Chapter 104
The Hu Family.
On the day of the ancestral worship ceremony, the sky was clear and bright, a gentle breeze drifting through the estate.
Members of the Hu family had already gathered inside the ancestral hall.
At the very front stood the Hu Family Head alongside several elders. Behind them were the family matriarch and the two Hu sisters, while the rest of the clan lined up according to the standing of their respective branches.
Disguised as a frail youth from a minor branch family, Qi Qingxiong naturally found himself near the very back of the crowd.
He lifted his head, only to be greeted by an endless sea of dark-haired figures stretching all the way to the front.
"Little brother, stop looking around."
A nervous voice sounded beside him.
Before Qi Qingxiong could react, a large hand descended onto his head and firmly pushed it back down.
His scalp nearly went numb.
Suppressing the urge to fight back, he forced a grateful smile onto his face.
"Thank you for the reminder, Brother."
"We're family. No need to be so polite."
The elder brother nodded approvingly before giving him several hearty pats on the back.
Each one landed with enough force to make Qi Qingxiong suspect his internal organs had shifted slightly.
"If you start feeling unwell, tell me immediately, understand?"
Qi Qingxiong's expression twitched.
"...I'm fine."
At this point, he was beginning to suspect the original owner's illness had never recovered precisely because of this man's enthusiastic care.
The elder brother, completely oblivious, basked in what he believed was another touching display of sibling affection.
Lowering his voice, he reminded him, "It's almost Chen Hour. Stay alert and don't make any mistakes."
Taking advantage of the final moments before the ceremony officially began, Qi Qingxiong asked casually, "I heard the major powers of Baiyan City came to offer their congratulations. Do you know when they'll arrive?"
"They're probably already waiting in the reception hall," the elder brother replied. "Once the Family Head announces the successor, servants will escort them over."
Qi Qingxiong nodded thoughtfully.
Just then, the deep toll of the ceremonial bell rang through the ancestral hall.
Golden sunlight poured across the eastern sky as the deep toll echoed through the ancestral hall.
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Conversations ceased.
Movements stopped.
The entire hall fell silent.
Well-almost everyone.
One person remained exceptionally active.
Standing atop the stone steps, the Hu Family Head spread his arms and began speaking in a voice that resonated throughout the hall.
"The Hu family was founded by our honored ancestor and has endured for more than three hundred years. As the sixteenth patriarch, I, Hu, swear to carry forward the family's glory..."
Qi Qingxiong immediately felt a headache coming on.
At the same time, atop a watchtower overlooking the ancestral hall, two figures quietly peered out from behind the railing.
Lou Yuqing and Ling Yunxiao exchanged a look.
Neither spoke for a moment.
Finally, Lou Yuqing asked the question both of them were thinking.
"How long is this going to take?"
"At least an hour."
Ling Yunxiao answered with the calm certainty of a man speaking from painful experience.
"Among the ten sects I joined, every competition began with the elders giving speeches. Long speeches. Very long speeches."
Lou Yuqing fell silent.
For the first time in a long while, she found herself missing Sect Leader Qingxu.
Whatever his flaws, the man never wasted words.
Neither of them knew that outsiders had already infiltrated the tower.
The Hu family disciples normally stationed there had all been summoned away for the ancestral worship ceremony, leaving the watchtower completely unguarded and allowing Lou Yuqing and Ling Yunxiao to slip inside without attracting the slightest attention.
In truth, the two had considered sneaking into the Hu residence and harvesting points ahead of time two days earlier.
After thinking it over, however, they abandoned the idea.
Hu Ruoyan's subordinates had been disappearing one after another. There was no way she hadn't noticed.
If she gathered everyone under her command into one place, finding them would become far more troublesome.
That was why today was the perfect opportunity.
With Hu Ruoyan tied down by the ancestral worship ceremony and the estate's attention focused elsewhere, the two exchanged a glance. The same knowing smile appeared in both their eyes.
Ying Ling had already identified the targets and their locations from within the Hu family.
All they had to do now was follow the list.
Easy points.
Lou Yuqing lowered her gaze toward the shadowy figure squatting miserably in the corner.
"Ying Ling. Lead the way."
The Shadow Spirit, who had been crouching there like a mushroom growing in the shade, immediately sprang to life.
"I know where everyone is!" His eyes lit up with excitement. "Follow me!"
Under his guidance, the two cultivators and one spirit slipped silently from the tower and made their way deeper into the estate.
The journey went surprisingly smoothly.
Before long, they arrived outside a secluded courtyard.
Lou Yuqing glanced around, a hint of surprise flickering across her face.
Although it couldn't compare to Hu Ruofeng's residence, every detail spoke of quiet luxury.
Ling Yunxiao took one look and said, "This is Hu Ruoyan's courtyard."
"Then that explains it."
No sooner had the words left her mouth than Ling Yunxiao strode forward and casually smashed the courtyard gate apart.
Bang!
The sound echoed through the courtyard.
Inside, two servant girls had been watering flowers. Both startled violently and immediately turned toward the intruders, hostility flashing across their faces.
"How dare you trespass into the young lady's residence!"
