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Yu Tian looked on with reluctance. He didn't know what had happened between Li Yan and the others, but after all, they were father and son. If he didn't help now, he feared that Li Yan would regret it in the future. It was just like his own family; if he could have saved them back then, it would have been great. "Brother Li, how about... letting them stay for a few days?"
"These days, kindness can't be wasted on dogs." Knowing someone’s face but not their heart, especially with Jiang Yuejiao, whose methods were notoriously ruthless. The Li Family had managed to thrive in A Province, and this woman was a significant contributor to that success. Although he hadn't participated much in political matters, the Zhou family and the Li Family had crossed paths more than once. Every time the old man from the Jiang family was mentioned, his grandfather would shake his head.
Jiang Yuejiao was cunning by nature. Seeing her daughter kneeling, she immediately pulled Li Zhi down to kneel as well. "Li Yan, I admit I was wrong before; I'm sorry for Li Ming. In these past few years, I've been practicing Buddhism, hoping to ask Heavenly Father to restore some good fortune for Mingming to lessen my sins. Just ten days—only ten days—and we will definitely leave here by then. Your father is unwell, and your siblings are still young. All the mistakes are mine; it's my fault. Li Yan, please let us stay for ten days."
As long as she waited for her father's people to arrive, she wouldn't have to grovel like this.
Li Yan looked at these people with disdain. His grandfather's last words before passing were about marrying his only beloved daughter to this man. And now? After running a company for so many years, he still had some insight. Just as he was about to call Zhou Miao to kick them out, he suddenly noticed a small Jade Bottle pendant fall from Li Zhi's neck. Perhaps due to time passing, the red string had faded to white, but the Jade Bottle remained crystal clear, shimmering with a greenish hue.
Li Yan's gaze turned even colder. So you want to stay? Fine! "Sure, you can stay, but you will have to pay for your accommodation; our family is not a charity."
Upon hearing this from Li Yan, Jiang Yuejiao felt somewhat relieved. In this world, if money could solve a problem, it wasn't an issue—especially since it was uncertain whether money would be useful in the future. "Alright then, as long as you agree, we are willing to pay any amount." However, she insisted that they stay in the master bedroom while she scrutinized the kitchen and living room nearby; those seemed more suitable for them. The house wasn't large anyway; its layout was straightforward.
"You don't need to worry about money." Li Yan smiled as he walked into the courtyard and swiftly yanked the jade gourd from Li Zhi's neck. The red string had already been worn out over time and snapped easily when pulled.
Li Zhi was yanked forward so forcefully that she almost stumbled and fell; after all, the pendant was directly hanging around her neck. With such a sudden pull from Li Yan, Li Zhi screamed in pain. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
" Xiao Zhi!" Jiang Yuejiao, seeing her precious child hurt, hurriedly got up from the ground to check on him. But she didn't dare confront Li Yan directly; instead, she looked at Li Jingfeng with tears in her eyes. "Li Jingfeng, it's fine; it's just a little scrape."
"Li Yan, do you really hate your younger siblings that much?!" Li Jingfeng was furious; he hadn't expected Li Yan would resort to violence. Although his younger son often acted out of line, what Li Yan did left him heartbroken.
Li Yan made no excuses and calmly said, "I am taking back this Jade Bottle on behalf of Grandpa. Clearly, his expectations for you cannot be met anymore; I believe you wouldn't want to keep this Jade Bottle. As for you all, there’s still a living room available for you to stay in; if you want to stay, then do so; if not, leave."
Without waiting for anyone's response, he took Li Ming and walked away. Zhou Miao, glancing around quickly, pulled the dazed Yu Tian into Li Yan's room while leaving the dumplings and wontons in their room to keep watch over them—just in case some people were up to no good.
Looking at the empty living room with only an eight immortals table and four stools inside, Jiang Yuejiao felt her anger rising but was stopped by Li Yuanyuan. After shaking her head disapprovingly, she stepped aside. Immediately reverting back to her submissive demeanor with tears in her voice, she said: "Li Jingfeng, although this living room is spacious, how are we supposed to sleep as a family of four? Moreover, that Jade Bottle is a treasure! My father invited a master who told fortunes for Xiao Zhi, saying this item is rare and can ward off disasters for him in the future! How can Li Yan just take it away like that?"
Besides that, when they arrived initially, they hadn't expected such ruthlessness from Li Yan. They brought nothing except three blankets because they feared it would be cold on the road.
"Forget it; that Jade Bottle wasn't originally meant for Xiao Zhi. Since Xiao Yan wants it so badly, let him have it. You know how upset they are about this; back then... sigh... maybe after a few days they'll calm down. We can make do with sleeping arrangements; if worse comes to worst, we can sleep in the car outside where there's still some gasoline left for air conditioning." Even as he spoke these words himself, there was no confidence in them; having been in politics before, he understood that Li Yan's attitude had made it clear: this child held no regard for them at all.
Li Jingfeng sighed as he looked at his pair of twin children. Although they weren't particularly outstanding, they were still just kids. In the future, he and Jiang Yuejiao would have to rely on these two. As for Jiang Yuejiao, she wasn't much to speak of either; she just had a bad temper but was quite straightforward. Then he thought about Li Yan and how the Jade Bottle had injured Li Zhi, feeling somewhat dissatisfied with Li Yan, and his gaze towards Li Zhi was no longer as harsh as before.
