Xing Yuanzhi stayed at home, feeling suddenly uneasy.
Speaking of which, Cheng Xinnan should be reliable, right? No, I must go and check it out!
Although the Cheng and Xing families are on good terms, they do not share the same ancestors, so they usually do not invite each other to their ancestral ceremonies.
But this time Xing Yuanzhi is not representing the family, but going on her own to observe the ceremony.
Since it's a joyful occasion for ancestral worship, she believes the other party won't object much. So she quickly called a taxi and headed straight to the Cheng residence in Pukou District.
Meanwhile, Cheng Xinnan, accompanied by Cheng Jinyang, drove all the way to the entrance of the Cheng residence in the city, and parked the car.
The entrance to the Cheng residence, known as the Lingxing Gate, is usually closed to the public and only opens on the day of ancestral worship.
As long as they share the same ancestors, whether they are from other prominent families, commoners, or peasants, everyone can enter today to participate in the ceremony.
Outside, guests had already formed a long line, crowding half of the road.
A few Cheng family members were rushing around on both sides of the Lingxing Gate, overwhelmed with handling the crowd.
Consequently, Cheng Xinnan directly took him through a side entrance into the family estate, and none of these people had the time to even glance over in their direction.
Or, as it turns out, neither of them expected someone to sneak in directly from the entrance among the guests.
The clan territory resembled a typical residential area, just cleaner and tidier.
Various lanterns and colorful fabrics adorned the trees in the green areas, each inscribed with different sayings.
Cheng Jinyang casually glanced around, and one of the fabrics read:
"Emphasize intelligence and philosophy; rest, distant from father's support."(重黎聪哲;休父疏支)
[T/N: This is actually a chinese phrase. So in English it's meaning can't be expressed by simply translating the literal meaning of the chinese sentence.]
"The "chóng(重)" and "lì(黎)" are the two ancestors of the Cheng family in the legends. "chóng" was the son of Shaohao, and "lì" was the grandson of Zhuanxu. They were in charge of heaven and earth, each controlling wind and fire. Their descendants all used the name "chónglì." later on."
"Following "chónglì," there was Cheng Boxiu's father, who served as the Grand Marshal of King Xuan of Zhou, leading troops to conquer the Huai tribes in the southeast, making him the earliest ancestor traceable in the Cheng family genealogy of Shendu."
"I see," Cheng Jinyang nodded in understanding.
"By the way," Cheng Xinnan added, "Take the Zhus, for example. Their ancestor was Wu Hui, the second son of Li. So, they share the same bloodline with the Cheng family of Shendu, with historical evidence. They will also send someone to attend the ceremony later."
"Are the Zhus also a noble family?"
"Their ability is Oxidative Combustion," Cheng Xinnan explained casually, "It's said that the Zhus can freely break covalent bonds of various gaseous molecules without needing energy and produce flames above 1000 degrees Celsius using a large number of free radicals. Of course, it's just hearsay, and only they know the specific reaction principles."
"Isn't that just pyrokinesis? It feels stronger than gravity," Cheng Jinyang mused.
"Pyrokinesis... you could say that," Cheng Xinnan chuckled, "But let's not say the latter part later, after all, you're in the Cheng family's territory now."
"Sorry, Sister Xinnan," Cheng Jinyang realized, Sister Xinnan is also a member of the Cheng family. It would be too rude to criticize the Cheng family's abilities in front of her.
Wait, but I am too! Huh?
"It's okay," Cheng Xinnan waved her hand, "The lethality of oxidized combustion is strong, but the Zhu family's descendants can't fly! If you fly into the air and bombard them from above, how can they respond? If we really want to compare strengths, it depends on the battlefield environment, bloodline concentration, computational power, and combat experience."
"Huh, I don't like hearing that," a young man with sunglasses stepped forward from the front, standing confidently with his hands behind his back, chin lifted as he looked down on the two, saying, "Why is it that we, the Zhu family, can't compare to your Cheng family?"
