The evening brought the familiar breeze to everyone but the atmosphere in the place could not have been more hotter than the present.
There were people scattered all around and the echoes of discussion rang amidst little groupings and different affiliations.
Although this clan may have appeared united against any external forces that may threaten the sanctity of the family but that could not hold true in the moment where peace abounded in full.
In this kind of setting, competitions and differences were meant to happen.
"Did you hear the news earlier today? Elder Yan Kun was found dead in his room!"
"Stupid! Who could dare miss that with all the rumors that started since dawn!"
"Even a crippled mute man can tell that story completely without the use of his tongue at all!"
"You fucking moron!" one group engaged hotly with another.
In the left corner, another topic of interest came into place.
"Did you hear the rush of buying salted fishes earlier?"
"Of course! With all the chaos it brought to us, how can anybody miss that?!"
"Even my family was tasked to personally confiscate those damned fished from the people."
"I wonder why the 13 clans have so become chaotic in just the span of a single day."
"FOOL! If you did not know how this all started, then let me at least educate your pea sized brains!"
"Really? Then why don't you tell us, oh learned master of old."
"If that is your wish, i would gladly do so with finesse."
"This all started with the arrival of Master Lu Chen. He is the sole and only cause for all this conflict to happen!"
"Yes, I heard that too! Didn't he kill Young Master, Yan Kang?"
"True, true. I saw the event happen right before my eyes!"
"Now that i think about it, should Master Lu Chen be also concerned about the untimely passing of..."
"Shhhhhhhh... do you want to lose your life here?"
"Master Lu Chen will become one of the Clan Elders from tonight onward."
"You can only imagine how much power he shall wield in his hands and yet you go spitting your foul mouth with me around."
"Go away from me, you dumb shit! I don't want to get mixed up with somebody as stupid as you are!"
"You...!" These active NPCs were all talking and were content to relate what they knew and what they didn't until a noble carriage arrived in front of the gates of Lu Family's mansion.
It did not take long for one woman and a man to go out from the confines of the said archaic vehicle.
"That's Master Lu Chen!"
"Are you sure?!"
"Of course I'm sure!"
"And who is that woman, I wonder?"
"What a beautiful lady!"
"Who could it be but Master Lu Chen's bitch!"
"If Master Lu Chen will get tired of her someday then I would be willing to buy her from him and taste also the hidden goods of this delectable woman!"
* * *
"Pigs." Wan Fei whispered in disgust. Although she heard some of the lust filled words directed her way but she was not a fool to make drama in this event.
"You don't have to mind them, Wan Fei. They know not what they are doing. Better to forgive these fools simply because we know the truth of the matter, don't we?"
Clark pacified his partner for tonight and even threw some important meaning behind his words.
Alas, Wan Fei was not born yesterday and she was also not stupid to not notice the veiled intent of someone who she knew as both Clark and Lu Chen. A man with two identities.
Her eyes widened for a split second before she covered it entirely with pure acting skills alone.
If she was an actress at our bored gamer's home, then she would no doubt have won an Oscar Award right then and there.
"Yes, I guess that you're right, Clark. I shouldn't allow myself to stoop at their level." Wan Fei replied as she tried very hard to control her breathing.
'Have i been discovered?' Wan Fei thought inside.
Although she assumed that Clark only had 5 maidservants and an aged slave around but that did not mean at all that they were the only ones in reality.
'Have i been followed by his men yesterday?' Wan Fei asked within and she concluded that it was very much understandable for this thing to occur.
'In this case, there is no need for any secrecy at all.' Wan Fei ended with this determination in mind.
"You can go home now so that you could rest early, Lai Peng." Clark said to his good servant. Old Peng was the coachman of their carriage and as usual, he did his job quite remarkably for his age.
"Are you sure, master? I can wait here for your return." Old Peng responded. He was used to being with Lu Chen that he feared that he was going to be obsolete and be left behind at some point or another.
This was a very normal fear for anybody especially unto our good Old Peng because he basically already spent almost all of his life in the service of his one and only master, Lu Chen.
The bond between them was deep and unbreakable. One was a master while the other a slave.
"It's alright, Lai Peng. I'm sure that the Patriarch will accommodate us just fine and there may even be a huge chance that we would be spending the night here." Clark assured his faithful slave.
There was even a kind smile on his face to show how much he appreciated the loyal servant that journeyed along with him through the years of time.
Old Peng never gave up on Lu Chen through it all.
'Hehehe. If Lai Peng was only a woman, I would no doubt marry this guy in a heartbeat.' The smile on Clark's face grew even wider as he conjured this obnoxious thought and left it unspoken.
