Xu Qing put down the ingot and mused, "The official with the surname Yin is an officer subordinate to the Ministry of Rites in Jiangnan. He may have some authority in Jiangnan, but in the Jin Sect, he doesn't wield much official power."
"Moreover, the case of the Wu Family was adjudicated by the Prefect of the Jin Sect himself. If there is really an injustice, how would the Prefect save face? If my guess is correct, it's not that Wu Wencai is unwilling to return, but rather that Official Yin is aware of the issues at play, so he allowed him to prepare for the upcoming spring examinations with peace of mind. As long as Wu Wencai attains an official status, the situation would change quite differently."
After a pause, Xu Qing laughed and said, "There are many scholars in Jiangnan, and for Wu Wencai to place among the top three in the autumn examinations held in Jiangnan is impressive. If he is able to study diligently and rush to the capital to attend the metropolitan examination and the palace examination next spring, he would at least secure an official post of rank. That's merely the beginning. If he meets someone important who promotes him in the capital... hehe, then the times in the Jin Sect might just change drastically."
Xuan Yu was somewhat baffled by what it heard, but hearing that Wu Wencai seemed to have a promising turnaround, it also felt delighted.
"I have always believed that Wu Wencai could achieve great things. Now it seems that my belief was indeed correct. Just this skill of acknowledging kinship showcases his extraordinary ability."
The official Yin in Jiangnan only has a daughter and no sons, yet Wu Wencai's maneuver left Xu Qing in awe.
At present, the only uncertainty he had was about Wu Zhiyuan, who was still missing without a trace.
Wu Zhiyuan was quite talented in literature and seemed to surpass Wu Wencai's abilities in scholarly examinations, yet in dealing with people and affairs, he was not as adept as the nimble Wu Wencai.
Hearing Xu Qing praise Wu Wencai's kinship skills, Xuan Yu curiously asked, "Does Xu Immortal also want to acknowledge a foster kin?"
"..."
Xu Qing's gaze turned solemn. Last time, Hu Baosong, who wanted to be his adoptive father, had already become a pile of yellow earth.
Speaking of acknowledging kinship, he indeed seemed to have done it before!
Glancing aside at the memorial tablet of Liu Youdao on the altar, acknowledging a deceased person as a mentor should also count as knowing when to bow and when to stand tall.
"Xuan Yu, would you like to accompany me in acknowledging a foster kin?"
Xuan Yu's eyes lit up, thinking it sounded like fun.
"Who does Xu Immortal want to acknowledge as a foster kin?"
Xu Qing stood up, brushed his clothes, and avoiding a direct answer, said, "My esteemed teacher once acknowledged an old willow tree in Shitou Village of Xiangyin County as his foster mother, thereafter adopting the surname Liu, naming himself Youdao."
"I understand! Xu Immortal wants to go to Xiangyin County to acknowledge that old willow tree as a foster grandmother!"
"..."
Xu Qing glanced at Xuan Yu, raising an eyebrow, "Xiangyin County is a thousand miles away from here. To reach there, we must leave the Jin Sect. I've heard there are many ruthless zombies that kill without hesitation there. If I really go to seek that old willow tree, would Xuan Yu dare to go with me?"
As soon as Xu Qing finished speaking, Xuan Yu, which was all worked up just a moment ago, immediately lost its enthusiasm.
"There are willows in the Jin Sect too..."
"Today, we shall not pay homage to the willow." Teasing the cat, Xu Qing was in a very good mood.
"If not to the willow, to whom shall we pay homage? Could it be to the official?"
"That is what ordinary people and mundane cats would do. Are you a mundane cat?"
"No!" Xuan Yu shook its head in denial, then looked up at Xu Qing, "Is Xu Immortal a mundane person?"
"Only those who keep mundane cats are mundane people. Does Xuan Yu think I am mundane?"
"..." Xuan Yu widened its eyes, its feline brain working quickly.
"Xu Immortal is definitely not mundane."
"Exactly, who would be idle enough to rush to call an official 'relative', disgraceful!"
At that moment, the Great Scholar Wu, who was studying diligently in Jiangnan, suddenly shivered.
Not knowing if the foster father saw the aunt when passing through the Jin Sect, and whether he conveyed the message that he is alive...
...
Underground Street.
A man and a cat closed up the shop, with Xu Qing walking in front, followed by Xuan Yu, treading carefully.
Upon reaching the coffin shop, Xu Qing glanced at the empty shopfront and the rattan chair in the corner that had accumulated some dust, feeling somewhat sentimental.
He took out a Dust Cleansing Talisman and pasted it on a post. Instantly, an invisible wave spread throughout the shop, sweeping away all the dust and cobwebs in an instant.
