The Two Brothers

Night fell.

Zhou Hong and his son sat together in the study. Zhou Hong recounted the day's events to Zhou Changhe before warning him solemnly.

"Although that daughter of the Sun family has married into our Zhou house, her ties to her maiden clan are ultimately hard to sever. You must guard yourself against certain things. Do not fall so deeply into the comfort of her embrace that you lose your senses and betray your own blood."

"Your son is not so foolish and ignorant," Zhou Changhe replied slowly. "However, regarding this village school, your son truly believes it ought to be built."

"Oh? Why?" Zhou Hong asked in surprise.

"Zhou Shi's family has children now. We can send their children to study alongside the others to expand our family's influence."

"Furthermore, we can even sponsor some of our tenant farmers' children to study, binding them to our house through sheer gratitude."

"Moreover, none of the surrounding villages possess a proper private school. All the wealthy households, much like our own, merely hire a tutor to teach their children at home."

Zhou Changhe walked to the desk, pointing at the map detailing the surrounding ten villages and eight townships near Baixi Village. "Since the Wang family wants us to take the lead, why shouldn't we use this to secure a grand reputation for ourselves?"

Zhou Hong was stunned, then overjoyed.

He had been too focused on immediate, tangible gains, entirely forgetting that a clean and powerful reputation was also extremely important.

Poor folk were blindly conformist. If the family could make the commoners revere and believe in the Zhou family, it would naturally bring immense benefits.

With his younger brother backing them, ordinary commoners would never dare to defy the clan. Furthermore, unlike other families who seized land by force, the Zhou family bought and sold land at fair prices and kept their rents lower than usual. They had already begun to earn a reputation for benevolence among the villagers.

Without the support of powerful martial force, even the finest reputation would be nothing more than fleeting clouds. But now, with an immortal cultivator in the family and a group of strong, muscular estate guards and retainers, their reputation was like icing on a cake. It would even prevent those retainers from harboring any treasonous thoughts.

Reputation was an intangible thing; it seemed weak, but in reality, it could play a monumental role.

"My son is truly intelligent, thinking far more long-term than I do," Zhou Hong said with a beaming smile. "It is getting late. Go and keep the Sun daughter company. Even if she is from the Sun family, the child she bears will ultimately bear the surname Zhou."

"I must go and watch over Minghu and the other boy as they cultivate. Your uncle said that as long as our family produces an immortal master at the Qi Condensation stage, we can enter the immortal registry and receive the imperial court's official decree. When that day comes, we will never have to live in such fear again."

Having said this, Zhou Hong walked toward the back courtyard.

Zhou Changhe looked enviously in that direction. His uncle was truly worthy of being an immortal master. Not only was he powerful himself, but even his two children possessed spiritual roots and immortal destiny.

Sigh. Why didn't he have it himself?

He simply thought it was his family's grand fortune that his uncle had fathered two children with immortal destiny, completely unaware that even for a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, the probability of their offspring possessing such talent was barely two or three out of ten.

Although he envied that his two younger cousins would become immortal masters in the future, so long as his own family could rise and prosper, he would never harbor jealousy in his heart.

At the very least, the Zhou family was currently weak and its members few. The younger generation had all grown up together, treating each other with brotherly respect and affection, like limbs of the same body. Everyone desperately hoped for the clan's advancement.

But if the Zhou family became a massive power in the future, petty and shameless scheming would naturally arise, and there might even come a day when brothers fought amongst themselves.

Shaking off his thoughts, Zhou Changhe walked toward his own room, where his bride was waiting for him. If he could also father a child with immortal destiny, his own branch of the family could rise that much sooner.

Zhou Hong passed through several courtyards and arrived before a certain room. Because the estate guards were strictly forbidden from entering the inner rear courtyard, only the womenfolk resided here. At this hour, the women were all gathered in their respective quarters, leaving the surrounding area completely deserted.

He scanned his surroundings once more before pushing the door open and stepping inside. Within the room sat Zhou Minghu and a four or five-year-old child-Zhou Ping's second son, Zhou Xuanya.

"Greetings, Uncle," the two said respectfully.

Zhou Hong nodded with profound satisfaction. His younger brother's two children both possessed immortal destiny and could support the family's lintel in the future. His own eldest son, Zhou Changhe, was mature and steady; his second son, Changxi, though somewhat indecisive, was meticulous and fraternal, and had some talent in martial arts; his youngest son, Chang'an, though a bit mischievous and lively, was incredibly studious.

Although his family did not have many members, there were no mediocre or wasteful profligates among them. The future would surely see their rise.

