Chapter 9: Green Bamboo Valley

Wang Changxue was the daughter of Wang Changsheng's paternal uncle, Wang Mingzhi. She possessed three spiritual roots: wood, water, and metal, with wood being her primary spiritual root. She cultivated the Yellow-grade, First-tier "Evergreen Art." This year, she was twenty-three years old and at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Wang Mingzhi's wife had passed away several years ago, and Wang Changxue had observed three years of mourning for her mother; otherwise, she would have married much earlier.

In the Wang family, the male members managed external affairs, while the female members handled internal household matters.

Wang Changxue was no exception. She was responsible for tending to the Wang family's three mu of spiritual mulberry trees. The spiritual mulberry leaves were used to feed spiritual silkworms, and the silk produced was an excellent material for artifact refining.

As the matriarch of the Wang family, Liu Qing'er's position was prominent. To avoid gossip, Liu Qing'er always entrusted Wang Changxue to deliver items to Wang Changsheng.

"Second Sister, why are you here so early? I thought you wouldn't come until my birthday!" Wang Changsheng said, delighted.

"Oh? From what you're saying, I can't come unless it's your birthday?" Wang Changxue teased with a wry smile.

"Second Sister, that's not what I meant. I wish you'd stay here; I'm almost bored to death," Wang Changsheng explained with a bitter smile.

Seeing this, Wang Qiusheng wisely bowed and withdrew.

Wang Changxue noticed the medicine-seeking mouse on Wang Changsheng's shoulder, and a hint of surprise appeared in her beautiful eyes. "Oh, is that a Twin-Eyed Mouse? Where did you find one?" she asked.

"A Twin-Eyed Mouse! Second Sister, you recognize this kind of spiritual mouse? Can you tell me more about it?" Wang Changsheng asked curiously.

"Twin-Eyed Mice can easily see through obstacles like fog, rivers, and trees. They have a keen sense of smell and are adept at finding natural spiritual herbs. They prefer to dig burrows in places where spiritual energy is dense. Last time, Seventh Sister saw someone selling a Twin-Eyed Mouse at the market and insisted on buying it with spiritual stones. Unfortunately, the seller's asking price was too high, over a hundred spiritual stones. Seventh Sister and I pooled our spiritual stones, but it wasn't enough, so we could only watch as someone else bought it. Because of this, Seventh Sister complained to me a lot in private."

"Finding natural spiritual herbs?" Wang Changsheng was a little surprised.

Wang Changxue smiled slightly and reminded him, "Don't get too excited too soon. While Twin-Eyed Mice indeed have the ability to find spiritual herbs, this one is only a First-tier low-grade beast. If you truly put it in a deep mountain forest filled with demonic beasts, the moment it finds a spiritual herb will be its death. A Twin-Eyed Mouse often perishes right after finding a spiritual herb. There are other spiritual beasts capable of finding spiritual herbs besides the Twin-Eyed Mouse. However, Twin-Eyed Mice also have their advantages: they eat less compared to other spiritual beasts good at finding herbs, they are smaller in size, and more agile. By the way, after all that talk, where did you get it?"

"A while ago, ghosts appeared in Wang Family Town. I went there and eliminated them. On my way back, I fortunately stumbled upon it in the deep mountains."

Wang Changsheng hesitated slightly and did not tell his second sister the whole truth.

When Wang Changsheng first discovered that section of spiritual vein, he harbored some resentment towards his father and thus did not report it. Although that section of spiritual vein was only two zhang in size, small enough to be negligible, his failure to report it, according to family rules, would incur punishment.

Now that he understood his father, he was even less able to disclose the existence of that spiritual vein to others, as his father was the family head, and it would reflect poorly.

Hearing Wang Changsheng's explanation, Wang Changxue raised an eyebrow and said with a solemn expression, "Ninth Brother, tell me the truth. You didn't snatch this Twin-Eyed Mouse from someone else, did you? According to family rules, you would be severely punished."

Wang Changsheng gave a bitter smile and explained, "Second Sister, what kind of person do you take me for? Am I that kind of person? I can assure you, I discovered this spiritual mouse by chance; I didn't snatch it from anyone."

