49: Chapter 49 Eight Purple Marrow Ginseng

Two days later, early in the morning, the villagers of Mo Family Village gathered at the entrance of the village.

Standing at the very front was Mo Shoutian, and behind him stood fifteen children aged eight to ten, with their parents behind the children.

Seeing that it was almost noon, many villagers were getting a bit anxious.

"Shoutian, did you remember the date wrong?"

Someone else asked:

"Are they coming in the afternoon? If they are coming in the afternoon, we will go back and grab a bite to eat first."

This was the first time in the history of Mo Family Village encountering an Immortal Sect selecting people, and the villagers did not know what the procedure was, so everyone was saying all sorts of things.

Amidst the discussions of the crowd, three people stepping on Flying Swords appeared on the horizon.

In the blink of an eye, the three of them arrived above the village entrance.

Seeing this, the villagers knelt on the ground one by one.

Only Mo Shoutian did not kneel; he stood at the front and bowed in salute.

"Welcome, Immortals of the Xuanyang Sect, to Mo Family Village."

The three people in the air whispered a few words and landed successively at the village entrance.

The leader was a man in his late twenties, wearing a dark red robe with black-embroidered collars and cuffs.

The two people following behind him were around twenty years old, also wearing dark red robes, though the styles of their clothes were much simpler, and each had a long sword hanging at their waist.

The leading person looked at Mo Shoutian and asked:

"You are Mo Shoutian of Mo Family Village?"

"Indeed, it is this humble one."

"My name is Zhao Chengyue, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Xuanyang Sect, and these two behind me are my Junior Brothers. You should know what we are here for, right?"

"This humble one knows. These fifteen children are all the children aged eight to ten in Mo Family Village this year."

"Good that you know. Now let's begin testing Aptitude."

After saying this, Zhao Chengyue took out a grayish-white stone from his bosom and said to the crowd:

"This is the testing stone of the Xuanyang Sect. Later, let these children put their hands on it. For those with Cultivate Aptitude, the testing stone will light up in one of three colors: yellow, red, or purple."

"Purple is the best, allowing direct entry into the Inner Sect. Yellow and red can only become Outer Sect Disciples first; every year the Sect holds an Outer Sect competition, and those who perform well have the opportunity to enter the Inner Sect. If the testing stone does not react, then they have no Cultivate Aptitude."

After finishing, Zhao Chengyue did not let the villagers kneeling on the ground get up, and holding the testing stone, he walked towards those children.

At this moment, Mo Shoutian stepped forward and said:

"The Immortals have traveled a long way, and Mo Family Village has no precious gifts. These are three century-old Purple Marrow Ginsengs, which I heard are somewhat helpful for cultivation, so I ask the Immortals to accept them."

Zhao Chengyue was not polite either; he reached out and took them.

He looked at the three stalks of Purple Marrow Ginseng for a few moments and said with a smile:

"Before coming, Junior Martial Uncle Zhou said that you, Mo Shoutian, are sensible and abide by the rules, and indeed he was right."

Mo Shoutian said with a smile:

"Many thanks to Elder Zhou for speaking kindly on this humble one's behalf. Later, I also ask the Immortals to carefully test these children of Mo Family Village."

"Easily done, easily done."

Zhao Chengyue glanced at the villagers still kneeling on the ground.

"All of you, get up."

The villagers stood up from the ground one after another, and Zhao Chengyue also walked in front of the children to begin testing Aptitude.

The first child placed his hand on the testing stone, and the stone had no reaction at all.

Then came the second, the third...

After testing ten children in a row, the testing stone still did not light up.

When testing the eleventh one, Zhao Chengyue turned his head to look at Mo Shoutian.

"It seems that the children of your Mo Family Village have no Immortal affinity."

A trace of embarrassment appeared on Mo Shoutian's face.

"I ask the Immortals to think of a way."

Zhao Chengyue did not speak and continued to test the remaining children.

After all fifteen children were tested, Zhao Chengyue put away the testing stone and said to Mo Shoutian:

"It seems Mo Family Village truly has no children with Immortal affinity this year. However, if you take out another three century-old Purple Marrow Ginsengs, I can make the decision to take in two Outer Sect Utility Disciples to do chores."

Mo Shoutian cursed inwardly; had he overdone his act?

But the smile on his face did not change, and he quickly said:

"Many thanks to the Immortal for taking care of Mo Family Village, I will have someone go fetch them right away."

