Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

No sooner had Liu Xingmo finished speaking than the homeowner laughed in anger.

The middle-aged woman put on a stern face and said rudely, "Get out of my house! Don't ever come back!"

Sumali felt a little embarrassed and reached out to tug at her husband's clothes.

"Don't rush, ma'am, I haven't finished speaking yet! Since I've come to you, I've naturally come prepared." Liu Xingmo crossed his arms, straightened his back, and continued, "Aren't you worried about finding jobs for your two kids? I can offer two positions, earning a dozen yuan a day, how about that?"

"A dozen or so dollars? Do you think my family is one of those poor, starving people?" The woman narrowed her eyes, a fierce glint in them.

"It wasn't before, but it is now. Because your master is in jail." Liu Xingmo met her gaze without fear. "Excuse my bluntness, madam, you should abandon your pointless pride and fantasies, and try to live a down-to-earth life."

"Oh? And who are you to just casually assign a job? A dozen or so dollars a day, it's not much, but it's still a second-tier income level. You can decide that with just a word?"

"Of course, because I am a storyteller," Liu Xingmo replied calmly.

"What?" The woman was startled and her wary gaze swept back and forth between the young man in front of her.

Liu Xingmo smiled and said, "Don't worry, ma'am, we're all from the library. Although there were some unpleasantries because of the spies, we're all family. Our Director Liu Linghou and your patriarch are even good friends."

Upon hearing this, the woman became even angrier, but when she thought of her family members who were imprisoned, feelings of grievance and sorrow welled up in her heart again.

Everything was fine at first; the family had served in the library for generations. The patriarch, who was also the husband's grandfather, was a highly skilled instructor who held an important position in the inner treasury.

But a month ago, it was suddenly discovered that the head of the family was colluding with outsiders, and the whole family was involved. Only I, who was in charge of the household affairs, and my two children escaped imprisonment.

Since then, the entire family has fallen apart, selling off all their assets, barely enough to make ends meet for their family members in prison. Their own children, meanwhile, have lost even a decent livelihood.

The woman couldn't help but cover her face and weep.

Liu Xingmo, estimating that it was about time, continued, "I've heard that your patriarch will likely not regain his freedom for at least fifty or sixty years. As a third-tier expert, he has a long lifespan and can easily endure fifty years. But your two younger members are currently without anyone to care for them; their lives are going to be wasted."

The woman wiped away her tears, glaring at Liu Xingmo: "What good jobs can you come up with?"

"Of course it's the newspaper. Don't your children also run a 'Nancun Monthly'?" Liu Xingmo rubbed his chin and said unhurriedly, "I've read that newspaper. To be honest, it's too immature. You're probably losing money every month, aren't you?"

The woman remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement. Her fierce gaze softened.

Liu Xingmo stared intently into the middle-aged woman's eyes, pressing her further: "With what's happened to your family, you probably won't be able to find a good job anywhere, right? Why don't you come work for me and save your precious youth from being wasted?"

The woman closed her eyes and pondered for a moment.

The young man in front of me is right.

More importantly, their own children can re-enter the library and even use the connections they've built up in the past.

At this moment, everyone in the library is afraid of getting into trouble, so no one dares to step forward and intervene.

The young man in front of them was the only one who wasn't afraid, because he was the one who exposed the spy, and no one would doubt his background.

The woman made up her mind: "Alright, I'll trouble you to help my good-for-nothing children."

Liu Xingmo grinned, turned to look at his wife, and smiled smugly.

"But! I won't sell the house to you," the woman said solemnly. "I've thought it through. This ancestral home is our family's root, the place where our ancestors have lived for generations. A tree without roots will die. So, I will stay in this old house and wait until the day our family rises again."

"Oh? Auntie, I'm an honest person. Without this house, I have nothing to do with your family anymore." Liu Xingmo spread his hands.

The woman ignored him and turned to look at Su Mali: "Young lady, I don't think you're from around here. I've been to Tangding City in the Yin Kingdom before, and the alchemists and weapon refiners there have a similar aura to you."

Sumali nodded: "I am an alchemist, a practitioner of Western alchemy."

The woman whispered, "To tell you the truth, my uncle is in charge of purchasing books from the Yin Kingdom. Over the years, he has acquired some good books. Have you heard of the 'Honglu Jing'? I have cultivation techniques for levels one and two."

Liu Xingmo's eyes widened.

It's not an exaggeration to say you're colluding with spies. You even managed to obtain the fundamental martial arts techniques of the Yin Kingdom.

Sumali was taken aback, and asked incredulously, "Is it really the 'Honglu Jing'? Can you confirm it for me?"

"Alright, you wait here." The woman turned and left, leaving the two guests behind.

Liu Xingmo looked at Su Mali, who remained as calm as ever. But Liu Xingmo could tell that his wife was somewhat uneasy.

He asked, "Mary, is that book really that important?"

Sumali nodded: "I've heard my father say that it's one of the highest-level cultivation techniques in the world, leading directly to the divine realm."

Liu Xingmo asked in confusion, "But it only contains content at the first or second level, which isn't even comparable to your family's heritage?"

"Sigh—!" Sumali sighed deeply.

"Xingmo, you were born into a large family and had access to the best cultivation techniques from birth, so you have no idea how important divine-level cultivation techniques really are."

"All the scattered folk traditions have omissions and errors, so their achievements are limited. My father's alchemy skills could only reach the third level at most."

"This was his lifelong regret, so he tried every means to collect folk cultivation knowledge, gradually correct the mistakes, and wanted to advance his family's cultivation method to the fourth level."

Liu Xingmo interjected, "By the way, isn't your alchemy quite prestigious? It seems to have been taught by some great alchemist, and you can cultivate it to the fourth level?"

"That's right, so my father had me learn alchemy, while the family's traditional alchemy was only used as an auxiliary skill." Su Mali said, her eyes gazing in the direction the woman had left. "But with the 'Honglu Jing' (a classic text on alchemy), things would be different."

She continued, "A divine-level cultivation technique means that the content itself is without error, at least below the divine level. The first and second levels of the 'Honglu Jing' alone are enough to correct my family's inherited cultivation technique and elevate it to the fourth level."

"With the alchemy inheritance at the same fourth-tier level, the two paths of East and West combined, I might even be able to find a way to the fifth tier. In Black Dragon Stronghold, a town where medicines are extremely cheap, all of this is not very difficult."

Liu Xingmo understood, and patted his chest, saying, "Alright! We must seize this lost heritage of the Yin Kingdom!"