Chapter 10 - The Grand Ancestral Worshipping Ceremony (2/2)
The clansmen could try their very best to express their gratitude to Ye Changxuan but their praises would only pale in comparison to what Ye Changxuan had contributed to the House of Ye.
“Uncle!” Ye Zhantian and the rest of his stations bowed.
In response, Ye Changxuan waved his hand in an act of dismissal and threw in a good, hearty laugh. “It’s been so long since I’d returned to Ye Castle, and nothing puts my heart more at ease than to see all of my old pals in the clan again. C’mon, there really isn’t any need for such formalities.”
“We little punks are just as glad to see you in the pink of health, Uncle,” Ye Zhantian replied, inevitably demoting himself and his Elders as “little punks” before his esteemed senior.
“Hello, Uncle!” Ye Zhanlong gave a big, toothy grin. “You wouldn’t happen to forget to bring a nice little gift for your nephew just because you had to rush through a long journey now, would you?”
Nobody else in the family would dare to speak to Ye Changxuan in such a casual manner but Ye Zhanlong had always been Ye Changxuan’s favorite.
“Ha, as if I’d ever forget about you!” Ye Changxuan laughed and tossed a silk-covered box to the man.
Ye Zhanlong opened it and a delectable aroma immediately rolled out from the unlidded box. His eyebrows quivered a little before an expression of jubilance took over him as soon as recognition set in. He closed the box and tucked it close to himself. “Thank you, Uncle.”
All Ye Moyang did was took a quick look at the content of the box and he was already seized by a jealous fury enough to spew blood out from his mouth. The gift that Ye Changxuan had so graciously tossed to Ye Zhanlong while the latter took it with complete ease was, in fact, the very same thing Ye Moyang had so laboriously bargained from the House of Yun: a single Chi Deposition Pill.
Ye Changxuan’s fondness for Ye Zhanlong was a well-known fact and had started since Ye Zhanlong was just a child. The old man had loved this nephew of his far more than his own son. No one else in the entire plaza would dare to ask for a gift from the elderly man at all.
“I’d prepared something for everyone actually. Soon I’ll have someone deliver them to all of you,” Ye Changxuan said casually. The rest of the crowd knew that the gifts they were getting could not possibly exceed the value of the one Ye Zhanlong was given but none of them had the guts to make a remark about it.
For a short while, the Elders engaged in a few more idle chattering with Ye Changxuan before they took their seats once more.
The celebration below the altar’s steps had already begun since the Former Chief’s arrival. There were lion-dances, dragon-dances, and joyful bursts of firecrackers; it was a vibrant, lively performance.
“I haven’t been back to Ye Castle for five years but if memory serves me well, I remembered it to appear a little bit less solemn than what I’m seeing now. Had the family been facing a threat of formidable enemies?” Ye Changxuan asked, eyeing the current Chief sitting by his side.
Ye Moyang’s lips curled. The show was finally nigh.
“Three years ago, Ye Chen was ambushed and his meridian channels were severed by the assailants during that incident,” Ye Zhantian replied a little somberly. “We were worried that the news would greatly disrupt your cultivation, Uncle, so we withheld the news from you.”
Suddenly, a huge explosion of untamed Pressure radiated from Ye Changxuan, no doubt triggered by an amalgamation of shock and fury. “Who are the perpetrators?!” The old man bellowed.
Ye Changxuan had inspected Ye Chen’s meridian channels with his own Celestial Chi five years ago. The boy had shown to be the most gifted among all of the younger cohorts and had exhibited a remarkably high chance of ever attaining the Ninth Stage. In other words, the future of the family lied squarely on Ye Chen’s shoulders. Hence, to have him ambushed and left in a state of being crippled was tantamount to leaving the entire Ye family crippled.
“We don’t know yet,” Ye Zhantian replied.
“Once this old man knows who those bastards are, they are going to be paid a visit!” Ye Changxuan said darkly. He looked at Ye Zhantian once more and asked, “So how is the child, Ye Chen, now?”
The Chief was about to answer when Ye Moyang interjected without invitation. “As you know, Ye Chen was rescued but left permanently crippled. So three years ago, the Chief issued an absolute ruling that the entire clan must put the welfare of Ye Chen’s body above everything else. Just like that, the entire clan had been focusing on gathering every Chi-amassing Pills they could trade in to help preserve and nourish the Chief’s son to the point that many of our businesses have gone bankrupt. This is the reason why Uncle’s being greeted by such somber state of the family.”
Hearing Ye Moyang’s tirade, a crossed expression instantly befell Ye Zhanlong, Ye Zhanxiong and the rest. This sly fox was trying to persuade the Former Chief into chastising Ye Zhantian!
“What was the other option? Leaving the kid in excruciating agony? Of course we can’t do that!” Ye Zhanlong rushed in to protest.
Ye Changxuan looked at Ye Moyang placidly and asked, “What would you do if this happened to you, while you were the House of Ye’s Chief?”
Upon hearing the old man, Ye Moyang could feel his heart skipping a beat. ‘Had the position of Chief been passed to me, the Ye clan would not have seen such pathetic state at all!’
“Why, I would never let my personal issue take precedence over the welfare of the entire clan!”
“This is the reason why I’d rejected the thought of passing the mantle to you, Ye Moyang,” Ye Changxuan replied serenely. “What defines personal matter, and what defines a family? What, indeed, is a clan? If a clan does not even care to offer a sanctuary to its members even when they needed it the most, then why even protect and hold onto a clan? If there was an outsider who dared to harm a single member from our family, the action we should take as a clan is, of course, to fight the enemies with all of our might and if need be, our lives. Should there be anyone in the clan who’s inflicted with a terrible disease, or wounded gravely, the Chief of the Ye family shall not hesitate to pour in every resource the family could muster to help the individual in need, even if it may cost the clan financially; for the Chief is the spine of the family, the head of the clan! I can assure you, even if Ye Zhantian had to resign for his deed, the next Chief we elect from the family would still be someone who understands the spirit of a clan!”
Ye Moyang’s face was flushed in scarlet, his lips quaking. He had wanted to rebut the Former Chief but no words escaped his throat.
Ye Chen’s eyes watered. He could hear their exchange from where he stood, and when he heard the words of his distant granduncle coming to his defense, a sentiment of respect and veneration rose within his chest. He reflected on the kindness his uncles, brothers, and cousins had shown him and rooted the word “clan” deeply in his mind.
“Our esteemed Former Chief and current Chief, before the proper worshipping ritual, the younger cohort would like to have a match for the selection of Successor Chief. Shall we begin now?” One of the clansmen standing by asked.
Ye Changxuan heaved a sigh. There was nothing he could do to help Ye Chen recover from his broken meridian channels by now, so all those hopes for the young man to be this clan’s successor had basically been dashed. The only thing he could do was to hope that there were other suitable leaders among the candidates; a leader who could ensure the survival of the Ye heritage long into the future. On the other hand, hearing the news that Ye Zhanxiong’s daughter, Ye Xuan, had passed the prestigious entrance exam of Emerald Cloud sect had given him some hope, too.
Ye Changxuan waved and said, “Let us begin.”