Chapter 318 - 283: Shopping Alone
Chapter 318: Chapter 283: Shopping Alone
Xiao Man, Hao Hao, Grandma Tang, Grandpa, and Grandma had a wonderful time in Liaozhou. They didn’t return to Beijing until after the Lantern Festival. Grandpa Tang wore a resentful expression, complaining that the whole family had gone off on a fun trip and forgotten to come back, completely abandoning him and leaving him for dead! Grandma Tang spent a long time coaxing him, and Grandpa and Grandma also chimed in with kind words. In the end, it was Xiao Man and Hao Hao who rushed forward without another word, hugging him from both sides and each giving him a loud kiss. Only then was he placated, the old man beaming with joy.
Around the Lantern Festival, schools started their new semesters one after another. Hao Hao would soon be heading back to live at his school, and Xiao Man, Grandpa, and Grandma had to return to G Province.
Although Grandpa and Grandma Tang were extremely reluctant to see them go, they didn’t show it. Putting themselves in the others’ shoes, they knew that just as they longed to keep their granddaughter by their side, so too did her other Grandpa and Grandma. Therefore, they respected Xiao Man’s decision and would wait patiently for her to take her college entrance exams and come to Beijing for university.
Ultimately, Grandpa and Grandma would follow Xiao Man. Grandpa had recently contracted the small hill in front of their house to transform it into a medicinal herb garden. You only get so many chances to strive for something in life. Everyone has a dream, and while he still had the ambition and strength, they should let Grandpa work hard to achieve his. Once the herb garden was established and could be handed over to a professional to manage, they could come to Beijing to settle down and live out their golden years.
Grandpa and Grandma Tang began preparing for the departure of Xiao Man, Grandpa, and Grandma. The two grandmothers packed their luggage while discussing what gifts to bring back for the villagers. Xiao Man wasn’t idle either. Using the excuse of accompanying Hao Hao to his school, she had the driver pull over on the way home. She made up an excuse to get out and go shopping by herself. Since the driver couldn’t just abandon the car to follow her, he had no choice but to leave first.
Ever since arriving in Beijing, Xiao Man had been surrounded by people wherever she went, unless she was in her room sleeping or using the bathroom, or spending time with Gu Shaojun. She basically had no time to herself. Of course, she liked it that way. The feeling of being with family and the person she liked was warm and joyful, and she had no complaints. However, as a reclusive Cultivator, she usually made it a point to wander around any new place to probe for areas with particularly abundant Spiritual Energy or other strange phenomena. It was similar to an explorer’s mentality. Although Xiao Man had been to many places in Beijing, she was usually with friends and family, so she couldn’t fully concentrate on the things that interested her. She had only managed to get a cursory, superficial understanding. Now that she was about to leave Beijing, she decided to give herself one day to visit a few places she wanted to see.
When Shaolian and Shao Jin took Grandpa and Grandma to see the famous sights and historic landmarks of Beijing, Xiao Man had naturally tagged along. They had been to places like Tian’anmen Square, the Forbidden City, and Xihe Garden. However, she never got to visit the Antique Street and flea markets they had talked about, nor some other places she had learned about on her own.
Beijing was so large, and she didn’t have enough time. It wasn’t that she couldn’t just wait until her next visit, but Xiao Man felt that if she went alone, it wouldn’t take much time at all. So, she still wanted to go and have a look by herself.
Xiao Man was now considered a Loose Cultivator, belonging to no sect or school. She practiced Cultivation on her own, following the Jade Scroll Technique that the Black Mountain Spirit Lord had implanted in her mind. Whatever results she could achieve depended entirely on her own comprehension and fortune. She originally had no intention of becoming a Cultivator, and at first, the Black Mountain Spirit Lord hadn’t wanted to get involved either. But later, for some unknown reason—perhaps out of boredom—he felt it was a pity for a piece of pure, uncarved jade like Xiao Man to exist in the world for only a hundred years before perishing. She possessed Water and Wood Dual Spirit Roots, a rarity even in the Immortal Cultivation World, and all the more precious on this End of Dharma Continent. What’s more, she now possessed an Ancient Spirit Spring Treasure Pearl!
The Black Mountain Spirit Lord’s selfish motive probably stemmed from this very Treasure Bead. Since he had already given it away to repay a favor and the Treasure Bead had acknowledged Xiao Man as its master, he couldn’t take it back. But as long as the Treasure Bead was in Xiao Man’s hands, anything was fine. If Xiao Man were to disappear and someone else took possession of it... The Black Mountain Spirit Lord felt uncomfortable just thinking about it!
