Chapter 8: Ye Hu Oasis
Hello, I hope you all are having a good day :)
Here are today's questions:
1. Do you think fragments of the immemorial nine heavens can be reused after they have already been integrated into a grotto heaven?
2. How many of you are in the RI fanfiction Discord? https://discord.gg/pWNj4Ycvsd
3. Is there anyone reading this without having read RI?
General POV
Time Skip (one month)
As time continued to flow, the Ye Clan's caravan slowly made its way back towards Ye Hu Oasis.
This was the unluckiest Ye Clan caravan in living memory, suffering massive losses to its goods and its Gu master guards. The caravan encountered a rock python thousand-beast group during its approach to Fei Xi Oasis.
During the clash with the beast group, two of the four rank 3 elders accompanying the caravan had died. Furthermore, the Gu materials they had been guarding were taken by the beasts. The rock pythons took a vital part of the caravan's goods with them as they retreated.
This first disaster seemed to mark the beginning of the Ye caravan's misery. As the caravan moved back towards Ye Hu Oasis, it encountered many more troubling situations, including a hyena beast group, a bronze thread tornado, and a group of opportunistic bandits looking for easy money.
Fortunately for the Ye Clan, none of the later encounters were as dangerous as the rock pythons, so the caravan managed to pass those encounters without massive losses or bloodshed. However, these little disasters added up, causing the Ye caravan to lose all of its profit from this trip.
With the air of a defeated army, the Ye caravan slowly made its way through the gate guarding the entrance to Ye Hu Oasis.
The Ye caravan that returned was drastically reduced from the force that had left the Ye Clan some months prior. As the caravan limped its way through the gates, the families of the Ye clansmen met them as they entered the oasis.
Scenes of grieving families could be seen as they were informed of the deaths of their sons, fathers, and brothers.
"Father! Father! How could you perish fighting those hyenas? You were going to meet your granddaughter once you returned! Why did you have to die fighting those beasts?"
"No! Liao, how could you perish during the rock python attack? Who will take care of our baby now that you are gone?"
"Brother Fang, what did this to you? Why is your lower body missing? You were the hope of our family! We were all relying on you to lift us up from being a mortal family! Why did you have to chase down those bandits? Now that you have lost your aperture, our family will need to return to working menial jobs on the outskirts!"
"No! You're lying! You're lying! My sweet little Wu can't be dead! I don't believe it, I don't believe it!"
The scene inside Ye Hu Oasis was filled with sorrow as the Ye clansmen processed the loss of their friends, family, and neighbors. While this scene of sorrow was ongoing, a related but completely different scene was taking place in the meeting hall of the Ye Clan.
---
Standing in the middle of the hall were Elder Ye Chen Wu and Elder Ye Du Tu, the two living leaders of this disastrous journey.
Sitting on the highest seat was this generation's Ye Clan leader, Lord Xie. On his left and right respectively were the two supreme elders of the Ye Clan, First Supreme Elder Lord Chen and Second Supreme Elder Lord Han.
Stepping forward, the elder responsible for directing the meeting announced,
"We have gathered here to discuss the matter of our latest caravan losses and what we will do to alleviate this accident.
Today, firstly, we are going to determine if Elder Chen Wu and Elder Du Tu acted appropriately to defend the Clan's interests and if punishment is merited.
Secondly, we are going to determine what the Clan will do to compensate the families of the deceased Gu masters.
Thirdly and finally, we are going to decide what to do with the empty position of Judgment Hall Elder and the accompanying businesses."
Saying this, the elder looked towards Lord Xie, who gave a nod of acknowledgment. The elder then turned his attention to Chen Wu, asking,
"Elder Chen, as the nominal leader of this year's caravan, the Clan would appreciate it if you gave a detailed account of the problems the caravan encountered and what you, in your capacity as the acting leader, did to remedy them."
As Chen Wu explained his decisions and the difficulties the caravan had encountered, a different kind of negotiation was going on in the background.
"Old man Han, you are asking for too much. You have already obtained the Zhao couple's inheritances, and your future son-in-law found Phantom Fiend's inheritance. You have profited immensely from this year's caravan."
Hearing First Supreme Elder Chen's response, Second Supreme Elder Han transmitted back,
"Hmph, your nephew Chen Wu made our clan suffer such a huge loss, and you are still trying to gain benefits for your Chen Branch. Have some shame and pay this little compensation to the clansmen."
To this, Lord Chen frowned, transmitting back,
"The compensation to the ordinary clansmen is not the problem. My Chen Branch organized this caravan. It is only natural that we bear some of the responsibility.
What I am concerned about is your request for Relic Gu. Those Gu are a part of my Chen Branch's foundation. You are asking for too much, requesting so many Relic Gu. Do you think they grow on trees?"
"Alright, you two, you can discuss the individual compensation later. We need to agree on a verdict for young Chen Wu.
This matter is very serious, and we need to make sure that our judgment seems fair to the clansmen who lost their friends and relatives during this caravan.
Chen, how about letting your nephew oversee the breeze gecko groups? It is about time for us to harvest the wild Gu again."
Hearing Lord Xie's suggestion, First Supreme Elder Chen frowned before agreeing.
