Chapter 426: Chenxiang’s Tears

Shui Miao activated his spiritual energy and opened his Yin-Yang eyes, instantly seeing through the old Taoist’s true identity.

The real old Taoist wore a neat Taoist robe, looking nothing like a disheveled beggar. In his hand was not a dead crow, but a lump of mud. He practiced earth-element spiritual energy and had used it to disguise himself as a scruffy figure. He had even transformed the mud into a dead bird perched by the roadside, smiling foolishly. It was highly likely that he had recently mastered earth-element energy and, fearing heavenly punishment, dared not openly reveal his abilities. Instead, he disguised himself like this to show off and experience the feeling of being extraordinary among ordinary people.

Shui Miao could understand such a mentality.

Seeing the old man’s sweet, silly grin, Shui Miao was even more convinced that he was just a pretentious fraud.

Shui Miao appeared to be a twenty-year-old young man, a wealthy heir from a rich family. Naturally, the old Taoist outside the highway guardrail didn’t think Shui Miao had much ability. He continued pretending to be foolish, extending his hand holding the dead bird, saying, “Little brother, want to buy a bird? This is a Peng bird from the ninth heaven. Eating it can make you immortal.”

“Immortal? Then why don’t you eat it yourself? Looking at your venerable appearance, perhaps eating it would make you immortal, and you wouldn’t have to pretend to be foolish here anymore.”

Smiling, Shui Miao looked around and noticing there weren’t any cars coming, decided to chat with the old Taoist a bit longer.

The old Taoist chuckled, pointing at Shui Miao, “Little brother, you sure know how to joke. Forget it, forget it. Since you don’t recognize quality goods, I’ll offer you something else.” He threw the dead bird on the ground and pulled out a gold bar from his pocket, “Little brother, this is called a goldfish. Since we’re destined to meet, I’ll give you a discount—only one hundred yuan.”

Shui Miao swept his spiritual perception and found that the old Taoist indeed had no money on him.

Shui Miao was somewhat surprised. It seemed the old Taoist wasn’t just showing off—he was trying to make money. This changed the nature of the situation.

“Master Taoist, are you really a Taoist?” Shui Miao looked at the old man solemnly. “Taoists should transcend worldly matters. You’ve gained a little ability, yet instead of using it for good, you use it to swindle money. Do you know the consequences of your actions? Are you resentful because you think I can’t expose you?”

Shui Miao blew on the gold bar in the old Taoist’s hand, and it instantly turned into a pile of steaming dog feces.

“Ahh!”

Startled, the old Taoist immediately dropped the feces, staring at Shui Miao in terror, unable to utter a word.

“You’ve wasted your cultivation!”

Shui Miao shook his head and prepared to drive away.

The old Taoist looked down, and to his surprise, it was still a gold bar on the ground.

In reality, Shui Miao hadn’t transformed the mud-made gold bar into feces with spiritual energy—he had merely created an illusion to fool the old Taoist.

Seeing Shui Miao about to drive off, the old Taoist, driven by some sudden courage, quickly activated his spiritual energy, intending to blow up Shui Miao’s tires as revenge. However, before his energy could take effect, he was struck by a pile of excrement, covering his entire body in stinking filth. Looking up, he saw a colossal Peng bird, its wings blotting out the sky, flying away… The sight left the old Taoist completely stunned.

“You little brat, still trying to mess with me…”

Shui Miao shook his head with a smile, dispelled the illusion, and stepped on the gas, speeding away.

When the excrement vanished, the old Taoist stood there in shock. He realized he had met a true expert and had gotten off to a bad start. He quickly abandoned his greedy intentions and ran back to his shabby Taoist temple, never daring to come out and embarrass himself again.

※※※

Huanghai City, City Central Hospital

Outside the hospital room, Chenxiang and her mother were talking.

Chenxiang’s mother was a simple, traditional woman. Seeing her daughter running around tirelessly, she felt guilty and gently held Chenxiang’s hand, hesitantly whispering, “Child, actually… actually your father isn’t really sick. He just called you back because he heard you’re doing well outside. Don’t worry so much. If you have some money, give him a bit, and he won’t act up anymore.”

“What…?”

Chenxiang was stunned. So all this time she had been busy, he had been faking illness! No wonder the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong.

At that moment, Chenxiang’s heart nearly broke.

Holding her daughter’s hand tightly, her mother continued nervously, “Don’t say anything. If you do, he’ll… he’ll beat me to death!”

Domestic violence was common in rural areas.

Although women in cities had gained more status nowadays, some rural areas still maintained old traditions, where men were the heads of households, making all decisions. Any opposition was met with scolding or even physical abuse. Women living in such environments had a very hard life.

Upon hearing this, Chenxiang became anxious and tightly gripped her mother’s hand, “Mom, come with me. From now on, I’ll take care of you.”

Her voice was loud.

But her mother stepped back, saying, “Child, I can’t abandon your younger brother!”

“What!?”

Chenxiang was furious, shouting emotionally, “Are you still my parents? Why are you always like this? In your heart, there’s only your son. What about me? Just because I’m a girl, you don’t even treat me like a person? You treated me like a beast of burden when I was young, and now you’re pretending to be sick to swindle money from me. I can give you money, but I need you to answer me—what exactly do you think of me?”

Chenxiang threw the entire bag containing one hundred thousand yuan onto the ground.

