Old Five is a Goose.
Chapter 890 Clan Gathering
Mo Wuji stepped off the ship and was immediately greeted by a lush green hillside. An extremely dense concentration of primordial energy washed over him, giving him a feeling of complete relaxation. He sensed that this must be divine spiritual energy.
The divine spiritual energy here was several times denser than that surrounding Gluttonous Valley. What made Mo Wuji even more comfortable was that the divine spiritual energy here lacked the impurities present outside Gluttonous Valley. Moreover, the laws of heaven and earth were so clear that Mo Wuji wished he could sit down and comprehend them immediately.
If he could cultivate here, Mo Wuji was sure he could quickly advance to the late stage of Immortal Emperor.
This was still the outer perimeter of Thunder Sword Manor. Mo Wuji's divine sense had already scanned four enormous Dao rune characters on the hillside: Thunder Sword Manor.
A clear and wide bluestone path sloped upwards, leading directly to Thunder Sword Manor.
Xi Nianmo walked in the front, with the old woman called Xi Jun closely following at her side. Her two personal maids, Qianhua and Xunji, walked behind. Mo Wuji could only walk at the very back.
Stepping onto the bluestone path leading to Thunder Sword Manor, Xi Nianmo only took a dozen steps before stopping. She turned back specifically to Mo Wuji and said, "Husband, come stand beside me."
Mo Wuji had no choice but to reply with a muffled sound and walk to Xi Nianmo's side.
What puzzled Mo Wuji was that Xi Nianmo was, after all, a temporary manor lord. Yet, since her return, no one had come out to greet her.
However, looking at the expressions of Aunt Jun and Qianhua and Xunji, Mo Wuji knew that something was not right.
It wasn't until Xi Nianmo reached the gates of Thunder Sword Manor that the manor's inner protective formation was opened.
Two disciples in green robes stood at the entrance, bowing respectfully. "Greetings, Miss."
"How dare you! Don't you know to call her Manor Lord?" Qianhua scolded sharply.
"Qianhua, after going out with Miss for a few days, your temper has become quite affected. I don't think he called her the wrong thing, though? Miss is, after all, only a temporary manor lord. Because Miss has been away for many days, the current acting manor lord of Thunder Sword Manor is Young Master Xi…" A slow and unhurried voice came, and a middle-aged man in a gray robe walked out from the side.
Xi Chong? Xi Nianmo hesitated slightly, then understood. Wasn't Xi Chong just Fan Chong? She had only been gone for two months, and someone whose identity wasn't even confirmed had replaced her as temporary manor lord and even openly took the Xi surname.
"Xi Di, you are just a mere steward, how dare you speak to Miss like that! Since you are courting death, I will grant your wish…" Xi Jun, standing beside Xi Nianmo, said angrily, and simultaneously slapped out at the middle-aged man in the gray robe.
Even if the violent primordial energy was compressed into a beam, Mo Wuji could feel the killing intent within. Mo Wuji thought to himself, this old woman has a big temper, killing directly at the slightest disagreement. He felt that the gray-robed steward called Xi Di was far weaker than the old woman, not even comparable.
If this slap landed, Xi Di would have no chance of surviving.
"Boom!" Xi Jun's slap was blasted open midway by a fist, exploding a terrifying ripple of primordial energy in mid-air.
Mo Wuji, who had instinctively retreated after Xi Jun made her move, was still hit by the aftershock of the primordial energy explosion, feeling a tightness in his chest and being sent flying backward.
Mo Wuji was only affected by the ripple of energy. He saw Xi Jun spit out a mouthful of blood.
This shocked Mo Wuji greatly. He had seen Xi Jun's strength; she had easily annihilated even the Black Mustard God Merchant. Yet such a strong person had spat out blood from this one fist.
The strength of Thunder Sword Manor was far beyond Mo Wuji's estimation. He felt even more uncertain. Being forcibly dragged into this kind of struggle was not what he wanted at all. If Xi Nianmo failed to seize power, he would likely be cannon fodder. How could he protect his own life in this situation?
A square-faced man appeared before everyone. It was clear that his fist had been blasted out from afar.
"Elder Ba Ren, what do you mean by this?" Xi Nianmo's face darkened, her tone filled with anger.
"Miss, the manor has to have its rules. Steward Di didn't say anything wrong. Elder Jun wants his life as soon as she makes a move. If we kill a manor steward over every little thing, Thunder Sword Manor will eventually decline," the square-faced elder said unhurriedly, clearly not paying much attention to Xi Nianmo.
Mo Wuji sighed inwardly. If he were Xi Nianmo, he really wouldn't have come back to fight for this manor lord position. Clearly, her right to speak in this manor was restricted to an unlimited extent.
Xi Nianmo took a deep breath, her tone softening as she said, "Aunt Jun was a little impulsive in this matter. Let's just let it go."
"If Miss says let it go, then naturally it will be as Miss says," the square-faced elder said immediately.
Mo Wuji despised this guy in his heart. He was even better at acting than he was. He really wanted Xi Nianmo to go back on her word again and say that she wanted to kill Xi Di, to see how this square-faced man would speak then.
Xi Nianmo suppressed her anger and said again, "Before I returned, why was my position as acting manor lord removed?"
