102: Chapter 102 The Name of the Clan Head

Chapter 103: The Name of the Clan Chief (A special chapter for Guangyin Nike!)

The ancestral home on Baili Mountain.

Jiang Xingshi sat upright behind his desk, flipping through several ledgers of miscellaneous clan affairs.

There were seven or eight ledgers spread out on the desk, containing the spring irrigation expenses for the paddy fields at Luoxi Mouth, the expenditures for the newly added Formation Flags for the medicinal fields at Qinggeng Slope, and the supply quotas for the clansmen of the Sun Family and Chen Family who had recently entered the Dao.

A fine brush rested by his hand.

Every few lines, he would pause to add a note or two in the margins.

Some read "Re-examine," some "Defer," and others "Submit to Lin Suwen for review."

Spring sunlight filtered in from the window, illuminating his brows and eyes.

The young man's face remained gentle, even a bit dull, but compared to when he used to organize account books for Jiang Chengning, his expression held a new layer of taut composure.

Footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, and Jiang Yutao poked her head in, clutching a few account books.

"Brother Xingshi."

Jiang Xingshi looked up.

"Yutao?"

Seeing the account books in her arms, he was slightly taken aback.

"What is it?"

Jiang Yutao walked in, placed the books on the corner of the desk, and smiled.

Jiang Xingshi looked at her and said, "You usually have no patience for these tedious Family affairs, so why are you looking through account books today?"

Jiang Yutao chuckled.

"I've received the Silver Scroll, so I only need to contemplate the Summer Solstice Daoist arts daily and wait to channel Qi into the Dao."

"But now that you, Brother, have been entered into the family genealogy and bear the responsibilities of the Clan Chief, you handle heavy affairs every day. It looks exhausting just watching you."

Her tone was light.

"I thought I'd help you share the burden, so you can focus more on your cultivation."

Hearing the words "family genealogy," Jiang Xingshi's heart felt as if it had been lightly pinched by something.

He looked down at the ledger on the desk, his fingertips resting on the edge of the page, unable to turn it for a long time.

Yutao only knew the term "family genealogy."

She did not know what being entered into the family genealogy truly meant.

After entering the family genealogy, one's spiritual platform becomes clear, cultivation proceeds smoothly, the genealogy offers secret protection, and even one's understanding of Daoist arts ascends to a higher level.

That was a tremendous benefit.

Yet, Yutao only felt that because he had been entered into the genealogy, he had to shoulder more burdens for the Family.

Jiang Xingshi's thoughts were in a slight disarray.

Yutao was intelligent and bright, with good talent for cultivation. If she were not a woman, if there were no need to consider the entanglements of future marriage, and if the Family didn't intend to send her on the path of the Chengtian Sect's external registry—

perhaps giving the position in the family genealogy to her would be best.

As this thought arose, the smile on Jiang Xingshi's face became somewhat forced.

He opened his mouth, and for once, he stumbled over his words.

"Then—Yutao, now that you've tried looking at these Family affairs, what do you think?"

The smile on Jiang Yutao's face faded.

She looked down at the books in her arms, was silent for a moment, and said, "After reading them, I only feel fear."

Jiang Xingshi was slightly taken aback.

Jiang Yutao said softly, "Before, I only knew that Baili Mountain was not easy, that the Han Family and Lu Family were not good people, and that the Gu Clan could not be relied upon."

"But only after opening these ledgers and letters did I realize that Baishi River Bend is full of schemes everywhere."

"A single water weir at Luoxi Mouth could incite the Qian and Du families to break the formation."

"A single letter for help from the east side could drag in all the clans on the south side."

"Furthermore, the East Sea side of Guli Circuit has already been invaded by the clans of Yanque Circuit. I heard that more than one Family there has been destroyed."

Her voice dropped lower.

"This world is truly filthy."

Jiang Xingshi did not speak.

Jiang Yutao opened one of the clan records, her fingertip resting on a few lines of names.

"I also saw that the Sun Family and Chen Family have developed very quickly in the last two years."

"In the Sun Family, besides Sun Jingxiu, Sun Jingcheng and Sun Jing'an have also successively entered the Dao."

"On the Chen Family side, Chen Baisheng has three sons and two daughters, among whom one son and one daughter, Chen Tinghuai and Chen Xiaotang, have also entered the Dao."

