At noon, the family gathered for a al and since it was a significant day of a hocoming celebration after marriage, Grandma Sun went to the backyard and dug out a jar of grape wine brewed by Lan Tian and a jar of peach blossom brew. Mo Yuanle and Mo Junhua had the grape wine, while the three with Lan Tian had the peach blossom brew.
In the yard, Lan Tian, who was marching Mo Junhua around in circles, saw Grandma Sun coming from the backyard carrying two jars of wine. Her eyes lingered wistfully on the jars, making even Zhao Li next to her notice the reluctance in her eyes; she almost suggested that Grandma Sun bury the jars back in the yard.
Lan Tian felt once more that after getting married, her status at ho plumted straight down to where she had virtually no say at all. To avoid being more stuffed with uneasy feelings, Lan Tian simply adopted the approach of ’out of sight, out of mind,’ and commanded Mo Junhua, the chief culprit, with even more resolve.
Mo Junhua married Lan Tian, making him like a half-son in the house. His future was tied to Lan Tian’s latter half of her life. As they ate and drank, they talked about military matters, such as whether the training in the army was tough or not, how the camaraderie among comrades was, whether to stay in the army or return to civilian life, and whether Lan Tian had a place to stay when she visited the army.
Mo Junhua asked all ordinary questions, not touching on military discipline, and answered them all. The training was tolerable, and the relationship with his comrades was decent. There were straightforward n in the army, political manuevers were not absent, but were very few and far between; as for him, he knew nothing else but being a soldier, so he’d stay in the army.
Lan Tian snorted coldly as she listened. In her past life, Bai Lianhua had ntioned that Mo Junhua climbed so high not only because he saved a senior officer initially but also because he then leveraged that relationship to navigate his career, rising teorically.
Grandma Sun couldn’t stand Lan Tian’s sarcasm and kicked her under the table a few tis. Lan Tian, puzzled by the kicks, turned to look at Grandma Sun. Grandma Sun glared at her, her eyes heavy with a warning for Lan Tian to behave herself. If she continued acting out, she shouldn’t bla her grandma for being ruthless and unfamily-like.
With a huff, Lan Tian buried her head and ate her al. Zhao Li almost burst out laughing at the sight.
The grape wine made by Lan Tian, using grapes from Taohua Valley and enhanced with so low-aged spiritual dicine, had been buried for several years in Taohua Valley. Since she was going to Shanghai for school, it was only recently dug up and buried in the backyard, entrusted to Grandma Sun and the others, to drink one jar a month.
The grape wine had strong lingering effects. Mo Yuanle, frequently nourished by spiritual vegetables, didn’t feel it as strongly. Mo Junhua, on the other hand, felt a warm current flow from his stomach into his belly after drinking a glass, which was very comfortable. The more he drank, the more comfortable he felt, and the more he wanted to drink.
Mo Yuanle, rarely having soone to drink heartily with, kept urging Mo Junhua to drink. The two drank like fishes, one cup after another. Seeing this, Lan Tian was getting more heartbroken. By the ti one jar was finished, both were drunk. Zhao Li supported Mo Yuanle to their room.
Lan Tian pretended to be dead and didn’t want to deal with Mo Junhua, turning to go back to her room. Grandma Sun had long wanted to teach Lan Tian a lesson and took the opportunity when her son-in-law was too drunk to notice. Coming over, she grabbed Lan Tian by the ear and scolded her. Lan Tian jumped around like a flea, crying out in pain,
"Go on, die of pain then, it would save the trouble of seeing you annoy . Hurry and help him to your room, the older you get, the more stubborn, who knows who you take after." With her lips pouted, Lan Tian dragged Mo Junhua into her room, thinking of dumping him on the floor, but seeing Grandma Sun looking from the doorstep, she had to help him onto the bed instead.
Thinking it over, she went out to speak with Grandma Sun, "Grandma, why did you let him drink the wine ant for my uncle? You’re treating him too well. What if he finds out ..."
"You, always so petty! You left so many jars for your uncle, it wouldn’t hurt him to drink one. You’re going to live with him from now on, every day together, wouldn’t he find out eventually? Better to bring it out at the start, say it’s the dicinal wine you brewed. Then later when you bring it out again, he wouldn’t think too much of it."
Alright! She had to admit, the older ginger is indeed spicier! Thinking far ahead indeed.
The next day, Mo Junhua didn’t bring it up at all, making the previous day’s worries pointless.
Mo Junhua did not expect the grape wine to have such strong aftereffects. As soon as it hit, he felt dizzy, his consciousness blurring, barely aware that it was Lan Tian helping him, then lying on the bed he had always dread of. Reality manifested too quickly, Mo Junhua hadn’t even had the chance to fantasize about Lan Tian in his mind when suddenly a fierce fire burst in his stomach.
The fire spread rapidly, inch by inch, as if he could sll charred flesh, Mo Junhua’s first thought was that a fire had started. He tried to yell for Lan Tian to run, suddenly realizing he couldn’t open his mouth, nor his eyes.
In his intense panic, sothing cool suddenly pressed against his forehead, likely Lan Tian speaking, though he couldn’t make out a word, for at that mont he was enduring a pain like being burnt alive, except his consciousness was clearly too vivid, too painfully beautiful to contemplate.
"You’re getting lucky," Lan Tian glanced at Mo Junhua on the bed, her two fingers pressing against his forehead, channeling spiritual energy into his Sea of Consciousness to maintain his clarity, "Endure it, it’s for your own good."
