Two years quietly slipped by, and Shu Yang continued his steady accumulation of power and wealth. His family now had 15 acres of land, 5 more than two years earlier. This had significantly increased the family income. Even so, the family continued to live frugally, and it wouldn't be long before they could buy up more land.
He still hadn't reached the 1st-grade stage in martial arts, but thanks to the talent and bloodline power he had gotten from Tianxu's birth, his progress was a lot faster. He felt that he should be able to advance without a problem in a year or two.
"Husband, eat more," Qianyue said, plating some chicken for her husband.
Shu Yang smiled and continued eating with gusto. He had quite the appetite, but thankfully, the family could afford it.
He turned to look at his children and couldn't help but scrutinize them. He turned his attention to his youngest son, Tianxu, who was now two years old and very lively.
In his mind, through the Bloodline Tree, he could now feel some new information.
[Shu Tianxu]
[ Bloodline power: 1.07 (Mortal - Low) ]
[ Traits: Slight martial arts talent ]
Shu Yang had never stopped his habit of meditating and connecting to the Bloodline Tree. There was always something more to gain as he became more and more familiar with it.
Now, he could not only sense his own bloodline power and traits, but his children's as well.
'Only two years, but already a stronger bloodline power than a normal adult.'
A normal person without any special bloodline, and no experience in martial arts, only had the bloodline power of 1. But that wasn't something you had as a baby, only when you stopped growing would you reach the full extent of your inherited bloodline power.
The fact that Tianxu already surpassed that at 2 years old was quite amazing.
And as Tianxu and his other children's bloodline power grew over the past two years, so did Shu Yang's.
[ Bloodline power: 2.81 (Mortal - Low) ]
[ Traits: Slight martial arts talent, Clear mind ]
After everyone had eaten, Tianren took charge as the eldest son and cleared the table along with his siblings.
Shu Yang put his arm around his wife and smiled contentedly as he watched his obedient children doing their chores so harmoniously.
"I don't really think there is a need for the children to clean up every day," Qianyue said with a helpless smile, "Tianren is a boy after all, he shouldn't be doing housework."
"What nonsense is that? You have cooked us such a nice dinner; the least they can do is help their mother clean up. It doesn't matter if they are boys or girls, it's always good to help where you can."
Qianyue smiled and rolled her eyes, "Well, they all turned out so lovely and obedient, so I guess I won't say anything. But I feel a little useless."
"If you feel you have nothing to do, you should practice martial arts," Shu Yang said. It had been a long time since Qianyue had gone so long without getting pregnant, so now she had a lot of time and energy on her hands.
Shu Yang wanted to have as many children as possible, of course, but he couldn't bear to make his wife give birth once again; he was afraid her vitality would be completely drained.
Now, she was still only 27, young and lively; she shouldn't just spend her best year pregnant and tired.
Besides, five children took a lot of effort to raise. Shu Yang felt that he would rather not risk having a child if he couldn't guarantee he could spend enough time with them to make sure their character was developed right.
He really didn't want to have a good-for-nothing son who only caused the family trouble. The slight gain in bloodline power wouldn't be worth it. It was better to do the best job he could with the children he already had, and perhaps have some grandchildren early.
Besides, he and Qianyue were still young; they could have another child once Tianren and the others grew up a little and didn't need so much looking after.
"I'm thinking of taking the children to visit dad," Qianyue said, restlessly drumming her hands on her small stomach.
"Sure," Shu Yang said with a small smile, "But that doesn't stop you from training. You should take the opportunity to ask your dad for advice."
Qianyue pouted slightly and muttered, "I'm already a 3rd-grade martial artist now. What's the point of training more? It's not like I can reach the 2nd-grade."
Shu Yang sighed slightly. His wife had finally advanced last year thanks to his nagging over the years, but her talent really wasn't good enough.
'I would love for Qianyue to continue advancing alongside me, but some things are just impossible without talent. Besides, she really doesn't like training, maybe it's better to just forget it and spend the days happily and leisurely.'
"Uncle Zhuo!" Tianyue yelled happily and ran out of the kitchen.
"Zhangye is here?" Shu Yang asked curiously and got up to look.
At the door, he saw his friend holding his daughter, handing her a piece of candy with a doting smile.
"Sorry for barging in, I'm not disturbing, am I?" Zhangye asked with a smile.
"Never," Shu Yang said, inviting him inside.
Qianyue ran to make some tea for them.
After giving out some treats to the children, Zhangye sat down with Shu Yang and Qianyue.
"You look worried. Did something happen?" Shu Yang asked, noticing his friend's furrowed brows.
"It seems you haven't heard?" Zhangye asked.
"Heard what?" Qianyue asked worriedly.
"The Lu family…They were all found dead this morning," Zhangye said, looking grave.
"Dead!?" Qianyue exclaimed.
"What happened?" Shu Yang asked. He wasn't close to the Lu family, but he was somewhat familiar with almost every family in Baishu Village. Given that the Lu family were landowners just like him, he had come into contact with them a few times.
"It's being investigated, but everyone is saying it's murder," Zhangye let out a sigh. "It was apparently brutal; not even the young children were spared."
Both Shu Yang and Qianyue paled.
Shu Yang had never heard of anything like this happening in the Baishu Village before. There were disputes and fights, but things never got too far. If there was a serious dispute, the village chief would intervene and resolve the situation.
"To not even spare the children, this…Who could have done something like this? Why?" Shu Yang asked.
"Who knows," Zhangye sighed, "There are all kinds of rumors circulating, but we'll have to wait for the Chunsi Office to investigate before we have an answer. I know you like to keep to yourself, so I came as soon as I heard to warn you. It would be best to stay inside and keep the kids under watch for the time being."
"Yeah…Thank you, Zhangye. You should be careful, too," Shu Yang said. He couldn't help but glance worriedly at his children playing outside.
"Don't worry about me. I'm a 2nd-grade warrior now, after all. I'll stay here with my parents for the time being to make sure they're safe," Zhangye said.
Zhangye didn't stay long. After he left, Qianyue looked at Shu Yang with a worried expression.
"Don't worry, Qian'er," Shu Yang said, comforting her, "I'll keep a tight watch over the kids these days, until the culprit is caught."
"What if the murderer is strong?" Qianyue asked.
"I don't think he'd be too strong," Shu Yang said, "Don't forget that I'm a 2nd-grade warrior too. And I don't think someone with the talent to reach higher than that would risk getting executed just to plunder the wealth of a few poor farmers."
"That makes sense," Qianyue said, looking a little more at ease.
Even though Shu Yang said all that, he was still quite worried. From the details Zhangye had, this didn't seem like an ordinary robbery.
'It looks like my peaceful life might finally come to an end.'