Ever since Shen Hanyu returned home, Qin Yi and Shen Junhe officially entered retirement life, not inquiring about the brother and sister duo at all during the day. Except for occasionally bumping into them in the backyard and casually asking a couple of questions, they were otherwise off somewhere flirting and making love, who knows where.
Shen Hanyu was somewhat speechless about this but couldn't say much, so he could only cultivate while taking care of Shen Liuyu.
The medicinal effects of the millennium snow lotus were too powerful. Since Shen Liuyu, who wasn't even a soul master yet, couldn't absorb this energy, it was temporarily not absorbed.
But the Shen family never lacked medicinal materials or the like. After all, the family business was in medicinal herbs; it would be a joke if they didn't have some stockpiled.
Shen Liuyu had no complaints about this. She followed behind Shen Hanyu all day, calling "brother" this and "brother" that, showing every sign of becoming a little tail.
Shen Hanyu, who usually had little patience, was surprisingly calm and even somewhat enjoyed his sister's closeness, not finding it annoying at all.
As for the original world's development trajectory, it was roughly that Shen Liuyu would be sent to study at Tianshui Academy after breaking through to become a soul master, because Shen Junhe had indeed discussed this matter privately with Shen Hanyu.
Shen Hanyu had no objections to going to Tianshui Academy to study. It was an all-girls academy, so there was no worry about his sister being tricked by some yellow-haired guy; otherwise, he couldn't guarantee that the other party's entire family would still have their heads on their necks.
Moreover, as a formal member of Tianshui Academy's future battle team, Shen Liuyu naturally wouldn't have to worry about any harsh treatment. On the contrary, the education she received and the resources she could enjoy were the best.
.........
Although Shen Liuyu couldn't take the millennium snow lotus, Shen Hanyu still found another treasure, whale glue.
This was merely a seven-hundred-year whale glue, from the soul beast single-horned whale, and its market price was probably a few hundred gold soul coins.
In this era, humans' use of whale glue was limited to strengthening yang and increasing romantic interest. Naturally, they didn't know the true uses of whale glue. Although it was rare in quantity, at least it was traceable.
That very afternoon, Shen Hanyu brought his parents and Shen Liuyu into the family's secret room.
In the secret room.
Shen Junhe was using his soul power to refine this piece of whale glue. Qin Yi was sitting to the side with a look of doubt and belief, while Shen Liuyu was smelling the strange fragrance emitted as the whale glue was refined, almost unable to control her drool.
"Ayu, are you sure the whale glue is useful?"
Qin Yi still asked uneasily.
Shen Hanyu smiled and said:
"Mom, just rest assured. Would I pit my own sister? The effects of whale glue are no worse than some heavenly materials and earthly treasures. You'll know in a moment..."
Shen Junhe didn't participate in the conversation and continued to focus on refining the whale glue. He was an ice-attribute soul master, so refining whale glue was somewhat troublesome, but there was no fully trustworthy fire-attribute soul master in the family, so he had to do it himself, slowly grinding it down with his abundant soul power.
Finally, after Shen Junhe's continuous efforts, a lump of jelly-like whale glue, between liquid and solid, appeared in Shen Junhe's hand.
Shen Hanyu turned to look at Shen Liuyu and said extremely seriously:
"Ayu, the whale glue tastes disgusting the moment it enters your mouth. You must hold on and not spit it out. Trust your brother—the taste afterward is really good."
Shen Liuyu nodded repeatedly, her small hands clenched into little fists, her eyes full of determination.
But as the first bite of whale glue entered her mouth, the determined look on the little girl's face nearly crumbled.
If one had to describe it, her complexion was worse than when constipated...
Shen Hanyu was anxiously watching from the side and quickly said:
"Ayu, hold on. Chew a couple of times and swallow it directly."
Shen Liuyu shed two crystalline tears, forcibly chewing a few times, and then unexpectedly showed an expression of enjoyment, her face full of satisfaction.
