The Qiu household.
“Qiu Bai! Those grapes were really good. How come we haven’t seen you bring any back recently? Go pick another two bunches!” Qiu Bai’s father said.
Qiu Bai frowned, with slight dissatisfaction, and said, “Father, they’ve all been sold and are gone.”
Qiu Bai felt somewhat indignant. Xiao Jingting had specifically paid village people to watch over the grapes to prevent “stealing.” He had shamelessly gone to the Xiao house twice to pick grapes, but the villagers looked at him strangely each time, and by the time the grapes reached his hands, there weren’t many left. Qiu Bai simply decided not to be the villain anymore.
Qiu Bai’s father said with both envy and sighs, “Those grapes were really excellent. Some people in the village say that the reason Xiao Jingting and Xu Mu’an could reach the fourth level lies in those grapes. If your brother could eat grapes every day too, he should be able to reach the third level quickly.”
Qiu Bai rolled his eyes inwardly. His brother would love to eat grapes every day, but unfortunately, he didn’t have the ability to grow them!
Qiu Bai used to worship Qiu Li greatly, but watching Xiao Jingting – whom Qiu Li had previously disdained – living an increasingly prosperous life while their own family remained the same, Qiu Bai inevitably developed some prejudices against Qiu Li, who always aimed high but achieved little.
“If we had known, we should have had you marry Xiao Jingting. Now you could be enjoying good food and drink with him,” Qiu Bai’s father said, shaking his head.
Qiu Bai looked at his father, thinking to himself: Father doesn’t hope that I could enjoy good food and drink with Xiao Jingting, but rather hopes that by marrying Xiao Jingting, I could help my brother. If the two families became in-laws, then when Father went to the Xiao house asking for things, it would be natural.
“Do you know that the Xiao family built three new tile-roofed rooms?” Qiu Bai’s father asked.
Qiu Bai nodded and said, “I know.”
“Building three additional rooms isn’t cheap, but that amount of money doesn’t matter much to the current Xiao family,” Qiu Bai’s father said. With strength rising a level, there were many more things they could do. “I really didn’t expect that the Xiao family’s wastrel son could be so capable once he became serious.”
Qiu Bai bit his lip and didn’t speak. When the Xiao family was building their house, Qiu Bai had gone to look. Seeing Xu Mu’an methodically arranging for people to work, Qiu Bai felt it was infinitely glorious.
“However, no matter how capable he is, he’s still just a farmer. He can’t compare to a young master from a great family. I asked Xiao Jingting, and he’s not willing to marry you. It just so happens that Member Li’s son in town wants to take a wife. He’s seen you and is very satisfied. It would be even better for you to marry into Member Li’s family,” Qiu Bai’s father said.
Qiu Bai frowned and said, “Father, you decided my lifelong matter without even asking me!”
Qiu Bai’s father said irritably, “Would your father harm you? If Xiao Jingting had any interest in you, I could consider him too. But he’s cold and indifferent to you now. Do you want to put your warm face against his cold backside? Member Li’s family runs a big business in town. If you marry into Member Li’s family, you’ll be prosperous in the future.”
Qiu Bai nodded and said, “I understand, Father. I’ll marry him.”
Villagers had a natural longing for wealthy families. Qiu Bai had originally been determined to marry into a wealthy family, but since Xiao Jingting had been living well recently, Qiu Bai had developed some hesitation.
……
The Xiao household.
“Second Brother, have you decided what betrothal gift to give Mu Shuyu?” Xiao Jingting asked.
The previous poisoning had left Xiao Jinfeng with nothing. During this time, Xiao Jinfeng had earned several hundred taels of silver by killing demon beasts, but expenses were also high. Although he had saved some silver, it wasn’t much.
“There’s a fourth-level Wind Chasing Beast in the forest. If I kill that demon beast and give it to Shuyu, he’ll definitely be happy,” Xiao Jinfeng said.
According to Xiao Jingting’s knowledge, Wind Chasing Beasts ran extremely fast. They had a single horn on their heads, and that horn could be used medicinally – consuming it could increase the speed of spiritual energy absorption.
Xiao Jingting frowned and said, “Second Brother, Wind Chasing Beasts aren’t easy to deal with!”
Xiao Jinfeng smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Your second brother has even dealt with fifth-level demon beasts. One fourth-level demon beast is nothing. Besides, Mu’an agreed to help me. Mu’an is also fourth-level now, so with his help, it’ll be much safer.”
“Count me in too,” Xiao Jingting said enthusiastically.
Xiao Jinfeng nodded and said, “Alright! Third Brother, you can assist from the side when the time comes – you don’t need to charge to the front.”
Xiao Jingting: “…” Was Xiao Jinfeng not trusting his abilities?
“Second Brother, it must have been hard when you were in the mercenary group,” Xiao Jingting said. When Xiao Jinfeng first joined the mercenary group, he was only at the third layer of Qi Refinement. Xiao Jingting greatly admired Xiao Jinfeng’s courage.
If it had been Xiao Qingyan joining the mercenary group, the original host’s parents definitely wouldn’t have agreed. Mercenary groups had high casualty rates – it was risking one’s life. But since it was Xiao Jinfeng participating in the mercenary group, the original host’s parents accepted Xiao Jinfeng’s choice, even saying things like “jade isn’t perfected without carving.”
“There was an old captain then who took good care of me,” Xiao Jinfeng said.
Actually, after rolling around in the mercenary group for several years, Xiao Jinfeng had long been able to handle things independently. Other mercenary groups had wanted to poach him, offering Xiao Jinfeng many benefits. But Xiao Jinfeng had always been concerned about his debt of gratitude to the old captain and hadn’t left.
Xiao Jinfeng closed his eyes and smiled coldly. Looking back, he realized he had been truly foolish. He couldn’t bear to leave the mercenary group, but the mercenary group had no trouble letting him go.
Xiao Jingting patted Xiao Jinfeng’s hand and said, “Second Brother, from now on you can only hunt with me. You mustn’t find me clumsy!”
“I heard from Mu’an that your combat skills aren’t very good, and you’re quite wasteful too. You need to work hard!” Xiao Jinfeng said.
Xiao Jingting smiled awkwardly and said, “Mu’an just likes to badmouth me. After all, I’m a novice.”
“By the way, I saw an old man looking for you yesterday. It seemed like you had a conflict with him. What did you talk about?” Xiao Jinfeng asked.
Xiao Jingting rolled his eyes and said somewhat irritably, “That was Qiu Bai’s father. He wanted me to divorce Mu’an and marry his son.”
Xiao Jinfeng was stunned and said, “Really? Does that old man have brain problems?”
“I did some ridiculous things before, but I’ve thought clearly now. Second Brother, don’t tell Mu’an about this,” Xiao Jingting said.
Xiao Jinfeng nodded and said, “I understand.”
Xiao Jingting shrugged and said, “That old man said his son is about to marry into a wealthy family. If I were willing to divorce Mu’an, he might still consider me. Since I’m unwilling, he won’t consider me anymore.”
Xiao Jinfeng: “… Does this old man have some kind of illness?”
Xiao Jingting shrugged and said, “Who knows?”
