On the eastern side of the Jiang estate, the servants of the Zhangsun Clan had already finished packing their luggage, making the final preparations for departure.
It was at this moment that Yunxiu led A’He before Zhangsun Heng.
He stood beneath the corridor, and after listening to Yunxiu's explanation, finally cast a glance at A’He, who was kneeling before him. "That tune—where did you learn it?" he asked.
A’He unconsciously tightened her hands. Yunxiu had already told her how to answer this question.
The song Return to the Nether was taught to her by Ming Zhu, but…
But this was her only chance.
A’He's body trembled from the complex emotions surging in her heart. Still, for an unsophisticated country girl like her, appearing at a loss before Zhangsun Heng was hardly anything strange.
If she missed this opportunity, she could only return to her former life… At this thought, boundless courage welled up within A’He. Her voice trembled, yet her tone was nearly resolute as she replied, "It was my grandmother who taught me…"
As she spoke, her face flushed crimson—whether from shyness or shame, it was hard to tell.
Upon learning that A’He's grandmother had already passed away, Zhangsun Heng paused briefly and asked no further questions. This was hardly a matter worth his attention.
"Since you're willing, then follow the caravan back to the capital," he said casually, without looking at A’He again, walking past the corridor.
At those words, A’He's anxious heart finally settled. She kowtowed heavily toward Zhangsun Heng's retreating figure, repeatedly thanking him.
Wonderful, wonderful…
Thinking this, A’He looked up to meet Yunxiu's gaze and kowtowed to her once more in gratitude.
Watching this scene, a hint of a smile curled at the corners of Yunxiu's lips, a secret satisfaction stirring within her.
Though there were those who failed to appreciate kindness, at least some knew to be sensible.
If she didn't cherish the position, then let someone close to her take her place!
This matter had never been dependent on her alone.
Meanwhile, upon learning from Ming Zhu that A’He had gone to the Zhangsun estate, Gu Congshan did not simply abandon her to her fate.
The Jiang Clan placed great importance on Zhangsun Heng, and on the day of his departure, the Jiang Clan head personally led people to see him off outside the city. Gu Congshan followed among the servants seeing them off, wanting to confirm that A’He was truly safe.
The Zhangsun caravan did not travel quickly. Gu Congshan looked ahead, and after some effort, finally spotted A’He among the carriages, now dressed in a set of fine brocade garments.
Her expression was relaxed, and she seemed to be doing well. A maidservant beside her was speaking with her, and A’He responded, her gaze inadvertently meeting Gu Congshan's. She lowered her head as if scalded, not daring to look at him.
She hadn't expected Gu Congshan to come.
Before Gu Congshan could approach, A’He took the initiative to ask a servant to relay a message, telling him that she no longer planned to go to her aunt's home and asking him not to worry.
Gu Congshan thought about it—there was no particular need for him to say anything more to her—so he simply asked the servant to return the money pouch she had intended to leave with the Jiang Clan.
She had done this perhaps out of guilt, but Ming Zhu did not mind A’He's decision, and Gu Congshan naturally would not accept the money she had left behind.
The Jiang Clan’s party had already come to a halt. Holding the money pouch, A’He turned back to look at Gu Congshan, her eyes slightly reddening.
At such a distance, whatever one wanted to say could no longer be heard clearly, and A’He didn't know what else she could say.
She had already made her choice.
With guilt weighing on her heart, she bowed deeply from afar, offering Gu Congshan a profound salute.
Gu Congshan had no idea what she was thinking. Now that he had fulfilled what he had promised Bai Zhi, there was no need to dwell on anything further.
On the way back to the city, the Jiang Clan patriarch ran into the Qu Clan's party.
As fellow powers of Pingxiang, the Jiang and Qu Clans had been on close terms for generations, with deep ties between them.
An elder of the Qu Clan stepped forward on his own initiative and struck up a conversation with the Jiang Clan patriarch. In just a moment, both of them revealed knowing smiles laden with hidden meaning.
Gu Congshan paid no attention to any of this. He was busy calculating how to exchange the spiritual treasures he had brought back from the Wuyin Forest for Spirit Jade. The Spring Banquet was three days away, and since Ming Zhu wanted to attend it, Gu Congshan planned to stay with her at the Jiang estate for a few more days.
A servant of the Jiang Clan nearby overheard that Gu Congshan had spiritual treasures to sell and took the initiative to make an introduction on his behalf. Perhaps because of this, the Spirit Jade Gu Congshan ultimately received in exchange turned out to be a full twenty percent more than he had expected.
Truly, "a big tree gives the best shade," Gu Congshan remarked to himself with such a sentiment.
Upon returning to the Jiang estate, he hurriedly found Ming Zhu, dumped a full pouch of Spirit Jade onto the table, and declared grandly to her, "We're rich!"
Ming Zhu did not quite understand his excitement. She casually picked up two pieces of Spirit Jade and tossed them in her hand like pebbles.
To her, these Spirit Jades were no different from slightly prettier stones.
Knowing what she was thinking, Gu Congshan immediately objected, "How is that the same!"
Spirit Jade could be used for cultivation.
Ming Zhu imitated his method of drawing out the misty vapors hidden within the Spirit Jade. Wisp by wisp, the spiritual energy flowed into her meridians, traveled through her entire body, converged into her Life Star, and then transformed into her own spiritual breath.
Compared to the ambient spiritual energy drifting through heaven and earth, what was stored within Spirit Jade was undoubtedly far more concentrated, and also easier for cultivators to absorb and convert into their own spiritual breath.
