Chapter 22: The Fate of Wang Clan

Chiwii—

Gliding down, the black eagle’s sharp talons stretched out. With a kachak sound, it landed well on Yunyun’s armored arm. She immediately noticed, on the eagle’s foot, was a small container. Taking out a small letter from it, she read the message. While her voice was faint, a certain someone was close enough to hear it. At the time, he was turning around on the floor while holding his forehead.

“Next month, eh… Looks like I’ll have to return to Wang Nan,”

“Hm, Wang Nan city? W-what menace you’re planning, sister. Aren’t you forbidden to—”

“Actually forgot about you… Shut your mouth, else I’ll tear it apart,”

“Uhh, okay, okay…”

“Take this,”

Throwing her ointment to him, she walked towards the edge of the peak. Hand on her sword’s hilt, she threw it down the hill. The sword flew down, spreading along a long red ribbon which Yunyun grabbed. She jumped, gliding down the peak… Leaving Kai Shen alone with the ointment. Surprisingly, it was duck-shaped, with yellow ointment inside. Playing around with it, he sighed.

“Ai, what dangerous thing she’s thinking… Should I tell Master?”

He fiddled his fingers into the ointment, soon putting some on his forehead.

The peak of the main mountain of Absolute Aegis stood above the clouds, with the top fully covered by the eternal clouds. Below these dense clouds, barely before the snow, was the palace of the Patriarch.

And just below it, was the formal residence of Grand Elders. While it was called residence, it was pretty much a palace by itself. There were several pavilion-like buildings within, connected with extensive hallways. Wide stretches of yards and ponds were plenty within the residence, with greenery soothing the sight of many red pillars supporting the massive buildings within. Here, each Grand Elders had the right to occupy a residence, a right which was supposed to ease their work, given its close proximity to the Patriarch’s office. In one of the residence, in a large room, someone sat on a throne-like seat.

He was Grand Elder Rizhi, looking down on the one in front of him. His face was twitching, clearly he was fuming with anger. In front of him, elder Tu Li was in full kowtow, not daring to even lift his head from the floor. He had just finished reporting him of his task, hoping he would at least dismiss him for it, yet… Noticing his expression, he dared not raise his head.

“Please quell your anger, Your beloved! T-they’re stubborn… That old lady Qin was too much. I mentioned you several times, yet... She clearly did not give even you face—”

Hearing it, Rizhi took a pot from his side, throwing it over to Tu Li. With a bang, the pot barely missed him, and made a hole in the wooden floor. Since a week ago, Rizhi had ordered him to get information about the rebelling disciple. To his wonder, the information network belonging to Divine Scholars, even the expensive private suppliers, had nothing on this youngster! Finally swallowing down his pride, he had Tu Li demanding it straight from the Patriarch’s office…

Yet even after a few days, all he got was that his request would be processed. And processed, with no promise of delivering it too! Lady Qin, the Patriarch’s Chief Secretary, made it all clear, too clear – Whether or not Rizhi could gain the information, rested fully on the Patriarch’s decision. It was unprecedented. Usually, when a Grand Elder demanded something simple such as this, it would be delivered quickly, and with full respect as well. Yet she! Even dared to say there was no guarantee of ever delivering it!

“Preposterous! How dare she, she— And you, you left just like that?!”

“Ah, forgiveness, Your beloved, forgiveness…”

“Enough! I can’t even rely on simple things from you… Scram!”

Hearing this, Tu Li was relief within, yet dared not express it. Quickly taking his leave, he left Rizhi alone in the room. Hand on his head, Rizhi could feel the pulse on his head gripping on him. The incident from a week ago was too much for him, already rumors circulated that he had lost a debate with an unknown core disciple.

In these few days, he already met some of his peers, his fellow Divine Scholars. Thickening his skin, he asked for their united protest in the matter. While some agreed, many played quite hard to get. Clearly, Rizhi’s suffering was an amusement for them, and they were enjoying themselves seeing him fallen in such a bind.

