Chapter Ten: Celebrating the New Year in the Jiang Family Courtyard

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Jiang Haohai watched her second sister sitting beside her, dazedly giggling foolishly, drooling just like her…

At that moment, footsteps sounded outside the door—it was their mother returning.

Her mother’s slightly bronzed, healthy skin was flushed with heat, apparently after a fruitful outing that left her sweating.

Song Liyao pulled from her mustard seed pouch a large basket packed tightly with spiritual plants, and another basket containing fresh, slightly bleeding white meat.

Seeing the glossy, shining meat pulled from their mother’s treasure pouch, Jiang Haohai almost felt as if she were at a crime scene…

No, no—that was a mistake!

Jiang Yunyun’s eyes lit up at the sight of the large basket of meat.

“Mother, do we have meat to eat today?”

Song Liyao smiled faintly, clearly happy as well.

“I’m making roasted bear meat for you. Luck was on my side today—I encountered a foolish bear. Although it’s a second-rank spirit beast, its body is a bit fragile…”

Jiang Yunyun danced around joyfully, even picking up Jiang Haohai, who was sleeping in a bamboo basket, spinning her around. Then she stood by the door, holding her sister, eagerly awaiting their father and eldest brother’s return so they could enjoy the meat together.

The little girl’s happiness was unmistakable; Jiang Haohai even saw her second sister secretly wiping the drool she had accidentally let fall.

After all, it nearly dripped right onto Jiang Haohai’s little face!

Fortunately, it didn’t…

As night fell, Jiang Xu and his unlucky son, weary from a day’s work, finally returned.

They pulled from their mustard seed pouches a multitude of colorful items. Curious, Jiang Haohai watched intently.

Second sister Jiang Yunyun ran back and forth beside their father and eldest brother, equally curious about what they had brought.

She rummaged through the basket and found a large bag of spiritual sheep milk powder, then another bag of herbs. At the edge, she spotted an exquisitely crafted piece of fabric; her eyes sparkled.

With a pounding heart, she carefully took out the bundle and slowly unwrapped it, revealing a brand-new pair of embroidered fairy shoes adorned with twin butterflies in flight!

Then Jiang Haohai heard her second sister scream wildly, clutching the shoes and jumping about. She hurriedly took off her own shoes and found the new ones fit her small feet perfectly—soft and not pinching at all.

Ecstatic, she wore the new shoes and said to her father:

“Father, did you buy these for me? They’re so beautiful!”

Her eldest brother snorted and arrogantly lifted his chin.

“I bought them for you, your big brother! Like them? Haha!”

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She laughed even more freely, walking back and forth in her new shoes for a long while.

“So fairy shoes don’t pinch at all? I thought since they’re made of precious materials, they’d hurt to wear!”

A little later, she hugged her sister excitedly and said,

“Little sister, aren’t they pretty? From now on, second sister will buy you beautiful fairy shoes too!”

Then she muttered to herself,

“Tomorrow I’ll wear my new fairy shoes and take a good walk—let even the mysterious Yi Yun be envious, hehe…”

That day, the Jiang family’s meal was almost as lavish as during a festival. The entire small courtyard was filled with the aroma of meat.

The scent of meat drifted farther and farther on the wind. Even the village watchdog at the gate, having caught the smell, barked loudly in frustration…

Besides the spiritual feast simmering on the stove, second sister was diligently tending a clay pot of herbs, watching the medicine bubble and boil.

That was the tonic for eldest brother’s injuries.

The mingling fragrance of meat and herbs made Jiang Haohai notice her second sister drooling over the medicine pot…

Would she really want to try those bitter, foul-tasting herbs?

...

But the eldest brother who returned looked weary and pale, lying motionless on the bed as if asleep. His face was even paler than the day before.

The cloth pressed against his back had started to seep blood…

Sigh, hopefully it’s not festering. Heaven, please watch over him…

Jiang Haohai vaguely heard their father reporting unhappily to their mother:

“The Healing Muscle Pills at the Treasures Pavilion are outrageously expensive. The spiritual stones we brought last time weren’t enough. I went to the Herb Hall to buy some rare herbs, hoping they can reduce inflammation and ease the pain…”

Looking at the black, thick herbs, Jiang Haohai took advantage of second sister’s distraction to slip quite a bit of immortal water from her gourd into the medicine. She had poured out nearly half the water she carried.

But she didn’t mind. Over time, the immortal water in the gourd would gradually replenish.

The meat’s aroma grew richer. The bear meat was finally ready. The family gathered around the large stone table to eat.

Their mother ladled generous bowls of bear meat for everyone, each brimming with meat—no skimping at all.

But the bear had been enormous, and their father saved more than half for stockpiling, with a small portion to be sold outside. A second-rank spirit black brown bear like this could fetch dozens of spiritual stones!

As for a small leftover portion, their father said he intended to use it to curry favor with his superiors.

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One had to admit, their father was clever—worldly wise yet not cynical.

Their family’s stomachs were thoroughly filled with the satisfying meat; their burps carried the rich aroma of bear meat.

Only Jiang Haohai felt a bit regretful. The famous saying “You can’t have both fish and bear’s paw” rang true. She had seen the bear’s paw today, but sadly, she couldn’t eat it!

After eldest brother finished eating, second sister brought out the piping hot herbal tonic and placed it before him.

She watched until he drank every last drop, then nodded in satisfaction and began tidying up the dishes.

Eldest brother still looked exhausted; after finishing the herbal tonic, he lay back down on his bed.

As the stars rose in the night sky, everyone in the small courtyard, tired from the day’s toil, sat quietly in meditation to cultivate. The stars outside the window softly dimmed the courtyard’s lights.

...

In stark contrast to the quiet Jiang family courtyard, on a vast, clean land stood a majestic cave dwelling. On the weathered plaque above the door were the two large characters: Jiang Manor.

Jiang Chentian, who had been gallivanting about until now, returned home thinking his parents were asleep, only to be summoned by his grandmother’s servant to kneel in the main hall.

After kneeling for an hour, his grandmother, father, mother, and younger sister all appeared one after another.

Though Jiang Chentian’s heart had grown wild from his prolonged wandering, he now realized the trouble was serious.

“You’re always out fooling around. Even when told to cultivate properly, you refuse. Now that your wings have grown strong, you listen to no one, is that it?”

“With such weak strength, you still seek duels? It’d be better if you died out there!”

“And on top of that, you secretly took over a hundred spiritual stones from the treasury to waste away at the Drunken Joy Pavilion. You’re the most unfilial son I’ve seen!”

The man in the main hall, looking aged and stern, wore a dark expression, clearly itching to step forward and give his kneeling son a proper scolding.

In the center sat the elderly matriarch Jiang, dressed in a celestial robe of celestial silkworm with golden lotus embroidery. She fiddled with her Bodhi prayer beads.

Her normally gentle face was displeased by her son’s harsh words.

“Enough. The child is still young. Don’t be so quick to shout about death and doom—it’s inauspicious.”

“Grandmother, please forgive us!”

Yet the man’s irritation only grew. His younger brother always faced the strictest discipline for small misdeeds, but when his own son committed such grave errors, he was told not to scold or blame. Such leniency would only ruin the boy!