NOVPUBThe rest of the evening for the branch clan was blissfully uneventful.
After spending some time emotionally unwinding and processing everything that had happened this "lovely" day, the branch clan members simply decided to call it an evening since they also had to meet the up with the main clan, again, the next morning.
More specifically, they had to abide by the whims of their matriarch.
However, as the rest of the scions, elders and servants turned in for the evening, Zhen Liu was still awake in his bed.
After all, he was in the middle of a conversation.
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[Hey, maestro, I think we managed to find something that could count as evidence...maybe,] Hurricroak reported.
’Really? That quick?’
[Yeah. We tailed the man all the way back to his private quarters after we caught him talking to some weirdo we couldn’t identify through a scrying mirror thing,] Razorstella added. [They had the vibes of someone being a member of the Fallen Clan, not their matriarch or the whale guy war elder though. The vibes were...different.]
’That’s good to know. So is the evidence that mirror he was using then?’
[Well...that was the initial plan, but then we lucked out and got something a lot juicier than just a single mirror.]
[And probably more illicit than a stash full of adult movies.]
’That’s...good to hear...wait, quick question, is it something small enough to hide underneath something, or is it big enough that it’s just obviously in plain sight?’
[The former.]
’In that case, hold off on returning to my side right now. Wait until morning, that’s when my cousins and I will be in the vicinity. It’ll be a lot easier to deal with stolen goods when I’m in the area.’
[As you wish, maestro.]
’Good. Now then...time for sleep.’
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The next day, the entirety of Willow Scale City bustling with activity, but not the celebratory kind.
All over the city, people were doing their best to rebuild and repair the damage that was caused by the Fallen Clan’s attack.
A good chunk of the groundwork was handled the day before, with many of the messes and bodies having been cleared up at this point. The only thing left to do now was to have the craftsmen of the city come together and rebuild everything that could be rebuilt.
However, not everyone in the city was contributing to this rebuild effort.
Some people were simply beggars that couldn’t contribute while others weren’t really affected by the mayhem from yesterday and didn’t really find a need to contribute in any meaningful capacity.
In regards to the Zhen branch clan though, they weren’t helping because they had to meet with the matriarch of the main clan for...quite a few reasons actually. The most important matter though was formally wiping away Zhen Shi’s internal criminal record.
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<<Alright, since it’s apparently against protocol for me to literally burn away your records, I will have to settle to crossing out the issue on your documents while symbolically burning these dummy records. Which is no fun!>>
<<Mother, we’ve been over this. The clan records must keep track of everything for the sake of future generations. They need to able to look back and see both the good and bad in order to make the right decision.>>
<<And I say it’s boring that I’m not allowed to literally burn some of these records for grand gestures.>>
<<Mother...>> 𝓃𝓸𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
’Nepotism is still funny I see...’
In an inner chamber of the Zhen Clan estate, the branch clan members were once again in a "formal" meeting with the Zhen Clan matriarch but with only of the high elders present, her son, the Hero Elder.
Due to the state of Willow Scale City at the moment, the rest of the High Elders were dispatched to help with the relief and repair efforts. That being said, they were grateful for Zhen Shi and his family’s service, so they were in favor of wiping away Zhen Shi’s criminal record as well.
Regardless, this moment was one of pride for the branch clan, as this was the moment that they had been wanting to achieve since they first came to the Roaring Tide continent.
Now they could go home with a clear conscience and an understanding that they now had repair relations not only with the main clan, but the royal and imperial families they had originally insulted all those years ago.
Then again, it also probably helped that the Fourth Young Master of the Zhen Clan had somehow charmed an Imperial Dragon princess, in a manner that was strangely reminiscent of the branch clan’s patriarch, but that’s another matter for another day. For now, the Zhen Clan was going to be reunited this day...mostly.
<<Thank you, Matriarch Xun Tian,>> Zhen Shi said with a deep and respectful bow, <<I promise I will do all I can to live up to the honor you have shown to me this day.>>
The elders of the branch clan followed their father’s suit, but didn’t say anything. This was their father’s moment, so he should have the most audible voice at the moment.
<<Bah, don’t worry about that too much,>> Zhen Xun Tian nonchalantly waved her hand. <<You and your descendants did more than enough yesterday when you guys helped to not only fight off those Fallen assholes, but even stuck around to help fix stuff. And that’s despite all of the flak and bad vibes my clansmen had been giving all of you these past few days. If anything, we should be the ones proud to have you guys as our first and formal branch clan.>>
The words of praise coming from Zhen Xun Tian sounded informal as all hell, but they did carry a lot of weight to them. As such, the patriarch, the elders and the scions couldn’t help but to blush a bit at these words.
This moment of embarrassment though didn’t last too long as Matriarch Zhen Xun Tian decided to move on to the next item of business.
<<Now then, if I recall correctly, other than Xiao Liu over there with the homemade aether puppets, none of you youngins have any formal aether treasures under your belts. That right?>>
Aside from access to aether formulas, aether arts and aether medicines, one of the more obvious ways to determine the power of clan was just the sheer amount of aether treasures they had access to. The former three items mentioned were mostly internal things that couldn’t be displayed without the possibility of being stolen secrets, while the latter was something that could shown off with no problem.
It’s fine and dandy to show off a car, it’s not fine to share the internal documents used to build it’s software and body.
On a more important note, the Zhen Clan had looked into making their own aether treasures after...acquiring...the necessary foundation for forging such items. They just couldn’t find or have anyone who had the capabilities of doing so.
<<Yes, matriarch,>> Zhen Shi answered. <<While we of the branch clan have managed to secure a healthy number of formula and arts for us and our future generations, items such as aether treasures are hard to come by in the frontier unless we make it ourselves. We hadn’t found anyone who could do so in that regard though.>>
<<That so...well then, that’s perfect! You guys can go ahead and take some from our vaults to take back home as souvenirs.>>
<<Thank you, matriarch-wait, what?>>
<<Mother, are you crazy?!>>
Both Zhen Shi and the Hero Elder looked at Zhen Xun Tian with complete shock at this moment. Although, the former was surprised by the sheer generosity, while the latter was surprised by the sheer insanity. Thankfully(?), Zhen Xun Tian had a pretty good reason why she was doing this.
<<Well, formally speaking, I’m not giving you guys free reign to grab whatever you want. That honor actually goes to your adorable little brats here,>> Zhen Xun Tian said as she pointed at the seven scions of the branch clan. Needless to say, they were rather shocked at the matriarch’s words and the sudden attention they were now receiving.
<<Wait a minute, us?>>
<<Damn straight, kiddos. You lot not only managed to reach the final eight of our family’s competition with great fanfare; but you lot also earned quite a bit of merit for your services in fighting the Fallen, keeping those other scions safe from harm and helping to rebuild stuff after the dust had settled. Giving the next generation a chsnce to dig through the treasure vaults and take something that will help them develop as warriors is a hell of a lot better than just having the damn things sit around and collect dust all day.>>
<<I...thank you, matriarch! We’ll be sure to live up to your expectations.>>
<<Ain’t not thing, young ones. But all that said, it ain’t going to be that easy to take something good from our vaults.>>
<<Huh?>>
Refusing to elaborate any further, Zhen Xun Tian began to make her way out of the room while signalling for the branch clan members to follow.
<<Come then, my branch clansmen. Glory has been earned, so come and claim some fortune!>>
