Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Oh dear, Young Master Yang, if you put it that way, that’s giving me more than I’m due.” The old man bowed deeply toward Rong Kaixuan and introduced himself. “Young Master Kaixuan, I am Rong Cai. I have served your grandfather since I was a child and been with the family for several decades now.” He had a face full of smiles as he said, “Young Master Kaixuan, you can just call me Cai.”
Rong Kaixuan thought for a bit and said, “Grandpa Cai.”
“Oh dearie me, as I said, that’s really too polite of you,” Rong Cai replied as he waved his hands about frantically. “I’m not worthy.”
Rong Yiyang smiled faintly and said, “Uncle Cai, you’ve watched all of us grow up since we were children. Kaixuan has never met you before, but you’re definitely worthy of him calling you Grandpa.”
Rong Cai sighed softly and said, “Young Master Yang, thank you for being so kind to me.”
Rong Kaixuan blinked a few times and asked, “Grandpa Cai, did Grandpa ask you to come here?”
Rong Cai nodded vigorously and replied, “That’s right. Your grandfather misses Young Master Yang.
He would also like to see you since he hasn’t met his grandson before. He told me to invite both of you back to the house to see the rest of the family.”
“Tsk,” Rong Yiyang scoffed. He said, “I’m sure he really wants to see Kaixuan, but I’m sure he doesn’t care about seeing me.”
Rong Kaixuan tilted his head. His eyes darted about, but he was smart enough not to say anything.
He didn’t know much about what sort of relationship his family members had, but since they were all his elders, it wasn’t his place to criticize them.
Rong Cai frowned slightly and said, “Young Master Yang, I admit there are some areas where Master has done wrong, but do you remember what you were like back then?”
Rong Yiyang was surprised and asked, “What do you mean?”
“You couldn’t gather and refine True Qi before you reached 15 years of age, so you completely gave up on yourself and didn’t even want to practice your boxing anymore. Master felt bad for you, so he decided to send you to the estate and even set a rule that you weren’t allowed back into the house until you managed to gather True Qi.” Rong Cai’s expression became grim as he continued. “Master wanted you to reflect on your actions. As long as you managed to gather True Qi in the estate, Master would have personally fetched you back to the house. But…” Rong Cai’s eyes suddenly widened. His voice went up by an octave as he said, “It’s been a few decades now, Young Master Yang. Where’s your True Qi?”
Rong Yiyang’s expression became very conflicted as he went through various emotions.
Rong Kaixuan continued to look at both of them and didn’t dare say anything.
He honestly didn’t have a good impression of the grandfather he had never met before.
All this time their family had lived in that rundown estate, his grandfather had never shown them any concern. Now that Rong Kaixuan was becoming famous, his grandfather suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
No matter how he looked at it, his grandfather was someone who stood on the side of whoever had more power.
After he heard Rong Cai’s accusation, it seemed like what had happened was different from what he had imagined.
Rong Cai’s expression was very grim as he said, “Young Master Yang, Master is a very stubborn person, and so are you. It wasn’t right for him to just leave you out there for so many years. But by refusing to cultivate True Qi, isn’t that breaking his heart too?” He paused for a while and said, “Master never withheld any resources from you when it came to cultivation. You were the one who didn’t work hard, so who should you blame?”
That last phrase was spoken extremely sternly.
Since Rong Cai had actually said something like that about his father, Rong Kaixuan raised an eyebrow. But…
He stole a glance at his father. His father was pursing his lips and looked pretty stubborn, but there was a glint in his eye. He didn’t dare to meet Rong Cai’s eyes.
The bit of anger in Rong Kaixuan’s heart immediately dissipated.
He decided to leave it alone. Since this was a feud between the elders of the family. he had no say in any of it.
Besides, he had to admit that deep in his heart, he felt that Grandpa Cai had a point.
Even though not everyone could possess True Qi, if one received a good education and constantly trained in boxing, then one would eventually manage to gather True Qi.
Not being able to gather True Qi before 15 years of age didn’t mean that one couldn’t gather any in a lifetime.
