“Chu Li cultivates Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait, and he needs to fully comprehend the true immense power that comes along with it,” said Xiao Qi.
“He dared to touch the Spirit Tiger’s Bone?” Xiao Tieying shook his head as he said, “Better not do anything stupid. He’s a genius, don’t ruin him!”
“Chu Li has already had some progress in Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait. If he had the bone, he’d definitely improve. If he stopped just because didn’t have the bone, it’d be such a pity!”
“That’s amazing. He can even cultivate Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait… !”
“He’s actually quite lucky. Chu Li has already gathered the upper and lower part.”
Xiao Tieying sighed. He had also cultivated Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait before, but he had never caught the key to it. Thus, he never completed the cultivation.
So far, Chu Li’s innate talent was indeed impressive. It was almost on par with the Third Lady’s. He was definitely worth the effort in being trained.
As the eldest son of the Public House, Xiao Tieying would of course not be jealous of Chu Li. He instead admired Chu Li, and even thought highly of him. A genius like Chu Li must not be wasted, or else it would have been a big mistake. If the Public House wanted to be rich and powerful, he needed to make good use of these geniuses.
“Big Brother…” Xiao Qi said. “We won’t use that Spirit Tiger’s Bone either way. If it can’t be made into medicine and we don’t even dare touch it, we might as well give it to him!”
“Does Chu Li know how to use it?” Xiao Tieying asked. “It has a very ill-omened power. If he touches it, he’ll definitely be doomed!”
“Chu Li has a very deep dharmic base, and he’s also sensitive to danger. If it posed any threat, he’d definitely avoid it,” Xiao Qi said. “Big Brother, are you unwilling to hand it over?”
“Who says I’m unwilling!?” Xiao Tieying shook his hand as he impolitely scoffed, “Fine, just pass it to him!”
Xiao Qi smirked.
Xiao Tieying let out a deep breath. He clenched his teeth to bear his heartache. “But you must tell him clearly that this thing isn’t a joke!”
“Of course.” Xiao Qi pursed her lips and smiled gently. “Big Brother, you’re truly reluctant to give it out, aren’t you?”
Xiao Tieying stared impolitely at her. “Insult me as you wish!”
“Where did the Spirit Tiger’s Bone come from?”
“Who knows.” Xiao Tieying shook his head as he sighed. “I asked father about it once before. Even he didn’t know.”
“This might be the only one in the entire world…” said Xiao Qi.
Xiao Tieying laughed. “It could be that one of the Enlightened Masters brought this back from the Mountain. He may have even brought a few of them along with him.”
“If he brought back one more piece of it, I’m sure it’d provoke the Spirit Tigers,” Xiao Qi said. “Even Enlightened Masters wouldn’t dare to do that.”
“What if there were a few Enlightened Masters?”
“Stop bringing up irrelevant matters, Brother.”
“That’s exactly how hard it was to get the Spirit Tiger’s Bone.” Xiao Tieying shook his head and sighed. “But Chu Li retrieved the grass and saved Sister Xiao Shi’s life. That was far more important than the piece of bone!”
Xiao Qi gently nodded.
The both of them talked while leaving the backyard, and walked together into the main hall.
Before Xiao Tieying sat down, he raised his voice and called out for Linquan. “Linquan! Linquan!”
“Master!” the crane haired, baby-faced elder appeared. He smiled as he squinted his eyes. “How may I be of help, Master?”
“Go to the storehouse and bring me the Spirit Tiger’s Bone!” commanded Xiao Tieying.
“As you wish.” Linquan turned around to go get the bone.
Xiao Tieying pointed at the armchair, signaling at Xiao Qi to sit.
Xiao Qi muttered for a moment as she sighed. “Big Brother, what if what Chu Li said was indeed true?”
“About what?” Xiao Tieying was startled and suddenly recalled what Chu Li had said. He shook his head and could not control his laughter. “The Vitality Sealing Finger?”
“Chu Li is very confident about his determination,” Xiao Qi slowly said.
Xiao Tieying shook his head. “Seems like you’ve come to trust him a lot. That isn’t a good thing. Besides, he’s just a subordinate. You still need to keep your wits about you. You can’t just always trust him!”
“Understood.” Xiao Qi nodded.
She was clear on the means of manipulation. Human nature was inherently evil. One could not just always blindly trust others.
“If it really is the Vitality Sealing Finger, then we’ll just find someone to undo it. It’s not a big deal!” said Xiao Tieying.
Xiao Qi furrowed her brows and muttered to herself, the Vitality Sealing Finger was not that easy to deal with.
Linquan quickly returned to the main hall with a black box. It looked like an ordinary jewelry box. “Master.”
Xiao Tieying took it and passed it to Xiao Qi. “This is the bone. Remember to tell him clearly. Don’t touch it!”
“Understood,” Xiao Qi replied, “he’s not that stupid.”
