Chapter 115 - 100: Snow Lotus
Chapter 115: Chapter 100: Snow Lotus
The Chen Family’s Grand Elder paused, carefully choosing his words before he continued.
"There are about ten days remaining until the end of the rainy season. Young Master... Chen Fan’s Jiangbei Chen Family Camp No. 37 still stands in the Wilderness."
"It shows no sign of being destroyed."
As his words fell,
A few of the Elders beside him subconsciously glanced up at him.
A flash of displeasure flickered in the eyes of the Chen Family’s Honored Guest Elder seated across from them, but he said nothing. Chen Quan kept his head bowed, fiddling with the hem of his robes, his expression hidden. Patriarch Chen, for his part, showed no intention of opening his eyes.
Although the words "Young Master Chen Fan" sounded rather jarring,
But...
At this moment, they had no choice but to admit that Chen Fan had definitely become an Architect—and a very capable one at that.
That being the case,
Regardless of his former status,
They had to show him a certain degree of respect.
At the very least!
Tributor Liu knew perfectly well that even with an unlimited supply of Ghost Stones, he himself couldn’t have survived eighteen days in the rainy season. ’Setting aside everything else, where would you even get that many Building Blueprints? Don’t you need to study them?’
’Don’t you need to practice?’
’Could that Chen Fan really conjure a building out of thin air with just a thought?’
Seeing that no one else intended to speak, the Chen Family’s Grand Elder continued.
"At the northernmost, coastal edge of the Jiangbei Wilderness, there is a mountain called Nameless Mountain. The Ghost Map indicates a Ghost Fire within this mountain. It was lit several days ago and has not gone out since."
"I suspect,"
"that Young Master Chen Fan has established a branch camp there."
"Moreover..."
"Last night, the Ghost Map showed twenty new Ghost Fires suddenly appearing at Nameless Mountain. They were extinguished shortly after dawn. We don’t know what happened, but it’s likely Young Master Chen Fan endured a vicious battle last night."
"Young Master Chen Fan’s experience during the rainy season may be far more perilous than we imagine."
"What’s more, Young Master Chen Fan..."
He was cut off before he could finish.
Chen Quan, who had been sitting quietly, lifted his bloodshot eyes and stared daggers at the Grand Elder. He bit out each word, "You seem to be enjoying calling him ’Young Master Chen Fan’ over and over, don’t you?"
"He’s not even back yet, and you’re already eager to be his lackey?"
Then, as if on the verge of an emotional breakdown, he shot to his feet, slammed both hands on the table, and roared.
"I, Chen Quan, am the sole young master of the Chen Family! The sole heir!"
"Do you understand?"
"Can you remember that!"
"Insolent!"
Patriarch Chen, who had been sitting in the head seat with his eyes closed, snapped them open. A flicker of rage showed in his cloudy pupils. "He is the Grand Elder of the Chen Family. You are his junior. How dare you speak to him that way?"
"Apologize!"
Chen Quan snorted, rose without a word, and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
The Chen Family’s Honored Guest Elder, the Level 5 Architect, followed him out, his face dark.
"..."
Patriarch Chen sat in his chair in silence for a long while. Without another word, he simply flicked his sleeve and walked out of the council hall alone.
"Grand Elder."
Once only a few of them remained in the council hall, the other Elders looked toward the Grand Elder.
"Sigh."
The Chen Family’s Grand Elder rose to his feet. After a moment’s pause, he sighed and spoke. "Do any of you have a habit of frequenting the teahouses to listen to the storytellers?"
"Whenever I’m at the teahouse listening to stories, there’s always a certain type of character who, the moment they appear, gives you the feeling they’re doomed to die."
"Young Master Chen Quan gives me that exact feeling."
"The rainy season is almost over."
After this final, cryptic statement, the Grand Elder said no more. He simply shook his head and walked out of the council hall.
...
"Mother!"
「The Jiangbei Chen Family Estate.」
His eyes red-rimmed, Chen Quan knelt before a woman, tears streaming down his face as he lamented, "That Level 5 Architect, the Chen Family’s Honored Guest Elder—isn’t he one of your people from the Pingtian Commerce Association, Mother?"
"Why must we rely on the Chen Family?"
"Can’t we just strike out on our own?"
"Father is such a bully!"
"..."
The woman seated in the chair took a slow, deliberate sip of her tea before speaking. "There are many hidden circumstances here that you don’t understand. You only need to know two things."
"First,"
"The Jiangbei Chen Family needs our Pingtian Commerce Association."
"And second,"
"The Pingtian Commerce Association needs the Jiangbei Chen Family."
"As for Chen Fan, don’t you worry about him. The plans we’ve laid for all these years will come to fruition after this rainy season. When it ends, I will take you away from the Jiangbei Chen Family. You have a long future ahead of you."
"Once you’ve seen the world outside, you’ll realize what a trivial place Jiangbei City truly is."
"..."
Kneeling on the floor with his eyes still red, Chen Quan stared blankly for a moment before asking, somewhat confused, "Mother, what plans?"
"You don’t want me to fight for the heir’s position anymore?"
"Heir?"
The woman rose and moved to sit by the window. Her jet-black hair was flawlessly styled in an updo, pierced by an exquisite hairpin. Her face was as fair as jade, her eyebrows like crescent moons. With ruby lips and pearly teeth, she gazed out at the rain dripping from the eaves.
Merely sitting there,
she resembled a courtyard painting from the collection of a great family.
Her small, bare feet swayed gently in the air, like white magnolias freshly bloomed after a rain, exuding a cool, inviolable fragrance.
She chuckled softly, poured herself another cup of tea, and spoke in a languid tone.
"More than a decade ago, my father came from Jiangnan to this shithole, Jiangbei City. The rumor is that my father’s family had fallen on hard times, and that he used 5,000 Ghost Stones to stage a comeback here, founding the Pingtian Commerce Association."
"But the common folk are fools."
"They don’t think too deeply."
"They can’t understand why our Pingtian Commerce Association, which boasts a Level 5 Architect, would need to marry into the Jiangbei Chen Family. They probably assume that since I’m my father’s only daughter, and I had to be married off eventually, it was only natural to find a local squire, I suppose."