CHAPTER 739: CHAPTER 723: FEELINGS DON’T MATTER, AS LONG AS THERE’S ENOUGH MONEY

Life-saving gratitude is never forgotten. After regaining consciousness, Quan Jing rested at home for a day. On the second day, he had Quan An take him to Feichang Dao.

After taking his pulse, Qin Liuxi said, "Your pulse has strengthened quite a bit, but your body has been weakened a lot due to the Bone Erosion, suffering from both qi and blood deficiencies. You’ll still need to recuperate. However, you vomited a lot of poison blood during the detoxification; consider it a rebirth. As long as you recover well, you will still be a strong man."

"Junior Temple Master, there won’t be any problems for our young master in getting married and having children in the future, right?" Quan An couldn’t help asking.

Quan Jing’s face turned red; he glared at Quan An and scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about in front of the Junior Temple Master?"

Quan An was embarrassed. He was worried about whether the damage done would affect the functions required for you to continue the family line, since you are the main branch’s sole heir and carry the important responsibility of perpetuating the family.

Qin Liuxi smiled slightly and said, "Naturally, there won’t be any problems. As long as your vitality is adequate, even having a concubine for each of the eighteen rooms won’t be an issue."

Quan Jing: "!"

Was he being treated like a stud horse?

Giving Quan An another fierce glare, he changed the subject and asked, "Junior Temple Master, a mere reward of silver is insufficient to reciprocate this life-saving favor. I, Quan Jing, owe you a huge debt of gratitude. Is there anything that you would need my assistance with?"

"It’s not important whether it’s about sentiments or not, as long as enough silver is involved. A reward of 20,000 taels, out of which I ask that you donate 6,000 taels in the name of Qingping Temple and Qingniang of Shanren Valley to the poverty-stricken bereaved families of the soldiers in the Northwest Army. As for the remaining 14,000 taels, just send them over." Qin Liuxi wrote down the name of Gu Po and passed it over.

Saving Quan Jing’s life was not her sole achievement; Gu Po also exerted great effort, so she deserved a share of this reward.

6,000 taels were to be used charitably as she decided, and another 4,000 taels would be sent to Gu Po as well, after all, an elderly woman raising a young girl like Little Ya wasn’t easy.

Quan Jing was a bit surprised and said, "There’s no need for that, I will donate another portion of money for charity separately."

Qin Liuxi shook her head, "Every bit of food and every drink is preordained, as are our actions to alleviate the Five Disadvantages and Three Deficiencies. Therefore, the task of reaping the rewards of goodness must be done by us alone, and you just need to carry out my instructions."

Hearing this, Quan Jing stood up and gave a deep bow to Qin Liuxi, saying, "On behalf of those soldiers’ families, I thank the Junior Temple Master for your great kindness."

Quan An also followed suit, formally bowing to Qin Liuxi. He would certainly mention to those people that supporting her longevity tablet was worth it. Not only was she highly skilled, but she was also moral and respected!

Qin Liuxi waved her hand dismissively.

Recalling what Wang Yuqian had said, Qin Liuxi’s family, surnamed Qin, was in the refugee camps of Northwest Wucheng. But since Qin Liuxi agreed to treat him, she had never mentioned her father, brothers, and grandfather in the northwest. Considering that she had joined the Mystic Sect from a young age and her relationship with the Qin family wasn’t particularly close, Quan Jing wasn’t sure what her thoughts were regarding her relatives in the northwest.

Remembering Qin Liuxi’s disposition, Quan Jing didn’t dwell on it and simply asked outright, "Yuqian told me long ago that Mr. Qin and the others are in the Wu City refugee camp. Although the northwest is barren, it’s not all just windswept sand and dust. Our Quan family’s main base is in Chuan City, which is relatively prosperous. So what do you think about having them relocate there?"

Qin Liuxi chuckled and asked, "Did your Old Lady ask you to help them with relocation?"

"No, it’s just that Wang Yuqian mentioned it briefly. She was just concerned about Mr. Qin."

