Chapter 98

Luo Taiqing had not taken a few steps when he suddenly stopped; Luo Man, who had originally planned to leave together with Cheng Yong to go to his house to discuss buying land, seeing this, hurriedly said:

Sir, what other orders do you have?

Go attend to your own business!

Luo Taiqing waved his hand, strode past Luo Man and Cheng Yong, came before Liu Dongzhu, took out a silk pouch from his bosom, casually handed it over, and said:

Madam Wang, look at my foolishness; before coming to your house, I had already prepared the gift, but I forgot to give it to you. Please have this pouch hung around your child's neck...

Before he finished speaking, Luo Taiqing suddenly noticed that Wang Ping'an's neck, like a display stand, was laden with accessories, and his expression instantly turned extremely strange.

Could it be…

Are these all gifts prepared specially for Wang Ping'an, just like the others?

Except for the silk pouch, whose contents are indiscernible, the other three items are exquisitely crafted; at a glance one can tell they are not ordinary.

Liu Dongzhu's eyes lit up instantly, and she said: "Sir Luo, is this also a life‑saving item?"

Normally, she is not a greedy person who would be immobilized by gifts, but having experienced her son Wang Ping'an being abducted, she cares more than anyone about his safety, and naturally she is especially concerned about whether he has enough life‑saving items.

Of course, the more the better!

Luo Taiqing was startled; he had originally thought the items on Wang Ping'an's neck were fine gifts, but hearing Liu Dongzhu's words, he never imagined they might all be life‑saving objects.

He doubted whether Liu Dongzhu had been deceived, after all, life‑saving items cannot all be said to be priceless, but they are certainly valuable.

I myself don't have enough; how could I possibly bear to give them to others?

Just.

Thinking of how Wang Ping'an is someone even Xuanqing Daozhang, Luo Quan, and Luo Liang all value, perhaps the items on his neck were sent by those three, being life‑saving objects, which would be quite normal.

Madam Wang, that's not the case!

Luo Taiqing's face was full of embarrassment; he had thought this gift would surely astonish Liu Dongzhu, but he hadn't expected to still underestimate how much others valued Wang Ping'an, and he explained:

"Madam Wang, rest assured, the gift I prepared for your child is a first‑rate treasure; wearing it from youth ensures freedom from illness and disaster, and it was obtained by my ancestors from a Dao cultivator senior!"

Liu Dongzhu thanked: "Thank you, Sir Luo!"

Although Luo Taiqing's gift is not a life‑saving item, if it could let her son Wang Ping'an grow up healthy and safe, she would be just as happy.

Luo Taiqing spoke again: "Madam Wang, in a few years, when my daughter can walk and talk, I will send her over to play with Ping'an; by then I'll have to trouble you, Madam Wang, to look after my little girl!"

"Sir Luo, are you preparing to build a house near my place for your daughter?"

Liu Dongzhu was instantly startled.

Luo Taiqing nodded; this place is not a feng shui treasure spot, so if it weren't for the marriage prospect between his daughter and Wang Ping'an, how could he possibly buy land here to build a house?

"It's nothing but wanting to be near the water to get the moon first!"

He simply doesn't believe that if his daughter grows up alongside Wang Ping'an, with him occasionally giving a push from the side, they could fail to become a couple.

"I said as much: obviously my mother just refused yesterday to become a disciple of that Luo official, yet that Luo official certainly would have told this Luo elder about it."

"Yet at noon this Luo elder came running over to say the same thing, fearing my mother would not refuse, fearing my teacher would not know that Luo official's wolfish ambitions!"

Wang Ping'an gave a silent cold snort; only now did he roughly grasp Luo Taiqing's scheme, and understood why he felt Luo Taiqing was so off, not at all like a proper envoy, thinking sarcastically: "Turns out you also don't want me to become a disciple of that Luo official and go with him to the Luo family in the prefectural city!"

"It's not that this Luo elder is narrow‑minded, fearing his success—no, one could also say he fears his success, worrying that before anything comes of his daughter, after Wang Ping'an becomes a disciple of that Luo official, any talk of marrying his daughter would be nearly impossible."

"That Luo official would surely arrange a more suitable match, nine times out of ten a daughter of the main line of the Luo clan, to make his ties with the prefectural Luo family even closer."

This matter.

"For him, that Luo official, and even the prefectural Luo family, this is a good thing, yet for this Luo elder it is certainly not a good thing."

"Ding! You wear a damaged World Pearl; congratulations, you have earned the reward: a shattered miniature world. Would you like to enter the miniature world?"

A mechanical, icy voice echoed in his mind, Wang Ping'an's complexion drastically changed, snapping him from myriad thoughts; he knew the silk pouch from Luo Taiqing's hand must be something good.

Given his status, if he truly valued him, he could not casually give a gift to deceive him; he would surely pick a precious present.

However.

He never imagined that the gift Luo Taiqing prepared for him would be a World Pearl; although he still didn't know what a World Pearl was, from the name he could roughly guess what it was.

Even if it were merely a shattered World Pearl, it would certainly be a priceless treasure.

This novel you have arrived at

Never would I have thought that Luo Taiqing would actually give it directly to me.

"No way, you—cough cough, my dear father‑in‑law, you actually value me this much; if I could speak, I'd kowtow to you on the spot and then agree to marry your daughter!"

Wang Ping'an couldn't help swallowing saliva; his face and eyes were full of shock.

"Ding! The World Pearl's energy is insufficient; cannot enter, please provide sufficient energy!"

Just as Wang Ping'an moved his thought, preparing to enter the World Pearl to investigate, a mechanical, icy voice sounded again in his mind; he instantly reacted, became sober, and roughly guessed.

"Why would this Luo elder be willing to give away a World Pearl as a gift!"

"Luo Taiqing does value him, no doubt, but to have him give away a priceless World Pearl is impossible; the only possibility is that he didn't recognize it as a World Pearl—who let the World Pearl suffer such severe damage?"

Otherwise.

"Not to mention that Luo Taiqing merely values him; even if he were Luo Taiqing's own son, he might not be willing to give the World Pearl as a gift."

Wang Ping'an pondered what energy the World Pearl needed; in his peripheral vision he faintly saw the surrounding spiritual qi slowly seeping into the World Pearl, and immediately realized that the required energy should be spiritual qi.

Afterward.

Wang Ping'an immediately practiced the Purple Qi Technique, not letting the attracted heaven‑earth spiritual qi enter his body, but quickly letting it seep into the World Pearl inside the pouch.

(End of chapter)