‘… System, assign Ancestor Bao Wuji to the Treasure Pavilion!’ Aotian mentally commanded, trembling with anticipation as he waited for the system’s response.

It was a gamble. He didn’t know if the ancestor would truly possess superior versions of the external elders’ abilities, or at least something remotely close to what he wanted.

Ding!

[Affiliation successful!]

[Name: Bao Wuji (Meaning: Limitless Treasure)

Position: Sect Ancestor (Treasure Pavilion)

Cultivation: 7th Level of Nascent Soul (3 Major Realms Above Host)

Position Skill: Equivalent Exchange.

Affiliation Skill: Storage Space.

Position Bonus: Treasure Radar (4 times a day)]

Aotian’s eyes widened, overcome with extreme joy.

‘Hell yeah! That’s it! Wonderful!’ He couldn’t hold back his mental celebration, and his body also trembled, unable to hide his excitement—earning a strange look from Rihai.

“What are you doing?” She asked, confused.

“Ahem!” Aotian coughed into his fist to compose himself.

Trying to change the subject, he made his best move.

“I just got really happy remembering that my woman is the most beautiful in the world!”

Rihai only rolled her eyes at that attempt.

“Do I look stupid to you?”

Well, it was his best move. He never said it was a good one.

…

While they waited for decent clothes, the avatars remained in the room. It wouldn’t be ideal if someone saw the powerful elders wandering the sect wearing tattered burlap robes.

Bao Wuji, the newly arrived ancestor, was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, calmly waiting.

That’s when the hall doors burst open, and a lively, carefree voice echoed through.

“Grandpa Bao! Your favorite grandson is here!”

It was Bao Hui, entering with a wide smile and confident strides.

Bao Wuji stayed seated and merely opened one eye slowly.

“You’re my only grandson…” He said, indifferent to Bao Hui’s words.

“Exactly! That’s why, without a doubt, I’m your favorite grandson!” Bao Hui replied, nodding, agreeing with himself.

Bao Wuji just shook his head at his grandson’s antics and closed his eyes again.

Seeing his grandfather treat him so indifferently, Bao Hui sighed helplessly. He had no choice but to play his trump card.

“Sigh… And I who wanted to give you this gift… But I guess grandpa doesn’t care…” He said sadly, pulling a storage pouch from his waist.

Before his hand could fully extend, the pouch had already vanished.

Suddenly, he felt a weight on his shoulders. It was his grandfather’s arm resting there with a smile.

“My favorite grandson, how could you say such a thing?! Grandpa has always been the best to you!”

Discreetly, Bao Wuji inspected the storage pouch and, upon seeing its contents, froze.

He made a claw with his hand and violently grabbed Bao Hui’s head, forcing him to bow.

“10 low-grade spirit stones?! That’s your idea of filial piety?! You stingy brat!” He shouted, his face full of rage.

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Grandpa, you’re gonna crack my head open!” Bao Hui clutched his grandfather’s hand, begging for mercy.

“Don’t worry, that’s exactly what I intend to do!” Bao Wuji smiled, furious.

“Wait! Wait! Grandpa! No, Ancestor! That’s already half of my savings! I was sincere! Please let me go!” Bao Hui pleaded bitterly.

Bao Wuji’s eye twitched fiercely.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator, in charge of the Treasure Pavilion of a Golden Core sect, claiming that 10 low-grade spirit stones were half his savings? He’d have to be dead to believe such nonsense.

Still, his gaze fell on Bao Hui again, noticing another storage pouch on his waist. Then, he smiled.

He released his grandson’s head and gently patted his shoulders.

“My child, why didn’t you say so earlier? Grandpa isn’t unreasonable. All you had to do was say it was half your possessions, and I’d understand your filial piety,” He said softly and gently.

But Bao Hui didn’t fall for it and stayed alert. He knew very well that this grandfather—who taught him everything about stinginess—had other plans.

“Look, as a little apology from Grandpa… Since you gave me half of what you have, I bet you picked the best part to offer me. So, how about we trade? After all, it’s half either way, so everything stays more or less balanced, and you end up with the best part.” Bao Wuji said, grinning like a sly fox.

“Wha—” Bao Hui was caught off guard.

Before he could react, he felt the pouch on his waist swapped for his grandfather’s.

“Wait, grandpa, that’s mine!” Bao Hui panicked and tried to persuade him, but it was useless.

“Don’t worry, my grandson. After all, I gave you back the other half of your belongings.” Bao Wuji smiled triumphantly.

But when he opened the pouch he had taken, he froze again.

There were only 5 low-grade spirit stones this time.

“Y-You!” Bao Wuji pointed a trembling finger at Bao Hui, seething with anger.

“Grandpa… The truth is I gave you more than half of what I had… I just didn’t want you to know how poor I am…” Bao Hui said, forcing a tear down his cheek, pretending to be regretful.

