13: Chapter 13 Spring Fortune Telling

When the first south wind of the first lunar month blew, the snow on Duansang Ridge truly began to recede.

By the well in the backyard of Niubei Hollow, the residual ice shattered into pieces, sliding down along the bluestone rim.

The two mu of Gudong Field had not yet been plowed, but the ridges had already softened. Stepping on them no longer felt like the brittle hardness of winter; it was as if the soil, frozen for so long, was finally willing to yield.

Zhao Xing woke up the earliest.

Since she had entered the Jiang Family, she had to run between Niubei Hollow and keep an eye on the ancestral house. Early in the morning, she would go to the well to draw a bucket of water, then return to the ancestral house to add firewood to the stove. By the time Lin Suwen got up, the small amount of rice porridge in the pot was already bubbling slightly.

Zhao Zhi and Ah Shi, being of similar age, had recently been playing together more often.

Early in the morning, Zhao Zhi would carry bamboo shells to look for the chickens, while Ah Shi ran behind her, holding a thin wooden stick and acting as if he were seriously helping her herd the chickens.

The two of them ran all the way from behind the ancestral house to the slope of Niubei Hollow. Song Clan stood by the door watching, not in a hurry to call them.

Jiang Yuhe still ran between the two places.

She had to go to the edge of Gudong Field. She also had to go to the well at the Liu Family's place.

She was now at the second level of Qi Refining, and the trend of Grain Rain was gathering strength for a breakthrough.

After sitting for long periods at night, her technique, Listening to Rain, was gradually taking shape.

Jiang Xingchuan, however, was still faking his injury.

The cloth on his shoulder could have been removed long ago, but Lin Suwen would not allow it.

During the day, she still made him pretend that his blood and Qi had not yet recovered, only allowing him to go to the back slope at night to practice that bit of Thunder Bud.

A few days ago, Old Crow Chen gave him half a pack of dried Black Mulberry Core, saying it was useful to soak it in water and wipe his shoulder. Although he complained about the bitter taste, he still obediently wiped it on.

The person who delivered the medicine was Old Crow Chen's granddaughter, Chen Xiaoyan.

This girl had a sharp tongue and a thin build. When she entered with the medicine package, she first looked Jiang Xingchuan up and down, and finally snorted, "You are nursing this injury more delicately than my family's goose."

Jiang Xingchuan was not polite when taking the medicine. "If your goose could cultivate, I would treat it like a treasure too."

Chen Xiaoyan rolled her eyes, turned around, and walked away. When she reached the door, she turned back and tossed out a sentence: "Don't skimp on the medicine. If you are left with a scar and can't find a wife later, don't blame me."

Jiang Xingchuan first wanted to retort, but he swallowed the words back. He just lowered his head and sniffed the medicine package; a pungent bitterness hit him, leaving him dazed for a long time.

Lin Suwen saw this whole exchange, but she didn't point it out, merely putting the medicine into the cabinet.

As for Jiang Shoushan, after obtaining the Silent Winter from the well on that night at the beginning of winter, he had become even quieter.

During the day, he still performed the duties of a Cold Household, and no one could tell that there was anything different about him.

Jiang Chengning had been the busiest these past few months.

After Niubei Hollow was merged in, all those accounts had to be recalculated.

Some taxes for the mill shed and the marshy land at the lower slope pass were also hung on the Jiang Family, presumably because the Main Family was putting on pressure.

Gudong Field needed to be plowed before spring. The well at Niubei Hollow could not be neglected. Further north, the newly opened water vein at the Main Peak also needed someone to watch over it. It was busy, but life was slowly improving.

On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, Fenchun Terrace below the Main Peak opened again.

The eight Cold Households on Duansang Ridge each received a Spring Token.

Recently, the conflict between the Zhao Family and the Zhou Family had deepened. The Main Peak was being watched closely by the Chengtian Sect, so the incense fire of the Cold Households outside could not be cut off too uglily.

