Protect Our Clan Leader

For the next two days.

Wang Shouzhe and Old Ancestor Longyan planned to stay at the tavern courtyard and cultivate.

Old Ancestor Longyan, having endured the torment of the Yin Sha poison for fifty years, was deeply fed up with this state. The technique was very simple, even an ordinary Independent Cultivator could understand it. After brief contemplation, she began to attempt transformation.

Wang Shouzhe, fearing any accidents, decided to keep her company. He also hoped the old ancestor would be able to clarify any unanswered questions about his cultivation. After Old Ancestor Longyan ascended to the Spirit Platform Realm at the Purple Abode Academy, she studied under Master Binglan and cultivated to the mid-stage of the Spirit Platform Realm at a young age. Neither her talent nor her knowledge were comparable to those of Mingsheng, the Old Ancestor of the Lu family.

With a little guidance, Wang Shouzhe felt as if his mind had suddenly opened up, and his thoughts were pouring in like a flood.

However, Wang Licui, the little girl at home, was too young and restless. Wang Shouzhe simply arranged for the head of the household to accompany her out for a stroll, and even gave her ten Qian Gold as spending money, as a reward for her recent hard work and attentive care of the old ancestor.

Then at noon.

Wang Licui ran into Wang Shouzhe’s room in tears. Her chubby face was full of grievance: “Fourth Uncle, Fourth Uncle, I was tricked by a wicked Independent Cultivator. Wuu wuu wuu, I spent ten Qian Gold on this broken stone, there isn’t anything yummy inside.”

As she spoke, she held out a fist-sized stone that she had somehow managed to cut open, revealing a white layer inside.

Wang Shouzhe’s heart twitched. Ten Qian Gold was not a small amount. However, since he had given it to her, it was her own money. But now it was just wasted like this, Wang Shouzhe felt a little tired.

Could it be that his older brother Shouxin was good at raising prodigal sons and daughters? One loved gambling, the other loved food!

What could possibly be tasty inside a stone? This level of intelligence was worrying.

“Eh, wait a minute.” Wang Shouzhe’s eyes suddenly twitched, and he picked up the stone which she had cut in half.

The stone had a lush green exterior and looked quite nice. It was clearly a gambling stone, the most common item on the stalls of Independent Cultivators! Some extremely powerful families, such as the Tianren Family, or other powerful forces, could potentially have control over some spirit stone mines.

In the spirit stone mines, a lot of leftover pieces occasionally contained spirit stones. But for the sake of greater profits, these leftovers were sold as gambling stones.

At first, it was mainly Independent Cultivators who gambled, trying their luck. But then it became an industry chain. Independent Cultivators took gambling stones and set up stalls all over the place, allowing people to try their luck.

Everyone knows that you lose nine out of ten times when you gamble.

But there will always be someone with extraordinary luck. For example, spending ten Qian Gold and winning a spirit stone worth hundreds or thousands of Qian Gold, thus becoming rich overnight.

Various legends have led to the prosperity of the gambling stone industry, and those families with spirit mines are happy to maximize their profits.

But Wang Shouzhe usually wouldn’t even spare a glance at such gambling stones. He didn’t have golden pupils or X-ray vision. The chances of going broke are far greater than winning. It’s better to be honest and cultivate step by step to make money.

However, this gambling stone from his niece… the white layer inside, even Wang Shouzhe could feel the abundant spiritual energy. Holding it in his hand, he could feel a hint of coolness entering his body.

Of course, he knew it was a spirit stone, but he was not sure about the content of the spirit stone, as he had only seen a spirit stone once or twice in his life from childhood onwards.

Therefore.

Wang Shouzhe quickly grabbed the still sobbing and complaining Wang Licui, and went to find Old Ancestor Longyan to give them a look.

Even with Old Ancestor Longyan’s extensive knowledge and experience, she was slightly surprised after examining the stone for a while. After some consideration, she said: “Indeed, this is a spirit stone. I reckon that you should be able to cut and polish three to four spirit stones from it.”

Three to four pieces?

Wang Shouzhe’s face stiffened. In this procurement list, he had added ten spirit stones at a huge cost of a thousand Qian Gold. He originally planned to use one or two stones for cultivation to see the effect.

The rest of the spirit stones were mostly going to be used at the Prosperous Farm, in conjunction with the Spirit Gathering Array, to see if they could cultivate more spirit fields. To his knowledge, there was a spiritual spring in the Prosperous Farm, large enough to support about sixty acres of spirit fields.

However, at present, the Prosperous Farm only had twenty acres of spirit fields. This was because the family had been financially strained after the major disaster struck. The original plan was to wait until Wang Xiaohan, Wang Shouzhe’s grandfather, ascended to the Spirit Platform Realm, and then slowly expand the remaining spirit fields after stabilising the family situation.

