bookbashuk Chapter 6 Cutting 1
Chapter 6 Cutting 1
In May, three-year-old Cai Fei finally spoke, causing a small wave of surprise.
The fact that he can speak indicates that his intelligence is still within the normal range—although he should have started speaking much earlier given his age.
Given this, his status as the child of two cultivators remains something to look forward to, because based on experience...
Children of dual cultivators have about a one-third chance of entering the Dao and becoming immortals.
For many years, Wujialing has relied solely on Xu Ping'an for survival. Their food supplies are often plundered, and the villagers are frequently preyed upon by wild animals. What is most unsettling is that Xu Ping'an is getting old, and there is no one to succeed him in Wujialing. Everyone has long been hoping for the birth of the next cultivator.
Xiao Caifei received special care as a result: Grandma Xu moved into the orphanage and moved him from a communal room to a single room. He also received special treatment in terms of diet—he was guaranteed at least one egg a day.
Chu Shanyun's appearance in Chenjia Village stirred up even bigger waves.
Chen Jinghai had almost forgotten about this woman—the only impression his lawfully wedded wife left on him was disgust.
Moreover, even someone as cold-hearted as him couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for throwing away his own flesh and blood three years ago.
The child didn't die; he landed at Wujialing—but he did throw him off the cliff. He instinctively avoided the topic, neither mentioning it himself nor his friends.
For two years, the names "Chu Shanyun" and "Cai Fei" had never been heard from him.
She shouldn't have brought her child along when she delivered the goods herself.
The evening after Chu Shanyun came looking for her husband, Chen Jinghai walked into the Silver Hook Gambling House with a gloomy expression.
He didn't have many spirit stones in his pocket, and the large table in the inner room wasn't enough to play at, so he sat down at the smallest card table in the outer room, intending to try his luck first.
As soon as he sat down, the owner of the animal hide shop next door squeezed over: "You're going to play for one spirit stone a game? Little Chen is getting more and more greedy."
"I have no money." Chen Jinghai honestly confessed. This animal skin shop owner was one of his creditors, owing him 30,000 yuan, making him a small creditor. "How about you lend me some more so I can go inside and play a few rounds? Before I came out today, I cast a divination, which said, 'It is advantageous to go somewhere, and things will come unexpectedly.'"
"What a wonderful unexpected turn of events!" The boss leaned closer mysteriously. "There's a piece of fatty meat being offered to you; it's up to you whether you take it or not."
"I won't eat it," Chen Jinghai refused outright.
This boss buys the hides and bones of demonic beasts, and his customers are mostly rogue cultivators who risk their lives in the deep mountains. Chen Jinghai knew exactly what the "fat meat" he was talking about was.
Aolai is full of villains, and those who dare to lend money to gamblers are the worst of the worst. Although he hangs out with these people, he comes from Dazhai and a month ago he still had a family and a business. He can indulge in drinking, gambling, whoring, and petty theft, but he doesn't have the guts to commit murder.
Besides, he's someone who makes a living based on his looks; fighting is definitely not his forte, and he has that much self-awareness.
"What a piece of meat, boneless and easy to chew, and only you can eat it!" The shopkeeper half-dragged, half-pulled him into the small shop next door, lowering his voice, "Your wife has recovered. Yesterday she chased after you to your house wanting to get back together, and she even brought your son with her."
My wife?
That woman from the Chu family!
Fatty meat delivered right to your mouth?
Chen Jinghai shuddered, then he remembered the contract, and his eyes lit up, all his fatigue vanished.
"Remember now?" The boss patted him on the shoulder. "I'll have Li Er go with you tomorrow. Once you get the money, pay off my principal and interest first."
For gamblers who are desperate, any hope of making money is a lifeline.
So what if you hit your wife?
The agreement clearly stated that as long as the two could have a child, the Savage Beast would have to be given a new owner—and that beast was worth at least 100,000 spirit stones!
The next morning, Chen Jinghai, along with Li Er from the animal skin shop, took the agreement and went straight to the Heavenly Court's office in Sushanfang. After much pleading and tantrums, they managed to drag the old manager, Zhang Jingzhai, out.
The three then found Chen Jinglong, the general affairs manager of Chen Family Village, and without saying a word, they dragged him onto the old manager's flying sword and headed straight for Chu Family Village.
When the Heavenly Court official arrived, Chu Family Village had no choice but to open its gates to welcome him.
As soon as Chen Jinghai landed, he immediately brought up the agreement.
Chu Huihui immediately retorted, "Pah! You almost beat someone to death, and you still have the nerve to ask for money?"
Several cultivators from Chu Family Village rushed over upon hearing the commotion, and the hot-tempered ones grabbed their weapons, ready to fight.
Chen Jinghai had already hidden behind the old steward, but Li Er, being a stubborn man, spread his arms to block him: "Gentlemen, there's a reason for everything! With the Heavenly Court steward here, are you afraid there's no place to reason?"
