The Duan family is a famous family in the world of cultivation. Many families want to curry favor with them but have no way to do so. Duan Liu is recognized by the elders of the Duan family as the legitimate son of the family. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be the future head of the Duan family. He is young and naive now, so he likes Gu Pinglin. If they don't make friends with him now, when he grows up, he may not take the Gu family seriously.
How many benefits will there be in the future if I can get involved with the Duan family
Gu Jin was so absorbed in his calculations that when he heard Gu Pinglin say he would not reply, he flew into a rage. He slammed the table and pointed at him, cursing, "Asshole! Who is Young Master Duan Liu? You're lucky he's willing to be your friend! How can you refuse him?" He then sneered, "You chop wood every day, no wonder you've become such a nobody. If it weren't for Young Master Duan, I would have dealt with you long ago!"
Gu Pinglin listened calmly, and waited until he finished scolding before asking, "Where is Madam Duan?"
Gu Jin was stunned.
The Duan family head married two wives successively. His first wife, Cheng, was also a daughter of an aristocratic family. After giving birth to Duan Qingming, she accidentally got poisoned by the elixir and died after two years. The second wife he married was also a daughter of the Qi family, a first-class aristocratic family in the north. The marriage between the Duan and Qi families in the north and south was originally a good thing. However, after the Qi family wife married into the Duan family, she gave birth to two sons and a daughter in succession, and the situation became delicate. The Qi family had a strong background and the Qi family was ambitious. However, the existence of a legitimate son, Duan Qingming, was like a thorn in the heart of the Qi family. What was even more troublesome for them was that the Duan family had several supreme elders who did not care about things, but all of them had inner alchemy cultivation, and the head of the family could not afford to offend them easily. They attached great importance to rules. The second wife was the second wife, how could she be mentioned together with the first wife? Therefore, Duan Qingming's identity as the future head of the family was still stable.
Gu Jin thought about it and snorted: "With those old guys from the Duan family around, the Qi family can't do anything. What do you know!"
Stupid! Gu Pinglin reminded again: "The Qi family can't do anything to Duan Liu, but what about the Gu family?"
It was like snow water pouring down on his head, and Gu Jin's anger was extinguished in an instant.
What is the background of the Qi family? If they get too close to Duan Liu, they might be mistaken for Duan Liu's supporters. Duan Liu is still young and has not grown up yet. It is impossible for him to stand up for a little kid. Even if he wants to protect him, he can't.
The more Gu Jin thought about it, the more frightened he became. After a while, he waved his hand feebly: "You go down first."
If a little kid succeeded in his provocation, Gu Pinglin would not be Gu Pinglin anymore. He simply said all this out of laziness to reply. Since Gu Jin had figured it out, he said nothing more, left the study, and went straight to the small shop at the entrance of the village.
Wang happily praised him: "This time, the herbs sold for more than two taels, and the shopkeeper wants to take some more. Xiaojiu is becoming more and more successful!"
Too little. Gu Pinglin shook his head, and asked Wang to keep the money for him as before, and then left.
Gu Jin was only worried about replying the letter, and did not doubt why Gu Pinglin suddenly said such a thing. He did not want to attract Qi's attention, but he did not want to miss the opportunity. After thinking for a long time, he finally asked his eldest son Gu Ping'an to reply a letter, saying that Gu Pinglin was sick and bedridden, and would do this and that after he recovered, and added some ordinary polite words. Sure enough, Duan Qingming did not write again. Gu Jin's idea was smart. It was not that he would not reply, but that he was "sick", so as not to offend people. He would wait a few years to see the situation. If Duan Liu could stand firm in the Duan family, it would be easy to let Gu Pinglin "recover" and he could also use the excuse of replying to establish a relationship.
However, the situation changed faster than Gu Jin expected.
A month later, the important people from all branches of the Duan family who were stationed outside suddenly rushed back to the Duan family. It was said that it was related to the future heir, the legitimate son Duan Qingming. There were also rumors that he had done something extremely treasonous, which also involved a personal maid, who committed suicide. Of course, the internal affairs of such a big family are not easily known to outsiders. What really made Gu Jin certain was that the person that the head of the Duan family often brought with him to meet guests had become Duan Qinghou, the son of the Qi family.