With a dark expression on Wuji’s face, an interesting scene unfolded once again.

A grandfather gripping his grandson’s head in a claw-like hand, shaking him back and forth, his face full of fury.

“Where did you hide it?!”

“I didn’t hide anything! That’s all I have!”

“Liar! Where is it?! Grandpa’s getting angry!”

“Alright, I’ll tell you! I donated it to the poor!”

“I’d be glad if, with your personality, you didn’t steal from them instead!”

“And who do you think I got that from?!”

“You dare say that to your grandfather, who’s known for his generosity?! Don’t answer that!”

…

While grandfather and grandson argued, the outer elder accompanying Bao Hui was drenched in cold sweat as he witnessed the scene. He chose to ignore them and continued distributing robes to the other elders.

Soon, all the avatars had received their new garments, including the ancestor, who—still irritated—finally let go of his ungrateful grandson so he could change clothes.

“Well, my dear elders, I shall take my leave first. I still haven’t dealt with the matters of the inner disciples. So, goodbye!” Bao Hui clasped one fist in the other hand in a martial salute, bidding farewell to everyone. His forehead still bore four red marks from his grandfather’s fingers.

Before the elders could respond, he swiftly grabbed the external elder who had accompanied him and hurried away.

The truth was that Bao Hui was fleeing from the stingy old man while he was still changing clothes.

Once they were far enough away, he sighed in relief.

“Phew! Good thing I prepared before meeting that old thief, or I would’ve been robbed in broad daylight.” He wiped the sweat from his forehead, relieved.

“Um… Elder Bao, wouldn’t it be better to treat your grandfather with more respect? After all, he is still a respectable Nascent Soul cultivator…” The outer elder tried to advise him cautiously.

“Ha! Respectable?! Look at the storage pouch he gave back to me! It’s empty! That old man, thinking he could trick me in the exchange, didn’t even spare the ten spirit stones!” Bao Hui grew more and more irritated as he spoke, showing the empty pouch to the elder.

The poor outer elder began to sweat coldly as he witnessed the legendary stinginess of the Bao family.

Of course, this Bao family didn’t even exist until a few minutes ago, but who could stop Aotian from inventing backgrounds for his avatars while having fun?

“All right, now give me back my pouch. I feel a bit itchy when I’m away from it. It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just… a side effect of my position, you know.” Bao Hui smiled gently at the elder, extending his hand.

But his eyes gleamed with intensity.

The outer elder, powerless, sighed and handed over the pouch Bao Hui had entrusted to him earlier.

With the pouch back in his hands, Bao Hui smiled and, full of satisfaction, began rubbing it against his face as if it were a long-lost lover.

That’s when a voice rang out behind him, making him freeze and his heart race.

“Very good, my dear grandson! You played quite well, I’m proud of you! But you miscalculated something…” Bao Wuji’s voice appeared out of nowhere, full of amusement.

Bao Hui turned slowly, powerless. He should’ve known… it had been way too easy.

“You still have a lot to learn from grandpa. Today, you forgot the most basic thing: your grandfather is a Nascent Soul cultivator. Obviously, I could sense what was inside the pouches you were carrying even before you arrived… and also in this little friend’s here.”

Bao Wuji smiled and pointed at the outer elder at the end of the sentence.

“That’s immoral, grandpa!” Bao Hui protested indignantly.

“Well, you were way too obvious. If you hadn’t been so greedy and hidden it so poorly, maybe I would’ve been fooled. But showing up here with only 15 low-grade spirit stones?! That’s just shameless.” Bao Wuji shook his head, amused and at the same time helpless in the face of his grandson’s stinginess—completely ignoring the fact that he had peeked into others’ storage pouches.

“As a lesson this time, grandpa will confiscate these little things. That way, you’ll learn not to be so stingy.” Stroking his beard, Bao Wuji snatched the pouch before Bao Hui could react and vanished from sight.

“AH! Damn stingy old man! Give me back my stuff!” Bao Hui screamed in despair, looking frantically in all directions. But his grandfather was already gone.

Powerless, he could only complain a bit more before continuing on his way, frustrated.

After a few minutes of walking, he discreetly looked around. Seeing no one, he ran to a tree trunk and grabbed another storage pouch.

“Heh! You’d never imagine I was pretending to trick you just to pretend to trick you… and in the end, actually trick you.” He chuckled softly like a sly fox, holding the pouch with a victorious smile.

“And you’d never imagine that I pretended to be tricked to pretend to be tricked, only to once again pretend to be tricked… and in the end, trick you.”

A voice suddenly rang out behind him. Before Bao Hui could react, the pouch vanished from his hands, without him even seeing the figure responsible.

“YOU DAMN OLD THIEFFFF!!!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep