"What have we done wrong?"
The female disciple in red laughed at these words and waved her hand:
"We are not here to subdue demons, but to bring this young man, Xu Taiping, up the mountain."
"Up the mountain?"
Everyone, including Xu Erniu, still looked confused.
"Xu Taiping has spiritual bones and has been registered as an immortal. We are bringing him up the mountain today to join the Qingxuan Sect."
The young man explained calmly to everyone.
"To join… the Qingxuan Sect, does that mean… does that mean he will become an immortal? Our Xu family… will have an immortal?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Erniu was struck dumb, standing still in place, muttering to himself.
The male and female disciples of the Qingxuan Sect ignored the villagers and reached out their hands to Xu Taiping.
"Little Taiping, come with us. From now on, you will be our junior disciple on the Seventh Peak."
The female disciple in red smiled sweetly and spoke softly to Xu Taiping.
Upon hearing this voice, Xu Taiping inexplicably felt warmth in his heart, as if he had regained the feeling of being with his family.
"Wait!"
Just as Xu Taiping was about to shake hands with the female disciple, his second aunt grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"Two… two immortals, you… you can't just take my Taiping away like this. He is the pillar of our Xu family, and in the future, he will become the top scholar in the imperial examination, bringing glory to our Xu family."
His plump second aunt smiled and looked at the two disciples of the Qingxuan Sect, her eyes filled with reluctance.
Upon hearing this, Xu Taiping felt an even stronger chill in his heart.
From childhood to adulthood, his second aunt had always treated him as an unprofitable business, an unlucky person. When had she ever had expectations of him bringing glory to the family?
The two disciples of the Qingxuan Sect were unaware of the situation and thought that the second aunt was genuinely reluctant to let Xu Taiping go, which was why she said that.
"A mere worldly top scholar, how can you compare with us disciples of the Qingxuan Sect? But since you are Taiping's relatives, this golden bowl will serve as a gift for our meeting."
The young disciple of the Qingxuan Sect took out a golden bowl from his sleeve and handed it to Xu Taiping's second aunt.
"No…"
"This immortal!"
Xu Taiping was about to explain the truth to the disciple of the Qingxuan Sect, but the steward of the Bai Family suddenly jumped off the carriage, grabbed his arm, and held up the contract of selling oneself, shouting loudly, "This Xu Taiping has already been sold to our Bai Family. It is clearly written in black and white. He is already a member of our Bai Family, so this golden bowl should belong to us!"
Who wouldn't be tempted by a gift from an immortal?
Upon hearing this, the male and female disciples of the Qingxuan Sect frowned.
"Two immortals, he is talking nonsense. I only sent Taiping to work for the Bai Family, not to be sold as a slave!"
His plump second aunt was furious, defending herself as she tried to snatch the contract from the steward's hand.
"That's right, my nephew is already an immortal disciple. This contract with your Bai Family is null and void!"
Xu Taiping's second uncle joined the struggle.
"Stop it!"
Seeing the chaotic scene, the male disciple of the Qingxuan Sect couldn't help but scold.
As he spoke, an invisible pressure spread from him, making him look like an angry tiger, frightening Xu Taiping's second aunt and the Bai Family steward into silence.
"Taiping, is it true that you have been sold to the Bai Family as a slave?"
After the crowd quieted down, the female disciple in red walked up to Xu Taiping and asked with concern in her voice.
Xu Taiping glanced at the female disciple and nodded:
"Yes."
As soon as he spoke, he suddenly felt a sense of liberation, as if the shackles and restraints on him had been lifted.
After hearing Xu Taiping's reply, the female disciple looked at him with a hint of pity and sympathy in her eyes.
"You white-eyed wolf, how can you speak such nonsense? These years…"
"Let go."
Xu Taiping's plump second aunt was about to grab him, but the female disciple in red waved her sleeve, sending a strong gust of wind that pushed the fat woman away.
"You… you immortals, shouldn't you be reasonable? I… I…"
The woman was clearly frightened by the supernatural power of the female disciple in red. Although she continued to argue, she kept retreating.
"Immortals, both of you, I have the contract that Xu Erniu signed with me. It is written in black and white with a red handprint. Xu Taiping is now a member of my Bai Family, and this contract should belong to us!"
The greedy steward of the Bai Family handed over the contract.
The young disciple of the Qingxuan Sect took the contract, glanced at it, and then smiled coldly at Xu Taiping's second uncle and second aunt:
"As disciples of the Qingxuan Sect, are we only worth thirty taels?"
Upon hearing the young man say that they sold Xu Taiping for a mere thirty taels, Xu Taiping's second uncle and second aunt were speechless. The female disciple in red beside them couldn't help but pout.
"You, as a couple, sold your own nephew for a mere thirty taels, and now you dare to ask for compensation from us? I think you are asking for a beating!"
The fiery-tempered female disciple couldn't stand injustice and was about to wave her sleeve again.
"Spare us, spare us, Immortal!"
Xu Erniu and his wife quickly begged for mercy.
"Sister, don't forget Master's instructions."The young man in the green robe patted the girl's shoulder, looking deeply into her eyes.
Upon hearing his words, the girl, although still showing anger on her face, withdrew her hand.
"Since this Contract of Selling Oneself is not false, how much silver do you think is appropriate for our Qingxuan Sect to redeem the person?" The young man in the green robe asked, holding the contract and looking at the steward of the Bai Family.
"This…this…"
The steward of the Bai Family stuttered and hesitated for a long time before finally gritting his teeth and raising three fingers, "Three…three hundred taels!"
"Is a disciple of the Qingxuan Sect only worth a mere three hundred taels?"
The young man sneered at his words.
With that, he took out a bulging cloth bag from his sleeve and casually tossed it to the steward of the Bai Family.
"This!…"
The steward of the Bai Family opened it to find that the bag was full of solid gold ingots, and he was immediately dumbfounded.
The villagers, including Xu Taiping, Second Uncle, and Second Aunt, all gasped in surprise when they saw the bag of gold ingots.
"Is it enough?"
The young man asked with a smile.
"Enough, it's more than enough. These gold ingots are worth three thousand taels of silver!"
The steward of the Bai Family, holding the bag of gold ingots, nodded excitedly.
Upon hearing this, the faces of Xu Erniu and his wife turned pale instantly.
They were not well-educated, but they knew the difference between three thousand taels and thirty taels.
"Immortals, this silver shouldn't be given to the Bai Family. We…we only received a mere thirty taels from them!"
Second Aunt, a plump woman, lunged at the young man, but he seemed to be able to teleport, causing her to fall flat on the ground.
"Taiping, Taiping, quickly tell the immortals that the three thousand taels should belong to Second Uncle!"
Seeing Second Aunt fall flat, Xu Erniu quickly pulled Xu Taiping forward.
"Whoosh!"
Unexpectedly, Xu Taiping was led by the girl in red. With a flash, he retreated four or five feet.
Seeing that they couldn't get the money from this side, the money-eyed couple, Xu Erniu and his wife, turned to the steward of the Bai Family, shouting "The silver is ours," and started to tussle with the steward and his two servants.
"Taiping, your Mundane Fate has ended. Are you willing to follow us to the Cloudy Pavilion and seek your Immortal Fate?"
The young disciple of the Qingxuan Sect tore up the Contract of Selling Oneself in his hand and then extended his hand to him.