The water vein at Beijian Mouth was pushed further north by the Main Peak, creating a small piece of land that could support people. The Zhou Family planned to bring in another Cold Household into the mountain to occupy the new area first.

Once this news dropped, everyone on the mountain became restless. Which family didn't have descendants? Which family didn't want to continue their incense fire?

The Liu Family really couldn't continue now. Elder Liu had died, and Zhaoquan was gone. The remaining members were either women and children or too young; they couldn't even pick out someone who was sixteen and eligible to go up to Fenchun Terrace.

Therefore, this Spring Token was naturally no longer counted separately for the Liu Family; it was directly credited to the account of the Jiang Family after the merger.

However, they did not give the Jiang Family two tokens, but rather an extra sub-token. The sub-token meant they were qualified to enter the place where the Zhou Family cultivated spring, where the Spiritual Qi was dense and the spring intent was heavy, and there were always a few wild springs.

As for whether they could catch a wild spring, that depended on themselves.

Jiang Yuhe was already a Qi Refining cultivator on the surface. Jiang Xingchuan and Jiang Shoushan could not reveal themselves.

Jiang Chengning made a decision: this public spring would be given to Lin Suwen, and he himself would go into the mountain to fish for that wild spring.

At first, his family did not agree. Jiang Chengning was the pillar of the family, and almost everything had to pass through his hands. If something went wrong while catching the wild spring, the Jiang Family would be in big trouble.

But Jiang Chengning understood that the wild spring left by the Zhou Family would certainly not be of high grade; it would likely be difficult to even reach the second grade.

Those second-grade wild springs were likely all caught and turned into public springs in the wells; the wild springs left for him were most likely first-grade.

Jiang Xingchuan was eighteen, Jiang Yuhe sixteen, and Jiang Shoushan was twenty-eight; theoretically, they still had a chance to reach Foundation Establishment.

But he was already forty-two, six years older than Lin Suwen. No matter what grade of Qi he took, it was the same; he had no chance of even touching the edge of Foundation Establishment. It was better to leave it to Lin Suwen, leaving a glimmer of hope.

On the day of Start of Spring, the sky was rarely clear.

Below Fenchun Terrace, it was packed with people.

From the Jiang Family, Jiang Chengning, Lin Suwen, and Jiang Yuhe went. Jiang Shoushan and Jiang Xingchuan did not go. He was currently most wary of showing himself too much in front of people, so he stayed on the back slope to watch the mill.

From the Sun Family, Sun Changshui and his nephew Sun Jingxiu went.

As soon as Lin Suwen arrived below the stage, some people secretly looked at her.

Last year, the Jiang Family was still hanging on the verge of having their incense fire cut off.

This year, Jiang Yuhe succeeded first, and Niubei Hollow was merged over. Now that Lin Suwen was taking another token to the stage, the situation felt different.

Sun Jingxiu stood behind his uncle, holding a water account book in his arms, but his eyes didn't really leave the Jiang Family's side.

He looked at Lin Suwen first, then at Jiang Yuhe. He looked twice, but didn't dare to actually go over and talk.

He Qi, however, spoke first, smiling in an unsavory way. "Why didn't Brother Chengning come?"

Jiang Chengning glanced at him. "Chengning does not seek immortality, only for his family to be safe."

He Qi's mouth twitched, and he didn't continue.

During last winter's dispute over the spiritual fields, no one really gained much advantage. Now that the Spring Tokens were issued, everyone had to put old accounts aside for now and focus on catching this current breath of Qi.

The person verifying the tokens on the stage was still from the Main Peak. Accountant Zhou Chengli was not there; he was replaced by a middle-aged manager named Zhou Cheng'an, who had a dark face, didn't like to smile, and spoke little.

The tokens were verified one by one; there were no tricks, and those with real problems were picked out on the spot.

The Sun Family went up first. This time, Sun Changshui pushed Sun Jingxiu forward.

