I add points to Indian martial arts.

Thinking this, Shah quickened his pace; he was eager to talk to his father about this matter.

Shaha walked through the sun-drenched courtyard, filled with the aroma of kitchen spices, and headed straight for the main house.

The main house was brightly lit, and the air was filled with the aroma of bean mustard milk tea served to guests. Father Laka sat upright on a thick cushion in the center, with Shaha's birth mother sitting beside him. The two Chachi (a respectful term for the father's other wives) sat a little further back, sitting properly on their respective low stools. Several younger siblings huddled around their mother or Chachi, looking at the doorway with curiosity and timidity.

Shaha glanced around and didn't see his younger sister, Suleisa, but he wasn't surprised; Suleisa's relationship with her older brother wasn't that great.

"He's back." Raka was very happy that his eldest son was back, but middle-aged men like him usually kept their emotions to themselves, so there wasn't much of an expression on his face. He just sat in the main seat and glanced at him indifferently, then lowered his head and picked up the ceramic cup containing bean mustard milk, taking a sip.

"Shaha." Shaha's mother was very excited. She wanted to ask her son if he was tired in Tuli Town, but since Laka didn't speak, she didn't dare to say anything more.

"Greetings, Father, Mother, and both Chatis." Shaha bowed respectfully to each of them, including his two concubines.

Then Shaha looked at his half-siblings. The three younger siblings timidly called out "Big Brother." Shaha usually managed his business in Tuli Town and wasn't home much, so the children were still a little shy around their unfamiliar older brother.

"Our Baha Shi has grown taller again." Shaha smiled gently like an elder brother, patted the head of his tallest younger brother, then squatted down and, as if by magic, pulled out several trinkets he had brought back from Tuli Town.

Shaha first took out a "Bangla" spinning top decorated with bright peacock feathers and colorful sequins and handed it to his eldest brother: "Baha Shi, try this. It spins like a festive dance." He then took out an anklet strung with crimson silk thread, interspersed with small silver bells and colorful lac (a type of natural resin) beads, and handed it to his only half-sister, Cheya: "Cheyya, the girls in Tuli Town like this. It makes a clear, auspicious sound when you walk." Finally, he gave his youngest brother a painted clay parrot with a small hole in its beak that could produce a simple whistle.

The children's eyes lit up immediately. They happily accepted the gifts and sweetly called him "Big Brother," their initial awkwardness instantly replaced by novelty.

Children are so simple; they quickly go from being strangers to becoming familiar with someone.

Laka, sitting in the main seat, watched this scene with satisfaction. He was very pleased with his eldest son, who was not only skilled in business but also handled family relationships well. He treated his half-siblings well and was very respectful to the two Chati.

"Where did Suleisa go?" Shaha asked casually. Soon, he learned from his mother that Suleisa was sick.

Shah nodded and said a few respectful words to his father and mother. Then he walked up to his father and glanced at the women and children on either side of him without making a sound.

Laka immediately understood that his son wanted to talk to him about something, so he waved his hand and said, "You can all leave now. I'll talk to Shaha for a bit."

Soon, only Shaha and his son Laka remained in the main house.

"What is it?" Laka put down the ceramic cup, his expression turning serious.

He wondered if his eldest son's eagerness to talk to him as soon as he returned meant there had been some trouble with the shops and businesses in Tuli Town. Otherwise, his son wouldn't be in such a hurry.

"It's nothing serious." Shaha thought for a moment, feeling he couldn't beat around the bush with his father, so he went straight to the point, "I heard Father is planning to marry my sister to that impoverished Brahmin named Livi?"

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"What's wrong? Is this the important thing you came back to talk to me about?" Laka glared at him. He thought his son wanted to talk to him about something urgent, but it turned out to be Suleisa's marriage.

He even thought something had happened to his shop in Tuli Town.

"Son thinks that Levi has nothing, but his sister Suleisa's beauty was a gift from the gods. Isn't it a pity to marry someone with such beauty?" Shaha asked tentatively.

"What's the pity? I think that Li Wei is quite good," Shaha replied. "That Li Wei has the blood of that ancient Ta. He has fallen a bit, but that means he'll have to rely on the money I give him. That way, I won't have to worry about your sister being bullied if she marries him. Also, I've observed his character these past few days and he seems quite good. He doesn't have the bad habits of a fallen Brahmin nobleman. I've also observed that he's been very diligent these past few days. I think he's a good match for your sister."

Upon hearing this, Shah became anxious. He hadn't expected his father to be so satisfied with that Levi. Besides, he didn't believe his father's claim that marrying Suleisa to Levi was because it would keep him under control and prevent his sister from being bullied.

If that's the case, why doesn't Father marry his sister off to a poor Vaishya family? That way, he could have more control over her.

He felt the root cause was that his father cared about Li Wei's ancient pagoda bloodline.

