Chapter 45: Food Money

The two of them stared at each other, both stunned.

Xu Yuan slowly raised his hand: "You go first…"

Lin Wanmo opened the bundle: "I fixed it for you."

Inside the bundle was the three-eyed firelock, along with a leather pouch filled with gunpowder.

Xu Yuan was overjoyed, taking it up and caressing it repeatedly, unwilling to let go.

The stepmother sneered: "What's so great about this thing? It needs reloading before each shot, and after three rounds it's basically useless—during a magical duel, there's no time to reload. How can it compare to our traditional craftsmen?"

Within the Seven Sects, factions were deeply divided.

The most chaotic was the "Magic Cultivators"—utterly diverse.

Magic Cultivators were the most numerous; if they could unite, they'd be the strongest faction among the Seven Sects.

But anyone who dared suggest unifying the Magic Cultivators would face them fighting each other to the death.

The Craft Cultivators were the most visibly divided internally—New Craftsmen and Old Craftsmen each believed the other had gone down a "heretical path."

The Old Craftsmen originally held absolute dominance, but as the Imperial Ming court increasingly interacted with the Snow-Crushing Ghosts, Red-Haired Barbarians, and Blue-Eyed Foreigners, exotic techniques from the outer provinces flooded in. The New Craftsmen absorbed these methods, growing stronger by the day, until they could now stand on equal footing with the Old Craftsmen.

The three-eyed firelock was a New Craftsman invention—the stepmother looked down on it.

Xu Yuan put away the firelock: "External tools are for use. As for understanding and insight into the 'Craft' Dao, they're nowhere near as deep as you, Stepmother."

"Of course," Lin Wanmo accepted the small flattery with a proud tilt of her head, then pointed to another bundle on the table: "What's this?"

Xu Yuan said: "The silver I earned on this trip—I'm giving part of it home…"

Lin Wanmo smiled, her eyes glinting softly: "Oh? So you've got such 'filial piety'?" But her slender finger tapped the bag: "With this heart of yours, your mother is satisfied—the money isn't needed."

"I earned it, so I ought to…"

Lin Wanmo waved Lang Xiaobai's hand: "Enough. I'm not dead yet—I can still support you."

Xu Yuan grinned mischievously: "You really won't take it?"

"No."

"Aren't you curious how much I made?"

"Qiao Ziaolang is so stingy—he couldn't have given you much…"

Xu Yuan opened the bundle—Lin Wanmo's words were cut clean in half.

Golden little ingots!

Like the delicate, rosy toes of a young girl in her teens.

Silver large ingots!

Like the full, rounded rump of a woman after childbirth.

Crisp, brand-new silver notes!

Like the bright red veil of a bride as her sedan chair enters the gate!

Xu Yuan tapped the table: "Wipe your drool."

Lin Wanmo shot him a reproachful glance, then secretly touched her lips—damn, she'd actually drooled. What a disgrace.

She smiled brightly, beautifully, and slid the bundle quietly into her lap: "Your mother doesn't want your money—I'm saving it for you."

"You're not young anymore—you need to find a wife. Matchmaking, dowry payments—all cost money. When you marry and establish your household, when Xu family branches out, I'll have face to meet your father in the netherworld…"

"Stop it!" Xu Yuan exclaimed: "Netherworld? Talking like it's real. How much older are you than me?"

"Still, I must get you a wife," the stepmother insisted.

"I won't marry!"

"Nonsense. Are you shy?"

"Shy? What's there to be shy about?" Xu Yuan didn't care: "I brought the money home because it belongs to the household—but give me some pocket money."

Lin Wanmo thought, bit her lip, then pulled out one ten-tael ingot and some loose silver.

Xu Yuan was dissatisfied: "This is too little—it won't even cover a drink at Chunxiang Pavilion in Wangjing Ward..."

The stepmother's face turned cold, teeth gritted: "What did you say?! You even know the price?!"

"I…" Xu Yuan thought fast: "Uncle Rongkui told me."

Lin Wanmo's bright eyes flickered—young boys carrying too much silver always go astray—they already know about Chunxiang Pavilion.

She took back half of the silver!

"Hey hey hey…" Xu Yuan slumped, what could he do—he'd spoken foolishly.

Though they bickered, now that Xu Yuan had handed over the money, it was hers to manage—he didn't really care how much she left him.

Because, Xu Yuan thought, this was "food money."

Lin Wanmo counted the gold and silver, calculating it totaled over seven hundred taels—she was stunned. This boy… was he a cultivation expert? One outing, and he brought back so much.

She had never seen so much money before.

The Xu family had a rule: never sell any Craft Cultivator creations they made.

Xu Yuan didn't know why this rule existed, but it had been this way since his grandfather's time.

Without this rule, one of the stepmother's Craft Cultivator items would fetch at least five hundred taels.

Xu Yuan tucked the silver into his robe and grabbed a meat-filled baked bun to eat, when Lin Wanmo suddenly asked seriously: "Be honest with your mother—have you set your eyes on any girl?"

"No!"

"What about the third daughter of Old Yu's family at the west end of Tiaoshi Street? You two grew up together—if you're interested, we should start arranging things soon…"

With so much money not going toward a wife, the stepmother planned to find a way to buy Xu Yuan two "Celestial Iron Ingots."

Before she could finish, her voice cut off—Xu Yuan's expression changed too.

Night had fallen, but a chilling aura, like wind-blown fog, now enveloped the entire courtyard.

Lin Wanmo moved swiftly, darting to Xu Yuan's side, shoving something into his hand, then leaping like a lynx to the window, her pale palm opening as several delicate bamboo dragonflies flew out.

Xu Yuan looked down and saw an umbrella.

Crafted by a Artisan, exquisitely new — clearly made by his stepmother these past two days.

Heavy in hand, Xu Yuan tried it a few times and quickly understood: it was an excellent item, capable of both offense and defense.

The materials were expensive; just this one item, if sold, would not be worth less than a thousand taels.

Several bamboo dragonflies flew out to scout.

Xu Yuan crouched low and moved to his stepmother's side, but Lin Wanmo glared at him: "Go to the back!"

"I can help."

"I'm not dead yet — I can protect you!" his stepmother brooked no argument.

Xu Yuan smirked and reluctantly stepped back.

……

Old Qian stood outside the small courtyard, moving like an old man near death — slow, deliberate, methodical.

He first opened a bone ash urn and tipped it toward the courtyard.

Black-gray ash spilled out, and before it touched the ground, it dispersed into thick yin energy, enveloping the entire courtyard.

Night was already suited for yin spirits to act; now, the yin energy in the courtyard had grown so dense it was almost viscous — perfect for Old Qian's yin spirits.

He set down the bone ash urn, took down his satchel from his shoulder, and pulled out cloth pouches one by one.

The pouches were tightly tied; Old Qian untied them, and the hanging ghosts immediately burst forth — clad in white robes, their bodies and necks stretched thin as if hanged, hair disheveled, long crimson tongues dragging to their chests.

They hovered midair, hands hanging at their sides, claws purple-black and half a foot long.

Old Qian pointed toward the house, and the five hanging ghosts drifted over together.

They first rose, clearing the courtyard wall, then dove straight toward the house — as they dove, they all let out a piercing wail.

Requesting monthly votes, requesting monthly votes, requesting monthly votes.

Twenty-some votes yesterday — can we get more today?

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(End of Chapter)