Chapter 48: Family Matters
System Name: Lifespan Check-in System
Host: Lin Jiang
Lifespan: 142/48553 years
On the Yuntuo River, Lin Jiang is fishing and checking in. He still has over 40,000 years of lifespan remaining. It won't be long before he breaks through to 50,000 years. Lin Jiang can't imagine anyone in the cultivation world having a lifespan longer than him, not even the long-lived Yao tribe.
"If I have the cultivation of the Soul Changing Period now, I could go anywhere, no matter how big the heavens or the earth."
Lin Jiang sighed, realizing that his cultivation was his only weakness. He had been practicing for a hundred and thirty years, but he was only at the ninth level of Qi Refining. Compared to those talented cultivators, he was far behind. In the world of cultivation, there were plenty of cultivators who could reach his level in their thirties or forties.
Just as he finished sighing, Lin Jiang felt a huge force on the fishing rod in his hand. He was delighted that he had caught another big fish and began reeling it in.
The demon fish in Yuntuo River varied greatly in size. Some demon fish weighed only thirty to fifty pounds but had a high level of cultivation and were extremely fierce. Others weighed thousands of pounds but were just strong without much aggression. They had gentle personalities and became food for other demon fish.
An hour later, Lin Jiang pulled up a demon fish weighing over a thousand pounds. After performing some physical rituals on it, he placed it in his storage bag.
"It can't fit anymore. What a pity."
Lin Jiang glanced at his storage bag and saw that there was very little space left. He couldn't fit another fish, so he threw all the remaining fish bait into the Yuntuo River and packed up to go home.
On his way home, he bought hundreds of pounds of firewood and started roasting the fish meat as soon as he arrived. He cut open the big fish and placed the pieces on a rack for roasting. In Lin Jiang's yard, he also hung several dozen lines, all filled with drying fish.
"Chirp chirp."
Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao kept shouting on the side, as if they were protesting. They have been eating fish for many years, and I guess they are getting tired of it.
"Don't be picky, okay? You have such big appetites. If I don't give you fish to eat, I really can't afford to raise you. Do you know how much monster meat costs per pound?"
Lin Jiang complained that one Shadiao needs to eat seventy to eighty pounds of dried meat every day, and it has to be eaten every day. It's a huge expense.
Lin Jiang still has two-thirds of the Demon Core in his hand, but he dares not feed them anymore. He's afraid that Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao will advance again. If they reach the middle stage of the second rank, their appetite will increase again. Lin Jiang might really be bankrupted by them.
"Chirp chirp."
"Alright, alright. From now on, take turns eating. One day eat something else, and one day eat dried fish. Is that okay?"
Seeing Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao still protesting, Lin Jiang compromised and agreed to increase the variety of their food. They will switch between fresh fish and dried fish in the future.
Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao thought it was very practical.
······
"Taoist Friend Xu"
Lin Jiang went to the big market again, and his friend Xu Wei was busy on the side. Lin Jiang greeted him, and Xu Wei quickly brought a plate of steamed buns.
"Try the steamed buns I just made. They have a different filling."
"Mmm, they taste good, with the flavor of Colorful Demon Chicken."
"Friend Lin, who is a skilled Taoist, helped me buy this Colorful Demon Chicken. It's my first time making it."
"Colorful Demon Chicken is famous in Yunzhong City and has a hint of phoenix bloodline. It's impressive that Friend Xu was able to get it."
Lin Jiang continued, "Of course, the so-called phoenix bloodline is just a gimmick. The real phoenix bloodline in the Colorful Demon Chicken might be very far away. Otherwise, it would be a well-known powerful monster, not something you can buy during the Qi Refining Period."
"It's interesting to note that the Wu family from Sanjiang Town outside the city raised hundreds of Colorful Demon Chickens, but they all died for some reason. They sold them cheaply, and even the restaurants didn't want them. I got them all at a low price."
"That's how it is."
When Lin Jiang heard that, the steamed bun in his mouth suddenly didn't taste good anymore. It was so disappointing that they used this kind of filling. How can he eat it?
"Why isn't Taoist Friend Lin eating?"
"I'm not really hungry. Just pack up the steamed buns. There aren't many Colorful Demon Chicken left, let other taoist friends have a taste. Just give me the ones I had before."
Lin Jiang smiled faintly. What a joke! He's afraid of getting food poisoning. He still has a few leftovers on his plate that he needs to take back to feed Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao. Since Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao are second-level monsters, they shouldn't be afraid of getting poisoned.
Lin Jiang noticed that there was a woman helping Xu Wei at his stall. He was curious, so he asked a person at a nearby stall. The person laughed and said, "Taoist Friend Lin, you should take a look. Things are going to get lively at Taoist Friend Xu's house."
"What do you mean by lively?"
"They're fighting over the family inheritance. Taoist Friend Xu has a son and a daughter. His son and daughter-in-law have passed away, leaving only one grandson. But his grandson, Five Spiritual Roots, has low cultivation levels. His daughter married another independent cultivator and has several sons. One of them has good talent and is already an outer disciple of the Zhonghang Sect. Their family wants to support this son to reach the Building Foundation Period, but how can they do that without money? Taoist Friend Xu doesn't have much time left, hehe."
