3. Ancestor finds home!

He saw two genuine old men walking inside. "Genuine" was the key word. The long white robes fluttered without wind, along with their same-color hair and strong gait, certifying them as "old men who did something great in their life." Such men were followed by a crowd of young people and a few ladies. From the hubbub among the teenagers, it was clear they were expecting a show.

When one of the old men, the one with bushy eyebrows, stopped his strong gait and observed Lan sitting in the main seat with a mess of empty plates around him, he saw the unconcerned expression on Lan's face.

He snapped,

"Whoever you are, kneel and beg for mercy now for this atrocity, and you will be forgiven. Or else, even the gods cannot save you from me."

The other old man, eager to add something, stood by. Lan observed the angry old man with droopy eyes and picked up a bone, slowly chewing it. His expression clearly asked for a beating. Situ Rin, the new gang member, muttered something incomprehensible and was totally neglected. The young crowd cheered for the bushy-browed old man, adding lines about how to beg and all.

The bushy-browed man was sure his threat would work, as he did not sense any cultivation from the opposite party. He added spiritual pressure to his words; a 5th level Martial General's cultivation should surely compel a mortal to beg. But the skinny old man remained leisurely chewing on bones with an arrogant expression, which made him quickly guess something was amiss.

He was the family head, after all. He changed his approach and calmed the young crowd with a silent glare,

"Why are you here? No matter how weak our family is now, we will not be pushed around by anyone."

He made sure to include everyone. The young crowd, now understanding they were in the presence of someone of very high cultivation, quickly quieted down. Some who spoke earlier tried to hide behind others.

Lan was a little happy. He knew that even the silence of powerful people could terrorize the weak. Still, he commended the quick wit of the old guy. From Situ Rin's mutters, he managed to decipher that the bushy-browed one was the current family head named Situ Xi, and the other was his brother, Situ Pao.

Lan observed the young crowd by slightly tilting his head. One in particular caught his attention—a person standing in front of everyone, 'must be pushed to the front by someone trying to hide,' he thought. 'But the gloomy face surely reflects some hardship.' He also noticed someone wobbling in the crowd.

He came back to Bushy-browed Situ Xi.

"If it were any other time, I would have slapped you until you became silly. Call that Lady Stealer Fang in 10 seconds. Can't recognize your own ancestor, kids nowadays."

He sighed, and the last line was clearly muttered but loud enough to reach everyone's ears. It was added by Lan to satisfy his desire to flaunt his age. Suddenly, the crowd went silent as… as fuck. They were too quiet. Everybody looked at Lan like he was some mysterious creature.

Situ Xi suddenly recalled an old painting of the Great Ancestor Lan. "This old man looked similar to Ancestor Lan. Yes, that crooked nose… face which was asking for beating, yes… he is the Ancestor Lan."

It was as if he had been shot with 1 liter of chicken blood. He started crying his eyes out,

"Now my days of worry will be over. I don't have to carry the shame of leading my family to extinction."

He came forward and bowed so deeply that his head was touching the ground, shouting while crying,

"Great Ancestor Lan, forgive this junior. Junior is old and senile, doesn't have good memory. Forgive me… Forgive me…"

He couldn't say he had seen Ancestor Lan personally, as Ancestor had always been cultivating ever since he remembered. When he became Family Head, he was shown paintings of the Ancestors of the family. That was all he had seen of the ancestor.

The crowd now got confirmation and turned boisterous, joining with the Family Head in their pleas,

"Forgive us, Great Ancestor! Forgive us!"

Lan was satisfied with their reaction. 'This is it. This is how elders should be respected.' He swept a glance across the masses and noticed someone bowing too deeply. He carefully observed and realized, 'Fuck… That one was sleeping. Never mind, as a great ancestor, I will forgive you.'

Caretaker Rin basked in the overflowed worship as she stood near the ancestor and had not caught the bowing train. To bow now would be very awkward. As she was under the ancestor's wing, she didn't need to bow. 'Yes, that's it. I should not; it will be bad for the ancestor's image if his teammates start bowing.'

She convinced herself and noticed the ancestor signaling her towards somewhere. Then she saw the sleeping Situ Kulu. Furious, she marched over to wake him up. Lan nodded satisfactorily as the guy woke up and scrambled to bow. He then continued with a dignified voice,

"No need to do all this. I know you must have never had a chance to see me. I forgive you. Now hurry up and call that Fang."

