Chapter 104 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada
The Hu family.
On the day of the ancestral worship ceremony, the sky was clear and the breeze was gentle.
Many members of the Hu family gathered in the ancestral hall. The head of the Hu family was at the front, with several elders on his left and right. Behind him were the head of the family's wife and the Hu sisters, and then they were arranged according to the status of each branch of the family.
Qi Qingxiong, who was pretending to be a sickly person, was from a branch with a low status. As he waited in line, he ended up in the very back of the queue. When he looked up, he saw a sea of black heads.
"Young man, don't look around." A slightly nervous voice rang out.
Qi Qingxiong, who was looking around, suddenly felt a heaviness in his head as his sickly older brother pressed his head down. He clenched his fists, and a look of understanding appeared on his weak face: "Thank you, brother."
"We're brothers, this is just a suggestion, no need for formalities," the elder brother said with satisfaction, patting Qi Qingxiong's back vigorously. "If you're not feeling well, don't push yourself. Tell me right away, okay?"
Qi Qingxiong: "...I'm fine."
The sickly boy's illness hadn't improved, and they suspected it was because his older brother had used too much force.
The elder brother, unaware that he had been harassed by crickets, assumed it was another day of brotherly harmony and whispered, "It's almost Chen Shi (7-9 AM), let's behave ourselves to avoid any mistakes."
Seizing the last moment, Qi Qingxiong asked, "I have heard that the forces from Baiyan City will come to offer their congratulations. Do you know when they will arrive, brother?"
The eldest brother said, "They should be waiting in the reception room now. When the head of the family announces the heir, the servants will lead them to the ancestral hall."
Qi Qingxiong nodded knowingly.
"Thump!"
As the sun cast its golden rays in the east, the clock struck precisely at dawn, instantly enveloping the entire place in a solemn and respectful atmosphere. Silence fell over the entire hall; no one spoke, no one moved.
There was only one person.
Everyone turned to look at the head of the Hu family as he ascended the steps. Standing atop the steps, he spread his arms and began his speech: "The Hu family, founded by its first patriarch, has a history of over three hundred years. As the sixteenth patriarch, I, Hu, vow to carry on the family's legacy..."
Qi Qingxiong's head was throbbing from listening.
At the same time.
Two heads peeked out from one of the tall towers surrounding the ancestral hall. It was Lou Yuqing and Ling Yunxiao, who had infiltrated the area. The two exchanged a silent glance: "When will he finish speaking?"
"It takes at least an hour. In the ten sects I've joined, the higher-ups always talk a lot of nonsense when it comes to competitions," Ling Yunxiao said, sharing his experience.
Lou Yuqing: "..."
She missed Sect Leader Qingxuzi; he didn't waste words.
No one knew that two strangers were hiding in the tower. The Hu family disciples who were originally stationed at the tower went to participate in the ancestral worship ceremony, which allowed the two to successfully sneak into the tower.
Two days before the ancestral worship ceremony began, Lou Yuqing and Ling Yunxiao originally planned to come to the Hu family to collect points, but after thinking about it, they felt it was not safe.
Hu Ruoyan's subordinates died, and she must have noticed it. If she were to gather her forces, it would be even more difficult for them to gain points. Therefore, the best time to strike was actually today.
Seeing that Hu Ruoyan was unable to leave to attend the ancestral worship ceremony, Lou Yuqing and Ling Yunxiao exchanged a glance and saw a sly smile in each other's eyes.
Because of the inside man, Shadow Spirit, who provides the list, they only need to go and find people according to the names on the list to easily obtain points.
Lou Yuqing glanced at the figure huddled on the ground and said, "Shadow Spirit, lead the way."
Shadow Spirit, who was squatting in the corner planting mushrooms, perked up upon hearing this and excitedly said, "Come with me, I know exactly where those people are."
The two people and the spirit left the tower silently and arrived at a courtyard in the mansion without any hindrance. Lou Yuqing was surprised when she saw the courtyard in front of her.
Although it cannot compare to the opulent residence of Hu Ruofeng, the decor reveals a low-key sense of luxury.
Ling Yunxiao said, "It's Hu Ruoyan's courtyard."
Lou Yuqing suddenly realized: "Then it's not surprising."
With a loud bang, Ling Yunxiao brutally broke open the courtyard gate. Two maids, who were watering flowers in the yard, turned around and looked warily at the three people who had barged in.
"How dare you trespass into the young lady's courtyard!"
