From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 137 Scheming
Zhao Gang was, after all, a high-level martial artist at the third level of stance training, and his senses were very sharp.

"what happened?!"

He was alarmed and surprised, realizing that his vital energy was being inexplicably consumed.

Life essence is different from Qi and blood. While Qi and blood can be replenished after being consumed, loss of life essence will directly shorten lifespan and damage the foundation.

He then noticed Huang Guihua's expression of complete enjoyment and ecstasy.

Zhao Gang suddenly woke up with a start: "Who...who are you?!"

As he spoke, he forcefully pushed Huang Guihua with both hands, attempting to break free and escape.

"Oh?"

When Huang Guihua realized she had been discovered, she calmly gave him a flirtatious wink; her eyes were dark and deep, like an abyss.

Her "Yuan Yin Na Yang Jue" includes a bewitching illusion technique that can trap those with fragile souls in a dreamlike state.

Zhao Gang was in a daze, with images of ethereal beauties appearing before his eyes and their soft moans echoing in his ears.

Among them were the rich young lady he only dared to secretly admire, and the mistress of the household he fantasized about every day.

His eyes were glazed over, a silly grin spreading across his face, a few drops of drool dripping from the corner of his mouth: "I'm here, hehe~~"

In order to conceal her true intentions, Huang Guihua always deliberately restrained and controlled the speed of the "Yuan Yin Na Yang Jue".

At this moment, she no longer held back and devoured Zhao Gang's vital essence in a short time.

Zhao Gang stared with terrified eyes, a dazed smile on his lips, his face pale, and he was already lifeless.

"Oh, that's really troublesome."

Huang Guihua was worried about this kind of thing happening; she had no way to make this person disappear without leaving a trace.

"Let's just leave."

Anyway, she only stayed here for a few days, didn't leave any identification information, and there are no clues to find her.

She closed the door and quietly left under the cover of night, leaving behind a strangely deceased corpse in the room.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Two days later, the rent collectors at the brothel discovered Zhao Gang's body.

After the report was filed with the authorities, officials from the county government arrived quickly.

Not long after, a woman in her thirties came to claim the body. Upon seeing Zhao Gang, she knelt down and wailed loudly, cursing him for being shameless and dying on a woman's body.

The woman was Zhao Gang's wife, and she knew that her husband had a habit of visiting brothels.

She couldn't control her husband, but now that he's dead, who will support the whole family?

"Get out of the way!"

At this moment, the county officials cleared the way, leading to a very important person.

"Lord Xu, please."

The person who came was Xu Xiaoniu, the director of the Demon Subduing Division.

Because Zhao Gang's death was bizarre, the county coroner couldn't find the specific cause, so he reported it to the Demon Extermination Bureau.

"All irrelevant personnel, please leave."

Xu Xiaoniu stepped forward and waved.

Once the people around him had left, he crouched down and lifted the white cloth covering Zhao Gang.

His eyes were wide open, filled with terror, yet he wore a fascinated smile and his lips were upturned, making his expression quite strange.

After a careful examination, Xu Xiaoniu concluded that it was probably the work of a demonic cultivator.

Consuming human souls and absorbing human essence are common methods used by demonic cultivators.

Soon his subordinates brought back the results of their investigation: "According to the people in this brothel, the girls living here are in their twenties, charming and beautiful, and cheap, attracting a constant stream of customers every night."

Several customers who had visited her said they felt physically exhausted and weak, so despite the low prices, they dared not come back.

One of them went back and fell ill and was bedridden..."

Listening to his subordinate's description, Xu Xiaoniu thought to himself: It's pretty much what he guessed. This demonic cultivator improves his cultivation by absorbing men's vital energy.

He ordered, "Send men to thoroughly investigate in the county town and all the villages to see if there are any men who have just married or taken concubines and died within a few days."

"Yes!"

The men accepted their orders and left.

"We'll have to trouble Liu Zi again this time."

Xu Xiaoniu thought to himself.

He has served as the head of the Demon Subduing Division for ten years. In the first few years, Tonggu County experienced the death of the previous head of the Demon Subduing Division and the arrival of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator from the county government to investigate the matter, which deterred all demonic cultivators and treacherous cultivators in the vicinity, resulting in very few demonic cultivators appearing.

However, in recent years, news has spread that Xu Xiaoniu, the director of the Demon Subduing Division, only has a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation level. As a result, many demonic cultivators and tribulation cultivators have taken him for a fool and come to Tonggu County to do evil.

Without exception, those cultivators who had undergone tribulations or become demonic cultivators became the merits that earned Xu Xiaoniu the reward of spirit stones.

He is currently at the fifth level of Qi Refining, and Xu Xiaohou is at the fourth level of Qi Refining. One of the spirit stones that support their strength improvement comes from those demonic cultivators and tribulation cultivators.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Ten days later.

Yun'an Tavern.

The huge shop was bustling with activity, with a dozen or so shop assistants carrying wine jars, loading each jar of Yanqi wine onto the horse-drawn carriage at the entrance.

After more than ten or twenty years of development, Yun'an Tavern's business has long been stable and its scale has reached its limit. It has familiar customers and a set of procedures.

This place used to be the main source of income for the Xu family, supporting the whole family.

After the Xu family took control of Baihe Mountain, the importance of Yun'an Tavern gradually diminished. It still made money, but it was no longer the Xu family's main source of income.

Beside the counter, Xu Zhongchao idly fiddled with his abacus.

His father, Xu Xiaoyun, has been feeling unwell these past two days and has gone back to Baihe Mountain to recuperate.

