SWNOVELXO Chapter 61: Family Time
"Honored Elder Chen!"
Chen Wei, stepping out of the academy elder's study room, nodded in acknowledgment of the greeting from the two guards by the door and continued on his way.
As he walked slowly through the corridors of the clan's academy, his mind wandered to the conversation he had just finished with the elder. He had detailed the events of the incident and even reminisced about the time when himself was a student at the academy. The elder was particularly enthusiastic about this, clearly satisfied to see another one of his students ascend to the esteemed position of a clan elder so soon.
Overall, the conversation was calm and friendly, a stark contrast to what Chen Wei knew would await the Gu Masters responsible for allowing the incident to occur. They would likely be reprimanded harshly and relentlessly by the elder before facing their respective punishments.
This difference in treatment was not just due to their statuses—Chen Wei, a fellow elder, stood on equal footing with the academy elder, while they were Gu Masters who could be easily subdued—but primarily because the incident stemmed from their failure in their responsibilities. Chen Wei, on the other hand, was the one who swiftly resolved the situation before it escalated further.
'The atmosphere here feels far more heavy than it was during my days as a student,' he thought as he observed the students quietly listening to their martial arts instructor. 'Is it because of the gravely injured student today, or is it the looming wolf tide?'
He didn't dwell on the question long, as his status as an elder prevented him from casually speaking with the students to discern the reason. Instead, he continued walking in silence until he exited the academy grounds.
On the bustling streets of the clan, Chen Wei walked unimpeded as pedestrians instinctively cleared a path for him wherever he went. This made it somewhat challenging for him to maintain his dignified, solemn expression, especially as he nodded slightly to acknowledge the respectful bows of both Gu Masters and mortals alike, all showing deference to his position as a clan elder.
From what he could see, the morale of the clan members as a whole seemed remarkably high going into this wolf tide.
'Is it because we won the war? Or is it the news that this wolf tide is expected to be relatively mild?' Chen Wei pondered, comparing the current atmosphere on the streets to what he remembered from past wolf tides.
One thing that didn't belong to the clan in the past wolf tides, but which Chen Wei now noticed, was the occasional female Gu Master from the Feng Zhi clan. These women had abandoned their surname after surrendering to the He An clan and were being gradually integrated, with almost all of them being arranged to marry Gu Masters from the He An clan to accelerate their assimilation.
For Chen Wei, this wasn't the first time he had witnessed such a situation, nor was it the first time he felt worried, resentful, and frightened gazes briefly fall upon him before quickly shifting away.
As for the captured male Gu Masters, the clan was far less enthusiastic about them. They didn't hold a vital role in the clan's future development plans. However, that didn't mean they were forgotten or destined to remain prisoners forever. Some could potentially be integrated depending on various factors, but the majority were already being treated as cannon fodder to reduce casualties among the He An Gu Masters.
"But the clan is still trying to figure out a way to ensure some sort of oath that guarantees they actually serve as effective cannon fodder..." he thought.
While reflecting on this, Chen Wei passed by one of the clan's jewelry stores, still open despite the current circumstances. The store displayed a variety of jewelry, such as necklaces, bracelets, and rings, all of which had been crafted previously. However, the production of any new jewelry using resources that could be used for Gu refinement or feeding had largely been prohibited—though not entirely.
Unless the clan faced a desperate, existential threat, stores like this, particularly cherished by high-status women in the clan, would not be closed and repurposed as barricades for an additional line of defense.
'Hm, I could take a look...' he thought. As an elder of the Chen family, the contribution points he earned by supervising the students during today's test weren't particularly significant to him. Seeing this store and recalling how much Wang Mei, Chen Hua, and his mother appreciated such jewelry, he decided to buy a few pieces as gifts. With that, he quickly entered the store, following through on his thought.
---
"Ah, it really is so beautiful. I almost feel envious," Wang Mei said in a pleasant tone.
She leaned slightly toward Chen Hua, gently touching the pendant around her neck. It was made of light blue jade stones, each of which would be valuable on its own, but here they were linked together with intricate details crafted from a gold-like metal that had a greenish hue. "It matches perfectly with your light blue eyes and adorable face, Hua'er"
Hearing the compliment, Chen Hua gave a soft, sweet smile and lowered her gaze to the aromatic, richly flavored tea in her cup, trying to hide the slight blush that spread across her cheeks.
"Thank you..." she said politely. "Yours is truly beautiful as well."
Her gaze fell lightly on the ring Wang Mei was wearing—a delicate, pale silver ring reminiscent of the serene moon ruling the night. It was adorned with a flawlessly carved, dazzling bluish-purple emerald, the kind of gift that would make any young lady's heart flutter. Some might even burn red with embarrassment upon receiving such a ring, as it was traditionally exchanged only between lovers or deeply devoted partners in the clan.
"Thank you!" Wang Mei responded enthusiastically, casting a glance at Chen Wei, who was calmly eating a small piece of cake, completely oblivious to her gaze.
Ci Ling, observing the interaction between the two, couldn't help but let a loving smile curve the corners of her lips.
As a mother, she naturally worried about her children, especially her youngest daughter, who had been deeply affected by the loss of her brother. It had been incredibly difficult for Chen Hua to regain her smile, and even now, a clear sadness lingered beneath her sweet and gentle demeanor.
This was, of course, a feeling Ci Ling understood all too well. Ever since Chen Ming's death, not a day had gone by without her chest aching to the point of wanting to give up and cry endlessly. Yet, her responsibilities in caring for her two remaining children didn't allow her that luxury.