Hearing the commotion, Chen Jianguo came out and seeing the money on the floor, immediately bent down to pick it up…

Tears streamed down the mother’s face as she approached Chenxiang, sobbing, “Xiang’er, it’s my fault. I’m sorry. I owe you…”

“No, don’t say that. You didn’t wrong me. He did! He wronged us both!”

Chenxiang pointed at Chen Jianguo, who was picking up money on the floor.

Chen Jianguo acted as if he hadn’t heard anything, continuing to pick up the money.

“Slap!”

Just as Chen Jianguo picked up the hundred thousand yuan on the floor, another hundred thousand yuan suddenly dropped in front of him. He looked up and saw Shui Miao.

Smiling slightly, Shui Miao said to Chen Jianguo, “Uncle, keep picking. Since you enjoy swindling money from your daughter, I’ll help you. Pick up as much as you can.”

Chen Jianguo hesitated for a moment, then resumed picking up the money.

In front of him, stacks of RMB kept falling like rain, never-ending.

In reality, Shui Miao had only thrown down one hundred thousand yuan. The rest were all illusions. He wanted Chen Jianguo to indulge in picking up money, to keep picking until he was exhausted.

Seeing Shui Miao, Chenxiang quickly wiped her tears and said, “Brother, why did you come here?”

“I’m sorry, sis. Actually, I should have come back with you.” Shui Miao smiled gently, exhaling, “Alright, let’s not discuss this here. Since Uncle isn’t really sick, let’s take him home. You collect the money and give it to Mom.”

At this moment, Chen Jianguo stood frozen on the spot, holding two hundred thousand yuan in cash, his eyes vacant, still immersed in the illusion of picking up money. As long as Shui Miao didn’t lift the illusion, he would remain entranced.

Chenxiang collected the money, put it back into the bag, and handed it to her mother.

Then, the three of them took Chen Jianguo and left the hospital.

In the car, Chenxiang’s mother noticed her husband’s odd expression and nervously asked Shui Miao, “Nephew, what’s wrong with your uncle?”

“Don’t worry. Once he adjusts his mindset, everything will be fine.” Shui Miao replied calmly, focusing on driving. For some reason, Shui Miao suddenly felt a change in his heart. He felt that nothing in the world couldn’t be resolved through communication. Even someone like Chen Jianguo, who was biased toward sons, should have a way to change his mindset.

Chenxiang, still angry, interjected, “Mom, how can you still care about him after he treated you so badly?”

“You’re still his daughter,” her mother replied weakly, knowing she had wronged Chenxiang. Her voice was low, “He did this because he wanted your younger brother to have a better life.”

Hearing this, Chenxiang’s anger flared again, “What about me? Do you think it’s easy for me to earn money? If it weren’t for Shui Miao, I might have been driven to death by you two. Wouldn’t you feel sad if I died?”

“Child, you’re my flesh and blood too!” Her mother held Chenxiang’s hand and began to cry.

Shui Miao inhaled deeply and said calmly, “Sis, calm down. Let me say a few words.”

“Okay…”

Chenxiang usually wouldn’t listen to anyone else, but she would always listen to Shui Miao.

Shui Miao moistened his lips, “Let’s not escalate this. Let’s stay calm first and find the root of the problem. Your father’s issue is his extreme preference for sons. If we can correct this wrong mindset, all the problems will be resolved.”

“Brother, I know, but his personality is deeply rooted. How can I help him change?”

Chenxiang was still a bit impatient.

“Leave it to me. Don’t worry. In fact, people are inherently good. If your father can love your younger brother so much, he can also love you the same way.” Shui Miao glanced at Chenxiang through the rearview mirror. She still looked angry.

“I don’t care about his love. I just hope he won’t bother me anymore.” Though she said that, deep in her heart, how could she truly stop recognizing him as her father?

“By the way, I’ve decided to move the dairy group to Huanghai City, to our village. You’ll be the chairman of the group. Lin Xue’s ten percent shares have already been cashed out, leaving Lin Zhiling and Xiaoshuang, each holding ten percent. The remaining shares will all belong to you. Do your best and don’t say anything modest. Just remember, I’m your brother.” In a way, this was Shui Miao’s way of making amends. Regardless of anything, he felt this was what Chenxiang deserved. In fact, he had always known that in Chenxiang’s heart, there was only him. Though he couldn’t give her happiness as a lover, he could at least compensate her with wealth.

“Brother, you…”

Chenxiang wanted to say something but held back. She didn’t care about money—she only wanted to be with Shui Miao.

Knowing what she wanted to say, Shui Miao smiled slightly and responded with some helplessness, “Sis, I’ve been lucky in my cultivation and my spiritual path has become stronger. I’m a cultivator, and I must cut worldly attachments when necessary. As long as you’re doing well, I can feel at ease, right?”

After hearing this, Chenxiang understood everything.

Chenxiang nodded, tears streaming down her face. Naturally, she wouldn’t hinder Shui Miao’s path.

Seeing Chenxiang crying, Shui Miao didn’t know what else to say.

At this moment, he calmed his mind, split his focus, and began activating a grand illusion formation to create a virtual world for Chen Jianguo. He aimed to completely awaken him, thoroughly changing his son-preference mindset, so that from this day forward, he would treat his family well and live a decent life.