Volume 3, Chapter 76 – Stock Trading

At the outer-suburb airport of Zhen’nan Circuit, Bai Zhuqing watched the plane slip into the night.

This time, Bai Xiang had not taken Bai Zhuqing along. Bai Zhuqing was not pleased with that decision. She felt that with her current ability she was “already enough to compare with most Condensing Aspect cultivators,” but Bai Xiang still made her stay home at the dojo and cultivate properly.

“At any rate, I have another task for you, which is overseeing construction of the new halls and pavilions on the mountain,” Bai Xiang had said at the time. “Listening-to-Rain Tower is going to be moved up there. I don’t care how it gets rebuilt, you can give your input.”

It sounded nice, but was that really something she could decide alone? When had that ever happened? Every time it was Grandmaster, Grandfather, and a whole group of people holding a meeting to decide. She was already doing well if she managed to say a few words in the meeting at all.

Bai Zhuqing knew very well that this rotten older sister was probably just coaxing her again.

But Bai Xiang had also shoved a pile of information on Jade Spirit Mingxin and the great elixir within the human body into her hands, telling her to comprehend the former as much as possible before she returned. Bai Zhuqing couldn’t turn that down. She knew full well that with her current cultivation, she was not qualified to follow along.

Because Bai Xiang was already standing too high and too far ahead.

With Bai Xiang’s realm now, the trouble that came looking for her at minimum had to be at the level of Divine Fetus cultivators for it to be worth her time. That meant Bai Zhuqing’s advancement to the tenth layer of Refining Qi was still nowhere near enough. She would at least have to achieve a false Core.

Yet at present, aside from Bai Xiang, if you counted all the cultivators of Shenming Sword Dao, the path of qi only had one “false Core,” and that was Xiang Xian. That alone showed how difficult it was.

On the way back from the airport, Bai Zhuqing was in a bit of a sulk.

She felt Bai Xiang was simply inhuman when it came to cultivation. Whether in body or in mental realm, every ten days at most she would undergo another molting, another rebirth. Was that upgrade speed even human?

Even when she played games, it took more than a dozen cooldowns to put a set together. Bai Xiang was advancing faster than a game character. At this rate, even if she caught up to the false Core, would Sister Xiang’er not already have reached an entirely new realm?

She did have her little schemes too. Following Bai Xiang was not only because she “liked being around her” in that simplest sense. She also wanted to find another chance to recreate that night, to dual cultivate with Bai Xiang a few more times.

Don’t ask why. Bai Zhuqing did not see herself as someone greedy for flirtation. She was not at all addicted to that feeling. She was purely doing it to improve her cultivation.

“Thinking about Big Sis again?”

Zhu Ying was driving. Bai Maoxu sat in the front passenger seat, playing on Auntie’s phone. Bai Leying and Bai Zhuqing leaned together in the back, and the youngest sister was staring at her second sister with a look that said she was watching a show.

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“Knock it off.” Bai Zhuqing shot her a warning look, and the meaning behind it was obvious.

For now, the only one at home who knew her thoughts about Bai Xiang were “not proper” was Leying. And Leying did not look like someone who could keep her mouth shut. Bai Zhuqing really worried that one day, while sleeping with Mom, she would blurt everything out in her dreams.

You really underestimate me. Am I the kind of person who betrays a united front?

Bai Leying was no fool. This was not about her nature. It was because she felt that if her two sisters could be together, it would be something wonderful for her.

After all, Sister Xiang’er… right? No matter how sharp her edges were, she had still… she had been thrown away and left at Hidden Spirit Temple back then. She had lost her family from that moment. Even though she always acted strong, she had to be hurting inside.

Leying could see that much, and she had understood it from a very young age. That alone showed she was not just a careless loudmouth. Under that cheerful exterior, she had a delicate heart.

It was sympathy that made her curb her little temper and tolerate Bai Xiang, and in that process she gradually formed a sisterly bond with her.

Sometimes she thought about how Sister Xiang’er was becoming more and more beautiful and charming. When would the family marry her off?

In the Bai family, Grandfather and Second Uncle doted on her. She had herself and Second Sister to “protect her.” Dad might look annoyed by her, but he had never actually bullied her. If she married out, though, she would truly be a little duckweed without support.

Leying did not want that to happen, so she was happy to see and help along the relationship between Bai Zhuqing and Bai Xiang.

If she could keep both her big sisters at home, then everyone could always be together. She could always be the little sister.

From that angle, her thoughts were simple too.

“You two.” Zhu Ying glanced at the back seats while driving. “You’re in your teens. Don’t keep bickering like you did when you were little.”

