Settling Down

"Please don't take offense at my actions just now. I only wanted to see if you were acting in accordance with the Saint Ancestor's instructions. I am very satisfied with your performance, and I feel much more at ease leaving Sanbao here now."

"I wouldn't dare. You were only fulfilling your duty, Lord Thirteen. How could I, Dingyi, possibly blame you..."

As time passed, the three of them gradually grew more familiar with one another, and many issues were tacitly settled during their conversations. (--) (--)

Early the next morning, Thirteen departed alone, drifting away.

This left Sanbao feeling deeply saddened. After all, since arriving in this world, the person most familiar and kind to him was this Thirteen, who appeared so frail and elderly. Furthermore, Thirteen was heading to the Tianlan Empire to continue working for the Luo Clan. With the Tianlan Empire having long since changed dynasties, Thirteen's journey was fraught with uncertainty, and Sanbao did not know if they would ever have the chance to meet again.

The wind blows mournfully, the Yi River is cold; the hero goes forth, never to return...

"Thirteen, you must stay alive. I will definitely come to find you!" Sanbao choked out, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Good, good. This old servant will wait for that day, waiting for the Second Prince to lead our Luo Clan to rule the world once more..." Thirteen looked at Sanbao, whom he had raised with his own hands, and kept stroking Sanbao's head, his heart filled with reluctance.

There were clearly more major events at the Luo Mansion these past few days than usual.

A day later, the Luo Clan's ancestral hall in the backyard once again gathered the elders and elites of the clan. Aside from all six direct members of the Luo Clan being present, the three mistresses of the Luo Clan were also in attendance. Of course, what surprised everyone was that, in addition to them, there was one extremely unfamiliar face—Sanbao.

What kind of place was the Luo Clan ancestral hall? It was the most solemn place in the Luo Mansion. Aside from discussing major family affairs, let alone outsiders, even their own kin had to have the permission of the head of the family to enter or leave.

Everyone was curious about what kind of background this kid had to be able to enter the ancestral hall directly. Not only that, but he was also sitting right beside the head of the family. Everyone was filled with confusion as to what this signified.

"Alright, let me introduce him to everyone. This is my little nephew, Sanbao. He is..." Luo Dingyi sat steadily in the center of the hall, preparing to introduce Sanbao to everyone.

"Grandfather, did you make a mistake? He's just a little brat, how could he be your nephew? Then what are we brothers supposed to do?" Before Old Luo could finish his sentence, Luo Caiyang shouted out.

"That's right, if he is Grandfather's nephew, then what should I call him?" After the older brother spoke, the second brother, Caiyang, was not to be outdone.

This was understandable. The eldest grandson of the Luo Clan, Luo Caiyang, was already twenty-five this year. If Sanbao were Old Luo's nephew, wouldn't he have to call a little brat more than ten years younger than him "Uncle"? For the eldest young master of the Luo Clan, who had always been influential in Lushan Town and held himself in high regard, this was indeed a rather tragic affair.

"Second Brother is so stupid, it's simple. If Grandfather calls him nephew, then naturally we should call him Uncle. Am I right, Grandfather?" Caiyue didn't care about all that and immediately pointed at Sanbao as she shouted. Clearly, her curiosity about Sanbao's arrival far outweighed anything else, and as for what to call him, it was just a title to her.

Old Luo had his authority challenged by a few kids the moment he opened his mouth, and he felt he had lost face, especially in front of Sanbao. His face immediately darkened.

"I haven't finished speaking yet, what are you all bickering about? After this meeting, Caiyang is punished to carry fifty thousand catties of stone up Lushan, and Caiyang five thousand..."

"Yes..."

As soon as Luo Caiyang finished speaking, he regretted it. It didn't matter if he was arrogant elsewhere, but this was the Luo Clan ancestral hall. Here, the authority of the family head, Luo Dingyi, could never be challenged. He didn't dare to let out another peep, because according to custom, if he dared to argue further, it wouldn't be as simple as fifty thousand catties of stone.

Once Old Luo made his move, the others clearly became much more obedient, and one by one they fell silent. Old Luo seemed very satisfied with his methods; his expression softened, and he continued:

"Alright, let me continue. Actually, I am not the only one in this generation of our Luo Clan. I also have an older brother, who is Feng'er's uncle. However, he has been wandering outside for many years, and there has been no news for a long time. It wasn't until yesterday that I learned... alas, my big brother is no longer with us. Sanbao is the only flesh and blood he left behind. From now on, this is Sanbao's home, and I will treat him as my own. I hope you will all take care of him. Do you all understand now?"

"I heard my father mention my uncle when I was young. I didn't expect that after all these years, my uncle would be gone. Sigh, it's fortunate that Sanbao has returned~"

As the eldest son, Luo Kaifeng naturally knew the true origins of the Luo Clan. Although he hadn't coordinated with Old Luo beforehand, he didn't even blink as he lied, making it seem incredibly authentic.

This half-truthful, half-fabricated story from the Luo father and son clearly had a great effect, and the doubts of the crowd were dispelled one by one.

