Chapter 15: This is quite a thrill

Chapter 15: This is a Massive Shock

Since they were all sisters, Qin Yan did not want Qin Bi and Qin He to fall out.

Qin He’s talent was considered the best in the Marquis of Qin Yan's manor. Qin Yan leaned slightly toward Qin He, not for any other reason than for the sake of the household; the manor relied heavily on the support of Heir Xue and Heir He behind Qin He.

As for Qin Bi, her testing showed she had a spiritual root, but she merely *had* one.

Qin Yan worried that Qin Bi did not understand that the manor currently needed to rely on the Prince Xue Manor and the Duke of Yan Manor behind Qin He.

Did Qin Bi not understand? She knew perfectly well, but she simply didn't care about the Prince Xue Manor or the Duke of Yan Manor behind Qin He. Right now, Qin Bi was in a hurry to go to the Fourth Branch's courtyard to find her father and brothers; awakening her spiritual root was more important than anything else.

"I'm heading back to my courtyard first," Qin Bi greeted them and walked away quickly.

Anyone with eyes could see that Qin Bi couldn't be bothered with Qin He.

Qin Yan and Qin Jue breathed a sigh of relief, but Qin He was furious: "How ridiculous. Giving a greeting while pulling a long face—what a piece of work."

Qin Yan’s movements stiffened. Whether dealing with outsiders or family, whenever things didn't go Qin He's way, she would label people as "pieces of work." Qin Yan found her attitude somewhat distasteful; how could family members be "pieces of work" to one another?

This wasn't the first time Qin He had called Qin Bi a piece of work.

Regardless of why Qin Bi had married, she was now the Heir Consort of the Rong Prince Manor. Rong Jun was a powerful official, and logically, the Heir Consort of the Rong Prince Manor held a higher rank than the Heir Consort of the Prince Xue Manor.

Qin Yan sighed, "You two don't get along. It's better to have less interaction in the future."

Qin Bi's previous divorce from He Yan was entirely because of Qin He.

In a relationship like this, it was better not to cross paths if possible. Qin He should have understood this; Qin Bi was the one who had sacrificed, while Qin He had reaped all the benefits, both in the Marquis's manor and with He Yan.

Following behind the guards, Qin Bi headed straight for the Fourth Branch's courtyard.

Before she even reached the courtyard, she saw her father, Qin Di, walking quickly toward her from a distance.

Wondering what her father was up to, Qin Bi went to meet him. Seeing her, Qin Di breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I should have sent your second brother to the gate to meet you. Qin He stays at the maternal home often and frequently plays in the front courtyard with the children. You two didn't fight, did you?"

Qin Bi froze for a moment, realizing her father was worried about her.

"We did," Qin Bi said.

Qin Di paused. "Avoid her in the future."

Qin Bi let out a scoff. Qin Di turned to walk back, saying, "Qin He is capable, and she has the Prince Xue Manor and the Duke of Yan Manor backing her. Even the Rong Heir opens shops with her. Our Fourth Branch is inferior to the Second Branch."

Therefore, one had to know when to yield.

Qin Di did not lack children. Aside from his eldest and second legitimate sons, he was indifferent toward the others, rarely seeing them or keeping them in mind. It was only because of Qin Bi's marriage that he had begun to care about this child.

Unable to read her father, Qin Bi asked, "Where is my brother?"

Upon entering the courtyard, Qin Di said, "He went out."

Qin Di intended to go to the main house; as a concubine-born daughter returning to her natal home for the first time, he felt he should visit the legitimate mother, Lady He.

Qin Bi suggested, "Let's go to the study instead."

Discussions were usually held in the study. Qin Di glanced at Qin Bi and walked toward the study. It was a hot summer day, so the study windows were open. Unfortunately, there were no lush flowers outside the study, only a single slender bamboo tree.

That inconspicuous bamboo tree had been a gift from the old Marquis of Qin Yan.

