153: Must learn sword

Wu Guohua raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Who taught you that?"

He reached out and brushed away the sweat beads from his son's forehead, feeling the unique warmth of a child's skin on his fingertips.

"Great-Grandfather!" Bixian puffed out his small chest proudly, his dark eyes full of self-satisfaction, "Great-Grandfather said I'm a good seedling for practicing swordplay!"

He mimicked Wu Jiulong's tone, even imitating the old man's beard-stroking gesture perfectly, which made Huang Ying, who was beside him, cover her mouth and chuckle softly.

Under the veranda, Wu Biyao was concentrating on embroidering a handkerchief.

Zhou Qinghan guided her from the side, occasionally helping her adjust her stitches.

Sunlight filtered through the carved gaps of the eaves, casting dappled light and shadows onto the embroidery hoop.

The little girl embroidered seriously, her tender tongue unconsciously pressing against her upper lip, looking very adorable.

Although her embroidery was naive, her stitches were already quite neat, showing patience and meticulousness beyond her age.

"Daddy, look!" Seeing her father approach, Biyao immediately held up her embroidery hoop.

The crooked purple flowers on it, though the stitches were not perfectly even, clearly formed the shape of a six-petaled flower, and the edges of the petals were outlined with gold thread, shimmering in the sunlight.

Wu Guohua squatted down, his eyes level with his daughter's, and took out a Purple Cloud Flower with morning dew from his embrace: "Biyao's embroidery is so lifelike, I'll reward you with a real one."

The flower was vibrant and fresh, and the glistening dew drops on its petals gently rolled with his movements, emitting a faint, refreshing fragrance.

The child cheered and ran towards her mother, the silk flower in her hair trembling with her run, like a happy butterfly.

Wu Guohua looked at his daughter's back, an endless tenderness welling up in his heart.

Such family happiness was something many high-level Cultivators sought but could not attain.

He looked up at the clear blue sky, where a few white clouds were leisurely drifting by, much like his current calm and content state of mind.

As night fell, candlelight flickered in Wu Guohua's bedchamber.

Twelve gilded red candles burned quietly on bronze candlesticks, the flames occasionally crackling, casting flickering shadows on the gauze curtain.

Outside the window, a full moon hung high, its cool moonlight filtering through the carved window lattice, intertwining with the warm candlelight to create exquisite patterns on the floor.

Zhou Qinghan dipped her slender fingers into a Spirit Liquid, which was held in a small white jade bowl, appearing a faint jade green and emitting a cool, mint-like scent.

She gently massaged her husband's back, and with each fingertip's touch on an Acupoint, a trace of cool True Qi would enter, resolving the hidden injuries accumulated from Cultivation one by one.

Wu Guohua's firm back muscles gradually relaxed under her massage, his bronze skin covered in fine beads of sweat, glistening in the candlelight.

"Husband, this time you've returned, it seems..." Her fingers paused on a hideous scar on Wu Guohua's chest, and she hesitated to speak.

The scar was dark red, like a centipede coiled over his heart, rough and hard to the touch, clearly indicating a severe injury in the past.

Zhou Qinghan's eyes were slightly red, her long eyelashes casting a shadow in the candlelight.

Wu Guohua held his wife's hand, feeling the slight tremor in her fingertips.

He gently caressed her slightly swollen lower abdomen, where new life was being nurtured: "Don't worry, I'll stay home longer this time."

His voice was low and gentle, carrying a comforting power.

He then looked at Huang Ying, who was brewing tea, "Ying'er, you too, don't overwork yourself."

Huang Ying's hand trembled, and the purple clay pot almost toppled over. She lowered her head, blushing, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz: "Husband, how did you know I..."

The young woman today wore a light pink gauze dress, with only a white jade hairpin in her hair, looking refined and ethereal.

Her tea brewing movements were elegant and skilled, and the aroma of tea permeated the room with the steam, carrying a faint scent of osmanthus.

"I am a Foundation Establishment Cultivator," Wu Guohua said with a smile, embracing both women, feeling their soft bodies, "I can tell the changes in your Qi and blood at a glance."

His palms gently rested on Zhou Qinghan's and Huang Ying's lower abdomens, clearly feeling the faint but tenacious life fluctuations within.

Zhou Qinghan gave him a reproachful glare, her expression a mix of anger and joy, her eyes full of charm as they moved, yet unable to hide the smile on her lips.

She had specially changed into a large red nightgown today, which made her skin appear as white as snow, and the golden hairpin in her hair swayed gently with her movements, emitting a crisp sound.

Huang Ying, on the other hand, was so shy that she buried her face in his shoulder, her earlobes completely red, like two delicate rose petals.

She could feel her husband's warm large hand gently stroking her back, a sensation that made her whole body go soft.

The gauze curtain slowly fell, secluding the spring scenery within the room, leaving only a few soft laughs and whispers scattering into the night.

At the third quarter of Yin hour, all was silent.

Wu Guohua quietly arrived at a hidden cave entrance in the back mountain.

The night dew had dampened his cloth shoes, and the chirping of insects in the grass ceased abruptly as he passed by.

He formed a hand seal to unlock the Restriction, and the invisible barrier rippled like water, revealing the dark cave entrance.

Walking down the damp tunnel, the soles of his boots made a faint sound on the moss, which was exceptionally clear in the quiet tunnel.

Fluorescent stones embedded in the tunnel walls emitted a faint blue light, like countless fireflies arranged in rows, illuminating the moss-covered stone steps.

These stone steps were clearly meticulously polished, each one flat and smooth, with simple anti-slip patterns carved along the edges.

The air was filled with the scent of earth and minerals, mixed with a faint, almost imperceptible aroma of herbs.

A massive natural cavern appeared before his eyes, more than three zhang high, with various stalactites hanging from the ceiling, shimmering with crystal clear luster under the illumination of the fluorescent stones.

In the center was a turbulent underground river, its water a rare jade green, the sound of the water echoing within the cavern, forming a unique resonance.

Floating on the river surface were several glowing lotus flowers, which were Night-Glow Lotuses Wu Guohua had brought back from a Secret Realm, now gently swaying with the current.

On both sides of the riverbank were neatly cultivated Spirit Fields, about half an acre in size, divided into twenty sections.

Each Spirit Field was edged with bluestone and covered with special Spirit Soil, which glowed with a faint golden hue in the dim light.

The three Spirit Fields closest to the underground river had the most concentrated Spiritual Qi, with a thin layer of Spirit Mist even condensing on the soil surface, where several mutated and evolved second-tier Spirit Medicine such as ginseng, gastrodia elata, and polygonatum were planted.

The roots of those ginseng plants had already taken on a human-like outline, with a few vibrant green leaves growing on top of their heads;

The gastrodia elata were entirely crystal clear like jade, with milky white liquid slowly flowing within them;

The polygonatum had bloomed with small purplish flowers, and a faint golden light shimmered at the heart of each flower.

Most of the Spirit Fields were planted with Low Grade second-tier Spiritual Rice, spiritual wheat, and Spirit Potato. These crops were growing well; the ears of the Spiritual Rice hung heavy, each grain full and plump;

The awns of the spiritual wheat shimmered with a metallic luster;

The leaves of the Spirit Potato were thick and oily green, and the tubers beneath had already pushed the soil into small mounds.

These crops could yield tens of thousands of catties every four months, making them one of the Wu Family's most important economic sources.