Chapter 5 The Will of the Family
When the Ba’s left, the conference hall was overwhelmed with heated discussions.
Those from the board of patriarchs of the Nie’s started to give their disturbing opinions.
“Nie Tian, it was so rude of you. How could you do that? Even if you want to turn down the proposal for marriage, you should not have insulted the first young master of the Ba’s.”
“True. He was held in a high position in the Ba’s. Now that we have offended the family, how could we sustain ourselves in Moyang City?”
“Nie Tian, you sure are a peril to the Nie’s.”
Those old fellows would just thump their chest and stamp their feet, with greater severity in the words of the next.
Nie Tian paid no heed to them but cast his eyes to Nie Wenyuan, the Grand Patriarch, saying coldly, “My Grand Patriarch, what do you think of the way I handled it?”
Naturally, Nie Wenyuan knew what he meant. He stood up slowly and said loudly, “I think you handled it properly. The Ba’s have pushed it so far. If we do not fight back, they will get the best of us. That you slapped the first young master of the Ba’s in his face is clearly a manifestation of our strength. They will know that the Nie’s are not the one to be bullied.”
The sonorous sound was heard and followed by a while of silence.
It was plain to see that Nie Wenyuan fully endorsed Nie Tian.
Nie Tian gave a quick smile that there was someone with glasses in this family.
Other patriarchs were only too old to understand.
The Ba’s had laid their eyes on the Nie’s. Even if Nie Tian rejected in a gentle manner, that would not save the family from the Ba’s. Instead, the Ba’s would go even further against the Nie’s. The forceful counterattack would instill fears in the Ba’s, which might hold them back somehow. Nie Tian glimpsed at the patriarchs and said calmly, “My dear patriarchs, please excuse me that I have something to attend to. Everything goes like it did before. So please do not disturb me for unimportant matters.” “The Kung Fu Competition of Moyang City is around the corner. Please rest be assured when you make practices. And you can leave the family affairs to me.” No one responded except the respectful Nie Wenyuan. “Good. So be it. I’m leaving now.” Nie Tian smiled, stood up and prepared to go.
“Family Master,” Nie Wenyuan stopped Nie Tian, “You just took over the family, won’t you say something to us?” Nie Tian knew what he meant of course.
The Nie’s were now swaying in the midst of a raging storm. The family was no longer of the same mind. It was high time that someone stood up for them and got them together.
And to Nie Wenyuan, the once talented Nie Tian was the one to hold them together.
At this point, Nie Wenyuan really hoped that Nie Tian might give some encouragement to the family. Nie Tian was formerly the God of Warriors in the heaven. He mobilized a lot. And one of the words the most commonly heard was that my fellow warriors, the victory belongs to us whoever we shall be faced with. Now was the time for mobilization before the war.
Nie Tian cast his eyes to the rest of family who were standing outside the hall. He straightened his back, displaying his overwhelming confidence, “Listen up. I don’t care what the family is now. But I promise you this, from today on, you will never be bullied by any other. Who dares to provoke the Nie’s shall incur death only.”
“That’s it. You are dissolved.” The words being said, Nie Tian strode away in the eyes filled with weirdness. No one responded until Nie Tian disappeared and there was a thunder of claps.
They were only too excited that the declaration was just in time for the Nie’s on its decline. From now on, nobody would treat Nie Tian as a loser.
Nie Wenyuan saw him off, feeling happy and gay, “Nie Tian, once the top talent in Moyang City returned an even more powerful man. There is the hope for the rise of the Nie’s.”
Everyone went into raptures, except Nie Santong.
His face was more than dark. And there was complexity in his eyes, grudges, rages, disgraces and fears.
The rise of Nie Tian would mean the fall of him and the cost of everything he had had.
“It took me three years to achieve what I am today. I will not resign myself to see that turn out to be in vain. We’ll wait and see, Nie Tian.”Nie Santong really had freaked out within himself. “Walk slowly, brother mine.” For quite a while were Nie Yurou in amazement. She finally got together herself and rushed out after him, with obvious joys in her face.
There was a knock at the door as soon as Nie Tian returned to his room.
“Jiumei, come on in.” Nie Tian knew who it was before she said a word.
“Brother mine, how do you know it’s me?” Nie Yurou walked in, with a blush and brightness of a maid. “I just know it if I want to,” Nie Tian gave his plain smiles, trying to look easygoing since it was the first time he had had contacted the families in this life,“What can I do for my young sister?”
Nie Yurou hid her hands behind the back, seemingly shy. She said quick-wittedly, “Now that you are the family master, you will just ignore me, right?”
Nie Tian first said nothing but smiled--Young as she was, she had her own thoughts.
“Of course not. But there must be something you come to me for.”smiled Nie Tian. Nie Yurou was first taken back and then looked serious, “Brother mine, thank you. I might have been engaged with the retarded of the Ba’s but for you.” “I am the family master and that is what I’m supposed to do.” Nie Tian smiled plainly. He was somewhat curious whether the nine-year-old Nie Yurou knew what engagement meant.
“Well, anyway, thank you all the same,” nodded Nie Yurou who noticed something different in Nie Tian.
Three years ago, they were very close to each other when she was just a six-year-old girl. She remembered that Nie Tian was just as kind and amicable as he was now.
But since Nie Tian got his vital veins badly injured, he started to indulge himself. His temper grew worse, which really frightened Nie Yurou.
Now her close brother was back again and left her a new impression, overwhelming confidence other than kindness. Nie Tian had something on his mind. So he asked her to leave after a while of chatting.
There was only Nie Tian in the room.
“Kung Fu Competition of Moyang City. Well, sufficient was half a month for that.” He curled a smile in the face.
Kung Fu Competition of Moyang City was a tri-annual event among the big families in Moyang City, which determined the ranks of them. That the Nie’s was recognized as one of the three big families in Moyang City should attribute a lot to the No.1 prize won by Nie Tian in the competition three years ago.
It would be half a month before the Competition. Pressing as it was, Nie Tian found it sufficient.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and started to examine his body.
After quite a while, he gave out a long and turbid breath, with bitter smiles in his face. “The nine vital veins were still there, all damaged. And there were cracks above the veins, some of which had been broken. How could such veins store the vital powers. Still, the trickiest part is the poison in the vital veins. It circulated so deeply that the veins look muddy black. Should that be left untreated, the nine vital veins will fail eventually when the God of Pills of the ninth level could do nothing about it.”
Nie Tian gave another bitter smile as the body was even worse than he thought.
Nie Tian did not lose his hope, though the vital veins were badly injured. There was brightness in his face as he found something significant, the Star Stone.