Chapter 15–Qi Gathering Complete?

Chapter 15–Qi Gathering Complete?

Brother, it has been too long, I said with a smile as I greeted my fourth brother Yuan Niu. He looked a lot more worn, but he had returned alive and in good health.

Still, my younger brother, I see. I fake pouted a bit as we hugged each other. I still looked like a pre-teen, despite being eighteen years old.

Unfortunate side effects of my cultivation. Yuan Yun will surely celebrate your return.

Truly? Yuan Niu asked, and I nodded.

Father stepped down officially last year and Yuan Yun is the new patriarch.

Already? He must be enjoying his time off, Yuan Niu replied.

Too much time, if you ask me. Honestly, he likes to visit my office more than me. You are also just in time before I depart. I was considering entering during the intake last year, but I will go this year, I replied.

Wait, arent you only eighteen, or did the sect change things? Yuan Niu asked as he settled into my office. I poured some tea for him.

I have just about completed the first stage of cultivation. I wish to review some things, but I can proceed to the second stage at any time, I replied.

Congratulations, brother. I smiled at the kind words as I handed him some tea.

I should congratulate you. Tell me about your trip? I asked.

Lots of time on the road. But I saw the mountain city of Skyward Peaks. That was a climb up there, but the view was amazing. Then I went to the great forest city of Red Trees. The city was more vertical than anything else. Their elevators were impressive, taking two carts up at a time into the leafy branches. The branches were so wide there was room for two carts and buildings.

Imperial City was breathtaking. They made everything out of stone and glass. Buildings towering ten stories in the lesser districts. In the center, the buildings soared over twenty stories tall. But the cost of everything was immense. People used tael like bronze coins.

I saw the great endless ocean in Crashing Waves. Everything smelled of salt. The seafood was amazing, and they loved the spices and even had versions of their own I have brought back. I listened to my brother describe the cities and terrain he had traveled throughout the continent.

The hardest part is living off the carts. The occasional beast attack actually made things interesting, but the cultivator I hired was dependable and there were no issues throughout the journey. I nodded at this.

Well, welcome home, brother. There was a knock on my office door. Enter. My father came into my office.

He gave my brother a big hug, and I left them for a few minutes while I arranged some more refreshments so they could catch up privately. I returned and my brother was talking about the various cities and sights.

Ah, if I was younger, I would have loved to run a caravan, my father said as I served him tea.

Well, I think I will relax for at least a year before heading out again. Also, I am engaged. My father paused mid-sip.

Congratulations. Who is the lucky woman? I asked.

Hou Jiaying, daughter of Hou Guiren. A minor family from Imperial City. They had a last name, so they were in the same social strata. Her father handles a lot of the distribution network from our part of the continent, Yuan Niu explained.

A great pairing. She has come back with you? my father asked.

Yes, I arranged a house for us, and she is resting, my brother said.

What about the bride's price and dowry? It will be complicated, my father said with a slight frown.

I have already paid the bride price, my brother said.

Oh, that is good. How much? my father asked, and my brother looked at me.

I am sorry, brother. It was 80,000 tael, he replied. My father began coughing in shock. That was an exorbitant amount of money. A person could fund a cultivator through the first stage with that kind of money.

That seems excessive, I replied calmly while being very upset on the inside.

I will pay you back, brother, but we love each other, he replied. Love was not worth 80,000 tael. That was the bride price for a daughter of a family that had no male heir. Even if Imperial City was expensive, this was excessive. I could tell my father was looking at me nervously. He didnt want strife to start. My brother also appeared worried.

I see. We will discuss this a week from now. For now, let us celebrate the happy couple and not let dark clouds or thoughts ruin your return, I replied. There were smiles at that, but I was quite unhappy on the inside. It had been a major investment for the caravan.

There was a family dinner held and Yuan Niu and his new wife were celebrated, but he eventually came back to my office. I had looked over the accounting book he had brought back and his cash reserves. Even after the caravan disbanded in Half Moon City and the goods were sold off, I was not happy.

He set out with a 50,000 tael investment and came back with only 40,000 tael. He had lost money and his wife, while nice and good looking, wasnt worth 80,000 tael. Yuan Niu had to at least break even, but he hadnt. According to the contract we had set up, he owed me a debt of 73,000 tael. He would get ten percent of the profits from the trip after he paid the initial amount back.

Yuan Niu, I wont speak ill of your wife, but the debt you owe me is quite large. The total is 73,000 tael, I said calmly, and he was wincing.