"I'm so glad both of you liked them. I chose carefully to match your tastes," Chen Wei said as he continued eating his piece of cake, not even lifting his head, assuming the silence meant they were waiting for him to speak.
Hearing this, Ci Ling gave a quick glance at her pendant, which was relatively similar to Chen Hua's but featured red emerald tones with purple details. This design gave it an air of refined, mature beauty, contrasting with the innocent charm of Chen Hua's.
"Ah, my little Wei has always been so quiet never talking to girls his age... Honestly, for the longest time, I thought, that I wouldn't have a daughter-in-law if it weren't for your grandfather arranging your marriage, what made me less reluctant about the idea, even though I feared you would be unhappy in an arranged marriage" She speaks with a gentle expression, tinged with a hint of melancholy and self-deprecation.
"But thankfully, you found an excellent wife like Mei'er to teach him a bit about how to please a woman. Otherwise, our gifts today wouldn't have been these beautiful pieces of jewelry but rather a bunch of Gu." Ci Ling said with a light smile, changing her tone to enthusiastically tease her son. "Honestly, when he was young, he wouldn't even go out to play with his peers. All he wanted was to tinker with Gu..."
Ci Ling continued speaking while Wang Mei didn't know where to hide her face, which had turned as red as a tomato. After hearing yet another implication about her "teaching him how to please a woman," she wasn't sure if Ci Ling had made the remark deliberately to tease or if it was just her imagination running wild.
As for Chen Wei, he simply enjoyed the pleasant atmosphere while eating his favorite cake. He murmured in a tone of mock regret, "This... Truly, I should have bought a few Gu as gift. It would have been much more practical!"
This earned him a synchronized shake of disapproval from the three women.
---
Swish! Swish!
Two massive water blades spun rapidly in circles, slicing through the air like a deadly water saw, hurtling straight toward Chen Wei.
"Too predictable," Chen Wei remarked without hesitation, identifying the critical flaw of this Gu. "Unless it's the Rank 3 version, this won't pose a challenge for someone experienced."
Chen Liang maintained a serious, expressionless face as he watched his son effortlessly counter. With a precise swing of the blood sword in his hand, Chen Wei struck the center of both water blades, shattering them in an explosion of water above his head.
This was expected. Unlike the trajectory of ordinary semi-circular water blades, these because of their shapes of complete circles, has a much more linear path, making their attack path predictable to someone like Chen Wei, who had faced them countless times in training battles.
Chen Liang also knew he knows the best way to counter these blades: strike the center against their rotation. So his attack plan already relied on your understanding of your son's abilities, with Chen Wei perfectly countering and destroying the blades, being his intention from the beginning.
"Haha, boy! You will not even know where to hide your face after losing to your old man, even as a Rank 3 elder," Chen Liang teased, his tone light-hearted, as this was merely a training session, not a serious fight. However, he still wanted to win.
In the next moment, the water from the shattered blades, which had been falling harmlessly, transformed into sharp, cutting droplets, creating a misty haze that completely obscured Chen Wei's vision.
With no time to retreat, Chen Wei could only summon his blood armor to shield himself while his blood sword swung rapidly, deflecting the lethal water droplets.
"Is this a new Gu of yours?" he asked curiously, but his question was met only with a confident laugh as an aura appeared behind him.
"You got too confident—!" Chen Liang's words froze in his throat.
What he hadn't anticipated was that instead of Chen Wei being at a disadvantage, it was himself who was caught off guard. The blood blade, which had been frantically defending moments ago, now rested mere centimeters from his throat.
"...Did you exaggerated the danger of the water droplets and their ability to penetrate your armor?" he asked, halting the attack immediately upon realizing the fight was over. "Did you see my movements despite the Water Mist using the Blood Eyes Gu?"
Chen Wei nodded in agreement. "I was fairly certain you used your Water Mist Gu and the Sneaky Bastard Gu I gave you to try to mask your movements too right?"
Chen Liang nodded honestly, now understanding what his son wanted to test this in this training battle. "You wanted to assess the limits of the Blood Eyes Gu because of that Feng Zhi clan elder who managed to sneak up on you?"
"Waiting for father to return in a few days to train with him would be more suitable than practicing with a Rank 2 Gu master like me."
"One of them, but not the main one..." Chen Wei says solemnly as his blood armor ceases to exist under his control.
"And about training with Grandpa it wouldn't also be entirely balanced since, if all goes as expected, he'll be at Rank 4. More importantly, I don't want to wait to see how effective the Sneaky Bastard Gu is when used by a Gu master against the Blood Eyes."
Chen Wei's gaze darkened. "No matter how cautious we are or how tightly we control it, once we fully adopt the Blood Path as the clan's main focus, there will inevitably be leaks of Gu, even if minimal. The Blood Eyes Gu, if leaked, could cause massive unrest. Its ability to nullify stealth or blood-based surprise attacks could, at some point, be turned against the He An clan itself, which will primarily rely on the Blood Path."
Chen Liang instantly understood Chen Wei's concern.
"I plan to create a variant of the Sneaky Bastard Gu, specifically designed to conceal blood from the Blood Eyes Gu, and keep it exclusively under the Chen family's control," Chen Wei stated firmly.
Chen Liang pondered for a moment, offering some input before realizing Chen Wei had already formulated a detailed plan. Seeing he wasn't of much help, he shifted the conversation to the Chen family's plans for when Chen Wang returned to the clan in a few days.