Their mother, Mai Ha didn't seem to have noticed anything as she encouraged the Zou siblings to eat more while Yang Qing's nephews were deeply engrossed in their eating. They looked like mini Yang Qing.
The only people who seemed off were Yang Qing and his big brother Yang Gen.
They both ate in complete silence as they waited for the inevitability. It didn't take them too long before a burst of boisterous laughter and sound came from outside the walls of the courtyard.
"LITTLE QING, COME AND GREET YOUR GRANDPA...Mmmmh is that spare ribs? I've stayed cooped up in the valley for so long that I've forgotten how great Ha'er's cooking is.
Qing'er bring some spare ribs, will you?"
Yang Qing flinched a little when he heard that voice.
"You heard him," Mai Ha said as she pointed at the pot of braised beef fillet with scallion.
Yang Qing could only begrudgingly put his chopsticks down and start scooping the braised beef fillet into a large pallet. He had scooped a large quantity that matched what he had on his plate, which was enough to feed five people.
Other than sharing a last name together, Yang Qing and his grandfather both shared a voracious appetite. Though the latter was comfortable with missing a meal or two and substituting it with fasting pills whereas Yang Qing would rather lose an arm than miss a meal and he also prides himself in being one of the few cultivators who has never consumed a fasting pill. It may not be a bragging point to the vast majority but Yang Qing somehow made it seem righteous not eating one.
…
"You're not coming with me?" Yang Qing pleadingly asked his brother after he had finished with the braised beef.
"He asked for you, not me," Yang Gen innocently replied.
"He is already here, it's not like you can avoid him now," said Yang Qing as he tried to convince Yang Gen to go with him.
"I know, but I want to enjoy those brief few seconds of freedom when you and he are exchanging greetings. I'm sorry little Qing, I will have to be selfish just this once. I hope you understand," Yang Gen said as he offered an apologetic smile and short head bow.
Yang Qing could only gnash his teeth as he made his way out like a soldier forced into the frontlines of a battle he knew he had no chance of winning.
Outside, he managed to spot five old men huddled together scrutinizing Ellie with deep fascinated interest in their eyes.
"Ellie don't be like that, I promise it's just one jar's worth this time. You can easily replenish that amount within a minute and you will not be doing it for free. Over at the medicine valley, we have a lake filled with all kinds of fish, I'll let you take away some," said one of the elderly men as he tried to coax the nervous-looking Ellie.
Ellie who had been chirping in warning as she threatened to fly away suddenly paused midair. Her gaze now shone with a look of contemplation.
"Looks like she has already fallen for Grandpa's schemes. That greed of hers...." Yang Qing shook his head in exasperation as he watched an elderly man with simple grey robes, a slender figure, average height, and a head filled with grey hair tied in a daoist topknot, smooth talk Ellie into donating her blood.
It didn't take long before Ellie agreed to the elderly man's request but not before making a few threatening noises which wasn't difficult to guess was her warning the elderly man not to overdo it.
The elderly man had a foundation stage establishment strength but he managed to expertly poke a small hole in Ellie's underwing to draw blood, which he then drained into a dark ceramic crucible that he stored away immediately after with a face that resembled that of a kid that had just gotten the toy they wanted. The other elderly men surrounding him all had similar expressions to them.
Yang Qing sighed as he made his way over to them.
"Hey Grandpa, Elders," Yang Qing said as he cupped his fists to them in greeting.
Their clan never cared much about observation of certain societal norms so they were usually very casual in a lot of things like greetings and even preferred it that way, hence Yang Qing's overly casual greeting to them.
pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ "Little Qing...," said the elderly man who had just drawn blood from Ellie.
He had facial features that shared some resemblance to Yang Qing except for his hair. Yang Qing was the only person who had green hair in his whole clan despite his mother and father having dark hair. His color changed the moment he unlocked his Yin-Yang jade bones of the peerless jade physique.
"Why did you have to break through, we could have delved much deeper into the body-refining realm with your help. The clan has never had someone with your level of talent. Little Qing with your help we had a real chance of realizing the founder's dream," the elderly man said in lamentation as the other elders voiced their own words here and there, echoing his sentiments.
"What dreams? Didn't the founder just want to find a way of improving his cultivation aptitude? If he had a talent for sensing qi, I doubt he would have even given the body refinement realm any thought. Looking at their distraught and burdened faces one could easily believe their spiel," thought Yang Qing.
"And it's the fault of that foolish son of mine. Just you wait Wunlai, you think just because you're in the core formation realm, you can do whatever you want, this old man will show you," said the elderly man as his eyes flashed with a cruel vengeance.
Yang Qing couldn't help but offer a silent prayer for his father.
"Grandpa here is your..."
"Little Qing, Grandpa, and the elders have very important and exciting news to share with you. We can finally rectify the damage your father did to you and your brother," Yang Qing's grandfather interrupted Yang Qing when he was about to hand him the braised beef.
Yang Qing looked quizzically at his grandfather wondering what crazy thing his grandfather was about to suggest now.
His grandfather didn't keep him waiting that long.
"After years of tireless efforts, the elders and I, along with the assistance of some of the people from the Medical Valley, we have finally found it, a way to still explore the body refining realm even after you have broken through to higher stages.
Little Qing you know what this means right? You, your brother, and that unfilial son of mine can finally continue on with me and the rest of the Yang members in our grand venture of the body refining realm," Yang Qing's grandfather said in excitement as a youthful passionate aura surrounded him.
"How?..." Yang Qing weakly asked almost as if afraid to ask.
"Body regression," His grandfather replied with a smug expression on his face.
