504: slave Agu

Cangwu City in the south of the Eternal World is nestled within the Cangwu Mountain Range where Spiritual Veins crisscross; outside the city walls forged from Profound Iron are Spirit Fields stretching for a hundred miles, and inside the city, bluestone paths wind and intersect, with bustling but orderly markets.

This is the Foundation of the Murong Family, one of the seven great families, and even more so a "Peach Blossom Spring" in the hearts of countless slaves.

In this world where Cultivators are supreme and Mortals are like grass, the existence of the Murong Family is an anomaly.

The Murong Family's ancestral motto, "Respect Heaven and cherish things, treat all living beings with kindness," is not just empty words hanging in the ancestral hall.

Since Patriarch Murong Yuan took charge of the Family a hundred years ago, this philosophy has been implemented in every detail.

Slaves do not need to wear heavy shackles; they only need a pale gold Slave Mark branded on the back of their necks—this mark is only used to identify ownership and has no power of Restriction; instead, under the nourishment of the city's Spiritual Veins, it slightly improves their Physique;

The entire area of low courtyards in the west of the city is designated for slaves to live in, with each household having one courtyard and one house; the roofs are covered with waterproof Spiritual Plants, and the rooms are furnished with simple but sturdy wooden beds and tables; in the corner of the courtyard, they can even Cultivate a small vegetable plot to grow some hardy Spirit Vegetables and Spirit Wheat;

Even more touching is that the Murong Family never forbids slaves from literacy and reasoning; on the first and fifteenth of every month, Family Elders give lectures on the Dao in the square in front of the ancestral hall, explaining common knowledge of immortal cultivation and the ways of the world; slaves can listen from the periphery of the square, and if they show diligence or intelligence, they can even obtain the shallow body-strengthening Cultivation Technique compiled by the Family, the "Jian Gu Jue." Although this technique cannot lead Qi into the body, it can temper the bones and muscles and resist illness; for slaves who cannot Cultivate, it is already a heavenly blessing.

A Gu grew up in such an environment.

He had no surname; "A Gu" was a nickname given to him by his childhood companion Shi Tou—he lost his mother at a young age, was malnourished and as skinny as a skeleton, yet he possessed a resilience far exceeding that of his peers; even when mocked by other children, he never shed a single tear.

A Gu's mother was a laundry slave for the Murong Family; she contracted smallpox when he was five years old, and although treated by the Murong Family's physicians, she ultimately did not survive that plague.

After his mother passed away, the old slave Uncle Fu, who was then the steward of the Murong Family, took him into his own small courtyard.

Uncle Fu had been with the Murong Family for fifty years, from a cattle-herding slave in his youth to the steward in charge of the Family's miscellaneous affairs today, having personally watched Patriarch Murong Yuan grow from a young child to a steady head of the Family.

His gratitude toward the Murong Family was already carved into his marrow.

After finishing his work every day, Uncle Fu would always sit under the old locust tree in the courtyard, mending A Gu's patched coarse cloth clothes while nagging incessantly: "A Gu, a person must not forget their roots. Although we are slaves, we are a hundred times better off than slaves elsewhere—we have a house to live in, full meals to eat, and can even listen to the Elders' lectures; all of this is given by the Murong Family. One must know how to repay kindness; in the future, you must work diligently and protect Young Master Xuan well to not let this kindness go to waste."

The Young Master Xuan mentioned by Uncle Fu was the Murong Family's direct son, Murong Xuan, who was born on the same year, month, and day as A Gu. Murong Xuan was born with a High Grade Golden Spiritual Root; he could lead Qi into his body at age three, successfully reached Foundation Establishment at five, and at ten, he even achieved a Breakthrough to the Golden Core, becoming a Genius unseen in the Murong Family for a hundred years. Yet this favored child of heaven, who received thousands of affections, insisted on sticking to the rootless A Gu.

When he was six years old, Murong Xuan received Spiritual Essence Cakes as a reward from his father—these were pastries made from thousand-year spiritual essence mixed with glutinous rice, crystal clear and melting in the mouth; the pure Spiritual Qi they contained could nourish a Cultivator's Meridians, something ordinary slaves would never even see.

Murong Xuan tucked the pastries away, shook off the servants around him, and ran all the way to the slave courtyard in the west of the city, pouncing like a cheerful little sparrow next to A Gu, who was helping Uncle Fu chop wood: "A Gu, quick, taste this! Father said these Spiritual Essence Cakes are very sweet; I secretly saved the biggest piece for you!"

Before A Gu could react, the pastry was stuffed into his mouth. The clear sweetness of the spiritual essence mixed with the softness of the glutinous rice melted on the tip of his tongue, and a warm current slid down his throat into his belly; A Gu felt comfortable all over, and even the fatigue from several days of chopping wood dissipated by more than half.