“Haha, my dear Rizhi, it’s just some no-namer among the young generation, why bother…”

“Don’t you think it’s disgraceful for Divine Scholars like us, to be serious about some kids rebelling? Just ignore him, hmph,”

“Haha, you still have a lot to learn,”

“You actually lost a debate, in your field, against a disciple? Huhu,”

Remembering them downplaying his request, not even giving him face, he shivered in anger. In his mind, their little laughter still echoed, as if they were by his ears… His Qi rising, he smashed the desk by his side, turning it to smithereens.

“Your sisters… Wait till this happen to you, let’s see if you still can laugh,”

Gritting his teeth, his mind remembered the monthly Grand Elder’s meeting, pondering whether to bring the matter up or not… Soon, he shook head.

…

Some weeks had passed since Patriarch An Hong’s executive order. The order was to halve the distribution of Dan Pills to all disciples and elders. As expected, his order sent shockwave all throughout the sect, baffling everyone. Some said it was due to budget cuts, some confident it was due to corruption. Whatever it was, due to the order, An Hong’s popularity sunk even deeper. If before was considered not good at all, now it was bad. Nevertheless, An Hong wanted to trust his Ancestor, even when he himself doubted the method would work.

…

In the Patriarch’s study, An Shan was sitting by the table, listening to reports by the three Blood Warriors in front. Every month, he instructed them to wake him up to receive reports. Due to what happened last time, the Blood Warriors were instructed to constrain Xiao Mei whenever they sensed her coming close to this place. Thus, he had a full month of sleep since the day he made a ruckus in the Hall of Enlightenment. This time, the Blood Warriors had no issue in waking him up, with them successfully wake him up using resonance.

Since reading simply made him sleepy, he opted not to. He had them read the reports. Listening, he nodded. It seemed his order to halve the pill distribution was met with fierce resistance. However, it was under control. As long as it did not seem to fall into rebellion, he was satisfied.

“Hm, huaah,”

Yet even with just listening, he could not keep himself awake for long. As the reports moved on, his awareness faded away. Slapping his forehead, he sighed.

“…This is bad,”

“Ancestor?”

The three Blood Warriors asked. For awhile now, he seemed to be in a daze. For the three, while they feared he could not hear what they were reporting, they dared not say.

“Losing my focus. This sleepiness is too troublesome,”

“Sleepiness… Yes, that reminds me, regarding things you told us to get since our first meeting, please wait,”

The leading one of the three checked the reports, finally getting his hand on a sheet of paper. It was the list of rare herbs An Shan had written, with some in the list being checked.

“…The herbs eh, how many did you get?”

“Apologies Ancestor, we only got six in the list. The more important ones were harder to get than we thought, but in a week, three of them will be in an auction,”

“Three at once? Weird, which herbs,”

“They’re the Six-Petals Phoenix Lily, Millennium Armadillo Roots, and most importantly, the Ying-Yang Purple Moonlight Flowers. The quality’s good, it’s from a two thousand year old Moonlight Tree.”

“Two-thousand eh, good quality, good to know. With that, maybe… Where’s the auction?”

“It’s in Wang Nan city.”

“Wang Nan city…?”

“Yes, we’re sending our agents to—”

“Agents?”

“Yes Ancestor. If you’re not confident with that arrangement, we’ll disguise and go over ourselves,”

“Right, Wang Nan City, was our city…”

Hearing them mentioned about disguising, he remembered the report. The city was a part of their close ally’s domain up until fifty years ago. In fact, it was an autonomous kingdom within their domain. Now, it was under the White Tiger Imperial Clan… Remembering the city, An Shan remembered one of his friends, the Southern King, Wang Jie.

An Shan's mind traced back to an event many years ago. He was watching the city from high up in the cloud. By his side, his loyal friend Wang Jie, showing him the glory of the city in the night sky. With large ports and good transportation system, simple tax system and capable workers, he had the city built from a minor town into a bustling city within thirty years. The people here lived with dignity, with organized crime and poverty near zero percent! Whenever he spoke of the city, he was always full of energy, excitement. He was always thinking, ‘How can I make it better…’

“Your pride and joy, eh…”

Wang Jie’s clan, the Wang Clan, was An Shan’s loyal supporter. The clan entered Absolute Aegis with the status of a partner. With this, they kept their sovereign status in the South, with their clan leader as King of an autonomous region. And while they did not partake in most activities in the sect, they had a defense agreement and voice in some important decisions.