"Father, then Sanbao will be our third brother from now on," the second son, Kaiyu, was the first to express his stance, quickly coming forward to greet Sanbao, which officially acknowledged Sanbao's status.

Although Kaiyu had some questions about this third brother in his heart, since his father had said so, there was naturally no problem. Even if there were questions, they could not be asked; this was the long-standing rule of the Luo Clan.

"Hello, Nephew," "Hello, Third Brother," "Hello, Third Uncle."

The mistresses of the Luo Clan, including Caiyue, stepped forward one after another to pay their respects.

"Hello, Aunts, hello, Big Brother, Second Brother, hello, Sisters-in-law, hello, Caiyue~" Sanbao did not dare to be negligent and quickly returned the greetings one by one.

After the commotion, only the Caiyang brothers showed no reaction, which displeased Old Luo, and his gaze turned toward his two grandsons.

His look was all it took; the Caiyang brothers immediately felt a chill, thinking to themselves: Just endure it! The two of them stepped out together and shouted in unison.

"Hello, Third Uncle----"

The sound they made was only slightly louder than a mosquito's buzz. Fortunately, Sanbao knew they were embarrassed, and not knowing if he had heard them clearly or not, he hurriedly returned the greeting: "Hello, Caiyang, hello, Caiyang~"

Just like that, Sanbao's status was confirmed.

"Feng'er, Sanbao's health isn't very good. Have someone clear out the courtyard against the mountain in the backyard, let Sanbao live there, and find a few clever maids to serve him well."

The subsequent matters seemed much simpler and more trivial. As the head of the family, Old Luo only paid a little attention to Sanbao's living arrangements, leaving the rest to Luo Kaifeng.

Soon, the family meeting was declared over, and everyone left one after another. When the eldest, Luo Kaifeng, led Sanbao to the small courtyard, Caiyue skipped along behind them.

"Third Uncle, Grandfather said your health isn't good. Are you sick? Grandmother has medicine pills that are very effective. I'll bring them for you to take later, and you'll get better very soon!"

Ever since the Blood Fusion, Sanbao's health had not been very good, and his complexion was particularly pale. Coupled with Thirteen's recent departure, Sanbao really couldn't lift his spirits, and he naturally looked sickly. However, he couldn't be indifferent to the little girl's enthusiasm, so he forced a few traces of joy and smiled at Caiyue.

"Alright, then thank you, Yueyue~"

"You're welcome..."

Watching little Caiyue skip away, Sanbao felt a sudden stirring in his heart. Was he perhaps a bit too "precocious"?

Looking at the warm and kind members of the Luo Clan, and the quiet and spacious courtyard, Sanbao nodded to himself. This is my home now.

Lushan Town was actually a small town built against the mountain. It is said that there were countless herds of deer in the mountain, hence the name Lushan, and Lushan Town was named accordingly.

As one of the top powers in Lushan Town, the location of the Luo Mansion was not in the most prosperous area, but it could definitely be considered the most tranquil, because the entire Luo Mansion was built against the mountain. To put it plainly, the Luo Mansion was built at the foot of Lushan, which also fit the Luo Clan's consistent style—living a low-key life.

Of course, more importantly, it was considered for easy evacuation. In fact, one of the secret passages in the Luo Clan ancestral hall led directly into Lushan.

After all, when Luo Dingyi came from the Tianlan Empire back then, his primary mission was to preserve the bloodline of the Luo Clan. After learning that the Tianlan Luo Clan had collapsed, Old Luo felt even more that the location he had chosen was very wise. As for why he chose this small Lushan Town, even Luo Dingyi was not very clear. He simply followed the Saint Ancestor's instructions to come here and spread his branches and leaves.

By the time everything regarding Sanbao's meals and daily living arrangements was settled, several hours had already passed. The Luo Clan had assigned a dedicated maid to Sanbao, a young girl named Meimei who was about fourteen or fifteen years old.

In response to Old Luo's call, Luo Kaifeng had specifically arranged three or four maids for Sanbao. This truly allowed Sanbao to experience the prestige of his status, but it clearly did not align with his personal style.

His original intention was to not have any maids at all. In Sanbao's view, as long as he had food and clothing, he was fully capable of living on his own and had no need for anyone to wait on him; he wasn't used to it either. However, considering that his body might indeed require care—after all, he was only "ten years old"—and coupled with the strong insistence of his elder brother Luo Kaifeng, he reluctantly accepted one.

Fortunately, the Luo Clan had always maintained a simple and modest household style, so no one felt particularly surprised by this.

As the sun set, the massive silhouette of Deer Mountain gradually engulfed the entire Luo Mansion. Lying on his wooden bed, Sanbao began to reflect carefully on his life during this period, while his mind slowly digested the many things that Thirteen had taught him recently.

Although he had already succeeded in Blood Fusion, he still had to wait for the awakening of his innate bloodline to become a Spirit Cultivator. According to Thirteen, this period might not be short, likely taking around a year.

Of course, this was only Thirteen's estimate. In reality, Thirteen dared not be certain how long it would actually take; if Sanbao's innate bloodline were unstable, it might not even be fully activated within a year.