Chapter 7

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Standing in front of Xu Ziyang, Xu Haoran took a deep breath and tightly held the secret letter given to him by his mother.

"Th-this is a top-grade first-class paper talisman!"

Xu Haoran suddenly looked up, gazing at Xu Ziyang with excitement.

"What?"

Lin Pinghai's expression froze, his eyes filled with disbelief. He strode to Xu Ziyang's desk, and when his gaze fell on the paper talisman, his eyes became blank. After a long while, he recovered from his daze, knelt in front of Xu Ziyang without a word, and bowed three times, then stood up and quickly walked out. Although his steps were fast, it was clear that he was somewhat unsteady.

At this moment, Xu Haoran had no time to pay attention to Lin Pinghai's departure. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Xu Ziyang and asked in a slightly nervous voice:

"Master Xu, are you willing to stay in our Xu family? I will immediately appoint you as a venerated elder."

Xu Ziyang shook her head lightly and said, "I have just arrived in the capital, and I don't know much about your family. I will be a guest elder first! If our cooperation goes well in the future, I don't mind joining the family and becoming a venerated elder."

"Good!"

Although Xu Haoran was somewhat disappointed, he was confident that if Xu Ziyang stayed in the family as a guest elder, he could eventually make her join his family and become a venerated elder. As long as he treated this girl with unlimited potential sincerely, he would surely earn her loyalty.

Therefore, Xu Haoran was very happy and immediately appointed Xu Ziyang as a guest elder. He then personally arranged her accommodation. However, what puzzled Xu Haoran was that Xu Ziyang did not choose the best house but picked a very remote courtyard and clearly informed Xu Haoran that she did not like being disturbed.

She told Xu Haoran that she needed to go back to fetch her parents. Upon hearing that Xu Ziyang was going to fetch her parents, Xu Haoran immediately dispatched four people at the fourth level of the Qi Condensation stage to protect her, and six clan disciples to drive a carriage to take her to fetch her parents. However, Xu Ziyang did not want her parents to be recognized by the clan members. One reason she chose a remote courtyard was to avoid her parents being recognized. From her father's few words, she already knew that he had been mocked in the clan in the past. She was afraid that her parents would be mocked again, so she wanted to wait until her cultivation improved and become her parents' pride before introducing them to the clan. Therefore, she firmly declined the clan leader's arrangement. In the end, Xu Haoran had no choice but to agree to Xu Ziyang's request. However, after Xu Ziyang left, he still dispatched the four clan members at the fourth level of the Qi Condensation stage to secretly protect her. He did not want the hard-won talisman master to encounter any mishap.

Xu Ziyang walked out of the Xu family's gate, looked back at the grand gate, and sighed lightly. She never thought she would have contact with her family so soon. She didn't know if her father's identity would be exposed, but she knew it couldn't be hidden for long.

"Ah! Let's hide it as long as we can!"

Snowflakes began to fall from the sky, quickly turning everything white. Xu Ziyang walked through the heavy snow, with the flying snowflakes covering her body.

From a distance, she saw her parents standing at the door, eagerly waiting for her. When they saw her, they supported each other and came to meet her. Seeing her parents standing in the snow, Xu Ziyang felt a warm feeling in her heart, but also a bit of guilt, unsure of how her father would feel about her becoming a guest elder in the clan.

Her parents walked up to her, and her mother lovingly brushed the snow off her body, saying tenderly:

"Yan'er, you came back so late. You must be tired after walking all day!"

In the midst of her mother's chatter, they entered the house, with her father silently following. Although he didn't speak, his eyes were full of affection. Xu Ziyang looked at her kind parents and felt a bit guilty, saying:

"Today... today..."

Her mother smiled and said, "Yan'er, is it because you don't have enough money? Don't worry, today I found a job at a clothing store, sewing clothes for people. I sewed five pieces today and earned fifteen copper coins! Your father also found a job at the dock and earned twenty copper coins today! When we save enough money, you can refine elixirs and paper talismans."

Seeing her parents' happy faces and their excited expressions, Xu Ziyang felt a bit sad and forced a smile, saying:

"Father and Mother are so capable, it's just that your daughter is useless!"

