Ordinary Bone

"What crime did he commit?"

Hearing this question, the red-clad female disciple chuckled and waved her hand, saying:

"We have not come down the mountain to subdue demons. We are here to take this boy, Xu Taiping, back to the mountain."

"Back to the mountain?"

The crowd, including Xu Erniu, still looked confused.

"Xu Taiping possesses a spiritual bone and has been entered into the Immortal Registry. We are here today to bring him to the mountain to join the Qingxuan Sect."

The male disciple explained with a calm and emotionless expression.

"Join… the Qingxuan Sect? Does that mean… he'll become an immortal in the future? Our Xu family… our Xu family will have an immortal?"

Hearing this, Xu Erniu stood as if struck by lightning, mumbling to himself, completely dumbfounded.

The two disciples of Qingxuan Sect ignored the villagers and extended their hands toward Xu Taiping.

"Young Taiping, come with us. From now on, you'll be our junior disciple on the Seventh Peak."

The red-clad female disciple smiled warmly, her voice gentle as she spoke to Xu Taiping.

Hearing her voice, Xu Taiping felt a warmth in his heart, as though he had once again gained a family.

"Wait!"

Just as Xu Taiping was about to reach out to take her hand, his second aunt grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Dear Immortals, you can't just take our Taiping away like this! He's the pillar of our family and is destined to become a top scholar and bring glory to the Xu family!"

The plump second aunt smiled ingratiatingly at the Qingxuan Sect disciples, her expression full of exaggerated "reluctance."

Hearing her words, a chill ran through Xu Taiping's heart.

From as far back as he could remember, his second aunt had always treated him as a money-wasting burden, a bringer of bad luck. When had she ever hoped for him to bring glory to the family?

The two Qingxuan Sect disciples were unaware of the situation and assumed the second aunt was genuinely reluctant to part with him.

"A mere mortal scholar cannot compare to a disciple of the Qingxuan Sect. However, since you are his uncle and aunt, take this golden bowl as a token of our meeting."

The male disciple reached into his sleeve, took out a golden bowl, and stretched out his hand to give it to Xu Taiping's second aunt.

"No…"

"Dear Immortals!"

Before Xu Taiping could reveal the truth, the Bai Family steward suddenly jumped down from the carriage. Grabbing Taiping's arm and holding up the contract of servitude in the other hand, he loudly declared:

"This Xu Taiping has already been sold to our Bai Family by his uncle and aunt! The terms are clearly written in black and white—he is now part of the Bai Family. This golden bowl belongs to us!"

The sight of a gift from an immortal had everyone salivating.

Hearing this, the male and female disciples of Qingxuan Sect frowned in unison.

"That's nonsense!"

The plump aunt angrily retorted, stepping forward to snatch the contract from the steward's hand.

"I only sent Taiping to work for the Bai Family, not to sell him as a slave!"

"Exactly! My nephew is now a disciple of the Immortal Sect. This contract with the Bai Family is null and void!"

Xu Erniu also stepped in to join the struggle for the contract.

"Enough!"

Seeing the chaos unfolding, the male disciple of Qingxuan Sect couldn't hold back and shouted sternly.

With his voice, an invisible pressure radiated from his body, making him appear like a furious tiger. Both the second aunt and the Bai Family steward froze in terror, their mouths snapping shut.

"Taiping, is it true that you were sold to the Bai Family as a servant?"

Once the commotion had subsided, the red-clad female disciple stepped forward and asked Taiping with concern in her voice.

Taiping glanced at the female disciple, then nodded.

"Yes."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a sudden sense of relief, as though the chains that had bound him were broken.

The female disciple's gaze softened, now filled with sympathy and pity.

"You ungrateful little brat! How can you spout such nonsense? Over the years—"

"Let go."

As the plump aunt prepared to grab Taiping, the red-clad female disciple waved her long sleeve. A gust of wind burst forth, directly pushing the woman's bulky frame back.

"You… You may be immortals, but you must act reasonably, mustn't you? I… I…"

Frightened by the female disciple's display of power, the aunt stammered, though she continued to back away.

"Dear Immortals, I have the contract signed with Xu Erniu right here, stamped with a red handprint! Xu Taiping is now part of the Bai Family. His uncle and aunt can't deny it!"

The greedy Bai Family steward handed over the contract.

The male disciple took it, glanced at it, and then smirked coldly, looking at Xu Taiping's aunt and uncle.

"A disciple of Qingxuan Sect, sold for a mere thirty taels?"

Hearing this, the young female disciple pursed her lips angrily.

"You two sold your nephew for a pitiful thirty taels and now dare to ask for more benefits from us? It seems you're asking to be punished!"

The fiery-tempered female disciple, who loved justice, was already preparing to wave her sleeve again.

"Mercy, Immortal Lady! Mercy!"

Xu Erniu and his wife hurriedly begged for forgiveness.

"Junior Sister, remember our master's instructions."

The male disciple placed a calming hand on her shoulder, giving her a meaningful look.

Though still visibly upset, the female disciple withdrew her hand.

"Since this contract is legitimate, how much silver would suffice for Qingxuan Sect to redeem him?"

The male disciple held up the contract and looked at the Bai Family steward.

"This… This…"

The steward hesitated, swallowing nervously before raising three fingers.

"Three… Three hundred taels!"

"A disciple of Qingxuan Sect, worth only three hundred taels?"

The male disciple smirked again.

Reaching into his sleeve, he pulled out a bulging pouch and tossed it to the steward.

The steward opened the pouch and froze—it was filled with gold ingots.

The surrounding villagers, including Xu Taiping's aunt and uncle, gasped in shock at the sight of the gold.

"Is this enough?"

The male disciple asked with a faint smile.

"Enough! More than enough! This gold is worth three thousand taels of silver!"

The Bai Family steward nodded excitedly, hugging the pouch tightly.

Hearing this, Xu Taiping's aunt and uncle turned pale.

They weren't well-educated, but they knew the difference between thirty taels and three thousand taels.

"Dear Immortals, this money shouldn't go to the Bai Family! We only took thirty taels!"

The plump aunt lunged toward the male disciple, but he easily sidestepped her, causing her to fall flat on the ground.

"Taiping, tell the immortals that this silver belongs to your uncle!"

Seeing his wife fail, Xu Erniu reached for Taiping, only for the red-clad female disciple to grab Taiping's hand and pull him several steps away in a blink.

Unable to get their hands on the gold, Xu Erniu and his wife turned on the Bai Family steward, shouting and fighting over the pouch.

"Taiping, your ties to the mundane world are severed. Are you willing to follow us to Yunlu Mountain and seek your destiny as an immortal?"

The male disciple tore up the contract in his hands and extended his hand toward Xu Taiping.

[--------------------------------------------]

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