Outside the main hall, the blazing sun hung like a raging fire, its scorching rays piercing down like sharp swords as if ruthlessly determined to lay bare every secret in the mortal world. A thin, frail youth slowly came into view. Chen Yingjian walked at a measured pace toward the interior of the hall, his shadow stretched long and distorted across the ground. In this stiflingly hot atmosphere, his solitary figure appeared exceptionally desolate.
Inside the hall, the atmosphere was as heavy as lead, the sultry air seeming to grow increasingly stagnant under the weight of everyone's tension and anger. Chen Yingjian kept his head lowered, his gaze sweeping furtively across the room from the corners of his eyes. A moment later, his hands clenched tightly inside his sleeves, his fingernails digging deep into his palms as sweat continually seeped out. At that instant, his heart felt as though it had plummeted into a bottomless glacial abyss, bone-chillingly cold and utterly devoid of warmth.
Seated on both sides of the hall, the clansmen gazed at the slowly approaching Chen Yingjian with expressions full of contempt: scorn, disdain, loathing, and disgust. All these malicious gazes were like countless sharp blades piercing straight at him, condemning him as the thief who had stolen the family heirloom. At that moment, Chen Yingjian felt as though a crushing weight of a thousand jin rested heavily upon his chest, suffocating him to the point where it was hard to breathe, difficult to let go.
Chen Haoran raised his head, frowning as he watched the slow-moving figure ahead.
Chen Qian took a gentle sip of his tea, glanced indifferently at Chen Yingjian, and let out a smug, cold smirk at the corner of his mouth, as though everything were entirely within his control.
Gazing at his approaching eldest grandson, Chen Hanlin's face seemed to age a few more years.
"Xiaojian, do you admit your wrongdoing?" Chen Hanlin asked in a deep voice, a hint of exasperation underlying his expression.
"What wrongdoing could I possibly have?" Chen Yingjian raised his head and said slowly.
"Could it be that even now... you still refuse to admit your mistake?" A flash of anger broke through Chen Hanlin's previously calm demeanor, and he slammed a hand heavily onto the table, causing the teacups atop it to rattle and spill some of their water. His face flushed red with fury, and his beard trembled.
"I will not admit to something I never did." Chen Yingjian's tone was unyielding and stubborn.
"A true man knows when to yield and when to stand tall. Can you be so obstinate and feel not even a shred of shame?" Chen Hanlin's stooped body slowly stood up, and he walked step by step toward Chen Yingjian, each step heavy.
"A true man stands tall between heaven and earth, accountable to the heavens, the earth, and his clan. I swear I have never done anything to betray the family, including this matter." Chen Yingjian straightened his spine, speaking with unwavering backbone. His resolute gaze met Chen Hanlin's directly, showing not a trace of retreat.
"Nephew Yingjian, stop making excuses. The manual has already been found right at the entrance of the valley where you always spend your time, so don't waste your breath on a pointless argument." Chen Qian put down his teacup, brushed lightly at a non-existent speck of dust on his robes, and smiled with a trace of mockery at the corners of his mouth.
Hearing this, Chen Yingjian felt a jolt in his heart, then said coldly, "It seems someone went to great lengths behind the scenes to frame me."
Chen Yingjian's dark pupils locked directly onto Chen Qian's cloudy, bulging eyes without a shred of fear, a burning rage blazing within his gaze.
"What? Your plot failed, and now you want to turn around and shift the blame onto me? What a joke!" Meeting gaze for gaze, Chen Qian hooked the corner of his mouth in derision and did not forget to spit onto the floor.
"I am merely speaking the facts, unlike certain people whose bellies are full of poison." Chen Yingjian's face turned icy.
"You sharp-tongued brat, don't try such sly tricks. Everyone in the clan saw it with their own eyes, so you might as well save your breath." Chen Qian's face darkened in vexation. Chen Yingjian had accused him again and again; although no names were mentioned, every single sentence was like a sharp sword piercing straight into his heart, genuinely angering him to the point where the fire in his chest began to rage out of control.
"What a brilliant scheme, what a clever calculation! Don't think I don't know that you've been coveting the position of patriarch for ages. You won't get that position without me, Grea... ter... El... der..." Chen Yingjian said with an icy face, uttering each word deliberately, his tone laden with fury and accusation.
Then he added viciously, "Was I really that easy to frame?"
"Fine, very well! Right now I truly want to tear apart your cheap mouth so you'll never dare babble nonsense again." Chen Qian's face turned ashen with rage, driven mad by embarrassment.
With his entire scheme laid bare and analyzed to the core, Chen Qian's withered fingers trembled slightly with anger, his man-eating, bulging eyes locked unblinkingly onto Chen Yingjian as if he wanted to tear him apart alive. He extended a finger and pointed straight at Chen Yingjian, his finger shaking violently down to the very tip, his facial features distorted by fury.
"You are welcome to try!" Chen Yingjian narrowed his eyes and retorted without the slightest fear.
In truth, Chen Yingjian had merely been talking blindly, entirely guessing the truth. He never imagined that his wild speculation would actually hit the mark. Hearing this, Chen Qian was struck with terror; he could never have dreamed that this usually mild-tempered youth would erupt into a fury that no one could handle. At that moment, his resolve hardened: no matter the cost, he had to drive Chen Yingjian out of the clan.
"Enough!" Seeing the two men at each other's throats, Chen Hanlin felt an inexplicable fire surge in his chest and shouted angrily. The angry roar echoed through the grand hall, making everyone's ears ring.
