As soon as the people left, the ancestral hall immediately became empty.

The guards were helping to clean up the food and weapons piled up inside. Previously, in order not to damage the furnishings in the ancestral hall, the things were piled in the corridor. Once the ancestral hall was cleared, they were immediately restored to their original state.

Seeing this, the tribesmen did not blame him too much.

"Grandfather, how many of our clansmen are left in the fortress now?" Wei Xiyin asked when she saw the empty streets outside.

Wei Ji's eyes darkened when he heard this, and the tribesmen behind him also lowered their heads and remained silent.

The joy of reunion was instantly diluted.

It was Wei Mingze on the side who took the initiative to reply: "There are still 396 people left, more than 100 guards and more than 300 servants and farmhands." Many people in the tribe died in this disaster, and several elders in charge of the tribe's general affairs have passed away. Some affairs of the underground palace are now temporarily managed by Wei Mingze.

Hearing this number, Wei Xiyin felt like she was almost out of breath.

You have to know that there were originally thousands of tribesmen living here, but in the end, only less than four hundred people survived. This was only because my grandfather led everyone back to the underground palace in time.

Logically speaking, there are underground palaces and secret passages in the fortress, and there are many soldiers and guards, so the casualties should not be so heavy.

Wei Xiyin soon found out the reason.

Wei Zhongxun was supported by others and came to the ancestral hall. Behind him were Wei Mingzhang and others who were tied with ropes and carrying whips on their backs.

"Wu Niang, Er Lang, this is your third great uncle." Wei Ji didn't look at the people behind him, but introduced Wei Zhongxun to the brother and sister.

Wei Xiyin quickly pulled Wei Lang to salute and said, "Meetings, Third Uncle."

Wei Zhongxun coughed and waved his hands, ignoring the two juniors. He looked at the open door of the ancestral hall, pushed open the door of the junior who was supporting him, and walked straight in.

After being ill for many days, Wei Zhongxun's steps were a little unsteady, but his expression was extremely firm.

When he reached the door of the main hall, he raised his hand tremblingly, took out the key from his arms and opened the main door.

Seeing him like this, Wei Ji sighed deeply.

Obviously, Wei Zhongxun couldn't wait a moment. Wei Ji knew that he was worried that if this group of young people were not dealt with, his illness would probably never be cured.

"All outsiders, please leave the ancestral hall immediately." Wei Ji waved his hand and shouted, "Wei Li, go over and support your grandfather. Since I am the patriarch of the Wei family, I will handle this matter."

Upon hearing this, Wei Li immediately stepped into the main room, helped his grandfather up, and whispered, "Grandfather..." Wei Zhongxun had no choice but to let his grandson support him and step aside.

Wei Xiyin glanced around and saw that no one was paying attention to her, so she shamelessly stayed in the ancestral hall.

After the guards retreated outside the door, only the Wei clan members were left in the Sifang Ancestral Hall.

The door to the main hall was wide open. Wei Mingzhang and others knelt on the ground in front of the ancestral tablets. Their faces were desolate and full of regret.

Wei Ji stood in front of the ancestral tablets in the main hall and said loudly, "Please give me the clan rules and the family tree."

The tribesmen slowly knelt down. Seeing this, Wei Xiyin quickly pulled Wei Lang to kneel on the ground as well.

According to the rules, only men can enter the ancestral hall, but as long as no one drives her away, Wei Xiyin will pretend not to know.

Because she was so curious and wanted to know what happened in the dock when the zombie outbreak occurred.

In the main room, the incense burner was raised and the incense and candles were lit.

A thick stack of clan rules was slowly unfolded and placed on the table.

Wei Ji tapped his finger lightly on it, staring at the people kneeling in the hall and said in a deep voice: "The first of our Wei family's ancestral precepts is to always be filial and friendly, never lose sight of poetry and literature, strive to protect the foundation, and strictly train our descendants."

