As Lian's eyes, filled with anticipation, were interpreted, the aura of Danmuchiangi began to quietly flicker.
"What are you thinking about, sticking out your mouth like a duckling?"
Lian was startled and quickly covered her mouth with both hands.
But she smiled a little inside. After all, he was her grandfather, and it seemed he found his granddaughter endearing.
"Hmm. Would you like to come closer?"
Danmuchiangi spoke as if giving her a difficult task.
But for Lian, it was rather a welcome thing. Though she tilted her head in confusion, she approached without hesitation.
Sitting on a grand chair, Danmuchiangi seemed a bit flustered that she had come so close, despite his invitation.
"Yes... Since you have come here with such sincerity, I cannot send you away empty-handed."
With that, Danmuchiangi untied the jade pendant from his waist and handed it to the chief steward.
The chief steward's eyes widened in recognition, then returned to their normal size as he carefully held the jade pendant and extended it to Lian.
"Thank you, Grandfather!"
The high-quality jade, finely crafted, seemed to have a refreshing aura due to Danmuchiangi's long possession.
Lian did not refuse the jade pendant offered by the chief steward and quickly fastened it to her waist.
At that moment...
'Huh?'
A strange feeling, as if she had put her hand into an empty basket, flashed through her mind. At the same time, characters appeared on the jade pendant.
[First-class jade polished by a master for a long time: Spirit Capacity 14]
'Spirit Capacity? What does that mean?'
As she thought, the characters shimmered and changed.
Would you like to store spirit energy?
Help: Good stones harbor spirit energy. The better the stone, the more spirit energy it can store.
'I'll store it! I'll store it!'
Spirit Energy: 49/100 (14βΌ)
At the same time, she felt spirit energy flowing out from her fingertips, and the red aura in the 'Spirit Energy' section disappeared instantly.
Thanks to this, her body felt much lighter.
'So good stones can store spirit energy?'
This was a new discovery for Lian. She looked down at the jade pendant given by Danmuchiangi again.
'Ah... I didn't have many opportunities to touch such jewels before, due to the family's decline...'
She had never been this close to her grandfather before.
Suddenly, the jade seemed to shine more brilliantly than diamonds.
It was only natural that Danmuchiangi, who had given her this pendant, seemed to have a halo around him.
Lian's face, beaming as she looked at the jade pendant, made Danmuchiangi a bit flustered.
"Cough, cough. D-Do you like it?"
"Yes! Grandfather! I love it! I really, really love it! Thank you so much. I really, really..."
Lian was overwhelmed with joy, almost on the verge of tears.
She had been struggling to figure out how to lower her spirit energy below 50, and now it was solved in one go!
"Y-You like it, that's good, but why are you crying and making a fuss! As the eldest granddaughter, you should be more composed! Can't you stop this nonsense?"
"No, no! I'm not crying!"
Danmuchiangi, seeing his sobbing granddaughter, cleared his throat.
"Alright then. Do you need anything else?"
"No, Father. You've already given Lian medicine..."
Wu Zhiqing tried to decline with a gentle smile, but Lian's mind was quicker.
Didn't she have something urgent to ask?
"Ah! Grandfather! I have something!"
"Hmm. What is it? Be quiet, Wu Zhiqing. As the eldest granddaughter, you should speak your mind boldly."
Lian's boldness seemed more impressive than disrespectful.
Wu Zhiqing looked puzzled but did not scold her.
"Grandfather, I want to learn martial arts!"
At the same moment, a cold wind blew around Lian.
No one answered.
'W-What?'
She thought he would be pleased that the eldest granddaughter wanted to learn martial arts.
"...You want to learn martial arts?"
"Yes, I'm already eight years old, and I still don't know anything..."
While Lian was speaking, Wu Zhiqing pulled her aside.
"Lian, why don't you wait until you're a bit healthier to learn martial arts?"
"But I'm... already..."
When her spirit energy was stored, her body condition did worsen slightly, but otherwise, she was perfectly fine.
But Lian only mumbled, noticing the tears in Wu Zhiqing's eyes.
"Mom, why... don't cry..."
