“Mother, how’s the situation over at the second branch?” Xiao Muhong asked anxiously when he saw Liu Xian return.

“Xiao Jingting and Xiao Qingyan are completely at odds now. Xiao Jingfeng has fully sided with Xiao Jingting, but Xiao Jingfeng isn’t valued much, so whichever side he’s on doesn’t greatly affect Xiao Linfeng and Wang Lu,” Liu Xian replied.

“I see.”

“Watching the drama today, I got really fired up. That idiot Xiao Jingting should know I purposely schemed against him—I gave him problematic farmland on purpose. I exposed this in front of Xiao Linfeng and Wang Lu. The way Wang Lu looked at me was like she wanted to skin me alive.” That brat also took the chance to extort 2,000 taels of silver from her. Liu Xian didn’t mind the money, but the loss of face was huge.

Liu Xian wrung her handkerchief. Wang Lu would definitely hold a grudge now. That woman was ruthless — who knows how she’d make life difficult for her in the future? Damn it! That filthy pigfaced bastard fell off a cliff but didn’t die — truly a plague for a thousand years.

“If I’d known earlier, I should have just wiped out Xiao Jingting then,” Xiao Muhong said darkly.

Lately, Xiao Muhong had seen Xiao Jingting a few times and felt the man had changed completely. He believed Xiao Jingting was now a greater threat than Xiao Qingyan.

Liu Xian nodded, “Yeah! Such a pity. If we hadn’t underestimated him from the start and kept a closer eye, maybe things would be different.”

That guy Xiao Jingting — he even dared to sell those rare spiritual treasures. If she’d kept watch, intercepting the items, perhaps her son might already have broken into the sixth level of Qi Refining… But it was too late now, and thankfully, none of those treasures fell into Xiao Qingyan’s hands.

“Mother, today Xiao Jingting spent over 100,000 taels on a magic item. I heard its main function is to ‘play dead’ — if something goes wrong, you hide in the spirit tower and all is well,” Xiao Muhong said, a bit jealous and dismissive.

Liu Xian ground her teeth, “That brat used to love mixing with the rouge and powder crowd. Now, who knows what happened, he’s actually making progress.”

Xiao Muhong nodded, “Yeah! Since Xiao Jingting got serious, he also seems a lot craftier.”

“What about your wife?” Liu Xian asked.

“She’s training,” Xiao Muhong said. Before Xiao Jingting returned, he and Sun Miaomiao had a good relationship, but since Xiao Jingting’s return, Xiao Muhong felt he had grown distant from Sun Miaomiao.

…

Xiao Jingting looked at the land deeds and the spirit tower in front of him and said, “Our parents really have taken sides beyond reason.” Luckily, he wasn’t the least favored.

Xu Muan nodded, “Yeah!” Xiao Jingting got ten acres of premium farmland, twenty acres of medium-grade, and thirty acres of low-grade — sixty acres total. Xiao Jingfeng got half of Xiao Jingting’s allotment, and Xiao Qingyan got twice as much.

Xiao Linfeng and Wang Lu were both spirit cultivators; if they put effort into tending those spirit fields, they would surely get good harvests. But at their cultivation level, the resources they needed generally couldn’t be bought with silver.

People in this world could cultivate, and their physiques were far better than Earth’s, but their lifespans were similar. Even a ninth level Qi Refining cultivator only lived a bit over a hundred years; those who reached Foundation Establishment lived up to about two hundred.

To live longer, some gifted cultivators weren’t content with the ordinary. Naturally, Xiao Linfeng and Wang Lu were no exception, often going out to seek chances.

Most of the farmland in their hands was leased out, but with their strength, just a few spells should produce decent yields.

“Fortunately, Second Brother doesn’t mind,” Xiao Jingting said.

Xu Muan bowed his head, thinking: whether Xiao Jingfeng truly doesn’t care or is just resigned, that’s uncertain.

“How’s Xiaofan?”

“The little firebird got a bit hurt, Xiaofan’s a bit upset and is staying by its side,” Xu Muan said.

Xiao Jingting shook his head, “Xiaofan and that Yuerong brat are incompatible; if those two stay together, trouble is bound to happen sooner or later.”

Xu Muan nodded, “We got the land. Let’s move out quickly.”

“Same here. Once we get settled and working, a monthly income of ten thousand taels isn’t a joke.” Leaving those two brats at the Xiao residence was like having two ticking time bombs at home.

Xiao Jingting fondled the spirit tower in his hand and looked at Xu Muan. “Muan, do you think buying this spirit tower was right or wrong?”

Xu Muan nodded, “Definitely right.”

“How so?” Xiao Jingting asked.

“It helps cover your tracks! A high-level magic item can have many undeveloped functions. It wouldn’t be strange if you farmed better than others,” Xu Muan said.

Xiao Jingting looked at Xu Muan and thought: Xu Muan’s really sharp. His jade pendant’s space must never be exposed. Xiao Jingting guessed the reason he could survive and transmigrate into this body had to do with that pendant, which likely had other functions he didn’t yet know about.

The spiritual spring inside the jade pendant was key to his ability to grow spirit plants well, but he could just blame that on the spirit tower.

“Wife, you’re really smart,” Xiao Jingting said.

Xu Muan smiled faintly, “By the way, many books in your room I’ve already dealt with. Some of your books were rare editions, so I managed to sell them for six hundred taels of silver. Not much compared to ten thousand, but better than nothing.”

