The Quest for Immortality

Gu Shouyan shook his head, took a sip of tea, and continued:

”If I don’t accept their overtures of goodwill, then my Gu Family will be seen as a lone wild wolf.”

”Even if they are tigers or leopards, eager to devour my Gu Family, they’ll have to worry about us desperately fighting back, tearing off chunks of their flesh.”

”But if I accepted their favors, my Gu Family would become a dog!”

”On the surface, they may appear courteous, but behind the scenes, they’ll despise me even more.”

”Faced with some dirty and unsightly matters, they would throw us a bone, and I would have to bite, to clean up their messes.”

Gu Shouyan’s expression was stern, his gaze like a sword, as he snorted coldly:

”These worms, do they really think they are worthy?”

”Even if my Gu Family has to risk our lives to bite flesh off them, we will not grovel or lick the bones they throw away!”

Shang Che pondered for a moment, but still shook his head, sighing:

”Mr. Gu, you’re still being too impulsive. My Shangguan Family is willing to advance and retreat together with the Gu Family, they also...”

Gu Shouyan said with an unyielding expression: ”You, Shang Che, by accepting the Shen Family’s overtures, can build a good relationship with the Shen Family because you both are fundamentally the same kind of people.”

”But I am not.”

”I have never been the same kind of person as you all.”

Shang Che was momentarily stunned, his eyes slightly cold, but he did not show any annoyance.

Gu Shouyan continued:

”Just as with the Family Head, the family is the same.”

”Your Shangguan Family and the Shen Family, with thriving businesses, were built on interests. But my Gu Family, serving at the Taoist Court, ultimately relies on ’core quality’ to establish itself.”

”If the Shangguan Family were to suddenly talk about ’core quality’, I fear they would be gone in the blink of an eye.”

”Similarly, if my Gu Family doesn’t abide by ’core quality’, even if we are temporarily strong, our downfall would also come just as quickly.”

Shang Che was slightly taken aback.

He had always thought that his Big Brother was stubborn, rigid in action, and lacked flexibility.

But it turned out that he wasn’t just obstinately stubborn on the surface.

He understood many things.

And perhaps, he even saw things a bit clearer than himself.

Shang Che sighed inwardly, truly, one can’t judge a book by its cover.

He poured a cup of tea for Gu Shouyan and said indifferently:

”Mr. Gu, take care of yourself.”

”I hope that in the future, the Shangguan Family and the Gu Family will not walk down a path where they are at each other’s throats.”

Gu Shouyan grunted in acknowledgment and took the tea to drink.

With that, pretty much everything that needed to be said had been said.

The two drank their tea in silence, and though they did not speak, the atmosphere without any scheming between them was much more relaxed.

Suddenly, Gu Shouyan remembered something, curiously glancing at Shang Che but did not ask aloud.

Feeling this, Shang Che put down his tea cup and said slowly:

”Mr. Gu, if you have something to say, just say it.”

Gu Shouyan nodded, without any avoidance, and spoke frankly:

”There’s something I don’t understand. How could a person like you, who only talks about interests, harbor such deep prejudices? Harbor such deep resentment towards the Wenren Family?”

”Tonight at the banquet, that Shen Family Elder was so difficult towards Wan’er, it was disgraceful, and you didn’t say a word?”

Shang Che was silent, ”Just a fool, that’s all...”

He took a sip of tea, picked out the tea leaves, and said in an even tone, ”The Shen Family marrying her into our family is a way to test the Shangguan Family’s stance.”

”The Shen Family has shown us goodwill, and we also have to demonstrate our attitude.”

”Even if she’s being unreasonable, we need to be courteous. After all, we’ve just profited from the Shen Family’s Spirit Stone, the eater’s mouth is soft.”

”Other branches of the Shangguan Family are also using her as a tool against Yier, pressuring her...”

”The other lines of the Shangguan Family have long been coveting the position of Family Head, unable to snatch it from me, they turn their sights on Yier.”

”Such things will not be rare in the future, and I will not intervene.”

”I am the Family Head, but I am only the Family Head. The real power is in the hands of our old ancestor, and many things are beyond my decision.”

”If Yier has the ability to win the hearts of the people, naturally he will be able to become the Family Head. But if he can’t suppress others, it’s better to give up his position sooner rather than later. It saves him from being indecisive and harming the family’s foundation.”

”As for Wan’er...” Shang Che’s expression darkened slightly, ”She has been dragged down by Yier.”

”Anyone with clear eyes can see that Yier is too emotional, his fondness for Wan’er too strong, naturally making her his Achilles’ heel.”

”The husband and wife are one entity. If Wan’er makes a mistake, it means Yier has made a mistake.”

Shang Che sighed slightly: ”If Yier were just an ordinary son of a noble family, not my son, the Family Head, not involved in the struggle for the position of Family Head, naturally no one would think of troubling Wan’er.”

”The two of them would just need to live peacefully day by day.”

”Unfortunately, their statuses are not ordinary...”

Gu Shouyan nodded.

”As for the Wenren Family...”

Shang Che fell into thought, his gaze complicated, ”The Shangguan Family and the Wenren Family, despite their grievances, do not intermarry for generations, but it’s not a deep-seated hatred.”

”Otherwise, the marriage between Yier and Wan’er would have been stopped from the beginning, no matter how desperately Yier begged, it would have been impossible.”

Shang Che looked at Gu Shouyan, speaking frankly: ”But indeed, from beginning to end, I have never been optimistic about this marriage.”

”The Wenren Family is just one aspect of it. I do not hate the Wenren Family, but marrying into the Wenren Family, truthfully, doesn’t bring much benefit to the Shangguan Family...”

”Or rather, the benefits are not significant enough.”

”Yier comes from a good background, has great talent, looks excellent, and although he’s a bit sentimental and indecisive, this actually makes him more attractive to women.”

”During the marriage proposal, I had several matches in hand. These women, from direct lineages, all high-ranking, with both appearance and virtue, accompanied by dowries of Spiritual mines, were all very powerful.”

”Marrying them would greatly benefit the Shangguan Family, to me as the Family Head, and also to Yier’s future succession to the position of Family Head.”

”Yier’s path forward would surely be smooth.”

”But...”