If his father had really put in the effort all these years, he would have managed to gather a little True Qi no matter how poor his constitution was.
After all, the Rong family was different from everyone else. Rong Yiyang was a direct descendant, so the boxing skills he was trained in were considered some of the best. Gathering True Qi wasn’t something impossible to achieve.
Rong Cai sighed and said, “Young Master Yang, both you and Master are people who have great pride. Both of you are like one sharp object pricking another, and you only stop after you’re both hurt.”
Rong Kaixuan lowered his head and rolled his eyes.
He thought to himself, Grandpa Cai wasn’t an ordinary servant in the house at all. He actually said such things out loud.
The rarest part was that his father quietly just let Rong Cai continue to chide him. He didn’t even argue back at all.
Rong Cai turned to look at Rong Kaixuan. His eyes were filled with admiration and indulgence. “Young Master Yang, now that Young Master Kaixuan has proven to have a bright future and has shaken up the entire clan, this is the best opportunity for both of you.” He paused for a while and said, “It’s been so many years now, so your anger should have subsided by now. Even if you’re still angry, surely you should think about Young Master Kaixuan, right?”
Rong Yiyang was slightly taken aback. “Uncle Cai, what are you saying?”
Rong Cai quietly said, “Your family will always be your backing. I heard all about what happened between you and Rong Yitie. If you had remained in the family or told him who your father was, do you think he would still have acted so boldly?”
Rong Yiyang immediately fell silent.
“Grandpa Cai.” Rong Kaixuan took a step forward and spoke in a loud and clear voice. “I’m not afraid of them.”
Rong Cai laughed heartily and replied, “Young Master Kaixuan, you’re young and feisty, so, of course, you’re not afraid of them. But it’s better if we can minimize that sort of conflict, don’t you think so?”
Rong Yiyang pursed his lips. He seemed hesitant.
Rong Cai sighed gently and said, “Young Master Yang, I’ve heard some things about you too. Since you’re able to humble yourself and beg others for mercy, why can’t you admit defeat once in front of Master?”
Rong Yiyang’s body shuddered violently as his expression darkened.
For the past few decades, he had his fair share of kindness as well as cruelty from others. Even though he had brought Rong Kaixuan to the Ability Testing Hall, he was still so humble in front of Rong Jieming.
After the fight with Rong Yitie and his son, his first thought was to settle the matter as quietly as possible.
After all these years of being in a lower status, he had lost all his fighting spirit.
When it came to facing his own family, he still refused to tame his pride.
This wasn’t an attitude that only Rong Yiyang had. In fact, this was quite a common attitude to have.
No matter how much pain one suffered outside, one always had great pride when it came to dealing with family members. The attitude one had toward family and others was always different.
That was actually a sign of weakness.
After a long time, Rong Yiyang exhaled deeply and said, “Uncle Cai, you’re right. We’ll go with you to see him.”
Rong Cai laughed merrily. He looked like he was extremely happy.
The three of them got up and went to bid Rong Jieming farewell.
From the moment Rong Cai stepped into the house, Rong Jieming knew that he couldn’t hold Rong Yiyang and Rong Kaixuan back anymore. He personally saw them out of the door and even presented them with many gifts. At the same time, he also set a date for them to meet again.
He had gone all out to gain the favor and connect with Rong Kaixuan, a Spirit Gatherer who was destined to make the Rong family great.
The Rong clan Main House was pretty much a city in itself. It took them an hour of walking to get to their destination.
Rong Cai stood in front of the house and whispered to Kaixuan, “Young Master Kaixuan, your grandfather is Rong Jielin. Your father has two elder brothers, and you have three older male cousins, one older female cousin, and one younger female cousin.”
Rong Kaixuan vigorously nodded. There was a glint of excitement in his eyes.
The people Rong Cai had just told him about weren’t like the other people in the Rong family. These were his blood relatives. Rong Kaixuan was barely 15, so he was filled with great anticipation at meeting with these blood relatives.
