Bloodline Tree – [Clan Building]

A week passed, and Tianyue gradually came to terms with the new reality of having a father at the Master stage. Her work didn’t seem so boring all of a sudden, since she knew it was only temporary.

Working toward a goal and just working for its own sake were really night and day.

‘I’ll see how high I can climb. When I reach the highest position I can, I’ll work on making connections so I can be like teacher Jiangxi in the future. Then I’ll retire and build a large library for myself. Spending every day reading and eating good food.’

A bright smile appeared on Tianyue’s face as she imagined the future. She just needed to pave the way for a niece or nephew in the future, so her family wouldn’t be without anyone in the Office when she retired. But that should be easy, she quite liked her nieces.

‘Maybe Tianyi would like to work as an Official…But she seems a little too wild for that. Tianzheng is a better bet. But he seems to be talented in martial arts, Dad might not want him to become an Official.’

Just as she was about to head out for another day of work, she saw two familiar faces at the gate.

“Tianxu? Uncle Zhangye?” Tianyue called out, surprised to see them here just a week after her father.

“Sister,” Tianxu smiled brightly and waved to her.

“Hello, Yue,” Uncle Zhangye greeted her with a warm smile.

Tianyue jogged up to them and asked, “What are you two doing here? Why didn’t you come with Dad? Has something happened?”

“Dad was here? When?” Tianxu asked.

“About a week ago. Why, what’s going on?”

“Your father went to look for Tianhu, right?” Uncle Zhangye asked.

“That’s right,” Tianyue nodded, “He has decided to go to the Black Beast Mountains to search more thoroughly for him.”

“We should hurry after him,” Tianxu said, turning to Uncle Zhangye, “He might be looking around the Sword School for a while; he might not have entered the mountains yet.”

“You’re going after him?” Tianyue looked at Tianxu suspiciously, “Did you run away from home?”

“Of course not,” Tianxu said, “I told Mom when I left.”

“And she agreed?” Tianyue asked.

“Well…No. But I still told her before leaving. That doesn’t count as running away,” Tianxu argued.

“You’re unbelievable. You should go back home. Mom is probably worried. Don’t you remember how sad she was when Tianhu left?”

Tianxu looked a little guilty, but still didn’t budge, “How come you can move to another city at only 13, but I can’t leave even at 17?”

“I had my teacher with me,” Tianyue said, “And I never left the city. How can that be the same as going to the Black Beast Mountains?”

“I have Uncle Zhangye with me, don’t I?” Tianxu said.

Tianyue turned to look at Uncle Zhangye with a questioning look, wondering why he had gone along with something like this.

“Tianxu was leaving one way or another,” He said with a shrug, “I was already planning on following your father anyway, I just didn’t want to slow him down, so I decided to travel on my own. But then I heard your brother had gone off on his own, so I hurried after him, and we traveled together.”

“Still. I don’t think you can offer Dad much help. It would be bad if you got lost as well, so he would have to search for you guys, too,” Tianyue advised.

“I’m a 1st-grade warrior now, you know. I’m not weak,” Tianxu said.

“Dad is a Master. How can a 1st-grade warrior compare?” Tianyue questioned.

“What!?” Both Tianxu and Uncle Zhangye burst out in surprise.

“You didn’t know?” Tinayue asked.

“I had no idea. When did he advance to the Master stage? No, wait. How could he have advanced? Are you sure? He reached the Innate not that long ago, right?” Tianxu asked.

“He told me so himself; he wouldn’t lie about that. Come to think of it, he seemed to have said that he advanced recently,” Tianyue said, “Anyway. Why don’t you stay here and rest for a while? If you don’t want to go back home, you can wait here for a while. Maybe Dad will come back with Tianhu soon.”

“That…” Both of them seemed a little lost about what to do.

“Let’s spend the night here then. It’s good to get some rest either way. We can discuss what to do later,” Uncle Zhangye finally said.

“Alright.”

And so, Tianyue led the two of them to the guest room and went to tell her teacher that they would be staying there for a while. After that, she hurried off to the Office, afraid of arriving late.

