Chapter 410: Homecoming
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Sicilique was nodding off idly at the end of the route that led to the Ridge. In his dreams, he was still cursing the old geezers in the Ridge Council. Those d*mn old fools, to think that they would order him to welcome the young man to the Ridge. Sicilique was not exactly lazy, but he was completely uninterested in this meaningless task.
The young man was obviously set up to die, how could he possibly survive the route towards the Ridge? Everyone in the Ridge knew that. That night, the Ridge was silent. The streets were empty.
The recent chaos in the Ridge had also affected the Pawe Family, which he belonged to. Challenges were issued here and there, and the Ridge was filled with battle hungry people overnight.
The peace today was like the calm before the storm, and it was suffocating.
Hence, when Sicilique was here, he decided to just sleep for the night. When the time came, he would just report to the Ridge Council and be done with the whole affair.
He was in deep sleep when he felt someone pat on his back.
"Who is it?" He was angry. It was already late at night, who dared to mess with him now? More importantly, he was interrupted from a very nice dream, and that made him very angry. He was mostly muttering, but in fact his sleep had not quite left him.
"Please, are you the one sent to welcome me?" A cold but polite voice inquired.
"Welcome you …" Amidst his sleepiness, Sicilique's brain awakened violently. He opened his sleepy eyes and saw a slender, thin and unfamiliar young man looking back at him. Sicilique was beyond shocked.
"Ah!" Sicilique's sharp cry broke the peace of the night, like a cat which had its tail stepped on.
"You … You … You're the one … The one … Who's entering the Ridge?" Sicilique stuttered incoherently.
The man was not speaking clearly, but Ye Chong understood him. He nodded and answered, "Yes."
It was destined to be a day of unrest. Guan Family's young member had successfully travelled the route that led to the Ridge. The news spread like wildfire across the Ridge.
It came down onto the Ridge like a bolt of lightning!
Everyone in the Ridge understood that this Grandmaster level alchemist's return would disrupt the power balance in the Ridge. No one slept well that night.
Ye Chong was brought straight to the Guan Family. In fact, when the Ridge Council was informed of the outcome, people had expected Ye Chong to undergo a round of questioning by the Council, but it never happened. Instead, he had went straight to the Guan Family. To everybody's surprise, the Council had adopted an odd strategy in this situation, opting to act as though nothing had happened.
Sicilique left the Guan Family feeling jealous of the latter. With such a strong alchemist joining their ranks, the Guan Family would be able to survive their crisis.
Every alchemist knew that a Grandmaster level alchemist was far more powerful than their average counterparts, despite being outnumbered.
No one doubted the power of this mysterious young alchemist of the Guan Family. The route was the only way to enter the Ridge, and it was littered with traps that represented the best of the Ridge's alchemist abilities. To travel the path unscathed was an act no one in the Ridge could promise to reenact. In fact, even the now famous Hua Yan had once admitted that he could not travel the route by only his own abilities. Now, who would dare to question the strength of this young alchemist? Who would even think of questioning his power?
The Guan Family was lit up brightly, its members celebrating. Ever since Guan Ling left the Guan Family, the place had never seen so much activity before. Every member of the Guan Family was jubilant. As an aristocratic family with a long, celebrated history, they had more pride than average people. All these years, however, the cruel facts of reality had borne down on them. They could only watch from the side as other families received more benefits and enjoyed their prestige. Often, they had to quietly endure the condescending glares from other people.
The long endured pressure was finally shed, and every Guan Family member stood tall and smiled widely. Those who had witnessed the birth of the Eldest Young Miss, Guan Ling, were still alive, and they repeated again and again the story of the Guan Family's former glory.
Now, they finally had hope, a hope to rebuild the Guan Family's name. As a student of the Eldest Young Miss, the mysterious young man was sure to be greeted warmly by the family. The fact that he survived the route to the Ridge unscathed further propelled his reputation skyward.
The only thing that perplexed them was the wooden spear in Ye Chong's hand. An alchemist with a spear? As expected, the student of the Eldest Young Miss was no ordinary person.
Right now, Ye Chong was in Guan Zhengyuan's room.
"You are Ling's student?" Guan Zhengyuan kept a calm expression, but his betrayed the happiness in him.
