Martial Cultivator

The Xie Family’s ancestral manor remained the same as it had been many years ago, sitting quietly along that long street.

Over the past two centuries of the Great Liang Dynasty, countless storms had swept through the land. Even the Wei Family, which had existed longer than the Xie Family, had fallen in the latest upheaval. Yet the Xie Family remained.

By now, the Xie Family had become the undisputed number one great family of the Great Liang Dynasty. In the court and among the people, there was no longer any force that could rival them.

Moreover, with His Majesty traveling afar and the Crown Prince overseeing the government, the Xie Family theoretically held an even greater position in court. Yet, they remained as low-key as ever, having done nothing out of line in recent days.

They remained so ridiculously low-profile that they had nearly been forgotten during this period.

Logically speaking, that should have been impossible. After all, this was the number one great family of the Great Liang now. Their status spoke for itself.

By the time Chen Chao’s carriage arrived in front of the Xie Family’s ancestral manor, the Xie Family had already been informed. The few elders who held real authority had gathered to discuss how to handle his visit. Yet, after much deliberation, they had reached no conclusion. In the end, it was left for the Xie Family’s ancestor to decide.

The carriage came to a slow halt. Seeing the tightly shut main gate, Weng Quan grew somewhat angry and said, “Your Excellency, they actually didn’t open the main gate!”

From the very beginning, Weng Quan had held no hostility toward Chen Chao. Instead, he had regarded him as half a friend. After experiencing so many things afterward, he had come to view Chen Chao as his superior and even held him in deep admiration.

Now, seeing this scene, Weng Quan naturally could not accept it. He jumped down from the carriage, frowned, and said “Your Excellency, I will immediately summon the Left and Right Guards and surround the Xie Family!”

Chen Chao had just lifted the carriage curtain when he heard Weng Quan’s words, and felt somewhat speechless. This guy really dared to say something like this.

Never mind everything else, just the fact that the main gate remained shut was the Xie Family’s own decision. Since when was it a reason to surround them? And even if he set all that aside, just considering his relationship with Xie Nandu, there was no way Chen Chao would ever do such a thing.

”Shut up.”

Chen Chao stepped down from the carriage, and in the distance, the Xie Family’s steward approached. It was still a familiar face - the same steward who had received him the last time he visited the Xie Family.

The steward smiled and bowed to Chen Chao before saying softly, ”Lord Warden Commander, the ancestor has sent me to ask Your Excellency a question.”

Chen Chao nodded.

”Is Lord Warden Commander visiting the Xie Family today as the Lord Warden Commander, or as a junior?”

The steward smiled as he spoke, a hint of anticipation in his voice. He seemed to know very well how the young Lord Warden Commander before him would choose. ȒáℕỌʙЁṣ

Chen Chao asked, ”What’s the difference?”

”If Lord Warden Commander is visiting as the Lord Warden Commander, then our Xie Family must observe proper etiquette and open the main gate wide to welcome you. But if Lord Warden Commander is visiting simply as a junior, then we must trouble Your Excellency to enter through the side gate.”

The steward carefully relayed the words of the Xie Family’s ancestor.

Chen Chao did not rush to speak but instead asked seriously, ”This official has a question. If today, this official enters the Xie Family as a junior, does that mean that in the future, unless it is for official business, the Xie Family will never open the main gate for this official?”

The steward was taken aback. After considering the ancestor’s intent, he nodded and said, ”That is roughly the case.”

Chen Chao smiled. ”But if this official remains the Lord Warden Commander, this official will inevitably have to come and go from the Xie Family in the future. If the Xie Family never opens the main gate every time, does that mean you do not recognize this official’s position?”

The steward was stumped by this question. Standing there, he actually found himself at a loss for words.

Chen Chao looked at the steward indifferently and said, ”This official’s position was granted by the imperial court, not of this official’s own choosing. In other words, as long as this official is the Lord Warden Commander, I represent the face of the imperial court. As for personal relations, the Xie Family should not concern itself with such matters, nor should it have the right to make such choices.”

The steward remained silent for a moment, not daring to respond. Instead, he merely said he would go and report this matter again. However, Chen Chao stopped him. Looking at the Xie Family’s main gate in front of him, he said calmly, ”If the Xie Family does not open the main gate today, then this official shall simply return home. After all, this official does have some ties with the Xie Family. Such a trivial matter, this official doesn’t take it to heart.”

After saying this, Chen Chao turned and prepared to step back into the carriage.

But at that very moment, with a creaking sound, the Xie Family’s main gate slowly swung open. A group of Xie Family retainers stepped out, standing in two neat rows on either side, looking at Chen Chao respectfully.

Chen Chao’s expression remained unchanged. Looking at this scene, he simply turned and stepped into the Xie Family’s ancestral manor.

……

……

The Xie Family’s ancestral manor remained unchanged from before. Its furnishings seemed as though they would never alter, not in ten thousand years - be it the grand architecture or the appearance of the smallest potted plants.

However, unlike the previous two times, upon stepping into the Xie Family, Chen Chao saw many of the family’s influential figures. These individuals had all once held official positions in the imperial court, and even the lowest-ranking among them had once served as an assistant minister in a ministry.

