The Nine Cauldrons

Teng Qingshan proceeded to say, “Mother, Father, it really is too early to be talking about this. At the moment, I do not wish to get married.”

“What kind of talk is this!?” Teng Yongfan’s eyebrows creased. He put down his chopsticks and rebuked, “Qingshan, there are three ways to be unfilial, but having no sons is the worst! Marriage is not something you can think about. It’s something you must do! You must not think about doing it for yourself. Instead, do it for me and your mother. We are waiting to hold a grandson in our arms!”

(TLN: It’s a quote from Mencius-孟子- that essentially means you had better get married)

The adjacent Teng Qingyu covered her mouth and snickered.

Teng Qingshan felt bitter in his heart.

Ancient times and modern times were completely different. However, even in contemporary society, people regarded having children with great importance, not to mention ancient society; during ancient times, passing on the family line was even more important than living! If Teng Qingshan were to say that he didn’t want to marry at all in his life, his father would most likely smack him with an iron spear!

“Brother Fan, in just a few days, Qingshan will become an adult. Why are you so worried?” Yuan Lan tugged on Teng Yongfan’s sleeve. “Didn’t you have your first child at 28 years old?”

“It’s precisely because I was so late that Qingshan should be early.” Teng Yongfan was a bit angry and found it hard to remain calm. “The earlier one marries, the earlier he can have a child!”

Having a child at 28 years old was considered by everyone as a late childbirth.

For example, Uncle Teng Yonglei was only slightly older than Teng Yongfan by two years. Yet, Teng Yonglei’s child, Teng Qinghao, was already 27. After the yearly sacrifice, he would be 28. Thus, he was older than Teng Qingshan by 12 years. Furthermore, Qinghao already had 3 children. How could this not make Teng Yongfan anxious?

After all, Yongfan himself had been late, so he naturally wanted his son to hurry and have a child.

“Father, this doesn’t mean that I won’t marry early,” Teng Qingshan immediately said. “I also didn’t say that I wouldn’t marry at all. I just don’t want to rush into my marriage.”

His previous life was his previous life while his current life was his current life.

During these few years in Teng Jia Village, Teng Qingshan had been surrounded by warmth and love. He was no longer the cold killer from his previous life. He also did not want to not marry during this life because of the events in his previous life. For his parents’ sake, he conceded to their wishes and would eventually marry a wife. However, there was no way that Teng Qingshan would marry someone solely based off of appearances. It would be absolutely impossible for this to happen.

“Father, the person that I marry has to suit my tastes,” Teng Qingshan jokingly laughed.

“Alright.” Teng Yongfan was finally slightly more relieved.

“Qingshan, how many wives do you plan on marrying?” Teng Yongfan subsequently said.

“Pffff.” Teng Qingyu, who had been eating rice, proceeded to spit it all out. She glared at her father and resentfully said, “Dad, you and most of your brothers only married one person. Why are you mentioning this?”

Qingshan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“You are still a child. What do you understand?” Teng Yongfan straightened his face and said, “Look at your grandfather; he has three wives. Your third uncle, who lives in the west, has two wives. If a man has power, he must marry more wives. If you go to the city, you will find that the large merchants have a plethora of wives.”

Teng Qingshan covered his head with his hands.

What a headache!

If it weren’t for the memories from his previous life, he would get used to this custom. However, Teng Qingshan really isn’t used to this.

Teng Qingshan also knew about these merchants. They each had a regular wife, a second wife, and a profusion of concubines. Thus, they also had a large amount of children. On the other hand, in a normal village, because people were unable to sustain and support many people, they would naturally only marry one wife. If they had a bit of power, marrying two or three women was quite common.

“Brother Fan, why don’t you marry another one?” Mother Yuan Lan, who was beside, looked at Teng Yongfan.

Teng Yongfan laughed. “Lan (TL: colloquial/nickname for Yuan Lan), having you is enough for me.” As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed Yuan Lan’s hand. “However, Qingshan is more powerful than me, so he should marry more wives. A man’s courage and the amount of children he has is indicative of a man’s strength! The more children one has, the easier it will be to pass on family property in the future.”

“Father!” Teng Qingshan hesitated but decided to reveal this matter first.

“What? Are you unhappy about this?” Teng Yongfan proceeded to ask Teng Qingshan.

“No, I have something that I must tell you.” Teng Qingshan said a slightly serious tone.

“Speak.” Teng Yongfan also adopted the attitude of an attentive listener.

“Father, when I fought with the Iron Mountain Gang’s Second Leader two years ago, you already knew that I had the strength of 10,000 jin. My strength has increased in comparison to the past. According to external world, I should be considered a First Rate Warrior.”

“Correct.” Teng Yongfan and Yuan Lan carefully listened to their son’s narrative.

Teng Qingshan said, “I feel that the fighting between the White Horse Gang and the Iron Mountain gang is getting increasingly fierce, but I also reckon that it will end soon. Thus, I think that once there is a winner, Yi City becomes more peaceful, and when Teng Jia Village recovers its tranquility, I will join the Gui Yuan Sect!”

“Leave the Teng Jia Village?” The adjacent Teng Qingyu cried out

In contrast, Teng Yongfan and Yuan Lan didn’t even show the slightest surprise. The two of them looked at each other.

When Teng Qingshan was born in this world, he had the thought of roaming the land underneath the heavens and seeking the opinions of various experts. Otherwise, why would he spend every day constantly training bitterly? If Teng Qingshan were to stay holed up in Teng Jia Village for the rest of his life, there was no way that he would be able to bear it.

