“So that means the matter between her and Jia'an was real after all?” There was a trace of satisfaction in Fan Xiang’s voice.
“Yes, Patriarch. According to the scouts’ reports, they found the people who had been aboard the Hu family’s flying vessel back then. They confirmed that the young master and Shu Xin had indeed been inseparable for a time, meeting morning and night. In addition, when Shu Xin was seriously wounded while resisting the Hu family elder, it was the Daoist heir of the Myriad Dao Sect who personally escorted her back. Afterwards, it was said that Shu Xin asked for nothing at all—only the young master’s body.”
Hearing his confidant’s report, Fan Xiang finally put his mind at ease.
Having led the Fan family for so many years, he naturally had his own principles for conducting himself.
Though he had appeared exceptionally open-minded before Shu Xin, even seeming quite fond of her, he had secretly sent people to investigate.
Even if the child of a female cultivator in the Grotto-Heaven Realm was not of Fan blood, he could still grit his teeth and accept it.
So long as the child’s aptitude was good enough, once they married into the Fan family in the future, they would naturally become one of them. Being able to contribute to the family mattered more than anything else.
But if the child truly carried Fan blood, then its significance would be entirely different.
“The news of Shu Xin’s pregnancy must be kept secret,” Fan Xiang said decisively. “Now that An’er is dead, the other elders are already considering appointing a new young master. If that happens, won’t the foundations of my Fan family fall into the hands of a collateral branch?”
Although he had other children, their talents were merely average. None of them could shoulder the responsibility of becoming the Fan family’s young master.
If the child in Shu Xin’s womb proved sufficiently gifted, he would have a far better choice.
Besides, since Shu Xin could bear one child for the Fan family, she could naturally bear a second, or a third.
A female cultivator so simple and easily deceived was not easy to find.
Fan Xiang looked himself over. He was, after all, still in the prime of his life.
Meanwhile—
The Fan family had obediently settled the spirit-stone payments owed to the cultivators in the funeral procession. Fan Jia'an’s body had been temporarily placed within the family estate, awaiting the completion of the rites before being laid to rest in the ancestral tomb.
As for Shu Xin, she kept only several of her junior brothers and sisters by her side, passing them off as her servants. Fan Xiang did not expose the pretense.
That night, when Fan Xiang came to discuss the arrangements for Fan Jia'an’s burial with Shu Xin, he happened to see several of her servants enter her room ahead of him.
“Patriarch,” one of his subordinates reminded him softly.
“Let’s listen to what they’re saying.” Fan Xiang formed a hand seal, concealing both his own aura and that of his subordinate before quietly approaching Shu Xin’s room.
“Senior Sister, you should come back to the Asking God Sect with us.” Cao Ru’s voice was filled with indignation. “The Fan family is such a small and insignificant household—how could it possibly be worthy of having you remain here? That Fan family patriarch is only a Grotto-Heaven Realm cultivator. It would be one thing for him to associate with you as an equal, but you deliberately lower yourself before him. How will that look to others?”
“Exactly, Senior Sister. Fan Jia'an is already dead. If you like that sort of man, I can find you ten or eight similar ones,” Yuan Dawei added, trying to persuade her. “As for anything else... our Asking God Sect can certainly afford to take in one more person.”
“Senior Sister, I don’t think the Fan family is a suitable place for you to recuperate, either. You should come back with us,” Li Qinghe urged as well.
“Junior Brother, Junior Sister, please, stop. I know all of this,” Shu Xin said through her tears. “It’s just that I no longer have the face to return and face Master. As for everything else... I’ll take things one step at a time.”
“Senior Sister, what are you thinking?” Qi Feiang demanded angrily. “You’re a Cave Heaven Realm cultivator. Because of your physical condition, your need for spiritual energy has skyrocketed. Can this little Fan family really afford to provide you with over a thousand spirit stones every day for cultivation?”
“Exactly. When you cultivate, Senior Sister, you also need all kinds of spirit pills and medicinal supplements. The Fan family probably doesn’t even have a decent alchemist.”
“And we can’t keep staying here with you forever. When we leave, we’re definitely taking you with us.”
“Master said that you’re too kind-hearted, Senior Sister. You trust people down the mountain far too easily and are liable to be deceived. We absolutely cannot leave you here alone.”
…
Outside the door, Fan Xiang’s expression had turned grave as he listened.
His subordinates cautiously glanced at his face, only to see Fan Xiang gesture for them to leave with him first.
Once they were safely away from Shu Xin’s residence, Fan Xiang slowly spoke.
“It seems I had oversimplified matters.”
“Patriarch, the cost of supporting a Cave Heaven Realm female cultivator through childbirth will likely be enormous,” one of his subordinates immediately cautioned.
For an ordinary aristocratic family, finding a female cultivator at the Golden Core Realm or Nascent Soul Realm to bear children would already be considered fortunate. A female cultivator at the Cave Heaven Realm was exceptionally rare even within major sects. Unless she had committed some grave offense or damaged her foundation, who would willingly marry and bear children?