Qin Liuxi shook her head and said, "I appreciate your kind intention, but it’s not necessary. The Quan family army is powerful, and handling such matters is also difficult for you."

Startled, Quan Jing looked at her in amazement.

People see the Quan family as the overlord of the northwest, but little do they know that the more powerful they become, the more they are like walking on thin ice. The people of the northwest know about the Quan family, but not the Emperor, which is like adding fuel to the fire for them; they don’t realize that the Emperor’s side knife might just fall on them at any moment.

Qin Liuxi, however, bluntly reveals their predicament.

Quan Jing doesn’t know what to say next. She’s only in her early teens, and at her age, although her own sister also plays with swords and guns, isn’t it more common to discuss luxurious clothing and jewelry?

Do people in the Taoist Sect see problems so clearly?

"The Quan family can indeed protect a few people, so you needn’t worry too much."

"Although their current lives are not as lavish as before and they are enduring hardships, at the end of the day, they have a roof over their heads, food to eat, and silver to earn. Facing some hardships is nothing to fret about; it’s time the Saint knows they truly have suffered these tribulations," said Qin Liuxi. "If you’re concerned, just have someone look after them discreetly. But I think you needn’t bother for long; they might leave the northwest soon."

Quan Jing is astonished once more. Is this suggesting that the Qin family might be vindicated?

Qin Liuxi moves away from the topic and says casually, "Does the Quan family have any eligible young ladies? The Saint is going to choose show girls, and I wonder whether your family will produce a favored concubine."

Quan Jing is shocked: "Are you serious?"

Others may participate in the selection, but it’s the last thing the Quan family wants. He’s totally unaware of this news; what about his grandfather?

Quan Jing becomes restless and, leaving Feichang Dao, immediately mobilizes the Quan family’s own intelligence network to send the news back home at full speed.

"Get ready, we’ll return to the northwest in five days."

Quan An frowns and says, "Young Master, your body has just recovered from the poison, and a long journey isn’t conducive to your recovery. Why not rest a bit longer?"

"It’s fine, it’s not an injury like a knife wound, so it won’t cause trouble. The Junior Temple Master also said all is well for recuperation anywhere," Quan An thought of his grandfather’s robust health, but he was also advanced in years, and with many years of battle, he had accumulated many hidden injuries. He wondered if there were any Spirit Fruits left with Qin Liuxi that he could buy to take back for him. Even if there weren’t, those precious medicinal materials of rare quality, he would like to buy some from Fourth Master Huang.

He heard she had a thousand-year-old ginseng!

Quan An still tries to persuade him further.

Quan Jing shakes his head: "If the selection decree reaches the northwest and our family is unwilling to participate, we will definitely have to give something up. Grandfather is getting old, it might be better for him to lay down his military post and return to the capital, to give peace of mind to that person."

He speaks with a touch of irony.

This is the sadness of a General. When there is war, they are needed, but once they gain too much power, they become feared.

Quan An is more shocked by this than the idea of returning to the capital: "Laying down his military post and returning to the capital? Isn’t that too much?"

"It’s the same thing, the Saint is getting old, and his suspicions will only get heavier. If our Quan family wants to continue to hold military power, we need to have someone in the capital. Grandfather mentioned this last year, but at that time, I was a man close to death, so it wasn’t the right time to discuss it. Now that I’ve recovered, and with the selection coming up, Grandfather will surely want to return to the capital."

Quan An feels rather somber and says, "Then I’ll go down and make the arrangements."

Whereas Qin Liuxi, upon hearing that Quan Jing wanted some precious medicinal materials, happily referred him to Fourth Master Huang. After receiving the reward silver, she immediately sent it to Gu Po.

Indeed, just as Qin Liuxi had said, after the Saint’s birthday in May, in early June, the news of the selection for show girls was issued to all provinces and villages; even Angels from the Palace personally went to choose the show girls. For a moment, the world was stirred, and countless carriages headed for the capital. Meanwhile, the ladies and young misses visiting major temples for matchmaking increased substantially - after all, some of them did not wish to enter the Palace, so they could only seek to be betrothed instead.