"What has he done?"
Hearing this, the female disciple in red let out a small chuckle and then waved her hand, saying,
"We are not here to subdue demons. We have come to take this young man, Xu Taiping, up to the mountain."
"Up to the mountain?"
The group, including Xu Erniu, looked at each other, still confused.
"Xu Taiping was born with spiritual bones and has been enrolled in the immortal records. We have come today to take him to Mount Qingxuan, to be accepted under our sect," the young man explained calmly.
"Accepted under... Qingxuan Sect? Does that mean... he will become an immortal? Our Xu family... Xu family will have an immortal?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Erniu was struck dumb, standing there in shock, murmuring to himself.
The two disciples from Qingxuan Sect paid no attention to the villagers, but instead, they both reached out their hands towards Xu Taiping.
"Little Taiping, come with us. From now on, you will be our Seventh Peak's junior disciple," the female disciple in red said with a sweet smile and a soft voice.
Hearing her voice, Xu Taiping unexpectedly felt a warmth in his heart, as if he had momentarily regained a sense of family.
"Wait!"
Just as Xu Taiping was about to take the hand the female disciple extended to him, his Aunt suddenly grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"Two... two immortals, you... you can't just take my Taiping away! He is the pillar of our Xu family! He will be the one to pass the imperial examination and bring glory to our family!"
Fat Aunt smiled broadly as she looked at the two Qingxuan disciples, her eyes full of "reluctance."
Upon hearing this, Xu Taiping's heart grew even colder.
Since he was young, his Aunt had always treated him as a burden, a jinx. She had never once had any expectations for him to bring glory to the family.
The Qingxuan Sect disciples, unaware of the true situation, assumed that the Aunt was just unwilling to part with Xu Taiping and spoke out of reluctance.
"An ordinary mortal scholar cannot be compared to a disciple of Qingxuan Sect. But since you are Taiping's uncle and aunt, we will consider this gold bowl as a token of our first meeting," the young male disciple from Qingxuan Sect said, pulling a gold bowl from his sleeve and offering it to Xu Taiping's Aunt.
"No..."
"This immortal!"
Just as Xu Taiping was about to explain the truth, the Bai Family steward suddenly jumped down from the cart, grabbed Xu Taiping's arm, and raised the servitude contract, loudly proclaiming, "This Xu Taiping has already been sold to the Bai family by his uncle and aunt. It is clearly written in black and white. He is now a member of my Bai family. This gold bowl should belong to us!"
Who wouldn't covet a gift from an immortal?
Hearing this, the two disciples from Qingxuan Sect frowned.
"Two immortals, he is lying. I merely arranged for Taiping to serve in the Bai family. I did not sell him as a slave!"
Fat Aunt frantically tried to explain, moving forward to snatch the contract from the steward's hands.
"That's right, my nephew is already a disciple of immortals! The contract with your Bai family must be void!"
Xu Taiping's uncle, Xu Erniu, also joined in the tugging.
"Stop it!"
Seeing the scene was growing chaotic, the young male disciple from Qingxuan Sect couldn't hold back and shouted sternly.
As soon as he spoke, an invisible pressure radiated from him, making him look like a fierce tiger about to strike, causing Xu Taiping's Aunt and the Bai Family steward to immediately fall silent in fear.
"Taiping, is it true that you were sold to the Bai family as a servant?"
Once the scene quieted down, the female disciple from Qingxuan Sect stepped forward and asked Xu Taiping with concern.
Xu Taiping glanced at the female disciple, then nodded slowly,
"Yes."
As the words left his mouth, he felt a sense of relief, as if the chains that had bound him were suddenly released.
Upon hearing his confirmation, the red-clad female disciple's gaze softened, filled with pity and sympathy.
"You little ingrate, how can you say such things? After all these years..."
"Let go of him."
Fat Aunt was about to step forward and grab Xu Taiping, but the red-clad female disciple flicked her sleeve, sending a gust of wind that pushed the woman back.
"You..."
Although the woman was still trying to argue, she was clearly frightened by the display of the red-clad female disciple's power, and she began to retreat.
"Immortal, two immortals, I have a servitude contract signed by Xu Erniu, with a red handprint. Xu Taiping is now a member of the Bai family. They cannot deny this!"
Seeing the opportunity for money, the Bai Family steward handed over the contract.
The young male disciple from Qingxuan Sect took the contract, glanced at it, and then smiled coldly at Xu Erniu and his wife,
"Is a mere thirty taels of silver worth so much to you?"
Upon hearing the young man's words, the red-clad female disciple couldn't help but scowl, angry at how the couple had sold Xu Taiping for so little.
"You two, for just thirty taels of silver, you sold your own nephew. Now you dare to ask for more?"
Her voice was sharp with fury, and she was ready to strike again.
"Immortal, please spare us!"
Xu Erniu and his wife quickly begged for mercy.
"Junior sister, remember the master's instructions."
The young man in the green robe patted the female disciple on the shoulder, giving her a meaningful glance.
Though she was still angry, the female disciple withdrew her hand, holding back her fury.
"Since the contract is not a fake, how much silver do you think is appropriate for Qingxuan Sect to redeem him?"
The young man looked at the Bai Family steward, holding up the contract.
"Th-this..."
The Bai Family steward hesitated for a long time before finally gritting his teeth and raising three fingers,
"Three... three hundred taels!"
"Is that all?"
The young man scoffed again.
He then took a bulging cloth bag from his sleeve and casually tossed it toward the Bai Family steward.
"This!"
The Bai Family steward opened it and found it full of gold ingots, his eyes going wide in shock.
The villagers, including Xu Erniu and his wife, gasped in astonishment at the sight of the gold.
"Is this enough?"
The young man asked with a smile.
"Yes, yes! These gold ingots are worth three thousand taels of silver!"
The Bai Family steward excitedly nodded his head.
Upon hearing this, Xu Erniu and his wife turned pale.
They weren't well-read, but they knew the difference between thirty taels and three thousand.
"Immortals, this silver should not go to the Bai family. We'll just take the thirty taels!"
Fat Aunt rushed forward to plead with the young man, but before she could reach him, the young man seemed to vanish, and she stumbled and fell flat on the ground.
"Taiping, Taiping, quickly tell the immortals that the three thousand taels should be ours!"
Seeing Fat Aunt fail, Xu Erniu rushed toward Xu Taiping, trying to pull him away.
"Swish!"
But the red-clad female disciple lightly flicked her hand, and in a blink, she had pulled Xu Taiping back four or five feet.
Seeing that they couldn't get what they wanted, Xu Erniu and his wife then turned to grab the Bai Family steward, yelling that "the silver belongs to them," and began fighting with the steward and his two servants.
"Taiping, the ties to the mortal world are cut. Will you follow us to Yunlu and seek your immortal destiny?"
The young male disciple from Qingxuan Sect tore up the servitude contract in his hands and extended his hand to Xu Taiping.