Likewise, the expense of supporting such a cultivator was not something to be taken lightly.
Just listen to what Shu Xin’s junior brother and sister had said.
More than a thousand spirit stones a day?!
The Fan family might be wealthy, but they were nowhere near that wealthy.
“Where in this world is there such a thing as a free bargain?” Fan Xiang snorted. “If the Fan family wants to rise any further, we must take a risky gamble. Looking across the entire family now, we are already in a precarious position. Losing two Cave Heaven Realm cultivators has dealt us a devastating blow. If the Hu family had not fallen, and if the other aristocratic families were not temporarily afraid to make a move, they would likely have already joined forces to tear a piece out of us.”
As the head of a family himself, Fan Xiang was not incapable of understanding the Hu family’s choice.
There was no helping it. For a family to grow stronger, it had to face far too many dangers and obstacles.
The great families that had already seized resources would seek to annex and suppress them, while the smaller forces they themselves had subdued and exploited could no longer be squeezed for even a single spirit stone.
Moreover, the major sects were watching like tigers. Under all manner of pretexts, they levied tribute upon these aristocratic families, claiming it was “to protect you from the depredations of demonic cultivators.” If they failed to hand over enough spirit stones, the family’s descendants would receive far fewer resources within the sects—and might even meet with fatal “accidents.”
For aristocratic families, expansion was always a matter of advance or decline.
To remain neither advancing nor retreating meant that the moment several cultivators in the family failed to keep pace in their cultivation, the surrounding families would immediately join hands and carve them up.
There had been no shortage of centuries-old, even millennia-old family legacies reduced to ruin overnight.
Many cultivators from once-great families that had fallen from grace found it nearly impossible to rise again, even if they managed to survive.
Most cultivators from fallen clans either suffered shattered Dao hearts and became mortals, or chose to perish alongside their enemies. Those who could change their names and flee to a distant land were already considered exceptionally strong-willed.
“But the spirit stones…”
“Tomorrow, take five thousand spirit stones from my private treasury and send them to Shu Xin. We’ll appease her for now and discuss the rest later.”
“What about her junior brothers and sisters?”
“Since her junior brothers and sisters have chosen to conceal their identities, we’ll pretend we know nothing.” Fan Xiang gave his instructions seriously. “But keep a close eye on where they go. We can’t let them secretly take Shu Xin away. The future of the Fan family depends on this.”
He had been thinking too narrowly.
Although the Wenshen Sect had already fallen into decline, even a starving camel was still bigger than a horse.
Besides, Xu Guan of the Wenshen Sect was the most gifted cultivator to have reached the Wugou Realm in the past three hundred years. If he managed to advance even further, the Wenshen Sect would inevitably grow powerful again.
Now, through a twist of fate, the Fan family had formed such a connection with Xu Guan’s eldest disciple. It would not be an exaggeration to call them in-laws. If they took this opportunity to invest in the Wenshen Sect, and the sect eventually developed and grew strong, would that not allow the Fan family to become like those great clans among the Nine Sects and Ten Schools—an immortal family that endured for tens of millions of years?
Just imagining it made Fan Xiang feel as though he could live for several hundred years longer!
Indeed, if they could wait for Shu Xin to give birth to an extraordinary child during this peaceful period, this might become the greatest opportunity the Fan family had ever encountered.
“Senior Sister, have they left?” Li Qinghe wrote a line of characters in the air with his spiritual power.
“They’ve already left.” Shu Xin smiled. “Not bad, not bad. You all memorized your lines quite well.”
The several junior brothers and sisters gazed at Shu Xin with nothing but resentment.
They had never imagined that they would also have to cooperate with their senior sister in putting on an act.
“Senior Sister, what does the Fan family have that’s worth all this effort?” Cao Ru truly could not understand.
“Exactly, Senior Sister. There’s nothing wrong with your health, so why did you say you needed to recuperate here?”
Clearly, the several disciples and servants still had no idea what Shu Xin had actually been doing.
“It’s nothing.” Shu Xin rubbed her belly. It was probably better not to tell these disciples and servants yet. Otherwise, if they accidentally gave the game away later, things would become troublesome.
The less they knew, the easier it would be for them to keep up the act.
“As for what they have, I haven’t found out yet either.” Shu Xin smiled. “Didn’t you want to return home before? Dealing with a great clan like this—and learning how such clans conduct themselves—is also a form of cultivation. The few of you should study here properly.”
“What are we supposed to learn here? How to look down on everyone and refuse to meet their eyes?” Yuan Dawei disliked great clans. When the Fan family had first learned that the group had been brought here by their senior sister as servants, their attitude had been unbearably arrogant.
“Blades and swords may be frightening, but the schemes and calculations within these great clans are even more lethal because they kill without bloodshed.” Shu Xin propped her chin on one hand. “You don’t have to know how to use them, but you cannot afford not to understand them. Study hard while you’re here. In the future, if you disguise yourselves as people from a great clan when you travel, it will save you a great deal of trouble.”