"Are you blind?" Cheng Xinnan asked in confusion.
Cheng Jinyang nearly burst out laughing beside her.
Indeed, wearing sunglasses typically serves three purposes: shading from light, showing off, and indicating that one is blind.
"Me!" the young man immediately retorted, taking off his sunglasses, "This is for blocking light, do you understand? The fire of our Zhu family reaches temperatures of over a thousand degrees, extremely intense. Not wearing sunglasses would damage your eyes, you wouldn't understand... Besides, aren't you also wearing sunglasses?"
"Brother Zhu! Brother Zhu!" Several calls came from behind him, and it was three young members of the Cheng family, roughly the same age, led by Cheng Yizhou, who had clashed with Cheng Jinyang at the hospital last time.
Cheng Yizhou hurried over, following the gaze of the young man in sunglasses, and discovered it was Cheng Jinyang, whom he had met last time.
Just as he was about to exclaim, his gaze fell on Cheng Xinnan next to him, and he abruptly suppressed it, his face suddenly turning red.
However, the people behind him didn't recognize her, and directly pointed at Cheng Jinyang in astonishment, clamoring, "Today is the Cheng family's ancestor worship day, how could this servant be allowed in? Brother Yizhou, let's kick him out..."
Before they could finish, Cheng Xinnan had already removed her sunglasses, her gaze coldly staring at the three of them, saying ominously, "What did you just call me? I didn't hear it clearly."
With a slight force from her fingers, the middle of the frame of her sunglasses was unexpectedly snapped in half and fell apart.
The young man in sunglasses half opened his mouth, knowing that such glasses were often made of alloy frames, and being able to snap the frame in half... just how strong was her finger force?
Before Cheng Yizhou could stop him, another person behind him instinctively became defiant, sneering, "It's about the former fostered servant (Jinu) in our Cheng family..."
Before he could finish, a cold gun barrel was shoved into his mouth.
"Say that again?" Cheng Xinnan held the gun against his throat, smiling sweetly on her face, but the coldness in her eyes was almost impossible to thaw.
"Wait!" Cheng Yizhou quickly stopped her, anxiously pleading, "You... we're of the same bloodline, how could it come to this!"
"I just asked him to repeat himself." Cheng Xinnan coldly opened the insurance, "Or, Cheng Yizhou, would you like your father to come see me?"
"I'll take the two of you to see my father. Please follow me."
Cheng Yizhou certainly couldn't leave his younger brother and Cheng Xinnan here. He quickly signaled to his other brother, then waved his hand to gesture to the two men to follow.
So Cheng Xinnan, with a gun held to the two guys who were trembling with fear from his earlier bold words, turned around with a smile on his face and said, "Jinyang, let's go!"
Cheng Jinyang followed along, looking utterly confused. He didn't know why these fellow clan members called him a "Jinu," nor did he understand why his sister Cheng Xinnan had such a strong reaction, directly holding one of them at gunpoint...
...But the feeling of bluffing was so satisfying!
As he followed Cheng Xinnan forward, the young man in sunglasses behind wanted to follow, but was stopped by another of Cheng Yizhou's brothers who was sweating profusely.
"Brother Zhu, it's not convenient to discuss Cheng family matters in detail. Let me take you somewhere else."
"Hey, I just want to see that sister!" The young man named Zhu Xinchu still wanted to go in, but was firmly stopped by the Cheng family member.
"Brother Zhu, please don't put me in a difficult position!"
"Is that sister from your Cheng family?" Zhu Xinchu asked seriously.
"No comment."
"And what about the 'Jinu' title?"
"No comment."
"Hey! Cheng Yining, aren't you worried about your brother being held at gunpoint?"
"I'm almost scared out of my wits, but Yizhou will handle it. As for more details, no comment."
"You folks from the Cheng family are all as stubborn as a dead rock, huh?"
"....Really, no comment."