Snowing City, located not far away from the Dark Forest, was always snowy. That was also where its name came from.
The Xue Family had governed over Snowing City for thousands of years. It was fair to say, that Snowing City represented the Xue Family.
Today, like every other day, beautiful snowflakes danced in the air above Snowing City. These days, however, the snow seemed much heavier. The whole of Snowing City was covered in a shining white cover, adding a mysterious charm to the city itself.
Despite the breathtaking sceneries right in front of their eyes, the Xue Family had no mood to appreciate it. All the elders of the Xue Family all kneeled down in front of a cave, silently. This looked uncannily unusual.
“Alas…”
After some long, dull waiting, there came a heavy but helpless sigh. Everyone on the ground lifted their spirit a little bit, as they all raised their heads with expectant eyes.
“Xue Piaorou, you have a really good son, huh? Xue Fei, is your head filled with craps? What a lousy idea did you propose? Why are you coming to me for help? I’ve already been expelled by the family! Anything related to the Xue Family is none of my business anymore, understand?”
The person in the cave spluttered in a cold and solemn tone. It seemed that this person must be of great importance to the Xue Family, for he had scolded the elders as well as the leader of the Xue Family harshly. Strangely enough, none of the elders tried to retort or defend for themselves.
“I should take the blame. Second grandfather, I’m ready for any form of punishment. But, please, second grandfather, please help us out. All that we strived so hard for will probably collapse because of this incident. For the prosperity of our family, please come out and help us!” Xue Piaorou was in front of the cave, with a deathly surly face, as his forehead was bumping into the icy ground with a resounding thud.
“Second Uncle, we beg you to lend us a hand. Otherwise… the Xue Family will be toppled upside down. Xue Fei is willing to make this kind of sacrifice!” Xue Fei also showed his submissive side, and his overbearing disposition had totally shattered in this life and death moment of their family.
“Please save the Xue Family!” Xue Fei, Xue Piaorou, as well as all the others behind them, simultaneously bowed towards the cave.
After some silence, there came another deep sigh, the sound of which seemed powerless.
“I won’t. And even if I did, it won’t help. What that bastard did, has provoked the wrath of all the people from our continent, not just those from the Ye Family. The glory of the Xue Family is setting…”
“W-what shall we do to save this situation? Is our family doomed?” Xue Fei collapsed on the ground with numbing eyes. Had he never asked Wuhen to get rid of Qinghan secretly, all these things might not have happened at all. Now, being dragged into this scandal, the Xue Family was beyond redemption.
“Alas! What shall we do?” The other elders all turned pale-faced, for they had received the charge from Dragon City, and were invited to stand trial half a month later, under the judgment of the other families. Xue Wuhen’s wrongdoings would be determined by the votes from members of the six big cities and the one hundred small cities. If Wuhen was found guilty, then the Mars Prefecture would send an armed force to suppress the Xue Family altogether. At that time, Snowing City wouldn’t be covered in snow, but in blood…
Voting for the final judgement?
The Xue Family knew, however, that the voting system was just a show. The result was already settled by the other prominent families and Dragon City. Back on Ghost Island, Wuhen had allied with the other two races to annihilate the Mars Prefecture Legion, which had put the young lords and ladies, as well as the elites of each family in great danger. It was impossible for him to be forgiven after all the evil he had done. Since the result was predictable, the Xue Family would rather try to prepare themselves for the upcoming catastrophe. Yet, they also understood very well, that their ability alone simply couldn’t fight against the other families.
Therefore, they were caught in endless horror and helplessness when they had heard of the subpoena. Left with no other choice, they had resorted to Xue Xiwen, the sole survivor of the old generation, who had already be expelled by the family a long time ago.
“Alright… for the love and care I received in my childhood from the Xue Family, I’ll try to help. But remember, I’m no longer a Xue Family member. Take this…” Xue Xiwen finally agreed, at the time when the desperation of the elders outside had reached the highest degree.
“The only way to save the Xue Family is… Alas, Xue Fei, Xue Piaorou, take this token and go to Dragon City. I require you to kill yourselves in front of the other family members, as a way to atone for Wuhen’s crimes…”
……
These days, the Mars Prefectue had become more robust than ever before. The jubilant atmosphere in the streets, brought by the victory in the Prefecture War, hadn’t at all diminished. Unlike any other Prefecture War, this time, the death toll had reached a record low. The Mars Prefecture Legion had returned home with only a small bunch of wounded soldiers, while the demons and barbarians had been completely routed in disarray. And the young lord of the Demonic Prefecture was even killed in battle. Most importantly, a single person was responsible for this, a sixteen-year old teenager!
The hero of the Mars Prefecture, the young lord of the Ye Family, Ye Qinghan!
As for the soldiers of the Mars Prefecture Legion, they had been enrolled from hundreds of cities. Plus, all the families were obliged to send their young elites to the war. When the Prefecture War had ended, countless families would walk at the entrance gate of the Mars Prefecture, waiting for the return of their children. In previous times, only 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers were lucky enough to return alive. But this time, the vast majority of the legion had come back safe and sound. People began to celebrate for this landslide victory. Some families even sculptured an ever-young tablet [1] for Qinghan, while numerous girls began visualizing the face of this young hero. Many teenagers saw Qinghan as their idol, aspiring to become a man like him.
However…
Despite the celebration of the victory, rumors came that a traitor had appeared in the Mars Prefecture, who had brazenly teamed up with the other two prefectures to harm the Mars Prefecture Legion! More shamefully, he had planted concealed worms in the young hero’s hair to track his whereabouts, in order to help the demons and barbarians to obtain this young hero’s location. This shameful youngster had intended to annihilate all the young lords and ladies of the Mars Prefecture!
The news of Wuhen’s betray had stirred a great turbulence in the Mars Prefecture. In fury, people had cursed the Xue Family publicly, to vent their indignation. When they heard there would be a trial held specially for the Xue Family, they had all traveled to Dragon City, not for the voting, but for the tongue-lashing in the face of the wrongdoers.
…….
[1]: a tablet used to worship their living benefactor, wishing him longevity.
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