"It's best if you didn't. That said, it was indeed wrong for Third Uncle to send you to Ping'an County. However, the family is currently facing difficulties, so please try to be more understanding of Third Uncle. In another year, you'll be able to return. At that time, I'll ask my father to arrange a job for you guarding the spiritual fields, so you can cultivate there, and your cultivation speed won't be too slow."

As if remembering something, she said, "Oh, by the way, this is from Third Aunt, entrusted to me to give to you: a large birthday bun, five jin of First-tier mid-grade Blue Moon Spiritual Rice, and a spiritual egg from my Snow Cloud Chicken. My Snow Cloud Chicken has started laying eggs, so I'm giving you one to try. It's not easy for you here."

Wang Changxue took out an exquisite green food box from her storage bag and placed it on the table.

"A spiritual egg! Second Sister, thank you." A warmth flowed through Wang Changsheng's heart.

Wang Changxue had trained a Snow Cloud Chicken, using the spiritual grain provided by the family to feed it. Consequently, Wang Changxue's cultivation speed had become very slow. After feeding on spiritual grain for five years, the Snow Cloud Chicken began laying eggs, producing one spiritual egg each month. These spiritual eggs could be hatched or consumed. A single spiritual egg sold for twenty spiritual stones on the market.

Of course, the Snow Cloud Chicken consumed dozens of jin of First-tier low-grade spiritual grain each month. After deducting costs, Wang Changxue could earn five or six spiritual stones per spiritual egg. However, the initial investment for raising Snow Cloud Chickens was significant, so the Wang family only raised six such chickens (not including the one Wang Changxue owned).

"What's with the formalities among family? Soon, it will be time to harvest spiritual mulberry leaves, and Third Aunt will be too busy. That's why she asked me to bring these things to you in advance. I need to go back now. Take good care of yourself."

"Second Sister, I'll see you out."

Wang Changsheng personally escorted Wang Changxue out the door and watched her depart using the Cloud-Soaring spell.

After seeing Wang Changxue off, Wang Changsheng turned and went back inside.

He opened the food box and saw a large birthday bun on the top layer, emitting an enticing aroma.

The bun was made from spiritual grain and spiritual beast meat, imbued with rich spiritual energy.

The second layer contained a white rice bag holding five jin of Blue Moon Spiritual Rice. At the bottom was a huge, pure white egg, radiating a faint vital aura.

Every year on his birthday, Liu Qing'er would entrust Wang Changxue to deliver a large birthday bun and five jin of Blue Moon Spiritual Rice to Wang Changsheng. These items carried Liu Qing'er's deep maternal love.

The Twin-Eyed Mouse sniffed a few times, chirped, and wagged its tail.

"Do you want to eat the birthday bun? No, this is a birthday bun my mother made for me; I can't share it with you. But I can give you twenty grains of Blue Moon Spiritual Rice."

Wang Changsheng opened the rice bag carefully, took out twenty grains of Blue Moon Spiritual Rice, and placed them on the table.

The Twin-Eyed Mouse wasted no time, devouring the twenty grains of Blue Moon Spiritual Rice in a few quick bites.

Wang Changsheng ate the birthday bun and put the Blue Moon Spiritual Rice and the spiritual egg into his storage bag.

After finishing the birthday bun, Wang Changsheng lost interest in ordinary food. He returned to the second floor to meditate and recuperate.

Seven days passed quickly.

Early that morning, Wang Changsheng gave Wang Qiusheng a few instructions, then left Lotus Island using the Cloud-Soaring spell.

Ping'an County belonged to Changping Prefecture and bordered Guanglin County in Pingyang Prefecture.

Guanglin County was the territory of the Song family in Pingyang Prefecture. The Song family was also a cultivation family, with strength comparable to the Wang family.

The Green Bamboo Mountain Range was located northwest of Guanglin County, stretching for over a thousand li. The only market in Pingyang Prefecture, the Green Bamboo Market, was situated deep within the Green Bamboo Mountain Range, in a valley called Green Bamboo Valley.