He looked at Murong Xuan's sparkling eyes, his face flushing red, and after a long time, he managed to squeeze out: "Young Master, it is sweet."

When he was ten, Murong Xuan followed the Family teacher to learn literacy; whenever he learned a new character, he would immediately run to A Gu's small courtyard, squat on the stone steps, and write stroke by stroke on the ground with a branch: "A Gu, I'll teach you to write your own name. 'A' is the left ear radical plus 'ke', and 'Gu' is the character for 'bone'..." A Gu lay beside him, his eyes focused on the marks left by the branch on the ground, silently reciting along with Murong Xuan's voice.

Uncle Fu sat on the bamboo chair by the door, waving a cattail leaf fan, watching the figures of the two children with a face full of gratified smiles, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothing out.

In the year he was fifteen, Murong Xuan successfully reached Foundation Establishment, and Patriarch Murong Yuan rewarded him with a "Heart-Protecting Jade Pendant"—the pendant was carved from warm jade and embedded with a protective spiritual power from a Golden Core Cultivator; it could automatically trigger a shield when attacked, resisting one attack of the Golden Core level.

That same day, Murong Xuan ran to the slave courtyard, tied the jade pendant around A Gu's neck, and said seriously: "A Gu, you have no spiritual power and can easily suffer when out and about; wear this jade pendant, it can keep you safe."

The jade pendant pressed against his chest, its warm touch spreading through his skin; A Gu touched the exquisite patterns on the jade pendant, his eyes turning red.

He knew the preciousness of this jade pendant; as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Murong Xuan needed protective items more than he did, but he could say nothing, only swearing heavily in his heart: In this life, I must protect Young Master Xuan well, even if it means giving up my life.

Among the slave population in Cangwu City, such warmth could be seen everywhere.

Auntie Lin from the laundry was skillful and kind-hearted; whenever A Gu's clothes were torn, she would always take them and mend them neatly with colored Spirit Thread, and she would also secretly tuck a handful of clean Spirit Rice into A Gu's pocket;

Shi Tou, who was responsible for feeding the Spirit Birds, was born with Divine Power and had a simple and honest personality; he was A Gu's best playmate, and the two often worked together in the Spirit Fields—A Gu was responsible for sowing and weeding, while Shi Tou was responsible for tilling and watering; when tired, they would lie on the field ridges and watch the clouds, and Shi Tou would always share half of his saved Spirit Cakes with A Gu;

Old Zhou, who guarded the storehouse, was once an Outer Sect Disciple of an Immortal Cultivation Sect; he was demoted to a slave for accidentally entering a Forbidden Ground, but he never complained; instead, he secretly taught the basic martial arts he knew to A Gu and Shi Tou, saying, "Learn more skills, so you can have an extra way to survive in this troubled world."

The slaves repaid the Murong Family's generosity in their own ways.

Seventeen-year-old A Gu had recently seemed to have lost his soul; in the past, whenever Murong Xuan called, he could always put down his work immediately and rush over, but lately, he always found excuses to decline, either saying the work in the Spirit Fields wasn't finished or that he had to help Uncle Fu organize the storehouse; even the Wangxing Platform on Cangwu Mountain, where the two often went, had not been visited together for a long time.

Murong Xuan felt an indescribable sense of frustration stifled in his heart. He was a favored child of heaven and never lacked followers, but only A Gu was the one he had stuck to since childhood, the one who would secretly save Spiritual Essence Cakes for him and protect him with his body. Now that A Gu's mind was not on him, he couldn't even settle down to Cultivate, and couldn't help but wonder: what exactly is A Gu busy with?

This evening, Murong Xuan simply blocked the edge of the Spirit Field and happened to catch A Gu staring blankly toward the laundry—by the riverbank, Green Grain was sitting on a bluestone scrubbing clothes, the golden glow of the setting sun spilling over her hair like a layer of soft light; when she raised her hand to wipe her sweat, her exposed profile was delicate and gentle, and even the water splashes from her fingertips carried a bit of tenderness. And A Gu's gaze was stuck on Green Grain, not even noticing Murong Xuan walking up beside him.

"Well then, A Gu," Murong Xuan's voice carried a hint of deliberate coldness, "no wonder I couldn't call you lately; it turns out you have someone more important than me."

A Gu snapped back to his senses, and seeing it was Murong Xuan, his face instantly turned bright red; he lowered his head in a panic, his fingers nervously picking at the corner of his clothes: "Y-Young Master, why are you here? I... I was just looking at the growth of the Spirit Wheat."