‘How stupid. What’s two more people going to accomplish? They are just going to make Dad have more to worry about than he already has.’

Unfortunately, the two of them didn’t seem to take Tianyue’s advice. When she returned in the evening, they had already left.

“Why would they leave without saying anything? Couldn’t they even wait until I got home?” Tianyue asked.

“It looked like they decided to try to catch up with your father, so they didn’t want to waste any time,” Xiaoling answered.

‘Just what are they thinking? Tianxu, I can understand. But even Uncle Zhangye is willing to go after Dad?’

‘I’m sure looking for Dad is just an excuse. They probably want to go to the Black Beast Mountains for fun.’ Tianyue thought, deeply upset.

‘Then again…I guess it’s reasonable for Tianxu to be worried about Tianhu. And it’s better that Uncle Zhangye is with him than him going all alone.’

‘I just hope they are careful.’

...

A few more days passed, and Tianyue’s mind was filled with her father and her brothers. Every day, she hoped to come home and find them all together, waiting for her at the mansion.

But there was no luck.

‘It hasn’t been long. Dad might not even have arrived at the Sword School yet.’ Tianyue thought with a sigh as she made her way home.

Lifting her gaze from the ground, she noticed a couple walking just a few feet in front of her. She could tell that the girl was very beautiful, even if she just glanced at her profile from behind. Her clothes were dark, almost entirely black, but they looked very expensive.

The man was dressed more casually…

Suddenly, Tianyue stopped slightly.

‘Doesn’t he look a little familiar? Do I know him?’

She unconsciously quickened her steps, and could soon overhear the conversation between the man and woman.

“I can’t follow you,” The man said, shaking his head, “I need to get back home and warn my family as soon as I can. It seems my Dad has been looking for me for quite some time, from what they said over at the Sword School. They might be worried about me back home.”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t go home,” The woman said, “But you don’t need to be in such a hurry, right? My aunt lives just a few minutes from here. Why don’t you just wait for me to visit her real quick? She might have a carriage for you to borrow. You don’t have a way to get home, right?”

“I guess I can wait if it’s not too long.”

Tianyue’s mouth was almost wide open behind them. She had recognised her brother as soon as he turned his head slightly.

“Tianhu!” Tianyue finally called out.

Tianhu turned around. After a split second’s hesitation, recognition dawned on his face.

“Tianyue? What are you doing here?”

“I live here,” Tianyue answered, still stunned that her missing brother had suddenly appeared before her like magic.

“You live in Fugu City? Where is everyone else?” Tianhu asked, looking around slightly.

“I live here with teacher Jiangxi,” Tianyue answered, “The others are still back in Baishu Village. No wait, Dad is out looking for you, and Tianxu and Uncle Zhangye too.”

“They are? Are they in the Black Beast Mountains?” Tianhu asked, frowning slightly.

“I don’t know. Dad was here just over a week ago, and Tianxu and Uncle Zhangye left only a few days ago. You’ve been gone for so long! Where have you been? And also, didn’t you see them on the way? They don’t know you’re back?” Tianyue rambled off one question after another.

“Er, I wasn’t traveling on the main road. I didn’t see anyone. Wait, they just left?” Tianhu asked.

“What a mess,” Tianyue said with a sigh, “Dad probably won’t return until he finds you. He has already gone to look for you several times, and this time he seemed determined to find you.”

“That’s not good,” Tianhu said, “The Black Beast Mountains are really dangerous right now.”

“Dad is already a Master, so he should be safe,” Tianyue said, looking curiously at Tinahu’s expression. Just as she expected, Tinahu’s mouth opened wide.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tianhu look like that before.’ Tianyue thought, holding back a smile.

“How could he be a Master?” Tianhu asked.

“Who knows when it comes to Dad?” Tianyue said with a shrug, jumping around slightly, feeling very happy that her brother was safe and sound.

‘I just hope the news can reach the others in time. It would be such a waste if Dad searched around for Tianhu for years while he was already home in the village.’

“I…” Tianhu seemed to be at a loss for words.

Tianyue looked over at the girl next to him, “Who is this? You actually met a girl out there? No wonder you didn’t think of coming home for so many years. You’ve been busy, brother.”

