Six days later.
At Xu Taiping's second uncle's house.
"What? You want to sell Taiping?!"
Xu Taiping's second uncle, Xu Erniu, looked incredulously at his wife.
"Shh!"
His wife, with a face full of harsh features, raised a finger, signaling him to keep quiet.
"What do you mean, 'sell'? Having Taiping work as a servant at Bai Family Village is an opportunity that many would kill for."
She gave Xu Erniu a disdainful glance.
"True, but still... he's going to be listed as a slave..."
Xu Erniu looked troubled.
"At Bai Family, he'll eat well, drink well, and live well. What's wrong with being a slave? I've already accepted the deposit."
She waved her hand dismissively, decisively making the decision.
"Alright then."
Xu Erniu sighed, clearly unable to argue further, and nodded.
"Where's Taiping?"
She asked.
"He's at the ancestral hall, today is the seventh day. Taiping wants to stay and keep vigil for the old man."
Xu Erniu, dressed in mourning clothes, wiped his mouth and answered.
"The people from Bai Family Village are already waiting at the village entrance. You better bring him back quickly."
She rolled her eyes at her husband.
"They've already arrived?"
Xu Erniu was surprised.
"The young master from Bai Family Village is about to go to school next month and needs a boy to serve as his attendant. If not, how could they come so quickly? Stop talking, go and get him from the ancestral hall."
She glared at him fiercely and urged him again.
"But... but today is the seventh day for the old man, let Taiping stay and finish tonight before leaving for Bai Family."
Xu Erniu scratched his head, feeling troubled.
Ever since Xu Taiping's grandfather passed away, the couple had been discussing how to get rid of Taiping, but Xu Erniu still had some lingering affection and didn't want to send Taiping off before the seventh day.
"Seventh day, seventh day, what's wrong with that? Is money not more important?"
His wife hit his forehead with her hand in frustration. Then she leaned in close and whispered into his ear with a mysterious look:
"Do you know how much Bai Family is paying? Thirty taels! Thirty taels!"
Her eyes gleamed with greed.
Hearing this, Xu Erniu froze for a moment, then nodded eagerly:
"I'll go get Taiping now."
...
Half an hour later.
At the village entrance of Qingniu Village.
Xu Taiping reluctantly glanced back at the ancestral hall, then turned to his second uncle and aunt, asking:
"Second uncle, can I leave tomorrow instead?"
"Taiping, working as a servant at Bai Family Village is a rare opportunity. If you don't leave now, you won't be able to go tomorrow!"
His aunt smiled broadly at him.
"You're worried you won't be able to sell me at a good price tomorrow, right?"
Xu Taiping gave her a cold look.
Though he had been keeping vigil these past days, he had always experienced the warmth and coldness of human relations. How could he not know about his uncle and aunt's scheming?
The reason Taiping hadn't resisted was that he had no choice, and also because he thought going to Bai Family Village might be a good opportunity. After all, his grandfather was gone, and there was nothing keeping him in the village anymore.
"You brat, how dare you speak to your aunt like that? She's doing this for your own good!"
Xu Erniu glared at him.
"Stop dawdling, get in the cart. There are rat demons around here at night, and we need to reach Qingzhu Ridge before dark."
At that moment, the steward from Bai Family, sitting on the cart, urged them.
"Coming, coming!"
Before Xu Taiping could respond, both his uncle and aunt grabbed one of his arms and forcefully dragged him toward the cart.
Xu Taiping didn't resist but felt a chill in his heart.
...
"You little one, listen closely. This is the contract of servitude with Bai Family. From today, you are Bai Family's servant, and you will have no further connection with Qingniu Village or the Xu family."
In front of the cart, after Xu Taiping placed his handprint, the Bai Family steward raised the contract, showing it to him.
"Mhm."
Xu Taiping nodded expressionlessly.
"It seems that the elixir my grandfather gave me has failed. Six days have passed, and no immortals have come to take me away."
As the steward from Bai Family and Xu Erniu and his wife were talking, Xu Taiping silently raised his head and gazed at the sky.
He wasn't too disappointed about the immortality thing, as his main motivation to become an immortal was to cure his grandfather.
"Huh? There's a white crane up there, bigger than a water buffalo!"
"Where? Where?"
"Wait, that white crane... it looks like there are two people riding on it!"
At that moment, the villagers gathered around suddenly gasped in surprise.
Hearing the commotion, Xu Taiping, along with the Bai Family steward and his uncle and aunt, all looked up. Sure enough, a giant white crane appeared in the sky, and two figures were faintly visible standing on its back.
"Immortal... Immortals?"
After a few seconds of daze, Xu Taiping muttered the words slowly.
"They must be immortals, definitely immortals!"
At this moment, many villagers began shouting in excitement.
"Chi!"
With a cry from the crane, the two figures descended from the sky and gently landed in front of the villagers.
The two figures were a man and a woman. The man wore a light blue robe, and the woman wore a red dress. The man had sharp brows, bright eyes, and a handsome demeanor, while the woman's beauty surpassed the heavens, making everything around her seem dim in comparison.
"Excuse us for disturbing you. I am a disciple of the Qingxuan Sect from Yunlu Mountain. My junior sister and I have come down the mountain today to find a boy."
The young man greeted the villagers politely with a bow.
Upon hearing this, the villagers were stunned. They never expected these two to be real immortals, and from the nearby Yunlu Mountain at that.
"May I ask, is there a boy named Xu Taiping in the village?"
The red-dressed female disciple also greeted the villagers and asked with a smile.
Her smile made everyone, men and women alike, feel their hearts skip a beat.
"Xu... Xu Taiping?"
"Yes, it's him! That's Xu Taiping!"
After a brief daze, several villagers quickly pointed at Xu Taiping, who was standing next to the cart.
Most people in Qingniu Village knew each other, especially the Xu family, who were quite distinct in the village, so everyone recognized Xu Taiping.
"Are you Xu Taiping?"
The red-dressed female disciple stepped forward and looked at the boy with delight.
"Mhm."
Xu Taiping nodded.
He had already guessed the identity of the two people.
"Senior Brother."
Seeing Taiping nod, the woman quickly turned to the young man behind her.
"The jade slip has responded. He's the one we've been looking for."
The young man nodded and held up a jade slip glowing faintly with blue light.
"This... this immortal, has my nephew committed some crime?"
At this moment, Xu Erniu, unable to contain his curiosity, finally asked.
"Who told you to meddle in this?"
Before Xu Erniu could say another word, his wife yanked him back, and they kept a distance from Xu Taiping, staying about five to six feet away.
Not only them, but the rest of the villagers also took a step back, maintaining distance from Xu Taiping.
It was clear that most of the villagers, like Xu Erniu, assumed that Xu Taiping must have done something wrong to cause the immortals to come down.
After all, Qingniu Village was close to Yunlu Mountain, and tales of immortals coming down to slay demons were not uncommon, even if they hadn't seen it firsthand.