chapter 9 I vouch for him

"Sister Zariah, this..."Archie became speechless. "What do you mean by this? This item is not from me, it is given by the family for the year." Zariah said as she placed the Immortal Spirit Grass into Archie's hand. "All the more, I cannot take! Have you forgotten? I still owe you two Immortal Spirit Grass from before!" Archie rejected Zariah's gift, instead, taking out an Immortal Spirit Grass from his inventory pocket as he spoke. "Brother Archie, why have you not refined this Immortal Spirit Grass?" Looking at the complete Immortal Spirit Grass in Archie's hand, Zariah was confident that this was the Immortal Spirit Grass that she had given to him. "Well, I have already broken through to the next cultivation stage, hence I will not require it for the time being. This is now a great time to return what I owe you." "No, that will not do. How can I take anything from you? These are all yours, please keep them quickly." "Sister Zariah, I promised to return you two stalks, therefore, I will return you two stalks of Immortal Spirit Grass. Did you not also agree to this deal from the beginning? Now, your rejection of this repayment is putting me in a difficult spot." "But you did not even use the Immortal Spirit Grass I gave you! Instead, you are giving me yours! In doing this, will it not seem as though I am taking advantage of you?" "Sister Zariah, I accept your sincerity. In the entire Christopher Family, besides Father and Elder Brother, you are the one who treats me the best. Why don't you just think of this gesture as my filial piety towards you?" Archie spoke from the bottom of his heart. While everyone within the Christopher Family was ostracizing him, he was truly touched that Zariah treated him well. Sensing Archie's determination and insistence, Zariah hung her head in shame and whispered, "Brother Archie, you are making me feel really ashamed of myself. Truth be told... this Immortal Spirit Grass was not gifted by me but by Lincoln. He asked me to gift it to you on his behalf." "My Elder Brother?" Archie exclaimed in surprise, feeling stunned. Lincoln Christopher is Maddox Christopher's biological son and Archie's Elder Brother. He was now practicing his cultivation under the number one Sect of the Greenca State, the "Lynx Sect ". He was only seventeen years old but had already reached Spiritual Martial Sixth Level. Indeed, he was destined to be the leader amongst the younger generation of the Christopher Family. Although Lincoln knew that Archie was not Maddox's biological child, he treated Archie as his biological brother and was one of the individuals that Archie respected the most. "He was afraid that you would be burdened by his gift, so he specifically told me not to let you know that this Immortal Spirit Grass was from him, but now, I have to let you know of the truth," Zariah's face turned red in guilt as she held her head low, showing her extreme sense of shame. "Sister Zariah, even so, I still want to thank you. Regardless of whether this Immortal Spirit Grass is coming from you or not, the care and concern that you have had for me all these years, I can feel that you genuinely cared for me. As I have previously stated, regarding these two Immortal Spirit Grasses... I would have to insist that you accept it. Just take it as a gift of filial piety from your brother who respects you,” Archie said. "Besides, you are about to break through to Spiritual Martial Fifth Level. This Immortal Spirit Grass is more imperative for you, so please don't reject it," Archie continued, placing the Immortal Spirit Grass into Zariah's hands resolutely. "In that case, I shall accept it, but only as a loan from you. I will also only borrow one stalk because I can only afford to return one stalk," Zariah replied while gritting her teeth, taking a single stalk of Immortal Spirit Grass from Archie upon his insistence. Truth be told, as Archie mentioned, Zariah was about to break into Spiritual Martial Fifth Level. This was a critical period for her, and the Immortal Spirit Grass was indeed paramount for her breakthrough. "Great," Archie exclaimed, a beaming smile forming on his face. "Oh, by the way, Brother Archie, Elder Brother Lincoln also has a letter that he wants me to pass to you," Zariah replied while taking out a sealed envelope from her waist pocket. Upon receiving the letter, Archie felt a wave of emotions gushing through his heart. He had not returned to the Christopher Family for five years and had since not seen his Elder Brother nor his Father. Five years had passed, but the guilt from his failure and the feeling of immense shame had prevented Archie from going to see them. However, during these past five years, his Elder Brother and father had periodically sent him letters, almost at least every month. Their persistence evidently displayed how dearly they had missed Archie. "Okay, keep the letter now and read it later when you have time. Quick, follow me! Today is a big day," Zariah grabbed Archie's arm, leading him towards the Christopher Family Mansion. As they were approaching