2 Chapter 2: Clan Chief

At the center of the village stood a compound. Unlike the primitive huts scattered around the village this compound was made of stone and clay, and on the wall of the compound was a strange insignia. The insignia was a deep blue with what appeared to be a horse half submerged in water where its front legs and head were above and its bottom was under, however, the shadow visible in the water was not the bottom half of a horse but rather a large fish tail akin to a mermaid's. Aside from the peculiar insignia on the wall, another thing that stood out was that there was actually a gate to the front of the compound, with humanoid guards who had horse ears and tails standing at the front keeping watch. Evidently, there also seemed to be many more humanoids gathered in sight from the front of the compound than anywhere else in the village, and with this number of half-human beasts they could very well afford to create this type of compound without worrying about how beasts without half-human forms could enter. This was the Ma family compound, better known to the residents of the mountain as the Murky Whip Horse Clan compound.

Standing in front of the gates Weizhe could not help but marvel at the imposing wall and insignia, despite having lived in the compound for six years now. It had to be known that humans and beasts share different rates of development, while a human might need eighteen years to fully mature a horse demon beast such as the Murky Whip Horse could already be considered an adult by ten years of age, far longer than a mortal horse however still a significantly shorter amount of time than a human. Therefore, while six years perhaps would not be long to a human, to many types of demon beasts this could be considered a large part of their childhood.

Hearing an impatient neigh, he pulled his attention away from the compound walls and turned to see his escort eyeing him with some irritation in his eyes, evidently having run out of patience while waiting for him. Weizhe, lacking the intelligence to find the reason behind the irritation in his eyes, felt slightly confused but quickly disregarded the matter and caught up to the escort. The escort, upon seeing this, simply snorted and turned around to face the guards at the gate, "This here Junior is Ma Weidong, here to escort Ma Weizhe to the clan chief as per his summons. "

Turning to face the escort and the young colt, the guards did a quick visual scan. Then suddenly a shiver ran through their spines as they felt a presence sweep over them. This cold presence was spiritual sense, a strange extension of the soul that appears as a result of cultivating. The main usage for spiritual sense was to extend it out of the body to scan the nature of things, as the sight of the soul was far more acute than that of the mortal eyes. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, the guards signaled to someone behind the gates and then stepped aside allowing Weizhe and his escort to enter the compound and head in the direction of a small pagoda.

The pagoda had three levels to it, with white stone walls and blue wood framing it, and black clay tiles covering the roofs of each level. Stopping at the front of the pagoda, the escort turned to yet another guard who stood watch nearby.

"Is the clan chief in at the moment?" said the escort, and turning to look at him the guard at the front replied in a cold voice, "No, the clan chief has finished lighting incense for the ancestors, he has gone to the main hall to await your return." Thanking the guard they turned and walked towards a large temple, which shared a color scheme similar to the pagoda, and entered.

At the main hall stood a simple jade throne, and on it sat what appeared to be a handsome middle-aged man. His jet black hair was slicked black, and his skin was pale, not quite to the extent of a tender woman's, however not far off. What stood out most were his eyes, which were a deep blue. Staring into this man's eyes one would feel as though they were peering into a bottomless ocean, it could easily cause one to feel absentminded. The man wore black silk robes with blue lining and wave patterns, and there seemed to be a faint unusual glow to the material. At the moment his brows were slightly furrowed, creating some wrinkles on his forehead, however upon seeing who had entered he relaxed a bit. The escort, bowing his head, began his report.

"Junior Weidong reporting to Clan Chief, I have successfully retrieved Weizhe. As Clan Chief had predicted he was indeed found soaking in a branch of the Sacred Ancestral River." Hearing his report the clan chief slightly smiled, lightly nodding his head and speaking, "Good job Weidong, however how many times must I tell you you can simply refer to me as Senior Uncle Zhixin, after all your father and I are practically brothers." Weidong, hearing this, simply nodded his head and remained silent. Seeing this, Zhixin chuckled, Weidong strictly adhered to the rules of seniority and thus wasn't likely to change how he addressed the clan chief, and so turned to face Weizhe before sighing seeing the poor state of his body.

"Elder Sister had come to me to go requesting that I send someone to fetch you, you should understand by now the problems training in those rivers causes. Look at the state of your body, if it weren't for Weiyang healing you perhaps you'd already be permanently scarred. Human practices of enhancing the body through external means truly are savage, and your continued practice of such has caused harm to Elder Sister's reputation as well, you should show some consideration for your mother." Knowing that Weizhe likely would not understand what he was saying, mostly venting his own frustrations, he directed a displeased look towards Weizhe to get his point across. Weizhe, seeing this look, and having been put in this situation many times before, had already associated this displeased look with his trips to the river, however frustration and unwillingness flashed across his eyes for Zhixin to see causing some irritation to spark in him. Speaking in a slightly harsher tone, he scolded Weizhe, "You really are quite stubborn aren't you, little brat. Do you think I don't dare keep you imprisoned in this compound?"

Weizhe's instincts began to scream at him, and feeling a threatening pressure rolling off of Zhixin, he suddenly cowered before him, kneeling down and look pleadingly at Zhixin as if to beg for mercy; however, this had the opposite effect and Zhixin instantly flew into a rage. Standing up from his throne, he angrily pointed at Weizhe and yelled, "Don't you dare kneel and plead before me like some mortal beast! Cultivator or not you are a member of the Murky Whip Horse Clan, you should bear the pride of one!" Startled, Weizhe hurriedly scrambled back up from his kneeling position and scurried away in fright, out the main hall.

"Impudent! How dare he without being dismissed, shall I go retrieve him Clan Chief?" Weidong, seeing the rude manner in which the frightened Weizhe had left, was furious. However, Zhixin sat back down on the throne, flicked his sleeve and waved his hand, "No need, you're dismissed." Bowing his head, Weidong left the hall.

"Elder Sister, are you sure you want Weizhe to participate in the upcoming tournament? You should know he will likely suffer with his strength." From within the hall a cold voice sprung forth with its reply, "Perhaps a little bit of suffering now will help diminish some of his courage. The trial by fire is also coming soon and since he is incapable of cultivating his best bet is to simply hide when it starts. His foolish belief that strengthening his body externally will close the gap between him and spiritual cultivators will likely get him killed if allowed to continue." Sighing, Zhixin helplessly shook his head and muttered under his breath, "Hopefully it is as you say, regardless of his foul practices and his inability to cultivate he is still family, it would be sad for him to return to the Sacred Ancestors so soon."