Lu Qing and Old Doctor Chen stood before the small courtyard halfway up the mountain, watching the Wei family members slowly depart.
After a while, Lu Qing said, "Master, that Great Steward of the Wei family is truly formidable."
Lu Qing felt genuine admiration for the Great Steward.
When he first met the young master of the Wei family at the large market, the boy's behavior had once led Lu Qing to believe that the Wei family would be an arrogant and overbearing clan that used its influence to oppress others. Otherwise, how could its heir possess such a personality?
However, the Great Steward had significantly changed Lu Qing's perception.
It was no wonder Ma Gu said that the Wei family's influence spanned the entire prefecture and reached directly to the royal capital. One could see a glimpse of this through the Great Steward's methods of handling affairs. Not to mention the head of the Wei family, who was capable of making such a man submit.
Perhaps this was what one truly called a prestigious and powerful aristocratic clan. With such figures guarding the estate, it would be difficult for the Wei family not to develop rapidly.
"To hold the position of Great Steward in a prominent clan like the Wei family, one certainly cannot be a simple individual," Old Doctor Chen sighed. Even after living for more than half his life, he had rarely encountered someone like the Wei family's Great Steward. He was upright and dignified, yet even though he knew the man was trying to win people over, they simply could not refuse him.
"Master, what should we do with this gold and silver?"
Returning to the courtyard, Lu Qing couldn't help but ask as he looked at the gold and silver.
When the Wei family mentioned sending ten thousand taels of silver and a thousand taels of gold, it wasn't entirely in the form of physical cash. Aside from a large chest of silver ingots and a small chest of gold ingots, the rest had been converted into silver and gold notes and placed in another small box. Even so, this single large chest of gold and silver was enough to make anyone's head spin.
It was only because both Old Doctor Chen and Lu Qing were extraordinary people; otherwise, an ordinary person seeing such wealth would likely have lunged for it long ago.
"Carry it into the house and put it away for now."
For a moment, Old Doctor Chen didn't know how to handle these things, so he could only carry them into the house with Lu Qing to store them for the time being.
Looking at the two chests of different sizes placed haphazardly in a corner of the storage room, Lu Qing thought to himself: no one would ever guess that these two chests contained such a vast amount of gold and silver. After casually placing some miscellaneous items on top of the chests to weigh them down, Lu Qing walked out.
"A-Qing, I have something to say to you regarding that bottle of Bone-Forging Pills in your hand," the Old Doctor said seriously once they stepped out of the storage room.
Lu Qing immediately walked to his master's side and listened respectfully.
"Bone-Forging Pills are indeed highly sought after by many martial artists in the Bone-Tempering Realm; they can break through the limits of a Bone-Tempering martial artist and expand their foundation and skeletal potential. However, the medicinal power of these pills is also extremely domineering. Even an ordinary expert in the Bone-Tempering Realm may not necessarily be able to withstand it. Therefore, even when you eventually step into the Bone-Tempering Realm, do not be in a hurry to consume and refine this pill. You must wait until you have reached the minor success stage of the Bone-Tempering Realm before attempting to refine it. Otherwise, if you consume it too early and cannot withstand the medicinal power, your bone marrow and vital blood may be incinerated, leading to death."
Hearing that refining the Bone-Forging Pill was so perilous, Lu Qing's expression became very solemn. "Yes, Master. Your disciple will remember."
After giving his instructions, the Old Doctor waved his hand. "Since you have remembered, then go back for now. You have been tired lately because of this young master Wei's business. Go back and rest well. For the next few days, you don't need to come here to help me."
"Huh?"
Lu Qing was startled at first, but seeing the box in his master's hand, he quickly realized. His master had just obtained a precious scripture and wanted to go into seclusion to study it intently.
He did not expose his master's little intention and said respectfully, "Yes, Master."
It just so happened that he also wanted to take some time to focus on his martial arts. Recently, Lu Qing had been refining one Blood-Replenishing Qi-Nourishing Pill every day, and his vital blood strength was growing extremely fast. Over the past two days, he had vaguely felt that he was approaching the brink of a breakthrough.
Carrying the portion of the thank-you gift meant for himself and Xiao Yan, Lu Qing walked down the mountain.
Upon returning home, he saw Xiao Yan and Xiao Li playing there. Ever since Xiao Li had come to the house, Xiao Yan rarely went out because she had such a playmate. She wanted to play with Xiao Li every day, which even reduced the time she spent playing with her village friends.
It was also for the best, as Lu Qing did not want her wandering around in front of Great Steward Wei, lest Xiao Li's existence be accidentally revealed. Therefore, during these past few days, whenever he went to the mountain courtyard, he left Xiao Yan at home. Regardless, Xiao Li was there, and Lu Qing had instructed her to protect Xiao Yan. After all, she was a Red-Light Spirit Beast; as long as they didn't encounter an expert of the Internal Organ Realm, ordinary martial artists could do nothing to her.
"Brother, you're back!" Xiao Yan, who was playing chess with Xiao Li, immediately called out when she saw Lu Qing return. Xiao Li also gave him a cry.
"Mhm, I'm back."
Lu Qing put the items away in his room. When he came out, he saw the chessboard on the table and asked, "Who won more today?"
The chessboard was something Lu Qing had carved from a wooden board using a knife. The pieces were also simple: a box of short wooden sticks and a box of small pebbles. As for the game the two little ones were playing, it was something he had taught them—the game known as Gomoku in his previous life.
The reason he taught them to play was that one day, while Lu Qing was reviewing medical books, the two little ones were playing and making such a racket in the room that he couldn't focus on his studies. Even if he managed to quiet them temporarily, they would soon start playing sneakily again. To keep them quiet for longer, Lu Qing had a sudden idea and simply taught them how to play chess. Since Gomoku wasn't difficult, it could also serve to train their thinking abilities.
As expected, once the two little ones encountered this novelty, they became instantly obsessed, and Xiao Li was no exception. For the past few days, almost whenever they had free time, the two would start competing at chess. As for winning or losing, they both had their share; it was mostly a dead heat.
As expected, it was the same this time.
Xiao Yan said happily, "I won more! I won seven games today, and Xiao Li only won six!"
Then, Lu Qing saw Xiao Li let out a cry, grab a small pebble from the box with her paw, and place it on the board.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan immediately became dejected. "Now it's a tie. Xiao Li also won seven games."
This time, it was Xiao Li's turn to be happy. Her ears moved backward, her eyes crinkled with a smile, and her tail held high.
Lu Qing: "..."
There was a reason why these two had been playing so intensely lately, often leaving him feeling dizzy and exhausted. With their intelligence, they were truly a pair of "unparalleled geniuses."
He decided to stop worrying about them and went to the bamboo forest in the back mountain to cultivate.
Over the next few days, because he didn't need to go to the mountain courtyard, Lu Qing did not leave the house, focusing entirely on his cultivation in the back mountain. Because he felt he was close to a breakthrough, he even paused his practice of the Four-Direction Blade to focus on practicing the Body-Nurturing Fist and refining his vital blood.
Finally, after consuming several more Blood-Replenishing Qi-Nourishing Pills, he felt the aura of a breakthrough on this morning.
(End of Chapter)