Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
After Xia Fei ended his three months of cultivation and arrived at the Aurora Clan’s base in the Tarot Galaxy, never did he expect that he would be seeing such a state.
The colorful glazed glass walls were proof that the Aurora Clan had truly had its glory days, with a proud family history. It was just that the colorful walls had since become mottled, and though it had been cleaned, the decline of the clan could not be denied.
Radix looked like he was on the verge of losing it. Not even in his wildest dream could he imagine that, after his arduous journey, he would make it back to his clan that had become so desolate.
Xia Fei did not immediately enter the courtyard; instead, he turned to the teahouse right across the property and sat at a table near a window on the fifth floor. He ordered a pot of tea and snacks as he looked at the quiet courtyard.
Very soon, a servant with a red birthmark came over while carrying tea and snacks. Xia Fei smiled and gave him a few pearls, asking, “Friend, may I ask you about something? Is that place across from here the Aurora Clan’s base?”
The servant was, of course, smiling widely after receiving that money. He served the tea to Xia Fei as he answered, “You’re right. That place across from here does belong to the Aurora Clan.”
Xia Fei unhurriedly followed up with his next question. ‘I heard my elders say that the Aurora Clan can be considered a major clan in the universe. Doesn’t that place look a little dismal?”
The servant sighed and placed his tablecloth over his shoulder. “Well, the decline of the Aurora Clan isn’t something recent. You must’ve heard about the early years. Honestly, ever since I got here, the Aurora Clan has been on the decline, year after year.
“heard from some of the shop’s older patrons that the Aurora Clan is filled with honest and good people; they are polite when dealing with people and hardly get into an altercation with other clans. Even if they’re faced with any friction, they’ll just laugh all it off and tum the other cheek.
“Unfortunately, while they’re kind-hearted, others are anything but. Many years ago, someone cheated out the Aurora Clan of a whole lot; some Great Spiritualist claimed that he’d help organize their ancestral soul weapons. Given how friendly the Aurorean is, forget a Spiritualist, even any common man
who has nowhere to go can come away with gifts after visiting them.
“As expected, the Aurora Clan invited that Spiritualist into their home and treated him with reverence. None of them suspected that the person was actually a swindler, and soon he took off with all that clan’s soul weapons!
“Though the Aurorean disliked getting into conflict with others, they’re still a warrior clan, so how could they survive without soul weapons? They had no choice but to use their clan’s reserves, purchasing a new batch of arsenals, but they ended up falling for yet another scam, for all the soul weapons they
bought turned out to be fake.
“It’s really hard to say. I’ve never seen a clan as unlucky as this one. This went on for some time, turning a major clan into what it is today. Truly, success comes at the hands of soul weapons, but so does failure.”
The servant ended up speaking for quite some length, and it was simply the sordid tale of how the Aurora Clan fell from grace after a series of unfortunate events. He was a servant at a teahouse, after all, so though he knew plenty, it was not very detailed. Xia Fei felt that he had more or less understood the
situation, and so he waved his hand to dismiss the server.
“When did that server mean when he said that success comes at the hands of soul weapons, but so does failure?” Xia Fei asked.
Radix sighed. ‘Warriors naturally need soul weapons; of course, they’ll have to buy more when they should, even more so if they lose all their ancestral soul weapons, or else what will the warriors of the clan use? Forget the fact that soul weapons can turn out to be fake, those of poor quality will need to be
repaired after some time, and that requires a lot of money. Spiritualists are the sort who will eat their customers alive. What good could come to the Aurora Clan that had fallen into a Spiritualist’s scheme?”
Xia Fei shrugged. “How about not equipping some of the clansmen with soul weapons; won’t there be no expenditure that way? Since the clan still has a reserve, why hang on to it so desperately?”
Radix replied, “That’s easy for you to say. The Aurora Clan isn’t just some nouveau riche; it’s a clan with a rich heritage! It’s renowned! How could a clan like that not equip their warriors with soul weapons?! How would they have the face to walk down the streets at that rate?”
Xia Fei slowly understood. It turned out that the Aurorean had an arsenal of top-grade soul weapons, which were passed down from one generation to another. Once the older generation retired, their soul weapons would be handed down to their descendants, and so on and so forth.
Unfortunately, their stocks of soul weapons got stolen by a Spiritualist. Going to the market to buy a new stock afterward, when there were already fewer and fewer Spiritualists, with the high-ranking Spiritualists even being rare as phoenix feathers… How would there be any readily available soul weapons
that could be bought? More often than not, soul weapons were something that money could not buy!
Using the clan’s fortune to buy batch after batch of fake or lousy soul weapons; buying a new one if they turned out to be fake, inviting Spiritualists to repair their newly bought weapons of poor quality, how could they not end up burning through their money like that? Since it had gone on for quite some
time, the distinguished Aurora Clan’s fortunes ended up getting drained by the hateful Spiritualists, resulting in the clan’s steady decline.
“No wonder Fuchen despises the average Spiritualist so much. Turns out that those people are actually so greedy,” Xia Fei took a sip of his tea and commented.
Radix was feeling miserable. ‘Of course, they are; in fact, they’re practically vampires! Even getting them to repair a level 1 soul weapon will cost several million pearls. In addition, they will often not repair the soul weapons fully in order to keep coming back, cheating the clients of their money. A soul
weapon breaking again after several months—of course, it’ll continue to cost money! No matter how large a clan might be, that’s the fate it would inevitably have to keep going back and forth with!”
