Gongsun Changting bertanya, "Ayah, Tuan Bai bukan orang suci, dan nasib Keluarga Bai juga tidak terlihat terlalu menjanjikan. Kalau bukan karena penemuan Tanaman Spiritus itu, kurasa paman kakek tidak akan memutuskan untuk terlibat lagi dengan mereka. Sebenarnya utang apa yang dulu diwariskan leluhur kita kepada Keluarga Bai?"
Gongsun Chongshan menggelengkan kepala. "Bahkan kakekmu dan beberapa paman kakekmu pun tidak tahu utang apa itu, apalagi aku? Aku hanya tahu wasiat yang diturunkan dari generasi ke generasi: kita harus membayar satu utang kepada keluarga mereka. Seorang kultivator harus jelas soal utang budi dan dendam. Kita sudah membayarnya lebih dari sepuluh tahun lalu. Paman kakekmu, mengikuti permintaan Tuan Bai... UHUK UHUK! Itu sudah lewat, jangan diungkit lagi. Setelah itu paman kakekmu dimarahi kakekmu dan sangat menyesali perbuatannya. Keluarga Gu bukan orang yang bisa dianggap enteng. Kalau sampai mereka tahu, bencana! Lihat saja calon istri cucu sulung mereka, kau akan tahu cucu sulung Keluarga Gu bukan orang sembarangan! Keluarga Gu mungkin sekarang tidak berkultivasi, tapi bukan berarti nanti tidak... Jadi kita harus hati-hati dalam segala hal. Jangan sampai menarik perhatian Keluarga Gu dan Keluarga Tang. Lebih baik biarkan Keluarga Bai jadi tameng kita. Nasib Keluarga Bai masih lumayan untuk sekarang. Selanjutnya tergantung langkah Tuan Bai. Keluarga itu memang pantas disebut keturunan para kultivator. Hampir semua keturunannya ditemukan memiliki Akar Spiritual. Bahkan Akar Spiritual Lima mereka luar biasa. Kalau di Dunia Kultivasi zaman dulu, mereka dianggap beruntung dan punya peluang. Sekarang mereka punya empat, dan dengan cucu sulung yang katanya akan segera pulang, jadi lima yang berpotensi Pengantar Energi. Tapi membangun fondasi kultivasi sungguh tidak mudah. Lihat Klan Gongsun kita. Kita berkembang dan menumpuk selama beberapa ratus tahun, fondasi kita cukup dalam, tapi perjalanan kultivasi kita tetap penuh kesulitan. Keluarga Bai tidak punya apa-apa—mereka cuma berangan-angan! Kali ini, kalau kita menemukan keberadaan Tanaman Spiritus, kita akan puas meski hanya dapat beberapa tanaman dan benih untuk dibawa pulang dan dibudidayakan. Lalu kita segera menarik diri dari Beijing, mengasingkan diri, dan tidak pernah membiarkan Keluarga Bai menemukan kita lagi, supaya kita tidak diganggu mereka tanpa henti!"
Gongsun Changting mengangguk setuju. Saat ia dan Gongsun Chongshan bersiap pergi ke kediaman Keluarga Bai, ia berkata kepada Gongsun Ruxue, "Kau juga jangan menganggur. Tang Yaxuan itu dibenci Tang Manman dan jelas sudah kehilangan perlindungan Keluarga Tang, jadi biarkan perempuan-perempuan Keluarga Bai yang mengurusnya. Tapi kau harus tetap berhubungan dengan Tang Manman. Manfaatkan setiap kesempatan untuk mendekatinya. Kultivasimu di bawah dia, tapi untungnya dia rendah hati dan tidak menonjol, jarang memakai Indra Ilahi. Tentu saja, dengan Ilmu Tersembunyimu, tidak ada yang perlu dikhawatirkan. Teh Pemelihara Jiwa yang kau racik pun tidak akan terdeteksi bahkan oleh kakekmu kalau dia lengah, jadi pakai saja. Selidiki dia dengan hati-hati, apakah dia punya Harta Pusaka Ajaib lain, seperti Ruang Cincin. Itu barang yang diperebutkan banyak kultivator! Klan Gongsun kita hanya punya dua, dipegang kakek buyutmu dan paman buyut kedua. Kalau Tang Manman benar-benar punya, siapa tahu Tanaman Spiritusnya tersimpan di dalam? Kalau begitu, saat kakek buyutmu tiba, kita akan merebutnya untukmu, meski harus mempertaruhkan segalanya..."
Gongsun Ruxue sangat mendambakan Ruang Cincin miliknya sendiri, dan ia mencurigai Tang Manman punya satu. Beberapa kali ia menangkap aroma buah atau herba yang memabukkan ketika mendekati Tang Manman. Tapi begitu Tang Manman melihatnya datang, dia langsung bergegas pergi mencuci tangan. Kadang mulutnya masih bergerak, seperti sedang mengunyah, tapi tak pernah ada satu pun kulit buah atau serpihan sampah di tanah.