“Don’t spout nonsense,” Tianhu scolded, flicking her forehead, “This is Shen Xiaoshi, we met by chance in the Black Beast Mountains. My teacher…”

Tianhu drifted off into silence and sighed slightly, “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. I should probably go after Dad and Tianxu. I can’t let them get too far.”

“Why do you all keep running around all the time?” Tianyue said through gritted teeth, truly having had enough of her brothers. “Just stay here and wait for them to come back. I’ll ask my teacher to send someone to the Sword School and find Dad and the others. If you go after them, you’ll just keep missing each other.”

“That…” Tianhu didn’t seem convinced. But Tianyue was absolutely determined not to let her brother out of her sight this time. She would just miss work for a few weeks if that’s what it took.

“Your sister?” Xiaoshi finally spoke up.

“Yeah,” Tianhu nodded.

“Hello. Nice to meet you. I’m Shen Xiaoshi, Tianhu’s friend,” Xiaoshi introduced herself.

“I’m Shu Tianyue. Nice to meet you,” Tianyue said, glancing between the two of them to see if there was something more to their relationship. But she couldn’t really tell. They stood close together, but not close enough to determine they were a couple.

‘The least Tianhu could do is return home with a wife now that he’s been gone for so long. That should make Mom happy.’

“Did you say you have a teacher named Jiangxi just then? Shen Jiangxi?” Xiaoshi asked.

Tianyue thought for a moment before answering, “It seems like that’s her surname. Wait, is it the same as your Shen family?”

Her teacher never talked much about her family, and Tianyue had never seen her receiving visits from any family members. She just knew that her teacher came from a powerful family, but they had a falling-out. It was only by coincidence that she overheard her surname once a long time ago.

“It should be,” Xiaoshi said with a small smile. “It looks like your teacher might be my aunt.”

‘Did teacher Jiangxi ever mention a niece? I don’t think so.’

“Well, why don’t you come along then?” Tianyue suggested, “And you, Tianhu. Where have you been? Have you been in the Black Beast Mountains all these years? What did you do? Did you see the Black Beast? How did you meet Xiaoshi?”

“Slow down,” Tianhu said, “I’ve been in the Black Beast Mountains with my teacher these past few years, just roaming around and hunting beasts. But a few weeks ago…Something happened.”

Tianhu then went on to explain all he had seen and heard deep inside the Black Beast Mountains, where the two emperors faced off against each other.

Tianyue could hardly believe what she heard. But her brother wouldn’t joke about something like this.

“So…war is coming?” Tianyue finally asked.

“Yes. We need to warn Dad and prepare,” Tianhu said.

“Then you should go back home and get everyone,” Tianyue said, “Our family has a courtyard here in the city where everyone can stay. It is a lot safer in the city than in Baishu Village. We are also far from the borders here.”

“That makes sense,” Tianhu said, nodding, “But Dad and Tianxhu are still missing.”

“I’ll arrange things on that end, don’t worry. I’m actually quite influential these days, and our family has a lot of money. Having a few people go to the Sword School to find them shouldn’t be a problem.”

Tianhu paused for a moment before nodding reluctantly. “Okay, we’ll do it as you say.”

After a few more minutes, they finally arrived at her teacher’s mansion.

To Tianyue’s surprise, as soon as her teacher appeared, Xiaoshi rushed into her arms and burst into tears.

‘This…’

“Xiaoshi. What are you doing here? What’s wrong?” Jiangxi asked, looking up to Tianyue and then Tianhu in confusion.

“Dad…Dad is in trouble. He might…he might be dead,” Xiaoshi choked out.

‘Right…Her father and brother were with them. But they aren’t here now. And Tianhu…’

“Your teacher…” Tianyue said in a low voice.

“Killed,” Tianhu replied with a stiff expression. But Tianyue could see that he was actually really sad.

‘It must have been a lot more dangerous than Tianhu’s story made it out to be. If those people are still there, Dad, Tianxu, and Uncle Zhangye could be in danger. I need to hurry to send someone after them.’