Chapter 6: How to Sit Upon a Mountain of Gold

"Swoosh!" The figure on the chair vanished in an instant. The next second, Ling Ruoxi’s enchanting face magnified infinitely before Ling Xiaobai. She smiled wickedly, her eyes brimming with mischief: "Ling Xiaobai, if you continue to poison your mother's ears with that naturally broken voice of yours, don't even think about the private savings you've hidden away."

"Mother, this is naked intimidation! Even a little master like me has human rights!" Ling Xiaobai shrieked in anger, his tender, lotus-root-like arms slapping the water surface incessantly. Crystal-clear droplets splashed into the air, scattering as they fell.

Ling Ruoxi was quick-witted and agile; her figure retreated rapidly, narrowly avoiding the miserable fate of being drenched like a drowned rat.

"Ling Xiaobai." A wisp of black aura rose from the top of her head. Ling Xiaobai’s expression changed abruptly. *It’s over, Mother is going to lose her temper.* His small body scrambled out of the wooden tub, crawling and tumbling as he fled the room. He had barely stepped outside when a thunderous crash echoed behind him.

The wooden tub was reduced to splinters, scattered all over the floor.

"Ah! My silver—" Ling Xiaobai clutched a broken wooden plank, his heart aching. It would cost several more copper coins to buy these things back.

"Ling Xiaobai, instead of worrying about silver, you’d better worry about your own life." Her voice, cold and demonic as if drifting from the depths of hell, scared Ling Xiaobai into rolling across the floor. He narrowly dodged Ling Ruoxi’s lightning-fast strike. Her profound energy erupted, slamming into a towering ancient tree in the courtyard. The thick trunk was knocked over in an instant, and leaves rained down from the sky.

"Mother! Take it easy, take it easy! All of this has to be bought with silver!" While dodging, Ling Xiaobai continued to add fuel to the fire. Since he was small, his first love was silver, his second was singing, and his third was provoking his mother into changing her expression.

"It doesn't matter." Ling Ruoxi descended from the air with the elegance of an immortal, standing amidst the wreckage of the courtyard, radiating infinite charm. She bared two rows of gleaming white teeth at Ling Xiaobai, making his heart jump with fear: "Everything you break will be added to your tab, with five percent daily interest."

"No, no." At that rate, he would have to pay until the end of time.

"That’s not up to you." Ling Ruoxi let out a soft hum, her figure closing in again, clearly intending to give him a good lesson.

Within the quiet residence, the wails and startled cries of a small child echoed incessantly.

...

The sun set, the evening clouds turned crimson, and wild geese flew south.

A luxurious carriage slowly drove from the end of the boundless official road, leisurely passing through the bustling market and heading toward the residence at a steady pace.

"Mother, dinner is ready." Ling Xiaobai placed the last dish of greens on the table, wiped the dense sweat from his forehead, and called out toward the bedroom with a bruised little face.

Ling Ruoxi, who had been sitting cross-legged on the bed cultivating her profound energy, suddenly opened her eyes. A sharp, cold light, like the gleam of a sword, flashed through her deep, icy black eyes...

I forgot to mention, on this continent, besides ordinary people, there is a class of people born with the ability to cultivate profound energy.

This profound energy is divided into more than ten grades. The lowest are the Red and Orange grades; the middle are the Yellow, Green, and Cyan grades; and the high are the Blue and Purple grades. Each grade is like a watershed. It is said that above the Purple grade are the Earth Profound, Heaven Profound, and Divine Profound realms. However, for hundreds of years, few have been able to step into these realms. As for the stages above Divine Profound, which only exist in legends, they have never truly appeared.

Ling Ruoxi had obtained profound energy by a stroke of luck and spent six full years reaching the peak of the Cyan grade. But ever since she broke through the Cyan grade half a year ago, her profound energy had shown no signs of further progress. What exactly was going on? Ling Ruoxi frowned slightly. Was she stuck in a bottleneck?

"Mother, come out and eat!" Ling Xiaobai’s banging on the door interrupted Ling Ruoxi’s deep thoughts.

Walking out of the bedroom, she saw several home-cooked dishes laid out on a golden dining table. Ling Xiaobai scooped a bowl of white rice into a gold bowl and handed it to Ling Ruoxi.

Gold bowls, gold chopsticks, a gold table, gold plates... The furnishings in the dining room were so bright they could almost blind someone. With such extravagance in food and daily use, even an emperor would be hard-pressed to match it, right?

While eating the delicacies and enjoying the feeling of being surrounded by gold, Ling Xiaobai felt he was in heaven.

"Mother is so right. Money isn't everything, but without money, you can't do anything. Mother, when I grow up, I must build a house of gold. Every day when I open my eyes, I want to see gold everywhere, and when I close them, I want to be surrounded by mountains of gold." Ling Xiaobai squinted contentedly, drool threatening to drip into his gold bowl.

"Next time you're so tired you fall asleep, remember to prop your pillow higher," Ling Ruoxi said coldly, rolling her eyes at him. Wanting to own a mountain of gold? Dreaming might be faster.

Ling Xiaobai’s face darkened immediately: "Mother, you should say I have lofty ambitions."

"Is being a greedy person waiting to die considered an ambition?" Ling Ruoxi curled her lips coolly and lifted the gold bowl to sip the ginseng soup inside. Suddenly, she frowned: "Too much salt, the heat wasn't right. You need more practice."

"..." Shouldn't she at least praise him a little, even if she knew it didn't taste good? "Mother, please always remember that your son is only five years old. Don't you think using child labor is very immoral?"