Bloodline Tree – [Clan Building]

“I should be in there, no?” Tianren asked with a pale face, his hands waving around nervously in the air.

“It’s ridiculous. But we can only accept it as long as we need their help,” Shu Yang said, pulling up a bottle of Baishu Winter Whiskey. He opened the bottle and poured a glass for his son. “Have something to calm your nerves.”

“It’s okay, you’re doing much better than Dad,” Tianan said, patting Tianren on the shoulder in comfort.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shu Yang asked.

“When Tianzheng was born, you yelled at me just for opening a jar of pickled beets,” Tianan said.

“Of course I did. What if the smell had affected your mother?” Shu Yang asked

“I was on the other side of the house,” Tianan said incredulously, “There were at least two closed doors between us.”

“You’re just reckless,” Shu Yang scoffed.

“It was even worse when Tianxu was born. Dad was so nervous that Brother An thought Mother was dying,” Tianyue added with a laugh.

“How can you remember that? You were only two years old. You must have imagined it,” Shu Yang said, shaking his head.

“I have a good memory. I remember it clearly,” Tianyue insisted.

“How was it when Tianren was born? The first child must have been the worst,” Tianan asked.

“I was as steady as a rock,” Shu Yang said, leaning back in his chair, “I knew Tianren would come out healthy and strong, I could feel it.”

Everyone laughed at that, not believing a word.

Shu Yang also smiled, quite enjoying the atmosphere. He could see that Tianren was calming down as well.

About half an hour passed with Shu Yang and his children talking about old memories. Then, Shu Yang felt a familiar but slightly different feeling rush through him. A child’s crying could be heard from Tianren’s bedroom.

“Your child is born,” Shu Yang said, patting Tianren’s shoulder, “Go see your wife.”

Tianren didn’t need any urging. He flew up from his seat and rushed to the bedroom.

“Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?” Tianan asked.

“I hope it’s a girl. There are too many boys in the family,” Tianyue said.

Shu Yang had also hoped for a granddaughter, actually, but he could feel that it was another boy.

‘Do I have some sort of boy-making gene that I’m not aware of?’

‘Oh well, a grandson is good too.’

Shu Yang focused on his connection to the Bloodline Tree to sense the child’s talents.

[ Bloodline Power: 0.54 (Mortal - Low) ]

[ Traits: Slight martial arts talent ]

‘About what can be expected. I’m glad he has inherited his father’s talent. It shouldn’t be a problem to reach the Innate stage in the future.’

‘But the feedback I can feel is indeed slightly less than usual…’ Shu Yang thought with a sigh. It was something he had expected. It seems he gets only half as much feedback from his grandchildren as he does from his own children. And he guessed it would be halved again in the next generation.

‘It makes sense. My bloodline will thin out with each passing generation.’

‘But it doesn’t seem that bad. As long as each generation gives birth to a little over two children on average, I will only inherit more and more Bloodline Power for every generation.’

‘I just need to make sure the family is stable and has plenty of options for whatever the children wish to do.’

Shu Yang imagined a future where his family had a foot in all sorts of businesses. Then he could let every member of his family pursue their interest and contribute to the family at the same time.

‘I will get a few more books with knowledge of all sorts of occupations. If one of my grandchildren shows an interest in anything in the future, I can invest some money to train them from an early age, and then develop a business in that area.’

“Dad, this is my son, Xinyang,” Tianren said as he stepped out of the bedroom with a proud smile on his face, carrying a small baby in his arms.

Shu Yang stood up and looked down at the child with a smile. It was a bit strange seeing his grandson. It was different from seeing his own children after they were born. There was still that instant feeling of love that came over you inexplicably. But it was more of a doting love, and it wasn’t as burdened with as much responsibility. Perhaps that gave the love a little less weight, but Shu Yang quite liked the feeling.

‘I guess this is how Ren Ming always feels about Tianren and the others.’

“He looks healthy. He should have inherited your talent,” Shu Yang said, patting his son’s shoulder. He was already looking forward to having another grandchild. Hopefully, Tianren would work hard.

“Do you think so?” Tianren asked.

“I know so,” Shu Yang said seriously, “How can I not have gotten a grasp of these things after so many children. Just trust me.”

“Alright, Dad. I trust you,” Tianren said, nodding with a wide grin.

“So this is my little nephew,” Tianan said, stepping forward, “He looks more like his mother than he does you, which is good. He can charm a lot more girls that way.”

“Can’t you say anything nice,” Shu Yang scolded, flicking his son on the forehead.

“Is sister Xia okay?” Tianyue asked from the side.

“She’s doing fine. She’s just resting,” Tianren nodded, “Mom is taking care of her.” He then turned to his youngest brother and called for him, “Tianzheng, this is your nephew. You need to take good care of him in the future for me, okay?”

“I will, brother Ren, don’t worry,” Tianzheng answered seriously.

Shu Yang rubbed Tianzheng’s head and looked to Tianren, “We’ll leave you with Xia and the baby for now. If Xia feels up for it, you can come by to eat tonight, and we’ll have a small celebration.”

“Sounds good, Dad,” Tianren said, turning around to go back to his wife.

