Cultivating In Secret Beside A Demoness

Jiang Hao smiled. “I used to chop firewood here… when I was around four years old. Right here.”

Jiang Hao hefted the ax to gauge its weight, and then swung it on the block of wood, chopping it in two.

“Four years old?!” exclaimed the man. “At that age, it’s difficult to even hold a knife, let alone an ax to chop firewood!”

“It was… difficult, but I got used to it eventually,” said Jiang Hao.

Ten years had passed since then. He realized he held no contempt or resentment toward his family. He didn’t even remember his stepmother yelling at him that clearly. He had almost forgotten how she looked.

“Looks like you were born poor.” The old man was in disbelief.

Jiang Hao felt as if he had returned to his childhood. “Unfortunately, I don’t remember much. ”

“Why are you here to inquire about the Jiang family?” The old man looked at

Jiang Hao. “What’s your relationship with them?”

Jiang Hao paused and looked at the old man. “They are my family.”

The old man was a little shocked. “That’s impossible. When I bought this house from them, the man selling me the house didn’t mention any children.”

“I know,” said Jiang Hao. “When I was five years old, I was sold. I just happened to visit this city for the first time after that. I was hoping to find out about them.”

The old man looked at Jiang Hao in surprise. Jiang Hao continued chopping the firewood.

“How long has it been?”

“Seventeen years.”

“I bought this house sixteen years ago.” The old man thought for a moment.

“They were moving to some other place, so they sold me the house.”

‘They sold the house a year after I left?’ Jiang Hao felt a little bitter about it. ‘Were they worried I might seek them out for revenge or something?’

“Did they say where they were moving to?” Jiang Hao asked.

“No.” The old man shook his head. “But… I think they might have moved to a nearby town. You should look around.”

Jiang Hao didn’t respond. It was impossible for him to wander off. He had solely come to this town because of Hong Yuye. He was lucky that he had made it here alive. He had made too many enemies.

It was close to impossible for Jiang Hao to find a safe place now. If his enemies knew about his family, they might use it against him.

This time, he was not worried because Hong Yuye was with him. She was indeed powerful.

“I remember that there was a famine seventeen years ago… the entire city was struggling,” said the old man.

Jiang Hao nodded. “Yes. I remember a bit about those days.”

“Do you hate them?” asked the old man.

“I don’t really hate them, but I do feel a little resentful,” said Jiang Hao.

The old man smiled. “If it was anyone else, they would hate their family for selling them at such a young age.”

Jiang Hao didn’t say anything and quietly chopped the firewood. He finished chopping the remaining firewood and dusted his clothes. “Thank you for the information you gave me. I should leave now.”

“Let me see you to the door,” said the old man and walked him to the main door.

Jiang Hao kept reminiscing about the past. He had very vague memories of his childhood. The lace felt familiar, but he couldn’t remember anything vividly. Jiang Hao felt an inexplicable sense of loss. He bowed to the elderly couple and left.

He heard the door close behind him. Only then did he turn back to look at the closed door.

This was the place where he had grown up. He felt as though he had returned to the time when he used to be a child in that house.

That year… the year of the famine… the door had remained firmly closed like it did now.

Jiang Hao had felt that this house would remain here, and he could somehow come back to it. But now, he felt as though he had really lost a home. There was no place to go back to.

He would never come back here.

Jiang Hao bowed again in goodbye. He then turned around and left.

Was he able to completely let his past go? Maybe not. However, he knew that looking back didn’t do anyone any good. He had to keep moving forward.

Jiang Hao finally felt a bittersweet sense of peace. He accepted his fate.

He had come a long way compared to the miserable child he used to be. He had increased so much in his cultivation and wasn’t far away from achieving the Primordial Spirit Realm.

Jiang Hao hadn’t gained such maturity even when toiling for half a year to train his mind. This short moment of revisiting his past had given him the clarity he had been working toward.

Jiang Hao walked along the main road. He saw many people getting along with their days. The hawkers advertised their products.

His Clear and Pure Heart had been dormant. However, he felt a sense of clarity in that ability that he had never felt before.

‘What a wonderful feeling…’

Jiang Hao decided to go back to Hong Yuye. He stopped when he passed by a tea shop.

The tea set in the inn seemed to be very ordinary, and many people might have used it before.

He hesitated for a moment before walking into the tea shop.

“What kind of tea set do you want?” asked the shopkeeper.

Jiang Hao looked around and finally saw a tea set that was red.

The color was faint and not too striking. The workmanship was exquisite.

“How much for this one?” he asked.

“Fifteen taels.”

Jiang Hao bought it. As he headed back to the inn, he came across a pastry shop. The aroma wafted out of the shop.

As a child, he had dreamt about buying something from that pastry shop. He had been too poor to do so.

After some hesitation, he bought some pastries. His childhood dreams were getting fulfilled today.

Jiang Hao was walking along the road when he suddenly turned to look at an old alleyway at the side. Something flew over, and he caught it.

It was a stone. He looked at it closely.

Jiang Hao then used the Daily Appraisal ability on it.

[Code Message: A stone used by the Great Thousand God Sect to transmit messages. Crush it and put it in water to see the contents.]

‘Great Thousand God sect?’

Jiang Hao was puzzled. Why would the Great Thousand God Sect contact him?

Jiang Hao returned to the inn. Perhaps Hong Yuye would have an answer to this.

“Please bring a basin of water to Room 1 on the Above Cloud,” said Jiang Hao to a server.

After that, he headed to Hong Yuye’s room. The door opened automatically.

Jiang Hao saw Hong Yuye sitting in front of the window. He turned to look at him with an amused smile. “I thought you ran away..”