Anywhere there would be power, there would surely be machismo. This had already become a kind of law.
In the distance, that group of youths came running over to Wolf Shunye excitedly, recklessly charging their way through, causing the guests present to duck away from their path.
“Brother Gigawolf!”
“Hello, Brother Gigawolf!”
“Oh! Brother Zanian’s here, too! We greet you as well!”
Zanian Feng could only helplessly give a nod to the posse of youngsters, who numbered over twenty. Each and every one of them was born either from the Nine Great Clans or from clans of almost the same level. With so many youths with solid background banding together, no one dared to make a misstep with them.
Shunye let out a boisterous laugh as he patted everyone on the shoulder, acting like he was the boss of the posse, saying, “To think Shunlin and Shunfeng actually called you b*st*rds, too! Perfect! All of you should watch the signs that I, your big brother, give and act accordingly! I’ve heard that you, lads, have a similar drive that we had back then, so now that me and Big Brother Zanian are here, we’ll see for ourselves just what you’re all capable of.”
“No problem!”
“Just you watch!”
“There are some in White Horse Constellation whom we will be wary of, but out here, why will any of us fear anybody here?!”
Wolf Shunye was acting as if he was a big brother of the world, while all these youths were all rubbing their palms and fists eagerly, ready to give a good show in front of Shunye and Zanian.
Back in the day, Zanian and Shunye had been young as well, and White Horse Constellation had been thrown into quite a bit of stir all thanks to them. Both of them had made quite a name for themselves in this world of machismo.
It was just that these scions had plenty of rules to follow, and the moment they hit eighteen, their families would all assign them to tasks and jobs, so there was no way for them to continue running amok as they wished.
Zanian went to work for his family in the Dragon Ascension Martial Hall, while Shunye was sent to the Law Enforcement Board. Neither had the chance to spend their days causing a ruckus while dining and boozing; instead, they began on their path toward their respective futures.
However, there needed to be someone to continue the machismo way, and just like how the back waves would push the front waves, once the waves crashed upon the shore, those youngsters who had not hit eighteen years of age became inheritors of machismo, which made Wolf Shunye and Zanian Feng these lads’ seniors.
When seniors asked juniors to stir some trouble, how could the latter group be unwilling to do just that? After all, these youngsters had grown up hearing the glorious exploits of their big brothers, and now that the seniors had retired from their troublemaking ways, and it was now the juniors’ turn to live up to their ways, they were more than eager for their own glorious undertakings to surpass the seniors whom they admired deeply.
It was impossible for people not to notice a gathering of old and young troublemakers, and though Shunye was honest, he was no fool. After some small talk, he quickly got these juniors to disperse into the crowd, disappearing all at once.
“So?Those brats aren’t too shabby, eh? Seeing them, I immediately recall the time when we and our comrades were causing mayhem. It’s too bad that we don’t have the chance to relive those days anymore,” Shunye gulped down a mouth of wine as he rued.
He was a child at heart, and even though he was no longer the one messing around, he still maintained very good relations with these youngsters, and the lot of them respected him as well. This was different from Zanian, whose attitude suddenly completely changed upon turning eighteen, devoting himself entirely to establishing his prestige and descendancy, all in preparation for inheriting the Dragon Ascension Martial Hall in the future.
Zanian Feng chuckled bitterly. “You’re still saying the same thing; you’re a lot more fortunate, not being under as much pressure as I am, Gigawolf. If my father learns that I’m messing around with those rascals, I’m going to be in big trouble.”
Shunye furrowed his brows. “That’s because there’s hardly anybody in your Feng family, which resulted in all the pressure to rest upon your shoulders. I heard that your family is raising the question of your marriage. The way I see it, the system of your family, where the man of the family will only have one wife isn’t reliable. That’s why you ought to go marry a few more wives and get them to give birth to a bunch of children. When you have so many offspring to help you with succession, you’ll have a much easier time.”
