2: Chapter 2 The Whole Family's Plans to Turn Things Around

Zhao Yang looked even more excited than Wang Pingan; he waved his arms.

"Pingan! You actually got an A+!"

Wang Pingan made a shushing gesture at him without stopping his pace.

As he walked back to the line, the gazes on both sides shifted completely.

The sparse scrutiny turned into dense stares, a mixture of amazement and envy.

At the front of the line, Wang Jincheng turned his face to look directly at him.

"Cousin Pingan."

Wang Jincheng forced a smile, "Congratulations."

Wang Pingan stopped and nodded in response.

"Thank you, Cousin Jincheng."

The two locked eyes for a moment from three steps away before Wang Jincheng turned back around.

Zhao Yang leaned in and lowered his voice.

"Wang Jincheng actually took the initiative to talk to you?"

Wang Pingan didn't respond.

The watch on his wrist vibrated three times.

He glanced down at the light screen and saw three messages.

Mother: "Son! Are the awakening results out? Mom is waiting for you at home!"

Father: "No matter the result, Dad accepts it."

The third message was actually from the Patriarch of the Wang family, whom Wang Pingan had never had any contact with since birth.

It contained no text, only a location.

It was the Wang Family Ancestral Hall.

...

In the Wang family herb garden, the evening spiritual mist had yet to disperse. Large swathes of spiritual fields were shrouded in formations, with cyan spiritual light flowing layer by layer over the leaves.

Wang Shoutian squatted by the ridge of the field, holding a jade register in his hand, checking the age of each Red Leaf Ginseng plant one by one.

Liu Yun stood nearby, placing the freshly harvested spiritual herbs into a jade box with gentle movements, fearing she might damage the roots.

The couple were both demigods, considered high and mighty in the eyes of ordinary people, but in a divine clan like the Wang family, the overlords of Tianhai Star, they could only manage the herb garden.

Every spiritual herb in the garden was registered. If the age was insufficient, the medicinal potency was weak, or they were damaged during transport, someone had to make up for the loss.

Today happened to be Wang Dehai's turn to audit the accounts.

Wang Dehai stood by the field with his hands behind his back, his chin slightly raised, slapping the jade register in his hand with a crisp sound.

"Wang Shoutian, this batch of Red Leaf Ginseng is missing three plants, and seven Green Vine Fruits have insufficient spiritual energy. According to clan rules, half of your couple's source energy subsidy for this month will be deducted."

Wang Shoutian looked up, his brows furrowed tightly. Suppressing his anger, he explained, "Steward Dehai, the three missing Red Leaf Ginseng plants were already reported as losses the day before yesterday. It was a problem with the formation's spiritual energy backflow, not due to our negligence."

Wang Dehai snorted, "If the formation had problems, does that mean you have no responsibility? The herb garden was entrusted to you. Every time there's a loss, you blame the formation. Do you think the Elders' Council will listen to that?"

Liu Yun put down the jade box, unable to help herself from arguing back, "Steward, we are not responsible for the maintenance of the formations. We recorded the losses overnight the day before yesterday and even asked the people from the Formation Hall to come and inspect it."

"I have seen the records."

Wang Dehai closed the jade register, his tone hardening, "The Formation Hall only said there were fluctuations in spiritual energy; they didn't say it was definitely related to the losses. Don't try to fool me with that."

Wang Shoutian fell silent.

He knew clearly why Wang Dehai was refusing to let it go.

The herb garden steward held the power of distribution; which spiritual field was easy and which was difficult to manage depended entirely on the steward's word.

The couple came from a branch lineage, didn't offer gifts, and didn't like to curry favor. Wang Dehai had long disliked them.

In the past, they could just endure it and move on, but today was different.

Today was the day of their son's awakening.

They hadn't received the news yet, and their hearts were already in a mess, yet Wang Dehai was here blocking them, demanding to deduct their subsidy.

