Chapter 522
Gu Chang, upon hearing those words, not only felt no anger but instead found a sense of reassurance on his face—truth be told, he feared even more the idea of the other party having no ulterior motives.
He had even begun to fantasize about life after marriage:
Once the girl from the Sun family married in, he would help her with her studies, guiding her to pass the entrance exams for their sect.
In the future, as two outer disciples, no matter what they did, earning merit wouldn’t be difficult. They could support each other, and life would be quite good.
If they had a child with some talent, then life would be even more promising.
As for researching spiritual roots, that was beyond his reach…
As the sect leader said, being a good teacher might be the better choice.
Aunt Chen noticed the growing joy on his face and teased, “Are you interested?”
“Of course, of course!” Gu Chang’s father replied repeatedly, “As long as she doesn’t look down on us, that’s enough!”
“Well, she doesn’t look down on us… but,” Aunt Chen hesitated before continuing, “this girl doesn’t care much about such things, but everyone has parents, and they always want to find someone trustworthy for their daughter…”
“What do you mean, Auntie…”
“The Sun family said they want some merit as a betrothal gift, and the amount isn’t a problem; it’s mainly about the intention behind it.”
Gu Chang felt a twinge of unease but still asked, “How much is considered a sincere intention?”
Aunt Chen held up a hand, flipping it back and forth.
“…”
Gu Chang calculated. Although he wasn’t very wealthy, he could borrow enough merit.
“Well, it’s not impossible…”
Though hesitant, he nodded slightly.
He had also learned that women with spiritual roots often had high betrothal gifts—rumor had it that the better a mother’s spiritual root, the better the child’s talent.
On the other hand, he believed that if he worked hard in the future, this debt wouldn’t be too burdensome.
“Another thing is, this girl’s intention is to cultivate immortality.”
Gu Chang was taken aback, not quite understanding what that meant.
“She wants to manage the family’s merit in the future. She has three spiritual roots, and you have four; it’s best if the merit is used for her.”
Gu Chang felt as if he were plummeting, his heart pressing painfully against his ribs, leaving him momentarily speechless.
It was then that he slowly began to understand.
The reason this Miss Sun chose him was quite simple:
First, he was good at math and could help her pass her exams in the future.
That, of course, wasn’t a big deal.
Second, what she valued was… his low talent.
Compared to other four spiritual roots, his four spiritual roots, if he weren’t so focused on math, wouldn’t be too inefficient at earning merit—
Thanks to his decent talent in topology, his spell-casting was actually quite strong, and he completed sect tasks quickly.
If he became a teacher in the future, he would earn even more merit.
And since he was a four spiritual root, this Miss Sun probably thought that by marrying him, her three spiritual roots could still benefit from his resources for cultivation.
This was something he simply couldn’t accept.
But his parents were nodding in agreement.
They seemed to think it was appropriate.
Seeing his expression turn sour, his father added, “A strong wife means a good life for our future grandchildren.”
“We shouldn’t be too picky.”
Gu Chang opened his mouth to say something but, looking at his father’s sallow face, his claw-like hands, and the hopeful glint in his eyes, he held back.
But Aunt Chen spoke up again:
“Gu Chang, the other party has some conditions…”
“Huh?”
Now even Gu Chang’s parents looked surprised.
“The girl said that if they have children in the future, if they have three spiritual roots, she won’t mind.”
“But if it’s two spiritual roots or more, the first child must have the surname Sun.”
At this, even Gu Chang’s father was stunned.
“Surname Sun? How can that be?”
“Hey, I think that’s a small matter… How easy is it to have a child with two spiritual roots?”
Seeing Gu Chang’s father hesitate, Aunt Chen quickly added, “This requirement is practically non-existent!”
Gu Chang’s parents were simple folk, and this reasoning made sense to them, so they nodded.
But Gu Chang couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Aunt Chen, I can’t aspire to this marriage.”
He was still young, and though he suppressed his anger, his face remained pale.
“What are you talking about, Gu Chang? The girl has her eyes on you!”
“What I mean is, it’s a mismatch…”
Seeing his serious tone, Aunt Chen’s smile faded, and she said, “Gu Chang, a girl as good as this, and you don’t want her? I won’t be able to find you a wife in the future…”
Gu Chang’s voice suddenly rose, “In that case, I won’t be matchmaking anymore!”
