Chapter 135: Cunning Idea
Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Cunning Idea
Mulling over the news she’d heard at her brother’s cave residence, Cheng Yao walked home at a leisurely pace.
She still lived in the same small courtyard as before; nothing had changed just because Wang Xingwei had become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
After all, Wang Xingwei was an honest man who had single-mindedly pursued cultivation since childhood. He didn’t have a single trade skill to his name, so he couldn’t earn Spirit Stones quickly through his craft like Li Ping.
Furthermore, since he was a member of the Wang family, the Immortal City wouldn’t invite him to join even after he reached the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Therefore, he couldn’t get his first big break from the Immortal City like Zhang Tie did.
As for returning to the Wang family?
After successfully reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, Wang Xingwei had moved past the psychological trauma.
He knew full well that while he was in a coma, the Wang family hadn’t cared whether he lived or died. No one had come to look after him, so he had no desire to return to the Wang family after his breakthrough.
Ultimately, he chose to leave the city and hunt Demon Beasts to earn Spirit Stones.
With his Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, killing Tier One Demon Beasts was child’s play.
He could earn Spirit Stones much faster than any Qi Refining Cultivator.
The problem was, Wang Xingwei had yet to return from his hunt, so Cheng Yao hadn’t been able to benefit from his new status as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
...
Only when she reached her front gate did Cheng Yao notice that it was open. The faint sound of conversation drifted from inside the house.
From the sound of their voices, Cheng Yao quickly identified one as Wang Xingwei and the other as a stranger.
’Xingwei’s back from his hunt,’ she thought, a hint of joy appearing on her face.
She walked eagerly into the courtyard and immediately saw two people sitting across from each other. Opposite Wang Xingwei sat a small, elderly man with a timid expression and slightly hunched shoulders.
The old man was at the Qi Refining Ninth Level, and when speaking to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator like Wang Xingwei, he couldn’t help but sound obsequious.
"Cheng Yao," Wang Xingwei greeted with a smile when he saw her enter.
The little old man also hurried to offer a smile. "I am Wang Quyan. It is an honor to meet you, Fairy Cheng."
’Fairy Cheng.’ Hearing herself addressed this way, Cheng Yao was inwardly ecstatic.
But she didn’t let it show on her face, simply returning their smiles and greetings.
Wang Xingwei looked at the old man before him and said calmly, "Clan Leader, I don’t wish to return to the family for the time being. I hope you can understand."
Hearing this, Wang Quyan quickly tried to persuade him. "Xingwei, I know that the clan—that I, as Clan Leader—wronged you. As long as you’re willing to return, everything is negotiable. I’d even be willing to give up my position as Clan Leader. Besides, cultivating on your own out here is so inconvenient..."
Wang Xingwei simply smiled and cut him off. "Clan Leader, please allow me some time to consider it. Is that all right?"
"Sigh." Wang Quyan sighed helplessly but could only force a smile and take his leave.
Once Wang Quyan had left, only Cheng Yao and Wang Xingwei remained in the courtyard.
Seeing the confusion in Cheng Yao’s eyes, Wang Xingwei smiled and explained what was going on.
But after she heard the explanation, Cheng Yao’s eyes lit up. She exclaimed, "Are you stupid? It’s not like they’re asking you to go back and be their slave! You can become the Grand Elder just by returning, so why wouldn’t you? Besides, you don’t even have a Spiritual Land or a Cultivation Technique right now. What a waste of your potential."
Wang Xingwei shook his head. "Cheng Yao, you don’t understand how hurtful the looks my clansmen gave me were after I failed to reach Foundation Establishment. Besides, when I was in a coma, not a single person from the Wang family came to check on me. I’m so disappointed in them."
"Hmph." Cheng Yao was dismissive. "So you’re just going to cut ties with the Wang family?"
Wang Xingwei didn’t say anything, but his silence was a tacit admission.
"I thought you would have gotten smarter after reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, but I guess you’re still just as foolish." Cheng Yao spoke bluntly, completely disregarding his status as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. "Before the business with Ye Chen came to light, as far as your clan was concerned, you had wasted the two Foundation Establishment Pills they’d exhausted all their resources to find."
"The only reason they didn’t beat you to death on the spot was because you share the same blood. How can you possibly feel wronged?"
Wang Xingwei was at a loss for words. "Er..."
While he was speechless, Cheng Yao launched into another tirade. "Besides, even if you hate them, what’s this about cutting ties and running away? Wouldn’t it be more satisfying to go back, openly take your place as Grand Elder, and punish them? Seeing all those people you despise grovel and suck up to you would feel so much better!"
Hearing Cheng Yao’s analysis, a look of resignation appeared on Wang Xingwei’s face. In the end, he said nothing, only letting out a soft sigh.
In truth, he didn’t even know what he was really thinking.
’Am I just too lazy to take on the clan’s responsibilities? Do I not want to see any of them? Am I just giving them the cold shoulder to make them regret how they acted? Or... is it all of the above?’
Cheng Yao was still rambling on. "The Wang family was once a Foundation Establishment Immortal Race, after all. Even a shadow of its former self is still powerful. All of this is rightfully yours, so what’s there to be conflicted about...?"
Wang Xingwei nodded in resignation. "Cheng Yao, please, say no more. I’ll go back."
...
「Several days later, at the Wang family’s ancestral land.」
All members of the Wang family had been summoned to the main square to greet their new Grand Elder.
Above the square stood Wang Xingwei and Cheng Yao, both dressed in magnificent robes.
Below them were several hundred Wang family Cultivators, their expressions a mixture of emotions. At the very front stood the Clan Leader, Wang Quyan.
"We greet the Grand Elder!"
"We greet the Grand Elder!"
...
