Chapter 144: Settling In (Part 2)
Chapter 144: Settling In (Part 2)
Little An secretly wiped away his tears.
Mo Hua sighed and took Little An on a tour of the An family estate, cheering him up. Suddenly, Little An realized something was amiss:
"This is my home, how do you know your way around better than I do?"
"Your family's array formations are too simple; I saw through them at a glance." Mo Hua thought to himself, but to spare the An family's pride, he replied, "I'm an array master; I deduced it from the formations."
The array formations were set up according to the pavilions and buildings of the An family's mansion, so by deciphering the formations, Mo Hua naturally understood how the estate was structured.
The artificial hills and ponds, the halls and towers, every inch of soil and every piece of wood, all conformed to the array, leaving traces to be found.
Little An admired, "Mo Hua, you're amazing. I wish I were as smart as you."
"You shouldn't be discouraged," Mo Hua said. "Everyone is born with their own talents, and there's always a use for them. Think about what you like to do."
"Everyone is born with their own talents..."
Little An was encouraged by these words and furrowed his brows in thought. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, "I like to eat!"
Mo Hua's expression froze.
Little An scratched his head, "Umm... is that not a good thing?"
"It's... alright, I guess," Mo Hua said, going against his better judgment.
Little An scratched his head again.
"Don't worry about what others say or how they look at you," Mo Hua advised. "Think carefully about what you want to do most in this life. It's not about achieving greatness, but about living without regrets."
"Oh," Little An nodded.
The two walked around the garden.
Suddenly, Little An remembered something and said, "Mo Hua, I think my grandfather wants you to marry into our family."
Mo Hua was not surprised but instead asked curiously, "How did you find out?"
"I overheard my mother talking to my aunts and uncles," Little An said. "They love gossiping about this stuff; they could chat for a whole day without getting tired..."
Seeing Little An's joyful expression, Mo Hua guessed that if his mother could chat for a day, Little An must have been an eager listener for just as long.
However, Mo Hua was still puzzled, "I'm only in my early teens. Isn't your grandfather considering this a bit too early?"
"No, it's not early," Little An shook his head. "It's better to decide these things early on, or else you'll be snatched up by someone else."
Lowering his voice, Little An continued, "I heard that some noble clans start arranging marriages for their children as soon as their spiritual roots are determined at birth."
"Childhood betrothals?" Mo Hua asked.
"Yeah," Little An nodded. "Those clans with a long history of cultivation study the inheritance of spiritual roots. They know which combination of spiritual roots in a couple is likely to produce a child with a certain type of root. To cultivate rarer and higher-quality spiritual roots, these noble clans arrange marriages based on spiritual root compatibility."
"Spiritual root marriages... do they really work?" Mo Hua asked.
"They do," Little An said. "In those clans, disciples with superior spiritual roots are countless. Even a lower-tier superior root is considered average. Here in this small town, a medium-quality root is already considered good. That's the result of those clans studying spiritual root inheritance and arranging marriages based on that knowledge."
Mo Hua frowned, knowing about spiritual root inheritance but never realizing the depth of its implications.
"Choosing a cultivation partner should be a mutual decision, right? Don't the disciples who are forced into these marriages have a say?"
Little An sighed, "We're bound by our circumstances. You eat what the clan provides, you cultivate their techniques, and you use their spiritual stones and artifacts. When you go out, you rely on the clan's influence. You can't just take all these benefits without giving something in return."
"Did you come up with that yourself?" Mo Hua asked.
"No, my mother told me," Little An admitted.
"What if someone disagrees and wants to rebel?" Mo Hua asked.
Little An shrugged, "What's the use of rebelling? The clan is like a towering tree, and its disciples are just leaves. Whether there's one more or one less leaf doesn't make a difference. If you don't rebel, you can cultivate and enjoy the clan's benefits in peace. But if you do, you'll lose everything."
Mo Hua's feelings were mixed.