“All right. Starting tomorrow, you can gradually begin revealing your cultivation and ask to visit the Fan family. You can even make use of their martial arena to openly spar and exchange pointers with the Fan family’s cultivators.” Shu Xin waved her hand. “Remember what I told you. Don’t act like country bumpkins who have never seen the world. You must be sufficiently arrogant and look down on people enough. Understood?”
“Yes.”
The five junior disciples had long since been thoroughly disciplined by Shu Xin. Now that their senior sister had issued an order, how could they possibly dare refuse?
Only after sending them away did Shu Xin finally relax completely.
Looking after children was troublesome.
【I heard that Fan Xiang said he would give you five thousand spirit stones to start with,】 the sword spirit said at once. 【Every time I see how easily you make money, I wonder why other cultivators live such miserable lives.】
“That’s because if you want someone to give you money, you first have to let them see the value they need in you.” Shu Xin smiled. “Having no value and not knowing how to display your value amount to the same thing. Fan Xiang can see the future of the Fan family in me, so naturally he’s willing to spend generously.”
Wei Yiming’s external incarnation was hiding somewhere in the Fan family. It would never appear unless the situation became truly critical.
Therefore, if Shu Xin wanted to find him, she first had to turn the Fan family upside down.
Pretending to be pregnant and entering the Fan family was merely the first step.
【What are you going to do next?】 the sword spirit asked curiously.
“The Fan family has suddenly lost two cultivators from the Dongtian Realm, and the example of the Hu family’s destruction is right before everyone’s eyes. This is precisely when people’s hearts are unsettled.” Shu Xin smiled. “A family like this can never be completely united. They merely use the name of family honor to suppress the others and keep them from resisting. So I’ll give them an excuse.”
Fan Xiang thought he could hide her away and make her obediently give birth to the child?
What a joke.
Did he really think Shu Xin was some kind-hearted saint?
Early the next morning.
Fan Xiang’s trusted steward came to see Shu Xin with five thousand spirit stones. He also brought all kinds of pills and spiritual medicines. The treatment could hardly have been more lavish.
When Yuan Dawei and the others saw this, they couldn’t help feeling their hearts pound.
Five thousand spirit stones, plus so many resources. Altogether, it had to be worth at least six thousand spirit stones.
The last time they had escorted a shipment with their senior sister, they had dealt with both the Myriad Dao Sect and the spirit-binding demonic cultivators, yet they had earned only a few hundred spirit stones.
The Fan family was even more generous than the Hu family. Surely this wouldn’t end with another great demon being created, would it?
“This… This is far too generous. I only came to escort my beloved Fan home. I absolutely did not come for these things.” Shu Xin grew visibly agitated. Without even looking at the spirit stones, she rose to her feet and protested.
“True Person Shu, please don’t get agitated. This is merely a token of our patriarch’s goodwill.” The steward was terrified. He feared that Shu Xin’s agitation might affect the child; if that happened, the family head would certainly skin him alive. “True Person Shu is the senior disciple of the Wenshen Sect, and you traveled a thousand li to see our young master home for burial. Whether from sentiment or reason, our patriarch could never treat such a matter lightly. Besides, True Person Shu is injured and needs proper treatment and rest. If you refuse to accept these things, this old servant will have no face to meet our patriarch again.”
Another round of back-and-forth followed.
Yuan Dawei and the others had truly seen it all.
The Fan family kept trying to give them spirit stones, while their senior sister stubbornly refused to accept them.
In the end, the Fan family not only sent over all the spirit stones, but also promised to arrange an entirely new residence for them—a separate courtyard reserved exclusively for their use. They would even provide them with a full complement of maids. The only thing Shu Xin and the others needed to do was focus on cultivating; they would not have to worry about anything else.
Was this a dream?
When the Hu family gave them spirit stones, they at least expected them to serve as guards in return. But here at the Fan family’s estate, it seemed they had simply been invited over to enjoy themselves.
Yuan Dawei pinched himself, yet still couldn’t make sense of it.
Five thousand spirit stones—just like that?
Then what had it meant for their master to toil away, exhausting himself to support them, when he couldn’t even earn five thousand spirit stones after several years?
“I feel undeserving of this,” Shu Xin sighed. “Since you’re being so gracious, I won’t say anything more. If you ever need my help in the future, just let me know.”
Whether she would actually help was another matter entirely.
“Thank you, True Person Shu.”
Only after delivering everything did the steward try to slip away quietly.
But when the other members of the Fan family saw what was happening, how could they possibly stand by and do nothing?
It was exactly as the anonymous letter had said. Their family head’s son had died, and fearing that his position would become unstable, he had decided to pursue this female cultivator in the Grotto-Heaven realm. He was planning to offer the entire Fan family as a gift—as his bride-price for marrying into her family!