The stars within a cultivator's body required sufficient spiritual breath to awaken. That was why even scions of great clans with mediocre talent could be raised to a respectable level of cultivation with countless pieces of Spirit Jade.
Ming Zhu compared the two: the spiritual breath generated by her Life Star was many times greater than what she drew from the Spirit Jade.
In the star realm opened at the dawn of chaos, the stars belonging to the Ninth Mansion were nearly all lit.
"I hate geniuses!" After hearing her words, Gu Congshan declared in grief and indignation. There were so many geniuses in this world—why couldn't one more of them be him?
Ming Zhu looked at him. "Your method of converting spiritual breath is too slow."
Gu Congshan did not quite understand. "What?"
Ming Zhu raised her hand, drawing spiritual light with her fingertip, and traced in the air the path spiritual energy took through Gu Congshan's meridians. The spiritual energy repeatedly passed through several channels before finally converging into his Life Star.
While Gu Congshan was still staring blankly, he saw her raise her hand again and correct the flow of spiritual energy. Following this route, it could pass through all the vital points of the body without any redundancy.
He hesitated, then tried to modify his method of absorbing spiritual energy according to what Ming Zhu had said. After several attempts, he finally managed, stumbling, to channel the spiritual energy into his Life Star.
But once he succeeded once, the rest went much more smoothly. As spiritual energy continuously poured into his Life Star, Gu Congshan realized that this method of absorbing spiritual energy was indeed more than three times faster than his previous one.
But…
"How do you know this?" Gu Congshan was greatly puzzled. Throughout their journey together, he had never seen anyone teach her any of this.
Before she met him, Ming Zhu had not even lit her Life Star yet.
"Does this require learning?" Ming Zhu asked in return.
When absorbing the energy within the Spirit Jade, her body had naturally circulated it along this very route on its own.
It was as if, after she lit her Life Star, the thousands of stars awakened within her began to revolve along specific trajectories, drawing spiritual breath from the Life Star.
Gu Congshan felt utterly outclassed, as if a genius from another dimension had just trounced him.
Ming Zhu withdrew her hand and studied the trajectories of the stars circulating within Gu Congshan's body. Something felt slightly off, but his Life Chart was so vastly different from hers that she had no basis for comparison at the moment.
The thoroughly demoralized Gu Congshan managed to console himself after a moment—geniuses and ordinary people were always different, weren't they?
With Ming Zhu's guidance and a fresh supply of Spirit Jade at hand, he devoted himself to intense cultivation over the following days.
Three days—neither too long nor too short. Amid Gu Congshan's arduous training and the bustling activity of the various clan servants, the Spring Banquet of Pingxiang Town arrived as scheduled on the seventeenth day of the second month.
On that day, the Jiang Clan and the other powerful families of the town hosted a feast along the banks of the Wei River outside the city walls. All who wished to attend were welcome, so in addition to the invited guests of the great clans, many who believed themselves skilled in some art came as well, making the scene quite lively.
It was mid-spring, and duckweed drifted on the river's surface, the breeze soft and the mist light. Peach blossoms on both banks were in full bloom, blazing like fire.
The great clans of Pingxiang Town had erected tall platforms upon the river, some setting up magical illusion formations, others laying out zithers and chess boards. Anyone who believed they had talent could step forward to test themselves, and if they caught the favor of a hosting family, they would receive various rewards and even the opportunity to be hired as a retainer.
A young man in a gray robe and short tunic drew a heavy six-shi bow and loosed three arrows in rapid succession, each striking the bullseye, drawing a chorus of cheers.
Beyond the gold and silver rewards offered on the spot, servants from the great clans immediately came forward to recruit him, asking whether he would be willing to join their household as a retainer.
Ming Zhu wandered through the spectacle, her eyes bright with interest. There had never been this many people on Yugu Mountain, nor so many things she had never heard of or seen before.
This was not Gu Congshan's first Spring Banquet, but unfortunately, he was merely a rogue cultivator who had lit three mansions. He might not even be a match for a martial artist with strong Inner Breath—otherwise, slipping into one of these powerful clans as a retainer would be a decent path forward.
Even with a Life Star and the chance to walk the path of cultivation, for a rogue cultivator like him—one without pedigree and with only mediocre talent—the world remained unkind.
Fortunately, Gu Congshan was content with what he had and not too dissatisfied with his current circumstances. Just as he was explaining the situation at the Spring Banquet to Ming Zhu, a somewhat familiar voice sounded from behind: "Miss, you came after all."
Gu Congshan turned around and found himself face to face with Chu Wujiu's smiling countenance.
He really does appear and disappear like a ghost, Gu Congshan thought, nearly startled out of his wits.
Since he had said he was coming to the Spring Banquet, Chu Wujiu naturally had to make good on his words—and besides, he was genuinely curious.
His gaze settled on Ming Zhu, focused and intent, and even his plain face seemed to gain a hint of allure because of it.
The next moment, Gu Congshan's expressionless face slid smoothly into his line of sight, blocking his view of Ming Zhu completely.
Don't look at her. Look at me.
Gu Congshan's eyes plainly spelled out wariness, and Chu Wujiu couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
Did the face he was wearing now really look that untrustworthy? Never having been regarded with such suspicion before, Chu Wujiu didn't know what to say.
He truly had no ulterior motives—at most, he was just a little too curious.
But anyone would be curious, wouldn't they? Chu Wujiu stole a glance at Ming Zhu, who was looking around, and thought so to himself.
Just then, a clamor arose, and the crowd suddenly surged forward. Ming Zhu looked up and saw a glow of spiritual light rising from the riverbank, as an upright chessboard slowly ascended into the air, drawing the attention of many onlookers.