"Ling?" Ye Chong frowned in thought. Was that Lunatic Guan's name? Guan Ling? Ye Chong seemed to remember something like that. The man who had taught to skeleton carving skills, Old Ge, probably mentioned that to him before. The memory was from long ago, but Ye Chong with his vivid memory could recall it. Lunatic Guan this, Lunatic Guan that. That was how he had thought of her for so long, and he had forgotten her real name instead.
Ye Chong nodded. "Yes." He was, however, watching Guan Zhengyuan's neck. There hung a familiar looking Red Liquor.
"How is Ling doing now?" Guan Zhengyuan asked anxiously.
"Dead," Ye Chong answered factually. Lunatic Guan had asked Zhu Ling to find him, but she herself did not make an appearance. Zhu Ling's expression was also telling.
"What?" Guan Zhengyuan was surprised, and his face contorted in pain, his voice trembling from shock.
Ye Chong watched Guan Zhengyuan quietly, unsure what he should say next. In the end, he stuck to the truth, "She probably died saving Zhu Ling. The probability is about 80 to 90 percent."
"Dead …" Guan Zhengyuan muttered to himself. He seemed lost. His eyes dimmed into a lifeless glow, and he seemed to have grown much older the next second.
Ye Chong did not know what to say. He had always lacked the skills in handling situations like this. More precisely speaking, he was completely clueless about what to do.
Guan Zhengyuan lifted his head abruptly and asked with a hoarse voice, "Zhu Ling? Who is this Zhu Ling you spoke of? Why would Ling go and rescue her?"
"Zhu Ling is her sister."
"What? Sister?" Guan Zhengyuan's hands reached for Ye Chong, his lifeless expression suddenly brought to life again.
Ye Chong sidestepped him easily.
"Ling found our sister … Ling found our sister …" Guan Zhengyuan looked like he was losing it, and Ye Chong thought of giving him a moment to gather himself.
Fortunately, as head of the family, Guan Zhengyuan was able to resume his calmness quickly. He looked at Ye Chong with determined eyes and asked, "And my sister? Where is she?"
Ye Chong answered plainly, "We got separated."
"Separated?" Guan Zhengyuan grew anxious again, and asked, "Where?" He looked just about ready to start the search right away.
"The Red Sea."
The name of the place was unfamiliar, but he still ordered a tribe member in and quietly gave a few orders. After listening to his orders, the subordinate looked at Ye Chong with disbelief, and quickly left the room.
Guan Zhengyuan asked more questions about other things, and Ye Chong answered them all truthfully. When he heard that Guan Ling had passed on all her knowledge to Ye Chong, Guan Zhengyuan was positively overjoyed.
He spoke to the tribe member outside his room, "Bring Jin here."
He then turned back to Ye Chong and said, "Jin is my daughter, and the most capable alchemist in the Guan Family." He looked proud of his daughter. However, he added regretfully, "Compared to Ling in the past, however, she still has a lot to catch up."
Just then, Ye Chong heard a girl's voice from outside said, "Dad, you called for me?"
"Yes, come in," Guan Zhengyuan replied.
A young woman came in through the door. She was about 12 to 14 years old, with a height of about 140 to 150 centimeters. She looked fragile and pale, perhaps due to the lack of sunlight outdoors. Her long hair reached her shoulders, and her eyes glowed with life. Ye Chong studied this young lady called Jin.
"Jin, this is Brother Zhu Feng, a student of your aunt. You will learn from Brother Zhu Feng from now on, understood?" Guan Zhengyuan said sternly.
Guan Jin acknowledged obediently, then addressed her Brother Zhu Feng sweetly. Ye Chong still looked like his usual cold self, but he nodded to her as greeting.
Guan Zhengyuan was satisfied with his daughter's behavior, and smiled gently to her. "Alright, bring Brother Zhu Feng to his room to rest. He must be tired. Ah, and don't forget about our meal time."
Guan Jin acceded.
"This way please, Brother Zhu Feng. Mind the steps." Zhu Ling sounded melodic and airy. If Shang were here, he would definitely be swept away. However, Ye Chong obviously was immune to it. Even Feng Su's bewitching voice could not move him, much less the voice of the inexperienced Guan Jin.
Guan Jin quickly noticed that her usually effective measures were not working on Ye Chong. She decided to switch tactics, and said, "Brother Zhu Feng, it's still too early for our next meal. Why don't we visit the alchemy laboratory?"