Situ Xi stood up and signaled the other old man, Situ Pao. Situ Pao, forgetting his strong gait, ran like a small kid towards the entrance. Situ Xi smiled,

"Great Ancestor, Ancestor Fang is in secluded cultivation. Other juniors will not be able to invite him. Pao will bring him here as soon as possible."

Lan smiled and waved his hand in dismissal, showing he had no problem with it. He asked to pass the time,

"So, tell me why you seem to be in dire straits? Other than both of you kids, no one has high strength. I noticed this place looks thoroughly cleaned out of any valuables. What is happening here?"

Lan had noticed nothing; it was all based on gossip by Rin. 'If they are financially tight, they must be selling something from here, right?'

Situ Xi was awed that the Great Ancestor figured out his condition with just a look.

"Great Ancestor, after the false rumour of your demise was spread by our enemy, the Hai Clan, and since you would not bother to clarify those lowly rumours—it would have hindered your cultivation—the rumour was accepted as truth. Other clans, especially the Song's, followed Hai Clan's lead to pressure us to leave the tributaries of the river. Our income drastically dropped as we are totally dependent on naval trade. Then, Hai Clan's Ancestor, Hai Delu, broke through to Martial King Rank. It was like a mountain crashing on us. Our other businesses and shops in Blackcloud City were forced to close. We would have been kicked out of the city if not for Ancestor Fang and me threatening them with a fight to the death. Now that you have come out of seclusion, everything will be as good as old days."

Lan was happy with Situ Xi's wits; he did not even mention Lan's death. Lan had been sleeping in a coffin, deep sleep. 'Don't tell me people here do cultivation in a coffin? This guy is good with words. No wonder he managed to hold out for three years without any support.'

"No worries. Your Ancestor is here now. Just stand by and enjoy the show."

But he was thinking something else, 'These guys were ganged up by everyone; they did not have a single friendly clan. They must have been bullies when they were in power. No wonder nobody tried to help them when they were down. And this Situ Xi wants to go back to the old days, days of bullying others. Like hell!' Still, he confirmed his guess with Caretaker Rin, who explained in whispers,

"Our clan was so respected that people used to come every month just to pay us money, and nobody used to charge us anything when we bought things. It was so good."

That was a good way to explain extortion. Lan sighed. The thing he hated most was forcing others because they were weak. Weak was the keyword. He was familiar with the feeling of being bullied and extorted from his last life. From the looks people gave him when he forced them to do his work or took their money, he knew their pain. But he only forced those who thought they were strong and liked to flaunt. Now, he was with people who were bullies. He didn't know what to do. He needed time to think.

Situ Xi saw the Great Ancestor lost in thought and worriedly explained,

"Great Ancestor, Ancestor Fang will be here shortly. His place of seclusion is some distance away from Family grounds. That's why it's taking some time."

Lan shook his head. 'Now I think about it, waiting for others is a big NO for me. Plus, I need to think of something to rehabilitate the bullies.'

"No need. Gather everyone from the family after a week. By everyone, I mean every single person in the family. If I find anyone not attending, they don't need to call themselves Situ anymore."

With that, Lan flicked his sleeves and started to leave the building. Caretaker Rin hurriedly followed him.

Situ Xi was worried about facing Ancestor Lan's wrath. He furiously shouted,

"Send a message to all members of the family. Report here in 3 days. Use Gray Hawks to send messages to the ones in Tian Academy, Reku Academy, and Long Roar Academy. All should gather here in 3 days. Butler Yan, use reserve funds to make arrangements. I WANT THIS DONE!"

He also flicked his robe and started going out. Then he stopped, 'Ancestor must be still outside, better to go out after some time, I don't want to face him now.'

As Situ Xi thought, Lan was standing outside, in flow of act he came out of the Main Hall but he doesn't know where to go.

'I cannot go back to coffin; they must have some place for me, right? I was here since 3rd Generation; I must have area under me, right?'

He glanced hopefully back at his new gang member who quickly got the clue,

"Ancestor Lan, let me take you to your Gray Courtyard. It has been untouched since you left. I always clean it even though nobody told me, I kept it clean to show you proper respect."

By now Lan understood all about this gossipy girl, who loves to promote herself at every opportunity. Still, she is all he got for now,

"Good. Lead the way, kid. Tomorrow, I'll give you something awesome as a reward."

Caretaker Rin joyfully guided him. On the way, she also explained about a lot of famous clothes, jewelry, and other female products currently in trend in detail, in a worry that Ancestor must not give the wrong gift due to generation gap.