The sisters’ exchange just now hadn’t contained much information. She hadn’t heard anything off and assumed it was normal squabbling, so she didn’t think about it.

In truth, Zhu Ying also had a headache over how to communicate with the children. As she spoke, her mind kept circling back to those “marriage proposals,” but she still didn’t know how to bring it up even after mulling it over.

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Bai Xiang had been right. Some things really were different now.

Shenming was a major Dao faction now. Their foundation in Maozhou was rock solid.

Especially in Zhen’nan Circuit, Maozhou’s capital. With the advantage of the terrain and aid from many sides, Zhen’nan’s performance during the demon disaster had been outstanding. In times of chaos, that counted for a lot.

Zhu Ying understood this way of thinking very well. If she herself were capital, were one of those merchants, great clans, or local noble families, after living through a demon disaster of that scale, compared to other circuit cities on the plains, she would certainly prefer to move her industrial focus to a place like Zhen’nan. Just looking at the terrain gave a sense of safety.

Even if they did not move their entire clans here, they would at least relocate part of their people. Everyone knew the principle. You didn’t put all your eggs in one basket.

So now, Zhen’nan was no longer short on money.

It was no longer that shabby situation where they had to rely on Chen Shi dragging his own father in to invest just to support certain projects. Now there were plenty of people who wanted to throw money and projects at them, including overseas capital.

Shenming Sword Dao had become Maozhou’s number-one Dao. The Bai family had become its number-one clan. With the situation changing like that, it was perfectly normal for people to come to the door asking for marriage connections.

In fact, it would be strange if that didn’t happen.

They didn’t dare ask for Bai Xiang, but didn’t the Bai family still have two little misses?

And a little young master as well?

And weren’t there many inner-sect prodigies under them?

Thinking of how, over lunch, Chen Shi and the other disciples had complained to her that none of them dared walk the streets alone these days, afraid someone would drag them off to be sons-in-law, Zhu Ying couldn’t help letting the corners of her mouth lift.

“Maoxu, don’t just stare at your phone,” she said, glancing at the bespectacled boy on her right.

“I heard from your mom that several young ladies are quite taken with you. What do you think about that?”

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She wanted to see what Second Brother’s household thought.

His reaction surprised her. The boy actually looked up at her, with an expression like “are you out of your mind.”

Zhu Ying: ?

She didn’t understand. Had she said something wrong?

“Auntie, our family is in a growth phase right now,” Bai Maoxu said in a tone of earnest admonishment. “Don’t think of me as a person. Just treat me like a stock. Who sells stock during a growth phase?”

He actually had a point.

Zhu Ying froze for a moment, thoughtful.

He was right. With the Bai family’s current trend, it was not just a “growth phase.” If you compared them to stock, this was a surge.

Especially since Xiang’er was still so young, with infinite possibilities ahead of her. Thinking about marriage at this point did feel a bit premature.

And if you looked at it from a more pessimistic angle, if something happened to the family later, with the Bai clan’s foundation still shallow, a daughter married out might not have a good life.

Thinking that way, Zhu Ying’s mind broadened.

She also understood what Bai Guanshan had meant last time he came home and said the family was still on a “conservative strategy.”

They should just let the children relax a bit longer.

Through the rearview mirror, Zhu Ying watched her daughters roughhousing in the back seat and began to wonder if she might not match up a few inner-sect disciples instead.

Especially Chen Shi.

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He had helped them so much. She wondered if any of the children had caught his eye.

“Ha-choo~!”

Chen Shi was on duty with the City Defense Squad when he suddenly sneezed.

“Senior Brother?” A soft little hand reached over from beside him to pat his back. A gentle smile came with it. “What’s wrong? The weather’s warming up. You’re not coming down with something, are you?”

This was Chen Jing.

They both had the surname Chen, so when the rosters were drawn up, they had simply been paired together. They had been a team for some time now.

“Don’t underestimate me.” Chen Shi brushed her hand aside and put on a straight face to crack a joke. “Who am I? Look at these muscles of mine. Even Senior Brother Ma can’t match me.”

“But you still can’t beat Senior Brother Ma.”

“That’s because I go easy on him. I let him win. Don’t you get it?”

“Yes, yes, you always let him win…”

“Junior Sister, why are you always tearing me down in public…”

Laughing and giggling rose from below. Up on the tower, Lian Feng held his sword and looked down on the scene.

“Spring is here.”

He sighed with deliberate maturity.

I am going to be a Sword Lord. I cannot be like them.