This child was seventeen and inherited a second-grade Rain Water. This was specially chosen by the Main Family; since the Sun Family had to guard the water vein, Rain Water would be better.

His hands were shaking when he went up on the stage, but after he actually sat down, he slowly calmed down.

Rain Water suited him from the start, and he ran around Beijian Mouth every day holding the water account book, so he was naturally close to the water vein. He took one breath of Qi, and it went smoothly.

The Main Family's attitude this year was obviously much softer. With the Spring Tokens issued, the lives of the Cold Households had greatly improved. It seemed that because of the Zhao Family, the Main Family was starting to build up goodwill.

The He Family and the Wang Family also pushed up a nephew each, inheriting mostly standard first or second-grade Qi like Start of Spring or Rain Water.

The Feng Family had few people now, and the Spring Token eventually fell into the hands of their youngest son, Feng Changming.

But among these three, only Feng Changming succeeded.

Feng Changming absorbed a first-grade Start of Spring, which belonged to the most standard and stable type, but he still had a slip in his Qi, though fortunately he succeeded in the end.

As for the children from the He and Wang families, they didn't even manage to keep their lives. The second-grade spring Qi exploded directly in their chests, and they died on the spot.

The scene immediately fell into chaos. For so many years, Fenchun Terrace rarely had deaths, but this time two died at once.

The manager, Zhou Cheng'an, narrowed his eyes into slits, but in the end, he said nothing. He waved his hand, and the servants rushed up to quickly dispose of them.

Jiang Yuhe stood on the Jiang Family's side watching, silently using Listening to Rain to listen to the flow of the Qi paths. Absorbing spring required stability, and in imagery, it was somewhat similar to Grain Rain.

But at that moment, the Qi of those three people went strangely chaotic.

Jiang Yuhe dared not think too much. If she, a mere second-level Qi Refining cultivator, could see through this trickery, the Zhou Family would not have taken no action.

If it were a trap set by the Zhou Family, there was even less reason to kill these three families, and besides, how could they so easily let people see the clues?

Jiang Yuhe's face showed no abnormality; she naturally withdrew Listening to Rain and dared not make any further moves.

When it was Lin Suwen's turn, the area below the stage quieted down for a moment.

She was not young, and she was inconspicuous standing in the crowd.

Her clothes were old, and her hands were covered in calluses from years of farming and cooking. When she went up on the stage, she had no special aura; she walked just like she did on any other day, neither fast nor slow.

The Spring Well condensed a second-grade Start of Spring.

When Lin Suwen sat down holding the cup, Zhou Wang was curled up in the family genealogy, borrowing his eyes to observe the situation.

He had already used up quite a bit of genealogy ink earlier when flipping through the techniques for Jiang Yuhe, Jiang Xingchuan, and Jiang Shoushan. Now, if he were to act for Lin Suwen, he would have to use it even more sparingly.

Lin Suwen's Start of Spring was smoother than imagined.

As soon as the Start of Spring fell in, it was like a seed falling into tilled soil, taking root silently.

Half an hour later, she opened her eyes, and a line of faint cyan appeared on the back of her hand.

The Cold Households below the stage saw it clearly. The Jiang Family had added another Qi Refining cultivator on the surface.

At this, even Fifth Feng's expression became even gloomier.

And not long after Jiang Chengning stepped off the stage, the family newly introduced from the North Pass finally arrived.

Five people. One woman, two middle-aged men, a teenager of seventeen or eighteen, and a child of only twelve or thirteen.

As soon as they entered, they attracted many gazes. The reason was simple—this was a Cold Household newly introduced by the Main Peak along the water vein of the North Pass, who would settle in that new land north of Duansang Ridge in the future.

As soon as Sun Changshui saw that family, his eyes flickered. "New Cold Household?"

Someone next to him whispered: "It is said that they were defeated from the west and had nowhere to go. The Main Peak saw that they still had a young person who could receive spring, so they took them in."

Jiang Yuhe also looked up. The young teenager looked ordinary, but stood straight, and his eyes did not shy away when looking at people.

