Chapter 33 - Blood Oath (2/2)
“I’ll gladly take my leave, but not before I make an important announcement: From now on, the House of Ye will cede and yield control over the mining mountain to the House of Yun!” Yun Yixuan snapped spitefully. “After all, it is the very least compensation your pathetic family can cough up for murdering our people. If any of you are triggered by that, by all means, I implore you to try to reclaim it back!”
Even if the Yun’s could not wage an all-out war against the Ye’s at this very juncture, Yun Laoliu’s death had provided a legitimate reason to finally wedge control over the House of Ye’s mining mountain.
Upon hearing his words, the crowd instantly exploded into an apoplectic uproar.
“You Yuns are beyond the pale!!”
The crowd was smoldered in anger. Only a ruffian would forcefully claim someone else’s possession like that openly!
Suddenly, the mood in the hall had changed. Anger was sparked within the crowd before, quickly reaching a fever pitch. The only anchor to their clenched fists was that the consent from the Chief himself had yet to be spoken.
Sensing the sudden belligerence radiating from every pair of eyes surrounding them, as if the crowd was about to lynch them at any time. Yan Yin, Qin Yu, and the Lords could only grimace while they cursed in their mind as their body tensed in high alert.
If the Ye clansmen attacked right there and then, the Lords knew that they, too, would be their targets!
Veins were popping out from Ye Zhantian’s arms as his blood boiled. Were this to happen in the past, he would have jumped at the chance to tear these interlopers into pieces, even if it might cost him death!
However, times were different now. He had to protect the promising future of the Ye Clan, and to do so, he must swallow the bitterness of being scorned. This was simply not the time. Maybe after a few months, the House of Ye would finally be strong enough to look House of Yun in the eyes and fight them on equal levels.
For the future of his people, to ensure that that vision would be fulfilled, right now… Ye Zhantian could only endure this burning, agonizing humiliation, and swallow his own blazing lividity!
Ye Zhantian gritted his teeth as he enunciated every syllable of his words, “We’ll bring the House of Yun to justice… after the Grand Martial Tournament!”
Standing close to Ye Zhantian, Ye Chen could feel the pain his father had just endured. His father had just endured what was tantamount to a direct slap to his face, all for the future of the Ye clan.
All of these had happened because of his actions! The young man turned to Yun Yixuan and clenched his fist. At this moment, he hated himself for being too weak to fight the wretch before him!
Yan Yin and the rest had already broken into a cold sweat. Had Ye Zhantian commanded his clansmen to attack, even a band of five Ninth Stage fighters like themselves may not be able to leave Ye Castle alive!
Yun Yixuan did not let on that he had planned to make that incendiary announcement! If they knew that he would be provoking the ire of the House of Ye, none of them would have joined Yun Yixuan had all!
Secretly, they were starting to be fed up with the Yuns’ antics. It was only a bold stroke of luck that Ye Zhantian had not decided to kill them right there and then!
“Hahahah! I can’t believe that you’ve become such a milquetoast, Ye Zhantian! In fact, are all of you cowardly Ye clansmen secretly eunuchs? I dare any of you to grow a pair right now and try touching a single hair of mine while I, Yun Yixuan, walk out of this door!” Yun Yixuan threw a flagrant laugh and strolled out of the door.
‘Why you bastard—!’
The Ye clansmen were seething with lividity, their limbs itching to jump on him and tear every part of the man’s body out. Yet, the Chief had not issued a consenting command and so, they could only watch as Yun Yixuan left the hall; their eyes hungered for vengeance while pangs of humiliation stung their chest.
“Brother Zhantian, we shall leave now!” Yan Yin and Lords were quick to take their leave following Yun Yixuan. They could not believe that Yun Yixuan still had the audacity to affront the House of Ye despite the crowd’s mood!
Soon, their silhouettes vanished from sight.
Abruptly, a loud crash echoed through the hall as one of the Ye clansmen smacked his head onto the ground, kneeling. “Chief, please let us exact vengeance for that humiliation!!”
“Former Chief, Chief… Please let us kill Yun Yixuan and his people! We’re not important after all, so our deaths would not be much of loss. But if I can make even a single dent on the House of Yun, then I’ll strike with my life!”
“The mining mountain has belonged to the Ye for centuries, bequeathed to us by our ancestors, and should continue to be bequeathed to our grandchildren! We can’t give up our children and grandchildren’s birthright without a fight. So please, Former Chief, Chief, take us with you and reclaim what’s rightfully ours!”
The hall was instantly filled with a sea of kneeling clansmen.
The Ye family had always been strict with rules. Without the Chief or the Former Chief’s permission, none of the clansmen would dare to take matters into their own hands. Yet, at this very moment, they were filled with so much anger and grief that they became supplicants prostrating on the floor.
“I, Ye Zhankuang of the Ye clan, swear an oath with my blood that I’ll fight the House of Yun with every breath, and die with no regrets!” One of the clansmen, Ye Zhankuang, gave out a loud cry before pulling out a sharp dagger and drawing a long cut on his arm. Blood gushed out of the wound in an instant.
Every soldier in the Xiwu Empire knew this ritual. It was usually performed before a major war against powerful hostile forces. Yet today, such a drastic ritual had occurred right in the hall of Ye Castle.
“I, Ye Zhanying, swear an oath with my blood that I’ll fight and die with no regrets!”
“I, too, swear an oath with my blood that I’ll fight and die with no regrets!”
Sixty or seventy clansmen followed suit. The hall was instantly drenched with saccharine liquid.
“Please, Chief, we beg you!” the crowd cried out in grief, kowtowing. Their tears were mingled with the pool of blood of their own making. Some even started to weep openly.
Ye Changxuan, Ye Zhantian and the rest of the upper-echelon were pained at the sight, as their tears rolled in their eyes. They, too, wanted to jump onto the House of Yun and let the Yuns know the pain they were feeling right now!
However, discretion was simply the better part of valor. It would always be harder to endure humiliation, even if it would ultimately serve their cause. Acting out in the heat of the moment, no matter how justified the sentiments, was simply detrimental or even damning to the survival of the clan! When everyone had perished and were meeting their ancestors, how would the upper-echelon even excuse themselves of their failure to protect the clan from extinction?
Ye Chen, who had been taking in the entire event at a side, was already bursting into quiet tears. His soul may have originated from another world, but it was only right here where he had learned about the epitome of kinship. The true meaning of blood being thicker than water and what it means to share his kins’ burden and pain… as one!