Liu Yun gripped the edge of the jade box, unable to keep her voice down, "Today is Pingan's awakening day. Can't you wait until we receive the results?"

Wang Dehai raised his eyelids, "So what if it's Awakening Day? The Wang family has eight to ten thousand children awakening every year. Do you expect me to wait for every single one of them?"

He swept a glance at the two, his words becoming increasingly grating, "It's already good enough that a branch lineage child can awaken. Even if they awaken as a D-rank or C-rank, it won't change the fact that you need to pay for these losses."

Wang Shoutian's gaze darkened, "Wang Dehai, watch your mouth."

"Did I say something wrong?"

Wang Dehai shook his sleeves, "You two have worked in the herb garden for so many years, don't you have any self-awareness? Only main lineage disciples have the resources to build up their Divine Kingdoms. What do branch lineage children have to turn things around?"

Several servants in the surrounding herb garden kept their heads down, not daring to interject.

The atmosphere in the herb garden was stifling.

Just then, a streak of cyan light suddenly descended from the sky. The formation outside the herb garden offered no resistance, actively parting to create a passage.

Wang Dehai's movements froze, and he hurriedly turned around.

The cyan light landed in front of the field ridge. A middle-aged man wearing a deacon's robe with cyan patterns stepped out, a main lineage token hanging at his waist, with the character "Wang" carved upon it.

When Wang Dehai saw who it was, his waist immediately bent, "Deacon Qinglan, why have you come in person?"

The person who arrived was none other than Wang Qinglan, a deacon of the main lineage responsible for allocating resources for main lineage disciples. Ordinarily, even ordinary stewards found it difficult to catch a glimpse of him.

Wang Shoutian and Liu Yun were also stunned in place.

They had no friendship with a main lineage deacon; they hadn't even had the opportunity to speak to one.

Wang Qinglan didn't look at Wang Dehai. He first cupped his hands toward Wang Shoutian, a warm smile on his face.

"Cousin Shoutian, Cousin-in-law Liu Yun, Qinglan is a step late, causing you both to suffer a grievance."

As these words fell, Wang Dehai's body suddenly stiffened.

Cousin Shoutian?

Cousin-in-law Liu Yun?

Wang Shoutian was also stunned for a moment before hurriedly returning the gesture, "Deacon Qinglan, this is…"

Wang Qinglan took two steps forward, his tone becoming more intimate, "Cousin, you don't need to call me Deacon. Just call me Qinglan according to our seniority. After today, we are all part of the main lineage."

The jade box in Liu Yun's hand nearly slipped.

Sweat began to seep from Wang Dehai's forehead, and a very bad premonition arose in his heart.

Only then did Wang Qinglan turn to look at him, the smile on his face instantly vanishing, "Wang Dehai, you are just a herb garden steward, yet you have such great authority."

Wang Dehai's lips trembled, "Deacon Qinglan, I was just checking the losses according to clan rules. I meant nothing else by it."

"Clan rules?"

Wang Qinglan tossed a jade slip at his feet, "The Formation Hall records are written clearly. The spiritual energy backflow in the herb garden caused the roots of the Red Leaf Ginseng to wither and the spiritual energy of the Green Vine Fruits to dissipate. This matter is to be compensated by the Formation Hall. Which clan rule are you using to deduct their subsidy?"

Wang Dehai's legs went weak. He hurriedly bent down to pick up the jade slip. After scanning it, his hand began to tremble uncontrollably.

The jade slip not only had the Formation Hall's seal but also the Elders' Council's filing.

This could have been checked long ago, but he hadn't taken it seriously before.

It was just a branch lineage; if he suppressed them, so be it.

But now, Wang Qinglan had personally brought the jade slip to hold him accountable, and the situation had completely changed.

Wang Qinglan stared at him, "Do you think Cousin Shoutian is easy to bully, or do you think Cousin-in-law Liu Yun is easy to bully?"

Wang Dehai bowed his head repeatedly, "I dare not, I dare not."