Chapter 17: A Commotion

It was a lovely morning until I was called for interrogation by the family head. To my sides, my four helpful attendants, better known as 'maids', accompanied me to the meeting room.

Slam!

The door burst open and a group of old men greeted us with frowning faces. Where were my manners?

Tsk, medicine granny shouldn't have hit the door so hard with her stick...

Anyways, I put a smile on my face, a smile that hid my condescending attitude towards them. Carried (by my attendants) through the questioning gazes of red robed elders, I got seated on a soft mattress placed at one end of the long low table.

At the centre of that table was a hourglass, whose sand had already fallen quite a bit on its lower bulb. Meaning, I was late.

"Ahem!" the family head coughed. It was a basic ritual to put himself and others in serious mode.

I noticed, his eyebrows and beard were all white yet his hairs were black. I refused to believe that he'd coloured his hairs. This fogey got lucky...

"Now that everyone is present, let us start the discussion," were the words that started my trip to pure boredom.

The talks began. I had a feeling this was the continuation of the arguement two days ago. I didn't want to be a part of some senseless shouting. Idly, I began looking around me.

The low table was a huge rectangular brown structure, whose only purpose was to let these people place their hands on it. There was no design on it, of course. Tasteless old men.

The floor was wooden, light brown, and carefully polished. Again, there was no design. This building had a raised floor, four-walled covering, and gable roofs with curved edges.

I looked up and saw a simple oil lamp hanging by a short rope. For better lighting purposes, there were four extra lamps at all sides of this room. The walls were painted yellow, again, with no design.

The only thing that could give an artistic feel to this room was a large scroll hanging before a long panel. It's paper was smooth white. Bold strokes formed one word on the paper.

"AGREEMENT," it said.

The calligraphy was exquisite, so much so that my wandering gaze was fixated on it.

"But we can't spend so much kins now! The funeral cost us two hundred and fifteen golds. We need resources to keep our stalls running. The auction is coming up soon..."

I finally heard something that was not fueled by rage. One elder was mindful enough to think about the family's losses.

"Elder Xi is right. We should stabilise our internal matters first before thinking how to capture those attackers," Gang Wei suddenly spoke. He looked to be in his late twenties.

Although he wasn't a genius, his hardwork and loyalty was praised by everyone. Because of his diligence, he'd gained the approval of elders. The old men wanted to turn him into one of them in the future.

Thus, when he spoke, people didn't simply dismiss him, but actually waited for what he had to say.

"I suggest letting friend Benfang choose one of the cultivation pills we have in treasury. He risked his life to protect young masters. Even though it wasn't enough, he did his best. His bravery mustn't go unrewarded."

Gang Shan, the family head's eyes lit up as he heard Wei's words. The old fogey looked at me and said, "I have a proposal here. It may sound sudden, but it's something I've been pondering for a while,

"What does this friend think? Would like to join this old man's family?"

I knew it! This fogey had planned it all. Pondering? What pondering? More like scheming!

If they only wanted to reward me, they could've let me go after paying my 44 golds plus a little extra.

However, I was caught up in a mess. The only one to come back alive after that kidnapping incident, and an outsider at that; would they let me go so easily?

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Of course not! What if I told other families, that the Gang family was currently weak?

By now, news about the attack had already spread all over the town. However, what people didn't know was that those two brats had also been kidnapped. I was the only one to witness them being taken away. Gang Shan had specially ordered everyone in the family to keep their mouths shut about this.

Other families wouldn't attack Gang family as long as they thought the two heirs were safe. Actually, they would be afraid of the fierce retaliation.

But if they knew... This was a great chance to eliminate one of their competitors. They might even team up to take down the Gang family.

The younger generation of this family had severely decreased in number. After this was all over, this family would surely recruit talented young practitioners.

I was young, only about 17 and already at fifth rank. I would be a huge asset in the future if they could somehow form relationship with me.

There was no one behind me, so they weren't worried at all. If I refused, they could just kill me. Although there were laws in Pinchu town, which restricted cultivators from killing people, that only applied to normal people who didn't pursue the martial way. They had numerous reasons to justify my death.

I looked straight at Gang Shan, at his black irises. If he thought I'd accept this so easily, then he was... absolutely right.

"It is an honour," my voice echoed in the room.

The grim-faced elders smiled one by one, showing their widely spaced yellow teeth. The environment suddenly turned amiable, that tension disappearing like a mirage. People started welcoming and congratulating me.

It wasn't that bad, joining a family. Up until now, they hadn't done anything to me. I was a fed and taken care of after they brought me from the streets. Even though some weren't happy because only I'd come back alive, my wounds were still treated by the best doctor they had. I also couldn't disregard the four young maids who'd taken care of my special needs...

Still, this Gang Shan was very experienced at luring talented young men under him. That may be one reason why his family could thrive here for tens of years. If I was really some homeless cultivator, I'd have served this family all my life, just because I got served for a few days.

'Well, this wasn't in my list of to-do things. Things never go the way we want anyway..,' I stroked my chin, finally some facial hair was starting appear on it.

My plan was still the same, except that I now had another opportunity boost my cultivation. Oh Gang family... now, what would I do if someone let me in their family?

'What else to do but to loot them, right? This will be interesting,' I was grinning on the outside, showing my own set of yellow teeth. I hadn't brushed in two days, maybe I should start with that....

At this moment, the sound of horns being played suddenly came from outside. It was loud and prolonged.

We stood up and went outside the family compounds. After coming out of the outer gate, a large crowd appeared in front of us. People were gathered at both sides of the road. From the far right, appeared a long procession of cultivators surrounding a luxurious carriage. The carriage was as big as a mini-bus and was pulled by two tall beasts.

Heads like lizards and bodies resembling elephants, these creatures looked intimidating to the normal people.

"That insigina... it's of the Tong clan! Immortals above, did someone from Tong clan actually come here!?" I heard Gang Bing exclaim.

She was ahead of me, gazing at the carriage. I looked around me, everyone was speaking. It was a commotion.

I went near Gang Bing and asked, "Why do you think they'll even come here?"

I didn't know what this Tong clan was, nor the position they held in this world. However, what I did know was that whoever sitting inside that carriage, was an important and powerful figure. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so much commotion upon their arrival.

"How would I know?" Gang Bing answered, "It has been sixty years since a someone from a clan has attended our southern Shang fair."

"What a fancy procession, it's as if they own the whole town," I muttered under my breath.

Yet, this girl, who hadn't practiced any cultivation techniques, accurately heard me and replied.

"Of course they'd arrive in such a fashion! This is Tong clan we're talking about, one of the members of Shang Clan Alliance.. They own Yellow Rocks Mansions spread all over Shang desert!" she sounded particularly excited.

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