— A Few Days Later - Prosperity’s Gate City —
Prosperity’s Gate City was a First Rank City, its prosperity rivaling even the capital of the Vermilion Bird Province, the Vermilion Bird Imperial Capital. This city was also the ancestral land of the Xin Clan. The wealth and power accumulated here alone were said to rival that of an entire royal dynasty.
And that was only the wealth within this single city. If one were to count the Xin Clan’s assets as a whole, their fortune could easily match that of an empire.
The Xin Clan was an ancient family, rumored to have survived the Great War Era, an age said to be second only to the Primordial Era. Their centuries of accumulation and influence were no exaggeration.
Moreover, many prosperous businesses across the continent had ties to the Xin Clan, whether they were auction houses, artificer workshops, alchemy pavilions, spirit herb gardens, or even industries tied to mortal livelihoods such as money exchange shops, farms, ranches, and textile weavers.
In fact, most of the Xin Clan’s revenue ca from mortals rather than cultivators. It could be said that from the birth of a mortal to their death, there would always be a product or service connected to the Xin Clan present in their daily life.
As for spirit stone mines, such ventures were reserved for large sects like the Heavenly Sword Sect or great dynasties. This was one of the main reasons the Xin Clan had survived for so long...
They avoided ddling in "hot potatoes," businesses that drew the attention of powerful cultivators or major sects. Instead, they would abandon or lease such ventures to others.
This strategy allowed the Xin Clan to prosper despite the chaotic, cutthroat nature of the cultivation world.
As the young master and future heir of the clan, Xin Hao was expected to understand all of this and use his abilities to oversee the vast business empire, gaining control over the clan’s imnse wealth.
Managing the Xin Clan’s fortune alone was a monuntal task.
To achieve this, Xin Hao needed to secure the loyalty of the clan’s Five Pillars:
The Vault of Prosperity, The Whispering Hall, The Ever-Green Manor, The Hall of Nurturing Wisdom, and The Law Enforcent Hall.
These five pillars were currently under the supervision of his father, Xin Hong. However, Xin Hao now had to work hard to earn the trust of the five heads overseeing them.
To make matters worse, two of these pillars were managed by his half-brothers, born from concubines. This made Xin Hao’s mood particularly gloomy.
Although he had full support from the Law Enforcent Hall, both the Vault of Prosperity and the Hall of Nurturing Wisdom remained neutral.
anwhile, the Whispering Hall and the Ever-Green Manor each supported one of his concubine-born brothers.
Xin Hao sat in his study, reading a report from the Law Enforcent Hall. The docunt detailed evidence of corruption involving one of the vice hall masters under his brother, Xin Ren, who oversaw the Ever-Green Manor.
"Heh... that hypocritical bastard," Xin Hao sneered. "Now I have a perfect excuse to cut off one of his arms."
"My lord, please rest for a while. You only returned yesterday evening, and you still haven’t taken any proper rest," a soft, soothing voice spoke, drawing Xin Hao’s attention away from the docunt in his hand.
The voice belonged to a girl with an orchid-like deanor. If Mo Xingyao’s beauty was like the first spring that brought smiles and warmth to others, then this girl’s beauty was like a demure orchid graceful and calm, radiating a gentle fragrance that soothed the soul.
She was Xiao i. Of course, she was also Yun Feng’s childhood sweetheart, who had no choice but to enter the Xin household as Xin Hao’s bed warr.
Xiao i placed a bowl of chicken soup on Xin Hao’s table, then stepped back cautiously, as if afraid of him. She did her best to make herself useful beyond serving in bed; after all, she needed Xin Hao’s resources to cure her ailing father.
At first, Xin Hao was irritated by the interruption, his mind having been fully focused on his work. But as he looked at her face, he quickly cald down.
Looking at her face reminded him of that man, the potentially Heaven’s Chosen Yun Feng.
Besides, Xin Hao genuinely liked her quiet and obedient deanor. Otherwise, he would never have bothered to steal her from that trash, Yun Feng.
Honestly, he still felt uneasy... deeply uneasy about Yun Feng. Sothing inside him told him that one day, that man might bring about his downfall, and possibly the downfall of the entire Xin Clan.