Shu Yang left with his children, and they went back to their own house. Shu Yang had hired a few workers to build a house for his son Tianren when he got married. So he had been living over there with his wife for a while now. However, the houses were still right next to each other, so they were over at Shu Yang’s house most of the time anyway.

As they were about to enter from the entrance in the backyard, they saw Tianxu coming out of the house.

“Where have you guys been?” Tianxu asked.

“We were at Tianren’s house. Your sister-in-law just gave birth to your nephew,” Shu Yang said.

“Really? I missed it? Should I go over?” Tianxu asked.

Tianxu had been away at the Tiger Claw Hall, sparring with the students there. He had just advanced to the 2nd-grade stage, and without Tianhu there to keep him company, Shu Yang had asked Zhangye to help him find sparring partners.

“Let them have some time alone. They’ll come over later,” Shu Yang said, entering his house.

“What did they name him? Have they decided?” Tianxu asked.

“He’s called Shu Xinyang,” Tianan answered, “He was fast to take Dad’s character for his son. I was planning on having my firstborn named that.”

Shu Yang laughed and patted Tianan on the shoulder comfortingly, “There are many other great names to choose from. If you have children early, you might have the chance to take your grandfather’s character. I’m sure he’d be delighted, and he’ll probably spoil the child a little extra.”

“Xinming…That works,” Tianan muttered to himself, “I have to get a son before brother Ren gets to it first.”

“Alright, you’re still just 15 years old, there is no rush,” Shu Yang said, feeling that Tianan was still far too young to think about starting a family.

“I know, I know,” Tianan said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll go out for a while.”

Shu Yang didn’t say anything and waved him off.

“Why do I feel like I’ll soon have another nephew?” Tianyue said, looking at Tianan’s retreating back.

Shu Yang stopped in thought. ‘He shouldn’t be, right? I’ll have to have a serious talk with him later. He’s really too young to be thinking about these things.’

“Don’t think about nonsense,” Shu Yang said, flicking his daughter’s forehead, “Didn’t you say you had a lot of work to do?”

“I really do,” Tianyue said with a small pout, “Teacher Jiangxi really thinks I can read 24 hours a day. I have no idea how I’m supposed to finish everything.”

“She just has high hopes for you,” Shu Yang said, “And weren’t you the one who wanted to do this?”

“I guess so,” Tianyue muttered and made her way to her room.

Tianyue had taken Shu Yang’s words about expanding the family business to the Fugu Prefecture to heart. She was now studying for one of the most difficult exams in the Yan Kingdom, focused on law.

Hopefully, she could pass it and then work her way up to finally land herself a position in Fugu City in the future.

‘If I want her to have a smooth journey, I probably need to advance to the Master stage sooner rather than later. Or it will be extremely difficult for her to gain a foothold in the Fugu Prefecture Office. Not even Lady Jiangxi will be able to help much with that.’

“Did you see Xinyang? He’s so cute,” Qianyue said as she stepped inside, still a little sweaty from helping with the delivery.

“Very,” Shu Yang said, “How is Xia?”

“She’s doing alright, just a little tired. Things are really a lot easier and safer now that we have money,” Qianyue said.

“That’s good. You’ve worked hard,” Shu Yang said, embracing his wife.

“Li Xia is the one who worked hard,” Qianyue said, “But she looks really happy.”

“That’s obvious,” Shu Yang said, “By the way, things are moving forward with the new wine. I’ll probably leave for Fugu City again next spring to make sure everything gets there safely. How do you feel about coming along?”

“Just you and me?” Qinayue asked.

“We can take the kids too,” Shu Yang said. He didn’t mind either way; he just wanted to take his wife for some sightseeing. He had been to Fugu City a few months ago, and the city was truly astonishing. Kuo City couldn’t compare at all.

He had gone there to buy some precious resources to make luxury wine with, and the results so far were looking promising.

“Well, let’s see when the time comes. Xinyang is too young to travel far for now, and who knows if Li Xia will get pregnant again by then. I would need to stay home if that’s the case,” Qianyue said.

‘Or maybe you’ll be the one to be pregnant by then.’ Shu Yang thought to himself.

“There will only be more grandchildren around as the kids grow older. You should take the opportunity to travel,” Shu Yang said, “Tianren is old enough to take care of things himself for a few weeks. We could bring your father along, too. He might want to see how his son is doing in the big city, and he’ll probably be too old to travel in a few years.”

Qianyue’s brother Ren Zhenyi was the person Shu Yang had put in charge of the shop in Hurong Town, and he was planning on moving him to Fugu City when he opened up the shop there. Shu Yang liked to have people he could trust doing the important things, so a lot of members of the Ren and Li family were now in important positions in his business.

“Alright, alright,” Qianyue said with a small smile, “I’ll go with you then.”

“Good, I’ll take you out to eat at the most expensive restaurant there is,” Shu Yang decided.

“Don’t waste money,” Qianyue scolded.

“We’re rich now,” Shu Yang said, embracing his wife, “You can stop me from spoiling the children, but you can’t stop me from spoiling you.”

“You know I’m still here, right?” Tianxu suddenly asked from the side.

Shu Yang looked up at him, “Didn’t you leave?”

“Haah,” Tianxu sighed, “Let’s go, Tianzheng. I’ll teach you some more sword moves.”

‘So Tianzheng was still here too.’ Shu Yang realized.