After the family banquet ended, the guests dispersed.

Although there were some twists and turns, overall it was peaceful, and reluctantly it could be considered a case of “guests and host are both happy.”

Late at night, inside the study of the Gu family head.

Shangguan Ce and Gu Shouyan sat opposite each other, brewing tea and talking through the night by candlelight.

The two had grown up together, cultivated together, and in addition to being family heads, they were also old friends.

Although the Shangguan family was stronger than the Gu family, the gap was not too large.

Gu Shouyan was slightly older than Shangguan Ce.

Both had lived for several hundred years, experienced many trials and tribulations, and while they calculated interests, they also had a deep friendship.

Gu Shouyan’s temperament was straightforward, and he always spoke directly about matters without taboo. He said in a low voice:

“You want to take back all of the Shangguan family’s businesses?”

These businesses were all cultivation industries located near the border of Qianxue Prefecture and were originally managed by the Gu family.

Shangguan Ce nodded, “The Shen family offered a high price. I transferred them to them, and compared to the Shangguan family operating them ourselves, the profits are two percent higher.”

Gu Shouyan scoffed, “Is the Shen family so kind-hearted?”

Shangguan Ce said: “Regardless of whether they are kind-hearted, the interests lie here.”

“What interests?”

Shangguan Ce shook his head, “That cannot be said.”

Gu Shouyan sneered, “What interests? Nothing more than spirit stones, pills, connections… Oh, and quotas from the four great sects?”

Shangguan Ce remained silent.

Gu Shouyan brewed his own tea, fiddling with the tea leaves in the canister.

Shangguan Ce’s gaze narrowed slightly, and he sighed, “The Shen family must have also come to you before. You refused them flat out?”

Gu Shouyan grunted in assent.

Shangguan Ce said: “This is an act of goodwill, Brother Gu. Even if you don’t accept it, you should give them some leeway…”

Gu Shouyan’s face was cold, “Those villains from the Shen family, associating with them brings no benefit.”

Shangguan Ce shook his head, “Among the noble families of the world, we only talk about interests, not virtue. Actions must first set aside virtue, otherwise it’s easy to act on impulse and delay the family’s development.”

“If you don’t talk about it, then don’t talk about it, that’s your business, but don’t teach me how to do things.” Gu Shouyan’s temperament was upright.

Shangguan Ce tentatively said: “Then the Shangguan family’s businesses…”

Gu Shouyan waved his hand, “Take them all back. They were originally all managed by your Shangguan family’s daughter-in-law. If you want to take them back, just tell Wan’er.”

“My Gu family cultivators are mostly from the Dao Court Office, and they are not good at operating things. These cultivation industries are just used to supplement some household expenses. It’s tasteless to eat and a pity to abandon, and it still requires that girl Wan’er to put in effort, which is not worth it.”

Shangguan Ce relaxed slightly.

Gu Shouyan was unwilling to pay attention to him, and he brewed tea for himself, looking at the curling tea vapor with full concentration, obviously not putting these gains and losses in his eyes.

The room became a bit stuffy for a while.

After a long time, Shangguan Ce’s gaze sank slightly, and he sighed:

“The Gu family… will have trouble.”

Gu Shouyan was surprised to hear this and raised his eyebrows.

He and Shangguan Ce had grown up together, and he knew Shangguan Ce’s character clearly.

This person was selfish, shrewd, and self-serving.

But if it didn’t involve his own or the Shangguan family’s interests, he would also talk about feelings and speak relatively honestly.

So despite despising Shangguan Ce’s character and feeling that he was too calculating, over the years, Gu Shouyan still maintained a not shallow friendship with him.

After all, reaching his cultivation level and status, there were not many cultivators left who could truly talk and chat.

Gu Shouyan asked: “Who is causing trouble for the Gu family? The Shen family?”

Shangguan Ce still shook his head, “As I said, if you know, you know, if you don’t know, I can’t say.”

Gu Shouyan was very disappointed. He poured himself a cup of tea and slowly drank it.

He didn’t pour for Shangguan Ce.

Shangguan Ce could only pour himself a cup.

The tea tasted a bit bitter and astringent, not considered top-grade tea.

But Gu Shouyan just liked this taste.

Shangguan Ce didn’t particularly like it, but he didn’t say anything. He just silently drank the tea, looked at the white hair on Gu Shouyan’s temples, and sighed slightly:

“Brother Gu, a great man can bend and stretch…”

“So many noble families above are showing goodwill to the Gu family, but you only need to give them a little face, and the Gu family wouldn’t be… still unable to rise to the fifth rank until now.”

Gu Shouyan glared, “Give what face? They want me to give face? They want the power of my Gu family to give them face! They want the Dao laws to give them face!”

