Chapter 38: Wu Erlang, Xu Erlang

The woman raised the washboard, ready to storm out, when Xu Yuan hurriedly said, "I came back on my own."

The woman froze. "You came back… on your own?"

More than half a month, and you came back by yourself? Is this because you couldn't bear the hardship of the countryside? Did you run away?

But if you really couldn't bear it and ran back… that means the child already suffered—how could I still blame him?

The woman put down the washboard and muttered, "Qiao Ziaang really treats our family like lowly servants."

Then she said, "Fine. If you're back, you're back."

She wiped her hands on her apron: "Did you eat lunch? I'll make you something."

"Already ate," Xu Yuan said, double-meaning.

The stepmother's mind stirred, realizing something: "Already ate… really ate?"

Xu Yuan nodded. "I'm a Life Cultivator now."

Then he smiled, studying his stepmother.

The moment he saw his stepmother, Xu Yuan realized she was the first person he'd encountered since becoming a Life Cultivator with a "Life Pattern"!

Her Life Pattern glowed a brilliant gold, named "Green Robe Hides Jade."

She was once a peerless jade, endowed with extraordinary talent, yet plagued by hardship and obscure reputation—luckily, her fortune ran deep, always turning misfortune into fortune.

Whatever she seeks, she gains—but the path is rugged.

Whatever she plans, she achieves—but with many setbacks.

The stepmother froze for a moment, then silently hurried into the main hall.

Xu Yuan followed and saw the ancestral tablet of his father placed at the center of the table, his stepmother bowing three times with utmost reverence as she lit incense.

Xu Yuan's eyes stung; he too bowed before his father's tablet.

The stepmother stood silently before the tablet for a long while, then sat down beside it and slowly said, "Sending you to Qihetai was indeed because I received word that the June Insect would emerge in Ghost Wushan—I only meant for you to test the waters, never expecting you'd actually succeed!"

When she said "succeed," she could no longer hide her excitement.

As for the hardships she endured to obtain the "Old Year Grain," she had no need to tell Xu Yuan.

After a pause, she added, "Even though you've become a Life Cultivator, don't grow careless—this path advances slowly in the early stages…"

"I'm already Eighth-Rank Life Cultivator," Xu Yuan interrupted.

The stepmother: "What did you say?"

"I'm already Eighth-Rank Life Cultivator and Eighth-Rank Dan Xiu."

The stepmother opened her mouth, struggling to speak: "You've only been gone a few days—how did you reach Eighth-Rank after eating the June Insect?"

Xu Yuan then spilled everything—his entire experience in Qihetai Town—to his stepmother.

Xu Yuan was only sixteen, and these past days had been filled with constant calculation, repeatedly teetering on the brink of death—his inner exhaustion was unimaginable.

Now, seeing the one person in this world he could fully trust, he poured out everything without restraint—and felt utterly relieved, his entire being lighter from within to without.

When Xu Yuan finished, he patted his chest like a man: "I'm now Eighth-Rank Life Cultivator and Eighth-Rank Dan Xiu—is that strength enough? Can you tell me about family matters now?"

The stepmother remained silent after listening. Xu Yuan looked at her and burst out laughing: "Lin Wanmo, are you worried about me? Look at you—you're about to cry, hahaha."

The stepmother's eyes were red—she truly felt pity:

More than half a month, forced to serve as a lowly laborer for that damned Qiao Ziaang, doing menial work, barely escaping death several times… when did my child ever suffer like this?

But Xu Yuan's mocking laugh instantly wiped away all her tenderness.

"You're asking for a beating!" the stepmother grumbled.

In the past, she would've grabbed a broom and chased him around the yard.

But now, she still felt some pity—she couldn't bring herself to strike.

Hmm. Let him sleep tonight. Beat him tomorrow!

Lin Wanmo was only four years older than Xu Yuan; though called stepmother, she was more like his elder sister.

Thus, whenever facing Xu Yuan, she felt an inexplicable bloodline suppression.

Since childhood, they had always bickered and played rough together.

Xu Yuan had never been her match—but he kept provoking her anyway.