"If that is what you want, master. I have no reason to disobey your words." Old Peng bowed deeply and he did not raise his head at all.
He stayed there frozen beyond time and space as he knew that it was his duty to serve with unquestioning obedience unto his owner.
Clark stood there in silence and he did not have the heart to witness the unbending will of a stubborn old man any more second than necessary. He respected Old Peng too much for that.
"Let's go, Wan Fei," Clark muttred after he turned around and led the gorgeous woman into the inner sanctum passed these tall intimating gates.
"Good evening, Master Lu Chen!"
"Master Lu Chen, well met!
"How are you, Master Lu?"
.
..
...
Countless greetings paraded on the scene and Clark could only accept them with warm smiles and a nod or two.
"I've become somewhat of a celebrity in this xianxia world also. Hehehe.' Clark's smile caught up to his eyes because this reminded him of his life back on Earth.
After getting thousands of fan collections, the beautiful pair has finally arrived at the main hall. There were only powerful and influential people who could take a seat inside these halls.
The number was perhaps not less than five hundred men and women. A song rose over the background and there were also paid dancing Queens and Kings that provided entertainment and life to the event.
The atmosphere was alive with talk and active discussions but the moment that Clark and Wan Fei entered the premises, an abrupt hush came unto the entirety of the guests.
Only the music played in their rhythmic tunes but even this select art was a tad overshadowed by the silence that washed entirely in the four corners of the halls.
"Welcome, Master Lu Chen! We have been eagerly waiting for your arrival!"
"Everyone! I present unto you the 5th Elder of our Lu Family! Elder Lu Chen!"
The Patriarch Lu Jian was the first one to break the ice and he was of course followed by other people wise and old enough to wish for a solid relationship with this new mysterious Elder.
"Elder Lu Chen, I have heard great things about you!"
"With your presence, our Lu Clan will flourish for another 200 years more!"
"Please take care of the Family from now on, Elder Lu Chen."
A chorus of warm greetings followed and some even had the guts to approach and exchanged cupped fists with the up and coming Elder of the Lu family.
Clark even exchanged pleasantries to Lu Fang because his old friend was also an important member of the Clan.
The dull ceremony lasted for about 15 minutes and after that it did not take long for every male in the room to notice the lovely picture that was Wan Fei.
"Can you introduce me to this Senior, Elder Lu Chen?" It was the Patriarch Lu Jian who came first and asked some guidance from Lu Chen.
Everyone in here were all cultivators save the entertainers of course. And those that learned the ways of the dao could feel that this woman had vastly overpowered them all in terms of power and cultivation.
They were all of them veterans and so could feel danger that was coming off this mysterious woman's body. The atmosphere around her was thick with coldness.
Wan Fei ignored the Clan Leader because she has not put the man in her eyes completely, Patriarch or not. Other than Clark, not one of them mattered a single penny in her eyes.
"She is a friend from a faraway land, Patriarch. Her name is Wan Fei." Clark complied to the request of Lu Jian.
"It's good to know you, Senior Wan Fei. I am Lu Jian, the Family Head of Lu." the Patriarch bowed slightly but he was ignored yet again.
There was an awkward smile on his face for a fleeting breath or two before he accepted the situation for what it was.
He was already used to this haughtiness because he experienced them daily at his short stay in the Demonic Sword Sect. In the end, Patriarch Lu Jian could only move on.
He then led Lu Chen and Wan Fei to the table of honor.
"Before we begin the feast, why don't you say a few words towards your clansman, Elder Lu Chen."
"It would be an honor, Patriarch!" Clark indulged cheerfully and began without further ado.
"Hello, my dear friends. As all of you know, I have been a humble vendor of salted fishes all my life. I was just in the right place at the right time that granted me this chance to become a cultivator.
Without this luck and circumstance, I would not be standing in front of you tonight.
So in remembrance of my past, let me start this feast with a single bite from the very thing that led me here in the first place."
Clark got a fish from the table and took a huge bite at it. It was cooked well and he could taste the juicy tasty meat in his mouth.
Although it was really not salted fish but a different kind of fish altogether. Still, that has not hindered Clark's wish to devour something of its kind tonight.
"What? Why are you all not eating?" Clark asked when he was halfway through his fish. The gathered people looked around their counterparts and back to Clark again with not a single word uttered in reply.
'Please don't let me eat fish again!' This was the silent cry of all people in attendance.
"EAT!" Patriarch Lu Jian's hard voice descended into the dome and that was what ended the last straw of the people's resistance.
"Chew!"
"Chew!"
"Chew!"
.
..
...
The masses took a single fish each and not a few of them directly devoured them in full.
"BLARRGGGG!" Alas, it did not even take a mere second for them to spit their guts out on the floor.