Rong Cai gently tapped the main gate a few times. The metal gate immediately opened wide.
Rong Yiyang stood in front of the main gate. It was difficult to tell if he was excited or sad. His expression was very complicated.
“Come along, Young Master Yang, it’s time to go in.” Rong Cai pushed him gently from the back. Rong Yiyang didn’t expect the push and stumbled past the gate.
Rong Kaixuan looked at Rong Cai in surprise. This old man was also secretly a highly skilled person, and his abilities were much higher in level compared to that of Rong Yitie.
“Third Uncle…” A young man in white quickly came forward to the main gate. He bowed deeply to Rong Yiyang as he said, “You’re finally willing to come home.”
Rong Yiyang had a strange look on his face as he threw Rong Cai a glance. He looked like he wanted to complain but didn’t dare do so. After the young man in white greeted him, he finally set aside the grudge in his heart.
“Oh my, Kaihua, it’s been many years since I last saw you,” Rong Yiyang said with a sigh. “Your cultivation level is way higher than mine now.”
Rong Kaihua smiled faintly and replied, “Third Uncle, you’re too kind.” He waved to the others who were standing behind him and asked, “Everyone, aren’t you going to greet Third Uncle?”
“Greetings, Third Uncle.”
Two boys and two girls were standing behind Rong Kaixuan. One of the boys and one of the girls were older. There was a hidden sort of energy within them, so they had clearly managed to cultivate True Qi. The other two were around Rong Kaixuan’s age. They were stealing very curious glances at Rong Kaixuan.
“Don’t worry about it, you don’t have to be so formal.” Rong Yiyang waved his hands about quickly. There was finally a smile on his face.
“My brother, we’re glad that you’re back.”
Two middle-aged men walked out of the house together. Both of them looked fairly similar to Rong Yiyang, but one was skinnier while the other was plumper.
“Eldest Brother, Second Brother,” Rong Yiyang walked forward and bowed deeply.
The middle-aged man who spoke first laughed loudly. he pulled Rong Yiyang back up and patted him hard on the shoulder. His gaze soon fell on Rong Kaixuan. He said with a smile, “This must be my nephew, Kaixuan.”
“That’s right,” replied Rong Yiyang. “Kaixuan, this is your First Uncle, Rong Yihe, and Second Uncle, Rong Yiying. Come along and greet them quickly.”
Rong Kaixuan politely came up and greeted both of them. “Greetings, First Uncle and Second Uncle.”
After a flurry of introductions and greetings, Rong Kaixuan got the names of everyone who had come out. He had also gathered the real reason why his father had fallen out with his grandfather from the conversations between everyone.
Rong Yiyang was the third son of the family. Because he was the youngest son, he had been pampered as a child. He was ill-disciplined as a result.
Even though Rong Jielin had taught him to train in boxing, Rong Yiyang always found a million and one ways to slack off. Thus, he couldn’t gather True Qi before the age of 15. Rong Jielin was both angry and upset as well as regretful, so he sent Rong Yiyang off to the rural estate and set a rule that Rong Yiyang was not allowed back into the house until he managed to cultivate True Qi.
But Rong Yiyang was very stubborn too. He ended up giving up boxing and refused to train.
In the end, this father and son continued in this state until the present day.
There were six of them in the third generation. Rong Yiyang’s eldest brother, Rong Yihe, had two sons and one daughter.
The eldest was Rong Kaihua, his daughter. Rong Kaimei was the third eldest among the cousins, and his youngest son, Rong Kaiyi, was the fourth eldest among the cousins.
Rong Yiyang’s second brother, Rong Yiying, had one son and one daughter. His son, Rong Kaili, was the second eldest among the cousins, and his daughter, Rong Kailong, was the youngest among the cousins.
As for Rong Kaixuan, he was the fifth eldest among the cousins.
After everyone had finished greeting each other, 12-year-old Rong Kailong curiously asked, “Fifth Brother, are you really a Spirit Gatherer?”
Everyone suddenly stopped reminiscing. Their eyes were now focused on Rong Kaixuan.