That evening.
Xiao Mo sat in the courtyard of the City Lord’s Mansion in Fengye City.
He wasn’t cultivating at the mont. Instead, he was calmly gazing at the city’s night sky.
His eyes grew deeper as he stared at the night sky, his thoughts impossible to guess.
"Fifth Brother."
Qian Zhenhao’s voice broke the silence in the quiet courtyard.
"Fourth Brother."
Xiao Mo tore his gaze from the starry sky and looked at his Fourth Brother.
"What are you up to, Fifth Brother?" Qian Zhenhao asked with a smile, sitting down beside Xiao Mo.
"Nothing much, just thinking about so things," Xiao Mo said, shaking his head. "Did you need for sothing, Fourth Brother?"
"Hahaha, what, can’t I just co to catch up with my Fifth Brother?" Qian Zhenhao chuckled.
Xiao Mo didn’t answer, simply taking a sip of the tea beside him.
"However..." Qian Zhenhao’s eyes shifted. "You guessed right, Fifth Brother. There is sothing I wanted to talk to you about."
"You can just say it, Fourth Brother."
"It’s a wonderful thing! Here, this is for you, Fifth Brother."
Qian Zhenhao took a bottle of Elixirs from his sleeve.
"This Elixir is called a Blood Refining Pill. Taking it can enhance your Blood Qi and expel impurities. It’s extrely beneficial for the body. Take one a day for four days, Fifth Brother. After that, Senior Sister will test you. If you pass, you can join the Wangchuan Sect."
Xiao Mo took the bottle of Elixirs, opened the Glazed Bottle, and examined them closely.
With his rudintary knowledge of the Alchemy Dao, Xiao Mo quickly realized that this Blood Refining Pill was far from normal.
’Fourth Brother wasn’t wrong. This Elixir really can enhance Blood Qi and expel so impurities.’
’But this Elixir is also a preparatory dicine for the Furnace Cauldron technique.’
’A female disciple from Ten Thousand Flowers Peak had tried to trick into taking a similar Elixir once, but I saw right through her.’
’If I take this Blood Refining Pill, then in four days, when soone cos to plunder my cultivation, this Elixir will make the process much more effective for them.’
"Then I must thank you, Fourth Brother."
Xiao Mo stoppered the bottle and put away the Elixirs, acting as if he hadn’t noticed a thing.
"Don’t ntion it." Qian Zhenhao clapped Xiao Mo on the shoulder. "We’re brothers. There’s no need for thanks between us."
As Qian Zhenhao said this, a flash of guilt flickered in his eyes, but his expression quickly returned to normal.
This so-called Furnace Cauldron and plundering was nothing like the Dual Cultivation Technique of the Daoist Sect.
The Dual Cultivation Technique benefited both parties.
It allowed their yin and yang to harmonize and complent each other.
One could even attain the Dao through the Dual Cultivation Technique.
But the Dual Cultivation Technique was, in the end, a relatively slow path.
That was why Senior Sister planned to plunder Xiao Mo directly, using him as a Furnace Cauldron.
When Xiao Mo was plundered, his foundation would be damaged, his path to the Great Dao would essentially be cut short for this lifeti, and his Realm might even fall.
After being plundered a few tis, Xiao Mo’s Essence Blood would be completely drained, and he would be reduced to a withered corpse.
’Oh, Fifth Brother, Fifth Brother... It’s not that I want to harm you. It’s Senior Sister’s order. I truly can’t defy her. My hands are tied. But don’t you worry, Fifth Brother. After you die, I will carry your share with and live on well.’
After this bit of self-reassurance, Qian Zhenhao felt much better.
"Fifth Brother, I might be busy for the next few days and won’t be able to visit. I hope you’ll understand," Qian Zhenhao said to Xiao Mo.
Xiao Mo nodded. "It’s fine. You go ahead and take care of your business, Fourth Brother. You don’t need to worry about ."
"Alright. Then you get so rest, Fifth Brother. If you need anything, just have a Maid co find . I’ll let you be for now."
Qian Zhenhao slapped his thigh and stood up.
"Let see you out, Fourth Brother." Xiao Mo also stood to escort him.
Xiao Mo and Qian Zhenhao walked through the City Lord’s Mansion. The chirping of birds and insects in the courtyard mingled with the moonlight, and the clear pond water rippled with a soft glow.
"Fourth Brother," Xiao Mo called out, looking at the bright moonlight.
"Hm?" Qian Zhenhao looked at Xiao Mo, confused.
"It’s nothing. I was just rembering our childhood."
"Our childhood, huh?"
Qian Zhenhao folded his sleeves.
"Life wasn’t easy for us back then.
None of our clothes were in one piece. We’d go up the mountains every day to gather herbs and hunt, hoping to sell them for a good price.
When we were unbearably hungry, we’d steal stead buns, steal money.
We worried about our next al from morning till night.
All we thought about every day was how to survive until tomorrow."
"Yes, that’s right." Xiao Mo nodded and took a deep breath. "But Fourth Brother, do you still rember what Big Brother used to tell us when we were kids?"
"What Big Brother said?" Qian Zhenhao paused, then chuckled. "Big Brother said a lot of things."
"He was a bit long-winded, so he certainly said a lot. But I still rember what he always emphasized."
A nostalgic look flickered in Xiao Mo’s eyes.
"Back then, no matter how poor, miserable, or hungry we were, Big Brother always told us not to steal from the poor, not to snatch their food.
Because we were poor ourselves. The poor should have sympathy for the poor. Life was already hard enough for everyone.
That’s why, back then, we only ever stole from the wealthy."
"Hahaha, now that you ntion it, I rember." Qian Zhenhao nodded, a hint of nostalgia in his own expression. "Big Brother always had those strange principles of his."
"Strange they may have been, but Big Brother always practiced what he preached."
Xiao Mo looked up at the countless stars.
"Back then, though we were poor, our ambitions weren’t. We always dread of making it big soday, of marrying many wives.
Though we were hungry, whenever we had sothing to eat—even a stead bun made from chaff—it tasted like a delicacy.
Even if it was just a single flatbread, all five of us brothers would share it."
"We don’t need to do that anymore."
Qian Zhenhao patted Xiao Mo’s back.
"Now, not only do I have money, I have everything I could ever want. We never have to share a single flatbread again. Fifth Brother, do you see the jade stones along those steps?
Just chipping off a piece would be worth more money than a common person could earn in a lifeti!"
"Yes, you’re certainly rich now, Fourth Brother. But is money really everything? For the sake of cultivation, is it really okay to care about nothing else?"
Xiao Mo stopped and looked directly into Qian Zhenhao’s eyes.
Qian Zhenhao froze for a mont. "Why are you saying these things, Fifth Brother?"
"It’s nothing." Xiao Mo shook his head. "Just a sudden feeling."
With that, Xiao Mo clasped his saber and bowed to his Fourth Brother. "Fourth Brother, I won’t see you any further."
"That’s fine. Go back and get so rest, Fifth Brother. I’ll take my leave."
Qian Zhenhao bowed in return.
"Take care, Fourth Brother." Xiao Mo straightened up.
"Mm."
Qian Zhenhao nodded and walked toward another courtyard.
Xiao Mo also turned to leave. The two walked away from each other, their backs turned, growing ever more distant.
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