“Is the power my Gu family’s?”

“Are the Dao laws my Gu family’s?”

“The power of the Dao Court, the public Dao laws, are taken from the heavenly way above and from the common people below. What virtue and ability does my Gu family have to dare to monopolize them for themselves and use power for personal gain?”

Shangguan Ce had a bit of a headache, “Some things, others can do, why precisely can’t your Gu family do them? Is it just your Gu family that is noble?”

“Not noble,” Gu Shouyan said with a disdainful look, “I am willing to.”

Shangguan Ce suddenly lost his temper.

Gu Shouyan looked at Shangguan Ce and found that this old friend, at least at this moment, didn’t have so many schemes and was truly concerned about him. He then sighed:

“You diligently pursue fame and fortune. In the field of fame and fortune, you understand more than me, but this matter is actually far from as simple as you think.”

“For so many years, my Gu family has produced a Dongxu ancestor, and we have long had the foundation for the fifth rank…”

“Among the noble families of the world, although some hate the Gu family to the bone, there are also some with a very deep friendship with the Gu family. Human relations are not particularly good, but it’s not to the extent of being isolated and without aid.”

“Even several times, we have already stepped into the threshold of the fifth rank with one foot, but we were still unable to advance due to multi-party obstruction.”

Gu Shouyan said in a low voice, “How can a true fifth-rank noble family of the Dao Court Office be a child’s play?”

“My Gu family adheres to the Dao laws, and too many people do not want my Gu family to take this step forward.”

Shangguan Ce’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“Moreover,” Gu Shouyan said self-deprecatingly, “You think, if I accept the goodwill of those noble families and collude with them, will they accept my Gu family?”

Gu Shouyan shook his head, took a sip of tea, and continued:

“If I don’t accept their goodwill, then my Gu family is a wild wolf.”

“Even if they are tigers and leopards and want to eat my Gu family, they still have to worry about being fought to the death by my Gu family and tearing off a few pieces of meat.”

“And if I receive their benefits, then my Gu family becomes a dog!”

“On the surface, they may be polite, but secretly, they will look down on me even more.”

“If they encounter some filthy and ugly matters, they will throw a bone, and I will have to go bite it and help them clean it up.”

Gu Shouyan’s face was cold and stern, his gaze sharp like a sword, and he snorted coldly:

“This group of parasites, do they deserve it?”

“Even if my Gu family fights with their lives to bite off meat from their bodies to eat, we will not wag our tails and beg to lick the bone they throw over!”

Shangguan Ce pondered for a moment, still shook his head, and sighed:

“Brother Gu, you are still a bit too extreme. My Shangguan family can advance and retreat with the Gu family, and they too…”

Gu Shouyan said firmly: “You, Shangguan Ce, can accept the Shen family’s goodwill and then become friends with the Shen family, because essentially, you are the same kind of people.”

“And I am not.”

“You and I have not been the same kind of people from the beginning.”

Shangguan Ce was startled, his gaze slightly cold, but he didn’t show anger.

Gu Shouyan continued:

“The family head is like this, and the family is the same.”

“Your Shangguan family and the Shen family have prosperous industries, and they all rely on interests. While my Gu family, doing things in the Dao Court Office, traces back to its roots, and has to rely on ‘roots and bones’ to establish the family.”

“If the Shangguan family suddenly wants to talk about ‘roots and bones’, I’m afraid they will perish in an instant.”

“Similarly, if my Gu family doesn’t talk about ‘roots and bones’, even if we are temporarily strong, we will perish in the blink of an eye.”

Shangguan Ce was a bit disheartened.

He had always thought that this elder brother of his had a strong temperament, acted rigidly, and didn’t know how to be flexible.

Yet he didn’t think that he wasn’t as stubborn as he appeared.

Many things, he actually understood everything.

And it seemed, he saw things even more clearly than himself.

Shangguan Ce sighed in his heart, indeed, a person cannot be judged by appearance.

He poured a cup of tea for Gu Shouyan and said indifferently:

“Brother Gu, take care of yourself.”

He hoped that in the future, the Shangguan family and the Gu family would not become like fire and water.

Gu Shouyan grunted in assent, took the tea, and drank it.

At this point, basically everything that needed to be said had been said.

The two of them each drank tea. Although they didn’t speak, they each harbored no schemes, and the atmosphere was much more relaxed.

Gu Shouyan suddenly thought of something and looked at Shangguan Ce curiously, but didn’t ask.

Shangguan Ce seemed to sense something. He put down his teacup and slowly said:

“Brother Gu, just say what you need to say.”

Gu Shouyan nodded, and without avoiding it, he said directly:

“There is one thing I don’t quite understand. You are a person who only talks about interests, how can you have such a deep prejudice against the Wenren family? Your prejudice against the Wenren family is so deep?”

