The guard came rushing back. He took a breath and bowed once more.
"The second elder requested that the young master and master Du enter the family pavilion. He also convened the elders and the family leader." the guard said.
"The second elder? Isn't my father the third elder? Why did the second elder convene this meeting? Smells like trouble to me." I thought to myself as we walked. Uncle Du seemed to have some similar thoughts, because his face was filled with worry.
I did not want to disturb the man who tried his best to save my life, so I went with the flow, following Uncle Du. The path that we were on seemed nothing like the city that was outside. To the side, there were multiple bamboo shoots. It looked like a forest, but one that was well cared for. And the buildings that were within were well spaced, with a lot of empty space between them. Just another show of how powerful the Liu Family probably was.
I could see that there were people everywhere, and all of them looked at me with contempt. Some of them talked to each other, and all of them seemed to have one thing running in their head. Why did the idiot young master return?
We stopped in front of what appeared to be the family pavilion. Uncle Du stopped walking.
"Feng'er. I do not think that I can go forward anymore. Tell your father that I did my job. I will go to your mother and tell her the good news. Do not forget. Beg for forgiveness." Uncle Du said. Before I could ask anything further from him, he disappeared. Disappeared into thin air! I did not know how he did that, but it seemed like a cultivation benefit.
I looked to the stairs that led to the pavilion. It was closed on the top, for some reason. More like a council room, or something, that they did not know how to name. I walked up the stairs. By now, I could see through the entrance. There were many people seated within. All of them were silent and calm.
I entered the hall, and all the eyes fell upon me like daggers. I looked around, and names started matching the faces. And at the top, the very head of the room, there was an old man who was seated, looking at me like I murdered someone.
"Grandfather." I knelt down.
"Feng'er. Do you understand the severity of the issue that you have caused since you disappeared three months ago?" my grandfather for this life, Liu Hong, asked.
I did not answer. I knew that this was rhetoric. I was not allowed to say anything until everyone was done scolding me.
I turned to the side, and could see my father, Liu Qian, sitting on the second chair from the right. He did not look happy in the slightest to see me. His face scowled just looking at me.
"Forgive me father. It was not my intention to be away from home for so long. But I had no choice. I was trapped in a cave. I do not know how. I was attacked. I almost died!" I begged. This was what the system had told me before. The backstory was that I got trapped in the cave while I was running away from someone.
"You expect me to believe the lies that you spout?!" Liu Qian shouted with anger.
"I was trapped in a cave. Uncle Du rescued me. You can ask him. The boulder that blocked the cave was not something that I could move even an inch, let alone block myself in a cave with. You must believe me father!" I cried. I was a victim after all. Not the culprit.
"Qian'er. Wait. Let him finish. I know that there is some truth to what he said. There are people within the Bai family who wanted him to die. After all, no one wants this boy to marry their precious jade beauty. But there is not much that we can do. We have to wait for the city lord's gathering two months later. After that, the marriage agreement will be dissolved, and then you can punish your boy however you want." Liu Hong said.
I was confused. A marriage agreement? It seemed that this body was so stupid that he let go of a wife that he would have had? I could not believe it. How could anyone be so stupid? If he had a surefire win, then he should have held on to it.
"Feng'er. Go back home. Your mother is waiting for you. I have something that I want to ask the rest of the council. More particularly, why the second elder called for the entire council to meet." Liu Qian looked at the man opposite to him with eyes filled with anger.
"What are you talking about brother? I called everyone here because there is something obvious that needs to be done. Liu Feng is not a part of the family. He is just here in namesake. You know that. And yet, he tarnished the name, and now we lost a chance of an alliance with the Bai family because of him. I say that the marriage agreement be transferred to Kun's name. That way, we will still remain one of the three top families." the second elder, Liu Zhu, said with a sinister smile.
"We shall wait for the gathering two months hence. After that, we shall see what to do. Until then, we will wait. After all, that is all that we can do. The gathering is important. Also, make sure that all the young ones are properly trained these next two months. We need to get one of the five spots. A chance like this will never appear again. We need someone in the Xiantian stage within ten years. Or else, we will be in big trouble." Liu Hong said.
"Xiantian stage? That is the way that they measure cultivation? Then why is my cultivation measured in years? This does not make any sense to me." I thought to myself. I got up slowly and left the hall. This was clearly not my place to be in.
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