Countless starlight under the dome are dotted with light or darkness, and from time to time a cloud flies by, and the starlight is like a wisp through the clouds. The bright stars are like ribbons floating in the distance of the universe, caressing the earth gently.

Zhang Jiao sat cross-legged on the bed, with the scepter lying horizontally on his lap. The starlight outside the window shrouded him, and countless bright spots were reflected on the inky black scepter, as if a starry sky was contained. He opened his eyes slowly and exhaled a cloudy breath.

He was already accustomed to practicing at night, and when he meditated, he drew Qi into his body, and countless complicated thoughts wrapped the sea of knowledge, like countless blazing flames scorching the Qi entering his body.

The Qi in Zhang Jiao's body broke through the acupuncture points on his chest, and with a little movement, he reached the Mud Pill Palace, which made the Mud Pill Palace beat gently.

"It's still far away..."Zhang Jiao whispered to himself, he knew that this Qi would fall back again under the burning fire of his heart. If he doesn't pull it in the future, when the Qi in his body can fill the Mud Pill Palace, he can reach the realm of "foundation building" that Senior Brother Yu Ji said.

Zhang Jiao moved his body, lay on his side on the bed again, and gently closed his eyes. After a while, I fell asleep. This is the sleeping method taught to him by Senior Brother Zuo Ci, and he only needs to be clear and calm.

Zuo Ci once said that this is the simplest and most important method passed down by the master, and it is not difficult to implement, after all, this method is used for sleeping.

In a trance, Zhang Jiao turned into a cow, walking leisurely on the endless grass on the earth, slowly someone put a plow on him, he worked hard to plow, someone asked him to pull the cart, he went to pull the cart, time is no concept, it seems to be a long, long time, and it seems to be a moment, the old cow feels that life is running out, so he walks towards the east of the endless meadow, on the way a blue butterfly flutters on his horns, he feels no sorrow and no joy, continues to walk, and finally sees a young man lying on the grass in front of him, the old cow is inexplicably guided, He lay beside the boy and swallowed his last breath.

Zhang Jiao woke up and looked out the window, the sky was already bright, and the Guo Mansion had begun to get busy, and the servants were coming and going. After a while, an old servant brought in a basin of water.

Zhang Jiao stopped the old servant, freshened up a little, and asked him to take him to Guo Jianliang's study.

At this time, Guo Jianliang sat on the seat casually, and saw Zhang Jiao who came in a little blushing.

"There's a nephew."

Zhang Jiao doesn't like to be polite and is not good at words. When he entered the house, he checked Guo Jianliang, and sure enough, this body was strong on the outside and dry in the middle, and he was weak.

Zhang Jiao took a piece of rune paper, virtually guided the Qi of Heaven and Earth to outline a few symbols, and melted it into a bowl of rune water for Guo Jianliang to drink.

"Sure enough, it's a fairy trick." Guo Jianliang drank the talisman water, and his collapsed body slowly felt a sense of fullness, and he sincerely admired Zhang Jiao.

Guo Jianliang got up and stretched his body, making a click-click sound, his mind was clear, and his whole body was smooth. Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he turned his head and squinted slightly at the young man.

"Ahh Uncle looked at me like this. Zhang Jiao was a little hairy by him.

"What does my nephew think of my family?" Guo Jianliang returned to normal, sat opposite Zhang Jiao, and asked casually.

"Miss Guo has a good heart, treats people sincerely, and is virtuous and virtuous." Zhang Jiao was a little confused by his words. Thinking of Guo Jie, I praised it. But I was thinking in my heart that this person has no other heir, why do you ask this? Could it be that after curing him, he felt that he could do it again, and wanted to have another one and change the heir?

Thinking of this, Zhang Jiao praised again: "Miss Guo really has the demeanor of everyone, she doesn't feel her hardships in a farmer's house, she is hardworking and capable, and she is not domineering when she returns to the clan, she is gentle and virtuous." ”

"Oh? The virtuous nephew thinks so highly of my family Jie'er? Guo Jianliang poured two cups of tea, handed one to Zhang Jiao, and drank it leisurely with a cup himself.

"Miss Guo is really good, and the little nephew is also impressed."

"Alas~ It's a pity that Jie'er is not a man after all."

"Uncle don't have to be a pity, Miss Guo doesn't let her women shave her eyebrows, and her open-mindedness is not inferior to that of men, she will definitely be able to pass on the Guo family and become a well-known and kind family."

"It's rare for a virtuous nephew to praise him so much, my son is about to be young, what does the virtuous nephew think."

“……？ Small... What can the little nephew think..."Zhang Jiao seemed to have finally reacted to something, looking at Guo Jianliang's increasingly ambiguous gaze, he was a little uncomfortable. I have to say that this young man's nerves are indeed big.

"The virtuous nephew has the inheritance of immortals, and he must be the capital of immortals in the future, and his ability is extraordinary. I wonder if you can promise to do something for me? Guo Jianliang's words changed, and his tone became a little earnest.

"Uncle, please speak."

"I want to return to the Guo family, if the virtuous nephew is willing to be my son-in-law, when the virtuous nephew moves all over the world in the future, it will be the day when Guo returns to the Guo family!" Guo Jianliang looked at Zhang Jiao with burning eyes, he thought that many old people in the family were keen on immortality, and often introduced some alchemists as guests in the clan, so his heart was hot, and he had such thoughts.

"This..."Zhang Jiao froze, he remembered the situation of those good girls yesterday. He feels that now Guo Jie has become the daughter of a good family who is about to be replaced, and the bargaining chip for returning to the Guo family has been marked as "grain" by Guo Jianliang, and Zhang Jiao is "a person with grain".