"We can do that. Everyone knows how horrible and labor-intensive it is to manage the breeze gecko farms.
If we send Chen Wu there, it will be clear that he is being punished for his mistakes, and with the primeval essence stones as compensation, most of the clansmen will accept this outcome.
The clansmen who joined the caravan knew the risks after all; it is only that this time the caravan encountered drastically more trouble than previous years."
"Alright, with that out of the way, we can focus on deciding what to do with the vacant position of Judgment Hall Elder. With Zhao Ping and Jia Shui dead, we need to appoint someone else to their previous positions."
Hearing Lord Xie, First Supreme Elder Chen asked,
"Does Lord Xie have anyone in mind? The Zhao couple managed the position effectively by splitting the authority in two, having Zhao Ping deal with the enforcement and Jia Shui with the investigating.
I am very interested in learning who Lord Xie considers capable of replacing the two of them."
Hearing First Supreme Elder's question, Lord Xie smiled, replying,
"It will be almost impossible to replace the duo of man and wife. Their management of the Judgment Hall was simply too excellent. Our Ye Clan lost two vital geniuses during this year's caravan.
I was considering appointing young Xie Long to the position. As you know, he is currently attempting his breakthrough to rank 4, and with his talent, he is likely to succeed within a year or two.
I think that as the future clan leader, Xie Long should gather experience as the Judgment Hall Elder."
Hearing Lord Xie's idea, Second Supreme Elder Han interjected, asking,
"I hope you aren't planning on seizing the assets of my son-in-law?"
Like this, the discussion between the three pillars of the Ye Clan went on in the background as the illusion of free discussion went on around them.
---
During the month that the caravan was making its way back to Ye Hu Oasis, Zhao Wen was spending his time learning more about the Gu world, about Gu cultivation, and about the Ye Clan.
With his failed attempt to break through to rank 3 as an example, Zhao Wen realized that his knowledge of Reverend Insanity wasn't enough to enable him to cultivate smoothly in this world.
This realization prompted him to seek more systematic knowledge on Gu cultivation. While some Gu cultivation techniques were explained in Phantom Fiend's inheritance, these were relatively difficult and high-end techniques.
Zhao Wen, with a nonexistent foundation, was incapable of understanding and utilizing them to their fullest extent.
He had even decided to put aside any pride he previously held and asked Elder Du for help with understanding some of the things he struggled to comprehend on his own.
This approach assisted him greatly as he quickly managed to master the basics of Gu cultivation. As for the reason for his quick progress, Zhao Wen could not say.
Perhaps it was because he had Phantom Fiend's inheritance carved into his memory, or because this body used to know all of this, that Zhao Wen could learn so quickly.
While Zhao Wen was pondering this question, the door to the courtyard opened and an old man walked in.
Seeing the old man, Zhao Wen stood up and bowed, saying,
"Son-in-law greets future father-in-law."
Hearing Zhao Wen's greeting, Second Supreme Elder Han smiled, saying,
"Little Zhao, you don't need to be so formal with me. I was good friends with your grandfather, and your father was like a son to me.
Although he did not choose to marry one of my daughters, instead marrying your mother, it brings me great joy that the Zhao family will be joining my Han branch through you.
Come, I know you are curious about the results of the latest meeting between the Clan's elders. Why don't we sit down and drink some tea while I give you a general rundown of what we decided on."
---
Sitting down and listening to Lord Han explain the conclusion, Zhao Wen listened with rapt attention.
"So the Chen Branch agreed to take responsibility for this disastrous trip and compensate the families of the deceased? And Chen Wu was exiled to manage the breeze gecko groups?"
Frowning, Zhao Wen asked,
"Is this not a bit too lenient a punishment for Chen Wu? He is the reason why the Clan lost two rank 3 elders and made zero profit from this year's caravan?"
Hearing Zhao Wen's question, Lord Han smiled, saying,
"If this was everything they needed to pay, then yes, it would be nothing but a slap on the wrist to the Chen Branch. But that is only the surface-level compensation.
The Chen Branch has been forced to stay out of the competition for the Judgment Hall Elder position and can't compete for your parents' remaining businesses and inheritance.
The Chen Branch was also forced to hand over a part of their stocked Relic Gu to my Han branch due to Chen Wu's attempted assassination of you."
Seeing Zhao Wen's eyes widen after hearing his latest sentence, Lord Han continued,
"Yes, that bandit attack where you nearly lost your life was Chen Wu abusing his authority over one of our Clan's secret units to attempt to steal that rank 4 inheritance you managed to find.
Actually, you did a good job hiding it once you returned to the caravan, with neither Elder Du nor Chen Wu being able to find it on you. Elder Du only managed to confirm that you had it after the investigation report of Ye Zhang and Ye Mo reached him."
Seeing Zhao Wen's wary gaze directed at him, Lord Han smiled, saying,
"Calm down, you have already agreed to join my Han branch, and that inheritance will be passed down to mine and your descendants. I have no reason to steal from my future son-in-law.
Actually, I am prepared to trade with you for the Gu recipes and rank 4 Gu in that inheritance. After all, my Han branch has come into possession of many good things following the latest trading trip."