Lou Yuqing grinned like a bandit blocking a mountain road.
"Well, we're already inside. Why not surrender now and save yourselves some suffering later?"
"Keep dreaming, thieves!" one maid snapped back immediately.
The other, however, suddenly noticed Ying Ling standing behind them.
Her expression changed at once.
Grabbing her companion's sleeve, she said grimly, "Ying Ling is with them."
The first maid froze for a moment before outrage exploded across her face.
"Ying Ling!" She pointed at him accusingly. "You betrayed the young mistress and brought wolves into the house!"
Her eyes blazed with fury. "The young mistress won't let you get away with this!"
Ying Ling merely snorted. "That woman is far too busy to settle scores with me right now."
Then his expression turned particularly smug.
"Besides, I've already run away."
He folded his arms and puffed out his chest.
"And who said I'm afraid of dying? If the two of you come with me to the Yellow Springs, at least I won't have to travel alone."
The maids' expressions changed instantly.
Snow-white lotus flowers appeared in their palms.
But before either maid could make a move, thunder exploded across the courtyard.
A bolt of lightning flashed past, striking the lotus flowers in their hands and reducing them to ashes on the spot. Crackling arcs of electricity raced up their arms and spread through their bodies.
Thud.
Thud.
The pair collapsed one after another, twitching slightly as they hit the ground.
The entire exchange ended so quickly they never even had the chance to fight back.
Lou Yuqing blinked.
"They're already down?"
She walked over and checked the two maids herself. After a careful inspection, she found no sign that they were pretending.
Ling Yunxiao considered it for a moment before saying, "The spirit race was never known for physical strength. These two are even weaker than average. Hu Ruoyan probably left them here to watch the courtyard."
"That explains it." Lou Yuqing nodded in understanding. "Compared to Ying Ling, they're definitely much weaker. No wonder they only know how to hide in the shadows and ambush people."
Ying Ling: "..."
For a moment, he felt as though he'd been praised. Yet somehow, he couldn't bring himself to smile.
A faint laugh escaped Ling Yunxiao.
"According to our agreement, these two count as yours. From here on, we'll compete fairly."
Lou Yuqing's eyes immediately lit up.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony."
She happily headed toward her newly acquired "points," only to stop abruptly after taking a few steps.
Ling Yunxiao appeared beside her almost instantly.
"What happened?"
His gaze sharpened as it swept toward the unconscious maids.
Even the two unconscious Snow Lotus spirits seemed to instinctively shiver under that stare.
"There's a problem!" Lou Yuqing exclaimed.
Ling Yunxiao's expression grew even colder.
Ying Ling, standing nearby, immediately started trembling as well.
Then Lou Yuqing continued, "My points went up by two thousand!"
Ling Yunxiao paused.
...That was the problem?
"I didn't kill them for the Snow Lotus," Lou Yuqing said suspiciously. "So why did I still get points? What if the system decides to take them back later?"
Understanding immediately dawned on him.
"The objective of this small world is to find the Snow Lotus, not necessarily kill it."
He glanced at the two unconscious spirits.
"As long as we identify them and successfully subdue them, it should count as completing the objective. Old Ji was different because we didn't know he was a Snow Lotus spirit beforehand."
Realization immediately struck Lou Yuqing.
The last trace of worry vanished from her face.
"Then that's fine."
She accepted the points with complete peace of mind.
At that moment, white light suddenly flickered around the two unconscious maids. Their human forms dissolved away, revealing two trembling Snow Lotus flowers in their place.
Lou Yuqing thought about it for a moment before casually tossing both Snow Lotuses into her storage ring.
She had no intention of killing them, but she certainly wasn't about to let them run off and warn Hu Ruoyan.
"Ying Ling." She pointed deeper into the estate. "Keep leading the way."
This time, Ling Yunxiao was competing for points too.
She couldn't afford to slack off.
With that thought in mind, she shot him a sideways glance.
Ling Yunxiao looked momentarily puzzled.
Then he smiled.
Inside the ancestral hall, Hu Ruoyan stood among the gathered clansmen, listening to Hu Haitian's impassioned speech.
Suddenly, a sharp pain tightened around her heart.
Her hand instinctively pressed against her chest.
Had her hatred for Hu Haitian grown so deep that she could no longer maintain even the appearance of calm?
The discomfort faded almost as quickly as it came, yet the lingering sense of unease refused to leave.
Before she could dwell on it further, Hu Haitian's lengthy speech finally reached its conclusion.
"Fellow clansmen!"
His voice echoed throughout the hall.
"The prosperity of the Hu family today would not have been possible without the efforts of every one of you. Here, I, Hu, thank you all!"
He raised a hand.
"I now declare the ancestral worship ceremony officially begun! Enter the ancestral hall and offer incense!"
With a low rumble, the doors of the ancestral hall slowly swung open.
Rows upon rows of ancestral tablets came into view.
Hu Haitian stepped forward without hesitation, entered the hall, and lit the first stick of incense before the ancestors.
Had Ling Yunxiao been present, he would have immediately noticed something unusual.
Among all those memorial tablets, the tablet belonging to Hu Haitian's first wife, Xue Lian, was nowhere to be found.
