Chapter 1088.1: Scholars Who Don’t Study - Part 1

Xie Zhongxing ranked third among his generation of the Xie Clan, and so everyone else addressed him as Third Old Master. During the years when the family head had long since stopped handling affairs, Third Old Master temporarily took over as family head and managed the clan for several years. Later, after Third Old Master’s health began to deteriorate, the person who took charge became Third Master Xie.

As it happened, Third Old Master ranked third, and his son also ranked third.

Third Master Xie’s corpse was right here, and now they wanted his father to come and see it. Wasn’t that a little too cruel?

Many young people stood outside the courtyard. Hearing this, they were all somewhat angry. They had read many books and understood certain principles very well, knowing that one should spare others when possible.

What was more, there was still no conclusion as to whether Third Master Xie had actually committed any wrongdoing.

Thus, several young people soon wanted to speak up.

But just then, a voice rang out from outside the small courtyard. “Third Old Master is dead!”

The voice came so abruptly that everyone immediately frowned.

Someone in the crowd pointed at Chen Chao and said, “Third Old Master must have heard the bad news and been angered to death!”

“Killing someone is bad enough, but he actually went this far. And someone like this is even an important official of the imperial court. Heaven truly has no eyes!”

“Third Old Master had already been tormented terribly by illness these past few years, and now he has died in such a manner. How pitiful...”

Voices rose from the crowd, but almost all of them were condemning Chen Chao.

Chen Chao said nothing. He simply sat beneath the eaves, watching the rain grow heavier and heavier.

In truth, most of these people’s voices were drowned out by the sound of the rain and barely reached Chen Chao’s ears. Even if they did, he did not particularly care.

He merely felt somewhat displeased. That bastard called Xie Zhongxing deserved to die, but he should not have died at this particular moment. At the very least, Chen Chao had to see Third Master Xie’s corpse before he could die.

In a somewhat foul mood, Chen Chao went to look at Third Master Xie’s corpse as it lay exposed to the rain. Quite a few young people had long wanted to rush forward and collect Third Master Xie’s body, but in the end, they were all held back by their respective elders.

The young people might not think much about the Xie Clan’s dignity, but they would always feel that once a person was dead, that was of the greatest importance, and everything else could be discussed afterward.

But those Xie Clan elders who were no longer young understood very clearly that Third Master Xie’s corpse could only remain exposed to the rain for the time being. Everything else could be discussed later. For now, the demands of that young Lord Warden Commander had to be met, otherwise matters would only grow worse and worse.

Moreover, many people had long since tacitly decided that Third Master Xie was definitely the true culprit behind the killing of Sixteenth Master. Without absolute certainty, that young Lord Warden Commander would not have traveled thousands of miles all the way here to kill someone. After all, compared with killing a person, the consequences of doing so were far too great.

As for what Third Master Xie had said earlier about making way for Xie Nandu, that actually made no sense at all. Xie Nandu no longer needed anyone to make way for her. If she wanted to become the family head, she could become the family head. It was simply a matter of whether she wanted to or not.

In the pouring rain, an oil-paper umbrella pushed through the downpour and arrived here. It was Xie Qing. This young man had originally held no particularly high position within the Xie Clan, but because of the circumstances surrounding today’s events, he had instead become extremely important.

He came beneath the eaves and put down his umbrella, but he was still quite wet all over. When the rain was this heavy, it was impossible to keep oneself dry regardless of whether one held an umbrella.

Xie Qing glanced at Third Master Xie in the courtyard. Of course, it was merely a corpse, so he quickly shifted his gaze to Chen Chao.

“Lord Warden Commander, the family head has emerged from seclusion.”

Xie Qing said quietly, “The family head requests that Lord Warden Commander go over there to discuss matters.”

On his way here, he had already heard that Third Old Master had died. He thought that the family head truly was the family head. When it came to handling matters, he was still as decisive and swift as ever.

Chen Chao said nothing. He ignored Xie Qing without saying a word and simply remained seated.

Xie Qing waited respectfully for quite a while, but still received no response from Chen Chao. Thus, he quietly called out again, “Lord Warden Commander?”

Chen Chao ignored him. At this point, he had even closed his eyes, as though he were somewhat sleepy and intended to take a nap right here.

Xie Qing gave a bitter smile. How could he not understand the reason for Chen Chao’s attitude?

It was just that Third Master Xie was merely an acting family head. In a certain sense, he indeed could not represent the Xie Clan. But if to actually make the family head come over personally, wouldn’t that truly mean he was showing far too little regard for the Xie Clan?

That was what he thought, but Xie Qing still had no intention of saying anything. The grave expression on the family head’s face when he emerged from seclusion earlier was already enough to explain a great deal.

The Xie Clan appeared to be flourishing at its peak. In the Divine Capital, the Divine Capital Xie Family stood alone at the top, while in the Northern Frontier there was Xie Nandu. On the surface, it seemed impossible for the clan to fall. But that depended on whom they had offended.

Offending ordinary people was naturally nothing to worry about. But if the person they were about to provoke was the most difficult person in the world to provoke, then presumably everyone would think it over very carefully.

Xie Qing opened his umbrella and turned to walk into the curtain of rain. Yet after taking only a few steps, a figure appeared within the rain. A man carrying an umbrella was walking toward him.

"Family Head."

Xie Qing looked at the man and quickly spoke.

The man who had arrived was Xie Zhongli, the current head of the White Deer's Xie Clan.

When he was young, he had been an exceptional scholar. By his thirties, he was already renowned throughout the realm. Afterward, he embarked on the path of cultivation, and at the age when one comes to know one's destiny, he became the head of the Xie Clan. For all these years, the Xie Clan had been under his authority.

Of course, over the past decade or so, Xie Zhongli had often gone into seclusion to cultivate, leaving all matters, great and small, within the Xie Clan to others.

First it had been Third Old Master Xie Zhongxing, and later Third Master Xie Ting.

At this moment, the gray-haired Xie Zhongli appeared before everyone, and quite a few people were seeing their family head for the first time in these past years.

Xie Zhongli walked beneath the eaves and handed his umbrella to Xie Qing before smiling and saying, “Greetings, Lord Warden Commander.”

Xie Qing took the umbrella and stood quietly to the side without saying a word.

Chen Chao slowly opened his eyes and looked at the family head of the Xie Clan before him. He smiled and said, “This official thought I wouldn’t get to see the Xie Clan’s family head on this trip here. Thinking about it, even when this official went to the Divine Capital Xie Family to see that old ancestor, it wasn’t this difficult.”

Xie Zhongli smiled. “I have indeed been somewhat too fixated on cultivation these past years. Lord Warden Commander is also a cultivator, so you can naturally understand.”

Chen Chao looked Xie Zhongli over and said, “This official thought the Xie Family Head had already stepped into Fuyun.”

That sentence was clearly only half of what he meant, but whether he said the rest or not was actually unimportant.

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