The rain lasted all night, and it wasn’t until the next day that the skies cleared.
Su Mo opened the door, and the fresh air, carrying the scent of damp earth, filled his nostrils, refreshing his mind and spirit.
Two maids hurried over at the sound. “Do you have any requests, Fairy?”
“I’m hungry, I want food!” Erha popped its head out, speaking human language, which startled the maids.
However, they had heard about yesterday’s events and knew this dog was no ordinary canine. They replied respectfully, “Breakfast is ready and waiting. Please, come and be seated.”
It had to be said, the Xiong family’s hospitality was quite high-standard, and Su Mo was rather grateful for it.
Aside from the minor incident upon arrival yesterday, everything had been flawless.
Su Mo didn’t dwell on it.
Everyone was getting what they needed—it was a cooperative relationship. As long as each party achieved their goals, there was no need to dig deeper.
After breakfast, Erha wandered aimlessly around the Xiong estate on its own.
Led by Xiong Lin, Su Mo arrived at the Xiong family’s forbidden ground, the place where the divine artifact was kept.
Unlike the Yun family, although the other three families also designated their storage sites as forbidden grounds, their security was far less comparable.
The Xiong family’s forbidden ground was located within the ancestral hall, guarded by the family’s most respected elder, the Hall Guardian. He was sitting at the entrance of the ancestral hall, seemingly in meditation.
Seeing this, Su Mo bowed from a distance. “Junior Su Mo pays respects to the elder.”
“Fairy, your presence honors us. Forgive this old man for not welcoming you properly,” the white-haired elder said. The moment he opened his eyes, Su Mo felt as if time had frozen.
It wasn’t that he was exceptionally powerful, but he was extremely aged, with so many wrinkles on his face that it was hard to distinguish his gender.
As for his cultivation level, Su Mo roughly estimated it to be about the same as Qin Xun’s, making him the most powerful individual Su Mo had encountered since arriving in Chu Yuan.
Although the beast tribe had Erha, an A-rank, during their time together, Su Mo gradually learned that its A-rank cultivation was merely a facade—good for intimidation, but in actual combat, it only had B-rank strength. It couldn’t even fly.
Its practical combat skills were even more lacking. It only had one sound-based technique, which it created itself, relying solely on its profound cultivation and strong mental power to execute it.
It was like Zhang Wuji when he first obtained the Nine Yang Divine Skill—except even worse, since Zhang Wuji had received genuine teachings from the Wudang Sect and Xie Xun, while Erha had nothing…
However, as the saying goes, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Even so, it could easily suppress a host of beast kings.
As for the elder before him, his aura seemed unstable, as if he were on the verge of breaking through that barrier to reach A-rank, yet also seemed trapped by an invisible net, making any effort futile.
The elder stood up and examined Su Mo closely, his nearly clouded eyes showing appreciation.
He didn’t mention anything about the divine artifact but instead scolded Xiong Lin. “I advise you to abandon your little schemes sooner rather than later. Even if the Fairy were merely an ordinary mortal, your son would still be unworthy of her.”
Xiong Lin looked embarrassed but accepted the elder’s scolding obediently. “Yes, Patriarch.”
Patriarch?
Su Mo was stunned.
Xiong Lin appeared to be at least fifty years old. His patriarch would have to be over a hundred and fifty.
“Fairy, please do not take offense. Little Lin is only considering the family’s interests. I apologize for any inadequacies in his actions,” the elder said, slightly bowing.
Su Mo quickly supported him and said softly, “Elder, there’s no need for this. If I were the head of a family, I might not have done as well as Patriarch Xiong Lin. From his perspective, these are all the best choices.”
Whether it was right or wrong wasn’t important; caring for the elder’s feelings was the priority. Besides, privately, he still needed the elder’s help later.
Hearing this, the elder grinned, laughing like a child.
Under his guidance, the three entered the ancestral hall.
“Kneel!”
Xiong Lin fell to his knees with a thud.
Seeing the elder about to kneel as well, Su Mo hurried forward to assist him.
The people in this ancestral hall had no connection to Su Mo, so he naturally didn’t need to kneel.