I know, brother, and I will repay you.

I shook my head slowly. How? Even father or first brother could not repay that kind of debt. Even I would be hesitant. If I fund another caravan, then you would have to work the rest of your life to pay me back.

I Please forgive me, he said and bowed his head.

I have been thinking long and hard about what to do. You are family, but you have stolen from me. That money was not yours to spend as you did. By all rights, I could have you and your wife sold as debt slaves to recoup the barest fraction of the debt.

I-

I am not done speaking. My brother closed his mouth. You are family. But I do not tolerate people who steal. You are fired, I told him calmly.

Fired? he asked, confused.

You no longer work for me and will never work for me again and I will hold on to the debt but not cash it in. I took a risk on you, and it did not pay off, but I am sure you can find other work and sources of income. I wont even ask for the money you paid to rent your house for a year back.

I Please forgive me, he cried out and got out of his chair and kowtowed in front of my desk.

This is the last time we will speak on matters of business, Yuan Niu. I rang a bell on my desk and a servant came into my office. Please escort my brother gently out of this building. He is not allowed to return. The servant had to get two guards to carry my wailing brother out of my company.

What an idiot. If his wife had connections to the Imperial Sect, then sure. But she was just a regular woman, and the third daughter of a minor family. She was lovely, but she had clearly tricked my brother into getting her out of whatever was planned for her in Imperial City.

It was a shame to write off such an enormous debt, but that was the risk of doing business with family. I would not squeeze my brother for the 100 tael he had tucked away. But he would get no more money from me, and the Yuan family would not dare to help him.

All knew that I would join the sect. While it was only whispered, it was the kind of thing people gossiped about. My constant purchase of cultivation supplies was also hard to hide. I was important enough that people monitored my movements and activities now. There was also the fact that I still looked like a little kid which was the most obvious indication I was cultivating.

They didnt know they already accepted me as an inner disciple, but the jump in logic to figure out I was joining the Cloudy Moon Sect was easy to make. I made a note for my Director of Accounting Fang to hold the debt in trust, but not cash it in.

If my brother made a fuss, I would crush him, but for now I was content to let him live his life. It still hurt, all that money lost. The Hou family was probably laughing their asses off about how much of an idiot my brother was.

Do you want to marry? I asked.

Maybe, but there is no one as good as you, she muttered.

I am a heavens blessed genius. Of course, there is no one like me. Is there anyone you like? I asked.

Well, Yao Yang is quite handsome and nice, I nodded at this. He was the first son of Yao Guiren, who owned most of the mines near the city. Normally, my sister would not be eligible for such a match, but my status was quite high, which made Yuan Chuntaos status equally high. He was about my age.

Have you two talked? I asked.

Only at a formal party with several other people, my sister said. I had attended a few, but they were boring and drama filled. Once I had enough money and independence, I stopped going to events like that to focus entirely on my cultivation and business. I was thinking about going to the theater with him, but first brother is being stingy, she replied.

You want balcony seats? I asked her.

Yes, good ones. I rolled my eyes at this.

I will talk to Yuan Yun and sort things out.

Also, money for dinner afterwards, she said.

Why isnt he treating you?

Well, he said his father keeps him on a strict allowance, my sister replied.

He can afford to take you out to dinner if he is interested in you. And you have been going with mother to the spa.

Brother, I need a new dress, she complained.

Fine, lets go get one together, I replied. She cheered, and we left the compound to go shopping. She dragged me from shop to shop. While I hated it, I put up with it for her sake. I could tell she wasnt really interested in shopping; she wanted to spend time with me before I left.

We had dinner together at the Illuminated Moon. Why do you have to leave, brother? she asked me.

The path of cultivation interests me. Immortality, power, riches. But most of all, standing on top of the world, I replied. Also the fear of dying again to a truck.

Well, you will have to visit me and tell me of all your heroic adventures slaying demonic cultivators, she said, and I smiled at that.

I will. I also plan to take the picture you drew with me, I said with a cheeky grin.

No! I cant believe you framed that picture, she said and blushed, putting her hands over her face.

It is the best picture of our family, I replied. Our younger sister had passed away from sickness at a young age. Our mother just had two children now.

When you are an immortal, are you going to hang that up? Really? I teased her about it occasionally.

Yes, I will. Everyone will see the great artwork of Yuan Chuntao and bask in its awe. All these powerful people will look at it, then I will ask their opinion on it. They will all say it is the best thing ever just to suck up to me, I said with a grin.