Xia Fei was rendered speechless. Equipment and money were the two lifelines of every warrior. Which warrior out there was not made with real money? There was the old saying: ‘The poor are rich in martial arts; the warriors’ path had always been the license of the rich!
The Aurora Clan, which originally had its inherited fortune, was not in any danger of running out. Now, this monetary backing was gone, so of course, there would be no way for them to carry on their huge clan’s business anymore.
Radix stared at Xia Fei with pitiful-looking eyes, causing the latter to feel very uncomfortable. The meaning of this gaze could not be any plainer: Xia Fei was a Spiritualist—one of the Orthodox Spiritualists that numbered no more than a hundred across the Alpha Universe to boot! Since the Aurora Clan had
declined, Radix was really hoping that Xia Fei could do something to revitalize it.
“Forget it. Let’s first think of a way to get into the Aurora Clan, and then we’ll decide after,” said Xia Fei as he lit a cigarette.
After three months of grueling cultivation, Fuchen dropped Xia Fei off at the Tarot Galaxy and left. He instructed him repeatedly not to act recklessly. In the event that his nemesis saw through his identity, he would be in great danger. Everything would have to be put on hold until his return.
This was why Xia Fei could not return to the Clan with great fanfare, shouting his identity as the grandson of Wistful Valley. In order for him to return to the clan, he must find another method. He would first get into the clan and understand the situation before doing anything else.
Radix thought about it and said, “There’s an external compound in the clan, specifically designated as a place for distant relatives to stay when they come over to visit. You can make up an identity and go live there, but I don’t know if this external compound is still there given the dire straits that the clan is
ins
Inquiring from the teahouse servant, it turned out that the external compound was still around. As such, Xia Fei footed his bill and headed to the west city along a long stretch of street.
Standing outside the door, this residence was actually even more glamorous than the Aurora Clan’s base. Quite a few people also came and went, a very lively place indeed.
“Are these people all relatives of the Aurora Clan?” asked Xia Fei in his puzzlement. There were actually several good-for-nothings among the crowd, yelling and drinking as they entered the premises, each with a flushed face, looking like they were living the good life.
Radix sighed and replied in a morose tone, “The Aurora Clan has always followed the gentleman’s way when treating others. Actually, more than 90% of the people who stay here aren’t actually related to us; they’re only hanging around just to eat and drink on our bill. A large part of the clan’s expenditure is
actually coming from these people. If you call Spiritualists vampires, then these people are the bloodsuckers’ accomplices! Many of these rogues even drag their families in to stay, never leaving.”
Xia Fei found this to be hilarious. How could this be considered the gentleman’s way? This was more like the way of a cuckold!
Not one stopped him from entering the courtyard. The place was crowded with people. Some were enjoying the shades of trees while drinking tea, some were enjoying wine by the lake. There were even people who brought in prostitutes in the broad daylight! It was practically heaven for ne’er do wells!
He headed to the chamberlain’s house and casually uttered the name that the teahouse servant had inquired for him. A kindly old chamberlain gave Xia Fei a key and said courteously, “This is the key to the number 9 house. There are too many people, so all the good houses have been taken. If any of them free
up in the next few days, I’ll be sure to help you make arrangements again.”
Xia Fei furrowed his brows as he took the key. No wonder the Aurora Clan was in decline. All he had to do was claim that he was a distant relative, and he could come to the external compound to eat and drink his fill at the clan’s expense. It would be a heavenly miracle if such a clan did not fall into
destitution.
The old chamberlain saw Xia Fei furrowing his brows and thought that he was displeased, so he hurriedly said, “Though no. 9 house is a little old, it’s very secluded. The other places are very noisy, and the people who stay there are…”
The chamberlain fell silent upon reaching that point, a pained expression on his face. By the rules of the clan, everybody who came was a guest, and he could not make the decisions. He could only watch as this compound, which the clan had reserved to receive friends and relatives, got occupied by those
louts, and he was powerless to stop it.
Xia Fei smiled. “Old one, no need to be nervous. I’ve always preferred solitude, so staying in no. 9 house works fine for me.”
This was when he saw a group of drunken louts walk in. In the lead was a burly man; he began scolding the old chamberlain immediately after entering.
‘Is this how the Wists treat their guests?! My brothers and I were happily drinking when the kitchen told us that your clan had run out of wine! No wine? Dyou expect us to drink our piss?!”
“That’s right. This is the Aurora Clan, isn’t it? Had I known this, I would’ve dissuaded my cousin from marrying into the clan. Not to provide wine, what kind of relative is this?!”
Well, these louts were actually trying to overpower the host, demanding that they be provided wine!
Xia Fei was frowning the entire time as he watched this scene unfold. Radix was even madder with rage, his eyes seeing red. If Xia Fei sent out Nirvana to kill them, Radix would gladly do so at once!
The old chamberlain still had those kind eyes as he hurriedly explained, “Everyone is an important guest of the Aurora Clan. How could we neglect you all? I’l go right away and hurry people to purchase more, so please wait patiently.”
“That’s more like it. Yours truly wants to drink Cui Baixuan’s clear wine, so don’t you dare to try and trick me with cheap goods!”
The group of drunkards left, and the old chamberlain very awkwardly looked at Xia Fei and said, ‘We are all relatives, so if there’s a need that can be satisfied, we’ll do the best we can.”
Lighting a cigarette, Xia Fei departed without a word. He did not walk far for him to hear the old chamberlain sighing. “We can’t go on like this.. The expenses of the compound are already astronomical, yet these people actually still want wine from Cui Baixuan!”