Karena itu, Gongsun Ruxue menyimpulkan Tang Manman menyimpan rahasia, dan rahasia itu menarik perhatiannya sama besar dengan Tanaman Spiritus itu sendiri.
Tidak lama setelah ayah dan kakeknya pergi, Gongsun Ruxue mengangkat telepon dan menekan nomor Kediaman Sun.
Ia sudah lama tahu di mana Kediaman Tang berada. Tapi agar Tang Manman tidak menganggapnya orang tak tahu malu dan lancang, ia tidak mau mengetuk pintu rumahnya. Ia harus lebih halus, mendekatinya perlahan dari pinggiran.
Kebetulan, Sun Yiming yang menjawab telepon Gongsun Ruxue dan mengundangnya ke "pesta ulang tahun" adiknya, Sun Meirong.
Sun Meirong adalah pelukis dan desainer yang baru kembali ke tanah air. Dengan nada pasrah Sun Yiming menjelaskan lewat telepon bahwa adiknya tidak punya banyak teman di Tiongkok, tapi dia suka bersenang-senang dan berkumpul dengan orang. Sebagai kakak laki-laki, ia harus mengambil tugas mengundang lebih banyak teman untuk pestanya. Ia juga bilang Gongsun Ruxue boleh membawa teman-temannya sendiri.
Gongsun Ruxue menutup telepon, senyum melebar di wajahnya. 'Pesta ulang tahun Keluarga Sun? Sempurna. Tang Manman pasti akan datang.'
Xiao Man tentu saja menerima undangan. Sun Yiming membawa Sun Meirong berkunjung ke Kediaman Tang, dan Sun Meirong menyerahkan kartu undangan itu langsung kepadanya. Setelah itu, kakak-beradik itu pergi ke Kediaman Gu. Keluarga Sun dan Keluarga Gu sekarang cukup akrab, karena Xiao Man pernah memakai Jarum Emas Dokter Kekaisaran Sun untuk menghidupkan kembali Tuan Gu. Karena itu, keluarga Gu tampak sangat ramah kepada Keluarga Sun.
Kenapa "tampak"? Karena ada masa ketika Xiao Man agak terlalu dekat dengan Sun Yiming, membuat Tuan Gu khawatir calon istri cucu sulungnya akan diambil orang. Diam-diam ia ingin sekali membuang Sun Yiming kembali ke luar negeri.
Xiao Man sama sekali tidak berminat menghadiri pesta ulang tahun apa pun. Perjamuan ulang tahun Gu Shaoling penuh wajah-wajah yang sudah dikenal dan tidak sedikit pun menarik atau menyenangkan. Ia menduga pesta di Keluarga Sun akan lebih membosankan lagi.
Belakangan ini ia lebih suka tidak keluar rumah kalau bisa. Pertama, ia muak dengan Wu Xiaowen yang terus-menerus mencegatnya di gerbang. Kedua, terlalu banyak yang harus dikerjakan. Ia sangat sibuk.
Di Ruang Mutiara Pusaka, berbagai herba harus dipanen, dirapikan, lalu disimpan. Biji-bijian, sayuran, dan buah-buahan juga harus segera dipetik begitu matang, kalau tidak akan menunda penanaman berikutnya. Diam-diam, Xiao Man cukup tamak. Biji-bijian dan sayuran di ruang itu semuanya Tanaman Spiritus yang tumbuh sendiri tanpa banyak pengawasan atau energi spiritual. Barang bagus tidak pernah ada terlalu banyak. Ia berharap tanaman itu tumbuh bergiliran tanpa henti, jadi ia tidak mau menyia-nyiakan waktu sedetik pun. Begitu biji-bijian matang, ia langsung memanennya. Untungnya, sekarang ia bisa menggunakan kekuatan spiritualnya dengan bebas di dalam ruang. Kalau harus mengerjakan semuanya dengan tangan, ia sudah lama tumbang kelelahan sebelum selesai.
Selain itu, ia harus fokus berkultivasi untuk meningkatkan fondasi kultivasinya. Berbagai eliksir warisan pemilik ruang sebelumnya tidak banyak lagi. Tang Haohao akan pergi belajar ke luar negeri setelah Tahun Baru, dan setelah ia mengemasi eliksir yang dibutuhkan Tang Haohao, hampir tidak ada yang tersisa. Padahal Tang Qingshan dan Tang Qingyun di rumah juga membutuhkannya. Lagi pula, Gu Shaojun akan segera kembali, dan Keluarga Gu akan menjalani Pengantar Energi lalu mulai berkultivasi. Saat itu mereka juga akan butuh satu batch eliksir... Meskipun ia alkemis berbakat luar biasa, sekarang ia hanya bisa membuat eliksir tingkat rendah. Untuk membuat pil mutu menengah ke atas dan mutu terbaik, ia harus meningkatkan kultivasinya.
