Ning Fa returned home.
Although he had scolded Ning Muchun and the others, getting it off his chest, he still felt very unhappy in his heart.
It wasn't an exaggeration to call them ungrateful wretches. When his predecessor's father, Ning Zhiyuan, was in charge, he had treated them quite well.
Ning Fa shook his head, no longer dwelling on these thoughts.
He'd make a note of these grievances for now; he'd settle them all later.
Exhausted, he simply collapsed onto the stone table in the courtyard and fell asleep.
He didn't know how long he slept before being woken by a knock on the door.
Ning Fa's heart jolted. Could it be that Fifth Elder's fierce maidservant again?
He got up and went to the front door. Peeking through the gap, he couldn't help but look surprised, then he opened the door.
Four people stood at the entrance.
One old and one young figure were the black-clad elder he'd seen at his paternal uncle's house earlier, and the pretty girl in the yellow dress beside him.
The other two were a thin, dark-faced middle-aged man with a strong fishy odor about him.
Beside him stood a tall young man, not much older than Ning Fa, with a bronze face and a hearty smile, looking remarkably like the middle-aged man.
"Uncle, Brother Ting!"
Ning Fa exclaimed in surprise. These two were his maternal uncle, Xu Changtai, and his cousin, Xu Guanting.
The tall young man affectionately patted Ning Fa's shoulder.
"Little Fa."
Seeing Ning Fa, the middle-aged man's stern face broke into a smile.
Ning Fa turned to look at the black-clad elder. It was then he finally remembered who this person was. The elder was named Ning Xilin, also a clansman from their branch.
Although he was a mortal, he was the steward for the mortal bloodline of their branch and often met with the cultivators of their branch to discuss matters.
So, his presence at that event earlier was simply because Ning Fa's predecessor hadn't met him many times, hence the weak impression.
"Uncle Xilin."
Ning Fa greeted the black-clad elder, then apologized, "I didn't have a chance to greet you just now, please forgive me."
The black-clad elder seemed flattered and quickly said, "Little Fa, you honor this old man too much."
After speaking, the elder turned to the girl beside him, "Xiao Yu, come and greet your uncle."
The pretty girl first glanced at Ning Fa, her eyes full of curiosity, then she called out crisply, "Uncle."
The black-clad elder said with a beaming smile, "Xiao Yu is my granddaughter. She's lived away from home and only recently returned to the family. Half a month ago, she was found to have spiritual roots. Our line finally has another cultivator."
Ning Fa suddenly understood. No wonder his clan uncle had worn an unconcealable smile at his paternal uncle's house; it turned out there was a cultivator in the family.
One had to know that the Ning Family had millions of mortal bloodlines, but only a few hundred cultivators in total, a rarity of one in ten thousand.
Once a family produced a cultivator, their treatment would naturally skyrocket.
The direct descendants of cultivators could even move to islands with spirit veins, so the most fervent wish of the Ning Family's many mortals was to have a descendant with spiritual roots.
Ning Fa looked at the black-clad elder and couldn't help but say, "Uncle Xilin, you're not here to persuade me to agree, are you? If so, please leave."
The black-clad elder quickly waved his hands. "Of course not. In fact... cough cough, I also feel that Muchun's actions were a bit improper."
Seeing that he didn't seem to be speaking against his will, Ning Fa felt a bit perplexed about the intentions of his clan uncle and maternal uncle, but he still invited everyone into the house.
After everyone was seated, when Ning Fa went to pour tea, his maternal uncle Xu Changtai stopped him. He said in a deep voice, "Little Fa, I heard from Brother Xilin that you just visited your maternal aunt's house."
Ning Fa couldn't help but give an awkward smile at this.
Xu Changtai said no more, instead taking a cloth bag from his embrace and handing it to Ning Fa.
Ning Fa hesitantly took the bag and opened it. Inside was a small pile of thumb-sized, emerald-green stones.
A pure spiritual energy emanated from them; they were clearly all spirit stones.
Xu Changtai sighed slightly. "Little Fa, your maternal uncle doesn't have much ability and can't help you much in this matter. However, I still have some spirit stones. Please accept these hundred spirit stones."
Ning Fa was startled. Facing the spirit stones he had always dreamed of, he felt hesitant.
Because in his memory, his maternal uncle's family wasn't well-off.
His maternal uncle's family, the Xu family, was just a small immortal cultivation family, dependent on the Ning family, and didn't have many assets. Their main livelihood was raising spirit fish.
When Ning Fa's father was still alive, he could still look out for them. But after Ning Fa's parents died and Ning Fa lost the family's favor, his maternal uncle's family was inevitably affected.
The impact was even more severe than on Ning Fa's own line, as the Xu family was merely a dependent small family of the Ning family. Without a backer, any collateral branch of the Ning family could bully them.
Ning Fa felt speechless inwardly.
This kind of demonic sect behavior was pervasive within the Ning family, and he and his uncle's family were the victims.
This even gave him an idea: if he could one day manage the Ning family, he would thoroughly reform it.
He didn't believe that the family couldn't become strong without this kind of demonic sect approach.
And as far as Ning Fa knew, the Xu family's long-standing breeding waters had been forcibly taken away, leaving them only a barren water area to raise spirit fish.
The entire year, they couldn't earn much in the way of spirit stones, so a hundred spirit stones would likely take a long time to save up.
Furthermore, his aunt had always been sickly, which also cost a lot of spirit stones. Therefore, even though Ning Fa's previous self was very short on spirit stones, he had never approached his uncle's family for help.
Actually, on the way back from his paternal aunt Ning Muchun's home, Ning Fa had thought of his uncle. However, it was precisely for this reason that he couldn't bring himself to decide to ask his uncle to borrow spirit stones.
Seeing Ning Fa hesitate, his cousin Xu Guanting walked over and directly stuffed the cloth bag into his embrace. He said gravely, "Little Fa, don't be a stranger. Your uncle helped us a lot in the past, so now that you're in trouble, we naturally have to do our best to help you."
Ning Fa felt a warmth surge through his heart. He was silent for a moment before nodding, "Thank you, Uncle. I'll pay you back in the future."
Xu Changtai waved a hand at him. At this moment, the elder in the black shirt beside him also took out a black bag from his embrace and handed it to Ning Fa. He chuckled, "In the past, I was fortunate enough to have Zhiyuan's support, which allowed me to secure this position as steward. These thirty spirit stones are a small token of my appreciation, Little Fa. Please accept them."
Ning Fa was stunned. Only then did he understand. It turned out this clan elder had seen his predicament at his paternal uncle's home and then found his uncle, and together they had come to deliver spirit stones.