Within the Jiang clan, anyone entered in the genealogy and assigned a generation name counted as part of the main lineage. The requirements were not particularly strict: it was enough for someone in their branch of the bloodline to have become a cultivator or entered government service.
But if no such person appeared for four or five generations in a row, the branch would gradually be pushed to the margins, until suddenly, in one generation, its members could no longer enter the genealogy and were removed from the main lineage.
That was what had happened to Jiang Che's family.
Some ancestor of his branch must have been an Embryonic Breath cultivator, but the line had gone many generations without another. In his grandfather's generation, they could still receive the generation name "Yun." By his father's time, the clan refused to assign one or enter him in the genealogy, leaving him with only the single given name "He."
Now, even without an Azure Mystic True Disciple taking an interest in him or his impending entry into the Azure Mystic Main Gate, the mere fact that Jiang Che had become an Embryonic Breath cultivator should, by custom, have restored his family to the genealogy and granted them their rightful names and generation ranking.
Yet something had clearly gone wrong.
The news in the village was still stuck at the point where the Willow Source outer sect had committed a grave offense and would face a reckoning, and the clan intended to cut ties with anyone who had joined it.
Jiang Che did not blame these villagers for being poorly informed. For the moment, he also set aside the question of why the clan still knew nothing of the upheaval at Willow Source when Uncle Weichuan had been back for a whole day.
Only one thing mattered to him, so he asked again:
"Where are my parents?"
Under his piercing stare, everyone who had been gossiping a moment earlier fell silent.
Even these country folk could feel the chilling murderous aura around Jiang Che, and sensed that something about him seemed different.
One familiar-looking man stammered, "Your parents... moved out to the fields. There's a cellar in the fields at the east end of the village. They used to store sweet potatoes there... go look. They should still be there."
"Heh..." Jiang Che gave a cold laugh. In the end, he did not take his anger out on these ordinary people. He merely offered a perfunctory cupped-hand salute, then turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Someone suddenly approached from ahead and blocked his path.
After a moment's recollection, Jiang Che knew who he was.
His name was Jiang Weisheng, a member of the main lineage and an Embryonic Breath cultivator. He had long handled the Jiang main lineage's affairs concerning the outer branches. Allocating farmland, training clan soldiers, maintaining order, settling disputes... all of it fell to him.
Presumably, he had also been the one to drive Jiang Che's family out?
Even if the decision had not been his, he must at least have carried it out.
At that thought, Jiang Che's gaze turned dangerous.
Jiang Weisheng could see the hostility in Jiang Che's eyes, but he remained quite calm.
"Jiang Che, if you've come to collect your parents, I won't stop you. Go find your own way to survive. But let me warn you: from this day forward, don't come back. Your branch wasn't on the register to begin with and doesn't count as part of the Jiang clan. Whether you live or die in the future has nothing to do with us."
"Uncle Weichuan is back. Do you know what news he brought?" Jiang Che asked.
Jiang Weisheng's expression did not change.
Of course he knew Jiang Weichuan had returned yesterday. Upon arriving, he had headed straight for the ancestral hall, saying he wanted to see the clan elders.
But the elders had not summoned him. They had kept him in a side courtyard, and nothing more had happened.
He probably came to plead for mercy.
But pleading won't help.
"The elders have discussed the matter of the Willow Source outer sect. Anyone connected to it will be struck from the register. This isn't aimed at you alone. Weichuan won't escape it either. Yes, he's an Embryonic Breath cultivator, but if he must be expelled, he'll be expelled just the same."
Jiang Che laughed at that.
"Jiang Weisheng, I suggest you go back and get your facts straight before you try to stop me."
With that, he led his horse onward, walking past Jiang Weisheng.
Jiang Weisheng instinctively reached out to stop him, wanting to ask what he meant. But the instant his fingers touched Jiang Che's sleeve, he felt a surge of force flow out and shake his hand loose.
Embryonic Breath!
This boy has entered the Dao? When did that happen?
He stood rooted to the spot, watching Jiang Che disappear around the corner of the lane. In the end, he did not follow.
Forget it.
He's only an Embryonic Breath cultivator. Entering the Dao at nineteen is nothing special.
Jiang Che knew the cellar they had mentioned. Beneath a slope at the easternmost edge of the village, it was an earthen cellar used to store sweet potatoes. He had often played there as a child.
As he drew near, he saw a tattered straw mat hanging over its entrance.
A figure crouched outside the cellar, tending a stove built from a few stones. A chipped earthenware pot sat atop it, with a few vegetable leaves rolling through murky water and a scattering of unpolished rice grains resting at the bottom.
That was Jiang Che's father, Jiang He.
He still looked reasonably sturdy, but two days of poor food and poor sleep had left him tired and listless.
The moment he saw Jiang Che, his face filled with delighted surprise!
"Che? What brings you back?"
"Dad, I've come to get you." Jiang Che hurried forward, glanced around, and asked, "Where's Mom?"
"Lying down inside. She got caught in the rain when we were driven out the day before yesterday. She's been coughing these past two days, and she's all dazed... Che, how are things in the county? I heard something terrible happened to your outer sect. Are you all right?"
"It's all settled now."
As Jiang Che answered, he lifted the straw mat and ducked into the cellar.
It was dark and damp inside. His mother, Wang Qin, lay curled on a pile of dry grass beneath two padded jackets, her face pale and her breathing shallow and rapid.
At the sound of her son's voice, she struggled to rise. When she saw Jiang Che actually walk inside, delighted surprise appeared on her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but could not suppress her illness and broke into a violent fit of coughing.
This was Jiang Che's first time seeing this body's birth parents since transmigrating, but the memories he had inherited and the instincts lingering in his body made his nose sting.
The grief on his face only made his mother ache for him.
"Cough, cough... Che, Che... it's all right, it's all right. Don't be sad... Mom's all right..."
Wang Qin's rough hand gently stroked Jiang Che's cheek.
Jiang Che took a deep breath, helped Wang Qin sit upright, and placed his hand against her back.
The Inner Force cultivated through the Azure Heaven Wind Dew Embryonic Breath Method carried the essence of life renewing without end. When Jiang Che himself was injured, it could stabilize his condition. After only two days, his wounds had nearly healed, and this cultivation method deserved most of the credit.
Gently channeling his Inner Force into his mother's body should help her illness, or at least do her no harm.
And that proved true. After only a little while, some color had already returned to his mother's face.
"Che?... This...?"
In response to Jiang He's question, Jiang Che merely gave a slight nod.
Wang Qin hugged her son, tears streaming down her face. "Wonderful, wonderful! Our Che has made something of himself!"
Jiang He was overjoyed as well. "We can return to the clan! We can get back into the genealogy, and no one will look down on our family anymore!"
At that, Jiang Che shook his head. "We're not going back to the clan. Dad, don't bother packing. Come with me."
Jiang He froze. "Go? Where?"
"The county town. I'm an Embryonic Breath cultivator now, and soon I'll be going to the Azure Mystic Main Gate. For now, you'll come live with me in the county town. We won't be returning to this village again."
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