NOVPUBIt would take some time for the guards to fetch the items, so the father and daughter didn’t wait on the beach and headed home first.
Second Jiang was playing on the beach with his friends. His cousin asked curiously, "Second Brother, who was that? You seemed really afraid of him." It was strange—he’d never seen him fear even their grandfather, yet he acted as meek as a grandson in front of that outsider.
Second Jiang thought back to the first time he’d met Old Gu Six and said mysteriously, "A very powerful man." Someone whose mere presence could make him kneel and call him "Old Master."
"How powerful?" His friends crowded around, intrigued.
"You all know my greatest admiration is reserved for His Majesty and General Yun, but this man ranks above both of them."
This only deepened their curiosity. How could someone more formidable than the heroes revered by the entire world remain unknown?
Second Jiang murmured, "Because he’s a god."
How could mere mortals compare?
His friends, thinking he was joking, tackled him into the sand and stuffed his pockets full of it.
Once home, the father and daughter entered Old Gu Six’s spatial realm. Since they’d only be staying a day or two, they couldn’t be bothered to unpack.
They’d expected delays, but things had gone surprisingly smoothly.
Chang’an gazed at the endless fields of camellias in the distance. The tea seeds in her father’s space yielded harvests twice a year, and now her own space held two tons of tea oil.
"Dad, want to earn more merit?" 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝒸ℴ𝓶
Old Gu Six seemed to know what she was thinking. He shook his head. "Daughter, changing the livelihood of this world is the task of its chosen one. We shouldn’t interfere. This world’s evolution and development follow the will of Heaven. Even if we do something, we might not gain merit—instead, we could disrupt the predetermined course."
"But you could earn faith!" Gods needed faith, didn’t they? Chang’an felt her father didn’t have enough merit, so why not gather some faith for him?
Old Gu Six shook his head again. He didn’t tell Chang’an that the village of elderly, women, and children he’d impulsively helped had survived on the food and water he’d given them.
Later, with Madam’s assistance, every household had erected longevity tablets for him and his daughter.
A little faith was enough—why seek more? He had no desire to end up like the God of Wealth, constantly fulfilling wishes without rest.
Too busy—even dogs would shake their heads at the sight.
Seeing her father wanted nothing, Chang’an didn’t push. She just prayed his trial wouldn’t fail—they were bound together, and if it did, she’d have to go through it all again with him.
The thought alone made her head hurt. Her father was an explosive existence—the first god she’d heard of who’d squandered all his merit. A true legend among deities.
Exceptionally outstanding.
"All these things in my space…" She had to find a way to take them with her. She’d trade all her merit for it—next life, she wanted to coast from birth.
"Why not store everything in my space?"
"I suspect you’re trying to swindle my inheritance." (¬_¬)
"Of course not! I’ll return it when I die." That would be a long wait.
"I’d rather keep it myself."
"If you’re worried, I’ll take you with me when I die. Then you won’t have to fear losing your inheritance."
"Thanks a lot." (￣～￣;)
Her dear father was no different from parents who tricked their kids out of New Year’s money.
Old Gu Six failed to swindle a single coin from his daughter—instead, she conned a pile of gems from him.
Terrified, he moved his entire fortune to a different cave overnight. Thankfully, his spatial realm had plenty of caverns—hiding things was effortless.
Remembering they still had to return to the mountains of Liangzhou County, Old Gu Six began summoning his father again.
Once, it had been Chang’an doing the summoning; now, the torch had been passed.
The Old Master’s patience snapped.
Without a word, he tossed a teleportation talisman at his dear son and vanished. He likely wouldn’t reappear until Old Gu Six’s trial was over.
The next afternoon, Second Jiang’s guards arrived with the goods.
The trade happened on the beach again. The value of three bolts of cloud-pattern brocade and two of satin already far exceeded twenty thousand taels of silver, so he threw in two uncarved jade stones.
The father and daughter accepted without guilt. Everyone saw it—he offered willingly, so taking it was fine, right?
Old Gu Six had considered dismantling the valley gate, but given the generous extras, he left it intact.
Second Jiang was reluctant to part. "Sir, are you moving to the mountains? May I visit someday?"
"That might be inconvenient—it’s too far." Truly, the round trip would take nearly half a year.
Second Jiang took it as a polite refusal. Old Gu Six didn’t want visitors disturbing them.
His assumption wasn’t wrong—they were moving precisely to avoid disturbances.
Old Gu Six packed everything into a basket, slung it on his back, and headed up the mountain with Chang’an. Second Jiang watched them leave.
They’d been companions for years, free from the entanglements of status or gain. Though Old Gu Six intimidated him, their interactions had been more relaxed and natural than with others.
His cousin, seeing his gloom, rubbed his chin. Aside from their good looks, he saw nothing special about that pair. Why did Second Brother look like he’d been dumped?
Wasn’t that exactly it? They weren’t playing with him anymore.
Once away from the beach, the father and daughter ventured into dense woodland. Old Gu Six stored the basket in his space, activated the teleportation talisman, and in a blink, they were deep in the mountains of Liangzhou County.
Six puppets couldn’t build a house in two days, so the pair cleared a spot and pitched a tent.
With their temporary shelter ready, Old Gu Six joined the construction while Chang’an took the ox to clear land.
This time, they didn’t enclose the entire valley—just the house and vegetable plots.
Since they wouldn’t grow crops outside, Chang’an decided to plant peach trees until the valley bloomed with them. They could admire the flowers, brew peach blossom wine, and when the fruit ripened, make candied peach jerky. A delightful thought.
She dumped bricks, tiles, and pre-made doors and windows from her space, saving the trouble of woodcutting. With six puppets helping, the house was done in seven days.
This time, the kitchen wasn’t separate. They built individual houses for the two wolf couples—Silver Wolf and Little White, Big White and Big Gray.
No forge or storage shed this time—Old Gu Six could smith in his space, and odds and ends could stay there too.
One main hall, two bedrooms, all with heated kang beds—far cozier in winter.
Once the house was up, they built the courtyard wall. Chang’an had only cleared a small vegetable plot, which they enclosed within the compound.
The veranda was wide, perfect for a tea table and two rocking chairs—sipping tea, brewing wine, and chatting.
But leisure would have to wait. They still needed to find peach trees in the mountains.
Wild peach trees weren’t everywhere—if they were, they wouldn’t need to plant any.
Man, daughter, and wolf roamed the forests.
Progress was slow—three days yielded just two trees. They were far from filling the valley.
The father and daughter's first instinct was to call for the Old Master, but no matter how much they shouted, there was no response.
Chang'an and Old Gu Six: Did he run off again?
