Chapter 8: Chapter 8 – Spiritual Soul Condensing Skill

“In the dead of night when all was quiet, Feng Qing’an finally got the chance to be alone with his elder brother Feng Qingping.

“Elder brother!”

Feng Qing’an flashed a shy smile, looking as if he was a pet dog greeting his master.

“Why are you looking for me in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?”

Feng Qingping glanced at his younger brother. This youngster just had to bring up his marriage at the dinner table, a topic he couldn’t possibly lie about to their parents, so he was forced to tell the truth, resulting in them both becoming troubled. After dinner, they returned to their rooms.

“I want to discuss something with you!”

“What is it? Why do you have to wait for me and not discuss it with our parents directly?”

“Nothing in particular, I just want to raise a dog. I’m afraid that our parents won’t agree, so I hope that you can speak for me.”

“Just that?”

Feng Qingping was slightly surprised.

“You can go and discuss it with the parents yourself!”

“I’m afraid they won’t agree!”

Feng Qing’an argued quite confidently,

“But if you, elder brother, speak up for me, they definitely won’t refuse!”

“You rascal, alright. I will talk to Mom and Dad for you.”

Feng Qingping did not probe further and agreed to help, thinking that keeping a dog is quite a simple matter.

“I knew it, you’re the best, elder brother.”

Feng Qing’an was immediately over the moon. With his elder brother willing to speak for him, the matter was practically settled.

“It’s late, go back to sleep. I guess the house will be rather noisy tomorrow!”

“Probably not just tomorrow!”

Feng Qing’an knew exactly what they were talking about. With his elder brother returning home after becoming the top scholar, many people would surely pay their visits.

The following day, as light dawned, noisy voices came from the courtyard. Feng Qing’an crawled out of bed, quickly dressed, and stepped out of his room only to see several familiar faces.

“Sheesh!”

Feng Qing’an did not join the crowd. Attending to guests was adult business and had nothing to do with him, a little kid. He was just waiting for the feast at noon.

However, Feng Qing’an had apparently underestimated the influence of a top scholar. By late morning, his house was already bustling with visitors. Inside and outside of the courtyard were filled with people who came to see their top scholar, and the noise was deafening.

Aunts, uncles, acquaintances, and even strangers. Relatives Feng Qing’an had met and those he hadn’t were all present that day. For the first time in his life did he realize just how many relatives he, a boy from a humble family, actually had. However, whether he recognized them or not, or even if he had just met them for the first time, all of these relatives were very passionate and respectful.

If it was just these relatives visiting, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But all of the wealthy landlords within a radius of ten miles, once they heard the news, they all rushed over, some of them even came in person.

With so many visitors, the Feng Family’s members were naturally busy. Everyone, including maiden aunts and married sisters, all helped. Even Feng Qing’an, who was just a teenager, was put to work and not allowed to rest.

Even though he was busy waiting on the guests, serving tea and water, Feng Qing’an didn’t show any dissatisfaction and ran around tirelessly.

There wasn’t a particularly special reason, only because many of the visitors were wealthy landlords. These people were dressed in satin and silk, wore jade and gold rings, and appeared vulgar in every movement they made. But Feng Qing’an was quite fond of their vulgarity.

Whenever he served tea to these people, all he needed to do was subtly reveal that he was the brother of the top scholar, then they would voluntarily tuck a small silver ingot into his pocket as a greeting gift. Those who were particularly generous even gave him gold seeds straight away.

This made Feng Qing’an run around even more diligently. In less than half a day, his pockets were bulging, and he felt quite heavy as he ran around.

However, his abnormal behavior was quickly noticed by Yin Shi. No matter how hard he pleaded or how well he behaved, the broken silver and gold seeds on him were all confiscated by Yin Shi in public. As compensation, she gave him a few copper coins.

Feng Qing’an’s face drooped when he held the copper coins. He no longer had the drive to continue. But as soon as he returned to his room, he burst into joy and laughed like a fox that successfully stole chicken.

“I finally have my own little treasury.”

Feng Qing’an carefully took out a book from his bookshelf, revealing the broken silver and gold seeds hidden behind all the other books, his face beaming with joy.

Many people had seen the landlords stuffing silver and gold into his pockets that day. Yin Shi had to confiscate all the money on him to discourage any ill-intentions from others.

But he ran around his own house, and the gold and silver were in his own pocket, so there were plenty of opportunities for him to sneakily stash away a small part of it. It was extremely simple, because, apart from him, no one else knew exactly how much gold and silver he got that day.

“Since Mom has taken so much of my money, getting a dog shouldn’t be a problem. And elder brother will speak for me too.”

After stowing the book away, a very satisfied Feng Qing’an’s mind inevitably turned to the puppy. The puppy was over a month old and it was about time to wean it.

After the feast in the village at noon, Feng Qing’an ran to Er Pang’s house. He learned a lot about the taboos and methods of raising puppies, then he brought the puppy back home.

Even though it was already past noon, the Feng Family’s house still bustled with people. Everyone was too busy to notice that Feng Qing’an had brought a puppy back.

This was exactly what Feng Qing’an hoped for. Once the puppy was at home for a few days and his parents got used to it, they would probably never object or try to get rid of it.

“Little Blackie!”

Feng Qing’an played with the little fluffy ball, who was neither afraid nor insecure despite the change in environment, because the puppy was already very familiar with Feng Qing’an’s scent. And it was his room.

Woof! Woof!

The little puppy with blackish-grey fur wagged its tail and licked Feng Qing’an’s palm with its pinkish tongue.

“Food time!”

After rubbing it for a while and feeling content, Feng Qing’an took out the milk cake and egg yolks he had already prepared and placed them in front of the puppy, watching expectantly.

The newly-weaned puppy looked at the food in front of it, sniffed a little, and without much hesitation, opened the mouth that just grew baby teeth and dug into the milk cake.

[Side Quest: Looking to the Future has been completed]

[Reward: “Spiritual Soul Condensing Skill”, do you wish to claim it?]

“Claim it!”

Watching Little Blackie indulging in food in front of him, Feng Qing’an made his choice without hesitation.

Immediately, a stream of information appeared in his mind. It was the cultivation method that Feng Qing’an had been longing for, and it was not just the method, but also the intricacies and taboos related to it were listed in great detail.