Hu Ruoyan's gaze remained fixed on the man kneeling before the ancestral tablets.
Hatred churned silently in the depths of her heart.
Her mother's memorial tablet had never been allowed into the ancestral hall.
The only time she could openly pay respects to her mother was when she herself was being punished and forced to kneel there.
Nearby, Hu Ruofeng noticed her unusual silence and immediately let out a cold sneer.
"Sister, the position of Hu family heir is mine. No matter how unwilling you are, it won't change anything."
Hu Ruoyan slowly lifted her eyes.
"Is that so?"
The calmness in her expression only made Hu Ruofeng more irritated.
As she stared at that beautiful face, a trace of jealousy flickered across her features.
"Just wait and see."
"Then I'll watch."
Her tone was indifferent, as though Hu Ruofeng wasn't even worthy of occupying her attention.
Hu Ruofeng's brows furrowed. Just as she was about to continue, the matriarch's voice interrupted.
"It's time to worship the ancestors."
Then she turned toward Hu Ruoyan.
"Ruoyan, go with your sister."
Before the entire clan, she played the role of a loving and considerate mother flawlessly.
Hu Ruoyan sneered inwardly.
On the surface, however, she bowed respectfully.
"Yes."
Neither Hu Ruofeng nor the matriarch had ever been her true targets.
Time passed as members of the Hu family stepped forward one after another to offer incense. Gradually, the scent of sandalwood filled the ancestral hall, growing richer and heavier with every passing moment.
By the time it reached Qi Qingxiong and the others standing at the very back, the first stage of the ancestral worship ceremony had finally come to an end.
Qi Qingxiong wrinkled his nose.
As a sword cultivator who valued simplicity and austerity, he had never cared for overly strong fragrances. Yet a subtle glance around revealed that no one else seemed bothered by it.
His sickly older brother even sighed appreciatively.
"Rich and lingering. The layers are remarkable. It calms the mind and sharpens the spirit."
He took another deep breath, clearly savoring it.
"It truly deserves its reputation as precious sandalwood incense. If this burned through the night, cultivation speed would probably increase by at least thirty percent."
Qi Qingxiong curled his lip in silent disdain.
Just then, a servant's voice rang out from outside the hall.
"The Sect Master of the Baishi Sect has arrived!"
"The City Lord of Baishi City has arrived!"
"The Wang Family of West City has arrived!"
One announcement followed another as distinguished guests entered the ancestral hall.
The Baishi Sect Master arrived alongside a group of influential figures, his face glowing with satisfaction.
Qi Qingxiong's eyes darkened slightly.
The gears in his mind immediately began turning.
Soon.
Very soon.
With that thought, his gaze drifted toward the key figure in his plans.
Hu Ruoyan.
She stood quietly with lowered eyes, as though lost in thought. A faint air of dejection surrounded her, making her seem utterly overshadowed by the radiant Hu Ruofeng standing beside her.
Most people found nothing unusual about the sight.
After all, the Family Head had already bypassed the elder sister and privately chosen the younger sister as his successor.
Moreover, Hu Ruofeng and Xie Wenheng were famously close. The Baishi Sect's support clearly rested with her.
Otherwise, why would the two of them always appear inseparable?
As those thoughts crossed their minds, many people's gazes naturally shifted toward Xie Wenheng.
Then they froze.
Because Xie Wenheng wasn't looking at Hu Ruofeng at all.
His eyes were fixed entirely on Hu Ruoyan.
Completely absorbed.
As though the woman he had shared a bed with simply didn't exist.
A strange silence spread through the crowd.
Many eyes widened.
Oh?
At the front of the hall, the Baishi Sect Master was still exchanging pleasantries with Hu Haitian. The moment he noticed his son's disgraceful behavior, his expression darkened.
"Wenheng." His voice turned cold. "Mind yourself."
Hu Ruoyan had rejected the marriage proposal without showing the slightest gratitude, yet his son still couldn't take his eyes off her.
She was merely somewhat pretty.
The Baishi Sect Master suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Forced to look away, Xie Wenheng lowered his head.
"Yes, Father."
Beside him, Hu Ruofeng nearly bit through her teeth.
After shooting Xie Wenheng a furious glare, she turned her venomous gaze toward Hu Ruoyan.
Today was supposed to be her day. Yet these two had humiliated her in front of everyone.
Hu Ruoyan, however, remained completely unmoved despite the trouble dropping onto her head out of nowhere.
She simply waited in silence.
The real show was about to begin.
Let Hu Ruofeng continue strutting around while she still could.
There wouldn't be many opportunities left.
At that moment, Hu Haitian burst into hearty laughter.
"Today, the Hu family gathers for its ancestral worship ceremony. It is my honor that so many fellow Daoists have taken time out of their busy schedules to attend."
His gaze swept across the assembled guests.
"With all of you here as witnesses, I would like to announce an important matter. The Hu family has chosen its next heir. That person is none other than my daughter, Hu Ruo-"
The final word never left his mouth.
Without warning, his body went weak.
At the same instant, the spiritual energy within him began draining away at an alarming speed.