"Eldest Brother, are you really not going back?" asked Nicole while playing around with the latest collapsible arcane lab table that Xiye had bought for her.
"I'm not going back..." Xiye shook his head. "There are many things back at the base that I have to take care of."
"Oh, then Younger Brother will definitely be very disappointed..." Nicole said.
"Huh? There's still a younger brother?" Xiye looked toward his father, who was at the side, appearing unconcerned.
"What is that expression for?" His father instantly spoke out, seeming dissatisfied. "We didn't know if you were dead or alive out there, and we have to have a son in the house. Daughters are to be married out. Am I going to have my daughter take care of me when I'm old?"
"Then... then how many children did you guys have?" Xiye stuttered.
"There aren't that many..." Nicole smiled cutely and said, "Other than younger brother, there's only elder sister Sansa!"
(Urgh... There's another one.)
"Are you really not going back?" His father also asked.
Xiye hesitated for a moment but eventually still shook his head. "Given how your son is right now, I'd just be bringing you shame if I were to go back. It's better to wait until I get some results."
"Haha!" His father waved his hand and said, "It's fine. Your father has been shamed every day for the past 20,000 years, especially during the 10,000 years after you sneaked away."
Xiye: "..."
Faced with his father's ridicule, Xiye didn't flare up at all. His father's character had always been one that liked to tease others. Moreover, he knew that his father cared for him.
Given how big the Federation was, there was no way that Xiye would believe that his father coincidentally bumped into Xiye when he had just come back.
Over this 10,000 years, his father must have been constantly looking for his news.
"I'm not going back. Why don't you help me bring back two gifts for them?" Xiye smiled at Nicole and said, "What do my younger brother and sister like?"
"Little Chenye likes things that are related to summoning. Brother can just buy him a minor ghost, or a higher-grade evil demon codex will also work."
(Hmm? So my younger brother is called Chenye?)
Xiye felt slightly warm inside. He nodded and said, "Why buy him a minor ghost? I'll buy him a succubus."
Nicole said, "Brother, younger brother is still developing. This doesn't seem like a good idea."
Xiye: "..."
This lass knew quite a lot...
"Then what about your elder sister?" Xiye diverted the topic.
"Sister..." Nicole's countenance changed. "You're better off dropping the idea of currying her favor. She won't accept your gift."
"Why?" Xiye asked curiously.
"She's the same as the other people in the clan, bewitched by Rennes. Sister has always wanted to get married to Rennes!"
"What? "Xiye instantly shot up, looking toward his father while wearing a stunned expression.
His father shrugged. "What's surprising about that? Your cousin's popularity is so high now. It's on the other extreme end compared to your abject state. Isn't it normal for him to be popular with the younger brothers and sisters?"
"But isn't he being too popular?" Xiye's face sank.
It was a common thing for there to be consanguineous marriage within many clans in the Federation. In order to ensure the pureness of their bloodlines, many clans encouraged this too.
However, Xiye was unable to accept this, especially when the person in question was Rennes. He had grown up with Rennes and knew what character his cousin had.
Even though Rennes usually appeared forthright, he was in fact a despicable and scheming person. He was exactly the same as his father!
Seeing Xiye's reaction, his father sighed. "Sansa has inherited your mother's beauty and also likes life sacrificial songs since young. As you know, sacrificers have always been the world for elves. Back when I was still carrying a huge debt, I hadn't been able to find her purified genes in this area. But Rennes managed to find a Starlight elves gene of an extremely high level of purity for her. How could she not fall for him?"
"Starlight elves?" Xiye's pupils contracted slightly. Amongst the many elves branches, the Starlight elves Clan was the most legitimate sacrificer line. Given their proud characters, they wouldn't leak out their purified genes even if their clan was wiped out.
Then how did he get his hand on this gene?
"Rennes... had gotten this from the battlefield, right?" Xiye asked in a solemn voice.
Hearing that, his father lowered his head, not saying anything. He was clearly admitting to this.
Seeing that, Xiye's countenance turned increasingly grim. That made sense. Other than the battlefield, how could that guy manage to find a purified Starlight elves gene?
(What's the matter with that lass? She dares to accept such a ticking bomb? Judging from father's tone, it seems that she feels extremely grateful as well?)
Under normal circumstances, the genes of the clansmen who had fallen in battle wouldn't leak out in any way. It was because one must purify the genes themselves to be able to gather it. This was unless they captured the person alive and forced them to give in!
Xiye didn't have to think to understand the situation. Rennes must have caught a member of the Starlight elves from the battlefield and then held the person hostage, forcing them to refine the gene.
Given the elves' great pride, they must have been put through unimaginable torture before they gave in. This elf probably didn't have a good ending either. If the elf's clansmen were to find out about this, it would be a great feud that put their pride on the line!
Battle situations were always unfathomable, with everyone working for their own masters. Clans could understand each other, and even if some people from the same clan were to meet each other on the battlefield, they mustn't bring shame to their clan's glory and intentionally give in. However, dying in battle was entirely different than capturing another clan's member and humiliating them!
Did his foolish sister think that she had gotten something amazing? Once she entered the priest college and others were to find out about how she had gotten the gene, she'd definitely be the target of unrelenting revenge from the Starlight elves Clan!
"Father, why did you let her fall to someone else's scheme like this?" This was the first time that Xiye had spoken with such a blaming tone.
"I did tell her about this, but she didn't believe me. She insisted that we're the ones looking at others with a despicable perspective..." His father said helplessly. "That's why people say that females tend to side with outsiders. To protect her prince charming, even her parents are seen as being despicable..."
Xiye sighed. "Father, can you be more solemn?"
"Solemn?" His father stroked his chin and then suddenly said in a serious tone, "Then let's speak solemnly."
The atmosphere suddenly changed, shaking Xiye and Nicole. To be honest, they rarely saw their father's solemn side.
"When Sansa accepted the gene, she was already an adult. Before she turned of age, we had taken all the responsibilities that we should, educating her on things that we should be teaching her. However, she still decided to take a path that differs from ours. That's not something that we can interfere with anymore. After all, adults need to take responsibility for their own decisions!"
After a slight pause, his father continued, "Take you for example. Back then, we've paid such a great price to nurture you into a deity. In the end, you went out to travel the interstellar without even discussing it with us. Did I chase after you to forcibly bring you back?"
Xiye: "..."
Seeing that Xiye was silent, his father slowly stood up. He headed out of the room and said in a low voice, "Even if you were to die outside, I won't regret the decision of not having chased after you back then. It's because you've chosen this path yourself! There wasn't a need... to be this solemn…"
Xiye lowered his head and received the reprimand, not daring to rebut at all. He couldn't think of any rebuttal either. When he had decided to travel around despite being poor, part of it was also due to him being rebellious. There was a saying that a moment of impulsiveness would affect one's entire life. To be honest, he had also regretted countless times during the 10,000 years he had been roaming around in the interstellar.
Seeing that his father had reached the door, Xiye finally couldn't help but say, "Dad..."
Seeing that Xiye hadn't used the formal tone of addressing him as 'Father', his father paused slightly.
"I'm sorry..."
"Hmph!" His father's body shook a little, but he continued to snort coldly. "Don't give me this! Since you didn't die outside, you'll have to bring back the money I spent on you together with the interest!"
"Huh? I... I have to return it?"