“Qingshan.” Teng Yongfan smiled as he patted Teng Qingshan’s shoulder. “Actually, your mother and I already knew that you would bring up this topic one day.”

“When you were six...” Teng Yongfan laughed, “At that time, your grandfather and the others strongly advocated that you enter the Gui Yuan Sect. They even went to the extent of locking you in the firewood room to force you! However, at that time, you didn’t want to leave... honestly, your mother and I knew that we would not be able to keep a genius son like you in our village for a long time.”

The adjacent Yuan Lan also laughed. “Qingshan, I, your mother, is very happy. A man’s aspiration was to travel and make his mark. Of all the famous Yi City powerful men, which of them doesn’t want to travel the land under the heavens and create a name for themselves?”

“Mother.” Yet, Teng Qinshang noticed that his mom’s eyes were red.

“Qingshan, with your strength, you should have no problem entering Qing Hu Island. You probably know that Qing Hu Island is one of the nine continents’ eight largest sects. It’s much stronger than the Gui Yuan Sect,” Teng Yongfan said.

Underneath the heavens in the nine continents, Qing Hu Island really was Yang Prefecture’s number one sect. Furthermore, it was one of the nine continents’ eight large sects.

On the other hand, although the combined Gui Yuan Sect and Tie Yi Hall was considered the second strongest school in the Yang Prefecture, in the entire nine prefectures, it would rank in the tens (TLN: as in 10, 20 30, 40).

“Father.” Teng Qingshan laughed. “When all’s said and done, the Gui Yuan Sect controls our Jiangning region. Once I enter the Gui Yuan sect, I will still live in the Jiangning region. Moreover, I will be able to frequently return and visit you! With my First Rate martial strength, entering the Guiyuan Sect shouldn’t be too difficult. When the time comes, I can further help out the Teng Village.”

Teng Yongfan’s eyes lit up as he patted Teng Qingshan’s shoulder. “You are definitely worthy of being called my child!”

“Mhm, Qingshan, if you were to return once a year to see your mother, I would be extremely happy.” Yuan Lan’s eyes were red. “As for the rest of the year, you must work hard. Your own affairs are even more important than ours.”

“Father, mother, I still haven’t left. If I don’t wait for the chaos in Yi City to subside, I won’t be able to go to Gui Yuan Sect without worry,” Teng Qingshan said.

“Very well.” Teng Yongfan nodded his head and subsequently turned towards his wife. “Ah Lan, since Qingshan has decided to enter the Gui Yuan Sect, then ... you shouldn’t agree to those matchmaking affairs. Our son’s future accomplishments are not things that the three chiefs of Iron Mountain Gang or White Horse Gang’s Master Hong Si can even dream of doing. The person whom he marries in the future will be a young lady of an influential family who has the accomplishments of a well-educated person.”

Teng Qingshan couldn’t help but laugh.

He understood the Teng Jia Village villagers’ ways of thinking. In their opinion, if he were able to marry an accomplished young lady from an influential family, he would bring honor to the village and his ancestors.

The information of Teng Qingshan’s intent to leave Teng Jia Village was not spread, and only a few clan elders knew about it. They were all in favor of Teng Qingshan’s decision.

A man’s aspiration was to travel and make his mark!

Only those who had power could freely wander the world.

At the same time, they felt excited that Teng Qingshan was not entering Qing Hu Island and instead was joining the Gui Yuan Sect. Once Teng Qingshan became an influential figure in the Gui Yuan Sect, Teng Jia Village could bask in his light.

......

A few days later, it was the 30th day of the 12 lunar month, which happened to be the day of the yearly sacrifice.

On this day, Teng Jia Village was extremely lively. Everyone in the village was gathered together to feast and drink, and a feeling of joy was everywhere. As night fell, Teng Jia Village had a group of youth who were about to officially step into adulthood. This group happened to include Teng Qingshan.

During the evening, the light from surrounding torches lit up the training field. A plethora of clansmen sat around the tables while eating and drinking.

“Qingshan! Congratulations on becoming an adult! In the future, you can marry a wife and have kids, haha... come, let us have a toast as brothers!” Teng Qinghao lifted his large cup and walked over. Teng Qingshan also laughed as he lifted his large cup. “Come, drink!” The two bumped cups and proceeded to raise their heads and down the contents of the cups in one swig.

“Fellow brothers.” An adjacent sturdy man wearing a black leather jacket looked at Teng Qingshan and the others. He laughed and said, “I must inform everyone of something.”

“Qinghu, what’s the happy occasion?” The various Teng clan youths all looked at Teng Qinghu.

Teng Qinghu laughed. “If nothing unexpected happens, I am going to get married next year.”

“Qinghu, you brat, it’s a good thing I pressured you early. You are finally getting married now.” Teng Qinghao couldn’t help but tease him. After all, following this yearly sacrifice, Teng Qinghu would already be 22 years old. Almost every 22 year old male in Teng Jia Village had already gotten married.

“Cousin.”

Teng Qingshan grabbed Teng Qinghu’s arm and dragged him to one side. In a low voice, Teng Qingshan whispered, “Cousin, what are you thinking? Didn’t you say that you would wait until the turmoil in Yi City was pacified before coming with me to the Gui Yuan sect? Why are you suddenly getting married?”

“Qingshan.” Teng Qing Hu laughed. “This man right here obviously wants to wander the world. However, marrying a wife before entering the Gui Yuan Sect shouldn’t be an issue. In any case, once I establish myself in the Gui Yuan Sect, I can bring my wife over! The reason why I did not marry in the past was because I never found someone who suited my tastes. But this person... Qingshan, I fell in love at first sight!”