At that moment, he was so angry that even his beard twitched, and his body trembled slightly with rage.
"Hmph!" Chen Qian let out a cold snort, forcefully suppressing the anger in his heart as he slowly sat back down, though malicious plots began to brew and form within him once more.
"Xiaojian, do not be impudent! Is that how you speak to your elders?" Chen Hanlin turned his head and rebuked him.
Chen Yingjian kept his face frozen in ice and remained silent. From a young age, he had held no fondness whatsoever for Chen Qian's faction, so how could there be any respect in his heart?
After a long while.
"Xiaojian, do you... have anything else to say?" Chen Hanlin put his hands behind his back, tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and spoke after a moment of rumination.
Hearing this, everyone's gaze fixed upon Chen Yingjian, those piercing stares seemingly trying to see right through him.
Chen Yingjian's heart tightened slightly, his gaze flickering. He remained silent, knowing that no matter how he explained, it would be useless, so he simply chose to keep quiet.
Watching the latter's silence, Chen Qian sneered repeatedly in his heart, certain that this meant he had nothing to say and was tacitly admitting his guilt. The corners of his mouth curled into a triumphant smile.
After the silent atmosphere lingered for a moment:
"Since you have no objection, then I announce..."
Chen Qian gripped his teacup, his bulging eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the youth before him, filled with the intoxicating thrill of impending success, eagerly awaiting the patriarch's verdict and the wretched expression on the youth's face when he was cast out of the clan!
Chen Haoran sighed, keeping his head lowered with his eyes half-closed.
Chen Yingjian's heart trembled while his expression remained blank. He clearly remembered the first rule of the clan: Anyone who steals a clan heirloom shall be expelled from the clan.
The clan heirlooms: the Ancestor Sword and the Qiankun Sword Manual. He was considered to have taken both, so...
"I declare that Chen Yingjian is banished to do odd jobs at the family's external business shops, never to return to the clan!" Chen Hanlin pronounced in a deep voice with his eyes closed.
As soon as the words fell, Chen Yingjian's gaze froze, clearly not expecting this outcome.
"Crack!"
The teacup in Chen Qian's hand was crushed to powder, the shards mixing with the tea as they dropped to the floor. His facial expression distorted as he roared furiously, "Chen Hanlin, what do you mean by this?!"
A clamor instantly arose within the hall.
"Patriarch, you cannot do this!" The man named Shushu in the crowd stood up excitedly, shouting while waving his arms in protest.
"Protest!"
"The clan rules cannot be altered at will!"
"Protest!"
Quite a few people stood up at that moment to voice their dissatisfaction. However, the majority of them belonged to Chen Qian's faction, while a small minority belonged to the other elders' factions.
"But these are clan rules passed down by our ancestors! Neither you nor I can alter them arbitrarily!" Chen Qian's bulging eyes locked onto Chen Hanlin as he spoke in a deep voice. A ferocious expression surfaced on his aged face, making it easy to see just how enraged he was at that moment.
Chen Hanlin remained silent. As patriarch, if he lost the support of the people, his position would be forfeit—this, Chen Hanlin understood.
Watching the commotion among the clansmen and Chen Qian's aggressive pressing, Chen Yingjian clenched his fists. Of course, Chen Hanlin's words had brought a trace of warmth to Chen Yingjian's heart; at the very least, at the critical moment, the former had still been helping him. That much was enough. Thinking of this, his clenched fists slowly relaxed, and his delicate face broke into a smile. "What difficulty is there in wanting me to leave the family?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was stunned. The noisy hall instantly plunged into silence, every single gaze locking onto that slender figure...
"Cunning little bastard, what tricks are you playing at now?" Chen Qian stared intently at Chen Yingjian, unable to fathom the latter's words.
Chen Yingjian gave a bitter, desolate laugh. "You all truly play your parts to perfection! In truth, even if you hadn't forced me, I would have left anyway. This place never had a place for me to begin with!" Ever since Lin Shanshan left, he had felt very little attachment left to this place. Leaving this place to venture into the vast outside world had always been his inevitable choice.
As his words fell, a surging, immensely fierce spiritual energy erupted forth from within his body.
"A Spirit Master!"
"How is this possible?!"
Everyone in the hall was struck dumb, staring at him in utter disbelief. Chen Qian's eyes widened to the limit, his jaw dropped, and his cloudy eyes were filled with shock and absolute incredulity.
Chen Hanlin momentarily lost his wits, the expression on his face instantly freezing.
Chen Haoran wore a look of sheer astonishment.
Those clansmen who had just been hurling abuse at Chen Yingjian were now filled with utter disbelief and shock. They never imagined that Chen Yingjian, whom they had always looked down upon, was actually a Spirit Master.
"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!" Chen Qian shook his head in near madness, his voice shrill and grating. A scene straight out of a dreamscape was actually playing out vividly before his eyes.
Chen Yingjian swept a cold gaze across the crowd. The past anger and grievance within his eyes had vanished completely, leaving behind only indifference and resolute determination.
"The humiliation I have suffered today, I, Chen Yingjian, will engrave in my heart!" His voice was as chilling as frost, echoing and reverberating through the grand hall.
With that, he ignored everyone's reactions, turned on his heel, and strode outward. That resolute back seemed to declare to everyone that he would never look back.
Dead silence filled the grand hall, with only the sound of Chen Yingjian's departing footsteps echoing in the air—each step striking like a heavy hammer, ruthlessly pounding against the heart of every single person present.