Lou Yuqing chuckled like a bandit: "This is the place you've come to. Surrender now, and you'll suffer less."
"Don't even think about it, you scoundrel!" one of the maids shouted sternly.
When another maid saw Yingling, she immediately realized something, grabbed the maid who was speaking, and said with a serious expression, "Yingling is in cahoots with them."
The maid was shocked and glared at Yingling through gritted teeth: "Yingling, you actually betrayed the young master and let a wolf into the house! The young master will not let you get away with this!"
Shadow Spirit scoffed: "That woman was too busy to settle scores with me, but I've already fled. Besides, do you think I'm afraid of death? With you all by my side on the road to the underworld, I won't lose anything even if I die!"
The two maids' expressions changed drastically, and two snow-white lotus flowers appeared in their palms. The next moment, thunder roared and lightning struck, turning the snow lotus flowers into ashes.
Then the electric arc climbed up their hands.
Thump! Thump!
The two maids collapsed to the ground one after the other, clearly having been electrocuted.
Lou Yuqing was somewhat surprised: "It collapsed already?" She probed it and found no signs of it feigning death.
Ling Yunxiao pondered, "The strength of the spirit clan is indeed not high, and the cultivation of the two of them is even lower. I guess Hu Ruoyan arranged for them to guard the house here."
Lou Yuqing nodded in agreement: "After our previous direct confrontation, we were indeed weaker than the Shadow Spirits. No wonder they always try to harm us behind our backs."
Shadow Spirit: I was praised, but I can't smile.
Ling Yunxiao smiled happily: "According to the agreement, they are yours. From now on, it's up to each of you to rely on your own abilities."
"Then I shall accept it without hesitation." Lou Yuqing smiled and started walking towards the 'points'. Suddenly, she stopped, as if she had seen some unexpected news.
Ling Yunxiao flashed to her side and asked, "What's wrong?" As he spoke, his gaze turned cold as he looked at the two maids on the ground.
The two maids who had fainted seemed to sense something in their hearts and shivered.
"There's a problem!" Lou Yuqing shouted.
Upon hearing this, Ling Yunxiao's gaze became even more piercing, as if he wanted to dissect them. Yingling, standing to the side, was also trembling with fear and dared not utter a sound.
"Two thousand points have been added!" Lou Yuqing said again.
Ling Yunxiao paused: Is this a problem?
"I didn't kill them to get the Snow Lotus, so why did my points increase?" Lou Yuqing suspected there was a bug in the system. What if the points were taken back later?
Ling Yunxiao's eyes regained their calm as he sorted out his thoughts: "The small world's hint is that we need to find the Snow Lotus, not that we need to kill it. If we subdue them knowing their identities, we should be able to get points."
Old Ji was an accident, because before this, they didn't know he was a snow lotus spirit.
Lou Yuqing understood and happily pocketed the points. Just then, a white light flashed, and for some unknown reason, the two maids turned into two trembling snow lotuses.
She thought for a moment, then casually put the snow lotus into her storage ring. Although she wouldn't kill them, she couldn't let them escape either, otherwise it would be bad if they informed Hu Ruoyan.
"Shadow Spirit, continue leading the way!"
Ling Yunxiao will also be joining the competition this time, so she can't afford to be careless.
Thinking about it, she glanced at Ling Yunxiao.
Ling Yunxiao was puzzled, but he smiled.
...
In the ancestral hall, as Hu Ruoyan listened to the magnanimous speech of the Hu family patriarch, her heart suddenly clenched. She clutched her chest, wondering if she had come to hate Hu Haitian so much that she couldn't even maintain a semblance of civility.
After a short while, my heartbeat returned to normal, but a feeling of anxiety still lingered in my body.
Just then, the Hu family patriarch's speech came to an end: "Fellow clansmen, the development of the family is inseparable from the contributions of each and every one of you. Here, I, Hu, would like to thank you all... I hereby announce that the ancestral worship ceremony officially begins. Everyone, please go to the ancestral hall to offer incense!"
The ancestral hall doors slowly opened, revealing a full array of ancestral tablets. The head of the Hu family took the lead and entered the hall first, setting an example.
If Ling Yunxiao were here, he would find that the memorial tablet of Hu Haitian's first wife, Xue Lian, is missing.
Hu Ruoyan stared at Hu Haitian, who was burning incense and worshipping his ancestors, a deep-seated hatred surfacing in her eyes—her mother's memorial tablet was not allowed to appear in the ancestral hall; she could only openly worship her mother when she was forced to kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment.