"Looking at it as a whole, it is naturally much more prosperous."

She looked up at Jiang Xingshi.

"But in doing so, it makes our Jiang Clan's own lineage seem increasingly thin."

Jiang Xingshi was suddenly startled.

In his eyes, those names were mostly just supply quotas, cultivation resources, and arrangements for subordinate clans.

Only after Jiang Yutao said it did he suddenly realize the deeper meaning.

The number of people in the Jiang Clan's own lineage was too small.

The Jiang Clan currently still practices monogamy; while they don't have few children, it is too slow for a cultivation Family that is rapidly expanding, annexing mountain lands, and gathering subordinate clans.

The Sun Family and Chen Family already had a root of clan population, and now they are gradually branching out by borrowing the Jiang Family's resources.

Although the remnants of the Luo Family were defeated, their leader, Luo Qitang, ignores matters of affection and only thinks about increasing his cultivation, avenging his grudges, and revitalizing his Family; the clan population is now growing very fast.

The relatives and Disciples brought by Ji Hanzhou will also eventually multiply into a clan on the former lands of the Yao Family.

If this continues, if the Jiang Family's own lineage cannot control the situation, there will truly be the trouble of the tail becoming too large to wag.

Jiang Xingshi looked at Jiang Yutao, a sudden sense of shame rising in his heart.

Not only did Yutao have good talent for cultivation, but even when looking through these Family affairs, she could see these long-term hidden dangers at a glance.

And he was just approving page after page of ledgers, like a moving piece of wood.

Jiang Yutao continued, "And then there is the Gu Clan."

"Brother Xingshi, you went to Qingwu Terrace in person a few days ago to test the Gu Clan's attitude."

"But the Gu Clan's attitude is already very clear."

"Regarding the matter of Luoxi Mouth, they are unwilling to truly uphold justice for us."

"Regarding the call for help from the east side, they are willing to put on a show, willing to talk about the 'big picture,' but are unwilling to suppress the Han Family and Lu Family for the Jiang Family."

"It seems they helped us, but in reality, they only gave us empty words."

Her eyes turned slightly red.

"The day the Han Family and Lu Family join forces to attack Baili Mountain, I fear the Gu Clan will just turn a blind eye."

"Once my Jiang Family is destroyed, or both sides are badly hurt, they will come out to clean up the mess and put on a facade of protecting subordinate clans."

Saying this, she finally couldn't help but shed a few tears.

"How is this a master Family? It is clearly just waiting to reap the benefits of others' struggles."

Jiang Xingshi's mind was in great turmoil.

He looked at Jiang Yutao and could not say a single word.

The Gu Clan is ambiguous, the Han and Lu families are closing in, the subordinate clans are growing stronger, the east side is in flames, and Ji Hanzhou's intentions are uncertain.

These matters were originally all in the ledgers and letters.

Now that they were picked out one by one by Jiang Yutao and placed before him, they were like a net tightening around him, suddenly enveloping him.

The identity of the Clan Chief forced him not to remain silent for too long, so he had to force himself to speak: "Every Family acts for the sake of profit; there is no pure right or wrong."

He spoke with a slightly dry voice.

"Yutao, you have high talent for cultivation and have received the Silver Scroll, so—so you should not think too much about these miscellaneous affairs."

"It is better to leave the Family affairs to me and Aunt."

Jiang Yutao lowered her head to wipe the corners of her eyes, her voice still carrying a hint of tears.

"Yes."

"I am naturally not like you, Brother, able to handle such tedious matters."

"I am short-sighted and afraid of everything; I only fear that one day the disasters in those rumors will fall upon our Family."

She forced a smile.

"That is why I came to talk to you, Brother, to ease my own mind."

Jiang Xingshi's heart grew increasingly heavy.

Just then, a soft sound came from outside the door.

Lin Suwen pushed the door open and entered.

She looked at the atmosphere in the room, a flash of doubt crossing her eyes, but she did not ask more, only saying, "The Gu Clan's mobilization team heading to the east side has already arrived at Luoxi Mouth."

"Word has come that the people accompanying from the southern clans should also head down the mountain to rendezvous."

Jiang Xingshi was like someone startled awake from a nightmarish train of thought.

He immediately sat up straighter.

