Chapter 505: Earthquake in the Ancestral Hall

Reclusive families like Wu Chi's place great importance on the inheritance of their lineage.

Aside from a few unscrupulous individuals, people of higher seniority and older age within the clan are generally more respected.

In the general mindset of the clan, they believe that without the efforts of their ancestors, they would not be who they are today.

Inside the ancestral hall of the Miao village, in addition to the ancestral tablets, there are some things that only certain people know about.

Therefore, this ancestral hall can be said to be the tallest and sturdiest building in the entire village. Every day, a team of people is even arranged to take turns guarding the ancestral hall, which shows how much the villagers value it.

When Grandpa Wu heard that something had happened at the ancestral hall, he rushed out of the house without even putting on his coat.

What happened at the ancestral hall?

"The ancestral hall just experienced an earthquake, which caused several ancestral tablets inside to fall down."

"An earthquake?" Grandpa Wu was stunned. "How come I didn't feel anything when the ancestral hall shook?"

Wu Yan's expression was solemn: "Don't even mention you, I didn't feel anything while I was sitting in the front yard. The people over there said that the earthquake only occurred around the ancestral hall and lasted for less than twenty seconds."

"At first, they all thought that someone had sneaked into the ancestral hall and was causing trouble. They ran in and searched for a long time, but they didn't find anyone or any trace of an explosion. Only a few of the ancestral tablets in the front hall were knocked over or fell off. Everything else was fine."

Grandpa Wu breathed a sigh of relief, then asked anxiously, "Have all those memorial tablets been put back yet? You should quickly send someone to invite your second uncle and the elders. We've disturbed the ancestors, so everyone should go over and pay their respects properly and apologize to them."

"Speaking of which ancestors' ancestral tablets were knocked over?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yan's expression became slightly subtle: "The ones who fell down were several grandmasters, and the one that fell down was... the patriarch."

Grandpa Wu, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly felt choked up again. His face turned deathly pale, and he almost fainted from catching his breath.

"Dad, Dad, don't worry, don't worry!" When Wu Yan saw that Grandpa Wu was about to fall, he rushed forward to help him up, pinching his philtrum and patting his back until he finally caught his breath.

"Quickly, send someone to invite your second uncle and the elder..."

"I had someone invite him before I came, Dad, don't worry."

How could he not be anxious? He was so anxious he wanted to hit someone!

The ancestral tablets had never been damaged since they settled on this mountain. This sudden earthquake not only knocked over the tablets of the other ancestral masters, but it also knocked over the ancestral tablet of the first master.

Grandpa Wu was already uneasy, and when this happened, his first reaction was that his ancestors were warning him that something terrible was about to happen to their clan!

It was true that Wu Yan had sent someone to call people earlier; in less than five minutes, several elders of the same generation as Grandpa Wu gathered at the ancestral hall.

The group shared the same thought as Grandpa Wu: they felt this was not a good omen.

After discussing it for a while, everyone decided to first offer incense to their ancestors, and then prepare fresh fruits and vegetables to make amends the next day.

Although Grandpa Wu has retired in recent years, he still enjoys great prestige in the clan, and most of the people present are Wu Yan's elders.

The first incense offering was ultimately offered by Grandpa Wu, but before he could even bow down, the incense stick was neatly cut in half and fell to the ground.

Everyone inside: "!!!"

Grandpa Wu and the others turned pale instantly.

"This...could it be that something happened within the clan that angered our ancestors and caused them to punish us? If that's the case..."

"The only thing causing a stir in the clan lately is that Tao family's granddaughter is having an affair, right? Do you think it might be because of this ancestor..."

“I told you long ago, those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts. Wasn’t the lesson from twenty years ago enough to warn everyone? These young people are just inexperienced and easily blinded by the allure of the world. We shouldn’t have agreed to let them go out and see the world in the first place.”

"If we don't let them go out and see the world, are we going to lock them up in the mountains for the rest of their lives? Don't you see how developed the outside world has become? Our generation has no hope, but are we going to let these future generations sit in their wells, knowing nothing and being inferior to others in everything?"

"What's wrong with being locked up in the mountains? At least it's safe..."

Seeing that the conservatives and progressives in the clan were about to start arguing again, Grandpa Wu's face darkened, and he shouted angrily: "Enough! What's all the arguing about? This is an ancestral hall, not a vegetable market! If you disturb the peace of our ancestors, let's see who comes out on top."

Everyone fell silent instantly, but still glared angrily at the other party, clearly very dissatisfied.

Grandpa Wu glanced at the sullen crowd, then at the broken incense in his hand, feeling both headache and worry.

Just then, another series of hurried footsteps came from outside.

Before anyone could be seen, someone shouted, "Clan leader, old clan leader, something terrible has happened!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts skipped a beat: "What happened?"

The messenger was a young man of about seventeen or eighteen. He leaned against the door of the ancestral hall, panting heavily, and said intermittently, "Young clan leader, the young clan leader and the others returned ahead of schedule, but unexpectedly, a few outsiders infiltrated their ranks. Now, they are locked in a stalemate at the foot of the mountain. Those people seem to be quite capable."

"The brother on guard duty didn't know what to do, so he asked me to come and ask the clan chief if we should send someone down to support the young clan chief?"

"What? People outside?"

These words immediately provoked several elderly people present.

"I knew it! The ancestral hall was perfectly fine, and then the ground suddenly shook. It must be these outsiders causing this! Get rid of them!"

"No, no, no, they already know about this place. If they leave, they might come up with some wicked ideas. Let Ah Chi cast a spell on them to make sure they don't tell anyone about what's going on here, then drive them away and make sure they never come back here again in their lifetime."

Even the elderly people who had just insisted on letting the children in the village go out and about have now sided with the conservatives.

They hope that the children in the village can go out and see how big the sky is and how wide the land is, but that doesn't mean they are happy for outsiders to come into the village.

Wu Yan and his son shared a similar attitude towards the matter with everyone else, and were about to send someone down to help drive the people away.

The ground beneath their feet suddenly began to move, and the memorial tablets of various sizes placed in the front hall also began to sway.

Wu Yan hurriedly stepped forward to support his father, and the young people outside also rushed in to help the elderly.

After finally regaining their balance, the memorial tablets arranged in a stepped pattern not far away suddenly rolled down from above, landing precisely on the shoulders and backs of several elderly people.

The ancestral tablet, which had recently fallen, landed directly on the head of an old man who had just been most agitated, indignant, and wanted to cast a spell on someone and drive them away.

Ouch!

Everyone: "?!"

(End of this chapter)