He thought back to Wei Chen’s broadcast about the Heaven’s Chosen. From what he had gathered, Heaven’s Chosen seed to be heavily tied to fate itself. Any imbalance in fate caused by human actions could trigger the appearance of a Heaven’s Chosen.
In his case, the worst possible scenario was that he had already triggered the Heaven’s Chosen chanism.
His thoughts drifted to Wei Chen’s broadcast about Vice Sect Leader Jian Heng, who was also a Heaven’s Chosen. Jian Heng had faced a similar issue to Yun Feng’s, his problem began because of a woman.
According to the broadcast, the woman who was supposedly Jian Heng’s other half had decided to take her own life because she still loved him.
If the Heaven’s Chosen was the protagonist of destiny, then that protagonist would also need soone who complented him, his destined other half.
Thinking back on the past five years, Xin Hao realized that he had not even touched Xiao i. Either he had been too busy or had already vented his desires on the courtesans outside. And every ti he resolved to claim her, sothing urgent would happen to distract him.
It was strange. Before hearing Wei Chen’s broadcast, he would have blad it on simple bad luck.
But now... he wasn’t so sure.
If there was a way for him to sohow reduce the backlash, maybe...
Xin Hao looked at Xiao i’s face, deep in thought.
The orchid-like girl fidgeted nervously under his gaze.
At that mont, Xin Hao made a decision. He would change. He would do sothing that his old self before watching Wei Chen’s broadcast, would never have done.
"A servant told you wanted to enter the Xin Clan library, right? What do you wish to browse?" he asked the orchid-like girl.
"Err... I... I wanted to browse books about dicine," said the orchid-like girl softly.
"dicine?" Xin Hao repeated, raising an eyebrow. "You can read?"
"Yes, young master. My father was a scholar who once served the forr Azure Dragon Dynasty. I had the chance to study under him," said the orchid-like girl.
"Was the Xin Clan’s doctor not to your satisfaction, so you want to learn dicine to cure your father yourself?" Xin Hao asked. His tone was strange as he trying to be genntle but he’s not accustod to it, and this made the girl misunderstand his intent.
"No! Of course not, how could I dare..." Before the girl could continue apologizing, Xin Hao raised his hand, signaling her to stop.
Then, in a calm voice, he said, "This is just a question, not an interrogation. You don’t need to apologize. If you find sothing unsatisfactory, just tell . As for the books..."
Xin Hao paused, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk as he thought.
"If you truly wish to learn dicine, I’ll speak with the head of the Hall of Nurturing Wisdom. Teaching you dicine should still be within their capabilities," Xin Hao offered.
"Really?" Xiao i’s eyes brightened, her voice filled with surprise and excitent.
Xin Hao looked at her and replied evenly, "I always keep my promises. I said I would cure your father’s illness, and I’ve already sent the best doctor in the Xin Clan to tend to him."
He deliberately left out the other side of their bargain.
The deal was simple: in exchange for her entering his household as a bed warr, he would provide treatnt for her father’s illness. But he chose not to ntion it.
It’s not because he no longer desired it, but because he rather leave it be. The rice was not yet cooked, and he knew better than to provoke the ire of the Heaven’s Chosen any further.
In truth, if Yun Feng were to show up and take this girl away, Xin Hao would gladly let her go, if it ant that bastard would leave him in peace.
At that mont, a man in black clothing, Number One, entered the study from outside.
Number One glanced briefly at Xiao i, and Xin Hao imdiately understood the aning behind that look.
"Xiao i, wait for outside. I have sothing to discuss with Number One," Xin Hao said.
Both Xiao i and Number One were montarily stunned. Xin Hao had never called her by na before, he usually referred to her as "you," "woman," or "farr girl."
Number One looked starngely at his young master and the girl but wisely kept his thoughts to himself.
After regaining her composure, Xiao i bowed slightly and excused herself, quietly leaving the room.
Outside the study, Xiao i looked puzzled. "Did he drink a wrong dicine this morning?" she muttered to herself, still confused by Xin Hao’s strange behavior.
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