The sight of several hundred Cultivators bowing in unison was magnificent. Wang Xingwei felt a little uncomfortable, but Cheng Yao’s face was flushed with excitement.
Prompted by Cheng Yao, Wang Xingwei spoke calmly, "Alright, enough with the formalities. You may all rise."
...
「That night, inside the assembly hall of the Wang family’s ancestral land.」
Wang Xingwei, Wang Quyan, and Cheng Yao were in discussion. As the new Grand Elder, Wang Xingwei naturally needed to get a general understanding of the clan’s situation.
However, he had focused solely on arduous cultivation since he was young and had almost no experience with such worldly matters. Therefore, it was mainly Cheng Yao who was questioning Wang Quyan.
Wang Quyan could see that the relationship between Cheng Yao and Wang Xingwei was unusual. He suspected that in the future, with Wang Xingwei uninvolved in day-to-day affairs, Cheng Yao might be the one to wield the clan’s power.
Thus, he treated Cheng Yao with considerable respect, answering all of her questions without reservation.
After their conversation, Cheng Yao had a firm grasp of the Wang family’s general situation.
Once she understood, she couldn’t help but frown and look at Wang Quyan with suspicion. "The Wang family is supposed to be a Foundation Establishment Immortal Race. How can these be your only assets?"
It wasn’t that she was angry, but the figures Wang Quyan reported were so absurd it felt like he was playing her for a fool.
According to Wang Quyan, besides their Tier Two ancestral land, the Wang family didn’t possess a single item above Tier Two. They were even thousands of Spirit Stones in debt to several Cultivation Clans, chief among them the Meng family.
’This isn’t a Foundation Establishment Immortal Race; they’re worse off than a Loose Cultivator like my brother!’
’I was hoping to take some Spirit Stones from the Wang family to bid on a Foundation Establishment Pill for myself. Who would’ve thought that instead of getting Spirit Stones, I’d be facing a mountain of debt?’
Seeing the suspicion in Cheng Yao’s eyes, Wang Quyan gave a bitter smile. He then recounted the whole story: how their ancestor’s attempt to break through to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment and Wang Xingwei’s two attempts at Foundation Establishment had depleted the clan’s liquid assets, and how they were then forced to sell off ancestral properties to compensate the swindled Loose Cultivators.
Cheng Yao was left dumbfounded by the tale.
She quickly seized on the key point of Wang Quyan’s story. "So you’re saying," she said in disbelief, "that in your scheme to swindle Loose Cultivators, you managed to cheat a hundred and five of them out of ten thousand five hundred Spirit Stones?"
"Not that many. Only thirty-four Loose Cultivators actually fell for it," Wang Quyan said, shaking his head to refute her conclusion. "The one hundred and five figure was fabricated by Ye Chen specifically to bleed our family dry. We just wanted the matter to be over with, so we had no choice but to pay the amount he demanded."
"I see," Cheng Yao nodded, finally understanding how a Foundation Establishment Immortal Race like the Wang family had ended up in such a miserable state.
While the two of them talked, Wang Xingwei stared up at the dome of the assembly hall, lost in thought. He only snapped out of it when Wang Quyan was leaving and bid him farewell.
Only Wang Xingwei and Cheng Yao remained in the assembly hall.
Cheng Yao looked frustrated. "Do we really have to wait for the auction five years from now?"
She was thirty-nine now; in five years, she’d be forty-four.
The ideal age for a Cultivator to attempt Foundation Establishment was before thirty. After that, the body’s functions would begin a slow decline, and the chances of success would drop accordingly.
Once a person passed sixty, it was practically impossible to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage.
If she had the chance, she would obviously prefer to attempt it sooner rather than later.
The main reason, of course, was that she had learned from Zhang Tie that two Foundation Establishment Pills would be up for auction.
If there were only one, she wouldn’t try to compete with Gumu Sheng for it.
...
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Cheng Yao.
’The Wang family’s Spirit Stones were all used to compensate those swindled Loose Cultivators,’ she thought, ’but in reality, the vast majority of them were just shills hired by Ye Chen to bleed the Wang family dry!’
Her excitement grew. ’Now that Ye Chen has been ordered into seclusion and has completely lost his power, don’t all those shills he hired have no one left to back them up!’
’So it’s not the Wang family that swindled the Loose Cultivators... it’s the Loose Cultivators who swindled the Wang family!’
’To dare and swindle so many Spirit Stones... these aren’t your average Loose Cultivators. We have to get all those Spirit Stones back, and they need to be punished!’
With this in mind, Cheng Yao eagerly got up to find Wang Quyan and ask for the list of Loose Cultivators the Wang family had compensated.
After getting the list from Wang Quyan, Cheng Yao didn’t even bother going to her job at the Spirit Medicine Garden the next day. Instead, she took Wang Xingwei and several Late-stage Qi Refining members of the Wang family and, list in hand, began tracking down the Loose Cultivators one by one.
She then gave them two choices: either return the Spirit Stones, or the Wang family would report them to the Immortal City and let them go keep Ye Chen company.
Some of the Cultivators were dismissive, unafraid of a confrontation in the Immortal City. Cheng Yao didn’t press these few who had been genuinely swindled.
Others turned ashen-faced and hastily returned the Spirit Stones. From these people, Cheng Yao not only reclaimed the one hundred Spirit Stone principal but also demanded they pay an additional ten to twenty Spirit Stones in interest.
...
The old man, Wang Quyan, watched Cheng Yao handle everything with practiced ease, his expression complicated.
He felt that Cheng Yao’s methods were stirring up too much resentment.
He could only hope that after this was over, Cheng Yao would show some restraint and not act as wantonly as their old ancestor had, bringing another disaster down upon the clan.