The Xu couple was taken aback, then said with a loving smile, "Yan'er, you are our daughter, and it's our duty to support you. Besides, it's not that you are incapable, but that we are. If we had enough capital, we wouldn't let you work so hard."

Xu Ziyang's lonely heart suddenly stirred, and she couldn't help but rush into her mother's arms, feeling that she had never been so happy in her two lives. Xu's wife, hugging Xu Ziyang, felt both happy and satisfied.

After a long while, Xu's wife gently stroked Xu Ziyang's hair and said softly, "Yan'er, are you hungry? Go sit down, and I'll serve you some food."

After eating, Xu Ziyang told her parents everything that had happened that day. When they heard that Xu Ziyang had become a guest elder in the clan, the Xu couple was very happy. However, when they heard that Xu Ziyang was going to live in the clan, Xu Guang hesitated and said:

"Yan'er, going back to the clan... we might not be able to hide it from the clan leader and my second brother. They will recognize me."

Xu Ziyang smiled bitterly and said, "There's no way around it. Not living in the clan is impossible. If the clan leader and Second Uncle recognize Father, we'll have to admit it."

At night, Xu Ziyang lay in bed, listening to her parents tossing and turning in the next room, and sighed. She didn't know what kind of situation she would face when she returned to the clan. She thought about it until midnight before falling into a daze. She didn't know that outside her house, four clan members at the fourth level of the Qi Condensation stage were guarding her.

The next day, after breakfast, Xu Ziyang and her parents set off for the clan. The three of them had no property, just a small bundle carried by Xu Guang, and they walked to the clan.

Behind them, the four clan members looked at the Xu family's poor appearance with a hint of surprise. They couldn't understand how a top-grade first-class talisman master could be so destitute. One of them nodded to the others, then disappeared, heading to the clan to inform the clan leader that Xu Ziyang was on her way.

Xu Haoran still placed great importance on Xu Ziyang, not just because of her status as a top-grade first-class talisman master, but also because of her age. A fifteen-year-old girl had already reached the level of a top-grade first-class talisman master, a realm that many people could never achieve in their entire lives. What level would Xu Ziyang reach in five years, ten years? This made Xu Haoran very excited and eager! He spent the whole night thinking about how to bind Xu Ziyang firmly to the clan's interests and how to make her truly join the clan!

As soon as it was light, Xu Haoran got out of bed, hurriedly ate breakfast, and sat in his study, anxiously waiting. When he received the news that Xu Ziyang had set off, he immediately instructed his family to wait at the gate and report to him as soon as Xu Ziyang appeared.

So, when Xu Ziyang's figure appeared on the street, Xu Haoran received the news and immediately went to the gate with his second brother, Xu Haobo. At this moment, the Xu family of three also arrived at the gate.

Xu Haoran and Xu Haobo laughed and walked towards Xu Ziyang. Xu Haoran's gaze quickly swept over Xu Guang and his wife. From the report, he knew these two were Xu Ziyang's parents. In his mind, he thought that since Xu Ziyang was a first-class talisman master, her parents must also be extraordinary. However, when his gaze fell on Xu Guang's face, his steps paused, his smile froze, and his eyes showed confusion, and he couldn't help but ask:

"Are you..."

Xu Guang's face showed a bitter smile. He knew he had been recognized by his elder brother and said in a low voice:

"Let's talk inside."

Xu Haoran, as the clan leader, quickly recovered from his surprise and smiled, walking with Xu Ziyang towards her residence. However, his mind was in turmoil:

"Xu Ziyang's father is my eleventh brother? The waste who left home has returned! With his genius daughter! Right, since Xu Ziyang is the daughter of my eleventh brother, she is one of us, the Xu clan. Ha ha..."

Xu Haoran felt a surge of joy and laughed happily in his heart. But then he frowned slightly:

"But why doesn't Xu Ziyang admit she is from the clan? Is it to stand up for her father? What should I do? If I heavily rely on my eleventh brother, the clan members might not be convinced. Sigh! I'll try to give my eleventh brother a good position!"

Soon, they arrived at Xu Ziyang's residence. When Xu Guang saw the remote location Xu Ziyang had chosen, he understood her intentions. But at this moment, he could only smile bitterly. He didn't expect his elder brother to value Xu Ziyang so much and personally welcome her. This made all of Xu Ziyang's efforts in vain.