"You've come at the right time. Even if you hadn't come, I would have had to visit the Rong Prince Manor." Qin Di opened a drawer and took out a small, carved wooden token. "This is a low-level magical tool I asked your third uncle to buy for you. Your mother and I prepared it for you; it will be useful for cultivation."

Qin Bi was moved and felt like crying. Her heart was too soft, which was her weakness; she felt like crying at the slightest thing. *No, I won't cry.* Instead of taking the tool, she took out a small porcelain bottle and handed it to her father.

"I have refined a type of pill. Rong Jun called it a Spirit Condensing Pill. Father, please see if it is."

Qin Di was stunned. With Qin Bi's talent, it was impossible for her to refine anything, let alone a Spirit Condensing Pill. However, he still took it and opened the bottle to find two pills inside.

Qin Di froze. He poured the pills out and stared at them nervously.

"It is a Spirit Condensing Pill!" Qin Di asked excitedly, "Did you refine these?"

Qin Bi nodded. "I made them while experimenting with things to eat."

Holding the Spirit Condensing Pill, Qin Di's eyes turned red with excitement. He had been born an ordinary person, destined never to cultivate. It was fine when he was young, but later he realized the vast gap between mortals and cultivators.

In the eyes of a cultivator, a mortal was like an ant.

With the Spirit Condensing Pill, he could awaken his spiritual root.

With two pills, he could give one to his eldest legitimate son, Qin Tang. Qin Di's heart swelled, and he said to Qin Bi, "Good, good... child, your father and brothers are going to benefit from you."

Feeling a pang of emotion, Qin Bi reminded him, "Call my eldest brother back."

Only then did Qin Di snap out of it. He left the study and ordered the servants to bring Qin Tang and Qin Xun back. When he returned to the study and sat behind the desk with a vacant stare, Qin Bi knew the shock had truly hit him.

Qin Tang and Qin Xun returned quickly. Qin Xun had a spiritual root with talent similar to Qin Bi's—so low that the color couldn't even be discerned—but Qin Tang was an ordinary person who had tested negative for a spiritual root.

When the two met, they were puzzled as to why their father had summoned them so urgently.

Entering the study, Qin Di's vacant gaze focused. He excitedly handed a Spirit Condensing Pill to Qin Tang. "Qin Tang, this Spirit Condensing Pill is for you. Take it, and you can awaken your spiritual root."

Qin Tang's pupils shrank. "Where did it come from?"

Thinking of his mother Lady He's dowry, they might have been able to afford one pill, but the problem was there was nowhere to buy them. Cultivators required spirit stones; silver alone could not buy pills.

"Your sister refined them," Qin Di said without a shred of doubt.

Qin Tang took the pill with trembling hands. This pill was too important to him. He didn't have the mental capacity to wonder how Qin Bi had refined it.

Qin Xun had been in a daze ever since he saw the two pills; the young master of the Marquis manor's brain had simply stopped working.

Watching them, Qin Bi felt complicated emotions and said, "I have one more Spirit Condensing Pill. I want to give it to my third uncle's family. Back then, when He Yan broke our engagement and I was stuck in the capital in an awkward position, it was my third uncle and aunt who took me away from the capital."

Hearing there was another one, Qin Xun snapped out of his stupor, shocked: "You have another one?"

Qin Bi did not hide it from her father and brothers. "I refined three. I was making things for the children to eat, and somehow, I ended up refining Spirit Condensing Pills. If Rong Jun hadn't told me what they were, I would have eaten them like candy."

Qin Xun could not fathom how "making things for children to eat" could result in Spirit Condensing Pills, and he lapsed into a daze again.

Qin Tang felt a lingering fear. "It's a good thing you didn't eat them like candy."

Qin Di calmed his excitement and said, "Take it to your third uncle. His family will be leaving in a few days soon. It is rare that you would think of them."

Qin Bi went to the Third Branch, while Qin Di took his two legitimate sons to the old Marquis's courtyard.

When the old Marquis saw the Spirit Condensing Pill Qin Di produced, he was overjoyed. "Quickly, take the pill!"