Seeing he was genuinely angry, Aunt Chen seemed frightened and hurried to take her leave.
Meanwhile, his parents looked at him with confusion and a hint of reproach.
Gu Chang took a deep breath, suppressing his inner turmoil, but his tone remained stiff:
“Dad, this Miss Sun won’t be a good daughter-in-law for you in the future, nor will she treat your grandchildren well.”
His father murmured, “What do you mean by that?”
“If our child has two spiritual roots or more, they’ll all have the surname Sun. With the Sun family’s power, that child will belong to them!”
“That’s not… isn’t it hard to have two spiritual roots?”
“But this Miss Sun herself has three spiritual roots!” Gu Chang, being clever, realized that his earlier fantasies were just that—fantasies, and now he was beginning to see the truth.
“What she means is, she probably wouldn’t care for children with less talent than her… if they’re ours, they’re ours.”
His father fell silent, but his mother still didn’t quite understand:
“Isn’t that good?”
“What’s good about it? This Miss Sun won’t nurture children with lower talent than herself! If our child doesn’t have two spiritual roots, they won’t get any cultivation resources!”
Only then did his mother understand: “If it’s two spiritual roots or more, they belong to the Sun family, and if it’s less, all the merit will be in her hands. She won’t give us anything. This…”
Gu Chang nodded slowly.
“If Miss Sun isn’t suitable, then we can look for other girls…”
After a moment of silence, Gu Chang said seriously, “Mom, Dad, I’ve thought it over; there’s no rush for marriage.”
“No rush?” His parents looked somewhat resistant, “How can there be no rush? If you’re not in a hurry, we are!”
Seeing them about to explode, Gu Chang quickly added, “I ran into the sect leader before, and he values me highly… he even gave me a book!”
“Zheng Zongmen?”
Hearing the name of the sect leader, Gu Chang’s parents’ expressions changed instantly, as if they had suddenly regained their senses.
“Yes!”
“He values you?”
“Absolutely! I have the book right here!” Gu Chang said eagerly, “He also told me to teach well and study hard, and that I could change my spiritual root talent in the future!”
“Change spiritual roots?” Living in the Jiushan Realm, Gu Chang’s parents, though ordinary, had some knowledge of the mystical world, “Can spiritual roots really be changed?”
“The sect leader said…”
His father immediately replied, “Then it must be true!”
“But that book is expensive, and to complete this method in the future, we’ll need money.” Seeing a glimmer of hope, Gu Chang seized the opportunity to persuade, “The merit I have now and what I’ll earn in the future will probably be used up; if I want to marry a good wife, I might not have the money.”
“This…”
Upon hearing this, his mother hesitated, “Then wouldn’t that mean no grandchildren?”
“Are you saying the sect leader told you to do this?” Gu Chang’s father asked, scrutinizing him, “Is that true?”
Gu Chang maintained a serious expression and nodded earnestly—he understood the first part of what the sect leader said, and the second part was clear to him.
“Then I won’t rush you.”
“Right!”
…
Gu Chang dashed out of the house and bought two more issues of the “Xian Dao” journal.
In the Gu family’s main hall, his mother was still complaining, “What do you mean no rush? If you’re not in a hurry, when will we have grandchildren?”
“Grandchildren…” Gu Chang’s father sat down at the table, “If it weren’t for the sect leader, we wouldn’t even have this good life now, let alone think about grandchildren!”
“Well, that’s not necessary…”
“You don’t understand, son; he’s not willing to accept this!” Gu Chang’s father continued, “This Miss Sun is taking advantage of her talent and family background to bully us. We can’t help, so let’s not make it harder for him.”
“But… can spiritual roots really be changed? What if it doesn’t work out? Wouldn’t Gu Chang waste his whole life?”
Gu Chang’s father couldn’t guarantee anything. After a long silence, he finally said something that didn’t quite fit the conversation: “The sect leader wouldn’t harm us.”
Hearing this, Gu Chang’s mother slowly nodded, surprisingly convinced by this nonsensical statement.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 398: Industry Planning, Yu Ying Asks for Ambition!
Chapter 398: Industry Planning, Yu Ying Asks for Ambition!
Gu Chang’s misinterpretation of his words was unknown to Zheng Fa…
In truth, he was also troubled by spiritual roots—if he wanted to cultivate more and stronger practitioners, spiritual roots were a problem that had to be faced.
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