novelraw Chapter 16 : Chapter 16
Chapter 16 : Chapter 16
Chapter 16 : Wantian
Facing the words his father had said, Su Wantian had no intention of refuting them.
Or rather, even if he wanted to refute them, he couldn't say anything proper.
Of the three unfilial acts, having no heir is the greatest.
Although there were many interpretations of this saying, including both “not having descendants” and “not fulfilling the duties of a junior,” in this context, under these conditions, it made no difference.
The importance people of this era placed on bloodline inheritance was far beyond imagination.
One must know that even in modern times, many people suffered from the torment of being pressured into marriage, let alone in ancient times when productivity was underdeveloped.
Master Su's meaning was for him to start a family and establish a career early, so that he wouldn't have to worry.
Out of emotion and reason, Su Wantian had no way to refuse this request.
To put it bluntly, even if his cultivation now reached the heavens and was unparalleled in all of history, Master Su was still his old man, and he would still have to listen when these words were spoken.
But, sometimes, what cannot be done, simply cannot be done.
With the Su family's conditions, even if Su Wantian was accomplished in neither literature nor martial arts, there were plenty of people who wanted to be Master Su's daughter-in-law.
Su Wantian had also seen many age-appropriate women since he was young, among them no lack of those with both talent and beauty, but he didn't take a fancy to a single one, a prominent case of his standards being too high.
If he were to find someone suitable to spend his life with, there were too many choices, but he was stubbornly unwilling to do so.
Su Wantian sometimes also felt that perhaps this way of his was not very good, but thinking it over and over, he still could not accept his marriage just ending so plainly and ordinarily.
At the very least, he felt he should find someone he liked, with mutual affection.
Master Su had also spoken to him about it many times.
Seeing his expression, he knew that this fellow couldn't utter a single human word from his mouth, and shook his head, saying:
“In the past, you would have tactfully left by now, but not today… What is it?”
He still had some understanding of his own son.
This fellow was both prideful and shameless.
He could pester him endlessly for one thing, but would also leave directly after being hit where it hurt.
For Su Wantian to stay despite the pain of being pressured into marriage, it must be a matter of great importance to him.
Su Wantian secretly breathed a sigh of relief:
“Then your son will be direct. Can the family find any medicinal herbs like thousand-year Lingzhi or ginseng?
Master Su looked at him with a strange expression and opened his mouth.
“……No. Even if we had them, that kind of thing couldn't possibly be kept at home. Selling it would earn at least enough money to raise you. Your old man may be old, but I'm not muddle-headed yet.”
“Really none?”
Master Su shook his head:
“Really none. Thousand-year Lingzhi… I'm surprised you can even say it. Let alone Xinyang City, you wouldn't necessarily be able to find it even if you set your sights on the emperor.”
Su Wantian fell silent, his thoughts turning in his mind.
Precious spiritual herbs could replenish that person's true qi, but there were definitely none here in Xinyang City, or rather, even if there were, they wouldn't be able to find them if they were that easy to find, would that Tai Xuan Sect disciple be hiding in a brothel?
Then was there anything that could be a substitute for spiritual herbs?
A thought that had already been circling in Su Wantian's mind instantly popped up a demonic beast's inner core, couldn't that also work?
There was a ready-made one in the mountain forest outside Xinyang City.
Seeing him fall silent, Master Su asked doubtfully:
“What's wrong? The family definitely doesn't have medicinal herbs of that level, but there are quite a few common Lingzhi and ginseng… What do you want to do with them?”
Su Wantian raised his head.
He had already figured it out.
He had no choice at all.
The only choice was that demonic beast.
Kill it, and there would be a sliver of a chance of survival.
Fail to kill it, and then everyone would die together.
He himself was just a scholar who could barely catch a chicken; he definitely couldn't kill that demonic beast.
The only possibility was to persuade Master Su to help him find some hunters and practitioners.
If he told the truth, no one would believe him, but as long as the money was right, there would always be those who weren't afraid of death.
Although that demonic beast was terrifying in appearance and much more powerful than ordinary beasts, perhaps able to knock down a large tree, it was not so formidable as to be on the level of the Tai Xuan disciple and the Demonic Cult member.
It was still within the realm of what could be killed by human effort, otherwise he and Xun Qiu wouldn't have been able to escape that day.
“Father, what I'm about to say may sound absurd, but it is all definitely true…”
Next, Su Wantian spoke concisely, and as comprehensively as possible, he recounted the Demonic Cult's invasion, the Tai Xuan disciple going to intercept them, being heavily injured, and the Demonic Sect member who would be in pursuit in a few days.
To enhance the persuasiveness, he also added some of his own speculations on the matter.
To be honest, as Su Wantian spoke, even he himself felt that the events he had experienced in the past two days sounded a bit too ridiculous.
Encountering a demonic beast in the mountains and escaping death by a hair's breadth, the cultivation genius Xun Qiu disguised as a man, the heavily injured Tai Xuan Sect disciple, exactly three days' time, a Demonic Cult member who was terrifyingly powerful, but not entirely unbeatable…
If you told this kind of story to a hundred people, ninety would think he was talking nonsense, and the remaining ten would ask him which storyteller's tale he had heard.
Master Su was undoubtedly one of those hundred people, but beyond that, he was also Su Wantian's father.
He had watched Su Wantian grow up, knew his character; once he set his mind on something, he was extremely stubborn, but he would never lie.
If there was anyone in this world who could believe this speech of Su Wantian's, then besides the parties involved and cultivators, there was only Master Su.
He stared fixedly at his son and asked:
“You believe Miss Xun?”
“I believe.”
“You believe that so-called Tai Xuan disciple.”
“I have no choice but to believe.”
“You're going too?”
“Of course.”
Su Wantian said without the slightest hesitation.
“If I don't lead the way, how could the others possibly find that demonic beast?”
“Su Wantian, Su Anyou.”
Master Su rarely called his son by his given name and courtesy name.
Back then, when your mother was pregnant with you, a wandering Daoist stayed at our residence for a night.
I had him tell your fortune.
He said you were a late bloomer, so he gave you the name ‘Wantian,’ taking the meaning from ‘Don't say the mulberry and elm are late, for their evening glow still fills the sky.’
“Later, I felt that you had no talent for anything, accomplished in neither literature nor martial arts. Even if you were truly a late bloomer, what use would it be, but a vain waste of time, squandering the days. So I gave you the courtesy name ‘Anyou.’’’
Master Su laughed:
“When you were little, you were always resentful about this name, thinking Wantian, Wantian, a late bloomer, didn't that just mean you would definitely accomplish nothing in your youth? How could there be such a principle in the world? After you grew up, you didn't say it anymore, but in your heart, you were still competing with your own name, insisting on participating in the imperial examinations three consecutive times, only to end up with nothing to show for it… I know you don't believe in fate, nor do you believe in that Daoist's divination and prophecy. Your old man doesn't believe either. I won't stop you, I just want to tell you one thing. Don't risk your life for some ethereal things. To be alive is the most important thing in this world.”
Su Wantian lowered his head.
“Your son understands.”
“Good, I will trust you with this once. Go find Steward Xu, have him take you to find those hunters. Whatever money they ask for, just have them come to the residence to get it.”