Chapter 516: The Last Kṣitigarbha Treasure
Xiaoying took a whole week to recover before she could finally walk.
Fortunately, she didn’t have any lingering effects, and after regaining her energy, she quickly began to take care of her precious daughter.
After confirming that both their daughter and granddaughter were fine, Zhang Quanzhi and his wife departed contentedly, heading back to their tailor shop.
Young Master Sang finally set aside his biggest worry and fully immersed himself in the most important task at hand.
…Collecting the last Kṣitigarbha treasure.
——
——
“How’s the work coming along?”
“…I hope the next time I see you, it’s because you’re bringing me good food and drink to reward me, not to check on my work progress.”
In the Demon Cultivators’ office of the Taimu Alliance, Li Shanyan poked his small, tiger-headed head out from behind a mountain of paperwork and replied grumpily:
“Now that you’ve had your kid, can’t you help me out a bit with the workload?”
“Are you kidding? As the boss, I have to pay you and do all the work myself! Where’s the logic in that?”
Young Master Sang plopped down on the sofa next to the office without a care, propping his legs up and asking, “Any reliable intel come in lately?”
“None.”
Li Shanyan sighed, looking glum, “Most of it is just ordinary people chasing shadows. They see something strange and think it must be related to the Kṣitigarbha treasure, reporting every little detail to the Taimu Alliance, but it’s mostly just after that bonus.”
“Isn’t your bounty just too high? I waste so much energy sifting through these documents to see what’s useful, it’s exhausting.”
“I’d rather overdo it than miss something,” Young Master Sang said breezily. “Anyway, there’s only one Kṣitigarbha treasure left. We must find it before the gods and demons break the seal.”
When the topic came up, Li Shanyan’s expression turned serious: “How much longer?”
“…Less than half a month.”
Young Master Sang spoke softly, “Half a month for one Kṣitigarbha treasure. Even if I have to fish for it in the ocean, I must find it.”
Li Shanyan paused for a moment, then let out a long sigh.
“Ah. Forget it. I guess I’m just unlucky to have landed such a negligent boss.”
“Let’s read a few more,” he said, picking up another document to read carefully.
Young Master Sang continued to daydream on the sofa, repeatedly pondering the matter of the Kṣitigarbha treasure.
…Actually now that he thought about it.
He had already collected seven pieces of the Kṣitigarbha treasure.
Medicine, iron, jade, crystal, talisman, soul, feather.
Each piece possessed incredible abilities, things that ordinary cultivators could never achieve in a lifetime.
And what kind of ability would the last Kṣitigarbha treasure hold?
Lost in thought, he slowly closed his eyes.
Not long after, Li Shanyan heard the soft sound of snoring coming from the sofa.
Li Shanyan: “…”
Damn it.
Old man is struggling with documents until his eyes go blind, while you’re over there sleeping like a baby.
How ridiculous!
Looking at the snoring Young Master Sang, Li Shanyan couldn’t help but entertain a dark thought.
How about… taking this chance to get rid of this guy?
It’d be a one-time deal, and then I wouldn’t have to suffer through such miserable work every day!
Even if I can’t get rid of him.
At least I could play a nasty prank on him and vent my frustration.
With that, Li Shanyan tiptoed toward Young Master Sang, eyes filled with malicious intent and ready to make his move.
But the next second.
“Hey!” The slumbering Young Master Sang suddenly sat up straight.
“Oh right.”
“Why didn’t I think of this sooner?”
He seemed to have remembered something, turning to Li Shanyan, “Old man, check if there’s anything in the documents about—what are you doing?”
In front of him, Li Shanyan, sweating and hands behind his back, with shifty eyes and whistling nervously, sheepishly replied, “N-no, nothing.”
“Old man… Just sitting too long, my back hurt, taking a stroll. Haha.”
Young Master Sang looked at him suspiciously but didn’t pry further: “Stop strolling and get to work. Taking a stroll during work hours? Want to slack off while getting paid?”
Li Shanyan gritted his teeth in frustration.
“Go, quickly check if there’s any recent information about earthquakes.”
“Who knows? I read so many documents every day, how could I remember—”
Halfway through, Li Shanyan suddenly paused, as if he thought of something, and began rummaging through the pile of documents.
“Hey, you won’t believe this. There actually is.”
He pulled out a document and read aloud: “Half a month ago, a small island called Dragon Beard Island off the southeastern coast received reports from fishermen saying that the coastal earth dragon had been thrashing about, nearly destroying the island. Fortunately, the island is incredibly perilous, uninhabited, and there were no casualties.”
“However, after checking, I found it was just a regular earth dragon thrashing about, with no signs of extraordinary treasures appearing, so I didn’t pay it much mind. What’s the matter with that?”
Young Master Sang pondered for a moment and quietly said, “Send me the address. I’ll go take a look.”
“Huh? What’s the reason? You still haven’t told me.”
“I’ll explain when I get back.” Before he finished speaking, his figure had already vanished from the office.
Li Shanyan stared at the doorway for a long time before abruptly bursting into laughter.
“Guess that whole not wanting to work thing was just a front.”
“This guy really is a workaholic who can’t sit still for a minute, huh?”
——
——
Meanwhile, at the Sang family.
“You—are you serious?!”
“Shh! Keep your voice down, don’t let anyone hear.”
In Zhang Xiaoying’s room, Long Huan and Zhang Xiaoying were sitting on the bed, whispering about something.
“She’s about to give birth?” Zhang Xiaoying said with a grave expression, her tone somewhat anxious.
“Yeah,” Long Huan said timidly, “I reckon… only a month or two left.”
Hearing this, Zhang Xiaoying felt both amused and exasperated, eventually unable to help but scold him:
“You! She doesn’t understand, your husband doesn’t understand, but why are you also so clueless?”
“Such things can’t be hidden. After all, it’s the Sang family’s bloodline.”
Long Huan hung his head, looking somewhat aggrieved: “S-sorry… She’s given me so many perks, I can’t just bite the hand that feeds me.”
“With the due date approaching, I was worried that if I didn’t say something now, it might cause problems later on, so I had to tell you. But don’t tell anyone else!”
Zhang Xiaoying shot him a disgruntled look, whispering, “Does your husband not know yet?”
“Uh, no. I haven’t told him.”
“Then you haven’t told anyone else, right?”
Long Huan fell silent.
Zhang Xiaoying: “…Please don’t tell me only your husband doesn’t know.”
“Er, I only told Sect Leader Hua and made her promise not to tell anyone else. So everyone else should be in the dark…”
“…Should be.” In the end, she hesitated and repeated it.
So, it seems everyone in the family knew.
Zhang Xiaoying put her head in her hands and sighed.
“Do you believe Sect Leader also said the same when telling the others?”
Long Huan: “…”
“What should we do? At this rate, will your husband not find out sooner or later?”
Zhang Xiaoying pondered for a moment, a determined glint flashing in her beautiful eyes.
“Aunt Yu, prepare the carriage quickly.”
“I’m going to Linzhou overnight.”
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