Chapter 577: The High Elders of the Zhen Clan
*Bing-Bong*
The entire chapter’s dialogue is in Tide Tongue, so we’ll be using “”.
Thank you.
*Bing-Bong*
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“Better yet,” Zhen Fei continued with viciousness in his voice, “we should have his so-called children do it in his stead! If they are the princess’s bastards than-”
“Zhen Fei be reasonable! Whatever debts we owed the Royal Family and the Imperial Family had been repaid tenfold at this point. There’s no need to spill any blood for a crime that has since been forgiven,” one of the other elders interjected before Zhen Fei could finish his threat.
While Zhen Liu couldn’t see how any of the elders looked right now, he could at least hear their voices. Additionally, he had their [cores].
Therefore, he could make judgements about how they sounded and compare them to the cores he acquired from them in order to figure out who among them could be considered friendly…or at the very least won’t want to kill him and his family for no good reason.
The elder that had interjected sounded kind, like an old grandparent of a dozen grandkids.
If Zhen Liu had to hazard a guess, than this elder was clearly the one that the [Core of ~Unforgotten~ Kindness] came from. Although, Zhen Liu had no idea how the [unforgotten] bit applied here.
‘Wait…Zhen Fei was that elder that Zhen Li reported to about their failed assassination…so he’s one of the high elders of this place…that explains some shit,’ Zhen Liu thought to himself as soon as he heard the name being dropped. While he had no idea what kind of title this man had within the Zhen Clan, the fact that he was allowed to speak to the clan’s matriarch in such a manner would indicate it was a high status as well.
“Spirit Elder Zhen Bai, are you seriously suggesting that we just forgive him just like that? Just pretend the last several decades never happened, just because this criminal says he wants to?! Preposterous!”
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=Ah, it appears the Zhen Clan is still using the four High Elders division for their power structure. Good to know.=
‘Four High Elders? Dafuq?’
‘That… they’re name after the things I refer to when making a kaijin?’
=But it also refers to the three things a warrior has to master: body, mind and soul, before being considered a “hero”.=
‘Huh…yeah, alright… convergent cultural evolution thy name is thee…’
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“Oh, we’re using full titles now, are we Martial Elder Zhen Fei,” another elder spoke, this one sounding as if voice was oiled like a salesman “well then, you should probably be aware that I just so happen to agree with the sentiment of the Spirit Elder.”
“You too, Wisdom Elder?!,” Zhen Fei asked in an aghast tone.
He already figured somebody as soft as Zhen Bai would be all about “forgiving and forgetting”, but he never expected the Wisdom Elder, Zhen Lung, to be in agreement with him.
“Oh don’t get me wrong,” Zhen Lung began to explain himself, “while I do understand the sentiment of wanting to punish someone for besmirching the clan’s honor, the price we placed upon his head for doing so is much too high at this point. Honestly, it would just be more affordable to just accept his apology and move on.”
What the Wisdom Elder didn’t mention was that since Zhen Shi just so happened to be of the same level as the High Elders, it would make things incredibly difficult to enforce clan law on the man, especially since he had been so flagrant about it in the first place.
“Why you greedy little-!”
“Enough,” the last of the four elders present spoke, his voice carrying a heaviness to it that only veterans and those used to wielding great authority could have. “The crimes of Zhen Shi and former Princess Bai Hua have already been committed. The wound to our pride at this point has become a scar. While it would’ve been better for this wound to not to have occurred in the first place, we can at least prevent the scar from lingering further.”
“Are you also suggesting we forgive him, Hero Elder?”
“No. If anything, I’m saying we formalize their banishment and send them back to Stampeding Bison, simple as that.”
“Are you kidding me? They came all this way and you just want to send them back?”
“Yes.”
“Unbelieve!’
Zhen Bai had been under the impression that the Hero Elder would’ve been all for forgiving since he had mentioned the thing about scars…but this was just continuing the punishment!