“At the banquet tonight, that elder from the Shen family was so rude to Wan’er, and you actually didn’t say a word?”

Shangguan Ce was silent, “Just a foolish person…”

He took a sip of tea, picked up some tea leaves from the side, and said flatly, “The Shen family marrying her over is to test my Shangguan family’s attitude.”

“The Shen family shows goodwill to us, and we also have to show our attitude.”

“Even if she makes trouble again, we still have to be polite. After all, we just earned the Shen family’s spirit stones; eating people’s mouths makes one soft.”

“And the other branches of the Shangguan family are actually using her as a pawn to put pressure on Yi’er…”

“The other branches of the Shangguan family have long coveted the position of family head. They couldn’t snatch it from my hands, so they will snatch it from Yi’er’s hands.”

“This kind of thing will not be uncommon in the future, and I will not intervene either.”

“I am the family head, but I am also just the family head. The real power is in the hands of the old ancestor. There are many matters that I cannot decide either.”

“If Yi’er has the ability to convince the public, then he can naturally become the family head, but if he cannot suppress others, it is better to let others sit in this position early. It avoids him being indecisive and ruining the family foundation.”

“As for Wan’er…” Shangguan Ce’s gaze sank slightly, “She is implicated by Yi’er.”

“Anyone with a clear eye can see that Yi’er is too sentimental and too deeply attached to Wan’er, so Wan’er naturally becomes his weak point.”

“Husband and wife are one. If Wan’er makes a mistake, that is Yi’er making a mistake.”

Shangguan Ce sighed slightly: “If Yi’er were just an ordinary child of a noble family, not the son of me, this family head, and not involved in the struggle for the family head, then naturally no one would think of bullying Wan’er.”

“The young couple, as long as they live in peace, would be fine.”

“It’s a pity, their identities are not ordinary…”

Gu Shouyan nodded.

“As for the Wenren family…”

Shangguan Ce pretended to ponder, his gaze complex, “Although the Shangguan family and the Wenren family have grudges and have not intermarried for generations, it is not a blood feud.”

“Otherwise, this marriage between Yi’er and Wan’er would have been cut off from the beginning. No matter how much Yi’er begged, there would have been absolutely no possibility.”

Shangguan Ce looked at Gu Shouyan and said candidly: “But indeed, from beginning to end, I was not optimistic about this marriage.”

“The Wenren family is only one aspect. I don’t hate the Wenren family, but forming a marriage alliance with the Wenren family indeed brings no benefits to the Shangguan family…”

“Or rather, the benefits are not large enough.”

“Yi’er has a good origin, good talent, extremely good looks, and although he is a bit romantic and indecisive, this instead attracts women more.”

“When discussing marriage, I had several good matches on hand. These women had direct lineage, superior family status, and superior looks and character. They had spirit mine dowries, and their forces were also extremely large.”

“Forming a marriage with them would be of immense help to my Shangguan family, to me, this family head, and to Yi’er’s future inheritance of the family head position.”

“Yi’er’s future would also surely be smooth sailing.”

“But…”

Shangguan Ce sighed deeply, “Yi’er disappointed me too much. He didn’t want any of these good marriages. He was single-minded, chanting ‘I will not marry except you’, determined to bring this girl Wan’er into the family.”

“This child Wan’er is actually not bad. She is as sentimental and righteous as Yi’er, and although a bit willful, she is kind-hearted.”

“But as the future madam of the Shangguan family, she is not qualified at all.”

“In addition, this is the first time Yi’er has disobeyed me like this.”

“His marriage, under operation, originally had huge interests to be gained. My Shangguan family’s status could also take another step towards the originally unattainable sixth rank. As a result, things went against my wishes, and all plans went to waste…”

Even Shangguan Ce, with his deep cunning, couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows slightly, showing anger.

Gu Shouyan probably understood then.

Sitting in the position of family head, many things are not as simple as they appear on the surface.

He also understood Shangguan Ce’s mood.

“But,” Gu Shouyan frowned, “What about Yu’er? Forget about Wan’er, Yu’er is, after all, your only grandson in your direct line. How can you, because of this girl Wan’er, even alienate your own grandson?”

Shangguan Ce’s gaze sank slightly, his expression changing, as if there was an unspeakable secret.

“Forget it if it’s inconvenient to say.”

Gu Shouyan just asked casually and didn’t necessarily need Shangguan Ce to answer.

This was, after all, the Shangguan family’s private matter.

Gu Shouyan poured himself another cup of tea and slowly savored it.