“A bunch of kids? Do you think this is like buying groceries, ready to order whenever you like?” Zanian chuckled as he playfully punched Shunye. “That is the one intransigent family rule we have. Speaking of which, the letter has stated for us to act prudently. Now that you’ve reeled that bunch of troublemakers in, that’s too large of a target. There’s no telling just how the person behind the curtains will see it, thinking that we of the Feng family and your Cruelwolf Clan have steeled our resolve to weigh in on this debacle.”
Shunye shook his head. “Zanian, don’t misunderstand. I only told my two younger brothers, Shunlin and Shunfeng. They’re the ones who called these youngsters.”
Zanian was speechless. Wolf Shunlin and Wolf Shunfeng were Shunye’s two cousins, both about seventeen years old. They were the ones calling the shots among all the troublemaking scions in the Law Realm, and with their big brother, Shunye, assigning them a job, these two of course wanted to do it well, so they ended up calling their fellow comrades, hence creating this situation that they were in.
The people of Gigawolf’s clan were fiends for battle and they were righteous. They had a great reputation out here in the Law Realm, and this personality trait persisted with Shunye Shunlin, and Shunfeng. A wave of their arm and a thousand voices would answer. They were very influential.
Very soon, even the optimistic Shunye was having a headache.
He had called his two brothers from his clan, and they in turn called their mates. Upon hearing this was a matter that the two famed individuals of their world, Wolf Shunye and Zanian Feng, were participating in, people from all across the Law Realm hurried over. Therefore, in the span of just over a dozen minutes, the Yu family’s Ancestral Hall had become the rendezvous point for hundreds of these troublemakers.
With so many troublemakers gathered, the one suffering could only be the Yu family. After all, the glory of the Yu family was all in the past, and they could not afford to offend any of these scions. It was an inauguration ceremony for their new family patriarch, but it had been forcibly transformed into a rally of hooligans, and the entire affair had been thrown into a state of chaos.
Shunye guffawed as he rubbed his head. “There’s strength in numbers; don’t you agree, Zanian?”
What else could Zanian say now? Shunye had unfurled their figurative banner, and even if Zanian was uneasy, all he could do was to just deal with the situation that they were now in. This was the butterfly effect in action: Xia Fei had only hailed Wolf Shunye and Zanian Feng, in hopes that they would show their faces here. Xia Fei could never have imagined that this would be the outcome, and it far outstripped his expectations.
All of a sudden, the entire Ancestral Hall quieted down, as the crowd began to make way for two young ladies to pass.
“Hello, Sister Fuping!”
“Big Sister Fuping, to think that you’ve here as well.”
These scions knew one another well, and all of them extended respectful greetings toward Mu Fuping when they saw her arrive.
Mu Fuping was a little startled, not expecting that there would be so many of White Horse Constellation’s troublemakers in attendance. Even some of her fellow clan brothers were present, too.
Behind her was Mu Qingping, who angrily asked, “Where are Zanian and Gigawolf?”
The crowd quickly pointed toward the corner. “Big brother Gigawolf and Brother Zanian are over there!”
In fluttering clothes, Mu Fuping was already considered an outstanding beauty, and with the special status she held, countless ogling eyes and agape mouths followed her as she made her way through the crowd. Mu Qingping pursed her lips, feeling extremely disgusted by such a scene, though Mu Fuping hardly reacted to it.
“Is that Miss Fuping from the Withered Mu Clan? She’s the apple of Old Patriarch Mu’s eyes!”
“That’s right. Why is she here? I don’t recall the Mu Clan having any relationship with the Yu family whatsoever.”
The inauguration ceremony of the Yu family’s patriarch was beginning to look more and more interesting. No matter how unruly the troublemakers were, they still represented their various clans, and the guests all wondered whether the major clans in White Horse Constellation were showing any special interest toward the Yu family. Some of the more timid ones could tell that the situation was going sideways and had already sneaked out of the Ancestral Hall, positioning themselves outside to watch, instead.
“Miss Fuping.”
Zanian and Shunye both cupped their fists in greetings, which the sisters both returned. Mu Fuping was rather anxious, so she asked, “Brother Wolf, you called me over here today. Is what you said true?”