In families bound by blood, the ties of kinship were ironically the weakest...
"However, there is another way," Little An said.
Little An recalled what his mother had said during her chats and explained, "You can follow the family's wishes and find a partner based on spiritual root compatibility, but behind their backs, you can be with whoever you want and do whatever you please. As long as it doesn't cause too much of a stir, it should be fine..."
Mo Hua's eyes widened in shock as he listened, "That's so chaotic..."
Little An nodded, "It's very chaotic!"
After saying that, he added, "The bigger the family, the more chaotic it is!"
On the other side, Old Master An only exchanged a few casual pleasantries with Zhang Lan.
Zhang Lan and Old Master An didn't have much to talk about.
It was rather dull.
It would have been more interesting to chat with Mo Hua, even though that boy sometimes said things that were a bit irritating.
With a nonchalant tone, Zhang Lan exchanged a few words and then bid farewell along with Situ Fang.
Old Master An sat in deep thought for a moment before Anh Jia, the head of the An family, walked in and sat down next to him. Pouring himself a cup of tea, Anh Jia asked, "Father, have the guests left?"
Old Master An nodded.
"Then what are you thinking about sitting here?"
"I don't have long to live, so I'm contemplating my afterlife arrangements."
Anh Jia, who had just brought the tea to his lips, choked, "Father, you can't just say such things casually."
Old Master An's gaze was sharp as he scanned his son, then slowly said, "Our An family has been rivals with the Qian family for hundreds of years, and we've always been at a disadvantage. In terms of artifact refining and pill concocting, we might as well have conceded defeat. Only in the realm of culinary arts do we still hold some advantage."
Anh Jia lowered his head, feeling the weight of responsibility as the family head, even though it wasn't necessarily his fault.
Old Master An sighed and asked, "Do you know where we fall short compared to the Qian family?"
"They're more ruthless..."
"Qian Hong is a wolf, and his son, along with the direct descendants of the Qian family, are all wolf cubs. As for you and your son... I won't even mention them."
Anh Jia lowered his head even further.
Seeing his son's dejected expression, Old Master An stopped reprimanding him and said, "Do you still want your son to be the family head?"
Anh Jia raised his head, his face filled with shame, but he still insisted, "Father, although Little Fu doesn't have much talent, he at least has a good heart and understands the big picture. If he becomes the family head, he might not bring glory, but he won't cause any harm either."
As a father, he had to consider his son's future since the boy wasn't very bright and wouldn't be able to fend for himself.
Old Master An closed his eyes to rest, not feeling like talking anymore.
Anh Jia's heart was filled with anxiety, but he knew this conversation had reached its end, so he changed the subject and asked, "I heard you wanted to recruit a son-in-law?"
Old Master An opened his eyes, "Not anymore."
"Why not?" Anh Jia asked softly.
"The An family is not worthy," Old Master An said calmly.
Anh Jia was taken aback, feeling a sense of dissatisfaction, and he quietly argued, "Why is the An family unworthy?"
Old Master An's eyebrows furrowed, "What makes us worthy?"
Anh Jia straightened up a bit, "Our family's industries, spirit stones, and numerous disciples are among the top in Tianshen City. Even this mansion is desired by countless cultivators in the city who wish to reside here..."
"Oh, what's so good about this mansion?"
"The layout is exquisite, the materials are carefully selected, and the arrays are something I spent a lot of money on, inviting renowned array masters from the city to set them up. It's almost completely impenetrable..."
Old Master An sighed, "That child recognized every single array inside and outside on his way here."
Anh Jia was stunned, "What?"
How could he have recognized them? These arrays weren't some common, run-of-the-mill arrays; how could they be so easily seen through?
Old Master An glanced at his son indifferently and said, "Your 'impenetrable' arrays are like a sieve to that child..."
Like a sieve...
These words were like knives, piercing Anh Jia's heart.
Anh Jia's mouth hung open, and he couldn't speak for a long time.
(End of Chapter)
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