The old steward remained silent with a cold face. Chen Jinghai, seeing the people from Chu Family Village being stopped, became emboldened and waved the agreement behind the old steward: "Why can't I keep this savage beast? The child has been born, so the agreement stands! It's in black and white, and the steward's office has a record!"
The two sides were hurling insults at each other across the crowd. The old chief of the Chu family heard the commotion and rushed over. He suppressed his anger and walked to the old steward's side to ask him in a low voice.
The old manager shrugged: "Shameless person, what can you do? Just settle the matter quickly."
"It looks terrible standing here. Let's go sit up on the mountain first." The old chieftain gestured for someone to come over, while waving his hand, "Go and call Shanyun over. It's her business, she can make her own decisions."
"Bring the child over too, he's also a party involved," the old manager said.
The old village chief hesitated.
"What?" The old steward thought he was afraid the Chen family would take the person away. "Just bring him over for a quick look."
"The child is in Wujialing, it's a bit of a road there." The old village chief said with a slight embarrassment.
"Why did you put it over there?" Zhang Jingzhai stared wide-eyed, utterly puzzled.
"Born on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month..." In Aolai, this reason was quite legitimate, but the old chieftain was still a little embarrassed in front of Steward Zhang.
Because the saying "the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is a day of ruin and destruction" is very old, Ao Lai believed in it, but he knew that many places outside did not believe it, especially the areas controlled by Confucianism. The ancient sage Confucius had the teaching of "not speaking of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits," and he disdained all kinds of superstitions. Zhang Jingzhai was a disciple of Confucianism.
Sure enough, Zhang Jingzhai was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening. He was speechless for a while, and the group sat in silence until Chu Shanyun appeared. Zhang Jingzhai stood up and was about to leave.
"Since the child is in Wujialing, let's go there."
The old chieftain couldn't keep them any longer, so he sent Chu Huihui and Chu Shanyun with him.
The old steward set the flying sword to its maximum size, allowing all six of them to board, and they flew straight to Wujia Ridge.
Wujialing's main peak is not high, only about 1000 meters, which is considered a very low mountain in Aolai. However, the mountain range is winding and undulating, and it is about seven or eight miles from the foot of the mountain to the top. Xu Ping'an usually tends to a few spiritual plants on the top of the mountain. The group of people then took flying swords and headed straight to the top of the mountain, leaving only Chu Shanyun to go find the child.
Xiao Cai was catching bugs in the mud when Chu Shanyun rushed over in a paper kite.
"I'm taking you to see your bastard father. You're not allowed to call me 'Mom' or him 'Dad' later, do you hear me!" Chu Shanyun jumped off the kite, grabbed the child's hands, and glared at him threateningly.
"pain!"
"Holding me so tight, you're really not human!" Cai Fei tried to struggle, but couldn't break free, and couldn't help but frown and cry out in pain.
"Huh?" Chu Shanyun quickly let go and looked down. She saw that Cai Fei's two small hands had been gripped by her until they were bluish-purple, like handcuffs. Even though she was thick-skinned, she felt that she had gone a bit too far. But that wasn't the point. The point was: this kid really knew how to talk, and his pronunciation was quite clear.
Use a sleeping spell?
No, the old steward is at the Foundation Establishment stage. If he sees through me, he might use a sobering spell.
So, should we just knock them out?
However, Chu Shanyun lacked experience in this area. Children's skin is thin and their bones are fragile; if she accidentally broke them, it would be disastrous. So she hesitated for a moment.
……
Watching Chu Shanyun brandishing a chopstick near his neck, Cai Fei felt frustrated.
If we're going to take him to see that bastard father, it must be about that agreement. His mother was just muttering to herself yesterday—it would be best if her son were an idiot, so she could renege on the debt!
Are you trying to knock me out with all those gestures?
Or do you want to beat me senseless?
Cai Fei sighed and said leisurely, "Do you need me to play dumb?"
A moment of silence fell, and after a full breath, Chu Shanyun finally exclaimed, "Holy crap!"
"Do we need to sign a new agreement?" Cai Fei asked.
"Sign it. Your deadbeat father is drowning in debt. I need to get a divorce from him."
"I can play dumb, but the agreement has to include a clause—from now on I will return to my homeland and have nothing to do with either of you."
Cai Fei wasn't afraid of exposing his intelligence anymore, and directly negotiated with his own mother.
His biological father was undoubtedly a scumbag, and his biological mother was somewhat better, but she had ignored him for years and couldn't be relied on. Xu Shi from Wujialing had indeed been a kind and righteous person over the past few years. He had been acting like an idiot for the past three years, and Xu Shi had still taken good care of him. Since that was the case, he might as well take this opportunity to make a written agreement to completely sever ties with these two strange parents and avoid future entanglements.
"OK!"
Chu Shanyun didn't care much about this son to begin with, so it was fine. She was only twenty-four or twenty-five years old, and she would be much more at ease without this burden. Upon hearing this, she readily agreed.