“Ancestors, we have fulfilled your final wish. The Fairy is a good child in this life. I’m sure you are very pleased…”
The elder spoke at length, several times nearly losing his breath. Each time, he managed to hold on thanks to Xiong Lin channeling pure spiritual energy into him.
“My time is short, and there’s no use in wasting words. While I’m still here, I want to personally place this item in your hands.”
The elder signaled Xiong Lin to bring over a worn wooden box placed inside the hall. Xiong Lin complied.
Su Mo’s eyes flickered slightly. Something this important was just kept here?
Xiong Lin was also surprised because he remembered playing with this box as a child during ancestral worship ceremonies. At the time, the patriarch had only told him to be careful but didn’t stop him.
Now, it seemed intentional.
After all, those with ill intentions would never expect such an important item to be stored in this shabby thing.
The elder opened the box. Inside lay an eyeball emitting a holy light, seemingly gazing at the three of them.
Especially Su Mo—when it looked at him, he felt an extremely comfortable sensation, similar to the other three items. This was likely part of the acknowledgment process.
But soon, Su Mo sensed something amiss. As he stared at the eyeball, he felt an inexplicable tremor deep in his soul.
Hiss~
He couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.
The feeling was fleeting and never reappeared during the blood acknowledgment process that followed, as if it had been an illusion.
Su Mo stored the eyeball in his white jade ring, bowed deeply to the Xiong family ancestral hall, and expressed his gratitude to the elder.
The elder smiled, but his voice grew softer and softer until it faded entirely.
“Patriarch?”
Xiong Lin called out tentatively, but there was no response.
Su Mo felt downhearted and could only say, “My condolences.”
Outside the ancestral hall, a crowd had gathered unnoticed, as if they knew the Hall Guardian would pass away today.
They were the descendants of the Xiong family—some direct lineage, some collateral, and even some commoners. When Su Mo turned around, all eyes met his.
There was hatred, disgust, anger…
Su Mo’s heart tightened.
This is bad. They probably all think the Hall Guardian’s death was caused by me.
If that were the case, it might be difficult to leave the Xiong family today.
However, since the family head hadn’t spoken, no one made a move. Only the sound of crying could be heard, though how many tears were genuine and how many were fake was unknown.
Xiong Lin clasped his hands and bowed to Su Mo, saying loudly, “The Xiong family has fulfilled its promise. Is the Fairy satisfied?”
His words were like a spark igniting a bomb. Immediately, someone outside shouted things like, “Give us back our patriarch’s life!”
Su Mo was speechless.
At a critical moment like this, anything he said would be wrong and would only deepen the Xiong family’s hatred. The only clear-minded person, Xiong Lin, was clearly fanning the flames, aiming to escalate the situation beyond control.
Just as the crowd outside was about to charge in, Xiong Lin suddenly roared, “What are you doing? All of you, step back! She is the Fairy!”
“So what? The patriarch died because of her. How can she have the face to call herself the Fairy?”
“Exactly, it’s just that he saved our ancestors once back in the day. Why should we, the descendants, have to repay the debt? It’s a bit bullying, isn’t it?”
“Who knows if Yu Fuzi saving us back then was premeditated? Maybe he staged it all himself.”
“We never asked to be saved. He did it willingly…”
Their words felt like a bucket of cold water dumped over Su Mo’s head.
Although no one knew the exact details of the past, Yu Fuzi was, after all, their savior. Without him, they wouldn’t exist.
Who would have thought such words would come from their mouths? How ironic.
Su Mo had initially felt somewhat conflicted, but upon seeing this, his expression gradually cooled.
Both sides had fulfilled their promises. He felt no burden, only regret for the elder’s passing.
Moreover, the elder had died of old age with a smile on his face, which could be considered a joyful passing.
Faced with the chaotic scene, Xiong Lin unleashed the authority of a family head, shouting sternly, “All of you, shut up! Since she is the Fairy, even if she made a mistake, we should let it go. Besides… she did nothing wrong.”
Su Mo chuckled coldly, finally seeing Xiong Lin’s true colors.
Heh, stirring the pot, are we? Well, go on, keep it up!