“I’m worried that Chu Li’s arrogance will lead him to his very own death. If he touches it, the ill-omen would definitely penetrate and rip him apart.” Xiao Tieying scoffed.
Xiao Qi smiled. “Big Brother, Chu Li has already invited Jiang Kuai into the Public House.”
“Hmph—?” Xiao Tieying was startled. His complexion turned grim.
“How should we punish Jiang Kuai?” Xiao Qi added.
Xiao Tieying took a few deep breaths.
He had the intention of flaying Jiang Kuai whenever he had the chance, but since he regained the Longevity grass, his anger was quelled quite a bit. However, as he heard Jiang Kuai’s name, his discomfort came right back to him. Xiao Tieying’s anger had not completely faded yet.
“Shall we exile him from the Public House?” proposed Xiao Qi.
“Nonsense!” Xiao Tieying impolitely gazed at Xiao Qi. “His Light-body Technique is notable. Moreover, since he’s in the Public House, we can’t possibly let him go.”
Xiao Qi gently nodded.
“Chu Li is quite competent.” Xiao Tieying scoffed, “To have invited Jiang Kuai to join the Public House? He’s such a prideful and arrogant bastard, surely it must’ve not been easy!”
“Chu Li understands the human heart. He can identify what they want and break their barriers,” said Xiao Qi.
“There’s no need to rush, let Jiang Kuai take his time with his own decision,” Xiao Tieying said. “Chu Li will definitely convince Jiang Kuai to join the Glory’s Will Courtyard!”
Xiao Qi gently smiled. “It might be possible.”
Linquan served two cups of tea as he bowed and stood to the side.
Xiao Qi glanced at him. “Linquan, you’re quite old now, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you have a good life? You’re at least old enough for that. You can be a senior in the Martial Arts Hall!”
Linquan smiled. “I offer my sincerest thanks to your concern, Third Lady. However, I’m just an old man that was born to work, not to enjoy life. I feel uncomfortable while I rest. If my limbs can still move, I’ll serve my Master. That’s what brings me comfort.”
“Haaah…” Xiao Qi sighed as she shook her head.
Xiao Tieying smiled. “I really wouldn’t be used to not having Linquan around! These maids are clumsy and a real pain in my eyes.”
“Those maids don’t have Linquan’s competence! He’s smart and careful, a rare find. Maybe you should find a maid over at the Second Lady’s place,” said Xiao Qi.
“With that temper? Who will she like?” Xiao Tieying helplessly sighed.
Xiao Qi shook her head. “How can you not have a personal maid to serve you? Isn’t that extremely inconvenient?”
Xiao Shi did not have a personal maid, she only had a group of maids to serve her. Her temper was frightening, and she did not like people sticking around her. Xiao Shi preferred to be alone. She was free and felt calmed when she was, but this proved to be very inconvenient.
If Xiao Shi were like Xiao Qi and had someone like Su Ru beside her, a lot of things that she needn’t worry about would have been dealt with easily. In Xiao Qi’s case, she was able to concentrate on cultivating and handling the personal matters of the Public House, rather than dealing with trifling matters.
Some small issues needed full attention and had to be dealt with one by one. It was very tiring, but the Second Lady was happy with it.
“The few maids with her are helpful,” Xiao Tieying said. “She doesn’t like people that stay too close to her. It’d be useless if we ordered someone else to serve her.”
Xiao Qi gently nodded.
Xiao Tieying’s eyes suddenly widened. “Third Younger Sister, don’t tell me you want to assign Linquan to her?”
“Would you be willing to, Big Brother?” Xiao Qi pursed her lips and smiled.
Xiao Tieying hurriedly shook his head. “No, never!”
“Fine,” Xiao Qi said, “I’ll be presenting Second Eldest Sister with the Longevity Grass later this afternoon. I’ll be leaving now.”
“Very well.” Xiao Tieying impolitely waved his hand.
His head was in a mess because of what Xiao Qi had said. Xiao Tieying took a glance at Linquan. In the end, Linquan was still a man. He may be old, but he was still male. Second Younger Sister’s personal servant needed to be a woman.
Chu Li was cultivating in the courtyard, visualizing Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait. Xiao Qi and Su Ru pushed the door open and walked in, sitting in front of him. Su Ru placed the black box on the stone table.
Chu Li fist saluted and curiously looked at the black box.
“You’ve been promoted again, rank 3 now. Inside this little box here is the Spirit Tiger’s Bone,” Xiao Qi said. “It has an ill power surrounding it. Make sure not to touch it.”
“The Spirit Tiger’s Bone?” Chu Li was shocked.
Xiao Qi gently nodded. “This is a reward for the retrieval of the Longevity Grass. It might help you with cultivating Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait.”
Chu Li gently opened the black box. The power pounced on him, like a fierce white tiger.
Chu Li happily closed the box, fist saluted and thanked her.