closer to the Mansion, Archie furrowed his eyebrows slightly. He began to hear many familiar voices coming from within the mansion, voices of all the people that he did not like. Sure enough, when the doors of the mansion opened, thirty-two figures were stood along the hallways. Most were familiar faces, and almost every single Christopher Family member who was practicing their cultivation in the Green Dragon Sect was present. As for the few foreign faces present, Archie could also deduce their origins. They must be members of the Christopher Alliance. "Everyone, look! Look who is here," Zariah exclaimed happily. However, when everyone directed their gazes over, all Archie could feel were piercing gazes of disdain and disgust. "Oh dear, and here I was thinking who this person is... Is it not the great unsung hero of our Christopher family," A young man proclaimed sarcastically while walking towards Archie. The person who spoke was Warren Christopher, Israel Christopher's Elder Brother. Warren had joined the Green Dragon Sect around the same time as Zariah and was now also at Spiritual Martial Fourth Level. "Archie, you have done our family meritorious service, were you aware," Warren continued in disdain while pointing an accusatory finger at Archie, his gaze full of contempt. "Warren, what are you talking about? Today is a happy day, you better not sprout any nonsense," Zariah jumped in quickly. "What is wrong, Zariah? He has done our family meritorious service, and yet you will not let me speak about it," Warren shot a glance over to Zariah's direction before returning his gaze focused on Archie, "Archie, are you not aware that you have done our family meritorious service? You have made a damn freaking great contribution," Warren lashed out. "You have remained as an Outer Disciple of Green Dragon Sect for five damn bloody years! You have completely embarrassed the Christopher Family! How dare you still have the nerve to attend the Christopher Alliance gathering? How thick-skinned are you," Warren continued in furry. "Shut up Warren," Zariah snapped back angrily. She was starting to fume in anger, but before she could continue or explode in anger, Archie held firmly onto her. Archie's expression did not change. Still wearing a smile on his face, he replied with a chuckle, "You are overthinking. I am not interested in your gathering at all. Today, I am here to collect some debt!" "Collect debt? What debt," Warren replied, surprised. His expression darkened in an instant. "It really is funny. A person who was adopted by the Christopher Family actually dares to come and collect debt from the hand that feeds him. Do you not know who has been providing for you all these years," Warren exclaimed. "Precisely, what an unscrupulous person," members of the Christopher Family started chiming in at the same time, beginning to criticize Archie Chu. Regardless, Archie ignored everyone's criticisms as he walked further into the hall, proclaiming, "A few days ago, someone made a bet with me, betting that I would not be able to pass the inner sect examination. This individual also stated that if I were to lose, this person would gift to me the Immortal Spirit Grass subsidized by the family this year." "Israel, you have not forgotten about this bet, have you," Archie stopped in front of Israel. Israel was sitting on the chair, chewing fruit in his mouth. However, at this moment, the corners of his mouth started twitching, and his expression darkened. Of course, Israel had not forgotten about the sequence of events that transpired that day. It was precisely because he was afraid that Archie would mention this matter, therefore he was staying quietly in a corner. Otherwise, given his character, he would have already long ago intentionally created trouble for Archie. "Archie, you must be able to provide evidence for your accusations," a young man next to Israel broke the awkward silence. Of the people present, most were around the same age as Archie, but the person who spoke looked evidently younger. This person was Gregory Christopher. "Elder Brother Gregory is right. Since you are insinuating that Israel made a bet with you, you will have to provide evidence of the bet, otherwise, it can be counted that you are slandering him," Warren retaliated furiously. As Israel's brother, Warren was the first to jump in to retaliate against Archie's claim. "That is right, produce the evidence, otherwise you will not be able to leave that easily," After Warren's retaliation, almost every single member of the Christopher family in the hall started hauling their furry toward Archie. Even members of the Christopher Alliance started voicing their displeasure towards Archie's claim. Although they were not of the Christopher family, they could still deduce that Archie's status in the Christopher Family was very low. When even his own family members looked down on him, these people from the Christopher Alliance also naturally started looking down on Archie as well. "I can testify for Brother Archie," Zariah, who had stayed silent, suddenly spoke.