Calluses

In response, Lyca just stared at her grandfather. In her mind, every world was the same. Be it the magical world where she came from or this modern world. It was a place where foxes devour sheep, where the strong kill the weak. Was there another world aside from this one? Of course, she said nothing. Instead she waited for him to continue his words.

"Our Huang Family is not some family who got our riches from our business. We dabble in everything, black market, gambling, the underworld. For years, our family established our wealth using the blood and bodies of our branch families as the foundation."

Lyca narrowed her eyes, and the cloud of suspicion started to form in her mind. Was it possible that…

"Our Huang Family's history started hundreds of years ago. There are two well known clans in this city. One is our Huang Family, while the other is the Long Family. Years ago, the Long Family tried to enter into a marriage alliance with our Huang Family. And that was when they betrayed us."

It was as if a stone was lodged in her throat as she stared at her grandfather. Why did that story sound like what happened in her past life?

"Since then, the Huang and Long Families have been each other's nemesis." The old man let out a sigh. "Of course, this was nothing but a legend. Something that was passed from mouth to mouth. No one was able to verify this as the written history of our city had long vanished. All records were burned during the Great Clan Conflict that happened five hundred years ago."

"That was one of the saddest parts of our history. The conflict killed many of our assassins, people who had abilities beyond human perception. Some clans were obliterated while some were weakened to the point of losing all of their influence. Of course our Huang Clan was not one of those clans. We survived and so did the Long Clan. The conflict killed a lot of people, giving birth to more hatred. Because of this, the feud between our Huang Clan and Long Clan continues to this day."

The older man sighed before he continued, "Even in business, the Long Clan is trying to provoke us, creating conflict every now and then by sabotaging our businesses in the country and abroad. And to be honest… this is getting exhausting."

Lyca's lips thinned. It seemed that this Huang Family was more complicated than she originally thought.

"Now, to continue," the old man said. "Our family… is losing our influence. We are losing in this never ending battle. Our black market influence is slowly decreasing, our mines have been raided and destroyed, and our experts have been poached by the Long Family." His face turned serious, a tinge of anger visible in his time-worn eyes. "They are trying to swallow our entire family."

"Grandfather…" She looked at him. "All I want is a peaceful life." If she knew that this Huang Family had this kind of background, she would have declined that CEO position! She could only sigh inwardly. Why did her grandfather not tell her this before he declared her as his heir?

"As I said… you can have your peace if the Long Family stops what they are trying to do now. Our Huang Family only wants to focus on business and we had not done anything to provoke the Long Family for years now. However, this changed when the Long Patriarch succumbed to illness five years ago. After his son, the current patriarch, became their clan leader, he started provoking us. Surprisingly, that man has gathered the support of many other families."

Couldn't they just kill everyone and move on with their lives? Of course, she didn't utter such words to her grandfather. On the outside, her face was languid and relaxed. However, on the inside, Lyca was already thinking of ways to easily deal with this problem. Should she poison everyone in the Long Family? Maybe put it in the water that they drink? Attacking them head on sounded troublesome. Or she could just run away and disappear.

Right now, running away to avoid conflict was really tempting. Seeing her blank expression, her grandfather let out another sigh.

"I know it is too much to understand. However, you are the only one who can lead the clan."

"Why?" Why her? Lyca's cousins like Huang Xiaoxuan and her brother Huang Zi Yan were both outstanding. Even her other cousin Huang Gong was also outstanding in both business management and martial arts. Now, the thoughts of building her own fortress using her family's money had completely disappeared from her mind.

"You don't need to know that for now," the old man said. "All I wanted to tell you was that you cannot achieve your dream of having a peaceful life… not if the Long Family continues their current actions. Think about it."

Lyca said nothing. Her grandfather was truly cunning. He first asked her what her goal was so he could adjust his story and create an obstacle for that goal. She lowered her head. While she wasn't sure about the story, she was certain that some of it was true while some was false.

Still her grandfather did make sense. If the Long Family continued their plans, there was no way that Lyca would have her future lazy days. Shaking her head, Lyca turned towards her grandfather, silently asking if he was going to say more. She had been up for too long, it was already making her head ache. She needed her bed.

"Before you go… I want to know why you chose that kid Shen Qui? Surely, you knew that Li Xian's ability is much better than his?"

"Is it?" Lyca raised an eyebrow as she gave her grandfather a mysterious smile. Was Li Xian really better than Shen Qui? Judging from the calluses on their hands, it was the other way around.