However, Wang Xiaohan’s attempt to ascend to the Spirit Platform Realm failed, which also led to the plan to expand the spirit fields being put on hold.

But at this point, Wang Shouzhe had to develop the Spirit Fields. If not, it would hinder the cultivation progress and development of their family members. He couldn’t always rely on outside sources for Spirit Rice, could he?

He gritted his teeth and bought ten Spirit Stones.

Yet, unexpectedly, this little brat Wang Licui gambled ten Qian Gold and won three to four of them!

“Girl, do you know gambling for stones is not good?” Wang Shouzhe’s voice was somewhat stern. Temporary winnings may provide instant profit, but this habit mustn’t persist. Otherwise, if the eldest girl gets a taste for it and becomes addicted to stone gambling, all the money in the world will not be enough.

“Scared?”

Wang Licui was frightened to the point of turning pale, shivering and sobbing, “Fourth Uncle, what do you mean by ‘stone gambling’? I just thought that there was something delicious inside the stone; it seemed like there was something really good to eat. That detestable Independent Cultivator said that there was sure to be good stuff inside too. Who knew, he tricked me~wah wah wah, my money is all gone, with which I could have bought lots and lots of dried little fish, dried octopus, squid strips…”

Ever since she arrived at the Hundred Islands Guard after coming from home, Wang Licui became infatuated with delicacies like dried little fish, feeling they were even better than candied fruits. She had neither seen nor heard of Spirit Stones before.

” Foodie! What kind of good food can you expect to be in a stone!? What on earth is going on in your head all day long?” Wang Shouzhe rubbed his forehead, feeling both amused and vexed.

“It’s okay, stop crying.” Fourth Auntie Xu Zhirou hurriedly stepped in to mediate, hugging Wang Licui and comforting her while persuading Wang Shouzhe, “Shouzhe, the eldest girl is still young. She’s never been far from home before and doesn’t understand these things.”

“Wah wah wah~Fourth Granny, that detestable Independent Cultivator, I don’t know what kind of tricks he pulled, making me really believe that there was something delicious inside, but, but once it came out, it was all inedible trash.” Wang Licui’s heart felt like it was shattered, she was so angry.

Trash?

Wang Shouzhe held his forehead, feeling somewhat dazed. If Spirit Stones are considered trash, then are there any treasures left in the world? However, Wang Licui really might not know what Spirit Stones are, since she had always grown up in the family, and the Wang family was too poor, with few Spirit Stones.

By this time, Wang Shouzhe was convinced that the eldest girl was not making up stories to fool him.

She didn’t have the intellect for that!

“Shouzhe, if the eldest girl can truly sense that there’s something delicious inside…” Fourth Auntie Xu Zhirou said expectantly, “Doesn’t this indicate that…”

Wang Shouzhe of course had also thought of this point, but, he felt somewhat puzzled, so he looked toward the Old Ancestor Longyan.

Old Ancestor Longyan slightly furrowed his brows and also looked doubtful, “As far as I know, even if a Tianren Realm Cultivator wanted to see through a gambling stone, they would have to apply Secret Techniques, which definitely wouldn’t be minor in terms of expense and stir. But in the past, I did hear of some remarkable people with special Pupil Skill who could also see through gambling stones. But such people are too rare, and if they were to use the Pupil Skill, their eyes would undergo noticeable changes and easily give them away. As for Licui’s situation… I’ve never heard of it.”

After a pause, the Old Ancestor added: “Shouzhe, the world is far larger than you can imagine. What I have seen and known is but a drop in the vast ocean. Maybe, Licui has quite a talent in terms of spiritual perception.”

What sort of spiritual perception talent? Wang Shouzhe was somewhat skeptical. Even if this little girl had some talent, it was probably a talent for being a foodie.

Let’s give it a try and find out.

Wang Shouzhe took out thirty Qian Gold, handed it to Wang Licui, and said, “Go buy three more stones and bring them back, and remember, they need to be the kind of stones you think contain something delicious.”

Then Wang Licui stopped crying, and with innocent eyes, she looked at Wang Shouzhe like he was an idiot, she thought, ‘Fourth Uncle, have you been driven mad with anger? Isn’t being fooled once enough of a lesson for you?’

“Hehheh.”

Wang Shouzhe’s cheeks twitched, and he gave a cold laugh, “Eldest girl, let me tell you, your Fourth Uncle just bought two…”

Before he could finish his sentence,

Wang Licui tightly grasped the thirty Qian Gold Note, and ran like the wind.

The speed and quick response left even Wang Shouzhe somewhat taken aback. He wasn’t certain whether the eldest girl indeed had some spiritual perception talent, but he could be certain that she definitely had a talent for speed.

But in case she was taken advantage of, he quickly asked Wang Zhong and Wang Yong to follow her.

“Shouzhe, you really are…” Fourth Auntie Xu Zhirou standing to the side, gave a chuckling smile.