Passing through the front shop into the courtyard, there stood a peach tree so thick that two people would need to embrace it.
In the secular world, peach trees have a short lifespan, rarely lasting over a century. Yet this peach tree at the coffin shop seemed to have lived for at least three hundred years.
Beneath the flourishing peach tree was a stone table with a chessboard carved on it. Xuan Yu leaped onto the stone table and stared at the unfinished game on the board for a while.
Not that it understood chess, for how would a cat know how to play chess? It was merely trying to control its about-to-lose-control paws.
It really wanted to flick the chess pieces one by one off the board onto the ground!
Xuan Yu fought hard against the Heart Demon until hearing Xu Qing speak, pulling it back to its senses.
"Xuan Yu, come over and help!"
Xu Qing set up an altar, retrieved incense candles and offerings, and tied red cloth strips to the peach tree as an intermediary for connection. Additionally, Xu Qing pulled out the surrounding weeds of the peach tree.
Xuan Yu imitated him, biting the grass stems with its mouth and pulling them out diligently.
Although it didn't know what Xu Qing intended to do, it felt that doing so certainly made sense!
After removing the weeds, Xu Qing poured a ladle of water over the roots of the peach tree. Although Xuan Yu disliked water, it still complied with the guidance and, with ritualistic flair, poured water over the peach tree roots with a small teacup held in its mouth.
After completing all this, Xu Qing stood in front of the altar laden with offerings such as Siu Mei pork, skew-neck phoenix, pig head meat, and even a raw pickled fish.
Xu Qing clasped his hands and bowed in respect, then looked at Xuan Yu, the intention unspoken yet clear.
The latter followed suit, half squatting and half standing beside Xu Qing, bowing to the peach tree.
Once all rituals were complete, Xu Qing suddenly chuckled and said, "Immortal Peach, today Xuan Yu and I cleaned the fairy home for you and offered you clothes, merely as a small token of our hearts. If Immortal Peach does not reject us, today Xuan Yu and I are willing to pledge with the red ribbon and dew as wine, to beseech Immortal Peach as our foster mother, hoping that Immortal Peach will bless Xuan Yu and me with a smooth path, free from disaster and misfortune, and should we encounter difficulties, we could be protected and find blessings in disguise..."
"If indeed there is a spiritual response in the future, Xuan Yu and I will often pay respects to our foster mother, offering incense, caring in old age, and escorting to the end."
Xu Qing's voice had hardly fallen when the sound of peach branches trembling suddenly echoed through the windless courtyard. Xuan Yu looked up to see two peach leaves falling, one gently landing before it, and the other onto Xu Qing's shoulder.
Xuan Yu reached out its paw to hook the fallen leaf, elated, saying, "I heard people say that acknowledging a foster kin allows the foster kin to shield mortals from calamities. Now, as Xu Immortal faces the five-hundred-year lightning calamity, I think our foster mother will also secretly protect Xu Immortal's household to safely pass through the calamity."
Just as Xuan Yu finished speaking, the red ribbon tied on the peach tree suddenly detached on its own, and even the half-burnt Yellow Incense on the altar extinguished.
"..."
Xu Qing looked askance at the thoughtlessly speaking Xuan Yu.
After a moment of silence, the latter said, "The great peach tree seems unwilling to become our foster kin."
Xu Qing raised an eyebrow at the news, "Immortal Peach is reasonable. We weeded and watered it; how could it refuse us?"
"Besides, this coffin shop has now been transferred to me by Master Yizhen, and old Hu mentioned before that after his passing, I would inherit this shop."
"In that case, the coffin shop is my home, and Immortal Peach growing in my home should make us somewhat related. If it bears no relation, it can only be an unwelcome guest forcibly intruding into our house!"
"Profound Jade Immortal Family, how do you say we should deal with unwelcome guests who intrude without invitation? Is it better to dig up the roots or set it ablaze?"
The peach tree trembled its branches once again, unclear if in fear or annoyance.
However, seeing the red ribbon rehang itself on the peach branches without any wind, it seemed that Immortal Peach was quite content to be the foster kin of Xu Qing's household.
With the ritual concluded, Xu Qing and Xuan Yu both sensed some sort of bond between themselves and the peach tree, yet found it elusive to grasp upon further inspection.
After whimsically completing the fostering ritual with Xuan Yu, Xu Qing packed up the altar and left the coffin shop.
Within the coffin shop, beside the stone table etched with a chessboard, there suddenly appeared a young woman in a peach-colored dress.
The woman glanced down at the newly appeared red ribbon shawl on her body, feeling a bit exasperated, "That Hu boy was really muddled, giving away the estate so readily. If he ever needs to hide from disaster here, wouldn't I also have to bear the brunt of unwarranted calamity along with him..."