"Father, you must think about the future of the Moyate family," Shaha stepped forward, his expression urgent. "My sister's marriage to Levi will not help our family's business in the slightest!"

"Father, have you heard? A black stone mine has been discovered in the village territory controlled by Piro in the last two days."

"What do you want to say?" Raka's expression changed. He looked coldly at his eldest son. Now that his son had said this much, he understood what his son wanted to do.

Seeing his father's cold expression, Shaha was a little afraid, after all, his father's authority was there, but he gritted his teeth and continued, "Father, I know you want to marry my sister to Livi because of the bloodline of that ancient tower, but please listen to me."

"If my sister marries Piro, with her looks, that black stone mine will definitely be our family's contract. Just imagine our family's wealth then. Didn't you always say that Grandfather's lifelong wish was for the Moyat family's caravans to be able to enter big cities like Chandrap?"

Chandrap is an important central city in northern Napur, with a population of over one million, making it a very prosperous city.

Vaishya merchants who could expand their businesses to central cities like Chandrap were all extremely wealthy.

"Chandrap, the pearl of Napur, is far superior to Turi!" Shaha emphasized to his father the splendor of this central city. "It is the true 'Mani-Nagri' (City of Wealth), Father! A tributary of the Vya Sacred River flows through the city, and the docks are filled with merchant ships from distant lands, unloading furs from the snow-capped mountains, pearls from the South China Sea, and exotic spices. The city's largest bazaar street is not a dirt road, but paved with smooth stone slabs, stretching as far as the eye can see. On Spice Street, saffron, cardamom, and pepper are piled up into colorful little mountains, their aroma so strong it could intoxicate. Jewelry Street..." In the shops, emeralds, rubies, and moonstones shimmered on velvet cushions. The fabric market was like a rainbow descended to earth; Varanasi's gold-threaded brocade, Navip's flowing georgette, and the South City's fisherwomen's tie-dyed silks cascaded down from high shelves like waterfalls. There were also domesticated calf-sized "Kala" spirit birds, adorned with colorful fabrics emblazoned with their family crests, wisely and precisely delivering small treasures throughout the city… Only merchants who could make their business thrive in Chandrapur were truly favored by Lakshmi!

"Furthermore, the houses there are called 'Surya-Maga'—Houses of the Sun, because the surfaces of the domes and spires of the magnificent buildings on both sides of the street are not ordinary white paint, but are mixed with 'moon-length gypsum powder' and crushed diamond sand mined from the depths of the sacred Vya River. Every morning and evening, when the real sunlight shines down at a specific angle, the entire avenue and all the houses will burst forth with a soft yet incomparably brilliant golden-white radiance, as if it were cast by solidified moonlight and sunlight, making everyone who walks on it feel as if they are bathed in divine grace."

Shah became more and more excited as he spoke, describing to his father the glorious future of the Moyat family and recounting the wonders of central cities like Chandrap.

But the more Shah spoke, the more something seemed off, because his father remained expressionless throughout.

Suddenly, his father interrupted him, and Raka, sitting in the main seat, coldly said, "What you're saying has nothing to do with me?"

"How can it be nothing, Father?" Shaha exclaimed excitedly. "Don't you want to expand the Moyat family's business tenfold in your lifetime, to let our business enter a magnificent central city like Chandrap, and to let everyone around know that our Moyat family are great merchants of the Vaishyas!"

"Shaha." Raka interrupted his son again, "What you're saying really has nothing to do with me. I'm old now. I've earned enough money in my life to live a life of wealth and comfort. I don't have that kind of ambition anymore."

"I know your ambition, but have you ever thought about this? If your father were still an ambitious businessman, would he have handed over the power in his hands to his son so early?" Raka stared at his eldest son expressionlessly.

Upon hearing this, Shaha felt a chill run down his spine. Indeed, he suddenly realized that his father had relinquished power to him long ago. It was rare for a Vaishya merchant family to hand over power to their son when they were only in their forties or fifties and still in their prime.

Thinking about it that way, his father did indeed seem to lack any ambition in business.

"But Father, this concerns the future of our Moyate family. If my sister marries Piro and gets the Black Stone Mine, our family..." Shaha tried to say something, but before he could finish, he was rudely interrupted by Laka.

"Enough! Stop talking about the family!" Laka said coldly. "I don't care about the black stone mine business, or the opportunity to expand the shops, or our family's businesses moving into a glorious central city like Chandrap. I only care about my obsession."

"Obsession?" Shaha clearly hadn't expected his father to say that.

"Yes, obsession." Raka nodded, then looked at his eldest son with a sigh, as if he had suddenly aged several years. "Shaha, try to understand your father. He's just an old man nearing the end of his life. I'm old now."

"Father, what is your obsession? Is it simply to have a grandson with the bloodline of that ancient pagoda, so that you can appear noble?" Shaha's tone was clearly defiant.

Laka didn't say anything. He quietly looked at his eldest son a few times, then shook his head.