Shangguan Ce’s face was covered with a layer of shadow. After a long silence, he finally sighed and slowly opened his mouth:

“When Yu’er was born… I invited an old ancestor from the Qin Tian Jian to calculate his life destiny.”

Gu Shouyan was startled, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Shangguan Ce continued: “Yu’er, he…”

He paused for a moment, closed his eyes deeply, then slowly opened them, his tone turning cold, “Yu’er, from the moment he was born, his natural life destiny is that of a ‘dead person’, a defective shell, not a living person…”

Gu Shouyan’s hand trembled, and his expression was shocked.

Then his gaze sank, “Matters of life destiny are not necessarily true…”

Shangguan Ce shook his head, “You don’t know the identity of that old ancestor. His calculation of life destiny will not be wrong.”

“And… I can also see it.”

“This child Yu’er has been different from others since he was small. Although he seems fine, his innate divine sense is weak, like a defective soul, and he can occasionally see things that ordinary cultivators cannot see. He will have some unbelievable nightmares, just like… an infant with one foot in the Yellow Springs…”

Shangguan Ce’s gaze was somewhat pained, “So every time I see Yu’er, my heart feels as if it’s pierced by a thorn.”

“He is both my only grandson, whom I obtained with difficulty, but again, fate has dictated that he is a ‘dead person’ who will die young and cannot be raised at all…”

Gu Shouyan was stunned for a long time. He suddenly looked at Shangguan Ce and said with no mercy, scoffing:

“Too much of a scumbag when you were young, extinct in old age, you deserve it.”

Shangguan Ce’s face was ugly, but he was powerless to argue.

Seeing his expression, Gu Shouyan sighed, and his tone finally softened a bit, “Cannot save him?”

Shangguan Ce’s expression was bitter, “Things like life destiny, no one can change.”

“Nonsense!” Gu Shouyan’s face darkened, “If it truly cannot be changed, then there wouldn’t be the four words ‘defy heaven and change fate’!”

Shangguan Ce sighed: “These were the old ancestor’s original words. That year he said that Yu’er’s life destiny is innately cast, the heavenly secrets are too deep, and the karma is too great, not something that human power can defy and change…”

Gu Shouyan asked in a low voice: “What cultivation level is that old ancestor?”

Shangguan Ce pointed upwards.

Gu Shouyan was startled in his heart and didn’t speak further, but he also knew the weight of this statement.

After finishing the tea, Shangguan Ce left.

Gu Shouyan sat alone at the table, not drinking tea, sitting in a daze. In his mind, Yu’er’s innocent and clever appearance emerged again.

Gu Shouyan’s experienced heart couldn’t help but ache, and he sighed in a low voice:

“A good child, yet without a good fate…”

Mo Hua ate a big meal and stayed at the Gu family for another night. The next morning, he was about to return to Taixu Sect.

Old Mister Xun wrote the four words “fortune is deep” and gave them to Mo Hua. Mo Hua gave them to Wenren Wan.

Although Old Mister Xun didn’t explicitly say who to give it to, Mo Hua vaguely guessed that the old man’s intention was to give it to Aunt Wan.

Wenren Wan was also inevitably flattered to receive this calligraphy.

In any noble family in Qian Prefecture, Dongxu ancestors were top-level figures. Ordinary disciples basically had no chance to see his face, let alone receive a gift of calligraphy.

Wenren Wan originally wanted to return the gift to Old Mister Xun, but she thought that the old mister would not care about these things.

So she packed a large pile of food and drinks, and some second-rank array books and diagrams, and gave them all to Mo Hua at once.

All of them were things Mo Hua liked.

Mo Hua symbolically refused a few times, then happily and rightfully accepted them.

Before leaving, Gu Changhuai also found Mo Hua.

The two sat on the doorsteps and chatted briefly.

“There’s something I want to tell you,” Gu Changhuai thought for a moment and said, “A few days ago, a group of demon cultivators of unknown origin surged into the periphery of Qianxue Prefecture.”

“Demon cultivators?” Mo Hua was startled.

Gu Changhuai nodded, “Their origin is still not clear, and it’s also unclear exactly how many there are and what their cultivation level is.”

“Their activity range is also limited to the small prefectures of the second and third rank near the Qianxue Prefecture border. Their purpose is unknown, but they are definitely not holding good intentions.”

“The Dao Court Office has already started to capture them, but the current situation is still not easy to say…”

Gu Changhuai looked at Mo Hua again and reminded him:

“Although you are ‘forbidden to leave’, and cannot leave Qianxue Prefecture, it is highly probable that you will not encounter them, but just in case, you still need to be careful.”

“Okay, okay.” Mo Hua nodded.

(End of this chapter) Recently, the conversion rate is serious. Let’s have more motivation and update faster. Please move your little hand to exit the reading mode. Thank you.