In a place unseen by Li Jingfeng, Jiang Yuejiao glared at the other two rooms, her eyes filled with undisguised malice.
As Zhou Miao entered the room, he saw Li Yan fiddling with the Jade Bottle. The look in his eyes suggested he wasn't reminiscing about ancestors but rather studying something. "Is there a problem with this Jade Bottle?"
"This Jade Bottle and the original Jade were both left behind by our grandfather's ancestors. I remember our grandfather saying that these two items were together. It is said that an ancestor saved a Taoist priest, and in gratitude, the priest gifted these two items to our family. They have been passed down through generations until they reached our grandfather." Li Yan examined it closely; the jade gourd was carved from a single piece of jade, showing no signs of any mechanism.
"Are you saying this jade gourd is like that Jade, capable of having space?" Zhou Miao became excited. Although their space was enough to support four people, who wouldn't want more space? One could be used for farming and another for planting flowers. Hmm... that seemed a bit extravagant.
"Brother, there are words on the Jade Bottle." Li Ming, still childlike in nature, had recovered significantly by this time.
"Words? Where?" Li Yan and the others had turned the Jade Bottle over countless times, yet it remained just a Jade Bottle; it hadn't transformed into a golden pot. Moreover, this small Jade Bottle was flawless—where could there be words?
"Here." Li Ming climbed down from the bed and pointed to a circle around the bottom of the Jade Bottle. "Look, there are many words, they're just small. Brother, look."
Li Yan and Zhou Miao squinted at the Jade Bottle until their eyes nearly crossed but still found nothing. Could it be... Li Yan pondered aloud, "Is it because we have too many distracting thoughts? Little Ming is pure and innocent, so he can see things we can't."
Li Ming ate the same food and drank the same water as everyone else; aside from being pure-minded, there really wasn't anything different about him compared to the others.
"Little Ming, read out what the words say." Zhou Miao handed the Jade Bottle to Li Ming.
Li Ming's little face scrunched up in concentration. He looked at the expectant gazes of those present and hesitated for a while before finally speaking: "Circle circle circle circle, circle circle circle circle circle circle..."
"…"
"Well then, Little Ming, you must be speaking Mandarin," Zhou Miao said impatiently. He had never seen this child read any foreign language before; those circles certainly didn't count as English.
Li Yan cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "Little Ming, write down what you see for your brother to see." Children don't know many characters when they're young; whenever they encounter unfamiliar characters, they tend to say "circle." As they learn more characters over time, they use "circle" less frequently. Suddenly having so many circles... well, it indeed left Li Yan momentarily speechless.
Once Li Yan finished explaining, Yu Tian stifled a laugh but couldn't bring himself to tease the little one at home. However, Zhou Miao was less restrained. His laughter could be heard even outside where Li Zhi was; Li Zhi angrily kicked a stool and exclaimed, "Damn it! What kind of place is this?! His dad is still counting on this Li Yan! Ugh! Sister, are we really going to stay here for ten days?"
Li Yuanyuan turned to look at her brother's rebellious expression and said softly, "Stop talking nonsense, let's wait until Grandpa arrives."
After Li Ming finished writing, Zhou Miao really stopped laughing. What kind of characters were these? Wasn't this just bullying the illiterate? If they had the ability, why not use a few simplified characters? If that didn't work, traditional characters would do! He was raised under the red flag, born as a red youth!
"Why is it Small Seal Script?" Yu Tian leaned over to take a look; he had minored in ancient scripts during school. He actually recognized these characters. "Looks like this is truly an antique."
"Small Seal Script?" Li Yan had to admit that Chinese history was long and profound—perhaps too long. To him, Small Seal Script looked almost like little drawings; he couldn't recognize it at all.
"It says up here that this Jade Bottle is called Qian Kun Pot, formed by gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and is one of the rare treasures between heaven and earth. It also says that as long as this Qian Kun Pot is with a cultivator, it can greatly increase the surrounding spiritual energy, making it an essential item for cultivators whether at home or traveling."
"Huh? Does it really say that on the pot?" Li Ming blinked at the tiny lines of text on the bottom of the Jade Bottle.
"No, I'm paraphrasing," Yu Tian explained.
Li Yan squinted at someone and realized that indeed, proximity to good influences had changed Yu Tian without him even noticing. The once shy young man who blushed at every word had vanished without a trace.
After thinking for a moment, Li Yan said, "Miaozi, you and Yu Tian wait outside. I'll go into the space with Mingming." He was worried those people might barge in. Besides, he and Li Ming were the masters of the space; if anything happened, they would likely be less injured than Zhou Miao and the others. Furthermore, if there were any changes with this Jade Bottle, he didn't want Mingming to live in this world alone if he died. Although it wasn't fair to Mingming, he had to be selfish just this once.
Yu Tian shook his head. "What if something happens? Why don't we all go in together?"
"No need." Li Yan said as he took Li Ming's hand and entered the space, leaving behind a worried Yu Tian and a silent Zhou Miao.
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