Mo Junhua’s body, not nourished by spiritual vegetables, was still mortal. Drinking so much spiritual wine was like undergoing a spiritual energy infusion for Washing Marrow and Tempering Body. Fortunately, he was a martial artist, often training his physical strength beyond limits, his robust body not sothing ordinary people could compare with, allowing him to withstand this episode of spiritual cleansing.
Thankfully, the spiritual dicine in the grape wine was only one or two plants, not aged enough, otherwise both could have exploded from the excessive spiritual energy.
Lan Tian was terribly annoyed, Mo Junhua was hogging the entire large bed, leaving her no space to lie down. She ford a spiritual energy shield around Mo Junhua to prevent the impurities expelled during his bodily cleansing from soiling her bed.
Lan Tian only had two glasses of the peach blossom brew, the rest was drunk by Grandma Sun and Zhao Li. Now feeling tipsy, she straightened out Mo Junhua’s spiritual energy and also lay down on the bed to sleep.
Grandma Sun washed the dishes and ca out of the kitchen. Seeing that the door to her house was open, she entered and noticed that the two people had fallen asleep without covering themselves with a bedsheet. She helped them by covering and leaving out after closing the door.
Lan Tian didn’t wake up until the next morning. By then, Mo Junhua was no longer by the bed. Sitting up, Lan Tian felt her head was still heavy. After cycling through the Heart-clearing Technique a few tis, she felt much clearer and got up.
She saw Mo Junhua drying herbs in the courtyard, already changed out of yesterday’s clothes into Mo Yuanle’s clothes. Upon seeing Lan Tian erge, he fetched water for her to wash up.
"Awake? Still feeling dizzy?" he asked, touching her forehead.
Lan Tian swatted his hand away and shook her head, saying, "Much better." She took the water to wash up while Grandma Sun and Zhao Li saw their interaction and smiled in reassurance.
After lunch, Grandma Sun urged them to go back ho as they were leaving the next day. They needed to pack and ensure they didn’t forget anything.
Lan Tian said, "Mo Junhua, you go back first. I’ll co back in the evening after packing. I want to spend so more ti with grandma since I will be in Shanghai for most of the next six months."
Mo Junhua who had intended to stay, said goodbye to Grandma Sun and left. Once Mo Junhua had gone, Lan Tian went into the mountains, picked all the peaches and grapes in Taohua Valley, left a few baskets of each, and brewed the rest into wine which she buried in Taohua Valley. She retrieved all the highly aged Spiritual Wine that had been brewed in previous years and stored it in her Sleeve Universe.
When it was ti to leave, she re-established nurous arrays in Taohua Valley so that not even a cultivator could discover the place. She checked to ensure nothing was overlooked before descending the mountain.
"Little Tao, I have sothing to discuss with you." On the way down the mountain, Lan Tian had made a decision. She lifted her wrist showing a Jade Peach Branch about the thickness of a finger with blooming peach flowers.
Little Tao shook the peach flowers and said, "Master, just command . I will go through fire and water, exhaust myself to death for you."
Lan Tian pursed her lips in a smile. "I’m going to Shanghai for school and won’t be back until the end of the year. You’ve seen that there are many elders at ho, grandma is quite old, and my uncle and aunt are also aging. I’m not at ease leaving the house unattended."
Little Tao nodded, truly understanding the situation.
"So I want you to stay at ho and take care of the family. Only when they are well, can I be at peace. It won’t be for long. Just until I’ve settled everything in Shanghai, and then I’ll have you all join ."
Seeing Little Tao’s reluctance, Lan Tian continued, "Plant Cultivators like you find it even harder to cultivate than ordinary cultivators, especially in big cities where the spiritual energy is scarce. You won’t be able to cultivate if you follow there. I’ve set up a Spirit Gathering Array in our backyard; staying within that to cultivate will greatly benefit you. Once your Cultivation matures, where can’t you go? If I ascend so day and your Cultivation isn’t enough, you might have to stay in this realm."
Not needing to finish, Little Tao understood Lan Tian’s concern and agreed after so thought.
"Every day, many things happen in the village, and with so many people around, you won’t feel lonely."
"Alright, master, then you must co back quickly to get ," Little Tao finally agreed after so thinking.
When they reached ho, Lan Tian went to the backyard and planted Little Tao down, setting up a simple defensive array around it. She then ca back in and told Grandma Sun and the other two, "Grandma, I planted a peach tree in the backyard. It’s a bit different from ordinary trees, but you all don’t need to worry about it. Having it here makes feel more at ease about going to Shanghai."
Zhao Li gently patted Lan Tian’s head, "You, always worrying too much. What’s there to worry about? The village just has those few people, and they’ve all known each other since they were kids. Plus, your uncle is also here."
.........
As Lan Tian prepared to depart for Shanghai, Shitou, Tie Jun, and Black Dog ca to the village entrance to see her off. As they sawoff amidst reluctant goodbyes, a returning Taohua, washing clothes by the river, turned green with jealousy. She cursed Lan Tian under her breath for being a shaless fox spirit, having Mo Junhua yet still flirting around.
Lan Tian, of course, heard Taohua’s curses. She looked towards her, pursed her lips, and smiled.
Taohua, startled by Lan Tian looking her way, thought Lan Tian might have heard her harsh words. She shut her mouth and averted her eyes, no longer looking in Lan Tian’s direction, but then reasoned they were quite far apart and Lan Tian wasn’t a superhuman to hear from such a distance, so she felt relieved and muttered a few more curses before walking away.
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