Hu Ruofeng noticed her unusual behavior, turned her head to look at her, and did not see the hatred that Hu Ruoyan was hiding. She assumed that Hu Ruoyan was unwilling to accept her fate and sneered, "Sister, the position of the young master of the Hu family is mine. It's no use if you are not satisfied."
Hu Ruoyan looked up: "Really?"
Hu Ruofeng glared at her face with jealousy: "Just you wait and see!"
"Then I'll keep an eye on it."
Hu Ruoyan's tone was indifferent, as if she didn't take her seriously. Hu Ruofeng frowned, wanting to find fault, but was stopped by the matriarch: "It's time to pay respects to our ancestors."
The matriarch then looked at Hu Ruoyan and said, "Ruoyan, come with your sister." In front of everyone, the matriarch acted as a loving mother.
Hu Ruoyan inwardly scoffed, but outwardly replied respectfully, "Yes."
Whether it was Hu Ruofeng or the mistress of the family, neither was ever her true target.
As time passed, the worship procession took turns, and the sandalwood incense in the air grew stronger until Qi Qingxiong and other members of the Hu family, who were at the back of the line, finished offering incense, and the first part of the ancestral worship ceremony officially ended.
Qi Qingxiong wrinkled his nose uncomfortably at the sandalwood scent. As a sword cultivator who preferred asceticism and simplicity, he had always kept his distance from such strong fragrances.
However, he subtly glanced at the others, who didn't seem to think so.
The sickly elder brother even commented: "It has a mellow and lingering flavor with rich layers. When you smell it carefully, it has the effect of calming the mind and focusing the spirit. It is indeed worthy of being made of precious sandalwood. If you burn it all night, your cultivation speed can be increased by at least 30%."
Qi Qingxiong curled his lip indifferently.
Just then, a servant's voice came from the doorway: "The Sect Master of Baiyan Sect has arrived!"
"The Lord of Baiyan City has arrived!"
"We've arrived at the Wang family residence in the west of the city!"
One shout after another rang out.
The leader of the Baiyan Sect led his group in, his face full of smug satisfaction. Qi Qingxiong's eyes darkened slightly as he began to plan his next move.
Thinking of this, Qi Qingxiong glanced at Hu Ruoyan, this key figure, who should be taking action soon.
Hu Ruoyan had her eyes downcast, seemingly lost in thought, radiating a sense of dejection. This contrasted sharply with Hu Ruofeng, who was beaming beside her, creating two extremes.
Most people knew more or less the inside story, so they weren't surprised to see this. After all, the head of the family had skipped over the older sister, Hu Ruoyan, and had internally designated the younger sister, Hu Ruofeng, as the next successor to the head of the family.
Moreover, Hu Ruofeng and Xie Wenheng have a close relationship, so Bai Yanzong must support her; otherwise, why would the two become so close?
Someone noticed this and their gazes drifted to Xie Wenheng. They then saw Xie Wenheng staring intently at Hu Ruoyan, completely ignoring Hu Ruofeng, with whom he had a physical relationship.
Everyone: Wow!
When the sect leader of Baiyan Sect was exchanging pleasantries with Hu Haitian, he saw his son's disappointing behavior and his face showed displeasure. He said coldly, "Wenheng, watch your behavior."
Hu Ruoyan ungratefully rejected the marriage proposal, which was bad enough, but her son was even more unbearable, just watching her until she couldn't walk anymore. This girl was just a little bit pretty.
The sect leader of Baiyan Sect was disappointed in his son's lack of progress.
Xie Wenheng was forced to look away: "My son knows."
Hu Ruofeng glared at him angrily, then cast a resentful glance at Hu Ruoyan. Today was her special day, and these two had dared to humiliate her like this.
Hu Ruoyan, who was unjustly attacked, remained unmoved and quietly waited for the main event to come. Let Hu Ruofeng jump around if she wants; she won't have the chance to do so soon anyway.
At this moment, Hu Haitian laughed and said, "Today, my Hu family is holding an ancestral worship ceremony. It is an honor for the Hu family that all of you fellow Daoists have taken time out of your busy schedules to come. With everyone as witnesses, I have an announcement to make: the Hu family is going to determine its next successor, who is none other than my daughter, Hu Ruo..."
Just as he was about to utter the last word, his body suddenly went limp, and he felt his spiritual energy rapidly draining away.
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