Founding the Clan and Opening the Ancestral Hall

Dongxi Village, Qingjiang County.

Countless carriages and horses streamed into the unremarkable village like flowing water.

More than twenty Xu Household guards in standard black-and-red uniforms directed the traffic to prevent congestion.

"The Wang Clan head of Qingping County has arrived with his wife and son!"

"The He Clan head of Qingping County has arrived with his son and daughter!"

"The Cao Clan's eldest young master of Qingping County has arrived!"

"The Yan Clan head has arrived with his wife and children!"

"The Shen Clan's eldest young master has arrived!"

"County Magistrate Wu of Qingping County has arrived with his wife!"

"County Magistrate's Deputy Yang of Qingping County has arrived with his wife and children!"

"County Commandant Fang of Qingping County has arrived!"

Those whose announcements bore the name of Qingping County belonged either to aristocratic and greater clans or to officialdom. The rest were wealthy merchants or people of considerable standing within the county.

Chen Ergou's family and Chen Daming's family had also been invited.

Watching the wealthy merchants and distinguished clan members coming and going, Chen Daming was filled with emotion. He murmured, "Ergou, our father truly had a discerning eye. Had he not looked after Xu Chuan from childhood, I doubt our Chen Household could have gained a place here today."

"Elder brother, that only applies to you. With the friendship Brother Chuan and I share, it would be perfectly normal not to invite you, but he certainly wouldn't leave me out."

Chen Ergou looked thoroughly pleased with himself.

Xu Yan surveyed her surroundings, jealousy smoldering in her heart.

We are all members of the Xu Clan, descended from the same ancestors. Why is Xu Chuan's branch so illustrious, while ours dwindles day by day?

The woman beside Chen Daming suddenly tugged gently at his sleeve and whispered, "Husband, do you think the Xu Household will resent us for asking them for their Jade Pear cultivation methods a few years ago?"

She was Chen Daming's wife, Madam Lü.

"It should be fine. Otherwise, they wouldn't have invited us."

"Besides, we never gained the slightest benefit. We planted Jade Pears for years without a single fruit, and nearly dragged our family business down instead."

After saying that, the two fell silent.

The group continued walking.

Suddenly, a guard barred their way. "Everyone, the Xu Household has closed this road today. Only those with invitations may pass."

Chen Ergou stepped forward cheerfully and took an invitation from his robe, then turned to Chen Daming. "Elder brother, take out your family's invitation too. They need to check it."

The Xu Household guard glanced at the invitations, nodded, and returned them before gesturing them forward. "The invitations are in order. Please go straight this way. Where the crowds gather is where you'll find the Xu Household."

"I know this road well."

As they approached the Xu Household's great mansion, the crowd swelled like a tide, until they finally reached the gates.

Before them lay a broad, open space, its ground neatly laid entirely with bluestone slabs.

"Second nephew!"

Chen Ergou suddenly spotted Xu Mingyuan chatting with several wealthy merchants and immediately waved and called out.

His shout drew quite a few eyes.

He seems to be calling the Xu Household's second young master. Could he belong to a branch of the Xu Household too?

Some wondered about this, considering whether they should go over and offer a greeting.

Xu Mingyuan was now approaching the level of a second-rate martial artist. With his keen hearing and sharp eyesight, he naturally heard that familiar call.

He turned, then immediately walked over with a smile.

"Uncle Ergou, Uncle Daming, Daniu, Fangfang, you're here."

"Where's my Brother Chuan?"

Xu Mingyuan gave a wry smile. "Uncle Ergou, there are many guests today, and this is an important day for the founding of our Xu Clan. It is a solemn occasion, so please take it a little more seriously and don't speak quite so casually."

"Understood, Second Young Master Xu. Then may I ask where the Xu Family Head is?"

"Father is inside speaking with several aristocratic clan heads, County Magistrate Wu, County Magistrate's Deputy Yang, and County Commandant Fang. The clan-founding ceremony begins at noon. If you know anyone here, you can chat with them first, or you can go inside and see Grandpa Chen."

"He will be presiding over the ceremony."

"My father?!"

Both Chen Daming and Chen Ergou exclaimed, exchanging a look of disbelief.

"Then let's go see my father first."

Both said the same thing.

After all, there really were very few people present whom they knew.

Noon.

Outside the Xu Household's main gates.

The altar tables for the offering to Heaven and Earth had been neatly arranged. On them sat the three sacrificial animals—an ox, a pig, and a sheep—ever-burning candles, and various pastries.

Seven meditation cushions had been placed behind them.

They were arranged in two rows.