Without even waiting for Shunye, Zanian was the first to answer. “Miss Fuping, we’re still watching and waiting. I received the letter, too. It came from an unregistered compass, sent via the spatial temporal messaging system. Nobody can confirm if the sender is really Xia Fei or not.”
Glancing at the time, Zanian continued. “There’s still about five minutes before the Yu family’s patriarch inauguration ceremony begins. Xia Fei isn’t only a friend to Miss Fuping but also mine and Gigawolf’s. If the situation stated in the letter really does transpire, it’ll be our duty to seek justice for Brother Xia Fei, and we will inevitably need Sister Fuping’s help, too.”
Zanian’s words were well-measured, while Shunye was nodding his head repeatedly as he spoke. This old comrade of his who had the moniker of the Gigatailed Wolf in the Law Realm was not too good when it came to talking to women. Had he been the one speaking, he could very well end up making a mess of his words.
Mu Fuping lightly nodded. “Then I will have to leave this to the two of you. Xia Fei saved my life once, and now that he’s in trouble, Fuping will of course lend a helping hand as best as I can.”
After exchanging some small talk, Mu Fuping and her sister left for elsewhere. At the end of the day, these single men and women would draw too much attention when standing together.
Plenty of people were courting Mu Fuping, so plenty of young scions already held hate toward Shunye and Zanian just from them standing together. Beautiful women were often the roots of trouble; though such a saying would be highly unfair to Mu Fuping, the reality of the situation was evident in itself.
…
When it was time, a solemn tune began playing inside the Ancestral Hall. The thousands of guests gathered gradually quieted, for Yu Hua’s inauguration ceremony was about to begin.
Yu Jin and another elder from the Yu family, Yu Zhiyuan, got up on the stage; a representative from the Law Enforcement Board, Mu Qianling, who would be officially recognizing Yu Hua’s legal status as the family patriarch also went up.
Clearing his throat, Yu Jin was all smiles as he began. “We thank all the distinguished guests who are paying respect to the Yu family. As an elder of the clan, I welcome everyone on behalf of the entire Yu family!”
After a pause, Yu Jin continued. “As everyone is well aware of, the old patriarch of the Yu Family, Yu Jiang, had recently passed. The young and old across the entire clan mourn this loss and are grateful for everything he did for the clan, but a clan can’t go without a patriarch. Our Elder Court has come to a unanimous decision, for the seat as the family patriarch to be succeeded by the great-great-grandson of Patriarch Yu, the Great Law Emperor Yu Hua!”
A hearty applause sounded from below the stage, as Yu Jin swept his gaze around the hall in satisfaction.
When the applause ended, Yu Jin was about to invite Yu Hua on stage when he heard a mocking remark. “The body of your Yu family’s patriarch hasn’t even turned cold and the killer is still at large, yet you’re already letting someone new take up the post. That’s a little untimely; don’t you think?!”
The entire Ancestral Hall settled into an awkward silence. Yu Jin’s face became livid, but just as he was about to refute this, a loud booing broke out from below the stage.
“Booooo!”
“Everyone in the Yu family is just ingrates. To think they would begin vying for power even before they sought to avenge their previous patriarch!”
“That’s right! Just a bunch of heartless ingrates!”
The voices of displeasure were getting louder. This was when Yu Jin realized that hundreds of people in their late teens were mixed in the crowd of guests, each of them shaking their heads. Anyone could tell that they were unsavory characters at a single glance.
Yu Jin was infuriated. These youngsters had all voiced such provocative statements, which clearly showed that they were here to crash the ceremony!
“Men, escort these scions out for me! The great hall of the Yu family won’t tolerate your insolence!” Yu Jin did not care who these troublemakers were and was actually willing to treat them harshly!
As such, it was as if he had caused an even greater debacle, for the verbal abuse continued endlessly.
*Whoosh*
A well-crafted knife came flying out from the crowd, directly aimed at Yu Jin’s temple!
This was the mess that kicked off the inauguration ceremony of the Yu family’s new patriarch.