That is so mean, but hilarious, my sister whispered. I am going to miss you.

I will miss you as well. But I have high hopes my cultivation will go quickly. Also, if you dont want to get married and do something else, you can. If you ever want to leave the compound and strike out on your own, I have told Zheng Ting to hire you as part of my company.

Silly brother, I will find a husband, dont worry. I am more worried about you. All alone. I asked and there is no one special in your life, she said with a pout.

I plan to focus on cultivation. My path, it is very hard.

You let me look at your diagrams a few times. I still dont understand any of them, but they look very complicated, she said.

It is. What I am attempting is something that has never been done. If it works, then I will become a legendary immortal and make everyone compliment your drawing.

Oh brother. I doubt anyone knows your humor but me. I swear you channel all of mothers drama.

Now who is picking on who. I am not that dramatic. She is always gasping and raising her hand to her forehead, I countered, and my sister giggled a bit as I copied mothers pose.

It is a bit much. But she will miss you as well. She cant stop complimenting you. I mean honestly, what is the sister of a heavens sent genius supposed to do?

I know it is hard, since she is already the best sister possible, I replied.

Stop it, you will make me cry, brother. We finished our meal and took a rickshaw back to the compound.

The time until I left was drawing closer. Yuan Chuntao had grown on me recently. I hadnt interacted with my two younger sisters that much since they were too young. Then the youngest passed away and Yuan Chuntao had pestered me quite a bit.

I made sure to make time for her, for there would be no time for regrets later. When I saw her again, she would probably be married with children of her own. I would be their legendary uncle. The man who became a business tycoon at the age of four.

It was frankly ridiculous how much I had gotten away with at such a young age. But when one was a certified genius, then everyone would just stare in awe. Everyone would still stare in awe since I was going to stay a small child.

I would go to the sect and spend the next year or two confirming and double checking my cultivation plan, while trying to resolve the few outstanding issues that remained. Once there, I needed to consider valves, double check my meridian design, figure out how to drill a triangle, determine the resources I would need for elemental attunement, and resources for the fourth stage. I would also need to plan out how to power through the fourth stage as well.

But the channel design was solid. I had checked it two times so far and no changes needed to be made or errors found. It had taken some careful calculations, but I had also totaled up my motes out of curiosity. I had 1,317,282 motes of Qi inside of me. Slightly less than I had originally been aiming for and estimating.

Still, I was thrilled with how everything was laid out. There might need to be some final adjustments, but I wasnt concerned. I had 100 Qi Pills I was planning to bring. That was another 10,000 motes if I needed them.

The sect only allowed in what one carried up the stairs. So, no carts of belongings. If you wanted more, you had to carry more yourself. The same went for inner disciples. I was going to bring 30 spirit stones with me and leave the rest in the Coinage Guild.

I felt that was more than enough to cover any immediate expenses I might have. People were also allowed to leave the sect, but for people starting out, it was heavily frowned on. Once you entered, you were expected to cut mortal ties.

The normal amount of time until a person normally left the sect for resources was twenty years. But even then, anyone below the fourth stage had to get approved by an elder. The sect wanted people striving for immortality, not caught up in mortal affairs.

I wasnt too worried, but it was annoying since I would have to see how things played out in the sect first. I suspected they wouldnt grant exceptions. Cultivators were supposed to cultivate. I got that, but I was thinking smarter, not harder.

Taking breaks was important. That way I could look at a problem with a fresh mind. But things might change in the second stage, and I would slow down. If that happened, then the pressure would build. I wasnt that worried, even if that happened. Panicking would do me no good.

Problems just required time and careful planning. There was only one big problem I had to sort out that was left. The bottleneck at the fourth stage. Everything else just required some mental exercise.

I looked at the triangular drilling problem again. I had a wooden model of a triangle and looked at it before letting out a sigh, then traced my finger around on the wood. A while ago, I had asked other people, but they were just as stumped. No one drilled triangles. Even grandmasters Ling and Kang did not know.

Once I got to the sect, I would have to look more in depth at channel clearing options and to keep thinking about drilling triangular holes. This was one of the moments I really missed the internet and being able to get straightforward answers to simple yet tricky questions like this.

I knew if I heard the solution, it would sound obvious. But I had been stuck trying to figure this out for the longest time and it was annoying me. Perhaps there was no solution, but I refused to believe that.