The Immortal Clan begins with deductive intelligence.

"What?!"

Xu Sanshun and Xu Tiezhu exclaimed in unison, this time genuinely surprised.

They knew the poison they used; the sap of the Corrupting Spirit Vine was indeed vicious, but they had never heard of it causing a temporary resurgence of life.

Xu Sanshun felt his head buzzing.

Is it rotten?

Are they all going to die?

Doesn't that mean the drug he and Tie Zhu administered actually worked?

Previously, the young clan chief had just stumbled upon the problem by sheer luck, using a folk remedy to suppress it, but it only treated the symptoms, not the root cause.

Xu Sanshun clenched his teeth, forcibly pressing his lips down to feign grief, his thighs bruised from pinching himself before he managed to squeeze out two tears.

"What...what are we going to do?! Damn it, this is going to wipe out the entire Xu family line!"

Xu Tiezhu, who was standing next to him, wasn't as quick-witted, but he understood. He opened his mouth wide, and his simple-minded appearance now seemed to show a genuine sense of fear.

Xu Changqing quickly made a shushing gesture, looking very nervous.

"Shh! Keep your voice down!"

"This matter is only known to heaven, earth, you, and me right now. If word gets out and Uncle Dayou and the others find out, morale will collapse, and the Xu family will truly be finished!"

Xu Changqing watched the two of them put on an act, inwardly sneering, but outwardly he still had to play along.

He patted Xu Sanshun on the shoulder and said earnestly, "This matter is of great importance. I have been keeping it a secret for the past few days. I haven't even dared to tell Uncle Dayou, for fear that his big mouth would spread it and cause chaos in the clan."

"I'm telling you now because you two are the most reliable and experienced at watching fish. Keep an eye on them these next few days. If you see any fish acting strangely, don't make a sound. Just quietly scoop them up and bury them."

Xu Sanshun felt his heart pounding like a drum.

That's it!

It turns out that the clan chief had been acting strangely these past few days because he was just putting on a brave face!

The poison was not cured at all!

The Xu family is now just an empty shell, and it could collapse at any moment!

This is incredible news!

"Rest assured, Chieftain!"

Xu Sanshun no longer felt cold; instead, he felt hot all over and pounded his chest loudly.

"Although I, Xu Sanshun, may not have any great abilities, I'm very tight-lipped! I'll keep this to myself and never divulge it!"

Xu Tiezhu thumped his chest loudly, "That's right, clan leader, just you wait and see, we absolutely won't let a third person know!"

Xu Changqing gratefully grasped their hands and shook them vigorously.

"Excellent! Excellent! With loyal and righteous men like you in the Xu family, how could they not prosper!"

"Well then, I see you've all worked out enough. You don't need to keep watch tonight. Go back and rest for the night, and come back to relieve us tomorrow morning. Don't ruin your health."

Xu Tiezhu's eyes lit up when he heard he could go home: "Really...really? Clan Chief, shall we leave now?"

"Let's go, let's go."

Xu Changqing turned around and stopped looking at them, his back view appearing desolate and lonely.

Xu Sanshun pulled Xu Tiezhu, who was still about to speak, and the two bowed deeply in gratitude without bothering to pack anything.

He walked very fast, as if afraid the clan leader would change his mind.

Watching the two figures disappear into the night, Xu Changqing slowly turned around.

The sorrowful look on his face vanished instantly, replaced by indifference.

Those two idiots.

Letting them go home to rest gives them time to tip off others.

If they kept people pinned down by the fishpond, how could they possibly pass on this "great news" to the Zhang family?

Xu Changqing withdrew his gaze and looked down at the ice hole at his feet.

Several blue spirit fish were huddled together at the ice eye, gulping in and out the air from the water's surface, their tails slapping loudly, showing no signs of being on the verge of death.

"They ate with great relish."

Xu Changqing squatted down and lightly pressed his hand on the water's surface.

A faint wisp of spiritual energy flowed from his palm into the water, startling the overly lively fish into scattering in all directions.

Xu Changqing rubbed his fingers, which were stiff from the cold, and turned back to the inner courtyard.

He pulled out the bronze box with the spirit-sealing talisman affixed to it from a hidden compartment.

The box was opened, and the shriveled purple-veined golden peach seed still lay quietly inside.

This thing is a treasure, but also a hot potato.

If it doesn't grow, that's fine too.

If it survives, given the Xu family's current strength, this thing could become a source of disaster if the news leaks out.

But before that, we need to figure out how much of this thing still has a chance of survival.

Xu Changqing took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and sank his mind into his sea of ​​consciousness.

The ancient and weathered Tongtianjian hung in the mist, its surface trembling slightly, as if sensing Xu Changqing's thoughts.

"Deducing the method for reviving the seeds of this purple-veined golden peach."

As the thought settled, the mist on the mirror began to surge violently.

This is not some earth-shattering opportunity, and it shouldn't take long to come.

A moment later, lines of golden characters appeared on the mirror.

[Deduction begins]

[Deduction Item: Revival method for the first-tier superior spiritual plant "Purple-Veined Golden Peach".]

[Time required: One day.]

Just one day.

Xu Changqing slowly opened his eyes, closed the copper box again, affixed the talisman, and stuffed it back into the hidden compartment.

One day is enough time to wait.

……

On the other end.

Xu Sanshun and Xu Tiezhu left the inner courtyard but did not go directly back to their respective homes.

Xu Sanshun walked ahead at a brisk pace, his head down as if deep in thought. Xu Tiezhu followed behind, panting heavily, and nearly slipped and fell in the snow several times.

"San...San Shun, slow down, slow down!"

Xu Tiezhu grabbed Xu Sanshun's sleeve, looked around, and seeing that no one was around, lowered his voice and said, "Where are we going? This isn't the way home."

Xu Sanshun stopped and turned around to glare at him fiercely.

"Go home my ass!"

He dragged Xu Tiezhu to a sheltered corner, an abandoned woodshed where the family stored miscellaneous items. It was usually deserted except for rats.

Xu Sanshun looked around to make sure no one was there before letting out a sigh of relief. He reached into his pocket and rummaged around for a while before pulling out a crumpled, pale yellow talisman.

That was a "transmission talisman," a low-grade, one-time-use item. Two spirit stones could buy a stack of them on the market, and they couldn't transmit very far, but on Cangwu Island, they were enough to send to the people waiting outside.

Xu Tiezhu looked at the talisman and swallowed hard. "Brother, are you going to give it to them...?"

"nonsense!"

Xu Sanshun gritted his teeth, his face revealing a fierce and greedy look.

"Didn't you hear what the chieftain said? That fish looked alive, but it was rotten inside! What's this? This is the medicine we used taking effect!"

"If you don't get this message out quickly, do you still want the remaining half of the spirit stones?"

Upon hearing the word "spirit stone," Xu Tiezhu's somewhat cloudy eyes instantly lit up.

Fifty spirit stones.

His newly acquired concubine was the most expensive, requiring him to buy rouge and face powder, and new clothes. His savings had long since run out.

"Yes! Definitely!"

Xu Tiezhu nodded repeatedly, then added with some worry, "But..."

"You coward!"

Xu Sanshun slapped him on the back of the head with considerable force, causing Xu Tiezhu to shrink back.

"Anyway, the Xu family's ship is going to sink sooner or later, so we're just making plans for our own future."

"Besides, the Zhang family promised that after the matter is settled, they will send us to Ling'ao Island to work as guards. That's a good job."