After finishing, he called over a villager beside him and whispered a few instructions.

After hearing them, that villager turned and ran towards Mo Shoutian's house.

Zhao Chengyue heard everything Mo Shoutian said earlier, but he did not expose it; instead, he looked back and forth at the fifteen children.

Finally, his gaze stopped on the two tallest children, and he raised his hand to point at them.

"You two, come over."

The two children turned to look at their parents.

Their parents hurriedly waved their hands, letting them go over.

Seeing their parents' signal, the two children then walked towards Zhao Chengyue.

Zhao Chengyue looked at the two children who had walked up to him and asked:

"What are your names, and how old are you this year?"

The child standing at the front said:

"My name is Mo Xiaoman, and I am ten years old this year."

The other child followed and said:

"My name is Mo Xiaozhu, and I am also ten years old."

Hearing the names and ages of the two children, Zhao Chengyue turned to look at Mo Shoutian.

"I see these two are quite clever, suitable to be brought back as Outer Sect Utility Disciples."

Mo Shoutian quickly cupped his hands.

"Many thanks, Immortal."

At this moment, the villager who had gone back to fetch the Purple Marrow Ginseng also ran back, except what he held in his hand was not three stalks, but five.

Mo Shoutian took the five century-old Purple Marrow Ginsengs from his hand and handed them to Zhao Chengyue.

"Immortal, there are a total of five stalks here. As for the two extra stalks, I ask the Immortal to take good care of these two children in the future and find them some easier work to do."

Zhao Chengyue had already heard Mo Shoutian's instructions earlier, and he accepted the Purple Marrow Ginseng with a smile.

"Naturally. Since you, Mo Shoutian, understand the rules, the children of Mo Family Village naturally will not suffer any hardships when they arrive at the Xuanyang Sect."

He put away the five stalks of Purple Marrow Ginseng and said:

"We will take the children away now; food and clothing are all provided by the Sect."

Mo Shoutian glanced at the parents of the two children, cupped his hands and said:

"Immortal, can you allow the children to say goodbye to their parents?"

Zhao Chengyue originally wanted to refuse, but looking at the eight century-old Purple Marrow Ginsengs in his hand, he still said:

"Be quick, don't delay too long."

"Many thanks, Immortal."

Mo Shoutian turned around and shouted:

"Xiaoman, Xiaozhuzi, quickly go say goodbye to your parents."

The two children ran back to their parents' side.

Mo Xiaoman's mother hugged the child and refused to let go, repeatedly instructing him to be obedient when he arrived at the Xuanyang Sect and never to cause trouble.

Mo Xiaozhu's father also pulled his son's hand, saying everything that needed to be said all over again.

After about half an incense stick of time, seeing that the two families had finished their instructions, Mo Shoutian spoke up:

"Alright, the Immortal is still waiting nearby."

Hearing Mo Shoutian's words, the two children then separated from their parents and returned to Zhao Chengyue's side.

Zhao Chengyue nodded at Mo Shoutian, released his Flying Sword, stepped onto it, and flew into the air first.

The other two each brought a child, followed behind Zhao Chengyue, and flew toward the direction they came from.

Until the figures of several people completely disappeared, Mo Shoutian looked at the surrounding villagers.

"Everyone disperse, it's over."

Hearing this, the crowd successively left the village entrance with their own children.

Mo Xiaoman and Mo Xiaozhu's parents did not leave; they still stood in place, gazing at the direction where the few people disappeared.

Mo Shoutian walked up to them and said:

"People have already gone far away, stop looking."

Mo Xiaoman's mother wiped her eyes.

"This child has never left me since he was young, and I don't know if he can eat and dress warmly after going to the Xuanyang Sect."

Mo Shoutian said:

"Being able to enter the Xuanyang Sect is their blessing. Every half year, the Mo family will send people to deliver some silver, clothing, and food items to them, so you don't need to worry too much."

"Even if they enter the Xuanyang Sect, they are still children of the Mo family. As long as the Mo family still exists, we will not ignore them."

After hearing this, the two families all nodded.

Mo Shoutian comforted them a few more words and let them go back first, while he himself stood at the village entrance, looking for a while in the direction where Zhao Chengyue and the others left.

At this time, Mo Shoutian would not have thought that ten years later, these two children would risk their lives to save many people of Mo Family Village.