Legacy of the Spirit Stone-Chapter 44 – Zhao family

Chen Yang had figured out the ins and outs of the situation and directed his consciousness further afield.
Now in the Late Qi Condensation stage, his "observation" could encompass the entire Northern Shore village.
At this moment, at the entrance guarded by clan soldiers on the village's west side, a long caravan of carriages was waiting.
Over seventy members of the Liang family were anxiously waiting there.
It was their first time in the Pine Mountain region, and they curiously looked inside with their heads raised.
"Is this the village governed by the Yang Clan? It's so prosperous!"
"Indeed, aside from the size, it looks no different from a town!"
"Look over there, my goodness, that gold-painted red wall must be the Yang family's mansion! It's even more impressive than the town lord's residence!"
Seeing the Yang family's strength firsthand, the Liang family members couldn't help but exclaim.
At this moment, someone noticed the mist lingering on the cliff above the Yang family's northern side.
"How can there be such thick fog at this time of day?"
As they discussed, a few people pointed towards Misty Mountain.
Clang!
Just then, the clan soldier responsible for guarding the area became furious, slammed his spear into the ground, and shouted, "How dare you! Show some respect to the Immortal Mountain!"
The Liang family members quickly bowed their heads in apology and retreated into the group.
However, when they looked at the clan soldiers, their eyes were filled with more envy than fear.
Before coming here, they had never seen a family capable of raising its own armed force.
"Alas... The Yang family is so powerful, whether we join or not makes no difference to them. Will they really be willing to take us in?"
"I'm afraid that after joining, we'll have to do hard labor to repay our debts."
"Come on, if we can find shelter and preserve our bloodline, what's a little hardship?"
At this moment, a sound came from the front, and Yang Xiaolei arrived with a team of clan soldiers.
He checked each person against the list provided by Liang Yi, and finally, all seventy-four members of the Liang family entered the village.
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After these people followed Yang Xiaolei to their accommodations, a villager watching from afar ran urgently towards the east end of the village.
He ran until he was out of breath, finally stopping in front of a large mansion with a plaque reading "Zhao Residence."
"Steward, what's the matter with you?"
The gatekeeper hurriedly stepped forward to support him.
"Quick, take me to see the master, something terrible has happened!"
The steward stumbled into the backyard, where Zhao Dapeng was leisurely feeding koi in the pond with a few guests.
"What's going on, why are you in such a panic?"
Seeing the steward gasping for breath, Zhao Dapeng frowned in displeasure.
At this moment, Zhao Dapeng was dressed in a bright robe of silk and brocade, wearing a pearl hat, holding white jade, looking prosperous and rosy-cheeked.
He no longer resembled the old farmer he was a year ago, now appearing as a wealthy gentleman.
The steward didn't bother with formalities, whispered a few words to him, and Zhao Dapeng's expression changed immediately.
He then found an excuse to dismiss the guests and returned to the room with the steward.
"Is what you said true?"
"Master, I saw it with my own eyes, more than seventy people, it's absolutely true!"
Zhao Dapeng half-reclined on a chair, fiddling with the white jade beads in his hand, his eyes flickering.
"Master, the main family has really taken action this time..." the steward said in a low voice.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Dapeng was filled with anger.
"Damn it! A bunch of useless fools, always causing trouble! I told them to restrain themselves, but they wouldn't listen. Now they've displeased the main family, what should we do? It's infuriating!"
Zhao Dapeng slapped the chair and stood up, saying to the steward, "Go, gather everyone in the backyard! Remember, everyone! Bring those brats back to me!"
"Understood, I'll go right away!"
The steward hurried out, leaving Zhao Dapeng standing alone in the room, his face dark.
"Alas... what a mess!"
He recalled the days when he toiled in the fields, struggling to find even a helping hand, and being met with disdain at every relative's house.
In the end, he had no choice but to take the young Zhao Qi to the fields.
Every night, seeing the blisters on the child's feet, his heart ached.
Originally, life as a farmer was manageable; the family could eat, and there was some surplus each year.
But who could have predicted the beast problem would come, forcing them to abandon their land and livelihood to survive?
Zhao Dapeng knelt outside White Stone Town with his family for three days and nights without being let in. Desperate, he sought refuge with the Yang family.
Fortunately, the Yang family was kind-hearted, willing to take in refugees like them, providing temporary shelter and food.
From then on, Zhao Dapeng was devoted to the Yang family.
Later, when rumors about the Yang family spread, he was the first to stand up and scold those who spoke ill of them.
After the beast tide subsided, they received land and started a new life at the foot of Pine Mountain.
Looking back, it was from that moment that the Zhao family's fortunes began to change.
Sharing hardships with the Yang family, gaining clan status, and Zhao Qi being chosen by the Yang family's immortal master, Zhao Dapeng's status underwent a dramatic transformation.
He acquired a large mansion, became a master, and life became prosperous.
He never expected that with good days came trouble.
As the saying goes, "When poor in a bustling city, no one asks; when rich in the mountains, distant relatives come." After Zhao Dapeng and his family moved into the new mansion, relatives who rarely contacted them before now scrambled to visit.
Not only close relatives like third aunts and fourth uncles, but even distant kin with the slightest connection came to seek refuge.
These were manageable, but even those sharing the Zhao surname dared to shamelessly visit.
Seeing this, Zhao Dapeng lost his temper and drove them all away.
But once was manageable, twice or thrice, with daily pestering, he grew weary.
Finally, he gathered all the relatives and established a new family register, with himself as the head, clearly defining the hierarchy and relationships.
He thought this would bring peace, but it turned out to be the source of trouble.
Those who entered the family register, feeling they were descendants of the immortal master, began to act arrogantly in the village.
Initially, they only ran up tabs at inns and shops. Seeing others feared them and no one restrained them, they became increasingly reckless.
Eventually, incidents of bullying and street fighting occurred.
As a result, these individuals were all captured by clan soldiers, severely punished, and fined, before being escorted back to the Zhao residence.
Zhao Dapeng personally took these troublesome juniors to the main family to apologize.
He thought they would learn from this and behave, but to his surprise, these useless fools were incorrigible. With clan soldiers on the Northern Shore, they went to the Southern Shore to cause trouble, making the Southern Shore residents miserable.
"A bunch of brainless idiots! They've really ruined me!"
Thinking of these vexing matters, Zhao Dapeng felt a tightness in his chest.
He didn't mind facing punishment from the main family, but he feared these issues would affect Zhao Qi, who had gone up the mountain.
The Liang family's submission seemed like a charitable act on the surface, but Zhao Dapeng knew it was a warning for him!
From now on, the Zhao family's dominance on the Northern Shore would no longer exist.
"Master, everyone is here," the steward said from outside the door.
Hearing this, Zhao Dapeng steadied himself, his hesitation vanished, and his eyes filled with a fierce determination.
In an instant, this somewhat prosperous Zhao family master transformed back into the solitary mountain farmer he once was.
He then retrieved an old grass-cutting machete from under the bed and strode out the door.