Jadi, ia berkultivasi dengan tekun. Untunglah pasokan giok lancar. Yang ia dapat dari Keluarga Jun bahkan belum habis, dan Gu Shaozheng sudah mengirim dua gerbong barang penuh batu mentah dari selatan.
Ya, hanya batu mentah. Gu Shaozheng tidak bisa mengirim giok yang sudah dipotong seperti yang ia janjikan kepada Xiao Man. Situasi di selatan terlalu luar biasa; mustahil membelah semua batu satu per satu. Berapa banyak waktu dan uang yang harus dikeluarkan? Keadaannya benar-benar tidak memungkinkan. Fakta bahwa ia berhasil mengangkut begitu banyak batu mentah saja sudah luar biasa.
Xiao Man sudah sangat puas dan bersyukur. Karena Keluarga Gu belum mulai berkultivasi, semua batu mentah yang tiba pertama-tama diberikan kepada Keluarga Tang untuk dipakai. Xiao Man menggunakan kekuatan spiritualnya untuk menyelidiki batu dan mengeluarkan gioknya, lalu menumpuk semuanya—tanpa membedakan giok mutu terbaik dan giok biasa—di sebuah gudang di ruang bawah tanah Kediaman Tang. Kakek Tang sampai tidak bisa berkata-kata karena keheranan.
Gongsun Changting asked, "Father, Mr. Bai is no saint, and the Bai Family’s fortunes don’t look too promising. If it weren’t for the discovery of the Spirit Plant, I imagine Grand-uncle wouldn’t have decided to get entangled with them again. What kind of debt did our ancestors owe the Bai Family in the first place?"
Gongsun Chongshan shook his head. "Even your grandfather and several grand-uncles don’t know what debt was owed, so how would I? I only know of the edict passed down through the generations: we must repay their family one debt. Cultivators must be clear about their debts of gratitude and grievances. We already repaid it over ten years ago. Your grand-uncle, following Mr. Bai’s request... COUGH COUGH! That matter is in the past, don’t bring it up again. Your grand-uncle was later scolded by your grandfather for it and deeply regretted what he did. The Gu family is simply not to be trifled with. If they ever found out, it would be a disaster! Just look at their future eldest grandson’s wife, and you’ll know the Gu family’s eldest grandson is no ordinary person! The Gu family may not practice Cultivation now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t in the future... So, we must be cautious in all things. Don’t attract the attention of the Gu and Tang Families. It’s better to let the Bai family act as our shield. The Bai Family’s fortunes are still acceptable for now. What happens next will depend on Mr. Bai’s actions. Their family is truly worthy of being descendants of Cultivators. Almost all their descendants have been found to possess Spirit Roots. Even their Five Spirit Roots are extraordinary. If they were in the old Cultivation World, they would be considered to have good fortune and opportunities. Right now, they have four, and with that eldest grandson who is said to be returning soon, that makes five with the potential for Energy Introduction. But truly developing a cultivation base isn’t easy. Consider our Gongsun Clan. We have propagated and accumulated for several hundred years, and our foundations are quite deep, yet our journey of Cultivation is still fraught with difficulty. The Bai Family has nothing to their name—they’re just daydreaming! This time, if we find the whereabouts of the Spirit Plant, we’ll be satisfied even if we only get a few plants and seeds to take back and cultivate. Then we will immediately withdraw from Beijing, flee into seclusion, and never let the Bai family find us again, saving ourselves from their endless pestering!"
Gongsun Changting nodded in agreement. As he and Gongsun Chongshan prepared to leave for the Bai Family’s home, he said to Gongsun Ruxue, "Don’t you be idle, either. That Tang Yaxuan is despised by Tang Manman and has clearly lost the Tang family’s protection, so let the Bai family women deal with her. You, however, should stay in contact with Tang Manman. Seize any opportunity to get close to her. Your cultivation is inferior to hers, but luckily she’s low-key and unassuming, and rarely uses her Divine Sense. Of course, with your Hidden Skill, you have nothing to worry about. The Nourishing God Tea you concocted can’t be detected even by your grandfather if he’s careless, so you can use it. Discreetly probe her to see if she has any other Magical Treasures, like a Ring Space. That’s an item coveted by countless Cultivators! Our Gongsun Clan only possesses two, held by your great-grandfather and second great-grand-uncle. If Tang Manman really has one, who’s to say the Spirit Plant isn’t stored inside? If that’s the case, when your great-grandfather arrives, we’ll seize it for you, even if we have to risk everything..."
