228: Chapter 228 You're starting to look more and more like your brother

The portrait was painted with a brush; the skill wasn't great, but one could vaguely see the outlines of the subjects—two children, a boy and a girl. The girl was older, holding the boy's hand as they stood before a door.

"This is what Chenger painted for me before he left home." Liu Yue followed her gaze and wiped the corners of her eyes.

Su Yunling looked at the painting for a long while without saying a word.

She settled in and stayed at home.

For the first two days, Liu Yue wished she could tether her daughter to her side and never let her leave. At meals, her chopsticks constantly added food to her daughter's bowl, and when spreading the bedding at night, she would pull out the thickest cotton quilt to layer over her.

Su Yunling was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator with a constant body temperature, unafraid of the cold even in the dead of winter, yet she refused nothing. Every day she accompanied her mother for meals, and at night she slept wrapped in that cotton quilt.

From the third day onward, Su Yunling began to help condition her mother's body.

Liu Yue's physical constitution had actually been nurtured by Su Cheng already, so even as a Mortal, she still looked young.

Su Yunling used fire-attribute spiritual energy to meticulously clear her mother's major and minor meridians, further supplementing this with various spiritual liquids and secret medicines from the Sect to harmonize her body.

But such matters could not be rushed; she did this for at most thirty minutes a day, as a Mortal's body could not withstand more.

When she was free, Su Yunling asked about her father.

"Your father said two months ago that he was going on a long trip, saying he was going to do business." Liu Yue rubbed a ball of thread in her hands, her tone flat. "Before he left, he explained a lot to me, saying there would be no danger and that he would be back in six months at most."

Su Yunling frowned. Her father had gone on a long trip two months ago? Why hadn't he told her?

But on second thought, her father always acted with a plan, and such a long trip should be related to her younger brother, Su Cheng.

She was well aware of how thorough her brother was in handling matters; since her father had gone out, the necessary preparations would not be lacking.

Once she returned to the Tiangang Sect from Qingyang Town, she would just send a message to her brother to ask, which would put her mind at ease.

Su Yunling set the matter aside and thought no more of it, turning her focus back to accompanying her mother.

Days in Qingyang Town passed very slowly.

Every day, Su Yunling woke up early to walk around the courtyard with her mother, conditioned her body in the morning, found a quiet corner to Cultivate for an hour or two in the afternoon, and accompanied her mother for meals and conversation.

On the fifth day, her Eldest Uncle Su Chengzhi returned from Qinghe County, bringing some spiritual fruit specialties. He said several clan elders in the city of Qinghe County had entrusted him to deliver them.

During their conversation, he subtly mentioned that the clan wanted to invite Su Yunling to the Prefecture City for a visit, "to let the Juniors witness the demeanor of a brilliant disciple of the Tiangang Sect, so they don't become overly ambitious just because of a moment's success."

Su Yunling politely declined.

Su Chengzhi didn't show it on his face, but his pace was much faster when he left than when he arrived. It wasn't out of dissatisfaction; since his niece Su Yunling didn't want to go to the city, then naturally the people from the city would have to come to Qingyang Town.

Liu Yue watched from the side and only spoke after he had left: "Your Eldest Uncle means well. The young ones in the clan respect you and just want to see you."

"Mm, maybe next time." Su Yunling sat down on a stone stool in the courtyard.

Liu Yue looked at her for a while and said softly, "You're becoming more and more like your brother."

Su Yunling was stunned for a moment: "In what way?"

"The way you talk and do things." Liu Yue took the laundry off the line and folded it. "Your brother was the same way before—dismissing the people he should see in a few words, not attending any of the events he should decline, just wanting to stay quiet by himself."

Su Yunling did not argue.

She was indeed like her brother, or rather, the longer she Cultivated at the Tiangang Sect over these years, the heavier the sense of indifference on her became.

It wasn't cold-bloodedness; it was conserving energy.