"No, I'm not crying. I'm not crying. It's just that Lian..."
How could she bring up martial arts again with her mother crying and her grandfather speechless?
'Are they that worried?'
After being like a walking corpse and now waking up, it was natural for them to worry about every step she took, Lian concluded.
"Then, I'll learn martial arts a bit later!"
"Good, that's a good idea. Our Lian is so considerate."
"...When the time comes, I will teach you myself. Don't be too anxious, Lian and Wu Zhiqing. Focus on your health."
"Yes, Supreme Patriarch."
Wu Zhiqing quickly bowed and wrapped her arms around Lian.
Seeing this, Danmuchiangi waved his hand, a gesture to dismiss them. But there was no harshness in his gesture.
* * *
"The child can walk well."
"Doctor Xu said that although her body is not fully developed and her strength is weak, there are no other abnormalities, and she is surprisingly intelligent."
Chief Steward Jiang Li quickly responded.
"For the past seven, almost eight years, how much effort has Lady Wu put in?"
Chief Steward Jiang Li, while saying this, felt a bit choked up, which was uncharacteristic of him.
It was thanks to Wu Zhiqing's efforts that they had managed to endure with a child who did not respond to her name and did not cry even when in pain.
Before giving birth to Danmuchi, Wu Zhiqing had been frail and lived on medicine, but despite everyone's objections, she gave birth and, to the surprise of the doctors, became healthier, dedicating everything to raising her child.
"From what I heard, she doesn't seem to be a fool."
"Oh, she is surprisingly intelligent, according to Doctor Xu."
"Hmm. It's commendable that she can speak clearly without blinking at the sight of me."
Twenty-five years ago, the injuries he sustained while fighting the Blood Demon Valley, which left him with severe scars, could not be healed by any means.
Danmuchiangi, who had a stern appearance even before the scars, now had no one who dared to look at him directly.
"Isn't that so?"
"But that's also true of Shengxian."
"Lord, don't compare them..."
"Supreme Patriarch!"
Chief Steward Jiang Li, who had been staring at Danmuchiangi comparing his deceased son, a renowned genius, with his granddaughter who had just awakened a few months ago, quickly lowered his eyes. Danmuchiangi's gaze had turned fierce.
"If speaking and walking well means being intelligent, where would you find an unintelligent child in Hangzhou?"
"That's true, but..."
Chief Steward Jiang Li trailed off.
'But the young lady has only been awake for a few months.'
Still, Danmuchiangi's expression had changed dramatically compared to before. He was undoubtedly overjoyed that his granddaughter had awakened. After all, she was his own granddaughter.
"Lian's martial arts training... will be decided based on her future condition. Make sure no one mentions martial arts to her."
"Yes!"
Jiang Li bowed and replied. Danmuchiangi's gaze turned to the window, where his granddaughter and daughter-in-law had just walked away.
* * *
Mr. Qian, a servant in the kitchen of the Danmu Clan, had not been with the clan for long and, due to the lack of staff, was responsible for various tasks in the kitchen.
Every day, he checked and organized the ingredients that arrived in the early morning, cleaned the kitchen inside and out, and harvested fresh eggs from the small chicken coop in the backyard.
But in Mr. Qian's heart, there was a long-nurtured flame. Although he was just a kitchen helper in a declining clan, his grand dream was to become the best chef in Zhejiang Province.
"Is this the right mix?"
'But at this rate, won't I lose my head before becoming the best chef in the world?'
It was before noon.
A small girl in white appeared in front of the chicken coop he was in charge of. Mr. Qian recognized her immediately.
The white robe, neatly finished to the cuffs, was only allowed for the bloodline members of the Danmu Clan. Although it was now simpler, it used to be made of white silk with silver embroidery, and such a white robe was rare.
Mr. Qian, who was in a panic, heard the young lady speak boldly.
"When do you feed the chickens?"
In other words, she wanted to help feed the chickens.
For Mr. Qian, working with the eldest granddaughter on feeding the chickens made him feel as if his future was as dark as pitch.
The wet nurse, who was also in charge of the young lady, seemed to feel the same way.