Chapter 236

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Leaving aside Zhang Xiaohua, who was overjoyed in the small room and found it difficult to calm his mind to guide Qi into his body—

In the eastern room, Zhang Cai and Guo Sufei were also unable to sleep. Guo Sufei said: “Husband, Xiaohua said that the child Qianqian is carrying will take several years to be born. What should we do about this?”

“Several years?” Zhang Cai exclaimed in shock. “Why would it take that long? Other people’s pregnancies only last ten months. Why is it different for our family?”

Guo Sufei firmly replied: “I heard it straight from Xiaohua’s mouth.”

Zhang Cai dismissed it, saying: “Don’t listen to his nonsense. He’s just a child—what could he possibly understand about such matters?”

Guo Sufei retorted angrily: “If Xiaohua didn’t know anything, then how could he have recognized that Qianqian was pregnant? Besides, didn’t you see him give her something to place in her silk pouch? If he truly didn’t understand, why would he act so seriously? Xiaohua has never been one to lie—there must be a reason for what he said.”

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Cai said: “That does make sense. Xiaolong and Qianqian have been married for nearly two years, so they should have had a child by now. From what Xiaolong said, Qianqian should have conceived half a year ago. If it were anyone else, they would already be showing, but Qianqian doesn’t look pregnant at all. Even the doctor at the medical hall couldn’t tell. Judging by the child’s rate of growth, Xiaohua saying ‘several years’ might actually be a short estimate.”

Guo Sufei hesitated and said: “But… isn’t this a bit too frightening? Who has ever taken years to give birth?”

Zhang Cai also remained silent. After a long while, he finally said: “Haven’t we heard storytellers say that many immortals and gods take decades to be born? Some even take hundreds or thousands of years. Compared to that, a few years isn’t so strange, right?”

“Pfft—” Guo Sufei couldn’t help but laugh. “Those are just made-up tales. Do you actually believe them?”

“Belief isn’t the point. The key is that there’s no smoke without fire. Since such stories exist, there must be some basis behind them. Otherwise, who would ever think up something so bizarre?”

“That’s true, but even so, if word gets out that Qianqian’s pregnancy is taking so long, who knows what people will say? They might even think it’s…”

She couldn’t bring herself to say the last word.

Zhang Cai sighed and said: “Exactly. Anything unusual is easily mistaken for something demonic. If the villagers find out, that’s surely what they’ll think. By the way, you didn’t mention this to anyone today, did you?”

Guo Sufei thought for a moment and said: “I was busy around the house all day and didn’t even go out. How would I have had the chance to tell anyone?”

“That’s for the best. First thing tomorrow, let’s remind everyone in the family—especially Mr. Liu—not to speak of this to anyone. We’ll wait until Qianqian actually gives birth before saying anything.”

“Alright, husband. I was thinking the same thing. Xiaolong and Qianqian went out today, though. I wonder if they might have mentioned it to someone.”

“Haha, definitely not. If Xiaolong had gone out alone, he might have let something slip. But with Qianqian by his side? That girl has always been shy. Even if you gave Xiaolong twice the courage, he wouldn’t dare bring it up.”

“Good, then. Let’s get some sleep. There’s work to do tomorrow. We’ve been so worried about the children these past few days that the farmwork has been neglected.”

“Let it be neglected. The children brought back so much silver—it’s enough for us to live on for a lifetime.”

“Husband, that’s not right. Silver is just an external possession. No matter how much we have, it’s lifeless. But the land—that’s a living thing, something we can rely on forever.”

“I understand. Now go to sleep. We need to get up early for the fields tomorrow.”

In the western room, Zhang Xiaolong and Liu Qian were also unable to sleep. Setting aside the three thousand taels of silver Zhang Xiaohua had given their mother, and the dozens of taels their mother had in turn given them, just the fact that Liu Qian was now with child—and that the pregnancy might last a very long time—was enough to keep them talking endlessly.

As the night deepened and midnight arrived, Zhang Xiaohua, who had been practicing his cultivation, suddenly fell into a deep sleep. Endless starlight poured down onto his body, enveloping the entire small room. In the past, he would have opened all his pores to guide the qi into his body, but now that he had advanced to the second level of the [Carefree Heart Sutra], his cultivation method had transformed. His spiritual platform atop his head opened wide, and like a whale swallowing water, he absorbed the boundless starlight into his body. In just a moment, he took in more starlight than he previously could in the time it took to brew a cup of tea. If Zhang Xiaohua had been conscious, he would have clearly sensed the starlight flowing into his meridians—no longer as faint and imperceptible as before. Some of the starlight merged into his meridians through tempering, some was absorbed by his bones, now as white and translucent as fine jade, while an even greater portion flowed into a mysterious place within his mind.

On the other end of the small room, Zhang Xiaohu also sat cross-legged, practicing breath control according to the inner cultivation method of the [Piaomiao Divine Technique]. Though martial arts and the immortal dao were fundamentally different, both involved tempering and utilizing the body’s meridians. The meridians themselves were the same. Zhang Xiaohu was currently at the first level of the [Piaomiao Divine Technique] and would often imagine a warm current flowing into his forehead. On normal days, this was merely a sensation developed through internal energy practice and did not actually draw in any real warmth. But tonight was different—Zhang Xiaohua’s cultivation had drawn in boundless stellar energy, which had long since filled the entire room. Though Zhang Xiaohua absorbed it like a whale drinking from the sea, he could not possibly take in all of it. As a result, Zhang Xiaohu also became enveloped in a significant amount of star energy.