Gongsun Ruxue desperately yearned for a Ring Space of her own, and she suspected Tang Manman had one. On several occasions, she had caught an intoxicating fragrance of fruit or herbs when she got close to Tang Manman. But the moment Tang Manman saw her approach, she would immediately rush off to wash her hands. Sometimes, her mouth would still be moving, as if she were eating, yet there was never a single fruit peel or scrap of trash on the ground.
Therefore, Gongsun Ruxue concluded that Tang Manman had secrets, and these secrets intrigued her as much as the Spirit Plant itself.
Not long after her father and grandfather left, Gongsun Ruxue picked up the phone and dialed the number for the Sun Mansion.
She had known for a while where the Tang Mansion was. But to avoid making Tang Manman see her as some shameless, presumptuous person, she wouldn’t go knocking on her door. She had to be more subtle, approaching her gradually from the periphery.
As luck would have it, Sun Yiming answered Gongsun Ruxue’s call and invited her to his sister Sun Meirong’s "birthday party."
Sun Meirong was a painter and designer who had recently returned to the country. Sun Yiming explained with some resignation over the phone that his sister didn’t have many friends in China, but she loved to have fun and be around people. As her older brother, he had to take on the task of inviting more friends to her party. He also told Gongsun Ruxue that she was welcome to bring her own friends along.
Gongsun Ruxue hung up the phone, a smile spreading across her face. ’The Sun Family’s birthday party? Perfect. Tang Manman will definitely be there.’
Xiao Man, of course, received an invitation. Sun Yiming brought Sun Meirong to the Tang Mansion for a visit, and Sun Meirong personally handed her the invitation card. Afterward, the siblings went to the Gu Mansion. The Sun and Gu families were on rather good terms now, because Xiao Man had used Imperial Doctor Sun’s Golden Needle to revive Mr. Gu. As a result, the Gu family was outwardly very friendly toward the Sun Family.
Why "outwardly"? Because there was a period when Xiao Man was getting a bit too close to Sun Yiming, which made Mr. Gu worry that his future eldest grandson’s wife was about to be stolen away. He secretly wished he could just throw Sun Yiming back overseas.
Xiao Man had no desire whatsoever to attend any birthday party. Gu Shaoling’s birthday banquet had been full of familiar faces and wasn’t the least bit interesting or fun. She figured this one at the Sun Family’s would be even more boring.
She preferred not to leave the house if she could help it these days. For one thing, she was sick and tired of Wu Xiaowen constantly ambushing her at the gate. For another, she had too much to do. She was extremely busy.
In the Treasure Pearl Space, various herbs needed to be harvested, sorted, and stored. The grains, vegetables, and fruits also had to be gathered and put away as soon as they ripened, or it would delay the next planting. Subconsciously, Xiao Man was quite greedy. The grains and vegetables in the space were all Spirit Plants that grew by themselves without much supervision or Spiritual Energy. You could never have too much of a good thing. She wished they would grow one crop after another in a continuous relay, so she was unwilling to waste even a moment. As soon as the grains were ripe, she harvested them immediately. Fortunately, she could now use her spiritual power freely within the space. If she had to do it all by hand, she would have collapsed from exhaustion long before she finished.
On top of that, she had to focus on her Cultivation to improve her cultivation base. There weren’t many of the various elixirs left behind by the space’s previous owner. Tang Haohao would be going abroad to study after the New Year, and once she packed the elixirs he needed, there would be hardly any left. But Tang Qingshan and Tang Qingyun both needed them at home. Furthermore, Gu Shaojun would be back soon, and the Gu family would undergo Energy Introduction and begin their Cultivation. They would need a batch of elixirs then, too... Even though she was an exceptionally talented Alchemist, she could currently only refine low-grade elixirs. To create Mid-to-high Grade and top-grade pills, she had to improve her cultivation.
So, she had been cultivating diligently. Fortunately, there was a steady supply of jade. She hadn’t even finished using what she got from the Jun Family, and Gu Shaozheng had already sent back two freight cars full of raw stone from the south.
Yes, just raw stone. Gu Shaozheng hadn’t been able to send Xiao Man cut jade as he had promised. The situation in the south was too unusual; it was impossible to cut all the stones open one by one. How much time and money would that have cost? The circumstances simply didn’t permit it. The fact that he managed to haul back so much raw stone was already remarkable.
Xiao Man was already very satisfied and grateful. Since the Gu family hadn’t started cultivating yet, all the raw stone that arrived was first given to the Tang family to use. Xiao Man used her Spiritual Power to probe the stones and extract the jade, piling it all—without distinguishing between top-grade and ordinary jade—into a storeroom in the Tang Mansion’s basement. Grandpa Tang was left speechless with amazement.
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