Chapter 273 - 140: Old Acquaintances Fill Jiangyin, Entering Celestial Blade for a Funeral; As Grandmasters Look Askance, Our Valor Will Not Yield

Chapter 273: Chapter 140: Old Acquaintances Fill Jiangyin, Entering Celestial Blade for a Funeral; As Grandmasters Look Askance, Our Valor Will Not Yield

Jiangyin Prefecture, the Jade Shop.

At the end of a corridor supported by stone pillars, the aged aroma of Pu’er tea filled the air.

Cai Shoujing, the Great Lineage Master of the Jade Shop and one of the Nine Lords of the Upper Nine Professions, looked at his prim and proper granddaughter while clicking away at the sandalwood abacus in his hands.

"You damn girl," he began, "if your brother hadn’t told me, I would’ve never known you were out gallivanting a while back. Not only did you run off to some backwater county, but you even got involved with Duan Chenzhou’s disciple..."

Cai Shoujing wore a silk robe over his portly belly. His white hair fell over his shoulders, and all ten of his short, stubby fingers were adorned with jadeite and precious gems. He was short, resembling a boorish, rural landlord, and every inch of him screamed of shrewdness.

He thought of his fourth son, born of a concubine, then looked at Cai Ling’er, the prized granddaughter from his primary wife’s eldest son. He grunted, his tone turning sour.

"That brute was incredibly arrogant back in the day. Right here in my own establishment, he personally chopped down my son—my very own son."

"True, that fourth son of mine was a good-for-nothing, and his mother was from a disreputable background, so he was a lost cause from the start. But the fact remains that I was forced to grovel and apologize to Wang Xuanyang back then..."

"So what are you doing getting tangled up with his lineage for?"

Cai Ling’er was dressed in a blue silk jacket with a central-fastening front, its shoulders embroidered with fine, gilded patterns. Her attire was elegant and luxurious, befitting her noble status, and her posture was graceful—a stark contrast to her appearance in Anning County over a month ago.

But upon hearing her grandfather’s words, she simply pursed her lips.

"When I met Ji Xiu, I didn’t know whose disciple he was. Besides, the dead should be left in peace. His master is gone now, so what do the grudges and debts of the past have to do with the next generation?"

"When will this cycle of revenge ever end?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

"Anyway, old man, why did you suddenly decide to call me over and ask about Ji Xiu today?"

"Over the past month, I mentioned bringing him into our Jade Shop several times, but you never agreed...?"

Cai Ling’er put her hands on her hips, her beautiful, dark eyes rolling. The sight made Cai Shoujing snort as the jade thumb ring on his finger tapped against the sandalwood abacus.

"Can’t a grandfather miss his granddaughter and call her over to see her?"

"Besides, you’re a proper young lady. Why are you so interested in weird things like Artifact Refining and digging up graves...?"

Cai Shoujing grumbled to himself.

This granddaughter of his was exceptionally beautiful, with first-class features in every respect.

Even that little lass from Granny Ye’s family in the Embroidery Lineage—another one of the Upper Nine Professions and a family of equal standing—wasn’t much better than her.

But as it turned out, Ye Ningzhi had joined the Jinghong Sword Sect, one of the ’Six Great Mountains,’ and was making quite a name for herself in the Martial Dao. She was shaping up to be prime Prefecture Official material after the spring.

Meanwhile, his granddaughter went and followed the ’Prefectural Official Grand Craftsman’ Feng Zhaoyuan to learn Artifact Refining—swinging a hammer!

Granted, the man was a Qi Dao Grand Craftsman, imperially appointed for the entire province. He wielded the power of a Spirit Forger, and his status was comparable to that of a Prefecture Official.

But the moment he pictured his precious, high-born granddaughter swinging a hammer, Cai Shoujing couldn’t stomach it.

"What’s wrong with Artifact Refining and digging up graves? Old man, have you forgotten all those stories you used to tell me when I was a kid, sitting on your lap, about how you built your fortune?"

"How did you get your start? Weren’t you just a grave robber, digging up the tombs of ’Grandmasters’ to find priceless jade artifacts to flip for a profit?"

"If you hadn’t gotten lucky and dug up the tomb of someone with a Title, having a fortuitous encounter, would the Jade Shop of Jiangyin even exist today? Learning to swing a hammer is a lot better than digging in the dirt every day!"

Cai Ling’er’s eyes went wide. She completely disagreed, her arguments so sharp and self-assured that they nearly made Cai Shoujing choke.

"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!"

"You damn girl, how dare you say such things! I should have your good-for-nothing father, who’s off gallivanting somewhere, come back and teach you some manners..."

"Haaaah..."

After taking a long moment to compose himself, Cai Shoujing’s expression turned serious.

"In any case, I called you here today to tell you that the boy you befriended has entered the prefecture."

Hearing this, Cai Ling’er’s eyes lit up. She strode forward and slammed her hand on the desk, startling Cai Shoujing, who was still fiddling with his abacus.

"Ji Xiu is in Jiangyin?"

"Hmph, hmph..."

Her eyes darted about as she ground her teeth, a silent, mischievous thought forming in her mind:

’I’m the esteemed young lady of a Grand Lineage, and you ordered me around day in and day out! Now that you’re in Jiangyin Prefecture, you’re like a dragon in shallow water. This isn’t Anning. We’ll see how arrogant you can be in front of me now!’

As this thought crossed her mind, she pictured Boss Ji standing before her, awkward and constrained after seeing the wider world. The more she imagined it, the happier she became, even letting out a little hum.

’Later, I’ll bring a few experts at the Peak of Skin Refining, and we’ll knock you around a bit. I need to let off some steam...’

Cai Ling’er hadn’t told anyone the details of what had happened in Anning County.

But as one of the Jiangyin Nine Lords, Cai Shoujing watched his granddaughter’s expression, and his heart skipped a beat.

’This damn girl... she didn’t go on one trip and come back playing out some drama about a noble lady from the prefecture falling for a poor boy from the countryside at first sight, did she?’

’Damn it all! Her useless father has a powerful reputation out there. This Jade Shop is going to be handed over to his branch of the family sooner or later. He only has one daughter, and if this damn girl’s loyalties start to shift...’

In his eyes, Cai Ling’er’s lovesick expression was a dead giveaway. His face immediately darkened, and his tone became cold and resolute.

"Yes, it’s that boy."

"I called you here today to tell you one thing: do not, under any circumstances, get involved with that boy!"

"Not long ago, his master, Duan Chenzhou, fell. The boy heard the news and traveled a thousand miles to attend the funeral."

"Didn’t he absorb the thought of a ’Dharma Guardian General’ back in Anning County?"

"The Lineage Masters of the Fishery and Apothecary lineages, Chen Jing and Old Huang, despise him for it. They’re willing to pull every string they have to pin him with the suspected crime of ’colluding with a Divine Fiend’."