Zhang Jiao felt a burst of sadness, although he had a good impression of Guo Jie, even if he liked it, he would never want to use this way. Besides, every time I think of Guo Jie, there is always a pain in my heart, as if a petal is far away from me, and I can't catch it. So Zhang Jiao instinctively thought that if Guo Jie really followed him, he might not be able to give the kind woman a good home.

"I can agree to Uncle Guo's request, and when the little nephew has the ability in the future, I will try my best to help my uncle return to the Guo family. But after three months, the little nephew will go with the teacher's practice, and I don't know when he will be able to return home once. Let's forget about this marriage. Zhang Jiao was unhappy for Guo Jie in his heart, and was unwilling to use her as a bargaining chip for Guo Jianliang to return to the Guo family, and his tone was blunt.

"Okay, the virtuous nephew agreed." Hearing the promise of the conditions, Guo Jianliang didn't care about the marriage just mentioned, and even snickered a little, thinking that he had gained something without paying the conditions.

"The little nephew retired from cultivation first." Zhang Jiao looked at Guo Jianliang, who was secretly proud, sighed in his heart, and was a little resistant to the person in front of him, he didn't want to stay longer, so he bowed, and then turned around and retreated.

"Isn't it just a stinky little squarer, the shelf is not small." After Zhang Jiao went out, Guo Jianliang said to himself. He has always looked down on the alchemists or qi practitioners, believing that those people are only bent on seeking the Tao and seeking immortality, and have some magical abilities, but they have forgotten the most beautiful desires in the world - money and power. He saw a little resistance in Zhang Jiao's eyes, but he just asked for something, so he acted as if nothing happened.

Despite this, the Guo family still entertained Zhang Jiao with a very high-standard banquet on this day, and Guo Jie did not give Guo Jianliang any good looks during the banquet, Guo Jianliang nominally called the two women maids, but in action he had already regarded them as concubines.

Guo Jie thought of her mother, and her heart was sad. People often say that the reason why Guo Jianliang has been prosperous in Platform County in just over ten years is because he has a good wife who has helped him handle most of the things. It's a pity that when the Guo family began to emerge, the woman died of illness, leaving only a young only daughter. Although Guo Jianliang's current actions are in line with the law and people's habits. Guo Jie also always felt disgusted.

"After Brother Zhang's Spring Festival, I want to follow Brother Zhang to my uncle and aunt to help, and give medicine and porridge to people. By the way, my daughter also wants to be quiet. Guo Jie said to Guo Jianliang. She wanted to escape from this home, even if only for a while.

"Alas, go ahead, I'll send you over when the time comes, and take a look at Brother Huailin by the way. I also hope that you can slowly understand your father, my Guo family will always have to pass it on! I promise you to stay with Brother Huailin for a while, but there is one thing that you are not allowed to bring any servants. Guo Jianliang felt his daughter's sense of alienation, but he didn't show anything, and he was even a little annoyed that his daughter didn't understand him. But when he saw Hu Yuer standing next to Guo Jie, his heart moved and he agreed to Guo Jie's request.

The banquet was very boring, at least for Zhang Jiao, he never said anything polite, so he buried his head in eating. So there was no communication with each other at the banquet.

After the night banquet, Zhang Ru took Guo Jie and Hu Yuer to find Zhang Jiao, and Guo Jie hoped that Zhang Jiao would come forward to redeem Hu Yuer and give her a free body. Or take her to Zhang's house and follow Guo Jie.

"I don't want to go home, Daddy has already sold me to the Guo family, even if I am ransomed home, I will be sold by Daddy for the second time, in this platform county, my Daddy will never dare to disobey the will of the Guo family." Hu Yu'er looked sad, frowned slightly, and looked pitiful.

"Sister Yu'er, go to our house and be Xiaoru's godsister." Zhang Ru looked at the sad Hu Yuer very unbearably, grabbed Hu Yuer's hand and shook it.

"That's right, if Uncle Zhang can be accepted as a daughter, my father will definitely give up." Guo Jie said softly, she felt disgusted when she thought of her father's eyes looking at Hu Yuer at the banquet, this is a girl who has not yet reached the end of her life like herself.

"Big brother, please. Sister Yu'er is very good, you can recognize her as a sister, so that Xiaoru will also have a sister to take care of at home. The little girl ran to Zhang Jiao, dragged Zhang Jiao's clothes and began to be coquettish.

"My family is a traveling doctor family in the countryside, far less privileged than Uncle Guo's family, and life is a little harder, but I can still take care of the family's food and clothing, are you willing?" Zhang Jiao did not reply to the little girl's request, and asked Hu Yuer.

"Yu'er's family is still a little generous, but my father is idle, which leads to the middle of the family, in order to give my brother a dowry, I was sold to the Guo family, Yu'er doesn't care about any wealth, just want to live a peaceful and happy life. Yu'er didn't want to go home, and when my brother was going to marry, my father would sell me to make up the dowry. If Brother Zhang doesn't dislike it, accept Yu'er as his sister. Hu Yuer was sad and knelt on the ground.

"Good! I'm going to find Uncle Guo. After the spring festival, you go home with us. Zhang Jiao couldn't bear it, picked up Hu Yuer, and walked towards Guo Jianliang's study.

When Zhang Jiao proposed to redeem Hu Yuer, Guo Jianliang was very surprised, but he did not refuse, but asked Zhang Jiao why.

"I... I want to take her as my sister. Zhang Jiao was a little speechless, but he didn't lie.

Guo Jianliang laughed when he heard this, looked at Zhang Jiao with a very ambiguous eye, and then agreed, saying that he could give it to Zhang Jiao.

Zhang Jiao felt uncomfortable, and even a little angry, but he didn't attack, took out a piece of gold and stuffed it to Guo Jianliang.