"Is it really that exciting? Don't the other members of the Xu family have any objections?"
Lin Jiang smiled. This kind of family gossip was very interesting. He enjoyed listening to it.
"The other members of the Xu family have already split up, and Taoist Friend Xu is the only one left in this generation. But who knows, Taoist Friend Xu's house has been accumulated by several generations. It will be interesting to see what happens. With a house worth hundreds of thousands of spirit stones, many people will surely come forward."
"Money and wealth can move people's hearts, especially when it's worth hundreds of thousands of spirit stones. Now we can really enjoy the show."
"Yes, let's just wait and enjoy the show."
Lin Jiang and the others were all looking forward to the show. Lin Jiang wasn't afraid of being called vulgar, he was just an ordinary person, a very down-to-earth one.
Lin Jiang glanced at Xu Wei's daughter, who seemed to be in her thirties and only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. She was efficient in her work and had a very bold personality.
She was bossing around Xu Wei's stand, not to mention his grandson, even Xu Wei himself would be commanded by her. It was as if she was the owner of the stand.
Lin Jiang shook his head and went to sell his spiritual talismans on his own. Once the time was up, he left. He couldn't afford to delay his own matters just to watch a show.
However, Lin Jiang missed another good show. When he came back the next day, he found that Xu Wei hadn't set up his stand. The people around told Lin Jiang that he missed a great show yesterday.
"They started fighting, right on the first day."
"Why are they fighting? Who is fighting with who?"
"Xu Wei's daughter, Xu Jiaojiao, first had a fight with Xu Wei's grandson, Xu Dongyang. The reason was that last night after closing, Xu Jiaojiao wanted to take some money but Xu Dongyang wouldn't let her. They started arguing and it escalated into a fight. Xu Wei tried to intervene but got accidentally hurt."
"Xu Wei is at the seventh level of Qi Refining, so how could he get hurt by accident?"
"Taoist Friend Lin, cultivation level doesn't make someone invincible. Xu Wei has been running his stall here for decades. He may have cultivation, but he lacks combat skills. I don't think he has ever fought with anyone, even someone at the fourth level of Qi Refining could beat him."
"That's true, but what about the guards? Don't they intervene?"
Lin Jiang nodded. "At the lower stage of Qi Refining, there's not much difference from an ordinary person. Xu Wei has probably never left the city in his whole life and never been in a fight. His cultivation is just a result of accumulated time. It's normal for him to have strength but lack fighting skills."
"Who cares about the guards? They don't interfere in personal matters. They are just like us, enjoying the show. As long as no one dies, they won't bother."
"Taoist Friend Lin, let me tell you how they argued yesterday. First, Xu Jiaojiao said..."
And then some busybodies started imitating their fight from yesterday. Yesterday, when Xu Wei was preparing to close his stall and count his earnings, Xu Jiaojiao insisted on taking half of the spirit stones. Her reason was that she had been busy the whole day as well.
Xu Dongyang was not happy. She didn't want anyone to help her, she came by herself. And in the middle, Xu Jiaojiao took away dozens of steamed buns to take home for her son and those people to eat.
Xu Jiaojiao immediately became unhappy and scolded Xu Dongyang for being ungrateful. Then she started talking about the past, how good she was to Xu Dongyang when she was young, that Xu Dongyang's parents had died, and it was her family who came to help with the funeral.
Xu Dongyang was no match for Xu Jiaojiao, so she didn't care much. She only believed in one thing, which was not to give money. Xu Wei tried to mediate but was helpless, and he watched angrily as Xu Jiaojiao attacked.
Xu Dongyang wasn't a match in an argument, and she wasn't a match in a fight either. She was held down and beaten. Xu Wei tried to intervene, but Xu Jiaojiao slapped him away. The fight ended and Xu Wei was taken back to recover from his injuries.
Two days later, Xu Wei returned to his stall. However, the drama within the Xu family was far from over. It had only just begun. Xu Jiaojiao came with her husband and son, saying that Xu Wei's business was good and he was too busy. They came to help.
They weren't just causing trouble, they were actually helping. But they also wanted money. Xu Jiaojiao confidently told Xu Wei that Xu Dongyang was young, had low skills, and poor talents. If Xu Wei died, Xu Dongyang wouldn't be able to maintain the family business. She could help, guaranteeing that Xu Dongyang would not have to worry about food and clothing in the future.
But Xu Dongyang refused. The house and the stall were her livelihood for the future. However, he couldn't win even in a fight, and he became increasingly anxious.
In the end, Xu Dongyang gritted his teeth and brought Xu family relatives. Xu Wei and several cousins were among them. The Xu family also had a considerable number of people. They brought a bunch of relatives, instantly equalizing the situation against Xu Jiaojiao.
With so many people, the security team had to intervene. They warned them several times not to fight, or else they would be expelled from Yunzhong City. So, in the following days, it was common to see the two groups of people arguing near Xu Wei's stall.
The direct result was that Xu Wei's business plummeted, going from the most popular stall at West City Market to being completely ignored. This process only took a month, causing many people to feel regretful.