Only then did Shen Hanyu breathe a sigh of relief, continuing to watch his sister switch constantly between expressions of disgust and enjoyment. This process lasted a full half hour.
By the time the last bite of whale glue was dealt with, hot steam suddenly rose from Shen Liuyu's body, as if she had been placed on a steamer.
Shen Hanyu stopped the two elders who were anxious to rush forward and quickly said:
"Dad, Mom, this is all normal. Just wait a moment."
Only then did Shen Junhe and Qin Yi slowly sit back down, their eyes full of worry.
After about an hour, a wave of soul power fluctuation came from Shen Liuyu's body, followed by a series of cracking sounds from her bones.
Shen Liuyu, who had fainted, slowly opened her eyes, looking somewhat bewildered at the scene before her.
Qin Yi and Shen Junhe immediately surrounded her and said:
"Ayu, how do you feel?"
Shen Liuyu rubbed her somewhat hazy eyes and said softly:
"I feel my body is hot and warm, pretty comfortable."
"And I think I've broken through to become a soul master."
Qin Yi and Shen Junhe's faces lit up with joy, and then they quickly asked:
"Ayu, is there anywhere uncomfortable? Don't hide even a little bit; tell Daddy and Mommy everything."
Shen Liuyu tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said:
"I'm still a bit sleepy and want to sleep a little more. Is that okay?"
As soon as these words came out, the three Shen Hanyu and the others looked at each other, then all burst into laughter.
Shen Hanyu scooped up the little girl in a princess carry, rubbed her cheek, and said:
"Sleep well today. Tomorrow, your brother will take you to hunt for a soul ring. Then our family's Ayu will thoroughly become a soul master."
Shen Liuyu nodded obediently, gently rubbing her little head against Shen Hanyu's chest, then slowly closed her eyes.
Qin Yi and Shen Junhe exchanged a glance, tacitly saying nothing, their gazes softening as they watched the backs of the brother and sister leaving...
.........
The Shen family's medicinal herb business was quite famous in the nearby region.
The main scope of operations was roughly ordinary medicinal herbs produced in the extreme north and those from nearby mountain forests. Due to the excellent geographical location, the Shen family's medicinal herb business had always been extremely profitable.
Frequently dealing in such business, the Shen family's warehouse naturally accumulated some relatively precious medicinal herbs, and there was even a five-thousand-year soul bone, placed in the innermost hidden compartment of the warehouse, considered the Shen family's only soul bone.
According to Qin Yi, this soul bone was something Shen Junhe had led a team to "pick up" by accident years ago while gathering herbs in a nearby soul beast forest.
It was impossible to determine which soul beast it came from, and the soul bone itself was somewhat damaged, not perfectly intact, but judging from the soul power fluctuations it emitted, it should be a leg bone from a rhinoceros-type soul beast, belonging to the strength-type soul bones.
Shen Hanyu had seen this soul bone, too, but he really had no interest in it. First, the soul bone's age was too low, and second, its quality was indeed mediocre.
After selecting some medicinal herbs in the warehouse, Shen Hanyu hurriedly left. It had to be said that the long-term storage of medicinal herbs made the place smell like a traditional Chinese medicine shop from his previous life, not necessarily good or bad, but at least somewhat pungent.
Based on his own judgment, Shen Hanyu directed two maidservants to help turn all these medicinal herbs into a medicinal bath. This medicinal bath recipe was something he had picked up from a small market in Tianbing City, and the effects were extremely good.
After handing the medicinal bath recipe to his parents and instructing them to have Shen Liuyu soak in it once every three days, Shen Hanyu also revealed that he possessed more than one soul bone.
Otherwise, he was really afraid that one day his parents might do something rash and give that five-thousand-year soul bone to him and his sister to absorb, which would truly be pitting the children.
Qin Yi and Shen Junhe held their usual attitude of shock toward this matter, but didn't inquire too much. The younger generations have their own fortunes; as elders, they could only provide help within their power, and the rest had to be relied on by themselves.