"Mm, Xuanya is a good boy," Zhou Hong said, patting Zhou Xuanya's head. "Uncle will keep watch outside. You two cultivate diligently."

Although he and Zhou Changhe did not understand the path of cultivation, they frequently provided cover for the two boys, terrified that the maids or retainers might notice something amiss.

"Understood, Uncle."

Zhou Minghu respectfully sat down cross-legged and began to guide his breathing, circulating his energy. Having experienced the turmoil and danger of the county town, he had matured significantly, understanding that before one possessed absolute power, one had to remain honest and keep a low profile.

Through five years of arduous cultivation, he had long since completed his initial Qi Induction and the circulation of the Heavenly Cycle. The Spiritual Qi within his body had accumulated to five strands. Once he cultivated to his current physical limit, he could attempt a breakthrough.

However, Zhou Minghu could also feel that it would take at least another year or two for his Spiritual Qi to fill his vessel completely. In the end, it was because the Spiritual Qi in Baixi Village was too thin, causing his progress to be agonizingly slow.

He planned to master a few spiritual techniques over the next few months and then head into the mountains-both to accompany Zhou Ping and to further his own cultivation.

Zhou Ping had to live in seclusion in the mountains for the sake of the family. Even if he occasionally came down, how lonely it must be. As his son, he naturally could not allow his father to endure such solitude alone.

Beside him, little Zhou Xuanya sat cross-legged obediently, following the Qi Induction method Zhou Minghu had taught him, constantly drawing in the surrounding heaven and earth's Spiritual Qi.

When Zhou Xuanya was born, Zhou Ping had already left the Zhou residence. Even if he occasionally returned, how could a child of a few years remember his face?

Therefore, his cultivation had always been guided by Zhou Minghu, who passed down what Zhou Ping had taught him.

This left him extremely unfamiliar with Zhou Ping, and he even harbored a deep fear of that father who lived in seclusion in the mountains. During their few brief encounters, he had often been scared to the point of tears.

"Brother, I have gathered a strand of Spiritual Qi!" he excitedly called out to Zhou Minghu.

"Xuanya is amazing."

Zhou Minghu smiled and stroked his younger brother's head, but suddenly felt a bit dazed. Years ago, Zhou Ping had praised him in the exact same way. But now, his father was no longer by his side.

"Brother, what is wrong?" Zhou Xuanya asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Zhou Minghu snapped back to reality and said with a gentle smile, "Brother is fine. Xuanya must continue to cultivate diligently, alright?"

"Mm-hmm, Xuanya will!"

Zhou Hong watched the harmonious bond between the two brothers, smiling as he turned and stepped out of the room. He sat on a stone chair in the back courtyard, looking up at the twinkling stars in the sky, and could not help but sigh.

"This courtyard is growing smaller by the day. In the future, Changxi and Chang'an will also start families, and both Minghu and Xuanya will need their own separate rooms. It seems we must expand the compound by another two sections, otherwise things will inevitably become unsafe."

After all, the fact that Zhou Minghu and his brother could cultivate was the absolute highest priority of their family. Aside from Zhou Ping and himself, only Zhou Changhe knew the truth. Zhou Hong did not dare inform the rest of the household, even though they lived under the same roof.

The tragic precedent of the Liu family was right before their eyes. The more people who knew, the more dangerous it would be for their clan.

Moreover, the children were growing older, and with so many womenfolk and retainers around, the space was becoming increasingly insufficient.

He recalled that when his younger brother first proposed building a three-section compound, Zhou Dashan had fought tooth and nail to stop it, claiming it was far too large and unnecessary. Yet in just ten short years, they were already running out of room. Time truly flew.

Looking at the crescent moon hanging in the heavens, Zhou Hong could not help but feel a pang of sorrow.

He wondered how his younger brother was faring out in the desolate mountains.

Zhou Ping had sacrificed so much for this family, and now he was even enduring the hardship of living in total seclusion, preventing father and sons from living together.

And he, as the elder brother, had not only failed to take proper care of his younger sibling, but had also caused him to suffer in the wilderness. How could he not feel ashamed and filled with regret?

Over the years, he had not dared to slacken for a single moment, nor had he allowed himself a single thought of leisure or play. He managed the family's foundation with painstaking diligence, all because he felt he had let Zhou Ping down.

He poured his heart into treating Zhou Minghu and his brother well, even favoring them over his own children. This was not only because they were his nephews, but also to ease the heavy guilt and torment in his own chest.

"Younger brother... your elder brother is truly useless."

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