One month later, a busy Chen Fan suddenly received the news that his wife was about to give birth. His mind went blank in an instant, and he stood frozen in place, motionless for a long time.
Motionless for a long time.
Fortunately, the maid attending to Li Lingyu had been prepared and had long ago invited the best midwife among the mortals in the vicinity.
Coming back to his senses, Chen Fan immediately ran toward the room.
From far away, he could hear Li Lingyu crying out in pain from her abdominal cramps.
It made Chen Fan immensely anxious, completely forgetting that although his wife's cultivation was not very high, she was at least a cultivator.
The midwife hired by the maid had cost a pretty penny from the town, and it was not her first time delivering a child for a cultivator.
After a while.
Just as Chen Fan was trying to soothe Li Lingyu, he suddenly heard her cries of pain become much more intense. Before he could say anything, he was ushered outside by the already prepared midwife.
Chen Fan stood at the doorway of the house, pacing back and forth with an anxious look on his face, especially since this was his first time becoming a father in his life.
The three sworn brothers were also waiting nearby. Seeing the anxious Chen Fan, they said, "Master, don't worry! Madam will certainly be fine."
That's right, in order to win over hearts and increase manpower, Chen Fan had long since taken the three brothers as his disciples.
Just as Chen Fan was about to reply, he heard the midwife's congratulatory voice ringing out from inside the room. Once everything was tidied up, Chen Fan was finally allowed to enter.
Pushing open the bedroom door.
Seeing his wife lying on the bed and the newborn son beside her, a surge of joy welled up in his heart.
"Husband, it's a son," Li Lingyu's slightly weak voice came.
Joy appeared on Chen Fan's face, and he hurriedly stepped forward to look at his son. Gazing at the little fellow sleeping soundly there, he felt a thread of bloodline continuing through him.
Is this what a family is?
Chen Fan gave the midwife a few pieces of mortal silver and sent her on her way.
Sitting by the bedside.
Li Lingyu, lying in bed, looked somewhat pale. Covered in sweat, her voice was a little hoarse: "Husband, give our child a name."
"Yangping. Let's call him Chen Yangping."
Starting from today, the Chen Clan begins with Chen Yangping.
Chen Fan established a family genealogy using twelve characters: Yang, He, Qi, Zhe, Ying, Zhen, Xin, Tong, Yun, Miao, Yu, An.
Chen Fan said to Li Lingyu, "You've worked hard, Wife. Get some rest early!"
"Mmm!"
Chen Fan looked at his son beside them, then at his wife who was slowly falling asleep, called the maid over to keep watch by the side, and walked outside.
The lingering rays of the setting sun had not yet faded.
Seeing this, touched by a sudden insight, Chen Fan's Level 6 Qi Condensation cultivation actually made further progress.
Once everything was over, Chen Fan originally did not want to make a grand display, inviting only close people, such as his wife's clansmen and some friends he had befriended over the years.
Who could have known that the town had become increasingly unrestful lately? Those minor households were all huddling together for warmth recently, so once the news spread, quite a few people came uninvited.
Actually, when he thought about it, even if Chen Fan wanted to keep a low profile, with such a large place and all the major construction work going on, how could it possibly be kept under wraps?
Most of the minor cultivators in the town came, and everyone from the village came as well. After all, as a junior Alchemist, even if he wasn't considered much among the scions of those major families, establishing a good reputation among these grassroots cultivators was still a great thing.
Seeing this situation, Chen Fan hurriedly urged people to prepare and clear out an open space.
Congratulatory guests were arriving in increasing numbers, and naturally Chen Fan couldn't possibly chase them away.
He had no choice but to send people hurrying off to the major restaurants in the town, paying a heavy price to invite the spirit chefs over, while repeatedly urging them to set up the venue.
Fortunately, everyone was a cultivator, and knowing that their uninvited presence made it somewhat difficult to expect everything to be ready, they didn't mind.
Chen Fan entertained guests beside the Spirit Spring, and sent the three brothers down the mountain to welcome newcomers up.
An elderly-looking man, accompanied by a young child and carrying some spirit plants and medicinal herbs in his hands, arrived at Chen Fan's estate.
This was precisely the shopkeeper who had sold the pill recipe to Chen Fan last time.
"Congratulations! Felicitations!"
Then he said to Chen Fan: "I am about to leave this place. I didn't expect to hear the news of you having a child before leaving, so I've come specially to offer my congratulations."
As he spoke, he handed the spirit herb to Chen Fan with a scattering of smiles on his face.
Chen Fan was stunned at first, and then a smile likewise appeared on his face as he said to the shopkeeper:
* "Why did you suddenly think of leaving? Could it be that you're unaccustomed to living here?"*
The shopkeeper said to Chen Fan: "Things are getting more and more chaotic in this town. If I don't leave now, what will I do if I get dragged down into it?"
Hearing this news, Chen Fan finally understood why so many people had come over today to offer congratulations.
Chen Fan thought for a moment and then asked: "What about your shop in town?"
"That's part of my purpose in coming this time. I just don't know if you'll be able to hold onto that shop in this kind of atmosphere."
Hearing these words, Chen Fan immediately felt a surge of joy in his heart. It was truly a case of wanting to sleep and being handed a pillow; this shop happened to be of great use to him.
As for safety, the four major families wouldn't deign to look at it, and Chen Fan had the confidence to fend off any rogue cultivators who did take an interest.
As for the news from the shopkeeper's mouth, he would just take it with a grain of salt—that definitely wasn't the real reason he was leaving.
After paying a huge price that almost emptied out the little foundation he had accumulated, Chen Fan finally secured it.
With everything prepared, the banquet began. Cups and goblets crossed, various flattering remarks rang out, and the lively atmosphere continued until the banquet came to an end.
...
Because of the existence of the Spirit-Nourishing Pill, his Spirit Root was also steadily improving. Although it would take some time and accumulation before breaking through to the next stage, with the increase in talent, it would bring about corresponding effects all the same. Now, during his daily absorption of Qi, Chen Fan could clearly sense an increase in his spiritual energy affinity.
"Taking advantage of this period before things descend into complete chaos, I can bide my time to develop in secret, rapidly enhancing my cultivation, and then see if I can reap greater benefits when the time comes."
"Just today I obtained the usage rights to a shop, which allows me to covertly execute my plan."
"I actually broke through to a Second-Tier Alchemist (Intermediate Alchemist) long ago, but unfortunately I didn't dare expose it and couldn't acquire spirit herbs on a large scale. Now, with this shop as a cover, going on like this, my strength should be able to improve rapidly."
"I don't know how much longer this peace can hold, but it should still last a few years. Small though it may be, it still counts as a war between families."
"Ever since the four major families in the town turned chaotic, the entire town has become a mixed bag of dragon and fish. Right now the four families are trading blows, and the situation changes in the blink of an eye. Even if no massive commotions have broken out yet, who dares to say that tomorrow won't see them erupt into a full-scale fight because of a single fuse?"