Those who Cultivate the Dao have no extra time to spend on social pleasantries; focusing all one's mind on hard Cultivation is the right path.

But when facing her mother, that shell would automatically shed.

She stayed in Qingyang Town for a total of twelve days, during which the Old Ancestor and the Family Head both came to the town to see her. Many uncles, brothers, and sisters from the clan also came—all arriving together on a certain day, of course.

The talk was always the same. Although Su Yunling disliked these occasions, she still patiently responded to the elders one by one.

On the morning of the twelfth day, Su Yunling gave all the conditioning spiritual liquids and Medicinal Pills she had brought from the Sect to her mother, teaching her the methods and dosage for taking them.

"One small bottle of spiritual liquid every three days, dissolved in warm water. One Medicinal Pill a month; you mustn't take more." As Su Yunling spoke, she neatly arranged the items on the cabinet by her mother's bed.

"So many? How many Spirit Stones must they cost?" Liu Yue looked through the exquisite small porcelain bottles, the abacus in her mind clicking away.

Being in a cultivation Family, she understood a bit and knew these were precious items, but she also knew her daughter was now highly valued in the Sect, so she didn't say anything more.

"They're not worth much," Su Yunling insisted.

The market price of these specially made spiritual liquids and Spirit Pills was no less than two thousand Spirit Stones, but there was no need to tell her mother such things.

When she left, Liu Yue saw her off to the town entrance.

"Bring your brother back with you next time. I don't know where that boy has gone off to." Liu Yue gripped her daughter's hand, holding it very tightly.

"Okay."

Su Yunling slowly withdrew her hand, took two steps back, and turned to ascend into the sky on her Flying Sword.

When she flew into mid-air, she looked back; the figure at the town entrance had already shrunk into a tiny black dot.

That black dot stood in place without moving, standing there the whole time.

Su Yunling withdrew her gaze and urged her Flying Sword to fly at full speed toward the Tiangang Sect.

After returning, there were still many things to do.

...

Tianlan Province City, Four Seas Chamber of Commerce.

Fang Zhenhai's efficiency was good; the matter of recruiting Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivators was settled in less than ten days.

"A total of twelve people were recruited." Fang Zhenhai handed over the register. "Ten at the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage and two at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage. The ten at the Middle Stage would each receive a monthly commission of three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and the two at the Late Stage would receive five thousand Spirit Stones each. All are three-month short-term contracts."

Su Cheng took the register and flipped through it; it listed each person's name, cultivation level, specialized Spells, and a brief background.

"These two at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, what's their background?"

"One is named Zheng Bei, a Loose Cultivator who worked as a merchant escort between Qinghe Prefecture and Tianlan Province. Another is named Ma Qian, formerly a Deacon of a certain Sect that was annexed ten years ago; he didn't join the new Sect and came out to work on his own."

Su Cheng handed the register back. "Then it's them. Get the contracts signed. Zhao Shan should be mostly recovered, right? Have him lead these twelve people and set off as soon as possible toward Canglan Prefecture. Once they reach Tongbao City, they should scout the situation first before heading to Jiangping Prefecture."

When Su Cheng handed the register back to Fang Zhenhai, he suddenly remembered something else.

"Before Zhao Shan sets off, have him come see me."

Fang Zhenhai complied.

Su Cheng came out of the chamber of commerce and didn't return to the inn, going instead directly to Qingfeng Alley in the east of the city.

It was the same as before; no one was in the front hall, and a clanging sound came from the back hall—the noise of forging spiritual materials.

Su Cheng didn't barge in; he found a stool in front of the counter and sat down. After waiting for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the clanging finally stopped.

Zhou Changgeng walked out from the back hall, his hands still stained with black mineral powder and his face covered in gray smudges. Seeing Su Cheng sitting there, he was stunned for a moment. "Why didn't you call out when you arrived?"

(The dates aren't written very clearly, but Su Cheng and the others are all in the same time period; I hope you won't dwell on this.)