You have bloodline suppression? I have the invincibility of a younger brother facing his elder sister!

Lin Wanmo fell silent for a moment, then said, "Don't meddle in family matters. First, tell me in detail about your second uncle."

Xu Yuan laid out his suspicions, then added, "Zheng Rongkui hasn't left yet—I suspect my second uncle won't give up easily."

The stepmother's brows furrowed slightly. After a moment's thought, she said, "You're right. For now, stay home. Don't go anywhere."

"I need to go to Master Qiao's house," Xu Yuan said, still thinking of the gunpowder he suspected was stored there.

Seizing the chance, Xu Yuan finally voiced his long-held question: "Why didn't my father let me join the sect?"

Xu Yuan's father was a Craft Cultivator. Xu Yuan had wanted to learn since childhood, but his father never taught him—instead, he took Lin Wanmo as his disciple, then married her as his second wife.

Lin Wanmo's Craft Cultivator skills were all learned from Xu Yuan's father.

And Lin Wanmo likely surpassed him—her skill far exceeded his.

Lin Wanmo shook her head: "I don't know. Ask your father if you have the guts."

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes.

Clearly, she didn't want to tell him—shifting blame to his dead father.

Xu Yuan quietly plotted mischief.

"Lin Wanmo."

"Hmm?"

Xu Yuan put on a concerned face: "My second uncle has already gotten word—so if there's anything suspicious about my father's death, I advise you to turn yourself in to the county magistrate soon…"

The young stepmother's eyes clouded—she didn't immediately grasp his meaning.

Having understood the situation, he instantly bristled with anger, took a single step, and rushed over, his snow-white, cold little hand reaching to grab Xu Yuan's ear.

"Do you want to die! Are you implying I'm Pan Jinlian, or that your father is Wu Dalang?"

Xu Yuan ducked his head, slipping past her fingertips, then leaped out the door, standing in the courtyard with hands on hips, laughing triumphantly: "Lin Wanmo, let you know, I am no longer the Wu Xia A Meng of old!"

Lin Wanmo gritted her teeth in fury, then pointed toward the courtyard: "Go wash the remaining clothes."

"On what grounds?" Xu Yuan jumped up: "I've risked life and death several times, and the moment I return, you make me wash your clothes?"

Lin Wanmo gave a snort of laughter: "Aren't you perfectly fine? And..." She raised her own hand: "Look, in such cold weather, washing clothes has turned my hands red. You are a Dan Xiu, with the Fu Zhong Huo in your belly, so you fear no cold; naturally, it falls to you."

This twisted logic... was somehow unanswerable.

Xu Yuan refused: "I won't wash them!"

"Wash clothes or cook, choose one." Lin Wanmo crossed her arms.

Xu Yuan sighed helplessly: "Wash clothes."

Xu Yuan sat on a wooden stool, grabbed a piece of clothing fiercely from the wooden basin, and scrubbed it on the washboard.

A while later, the stepmother hummed a tune as she emerged from the room, having redressed herself; over her padded jacket, she added a round-neck, front-fastening, precious-blue satin cloak, and strolled outward: "I'm going to Wang Shen's house; I'll return in a while to make dinner."

Xu Yuan grinned wickedly: Wang Shen is indeed surnamed Wang!

The stepmother looked at him strangely: "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing. Go quickly and return quickly; tonight I want to eat stir-fried winter bamboo shoots with cured pork."

After the stepmother left, Xu Yuan washed the clothes in a few strokes and hung them up to dry.

If the stepmother makes a boy wash clothes, she will surely regret it tomorrow.

When the stepmother washes clothes, she applies soap powder to each piece one by one, scrubbing meticulously and rinsing meticulously.

When Xu Yuan washes clothes, he takes a large basin, dumps soap powder into it, and performs a single move of Tai Chi Push Hands on the entire basin—three circles clockwise, three circles counter-clockwise, and it's done—out of the pot!

Of course, they are clean!

No sweat smell means they are clean.

Requesting monthly tickets; too few monthly tickets and the ranking won't go up.

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(End of this chapter)