"Good."

"Then, according to the original plan, Aunt will go with Elder Chen and Sun Jingxiu."

Lin Suwen nodded.

Jiang Xingshi added, "This is already the deployment of nearly half of the Jiang Family's combat power."

"If the Han and Lu families make excuses to delay, or only symbolically send one or two people to accompany, resulting in an imbalance of effort on the south side, Aunt can find a suitable reason to turn back halfway."

"Regardless of what happens on the east side, Baili Mountain must not be left so empty that the Han Family and Lu Family have the opportunity to completely tear off the mask."

Lin Suwen looked at him, her expression softening slightly.

"I understand."

She did not stay long and turned to leave to prepare.

Jiang Yutao was originally going to leave too.

She walked to the door, paused, and ultimately turned back.

"Brother."

Jiang Xingshi looked up at her.

Jiang Yutao said in a low voice, "There are too many outside-surname Cultivators in the Family now."

"The Sun Family and Chen Family already have nearly ten Cultivators."

"Plus the remnants of the Luo Family, the old households of the Yao lands, and the newly arrived Ji Hanzhou, Wen Qingli, and their Disciples and relatives in the Yao lands—all in all, there are already dozens of Cultivators."

"And my Jiang Clan's own lineage has a shallow Foundation."

"If Aunt leaves the mountain, the only person left who can visibly hold the situation down is Uncle Shoushan, who is at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining."

Jiang Xingshi's fingertips stiffened.

Jiang Yutao continued, "The Sun Family and Chen Family are still fine."

"The ancestral ties still remain, and they have been law-abiding all these years."

"But once there are many people, they gradually form their own factions. In recent days, one can already see some sordid affairs in the ledgers, such as greedy accounts and falsely claiming or privately exchanging spirit bran."

"And that is just the Sun and Chen families."

"The remnants of the Luo Family will not think this way; Luo Qitang Cultivates desperately, and he may not be without the thought of restoring the Luo Family in his heart."

"Ji Hanzhou's relationship with my Jiang Family is even more just a transactional alliance. He entered the Yao lands because it could provide him with a Foundation to establish a clan, not because he has much affection or loyalty for the Jiang Family."

She continued, "If the Han Family and Lu Family secretly send spirit resources to bribe him."

"And when they attack the Jiang Family, they deliberately avoid touching even a bit of land at Qinggeng Slope and the old Yao lands."

"Then whether Ji Hanzhou will still do his best to help the Jiang Family remains a toss-up."

Jiang Xingshi felt his whole body go cold; it was as if he had been dragged back into that bottomless net by these few sentences.

The spring sunlight in the ancestral home was gentle, yet he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

His hand hidden under the desk had unknowingly gripped the brush tightly.

But his fingers were stiff, and he couldn't even hold the brush steady.

"Clack."

The fine brush fell to the ground with a soft sound.

Jiang Yutao did not care about such small matters; she continued, "Brother, as the Clan Chief, you haven't acted on these matters for the time being, so you must have other considerations in mind."

"I also know that my thoughts are mostly just worrying unnecessarily."

"But I am uneasy in my heart, so I came to talk to you, Brother."

"I have disturbed you in handling Family affairs."

After speaking, she bowed slightly to Jiang Xingshi and turned to leave.

Jiang Xingshi remained sitting behind the desk, motionless.

The spring breeze blew in from outside, flipping a few pages of the ledgers on the corner of the desk.

He stared blankly at those names.

One name after another floated on the paper, like silent faces.

He suddenly felt that he was standing in the middle of a dilapidated house that was about to collapse.

Outside the house, the Han Family and Lu Family were sharpening their knives, and inside the house, the various subordinate clans were harboring their own thoughts.

In the distance, the flames of war from Yanque Circuit were burning toward Guli Circuit.

Behind him, Jiang Chengning was in seclusion and had not come out.

And he sat here, with only a brush in his hand that he couldn't even hold steady.

In a daze, he actually mistook Jiang Yutao's departing figure for Jiang Chengning.

The oil lamp on the desk flickered gently.

Jiang Xingshi rested his forehead on his hands and murmured in a daze, "Uncle—"

"I—"

He wanted to say something.

But the words that surged up were stuck tightly in his throat, and he couldn't spit out a single word.