’That was an ancient treasure! There are things inside that even I don’t have, things that can only belong to Xiao Man. On what grounds should anyone else get to enjoy them?!’
Thus, the Black Mountain Spirit Lord had cajoled and tricked Xiao Man onto the path of Immortal Cultivation.
In his words, being a Loose Cultivator on the Cultivation Continent might have its dangers, but on the End of Dharma Continent, Earth, as long as one could cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage, they could easily evade and withstand human bullets and cannon fire. They would have no fear of military forces and would undoubtedly be the strongest. Coupled with an extraordinary physique, living for a few hundred or even a thousand years would be no problem at all...
This was purely the Black Mountain Spirit Lord’s own idea. As for whether Xiao Man wanted to live long enough to become an old monster, that was none of his business. The cultivation environment and the issue of Spiritual Energy were also things he couldn’t control. In any case, he had already implanted all the rules and precautions of Immortal Cultivation into Xiao Man’s mind. It was up to her to refer to them and solve any problems she encountered!
Spiritual Energy was scarce on Earth. Some places, like deep mountains and old forests, could still gather a bit of it, but in most areas, such as densely populated cities, not even a trace could be found. Cultivation required Spiritual Energy. Back in their courtyard in Gongdao Village, Xiao Man had been able to gather some Spiritual Energy using a Spirit Gathering Array. In addition to aiding her Cultivation, it also helped nourish Grandpa and Grandma’s bodies.
The reason she hadn’t wanted to leave G Province to study in Beijing too soon was also due to the lack of Spiritual Energy in the capital. She had set up a Spirit Gathering Array at the Tang Mansion, but it took three days before it began to gather a tiny amount of Spiritual Energy—not even a tenth of what she got in their rented house in Ping County!
In fact, Ping County Town was in an excellent location. It was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with a serene river flowing out from the deep mountains. The Spiritual Energy was thin but flowed continuously. By setting up a simple Spirit Gathering Array, she could obtain enough Spiritual Energy for her Cultivation. This was another reason why Xiao Man was reluctant to leave Ping County.
During her days in Beijing, her nightly Cultivation had consumed the Spiritual Energy from the Treasure Bead. Although the Treasure Pearl Space was rich in Spiritual Energy, the various Spirit Plants growing inside also required a large amount of it. Only after absorbing enough Spiritual Energy could they flower and bear fruit again, providing their master with Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. Even the Black Mountain Spirit Lord had never consumed the Spiritual Energy within the Treasure Bead. Xiao Man didn’t want to overuse it either, fearing that if the Spiritual Energy ran low, it would affect the Spirit Plants.
By consulting the Jade Scroll, Xiao Man learned that besides the world’s rare Spirit Stones, some ancient artifacts and jade from long ago also contained a large amount of Spiritual Energy. In Grandpa Tang’s study, Xiao Man had seen a piece of bronze ware and two pieces of ancient jade on a curio shelf. She had even secretly tested them: the Jade indeed contained Spiritual Energy, and the better the quality of the jade, the more Spiritual Energy it held. Furthermore, the Spiritual Energy contained within bronze ware, which had been forged thousands upon thousands of times, was easier to convert into energy. In other words, absorbing this kind of Spiritual Energy for Cultivation was twice as effective for half the effort!
Xiao Man wandered the streets alone precisely because she wanted to find some of these antique objects. Even if she couldn’t use them right now, it would be great to save them for later.
It was only because Xiao Man was so honest and kind, and used to being self-reliant since she was a child, that she behaved this way. Having seen many antiques in the Gu family’s home, the Tang family’s home, and other people’s houses, the most she would do was release her Divine Sense to probe them. She never thought of taking the Spiritual Energy within, always feeling, ’Since it doesn’t belong to me, I have no right to touch it.’
Spiritual Energy was highly beneficial to the men of the Gu family who practiced Ancient Martial Arts. They didn’t know how to use it yet, and there was no need for Xiao Man to tell them directly. Gu Shaojun had already started his Cultivation; once he reached a certain level and had an epiphany, he would naturally tell his grandfather. As for the Spiritual Energy contained in the Tang family’s antiques, that naturally belonged to Grandpa Tang and the rest of the Tang Family. Xiao Man could look for her own energy sources elsewhere.
She walked down several streets and browsed a flea market, but she didn’t find anything good. Xiao Man knew that treasure hunting couldn’t be done in just a day or two. She decided to just treat it as a fun outing and get familiar with the area.