His younger brother, Xu Zhongchuan, broke through to the Innate Realm a few years ago and has since managed the finances of Baihe Mountain. His brother is exceptionally talented in mathematics, and his sister-in-law is knowledgeable in astronomy and geography. The couple is showing signs of succeeding Xu Xiaoyun and taking control of the entire Xu family's finances.

His wife, Ma Shujie, is responsible for educating the younger generation and managing the horticulture at Baiheshan, a position with significant duties. He, on the other hand, is not very capable and helps out at the shop.

"Which company is this shipment being delivered to?"

Xu Zhongchao noticed that the carriage at the entrance was filled with wine jars and casually inquired about it.

"Young manager, this is for Laifu Inn."

The waiter responded.

“That’s perfect. I know the owner of Laifu Inn very well. I’ll go.”

"Um... The shopkeeper instructed you to just stay at the shop and not to deliver the goods."

The shop assistant looked embarrassed. Actually, Xu Xiaoyun had instructed that Xu Zhongchao should not have any opportunity to handle the payment.

"Alright, you guys go and come back quickly."

Xu Zhongchao waved his hand helplessly. He had been married to Ma Shujie for seven years, but his whole family still kept a close watch on him, not letting him touch any money.

The Xu family takes care of all his needs, from food and clothing to housing and transportation. He can just tell Ma Shujie what he wants. In short, he cannot have any personal wealth.

Under this strict management, he never went to a brothel again.

"Shopkeeper, give me two catties of Yanqi wine."

When a guest arrives, he calls out loudly.

Xu Zhongchao picked up a small jar of wine: "At least three catties, one tael of silver."

"Three catties is fine too."

The guest left a tael of silver, picked up the wine jar with one hand, and turned to leave.

Xu Zhongchao carefully collected the one tael of silver, but instead of depositing it into the money box, he secretly put it into his own pocket and recorded it in the ledger as a "loss" of a small jar of Yanqi wine.

With so many people coming and going in the store, it's quite normal to accidentally break a jar of wine.

Xu Zhongchao had no other intentions; he simply wanted to save some money on the side. For a grown man to be penniless was truly pathetic.

He could only sneak a few taels of silver when there were walk-in customers in the shop.

He couldn't wait to return to his home, which was not far from the shop, until the shop closed for the night.

His parents have been in Baihe Mountain for the past few days, so he's the only "master" at home, and he's living a comfortable and carefree life.

Yesterday, the housekeeper hired a new maid to cook for the family. The maid was in her early twenties and very pretty.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Xiaoyun, is dinner ready?"

Xu Zhongchao called out loudly as soon as he entered the house.

Upon hearing the sound, Liu Yun quickly came out to greet Xu Zhongchao: "Young Master, the meal is just ready. Please wash up first, and I will serve you the rice right away."

"Good good."

Xu Zhongchao nodded with a smile; he couldn't contain his joy at the sight of Liu Yun.

As he watched Liu Yun turn to go to the kitchen to get rice, he couldn't help but stare at her swaying waist behind her and swallowed hard.

None of the maids in his household were bought; they were all hired from the city.

A few days ago, the maid who cooked for him went home to get married, so the steward hired a maid named "Liu Yun".

He heard Liu Yun say that her family was poor and her parents were not in a hurry for her to get married, but wanted her to earn more money for the family first.

She had been working as a maid in a merchant's household since she was thirteen or fourteen. Not long ago, the merchant went bankrupt, and all the maids were dismissed.

She originally wanted to get married and start a family, but she couldn't find a satisfactory husband, so she went out to work as a maid to earn money.

After washing up, Xu Zhongchao went into the kitchen and saw that Liu Yun had already laid out a sumptuous meal.

She stood obediently to my side, her figure slender and shapely. In her early twenties, she was at the most charming age.

"Please have a seat, young master. What would you like to eat? I'll serve you."

Liu Yun said with great thoughtfulness.

"I'll try that wood ear mushroom dish."

As Xu Zhongchao spoke, Liu Yun used a spoon to scoop up a few pieces of wood ear fungus and placed them in the bowl in front of Xu Zhongchao, almost feeding him.

"Hmm, not bad, very tender."

While eating, Xu Zhongchao chatted with Liu Yun and inquired about her situation.

"Xiaoyun, you're not getting married yet? If you wait any longer, you'll become an old maid. What will you do then if no one wants you?"

“I’m already an old maid. I want to get married, but everyone thinks I’m too old. Or they’re all old bachelors who are even poorer than my family. What would I do if I married one of them? If you ask me, being a maid is better. Marrying into another family means serving others anyway. It’s better to serve the master and earn money.”

Liu Yun was completely at ease with Xu Zhongchao, speaking her mind frankly and directly.

"Then, when you're a maid in someone else's house, has any master wanted to take you as a concubine? Being a concubine in a wealthy family is always better than marrying into a poor family."

"Yes, the previous master wanted to take me as a concubine. I wouldn't mind being a concubine, but he was in his fifties, and I wasn't too willing..."

Liu Yun didn't mind being a concubine.

Actually, she had inquired before coming to the Xu family. Xu Zhongchao's wife, Ma Shujie, had a birthmark on her face, was ugly, and most importantly, had no children after seven years of marriage.

In this situation, the possibility of marriage is very high.

Liu Yun had her own plans in mind: to come to the Xu family as a maid at this time.

If she could become Xu Zhongchao's concubine, her life would be much better, at least much better than marrying a poor man.

"How about I help you find a good husband?"

Xu Zhongchao said half-jokingly.

"Alright, thank you, young master. I don't mind being a concubine, but she has to be young, and preferably from a powerful family..."

Liu Yun answered in this way.

(End of this chapter)