Song Cha’s father quickly came over with tea, pouring it for Song Cha and the other two.
Song Cha picked up the teacup and began to drink. The taste of the tea was not good, far inferior to the tea Song Cha had at Chu Man’s place. After a light sip, Song Cha put the teacup down.
Neither Shao Yumiao nor Chu Man even picked up their teacups.
Seeing that Shao Yumiao and Chu Man did not drink, Song Cha’s father quickly put on an eager smile, flattering, “The two fairies must be immortals from the cultivation world, right? Having you two grace our Song residence truly brings light to our humble home!”
Shao Yumiao nodded slightly, and Chu Man casually nodded, neither of them saying a word.
In fact, both were quite perceptive. Their silence was because they had noticed earlier that Song Cha’s father was not sincere towards Song Cha.
Since Song Cha’s father was not sincere, they saw no point in speaking to him.
Chu Man felt that if she was to meet the parents, she wanted to meet those who were genuinely good to Song Cha.
Although Shao Yumiao had low EQ, she was very sensitive to people’s emotions. Just by observing Song Cha’s father’s attitude towards Song Cha, she felt that he was not good to Song Cha.
Seeing that Chu Man and Shao Yumiao were not speaking, Song Cha’s father felt somewhat embarrassed.
But despite feeling embarrassed, he could only endure it, as the two in front of him were immortals, and he, a mere mortal, had no way to oppose them.
However… Song Cha’s father looked at Song Cha, hoping she would say something to ease the atmosphere. But Song Cha was just staring at her teacup, lost in thought.
“Cha’er, you haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ll have the butler arrange some food,” Song Cha’s father tried to change the subject.
Song Cha: “…”
Before Song Cha could speak, Shao Yumiao had already spoken first: “Uncle, Cha Cha is now a cultivator and cannot eat the food of the mortal world.” If she were to eat, it could only be the pure vegetarian dishes of the level of Jiuxian Pavillion.
Song’s father: “……”
The atmosphere did not ease as intended, and Song’s father’s face became even more rigid.
In such a stiff situation, he was truly restless.
Just as Song’s father was pondering what to say next, the door to the living room was opened again.
The person who walked in this time was a woman dressed in white plain clothes, with a delicate appearance, but there was a pitiful beauty about her.
This was Song Cha’s stepmother, the new madam who was promoted from a concubine.
She walked up to Song’s father, “Master, I heard that the third miss who went out for cultivation has returned,” she said.
Here, she deliberately turned to glance at Song Cha.
Song Cha also looked at her stepmother, Madam Wang.
If Song Cha was considered green tea, then Madam Wang should be a white lotus flower.
It’s just that, unlike Song Cha’s level, Madam Wang’s lotus level was a bit lower, only capable of playing the victim, and sometimes when Song Cha saw Madam Wang playing the victim, she felt insulted in her intelligence.
Perhaps this was why Madam Wang had no choice but to become a concubine for her low-ranking official father, and had to wait until the original wife passed away before she could be promoted.
Because of her poor acting skills, only Song Cha’s father, who was half-blind in discerning white lotuses, couldn’t see through her.
However, Song Cha was still very good at pretending.
Her previous pretense was casual, but now with status, backing, and wealth, her pretense was even more playful.
“Madam,” Song Cha said with superficial closeness, looking at Madam Wang with amusement in her heart.
Hearing Song Cha call her that, Madam Wang was somewhat flattered.
She looked at Song Cha pitifully: “Third miss, now that you have succeeded in cultivation, could you also take Hao’er to the immortal mountain…”
The person Madam Wang mentioned was her son, Song Hao.
Wang’s pitiful appearance seemed genuinely sincere.
This surprised Song Cha, who hadn’t expected Wang to ever show sincerity.
But considering her identity as a cultivator, she wasn’t too surprised after all.
In this world, mortals yearn for the path of cultivation. Many mortals, upon seeing cultivators, would call them immortals and kneel in worship.
Song Cha lowered her eyes: “But, my brother Song Hao was found to have no spiritual roots, I’m afraid he’ll be bullied on the mountain.”
“He is your brother, Third Miss , who would dare to bully him?” Hearing Song Cha’s words, Wang showed some dissatisfaction, but still didn’t dare to express it openly, continuing to look at Song Cha with pleading eyes.
Seeing Madam Wang look at her like that, Song Cha felt quite good.
In the past, Madam Wang would only look at Song’s father with such pleading eyes, this was the first time she looked at her this way.
Song Cha: “But… the immortal mountain is too dangerous…”
“Madam Song, don’t go too far.” Chu Man interrupted Song Cha, “Qingfeng Sect, won’t allow a mortal to enter.”
Chu Man was very angry, after confronting Madam Wang, she was still furious.
Chu Man came to see Song Cha’s parents, wanting to meet her family.
But unexpectedly, she didn’t meet any family members who were kind to Song Cha, but instead met two leeches who disliked Song Cha yet approached her for their own benefits.
Thinking of Song Cha talking about going home to see her parents, whom she hadn’t seen for a long time, with anticipation in Qingfeng Gate, her heart ached.
Were the parents Song Cha worried about really such people?
They didn’t care about the hardships Song Cha faced during her eight years of cultivation upon seeing her; they only asked about her cultivation level and whether she could take her valued son to the immortal mountain. They didn’t ask a single word about whether Song Cha had a hard time being alone all these years.
How could Chu Man accept this?
“Cha’er.” Chu Man held Song Cha’s hand, “Come with me.”
Song Cha, whose hand was held by Chu Man, was a bit puzzled, “Master, where are you taking me?”
Chu Man didn’t say a word, just pulled Song Cha and walked out of the Song family’s gate. At the final moment of leaving the Song family, she took out a thousand taels of gold from her storage bag and placed it on the ground of the Song family’s courtyard. The Song family was just a minor official family, and the couple didn’t treat Song Cha well.
Raising Song Cha probably didn’t cost them much gold or silver. However, as a cultivator who values karma, as her master, giving the Song family a thousand taels of gold, which is dozens of times their investment, was to sever the kinship between Song Cha and the Song family.
It wasn’t until they had left the Song family far behind that Chu Man finally stopped. “Cha’er, from now on, your relationship with the Song family is completely severed, with no further contact,” Chu Man decisively made the decision for Song Cha.
Song Cha: “……”
The decided-upon Song Cha was a bit stunned, feeling that something was wrong. Why did everything escalate so quickly just because she went to the Song family’s living room for a cup of tea, and refused her stepmother’s arrangement to take the brother she didn’t like to the Qingfeng Sect? What kind of development was this, to escalate to this point without reason?
However, Song Cha still had doubts. Agreeing with Chu Man’s words was indeed respecting her teacher and valuing her teachings. But to sever ties with her blood relatives so easily seemed too cold-hearted. If one day Chu Man reflected on this, her impression of her might not be so good.
“Master, those are my parents.” Song Cha looked at Chu Man pleadingly, “Master, can you tell me the reason?”
“The reason?” Chu Man pinched Song Cha’s chin, “Cha’er, do you value kinship so much that you want to maintain this relationship even if it means being used?”
Song Cha: “……”
Seeing Song Cha not speaking, Chu Man became even angrier. She lifted Song Cha’s chin and kissed her on the corner of her mouth, “Since you care so much, then let me be your family.”