Xiao Jingting: “Thanks, I appreciate it…” He knew the books Xu Muan sold were the original host’s erotic paintings. Damn! Erotic paintings were actually valuable here? And some were rare copies? What a scam.

“I also sorted out some useful books for you; you can read them when you have time,” Xu Muan said.

Xiao Jingting nodded, “Good.”

…

At Xiao Qingyan’s courtyard, Xiao Yuerong was throwing a furious tantrum.

“I won’t accept it! You said you’d punish that stinky brat properly, but nothing happened to him.” Xiao Yuerong sulked and rolled on the ground in anger.

Zheng Peier looked gloomily at the persistent Xiao Yuerong and thought about how merciless Xiao Jingting’s scolding had been. She felt angry. Xiao Qingyan only cared about spiritual treasures and stayed silent when she was insulted.

“Mother, buy me a flying bird. That little fool already has one, riding that bird is so cool. I can’t even compare with that idiot!” Xiao Yuerong stood up.

Zheng Peier nodded, “Alright, whatever you say.”

“I really don’t know what Third Uncle likes about that idiot. Mother, do you know? The little fool likes eating garlic and stinky tofu. He always smells bad and even tried to bite me!” Xiao Yuerong rubbed his chubby arm in disgust.

Zheng Peier squinted. Xiao Jingting was truly strange. Previously, he never cared about that fool! Now he protected him like a treasure. As for Xiao Xiaofan, that was fine. But Xiao Xiaodong seemed precocious—he reached the second level of Qi Refining earlier than Xiao Yuerong’s own son, Xiao Yuefeng. He might be a threat to her son in the future.

Zheng Peier sent Xiao Yuerong off and then went inside to see Xiao Qingyan.

Xiao Qingyan drank gloomily, “What’s wrong with you? You look so bad. Father and Mother have always favored you. The farmland they gave your two younger brothers combined isn’t more than yours.”

“They gave me more, but they also gave the second brother quite a lot!”

Previously, the father gave the second brother only a fraction of what he gave Xiao Qingyan. Xiao Jingting got farmland, and so did Xiao Jingfeng, although not much compared to him. But what was Xiao Jingfeng anyway? Now he openly opposed him everywhere. Thinking about nearly missing out on an advanced spiritual plant that might have been his big break, Xiao Qingyan felt exceedingly bitter.

…

Wang Lu sat at the dressing table and sighed softly.

Xiao Linfeng looked at Wang Lu, “What’s wrong? In a bad mood?”

“I didn’t expect the second and third brothers to have both reached the fifth level,” Wang Lu said.

Xiao Linfeng smiled, “Isn’t it good that the sons have made progress? Do you wish they were failures?”

Wang Lu forced a smile, “I naturally want our sons to succeed, but these three brothers don’t work together to face outside threats. They dislike each other; it might lead to infighting.”

Xiao Linfeng sighed, “Before, second and eldest brothers got along better, but the third brother’s relations with the others were cold. This time, second and third brothers are very close, but with eldest brother it’s…”

Wang Lu lowered her head. After returning, she had thoroughly investigated what happened at home.

“Second brother was expelled from the mercenary team and wronged; eldest brother didn’t help. Second brother must’ve resented eldest brother deeply,” Wang Lu said.

Xiao Linfeng sighed helplessly, “Eldest brother’s actions may have been inappropriate, but second brother also holds grudges. Forget the other things — but to sell rare spiritual treasures instead of sharing them with brothers is intolerable.”

“They sold them already. It’s probably too late to get them back. Second brother was in a bad state then. If he hadn’t sold, he might have offended the Marquis’s family. That Liu Xian woman put on a false face for me. When I got into trouble, she showed her true colors. The land she gave the third brother was far, isolated, and full of monsters. If not for the third brother’s luck, he might not have survived.”

Wang Lu’s expression darkened.

Xiao Linfeng also grew grim. Though he hadn’t seen eye to eye with eldest brother Xiao Chengfeng, he thought things had at least been bearable on the surface. But when he learned what the eldest brother did when trouble came, he felt very cold inside.

“The third brother was expelled and stripped of his rights, the second brother’s reputation was ruined and he was kicked out — all the work of your good eldest brother and sister-in-law. I also think eldest brother was bullied in the academy by those same two,” Wang Lu said angrily.

Xiao Linfeng nodded, “Eldest brother and sister-in-law really went too far.”

…

Xiao Xiaofan excitedly rolled on his bed. Xiao Xiaodong looked at him and curled his mouth, “What’s up? So happy?”

“Brother, we’re going to move out soon!” Xiao Xiaofan said enthusiastically.

Xiao Xiaodong nodded, “Yeah.” If they moved, Xiaofan wouldn’t eat so much garlic every day for security.

Xiao Xiaodong was a bit troubled and scratched his head. Why was there only one bed in the room? Why did he have to sleep with Xiao Xiaofan? That bastard liked to steal the covers, stick his stinky feet near his mouth, and grind his teeth. Worst of all, Xiaofan liked eating smelly food, filling the whole bed with stench — truly maddening.

“Brother, aren’t you going to sleep on your side?” Xiao Xiaofan asked.

Xiao Xiaodong shook his head, “I’ll sleep on the other side.”

Xiao Xiaofan didn’t insist and soon started snoring softly.

Xiao Xiaodong irritably moved the foot that had reached his face away, thinking: That stinky brat has such a big heart; he fell asleep snoring so quickly.

 

Edited by: Tetsu

Proofreader: Taalia

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