This was what it meant to have deep family foundations - this, right here, was the foundation of a great family.

Chen Chao said nothing and simply walked in silence. Even as he felt the gazes cast upon him from beneath the eaves, he paid them no mind.

Those gazes carried a multitude of emotions, but whatever those emotions were, they did not concern him. It was because the Xie Family was not ruled by these people.

It was ruled by that Xie Family ancestor.

He had come today to meet that Xie Family ancestor.

Naturally, there was no reason for that person to refuse to see him now, so Chen Chao had no worries.

Sure enough, before long, he arrived at a small courtyard within the ancestral manor, where he saw the white-haired Xie Family ancestor seated at a stone table.

He was currently drinking alcohol.

Beside him sat a small stove, warming his alcohol.

Chen Chao stepped forward, and the steward behind him naturally left.

The two- one standing, one sitting- were like the morning sun that had just risen, while the other was already drooping old, like the sunset.

There was a gap of at least two generations between them.

It was known that this Xie Family ancestor had served as an official as early as the Lingzong era, and he seemed to have even met Emperor Taizong before.

The Xie Family ancestor finished the alcohol in his cup, yet he showed no intention of acknowledging Chen Chao. Instead, he reached out, took the alcohol pot from the stove, and poured himself another cup.

Drinking alone, savoring the alcohol by himself, as if he was entirely unaware that someone was standing before him.

Chen Chao thought for a moment, said nothing, and simply sat down.

This action was neither particularly bold nor timid, but in the Great Liang Dynasty, there were indeed few who would dare to do such a thing.

Even if His Highness the Crown Prince were to come here, he likely would not be this casual.

The Xie Family ancestor finally glanced at Chen Chao, then casually said, “Lord Warden Commander, you are indeed awe-inspiring. Even back when Ning Ping came to see me, he was not like this.”

He spoke very slowly, making every word distinctly clear.

Chen Chao said, ”I suppose Minister Xie did not make things difficult for the Lord Warden Commander back then either.”

Minister Xie - another old title; one that was not only distant but even somewhat unfamiliar.

The Xie Family ancestor looked at Chen Chao and was not in a hurry to speak.

As if trying to gauge what Chen Chao was thinking.

“But what this old man finds strange is that in your previous visits, you appeared somewhat humble. Why is it different this time? Could it really be that after your status changed, so did your temperament?” ”If that’s the case, this old man won’t feel at ease entrusting Xie lass to you.”

The Xie Family ancestor reached out, took a cup, placed it in front of Chen Chao, and personally poured him a drink. The alcohol steamed with warmth, giving off a comforting feeling.

Chen Chao looked at the cup and said, “My mindset naturally remains the same as before. But with a different status, I can only present myself differently. I imagine Senior wouldn’t mind and would understand.”

At this point, the form of address had changed. The Xie Family ancestor merely smiled and was about to speak when Chen Chao continued, “But it seems that how Nandu chooses is not something Senior can stop.”

The Xie Family ancestor said, “That girl has her own thoughts. I naturally can’t decide how she chooses, but there are some things I can still decide.”

Chen Chao said, “So Senior wants me to choose instead?”

The Xie Family ancestor looked at Chen Chao and said calmly, “I placed the choice before you, but you didn’t bow your head either. In this, you resemble His Majesty too much, and that worries me.”

Among all the emperors of the Great Liang’s history, the Great Liang Emperor was undoubtedly the most domineering. Even the founding emperor had not been like this.

“The Great Liang of today is not the Great Liang of the past, and you’re not His Majesty either. Being this domineering will lead to great trouble.”

The Xie Family ancestor looked at Chen Chao and said very calmly, “You’re still very young. You have time. Why rush?”

He was still referring to the matter of Chen Chao killing that Daoist Zhenye.

Chen Chao said, “His Highness the Crown Prince has been yielding, and kept yielding, yet they didn’t stop.”

“These past years, Great Liang has already taken many steps forward, and now we can only continue forward. If we take a step back, there will be those who push us to take another step back. So, we cannot retreat even a single step.”

Chen Chao looked at the Xie Family ancestor, his expression serious. “His Majesty has entrusted the world to me. Since I bear this burden, I must carry on His Majesty’s will.”

The Xie Family ancestor asked, “But can you bear it?”

This was perhaps the shared doubt of many, including the Xie Family. The Great Liang Emperor was the unrivaled martial artist of this era, yet even he struggled to suppress the entire foreign lands. Though Chen Chao had already stepped into Nepenthe, he was still far from how His Majesty the Emperor was back then.

They could not place all their hopes on the young man before them.

Chen Chao could understand the Xie Family ancestor’s concerns.

But on this matter, he allowed no room for other thoughts.

The Xie Family could only follow his lead.

Chen Chao said, “Whether I can bear it or not, it has already fallen upon me. Senior can only follow me.”

Hearing this, the Xie Family ancestor suddenly laughed. There was something aged in his laughter, like it came from a distant past.

“And saying these words now, don’t you find it a little laughable?”

The Xie Family ancestor sighed, as if somewhat disappointed.

But Chen Chao simply looked at the cup of wine that was now gradually cooling and said calmly, “Senior, I didn’t come here to negotiate with you.”