While immersed in his practice, Zhang Xiaohu suddenly felt a cool stream seeping into his forehead, trickling into his meridians. He was startled, fearing that he had gone astray in his cultivation. Instinctively, he opened his eyes and moved his limbs, yet he found nothing amiss. Thinking it might be an illusion caused by his surroundings, he resumed his visualization. However, as soon as he entered meditation again, the cool stream continued to seep in. Uncertain and unwilling to risk further cultivation, Zhang Xiaohu stood up from the kang bed.

At this moment, the entire room was bathed in starlight. However, starlight was mysterious and subtle; even though the room was full of it, it did not shine brilliantly like the stars in the night sky. Instead, it cast a faint, hazy white glow that was barely perceptible to the naked eye. Zhang Xiaohu paced around the room but sensed nothing unusual. His gaze fell on Zhang Xiaohua, who was sitting cross-legged in deep sleep, his expression peaceful. Smiling, Zhang Xiaohu instinctively reached out to cover his younger brother with a blanket, but midway through the motion, his hand stopped. Zhang Xiaohua’s posture was precisely that of someone cultivating internal energy. There was no telling whether true qi was circulating within him at this moment. If he were disturbed carelessly, it might disrupt his cultivation.

Realizing this, Zhang Xiaohu withdrew his hand, returned to the kang bed, and lay down. After contemplating for a while, he decided against further practice for the night. Today’s training had been different from usual, and he dared not continue recklessly. If he went down the wrong path, the consequences would be severe.

Unable to fall asleep, Zhang Xiaohu tossed and turned. A thought kept circling in his mind—closing his eyes to visualize qi descending from the heavens was merely an exercise, something done because no actual qi was present. Yet tonight, by some stroke of fortune, there truly was qi seeping into his forehead. Was this a blessing or a curse?

Deep in his heart, Zhang Xiaohu had a faint but certain feeling—this was undoubtedly a great opportunity, something entirely beneficial with no drawbacks.

After pondering for a while, he suddenly sat up with a determined breath. If it was a blessing, then there was no need to fear. If it was a disaster, there was no way to avoid it. If this truly was an extraordinary chance, hesitating now might mean missing it forever. With that thought, he immediately made up his mind, sat cross-legged, and resumed breath control according to the [Piaomiao Divine Technique], once again visualizing the process. As expected, the cool stream continued to seep into his forehead, trickling into his meridians, with a small portion even flowing into a mysterious place within his mind.

Unlike Zhang Xiaohua, Zhang Xiaohu had undergone systematic internal energy training—not only had he practiced internal cultivation at the Lotus Escort Agency, but he had also received meticulous instruction from Wen Wenhai in the Piaomiao Sect. He had a solid understanding of how to nurture, temper, and circulate True Qi. As the wisps of starlight seeped into his forehead, he attempted to guide them and merge them with his True Qi. Unfortunately, these starlights were beyond his control. Once inside his meridians, they simply flowed along naturally, dissipating little by little. Only the constant influx of new starlight from his forehead maintained the flow of the cool current within his meridians, preventing it from vanishing completely. By the time the cool stream completed one full circulation, it had diminished to a mere trace, blending with the incoming starlight before continuing its cycle.

Zhang Xiaohu grew anxious. He believed that his inability to control his internal energy was causing the cool stream to fail to merge into his dantian and transform into True Qi. In reality, the starlight had already fused with his entire network of meridians, tempering and refining them. His meridians were undergoing an earth-shattering transformation, granting him a far higher starting point in internal cultivation than ordinary practitioners could ever hope to achieve. If, as Zhang Xiaohu wished, this starlight merely converted into inner energy, it would truly be a case of mistaking the superficial for the essential. But at this moment, Zhang Xiaohu remained unaware of all this. He simply pushed his cultivation technique harder, desperately trying to retain the starlight and prevent it from fading away.

He had no idea how much time had passed or how many cycles he had performed, but in the end, the starlight in his meridians remained a mere wisp—just enough to complete a single circulation through his body. Then, all of a sudden, he felt the cool stream at his forehead cease entirely. At the same time, the remaining cool current inside him completed one last cycle before dissipating completely.

Before Zhang Xiaohu could examine his meridians and check for any changes in his True Qi, he heard the rustling of movement from the kang bed beside him. Opening his eyes, he saw Zhang Xiaohua carefully getting up, stretching lazily, then quietly opening the door and stepping outside.

A thought flashed through Zhang Xiaohu’s mind—could the cool stream at his forehead be connected to his younger brother? Otherwise, why had it vanished the moment Zhang Xiaohua got up?

Suppressing the urge to follow, Zhang Xiaohu instead focused inward, silently operating his cultivation technique to assess the results of his night’s practice. His dantian still held the same pitiful amount of True Qi as before. Checking his meridians, he found no apparent changes. A wave of disappointment washed over him—it seems all my hard work last night was in vain!

With a bitter smile, Zhang Xiaohu got up, stepped to the ground, and followed his brother out the door.