Gu Jin was secretly glad that he didn't say anything. Gu Pinglin was also shocked when he heard the news. He immediately avoided everyone, walked quickly back to his room, closed the door and windows, and sat quietly in the dark.
Obviously, there has been a change in the future heir of the Duan family, and Duan Qingming has been abandoned.
The time coincided with the previous life, and something really happened to the maid, but Gu Pinglin was sure that Duan Qingming must have heard his reminder, so why didn't the result change
Was it negligence? After all, Duan Qingming was still young.
Gu Pinglin closed his eyes and frowned, still feeling something was wrong.
If it were in his previous life, he could accept the explanation of "young age", but now, he has clearly understood how precocious this person is. Even if he cannot defeat those people, after his reminder, he has the upper hand, and things cannot get to this point no matter how bad it is.
He knew there was a problem, but he did nothing.
what happened
Time passed by unknowingly. In the silence, various possibilities emerged in my mind one after another, and then were gradually eliminated.
In the end, only one incredible reason remained.
His eyebrows jumped and Gu Pinglin suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes flashing with a terrifying light.
The person who knows you best must be your enemy.
No one knows Duan Qingming better than Gu Pinglin.
It was a simple and ridiculous reason that no one would believe. But what else could Duan Qingming, the monster pretending to be normal, care about besides that woman? What would he be reluctant to give up
Being plotted against, who is being plotted against
Even the death of the maid...
Gu Pinglin sat in the room for two hours, until the chill in his heart completely dissipated, then he slowly exhaled.
Very good, this way, the day when Duan Qingming joins Xuanming Sect is not far away.
I will also join the Lingxin Sect in a year, but before that, there is something I must do, but it requires a considerable amount of money.
Duan Qingming had learned a wide range of subjects in his life. In addition to the required courses for aristocratic sons such as calligraphy and painting, as well as his own cultivation, he was also proficient in swordsmanship, poison techniques, alchemy, etc. Therefore, Gu Pinglin also learned alchemy and even made top-grade elixirs. However, he had no cultivation now and could not even control the temperature. Alchemy was a fantasy. If he could not make elixirs, herbs were the most common and practical. Gu Pinglin picked some common herbs and asked the Wang couple to sell them, so as not to attract attention.
Time passed quickly, and after a year, he had collected more than thirty taels of silver.
Gu Pinglin is already twelve years old. He has grown taller but still looks thin. However, he walks more steadily. Only his oval face is becoming more and more handsome, like a delicate jade.
That day, Gu Pinglin got up early, took out all the silver, and got on the oxcart hired by Wang to go into the city. Ever since Duan Qingming's accident, he no longer went to the family school, and no one pursued him. He had lost his usefulness, so Gu Jin would not pay attention to this son. Gu Pingsheng was also forced by his mother to practice, and Gu Pinglin's actions became freer.
After getting off the bus into the city, Gu Pinglin did not buy anything. He wandered around the streets with a small bag on his back. He walked several blocks but did not find the man until noon.
I should remember the date correctly, could it have changed
Gu Pinglin frowned secretly, but did not show any impatience on his face, and walked towards the next intersection.
There was an old willow tree at the bridge head, and under the tree sat a man in his forties with a rough appearance. In front of him was a rag with a few ordinary blood coagulation pills and an inconspicuous small gourd. Occasionally, passers-by stopped to ask, then shook their heads and walked away, and the man couldn't help but feel anxious.
Could it be him? Gu Pinglin's eyes lit up, but he didn't go over immediately. Instead, he quickly walked to a cosmetics shop on another street to buy some powder and rouge, and then hid in a secluded alley next to it.
After a while, a young man from a wealthy family walked out of the alley.
The little face was painted with white powder beyond all recognition, and she was wearing the same gorgeous red brocade dress that Duan Qingming had worn!
Gu Pinglin tidied himself up with satisfaction, making sure that others would not easily recognize him before walking towards the bridgehead.
"Little brother, can you take a look at my medicine?"
"What's this?"
The man had just called out to the boy because he was dressed in an extraordinary way. Unexpectedly, the boy was really interested. Seeing that there was something interesting going on, the man immediately put on a smile and said mysteriously, "These are all good things of mine, elixirs from the immortals!"
Gu Pinglin looked at him and said, "If you are an immortal, how come you are so poor?"