Two stood at the front, with five side by side behind them.

Xu Chuan's family, along with the county magistrate, the magistrate's deputy, the county commandant, and several aristocratic clan heads, emerged through the gates.

Uncle Chen stood beside the altar.

His hair and beard were gray-white, his face etched by wind and frost. He was already sixty.

Among the villagers of Dongxi Village, he counted as long-lived.

He was also the elder closest to the Xu Household, which was why Xu Chuan had asked him to preside.

"Descendants of the Xu Clan, step forward."

"Light the incense!"

Seven servants came forward to light the long incense sticks in the hands of Xu Chuan and the others, then withdrew.

Uncle Chen swept his gaze over them, his expression solemn and dignified, and read from the silk cloth in his hands. "Here stands the Xu Clan, offering this invocation to Heaven and Earth: in the year of Yisi, in the season of Ruibin. Heaven is clear and Earth at peace; the two primal powers display their signs... Clouds move and rain falls, and all things take their forms. Vast and embracing, radiant and great, they nurture our multitude... May the spirits bestow blessings and grant us boundless favor. Reverently following the ancient rites, we humbly beseech you to accept these offerings."

Once he finished, he cast the silk into a bronze cauldron to burn.

"Kneel!"

"First bow! Second bow! Third bow!"

"Kneel again!"

After three rounds of kneeling and nine bows, Xu Chuan led the others in placing their incense.

They then went before the Xu Clan's ancestral hall.

Before opening the ancestral hall, they likewise needed to recite a prayer to honor their ancestors and proclaim their achievements.

"Here stands the Xu Clan, founding its lineage and building its ancestral hall, to honor ancestral virtue and order the generations. We have chosen an auspicious site in Qingjiang, with green mountains at its back and flowing water before it, its dragon veins stretching unbroken and its aspect grand. The hall comprises three successive courtyards, with a ceremonial gate in front, an offering hall in the middle, and spirit tablets enshrined at the rear, while the chambers on either side house the genealogical records..."

"The completion of this hall provides not merely a dwelling for ancestral spirits, but a foundation for strengthening kinship, fostering harmony within the clan, and educating our descendants. Let all future descendants who enter these gates remember the hardships of building an enterprise and the difficulty of preserving it. Conduct yourselves with care, spend with restraint, and bring glory to the family name."

After finishing the prayer and burning the silk, Uncle Chen shouted, "Open the ancestral hall and welcome the ancestral tablets!"

One servant after another, their faces solemn, carried spirit tablets into the Xu Clan's ancestral hall and set them in place.

Xu Chuan counted the generations from his grandfather. He belonged to the third generation, while Xu Mingwei and his siblings belonged to the fourth.

In the eyes of others, however, Xu Chuan was the true founder of the Xu Household's fortunes.

The generations before him had all been ordinary commoners who could not be sure in the morning of surviving until evening. Xu Chuan's father had even been a mere hired farmhand for the Xu Lineage.

"I've heard that the Xu Household has five children, each gifted in their own right, yet the Xu Household Head himself is little known."

"I've heard that too. The Xu Household rose to prosperity in barely more than a decade, and the Xu Household Head was himself a hired farmhand for Dongxi Village's Xu Lineage when he was young."

"Talented people have emerged in both generations of the Xu Household. No wonder it flourishes so!"

Watching the Xu family kneeling and bowing before their ancestral tablets, everyone wore an expression of envy.

All five children of the Xu Household were outstanding.

Their fame had spread not only throughout Qingjiang County, but even to several neighboring county seats.

The eldest, Xu Mingwei, needed no introduction. Three years earlier, he had already been considered a first-class martial artist. Before even reaching twenty, he had attained the Houtian peak and was universally acknowledged to possess the makings of a grandmaster.

The second, Xu Mingyuan, made friends in all four quarters and drew wealth from all eight directions.

Four parts in ten of the Xu Household's present prosperity were entirely to his credit.

He was truly a prodigy in business, having multiplied the Xu Household's wealth tens or even hundreds of times within a few short years.

The third, Xu Mingxuan, trained at the Heavenly Dragon Martial Arts School and had likewise reached the level of a third-rate martial artist. He enjoyed a reputation as a martial genius in Qingjiang County.

The fourth, their daughter Xu Mingshu, possessed extraordinary gifts. Rumor had it that she could communicate with beasts and command the Variant White Tiger. She too was renowned, and many aristocratic clans hoped to secure her hand in marriage.

The fifth, Xu Mingxian, showed neither mountain nor water to outsiders, revealing little of his abilities, yet many suspected that he was the most gifted member of the Xu Household.