“I wonder how the Wang clan is coping… It must be hard. Aii, hope they’ll manage,”

Mentioning it in a passing, An Shan did not think much of it. Again, his palm closed his yawn. At the time, the three Blood Warriors in front of him, turned to each other, speaking with their eyes. Sensing their hesitation, An Shan raised his eyebrow.

“What? It won’t kill you to say anything in your mind. Was it something I said?”

“Err, An-ancestor… Please, we hope you won’t blame us,”

“What? Now you’re killing me with curiousity, out with it,”

“Ancestor, w-we thought that you already know, so…”

“Yes, please don’t blame us!”

“…Is it fun torturing old people, is it fun? I said out with it!”

“Y-yes! Actually, the Wang clan…”

They saluted, face down. Hearing their report, An Shan’s heart sank. Gripping his fist, he was trembling. How could he miss it? Remembering the day he read the war reports, he recalled skipping much of the information. He did not have much time, so he was trying to find the core of the information. Due to this, he kept himself oblivious to the fate of the Wang clan. Their fate, the family which once upon a time, supported him…

“…No survivor?”

“Y-yes, Ancestor. The Imperial clan did not permit any…”

Even when he heard from them directly, he had a hard time believing it. No matter how far the White Tiger Imperial Clan had fallen, he believed they would still have the heart to spare the surviving members of the Wang clan, yet… From what he heard, even those not capable of resisting, was eliminated! Not one baby, not even chickens were spared!

“Why… why, how could they, so ruthless?”

Sensing the deep sadness from his voice, the Blood Warriors felt awkward. Perhaps trying to soothe his feeling, the leading one clasped his hand as if in ceremony;

“Reporting to Ancestor! The Wang clan was the fiercest force in the South to fight against the invasion. They did not surrender to the enemy, even when the White Tiger promised favourable terms… Defending our domain, they fought till the last!”

“Ancestor, those words are true! I’ve seen several of their battles with my own eyes. They were fierce, unwavering. I’m all in awe with them. They inflict heavy damage to the invading enemy, perhaps that’s why…”

“Yes, Ancestor… Please be at ease. I believe the Heavens have eyes. The One in the Heaven would not turn a blind eye to their loyalty,”

“…I know,”

Hearing what they had said, An Shan somehow held his remorse. He knew, perhaps they just wished to ease his feeling. Nevertheless, the fact that the Wang clan did not surrender until all their forces was exhausted… That was true.

“Even after so long. Even after two thousand years, your clan remained true to your oath… Even till the last blood…! Brother Wang Jie, I’m ashamed,”

“Ancestor…”

Seeing their ancestor blaming himself, the trio felt guilt. Only after some time, An Shan calmed himself. He thought he was used to hearing bad news, but it still shook him. Was this a weakness? Hm, he smiled bitterly. Moving on, it seemed the Wang Nan city’s current administration was hostile to Absolute Aegis. Members of the sect could not freely enter it like common civilians, they would be subjected to much scrutiny. An Shan frowned. That was quite normal after a war, but they already had peace treaty in place for fifty years… How could this be? The level of hatred was beyond his understanding. How could one permit such hatred and suspicions to breed?

While citizens from their domain can get in, it was not so simple for his sect members. In order to get in, those from Absolute Aegis had to either use agents or disguise. This was especially true for those with high cultivation like the Blood Warriors. Should they enter the city with their cultivation all exposed, they would no doubt be observed.

Hearing their plan to just send agents to get the herbs, An Shan shook his head.

“Agents won’t do. This is too much for them to handle,”

“Then we’ll pick some of us to disguise—”

“I will go,”

“Ancestor!”

An Shan’s statement widened their eyes, prompting them to raise their voice.

=== Chapter 22 End ===