What followed after this was an argument breaking out between the four elders, with the Martial and Hero elders going in on at least maintaining whatever punishment they had in store for Zhen Shi and his kin, while the Wisdom and Spirit Elders were arguing for forgiveness.
As the High Elders were arguing, the branch family began to feel more and more uncomfortable about being discussed in such a manner right in front of their faces.
Evidently, neither side took heed of Zhen Xun Tian waiting for the right moment to interject.
‘On the one hand, this is the most excitement I’ve gotten in regards to sitting in this stupid decision making room…but in the other, I should probably do my job and make the proposal that will probably make everybody happy…well…most of them happy and gives me the chance to see something interesting.’
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‘Oh joy, a fifty-fifty split and one of the ones that want to punish us still is way stronger than us,’ Zhen Liu grumbled as he heard the argument unfold.
It’s not exactly a pleasant experience, hearing people talk about you and your family like they were criminals, especially when they’re right in front of you. A small part of Zhen Liu wanted to go ape shit and have the kaijin kick in the asses of the Martial Elder and the Hero Elder…but a larger part understood that doing something like that would definitely draw too much attention. That and the fact that the clan matriarch may have knowledge on the kaijin and he definitely didn’t want to be in kicking distance of her when he would summon them.
She definitely looked like the type of fighter that would go for the low blow in the beginning of a fight.
Thankfully for him though, his desire for violence wouldn’t need to be addressed until later.
“Oi, you old fossils! Quit your bickering and shove it. I have come to a decision.”
“Huh?”
‘Oh that’s not a good sign,’ Zhen Liu noted.
The fact that all four of the high elders looked surprised by Zhen Xun Tian’s statement of intent was a clear indication that despite being clan chief, her making announcements like this was a rare thing to occur.
And judging by the twinge of fear he could hear in that sound, it usually meant her decisions were…questionable.
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‘Oh I do love that look of shock that occur on their faces,’ Zhen Xun Tian thought in amusement as she looked at the shocked faces of the High Elders. Especially since her son appeared to be the most shocked out of all of them.
“Martial Elder Zhen Fei and Hero Elder Zhen Xun Po,” Zhen Xun Tian began to say, “the two of you are in agreement that Zhen Shi and his descendants should be punished for besmirching our honor, yes? That they should repay it in blood?”
“Yes, Clan Leader.”
“Uh huh…and Wisdom Elder Zhen Bai, Spirit Elder Zhen Lung, you two wish to forgive him because he is owning up to his mistakes?”
“That and because it’s cheaper,” Zhen Lung added.
“That’s all I needed to hear. Zhen Shi! Raise your head. Stand up”
“Yes, clan leader.”
Doing as instructed, Zhen Shi got out of his bowed position and proceeded to stand up straight in order to look Zhen Xun Tian in the eyes.
She couldn’t help but smirk a bit about how straight the man’s back was.
“Alright then…Zhen Shi, you have done the clan a great disservice, wounding our honor not just by eloping with the Royal Family’s princess, but by essentially showing the world that we can’t even raise our own blood into being upright heroes. By all rights, I should be punishing you. You understand that?”
“Yes, clan leader. I came back to make amends, I knew this would happen.”
“Really?,” Zhen Xun Tian asked with a rhetorical smirk before moving on.
“Well then, I guess that means your grandchildren are ready for tomorrow then.”
“What?”
“Huh?”
“Excuse me?”
The moment Zhen Xun Tian said that, everyone got confused…up until she said the following.
“By my decree as the Zhen Clan’s leader, I hear by order Zhen Shi’s descendants to participate in tomorrow’s competition. Depending on how well they do, I will the determine just how much leeway we’ll be giving you, Zhen Shi. Be it punishment, a full blown pardon, or even greater than that. I have made my decision. Y’all can go back to your hotel now.”
“…”
“…”
“…fucking what?”
To say that everyone was confused by this turn of events, would be an understatement.
“Y’all heard me…now go.”
