"Father, I'd like to redeem the wind essence."
The comfortable post-dinner atmosphere shifted subtly. Wei Ye paused in the act of sipping his tea, eyes sharp despite his relaxed posture. "Oh? And why is that?"
"Does it matter?" Wei Lin t his father's gaze steadily. "I have enough contribution points saved up."
I blinked, suddenly understanding sothing about how the Wei family operated. They had an internal point system, like a sect or a business, where family mbers earned points through completing tasks and could redeem them for resources.
It was oddly businesslike for a family, but then again, they were rchants. In a way, it probably helped develop independence and business acun in the younger generation.
Still, I felt a twinge of guilt knowing Wei Lin was spending his hard-earned points on my behalf.
Wei Ye's lips curved into a knowing smile. "The points may be yours to spend, but I have a feeling you're planning to gift it to one of those two." His gaze flickered between Lin i and .
Liu Chen watched the exchange with wide eyes, clutching his package of leftover spirit stones for Rocky. Wei Ting had paused in her fussing over the table arrangents, while Wei Guang leaned back in his chair with poorly concealed interest.
"Does it matter what I do with it?" Wei Lin's voice held a note of challenge.
Wei Ye sighed, setting down his teacup. "Boy, have you forgotten everything I taught you? Nothing cos for free in this world."
"It isn't free," Wei Lin replied firmly. "Ke Yin and I already have our own arrangent."
Wei Ye's laugh was sharp and knowing. "Oh? And knowing you, whatever you're getting in return might as well make it free." He turned his gaze to . "So, it's for you…"
I nodded slowly, eting his eyes. "Yes, sir. I need it for my cultivation. And I will absolutely ensure Wei Lin's investnt is properly compensated."
"Oh?" Wei Ye leaned forward slightly. "And what cultivation thod requires elental essence at the Qi Condensation realm?"
"The World Tree Sutra."
The room went quiet. Wei Ye's eyes widened, and then he began to laugh - a genuine, delighted sound that seed to surprise even Wei Lin. "I was wrong about you, boy! You really have been taking my lessons to heart after all!"
"Husband," Wei Ting interrupted, "perhaps this business discussion could wait until—"
"No, no, this is perfect timing!" Wei Ye studied with new interest, his gaze sharp and assessing. After a mont, he nodded to himself. "Very well. But I won't take your contribution points, Lin'er. If the boy wants the wind essence... he'll have to earn it himself."
Wei Ye raised his voice slightly. "Chen Wu!"
A young man stepped into the dining room. He wore simple but well-made robes, and his qi was carefully controlled - a cultivator at the fifth stage of Qi Condensation. One of the Wei family's hired experts, no doubt.
"If you can defeat Chen Wu in combat," Wei Ye announced, "the wind essence is yours."
"Father—" Wei Lin started to protest, but Wei Ye raised a hand, silencing him.
"Oh my," Lin i murmured softly beside . Liu Chen was practically bouncing in his seat with excitent, previous sleepiness forgotten at the prospect of a fight.
I frowned, considering the challenge. At the peak of the third stage, fighting soone at the fifth stage would be difficult enough. This wasn't like fighting Rocky - Chen Wu's qi control spoke of proper training and combat experience. The Wei family wouldn't hire anything but the best.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Wei Ye's smile widened as he watched my expression. "Ah, I see you understand the difficulty. But..." he tilted his head slightly, "you're very close to breaking through to the fourth stage, aren't you? I'll give you three days. After that, if you want the wind essence, you'll need to win."
My eyes widened slightly at his casual assessnt of my cultivation level. "Azure," I thought quickly, "can you tell if he's secretly a cultivator?"
"I'm not detecting any qi from him," Azure replied thoughtfully. "However, there are many possibilities. He could have a treasure that conceals his cultivation, or one that allows him to detect others' cultivation levels. Given his position and resources, there are nurous ways he could have gained this knowledge."
I bowed formally to Wei Ye. "I accept your challenge."
"Excellent!" Wei Ye clapped his hands together. "Chen Wu will et you at the family's private training ground in three days' ti. Do try not to damage anything too expensive during the match."
"This is so exciting!" Liu Chen burst out, unable to contain himself any longer. "Can Rocky and I watch? We've never seen a proper cultivation duel before! Well, except for when we fought you guys, but that wasn't really a proper duel since we were trying to rob you and—" he cut himself off, suddenly rembering Wei Ye's presence.
