Chapter 30: Victory

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The air in the room is thick with tension. All the Elders are gathered in the audience hall. They stand at either side of Branch Master Xiao Ding. At Xiao Ding’s right side sits Xiao Nan, at his left is Liu Jin. No one makes even the slightest sound. The room is so silent the creaking of the door as it opens is heard by all.

Slowly, with meek steps, the ones who have been summoned make their way inside.

Hu Li, leader of the Hu Clan, carefully makes his way to them. He is not quite what Liu Jin was expecting. Lun Shu had been a powerfully built man, tall and with a striking face. Although his strength had not been much in the grand scheme of things, he had undoubtedly made an impression on Liu Jin.

Meanwhile, Hu Li looks almost frail. His body is thin, his back hunched, his face weathered. The way he walks is all too slow. For someone in the Nascent Realm to look like he does must mean he is anywhere between two hundred to three hundred years old. By Liu Jin’s estimates, he is someone who will succumb to old age in just a few decades. Even if he manages to reach the next cultivation realm, his body is already too old to last much longer.

Suddenly, it makes complete sense why the man was so quick to side with the Xiao Sect when the offer of marriage came.

Liu Jin then shifts his gaze to the one walking behind Hu Li. Hu Meili follows her father diligently and silently. The two do not dare meet anyone’s eyes. They know they are not worthy of such a thing and make sure to keep their gazes trained on the floor. Two days ago, they would have been welcomed with open arms. Two days ago, Hu Meili was to marry this branch’s young master. How quickly things change.

Xiao Dong is dead.

Lun Shu and Lun Kai are dead.

The members of the Lun Clan that dared to attack the Xiao Sect while Xiao Ding and Xiao Nan were away have been all suppressed. They are now either dead or captured. The Black Bear Group has been extinguished.

In New Moon Town, the Xiao Sect reigns supreme.

Hu Li and his daughter get within fifteen feet of Xiao Ding and kneel.

“Visitors from the Hu Clan,” one of the Elders says. “You two have been summoned before us to explain your deplorable conduct during our time of need.”

There is nothing subtle about his words. When the Lun Clan moved against the Xiao Sect, the Hu Clan stood by and did nothing. If Lun Shu is to be believed, Hu Li knew about the tree yet kept it a secret from them. Liu Jin did not neglect to mention this detail to Xiao Nan and Xiao Ding.

“Venerable people of the Xiao Sect,” Hu Li says as he bows his head even lower. “This old man expresses his most sincere gratitude for allowing him into your home and granting him the opportunity to explain his actions. You must understand. It was never this old man’s intention to abandon the Xiao Sect. Such a thought would never cross this old man’s mind. How could I ever turn my back on the one who is to be the father-in-law of my most precious daughter.”

“The matter of your daughter’s engagement is to be discussed later,” the same Elder spoke, Elder Biming if Liu Jin remembered right. “Now speak, for what reason did you fail to come to our Xiao Sect’s aid?”

“When this old man heard the news, his heart was stricken with grief for I loved Xiao Dong like a son. Even so, I would have still gone to the Xiao Sect with my heart in pieces if another important matter had not shown itself.”

“What could possibly be more important than honoring your duty?”

“Honored Elder, my father is talking about me.” It is Hu Meili who speaks with a trembling voice. Her eyes are red and puffy as if she had been crying all night. “Xiao Dong was the love of my life. When I received the news of his death, I fell apart. In my haste, I even-”

“Daughter!” Hu Li interrupts. For the first time, his voice sounds powerful. “Speak no more!”

“You forget your place, Hu Li,” Elder Biming warns. “We recognize Hu Meili, daughter of Hu Li. Speak.”

The girl nods. Her gaze never wavers from the ground. “I was stricken by great sorrow when I learned my love was dead. That is why… that is why…”

Hu Meili does not speak further. Instead, she rolls up her sleeves and presents her arms to them. The instant she does a wave of murmurs rises.

Her wrists are wrapped in bandages. Hu Meili slowly undoes them, and in doing so, presents her wounds to the room. Liu Jin’s eyes narrow.

“I-I thought the only thing left for me to do was to join my beloved in death. My honored father discovered me in time, but after that, he dared not leave my side. My father stayed the whole night with me and demanded not to be disturbed. Venerable elders, please understand the blame of this lies solely with this little miss. If not for my weakness, my father would have surely aided the Xiao Sect.”

For a moment, no one speaks. The silence is almost suffocating. Xiao Ding looks at father and daughter. Neither one dares meet his gaze.

“Well,” he says at last. “I suppose it would be remiss of me to lay blame on you for staying by your daughter’s side. As one father to another, I can understand your reasons. There is no sense in punishing you for being a good father to your daughter, and there is no need to punish your daughter for loving my son too much.”

“Thank you,” Hu Li says as his head touches the ground. His daughter follows suit.

“You are wise and generous, father-in-law.”

“However,” Xiao Ding adds. “That is not the end of this little inquiry.”

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He nods to Elder Biming who begins speaking. “Hu Li, the deceased and dishonorable Lun Shu kidnapped Branch Master Xiao Ding’s second son and our guest from the main branch and took them to a hidden area of the Forest of Deceitful Whispers. In it, there was a special tree he called the Tree of Deceitful Whispers. He claimed the existence of this tree was a secret shared between the Hu and Lun clans. What do you say of this?”

“If the venerable Xiao Sect says Lun Shu said that, then he must have certainly said it. However, this old man has no knowledge of such a tree. This old man does not know of any trees beyond the Steel-Skinned Trees our clan cuts down to sell and the Gold-Skinned Trees that sometimes grow in the forest. Those are the trees I have known my whole life. I know of no hidden areas in the Whispering Woods that are unknown to the venerable Xiao Sect.”

“I believe him,” Xiao Ding speaks. “After all, if our good friend Hu Li knew about such things, he would have certainly shared the secret with us once our children were engaged. There would be no meaning in not doing so unless he was plotting against me.”

Xiao Ding laughs, and the rest of the room laughs with him. Hu Li and Hu Meili do not. They dare not move or breath.

“There is no sense in blaming them for not warning us about things they could not possibly know. There is also no sense in inquiring about the true nature of the Black Bear Group. Those bandits harmed the Hu Clan far more than they ever did our Xiao Sect. With this, I believe the matter is settled. No betrayal happened between us.”