abcnovels
Chapter 349 - 348: The gift for the child
Chapter 349 - 348: The gift for the child
Chapter 349: Chapter 348: The gift for the child
“I don’t have anything special here, but here’s something I concocted during my spare time – Willow Green Essence. Once the child is born, have him take it. It can enhance life vitality.” The Willow Commander smiled and handed over a small bottle to Commander Zhuo.
The Willow Commander claimed to have made it during his free time. But all he did while stationed at the Imperial Palace was to cover up for other reckless commanders and hall masters. He was mostly idle with little to keep him busy.
The Willow Green Essence was a rare item, unavailable in auctions and black markets. It was a specialty concocted from the branches of his own willow tree. Despite casual mention of its life-enhancing property, the Essence did more than that for a newborn.
Root fortification, marrow renewal…every good attribute for a child could be found in the Willow Green Essence.
“I’ve got a ‘Three-Character Classic’ here that was blessed by Buddha, give it to the child to read.” Zhang Konghu pulled out a brand-new book as if it had just been printed.
“The contents of this book are catchy. Even I could memorize it, ‘Heaven and earth, universe and infinity, the sun and the moon, constellations and arrangement…’.”
The Willow Commander kindly reminded him, “That’s ‘Thousand Character Classic’.”
Zhang Konghu slapped his forehead, “I’ve been reading too much lately and got all mixed up.”
Commander Ma looked puzzled. He could not find a connection between Buddha’s blessing and the ‘Three-Character Classic’, “Konghu, is this book genuine?”
“Of course, it was gifted to me by the Hierarch of the Confucian Sect, Dong Zhongren.”
Seeing that Commander Ma was still puzzled, Jiang Li explained, “Although it sounds strange, this ‘Three-Character Classic’ really was blessed by Buddha.”
“Legend has it that the Confucian Sage, Kong Sheng, had a bet with Buddha. Buddha lost and as a result, he blessed this ‘Three-Character Classic’.”
“What does being blessed do?” Commander Zhuo was also curious, he hadn’t expected Zhang Konghu’s ‘Three-Character Classic’ to have such significance.
Jiang Li solemnly said, “Every creature in the Ten Thousand Realms who has memorized the ‘Three-Character Classic’ will always remember the phrase ‘At the start of life, nature was good. Nature is close, habits are distant.’ That’s what it means to be blessed by Buddha!”
“Subsequent ‘Three-Character Classics’ all indirectly received Buddha’s blessing, but the one Konghu holds here is the original!”
Commander Ma was under the impression that the blessed version wasn’t much different from the unblessed.
The ‘Three-Character Classic’ in Zhang Konghu’s hand was a big name with little usage.
A direct experience could be garnered through the system store. This book had the same price as a Body Integration Cultivation Technique; one can easily obtain it for a few ten thousand origin points.
It would be more apt to consider this not as Buddha’s concession to his loss, but rather a joke between two grandmasters of the Immortal Realm.
Otherwise, the Hierarch of the Confucian Sect, Dong Zhongren, would not have given the book to Zhang Konghu.
With mixed feelings, Commander Ma accepted the ‘Three-Character Classic’.
Next up was the Wood Commander, “I’ve had bad luck all my life, having encountered all manners of misfortunes. Therefore, I wrote this autobiography of mine. It can serve as a risk-avoiding guide for the child.”
Another weird gift followed.
The Huang Commander, with empty hands but full of joy, said, “I’m giving the child a big gift.”
“What is it?”
“I’m going to betroth my daughter to him.”
Everyone was astonished, especially the Willow Commander, who couldn’t help but ask, “When did you get a daughter?”
“Very soon.”
“Is she even full one month old yet?”
Huang Commander was pleased with himself, “Almost, Ayisu and I are already holding hands.”
Ayisu was the Clan Leader of the Gu clan.
“Thanks to the Master’s advice on wooing girls, Ayisu and I have made fast progress. A few years have passed and we’re already hand-holding.”
Jiang Li modestly responded, “They are all common sense tips.”
“After holding hands, there are hugs and kisses, then intimacy and, eventually, she’ll be pregnant and there’s a fifty percent chance of a baby girl.”
“So, I’ll have a daughter soon.”
Jiang Li felt that Huang Commander’s daughter was still a long way away from being born.
Everyone there, including Zhang Konghu, rolled their eyes at Huang Commander.
Even after centuries of trying to conceive, Commander Ma and his wife had only just had a child. But here was Huang Commander plotting to have a child after just holding hands.
“Marriage is a personal choice, let’s not fix baby marriages. We have to respect the wish of the child.”
Jiang Li took a stand and so the baby marriage was dropped.
Everyone turned to look at Jiang Li, curious as to what gift the Hall Master was to present the child.
Jiang Li smiled, “The child doesn’t seem to have a name yet. I’ll name him.”
A name bestowed by the Human Emperor was indeed a major gift.
Commander Ma and his wife secretly prayed that as long as it wasn’t ‘Ma Li’, anything else would do.
“A righteous and upright man is called Ma Zhongzheng.”
The couple was very satisfied with the name ‘Ma Zhongzheng’ and thanked Jiang Li, “Thank you, Master, for granting the name.”
When it was time for the bill, Commander Ma found something strange. “Waiter, why is this juice so expensive?”
Even though the inn was notorious for being pricey, it couldn’t just arbitrarily slaughter its customers. In Commander Ma’s memory, the juice’s current price was ten times what it used to be.
“Sir, please understand, the juice is prepared from ingredients imported directly from the Dao Sect.” The waiter produced a certificate of authenticity from the Dao Sect to verify the juice’s origin.
Commander Ma became even more curious, “Does Great Zhou not have its own resources? Why do we need to import from the Dao Sect?”
“Sir, you may not be aware that a year ago, the Dao Sect began a large-scale acquisition of hawthorn fruits and trees. With the influence and financial strength of the Dao Sect, they have managed to completely monopolize the hawthorn market in Jiuzhou.”
“Currently, hawthorn fruits are a luxury, only found in the Dao Sect.”
It was only then that everyone noticed the drinks they’d ordered: the Willow Commander’s peach juice was labeled as ‘Freshly squeezed peach juice’, the spring water ordered by Zhang Konghu and the Wood Commander was ‘Changbai Mountain Spring Water’, and the Hawthorn juice Jiang Li ordered was ‘Imperial Supreme Nine Dragon Hawthorn Juice’.
“Our inn has some connections with the Dao Sect, so we managed to get the hawthorn fruits from them.” The waiter showed the contract signed with the Dao Sect.
“Let me see.” Jiang Li took the contract curiously, wondering what tricks Bai Hongtu was up to again.
There were several prohibitions in the contract, the first of which was a glaring one that forbade the usage of hawthorn in making sugar-coated haws.
The waiter noticed Jiang Li’s gaze lingered on this clause and explained, “We’re not sure why the Dao Sect requested it. We heard it was the Sect Master’s idea. Given his vision and wisdom as a transcendent being, there must be profound reasons behind it.”
From the outside, all transcendents were seen as deep thinkers, silent and calculating.
And the ones at the Mahayana realm were even more unpredictable and unfathomable.
The commanders also saw this clause.
It was obvious that Bai Hongtu was targeting Jiang Li.
Even though the Imperial Palace supervised Jiuzhou, they wouldn’t notice such small details.
Who would dream that the Dao Sect could monopolize the hawthorn industry? It was so unbelievable it wouldn’t convince anyone if it was shared.
Jiang Li left with a forced smile on his face. Waving his comrades off, he set out for the Dao Sect energetically.