Wei Ting covered her mouth, trying to hide her amusent, while Wei Guang openly chuckled.
"Chen Wu will et you at the family's private training ground in three days' ti," Wei Ye announced, rising from his seat. "And of course, you'll all stay here as our guests. We have plenty of room, and it would be poor hospitality to send you to the inns."
"I'll have the guest rooms prepared imdiately," Wei Ting said. Then she paused, glancing at Liu Chen. "Though perhaps..."
"I can stay with Rocky!" Liu Chen said quickly. "He gets lonely at night and—"
"Absolutely not," Wei Ting cut him off. "You'll stay in a proper bed. Rocky will be fine in the garden for a few days."
"But—"
"The garden is perfectly safe," Wei Guang interjected smoothly. "And you'll be able to see him first thing in the morning."
Wei Ye waved a hand dismissively. "As long as he doesn't damage the formations or crush my spirit herbs, the stone giant can stay."
"See?" Wei Ting bead. "Now, Lin i dear, you'll take the east guest room - it has a lovely view of the herb garden. Liu Chen can have the room next to Lin'er's old bedroom, and Ke Yin..." she glanced at her husband with a slight smile, "perhaps the south room? It's quiet there, good for ditation."
I caught the subtle implications in the room assignnts. Lin i would be in the family wing near Wei Lin but with proper discretion, Liu Chen would be close enough for Wei Lin to keep an eye on him, and I'd be positioned for easy access to training while also being sowhat separated from the others. Wei Ting might play the simple hostess, but she was every bit as strategic as her husband.
"Thank you for your hospitality," I bowed politely.
"I'll show them to their rooms," Wei Lin offered.
"In a mont," Wei Ye held up a hand. "Chen Wu, please escort young Liu Chen to his rocky friend. I believe he's anxious to deliver those spirit stones my wife so thoughtfully gifted."
After Liu Chen had practically dragged the stoic guard from the room, Wei Lin led us through the sprawling compound. The buildings were arranged in a way that seed random at first glance, but I began to notice subtle patterns - sight lines, defensive positions, easy escape routes disguised as decorative paths.
"Father had the compound designed by a formation master," Wei Lin explained, noticing my interest. "Everything serves multiple purposes."
He grinned. "Especially those. Mother's quite clever about such things." His expression softened. "Though I think she genuinely wants Lin i near the herb garden."
We reached Lin i's room first. It was spacious and elegant, with a large window overlooking a garden filled with glowing spirit herbs. Lin i's eyes widened at the sight.
"The gardens here are amazing," she breathed. "I've never seen so of these varieties before..."
"You can explore them tomorrow," Wei Lin promised. "Mother won't mind - she'll probably join you, actually. She's always wanted to learn more about spirit herb cultivation."
My room, when we reached it, was simple but elegant. A large window looked out over a small private courtyard, and I could sense the subtle qi-gathering formations built into the walls - likely to aid in ditation.
"Will you be alright?" Wei Lin asked quietly. "Three days isn't much ti for a breakthrough."
"I'll manage," I replied. "I've been close for a while now. Sotis pressure is exactly what you need."
He nodded, understanding I needed space to focus. "Well... good night then. And Ke Yin? Thank you for not refusing Father's challenge. I know it puts you in a difficult position."
"Don't thank , I should thank you, if it wasn't for you-".
"Ke Yin," he cut off, "you're my friend. My sworn brother from the sect. That ans sothing." He paused, then added more quietly, "Father's always taught us to recognize good investnts. Well, I'd say having a friend who cultivates the World Tree Sutra is about as good an investnt as it gets."
I had to laugh at that. "Using your father's business logic against him?"
"Of course! He's the one who taught to always have multiple justifications ready for any deal." Wei Lin grinned. "Now get so sleep. I need to go make sure Liu Chen hasn't convinced Chen Wu to let Rocky redecorate the garden."
After he left, I sat cross-legged on the ditation mat, feeling the gentle pull of the formations around . Three days to reach the fourth stage of Qi Condensation. No ti for training or preparation - just pure cultivation.
"Azure," I thought as I began to settle into ditation, "let's make these three days count."
"Yes, Master."
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