Hearing Xi Nianmo's words, the square-faced elder instead said seriously, "Miss is right, I was opposed to everyone taking away Miss's position as acting manor lord before. However, the reasons they gave, I couldn't object to. According to the rules of Thunder Sword Manor, the manor lord must be an adult to hold the position, and the sign of adulthood is being married. Miss is not married…"
Xi Nianmo waved her hand, interrupting the square-faced elder's words, and simultaneously beckoned to Mo Wuji.
Mo Wuji helplessly walked to Xi Nianmo's side. Xi Nianmo took Mo Wuji's hand and said, "Elder Ba Ren, this is my husband, Mo Wuji. Wuji, this is one of the five great elders of my Thunder Sword Manor, Elder Xi Ba Ren. Quickly greet him."
Mo Wuji looked at Xi Nianmo with a blank face, then sized up Xi Ba Ren before saying in a muffled voice, "Xi Ba Ren? But he isn't."
After speaking, he frowned, seemingly unable to understand why the square-faced elder was called Xi Ba Ren.
Xi Nianmo quickly said to Xi Ba Ren, "Elder Ba Ren, Wuji was captured by the Black Mustard God Merchant to search for divine crystals and took a Spirit-Disrupting Pill, so his thinking is a little simple now. Please don't mind it, Elder."
Xi Ba Ren laughed, "Miss is being too serious. Since he is the son-in-law of our Thunder Sword Manor, our Thunder Sword Manor will naturally do everything in its power to save him."
Mo Wuji had experienced too many things over the years. He wasn't the kind of person who only knew how to cultivate in seclusion for millions of years. Xi Ba Ren said a casual sentence, and Mo Wuji knew that the other party had already investigated their group. He knew his origins and also knew where Xi Nianmo came from.
Mo Wuji was not mistaken. Xi Ba Ren had indeed investigated where Xi Nianmo had gone.
As for the dirty things that the Black Mustard God Merchant did, too many people knew about them. But there really weren't many who would be like Xi Nianmo, rashly going to annihilate the Black Mustard God Merchant. Firstly, there were too many of these kinds of things; secondly, the vested interests involved were too great.
On the surface, she had killed the Black Mustard God Merchant, but inadvertently, Xi Nianmo had offended even more people.
After a casual sentence, Xi Ba Ren changed the subject and said, "Miss, since you have returned to the manor, how about we convene a clan meeting in three days to discuss the matter of the manor lord?"
Xi Nianmo said indifferently, "Why wait for three days? Let's go to the clan hall of Thunder Sword Manor for discussions now."
"Good, I'll make the arrangements now," Xi Ba Ren replied immediately. Then he turned to the steward Xi Di and said, "Xi Di, go and notify all the elders and direct descendants of Thunder Sword Manor to go to the clan hall for discussions."
"Yes," Xi Di bowed respectfully, retreated a few steps, and then turned and left. Compared to his attitude toward Miss Xi Nianmo, Xi Di's attitude toward Elder Xi Ba Ren was much better.
"I'll go prepare as well," Xi Ba Ren said after Xi Di left. Then, without waiting for Xi Nianmo to answer, he turned and quickly left.
"Miss, I'm afraid there have been major changes in Thunder Sword Manor during the days we were away," Xi Jun said with some worry, watching the departing Xi Di and Xi Ba Ren.
Xi Nianmo said slowly, "No matter how big the changes, the manor lord token is in my hand. Without my token, no one can go to the Xi family ancestral hall. Wuji…"
"I'm here," Mo Wuji looked at Xi Nianmo blankly, seemingly not understanding why Xi Nianmo had to call him in this place.
Xi Nianmo looked at Mo Wuji, and then said slowly, word by word, "After we get to the clan hall, don't speak. If they ask you anything, just say you're my husband and don't know anything else."
"Oh," Mo Wuji said oh, and then said nothing more.
……
The clan hall of Thunder Sword Manor wasn't big. It looked like a large auditorium. The interior decoration was also extremely simple, with only some stone stools and stone tables.
In the middle of the hall was a huge pool, which Mo Wuji found a little puzzling. Mo Wuji didn't have spiritual roots, and his cultivation of divine abilities wasn't categorized. There was no talk of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Lightning, or Ice. He had cultivated lightning-based divine abilities, so he could sense that the pool in the middle of the hall was a lightning pool, because it contained a large amount of lightning elemental energy.
Only Xi Jun and Mo Wuji entered the hall with Xi Nianmo. Xi Jun was an elder of Thunder Sword Manor and was qualified to enter. Mo Wuji was Xi Nianmo's husband and was also qualified to enter. As for Qianhua and Xunji, they could only wait outside.
This time, Xi Nianmo didn't stand on ceremony. She went straight to the head seat and sat down. Xi Jun sat to her right, and Mo Wuji sat to her left.
Not long after the three sat down, people began to enter the hall one after another. Even though Mo Wuji's cultivation was low and he was pretending to be foolish, he could see clearly that these newcomers were not weak, and any one of them was stronger than him.
In less than half an incense stick's worth of time, the not-so-large clan hall was filled with people.
"Miss, the manor lord hasn't been chosen yet, shouldn't this position be left vacant for now?" After the hall was filled with people, someone finally stood up and spoke.
The one who stood up to speak was a beardless old man. What he meant was that Xi Nianmo shouldn't be sitting in the head seat now.