapter 23 - Testing the Waters
The methods of cultivators are mysterious and unfathomable, and even he wouldn’t dare to claim complete understanding. Especially since, as someone with inside knowledge, he knew that Gu Yao’s uncle was most likely a Golden Core cultivator. Even if severely wounded, he wouldn’t have been someone the Gu family’s ancestor could have dealt with.
The head of the Gu family’s face darkened. He thought everything was under control, but now an unexpected situation had arisen with Gu Yao. That kid named Chi Changye was also someone he had misjudged. That night, he hadn’t paid much attention to such a person. Later, he learned that when Chi Changye was found, he was badly injured and almost unrecognizable. Who would have thought that after recovering, he turned out to be a handsome young man, and possibly even a cultivator with considerable strength?
“Father, I’m not saying this to complain, but both Second Brother and Eldest Brother have handled this poorly. No matter what, Gu Yao is part of the Gu family—The second Brother’s biological son the eldest Brother’s biological nephew. Even if Gu Yao’s talents are lacking, can’t the Gu family afford to support him?” The speaker continued, “Why make things so complicated? Even I hear people outside talking about how the Gu family does things unfairly. If they really don’t like Gu Yao, they could at least give him a small estate to live in, rather than let things go this far. Second Brother spoils the twins too much; even the Fang family dares to disregard the Gu family.”
The head of the Gu family glanced coldly at the third son. It was less about seeking justice for Gu Yao, and more about reprimanding the second and eldest sons: “This matter can’t be taken lightly. We’ll first send someone to probe their situation. The Gu family shouldn’t get involved directly, so let the Lu family handle it.”
“Yes, Father, I’ll pass the message to the Lu family right away,” Third son Gu understood his father’s intent, deciding to use the Lu family as the Gu family’s front-runner.
After the third son Gu left, the head of the Gu family’s expression immediately darkened. He looked at his hands, his alchemy skills having stagnated for years. If those pills really were made by Gu Yao, then the method he had for purifying impurities might be of great use to him. Third son Gu’s words were not without reason—perhaps the Feng siblings had left behind some secret methods. He had already learned about the life Gu Yao and Chi Changye were living on Tian family’s territory before his third son Gu came to report.
The head of the Gu family couldn’t help but feel displeased with the second son’s twins. He wasn’t oblivious to the fact that the second son’s recent rebellious behavior was likely because the two children were behind it, egging him on. It was hard to believe that the usually obedient second son had refused to give in this time.
“Damn it! That bastard Feng Yinhua, is he dead or not?” This was the reason he had never dared to act too harshly, because he feared that Feng Yinhua might still be alive. After all, cultivators could enter closed-door meditation for ten or twenty years, or even longer.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the Lu family received “reliable” information. The talismans sold by the Tian family were all made by Gu Yao’s husband, Chi Changye. Not only was Chi Changye a cultivator, but he was also a talented talisman master. It wouldn’t be long before he could create intermediate-grade talismans. No matter how you looked at it, the talismans he produced were of better quality than those from the Lu family.
“Is this news true? What are the Gu family doing? The Tian family has clearly been harboring malicious intentions. It seems they’ve long been dissatisfied with our Lu family and the Gu family. Don’t they think—if our two families hadn’t agreed, could the Tian family have established a foothold in Yuanyang Town?” The head of the Lu family was very displeased with the Tian family’s actions. To him, the Tian family was ungrateful, stealing the Lu family’s talisman business behind their backs.
The unspoken understanding between the three families was that, just like the Lu family never interfered in the pill trade, things would be handled secretly, but never openly. However, the Tian family’s actions had broken the unspoken agreement between the three families.
“Father, what should we do?”
“Send someone to investigate those two boys. Just don’t kill them,” the head of the Lu family sneered. He couldn’t act against the Tian family for now, but those two little bastards—could the Lu family not deal with them? Even if they were on the Tian family’s turf, could the Tian family really go to war with the Lu family because of those two?
“Alright, Father, I’ll arrange for someone to go immediately.”
***
At dinner, Chi Changye reminded Gu Yao: “You should try not to go out these next few days. If you have to go, take me with you. I feel like we’re being watched here.”
Gu Yao sighed and said, “I can feel it too. Is it because of the pills and talismans? I have to say, Yuanyang Town is too small. Neither of those two families are open-minded. I have little hope that they can expand their families.”
“It should be,” Chi Changye agreed. He couldn’t think of any other reason why he and Gu Yao were being targeted. There were no enemies here, and no one knew his true identity. “Xiao Yao, you’re right. Ultimately, they just don’t want anyone to shake their position, and they don’t want their cultivation resources to be diluted.”
Even though they relied on the Tian family, it wasn’t a long-term solution. The Tian family’s intentions might not be much different. However, the Tian family was currently facing pressure from the joint forces of the Gu and Lu families, which was why they were looking for external help.
Gu Yao bit his chopsticks and said, “If it really comes down to it, we can ask Tian Feirong if there are any merchant caravans leaving here recently. We can just leave with them.”
The problem was, it was a bit too risky. There was still quite a distance to the next cultivation city, and along the way, various demonic beasts and dangerous places were the greatest threats to cultivators. His plan was to leave with the large convoy in a few months when the Ascension Conference took place. But if there was no other option, they would have to take the risk.