The man cursed the little thing inwardly for being outspoken, but he did not doubt it: "What do you know! This is my family's heirloom, but unfortunately the fortune teller said that I am not destined to become an immortal, so it won't help even if I eat it. As for you, little brother, you have an extraordinary face, and you can tell at first glance that you are destined to become an immortal." He was also rich, but he held back and didn't say this out loud.
Seeing that he was not bragging properly, Gu Pinglin squatted down, took each item in his hand, looked at it, smelled it, and asked about them one by one. The man just made up lies to coax him.
Finally, Gu Pinglin picked up the small gourd and asked, "What's in it?"
In fact, the man was not lying entirely, these things were indeed passed down from his ancestors, but each generation was worse than the previous one. By the time it came to him, his family had already fallen into ruin, and he was a lazy man. He could not make a living and had no choice but to sell the things left by his ancestors. Now all the top-grade elixirs were sold out, and only these worthless blood-clotting pills were left, and no one was interested in them, and the rest was this gourd.
Most of the gourd was empty, with only a layer of white sticky juice at the bottom. No one knew which ancestor had left it. The man couldn't tell what it was, and he guessed it was useless, so he made up a story: "This thing is the essence of the thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum. If you eat it, I guarantee you will be reborn and live forever!"
Gu Pinglin only opened the stopper and took a look, and he was sure. He put down the gourd calmly: "How do I know you are not lying to me?"
In order to make the most of it, the man gritted his teeth, took out a knife and cut his hand. Seeing blood gushing out, he immediately crushed a blood-clotting pill and sprinkled it on the wound. Sure enough, the wound healed in the blink of an eye: "See? Why would I lie to you, kid!"
Blood coagulation pills are the most common in the cultivation world. They are only useful for minor injuries and have the lowest cost-effectiveness. Ordinary people will not spend money on them for minor wounds. Gu Pinglin seemed to be intimidated: "How much do you sell these elixirs for?"
The man immediately said, "Not much, a total of fifty taels of silver!"
Gu Pinglin was embarrassed: "But I don't have that much on me, wait until I go back to get it..."
The man was just yelling to test him. If he really waited for him to go back and his family knew about it, wouldn’t his lie be exposed? The man hurriedly asked, “How much do you have on you?”
Gu Pinglin answered truthfully: "Thirty taels."
This price is still much higher than the normal total price of several blood coagulation pills. If someone else came to buy, the man would probably be on guard, but Gu Pinglin was a child, the man would not think too much, and smiled: "Okay, okay! Since we are destined to be together, I will take a loss and sell it to you at a lower price. Where's the money?"
Gu Pinglin took out the silver and shook it: "All of these! I want them all!"
"Okay, take it all!" The man snatched the silver. Afraid that passers-by would find out that he was tricking a child, he stood up and ran away. "I have something important to do. I'm leaving first."
Gu Pinglin carefully put a few blood-clotting pills into his pocket, then carried the small gourd and walked away. After making sure that no one was following him, he hid in the alley again, took off his gorgeous clothes, went to the river to wash off the makeup on his face, and restored his original appearance.
Holding the gourd, Gu Pinglin curled his lips for a rare moment.
Although this is not the thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum essence that men boast about, it is more precious than Ganoderma lucidum essence!
Spiritual stone milk!
It is simply something that everyone in the cultivation world dreams of! Most cultivators are extremely cautious when they reach a critical point in their cultivation, because if they fail to break through, their own qualifications will be damaged. In the past, Gu Pinglin failed once when he was trying to form an inner elixir. Although he succeeded the second time, it still affected his path. This spiritual stone milk can repair the damaged physique!
In the past, this item was accidentally acquired by the aristocratic Zhan family. The man who bought it was named Zhan Qiu. Zhan Qiu was proud of it for many years, and he boasted about it to others, mocked others for not knowing the value of it, and described the whole process in great detail, remembering the year, month, day and place exactly. This gave Gu Pinglin the opportunity to get it first.
With this item in hand, his chances of winning the competition with Duan Qingming increased.
Gu Pinglin was in a very good mood. He took Duan Qingming's brocade clothes to the pawn shop and pawned them for a few taels of silver. He hired a car to return to Gu's house and carefully put the spiritual stone milk into a small porcelain bottle.
Within two days, the expected guests arrived.