[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-nothing-is-taboo":3,"chapter-nothing-is-taboo-nothing-is-taboo-chapter-38":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Nothing Is Taboo",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2310423,4514,"Chapter 38: Wu Erlang, Xu Erlang","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-38",38,"\u003Cp>The woman raised her laundry board, ready to storm out, when Xu Yuan hurriedly said, “I came back on my own.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman froze. “You came back on your own…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More than half a month, and he came back alone. Is he unable to bear the hardships of the countryside? Did he run away?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if he truly couldn’t endure it and ran back… that means the child has already suffered—how could I blame him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman put down the laundry board and muttered, “Qiao Zia’ang really treats our family like servants.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she said, “Fine. If you’re back, you’re back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wiped her hands on her apron: “Did you eat lunch? I’ll make you something.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Already ate,” Xu Yuan replied with double meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stepmother’s expression shifted, realizing something: “Already ate… you really ate?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan nodded. “I’m a Life Cultivator now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he smiled, studying his stepmother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he saw her, Xu Yuan realized she was the first person he’d encountered since becoming a Life Cultivator with a “Destiny Pattern”!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her Destiny Pattern glowed brilliant gold, named “Green Robe Hides Jade.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was a peerless jade, endowed with extraordinary talent, yet plagued by hardship and obscure reputation—luckily, her fortune ran deep, always turning misfortune into fortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever she sought, she would obtain—but the path was rugged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever she planned, she would gain—but with constant setbacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stepmother froze, then silently hurried into the main hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan followed and saw the ancestral tablet of his father placed at the center of the table, the stepmother bowing three times with utmost reverence as she lit incense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan’s eyes stung; he too bowed before his father’s tablet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stepmother stood motionless before the tablet for a long while, then sat down beside it and spoke slowly: “Sending you to Qihetai was indeed based on information I received—that the June Insect would emerge in Ghost Witch Mountain. I only meant for you to test it, never expecting you’d actually succeed!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When she said “succeeded,” she could no longer hide her excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the hardships she endured to obtain the “Old Year Grain,” she had no need to tell Xu Yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m already an Eighth-Rank Life Cultivator,” Xu Yuan interrupted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stepmother: “What did you say?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m already an Eighth-Rank Life Cultivator and an Eighth-Rank Alchemy Cultivator.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stepmother opened her mouth, struggling to speak: “You’ve been gone only a few days—after eating the June Insect, you’re already Eighth-Rank?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan then spilled everything—his entire experience in Qihetai Town—to his stepmother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan was only sixteen, and these past days had been filled with constant calculations and near-death encounters—his inner exhaustion was unimaginable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, facing the one person in this world he could fully trust, he poured out everything without restraint—and felt as if a great weight had been lifted, his entire being lighter from within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he finished, Xu Yuan patted his chest with a manly air: “I’m now an Eighth-Rank Life Cultivator and Eighth-Rank Alchemy Cultivator—is that strength enough? Can you finally tell me about our family’s affairs?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stepmother remained silent after listening. Xu Yuan glanced at her and burst out laughing: “Lin Wan, are you worried about me? Look at you—you’re about to cry, hahaha!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stepmother’s eyes were red—she truly felt pity:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More than half a month, serving as a lowly servant to that damned Qiao Zia’ang, doing menial labor, barely escaping death several times… when had my child ever suffered so?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Xu Yuan’s mocking laugh instantly evaporated all her tenderness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re asking for a beating!” the stepmother grumbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, she would’ve grabbed a broom and chased him around the yard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, she still felt some pity—she couldn’t bring herself to strike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm. Let him sleep tonight—then beat him tomorrow!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan was only four years older than Xu Yuan; though called his stepmother, she was more like his elder sister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, whenever facing Xu Yuan, she carried an inexplicable bloodline dominance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since childhood, they had always bickered and fought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan was never her match—but he kept provoking her anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You have bloodline dominance? I have the invincibility of a younger brother facing his elder sister!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan fell silent for a moment, then said: “Don’t meddle in family affairs. Tell me in detail about your second uncle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan laid out his deductions, then added: “Zheng Rongkui hasn’t left yet—I suspect my second uncle won’t give up easily.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stepmother frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then said: “You’re right. For now, stay home and don’t go anywhere.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I need to go to Master Qiao’s house,” Xu Yuan replied, still thinking of the gunpowder he suspected might be stored there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seizing the opportunity, Xu Yuan voiced the long-standing question in his heart: “Why didn’t my father let me enter the path?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan’s father was a Craft Cultivator; Xu Yuan had wanted to learn since childhood, but his father refused to teach him—instead, he took Lin Wan as his disciple, then married her as his second wife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan’s Craft Cultivation skills were all learned from Xu Yuan’s father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Lin Wan likely surpassed him entirely—her skill far exceeded his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan shook her head: “I don’t know. Ask your father if you’re curious.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan rolled his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, she didn’t want to tell him—she was dumping the blame on his dead father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan quietly plotted mischief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lin Wan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan put on a concerned expression: “I’ve gotten word about my second uncle. So if there’s anything suspicious about my father’s death, I advise you to turn yourself in to the county magistrate soon…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young stepmother blinked, confused at first, not grasping his meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once she understood, she exploded—leaping forward, her cold, pale hand snatching for Xu Yuan’s ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you trying to die?! Are you insinuating I’m Pan Jinlian and my husband is Wu Dalang?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan ducked, slipped through her fingers, leapt out the door, and stood in the courtyard, hands on hips, laughing triumphantly: “Lin Wan, know this—I’m no longer the same Xu Yuan of old!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan gritted her teeth, then pointed to the courtyard: “Go wash the rest of the clothes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why?!” Xu Yuan jumped up. “I’ve risked my life multiple times—I come back, and you make me wash clothes?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan smirked: “You’re perfectly fine, aren’t you? And…” She held up her hands. “Look—this cold weather turns my hands red washing clothes. You’re an Alchemy Cultivator—you have inner fire, you don’t fear the cold. So it’s only fair you do it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This twisted logic… was impossible to refute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan refused: “No!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wash clothes or cook dinner—you pick,” Lin Wan crossed her arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan sighed: “Wash clothes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan sat on the stool, grabbed a garment from the tub, and scrubbed it fiercely on the laundry board.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a while, the stepmother hummed a tune as she stepped out, freshly dressed—over her inner jacket, she’d added a sapphire-blue satin lapel coat—and strolled out: “I’m going to Wang Shen’s. I’ll be back to make dinner.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan smirked: Wang Shen really was surnamed Wang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stepmother glanced at him curiously: “Why are you smiling?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing. Hurry back—I want winter bamboo shoots stir-fried with cured pork for dinner.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stepmother left. Xu Yuan washed the clothes in a few quick motions and hung them up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stepmother making a boy wash clothes? Tomorrow, she’ll regret it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stepmother washed clothes—one by one, coating them in soapberry powder, rubbing gently, rinsing carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan washed clothes—he dumped the whole tub full of soapberry powder, then performed a Taiji Push Hands move—three circles clockwise, three counterclockwise—and done—laundry’s out!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it was clean!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sweat smell meant clean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Requesting monthly votes—too few votes, ranking won’t rise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1322,"2026-06-20T12:07:23.516Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","a4e5444dd14eea9c5b10b62f900b9c92b1b846ca83d0b2e958dc3729ed16024a","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-39","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-37",413,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnothing-is-taboo-cover.jpg"]