The younger one didn't speak much, just standing by his mother's side, hands tucked in his sleeves, looking timid.

The one pushed out by the new Cold Household to receive spring was the older teenager.

He took the Spring Token and went up to the stage. In the end, he received a second-grade Start of Spring. The Qi was not high, and the method was not strange, but it was stable, and in the end, he actually succeeded.

Someone below the stage let out a low exclamation of surprise. For a new Cold Household entering the mountain on the first day to continue their incense fire, this was considered extremely good luck.

Zhou Cheng'an recorded the name in the book and stated flatly: "New household at the North Pass, the Ji Family."

When the crowd dispersed, Sun Jingxiu, holding the account book, finally gathered his courage and walked over to the Jiang Family. "Yu... Miss Yuhe."

Jiang Yuhe turned back. Sun Jingxiu's ears immediately turned red. The words circled on his lips, and finally, they only turned into one sentence: "A new water channel has been dug out at Beijian Mouth. My uncle said, if you have free time someday, you can go over and listen to the water."

He regretted it as soon as he said it. No matter how you listened to it, this sounded like making conversation out of nothing. But he wasn't good with words to begin with, and when he was really in front of her, his mind went even blanker, and he could only bring up the thing he was most familiar with—water—to talk about.

Jiang Yuhe was stunned for a moment, then nodded gently. "Okay."

Sun Jingxiu seemed to heave a sigh of relief and retreated with the account book. Lin Suwen was silently watching from the side, snickering.

On the way back to the mountain, news about the Zhou Family also spread.

This time, when the Chengtian Sect came to collect taxes and select Disciples, the Zhou Family sent up two people: Zhou Qingxiu of the Eldest Branch and Zhou Mingshou of the Second Branch.

These two, one focusing on spring and the other leaning towards clarity, were considered promising sprouts among the younger generation of the Main Peak.

People didn't really care who the Zhao Family sent. They only knew that Black Stone Ridge was still locking horns with the Main Peak, so the fact that these two could be taken away smoothly meant the Zhou Family hadn't lost out this time.

And what concerned Duansang Ridge even more than this was that the Zhou Family really wanted to expand another area of outer mountain Cold Household land towards the North Pass.

In other words, for the past few years, the Main Peak had not only not prepared to shrink the Cold Households, but was instead reclaiming land and cultivating fields layer by layer on the outside, expanding their foundation.

When they returned to the ancestral house, it was almost dark. Jiang Yuhe recounted the events on the stage today one by one.

After listening, Jiang Xingchuan only asked about the newly arrived Ji Family. "How old is that one who received the spring?"

"Looks like eighteen or nineteen," Jiang Chengning said.

Jiang Xingchuan was thoughtful and didn't ask any further.

With the issuance of this Spring Token, the incense fire on the mountain continued for another layer. Lin Suwen became the second surface-level Qi Refining cultivator. Sun Jingxiu also succeeded. The newly arrived Ji Family at the North Pass also gained a foothold.

Now, among the five members of the Jiang Family, only Jiang Chengning was still a Mortal. If he went into the mountain alone to seek that wild spring, it would certainly not be safe.

Jiang Shoushan said in a muffled voice: "Tomorrow, take that one and a half Spring-attribute spiritual items from the house. Jiang Yuhe, you go with him. Don't feel distressed; life is the most important thing."

Jiang Chengning was stunned for a moment. He had considered too much for his family, but had never thought about this aspect.

As for Jiang Xingchuan. He had finally finished that package of medicine from Chen Xiaoyan. Tonight, another package was delivered, containing two more bitter ingredients. Attached to the outside of the medicine package was just a small piece of paper, with a sentence written in crooked handwriting: "Do not burst the Jianjing point, guide slowly through the left rib."

Jiang Xingchuan stared at it for a long time, then finally crumpled the paper into his sleeve. He cursed "meddlesome" under his breath, but turned around and soaked the medicine first.