"Wei Mingzhang, Wei Mingxiu, Wei Mingshang and others, please do not disobey the orders of the clan leader and disregard the lives of your clan members for the sake of personal gain. You are the main culprits of this chaos that has brought disaster to the clan."

"Today, we have opened the ancestral hall to report to our ancestors and remove them from the family tree. We will also expel them from the fortress and banish them from here forever."

As he spoke, Wei Ji asked someone to bring pen and ink, and spread out the family tree, as if he wanted to cross out the names of these people.

Wei Mingzhang and the others were horrified and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Clan leader, we nephews know we were wrong. We would rather die to atone for our sins. We will remain a member of the Wei family until death."

"Chief... Chief, we truly know we were wrong. Please forgive us."

"Please, Chief, show some mercy..."

In this dynasty, people's clan concepts were deeply rooted.

The power of an individual is insignificant. As long as we are of the same clan and have the same roots, we are relatives who can be relied upon. The individual is a small family, above the small family is the big family, and above the big family is the clan.

Without a clan, one is a rootless person, and after death, he will become a wandering ghost. In their view, this is a heavier punishment than direct death.

The many clansmen kneeling in the yard were silent. No one came to help plead for mercy. They all lowered their heads and shed tears silently.

In this disaster, almost every family lost a close relative. For example, in my second uncle's family, only one three-year-old great-grandson who was sent out of the fort survived.

"Enough!" Wei Ji's face turned pale and he shouted sternly, "You secretly detained the messenger guard and caused the death of our clansmen due to lack of information. You know that our Wei clan was almost destroyed because of you!"

"You killed hundreds of your closest relatives. How can you still be considered a member of the Wei family?"

"You want to die to atone for your sins? How can you face them after you die? How can you even care about your ancestors?"

Knowing that there was no turning back, Wei Mingzhang and the others collapsed on the ground and burst into tears.

Wei Ji closed his eyes tiredly and waved his hand, "Come here, open the secret passage and get the people out of the fort immediately."

In the end, they just couldn't bear it. Now the outside of the fort is full of zombies, and they will die if they go out.

Wei Mingzhang and others are not bad, but stupid. They cannot understand the situation and think they are doing good things, but they cause disaster because of their kindness.

As the patriarch, he must give an explanation to his tribesmen.

Wei Ji turned to look at Wei Zhongxun and said in a deep voice, "As the head of our clan, I have been away on official duties for many years. I have failed to fulfill my responsibilities as clan leader and to protect the century-old foundation of our Wei family. This has caused great damage to the entire family, and I deserve the punishment."

Wei Zhongxun raised his head suddenly, "Brother!"

"Chief!" The expressions of the tribesmen kneeling outside changed instantly.

Wei Ji waved his hand, signaling him not to interrupt. "But after this incident, our clan has been severely damaged, and we need to settle down again. I will redeem myself from this crime and lead the clan to rebuild the fortress and protect the foundation of our Wei clan."

Wei Zhongxun breathed a sigh of relief, and so did many of the clansmen outside, fearing that the clan leader would no longer care about them.

"My cousin has been working hard these past few years, helping to manage the clan's affairs." Wei Ji said earnestly, "Now the fortress is in ruins. You must take care of your health first. The clan still needs you."

There were tears in Wei Zhongxun's eyes. After a long time, he nodded in agreement.

After understanding the whole story, Wei Xiyin quietly slipped out of the ancestral hall while no one was paying attention.

Seeing his sister leave, Wei Lang wanted to follow her out. As soon as he made a move, Wei Xiyin immediately turned around and glared at him, signaling him to stay where he was.

Wei Lang felt very wronged, but he had to listen to his sister and kneel down obediently.

Wei Ji caught a glimpse of the two people's little movements from the corner of his eye, and turned his head and pretended not to see them.

On the street outside.

Servants were washing the road with clean water, and the dirty water mixed with blood flowed into a ditch on the side and then into the river outside.