Chapter 148

When Wu Tie and the others arrived at Wa Valley, it was noon.

Wa Qinger arranged a luncheon for them; the banquet in Wa Valley could be called extravagant, far surpassing the extravagance of the three great families of the Cangyan Realm.

Without mentioning anything else, just a basin of gleaming, fragrant rice, each grain like pearls and jade, left Wu Tie and the others in awe.

Wu Tie recalled that Wu Zhan had once said that when Wu Tie had just been born not long ago, his body was very weak, and it was only after Wu Zhan prepared some rice porridge that Wu Tie was kept alive.

Rice……requires a great deal of light and heat, a great deal of water, and fertile land to grow. The rice that is rarely seen even among the three great families of the Cangyan Realm is merely a staple of daily meals in Wa Valley.

Besides that, there were golden pancakes fried in soybean oil, fragrant bread baked in an oven and brushed with butter until glossy, various steamed and pan-fried dumplings, and even large, snow‑white, oil‑dripping meat buns……

As for the various other dishes of roasted meat so delicious they make you want to swallow your tongue, that was just ordinary.

Wu Tie was fine; his mind wasn't on these foods.

Shi Fei, Lao Bai, and Tie Dajian— the three of them— had completely turned into rice buckets.

Even the Demon Chapter King, whose mood had been extremely gloomy these days, turned into a bottomless rice barrel; he fixed his gaze on the buttered, glossy bread and drank the fragrant milk of the giant‑horned azure ox, gulping it down with gusto.

Only Yan Hanlu and Lu Ji ate somewhat politely.

But Yan Hanlu……she kept drinking cup after cup, and she alone downed two barrels of freshly squeezed juice!

Only Lu Ji was truly refined; his stature dictated a small appetite, and after eating a barrel of meat buns he forced his belly to become round, now clutching two bright red fruits and nibbling them bit by bit, striving to fill every tiny crevice in his stomach.

As for the Wu women……

The Wu women all dove into a huge roasted ox, and the whole golden, oil‑dripping ox rack kept trembling.

Wa Qinger sat beside the long table as a companion, eating modestly— just two pieces of roasted meat and a few pan‑fried dumplings— before she stopped.

Seeing that Wu Tie's thoughts were not on the food, she kept placing sizzling pieces of roasted meat on his plate, urging him to eat more while explaining Wa Mu's difficulties to him.

Wu Tie and the others traveled from the Cangyan Realm to the Long Dragon Realm, then from there to Wa Valley, spending seven or eight months on the way.

Wa Mu became the current matriarch of the Wa clan, which happened eight or nine months ago at the Wa clan's ancestral sacrifice ceremony.

After Wa Mu became the matriarch of the Wa clan, her authority and status were naturally not trivial.

But before that, Wa Mu's situation in the Wa clan was also difficult—not only because Wa Xiu opposed and made things hard for her, but more importantly, her husband's family, Wu Zhan, had feeble personal cultivation and his clan possessed virtually no power.

Compared to the Gong Sun family of Wa Xiu's husband, the little Wu clan that Wu Zhan set up was like an ant beneath an elephant's foot, able to give Wa Mu only the slightest help.

"So, my elder brother……" Wu Tie stared fixedly at Wa Qinger.

"He entered the Wa clan's ancestral land……" Wa Qinger gritted her teeth and bluntly told Wu Tie the truth: "During the ancestral sacrifice ceremony, when the ancestors' inheritance ground opened, Wu Jin, as the chosen warrior, entered the Wa clan's ancestral land."

Wu Tie looked at Wa Qinger, and she said in a low voice: "Inside the Wa clan's ancestral land there are endless opportunities; Wu Jin may not be in danger……"

Wu Tie said coldly: "I only want to ask— did Wu Jin enter the Wa clan's ancestral land voluntarily?"

Wa Qinger fell silent for a moment, cut a large piece of roasted meat, swallowed it in a couple of bites, reached out to rub her belly, and let out a sigh.

"It was Ninth Aunt who suggested to the elders, and after they agreed, Wu Jin was selected to enter the Wa clan's ancestral land." Wa Qinger said solemnly: "But, Wu Tie……"

Wu Tie waved his hand, smiling: "All right, I don't mean anything else; I just know that my elder brother didn't go to that so‑called ancestral land of his own free will— he was forced to go…… I understand."

Wa Qinger piled a mountain‑like heap of roasted meat on Wu Tie's plate; he devoured it in a few bites, then smiled and said to Wa Qinger: "Wu Jin is fine, everything is all right; if something happened to him……"

Wa Qinger's heart turned cold; looking at Wu Tie's smile, she felt as if she were seeing a beast grinding its teeth, and an inexplicable sense of extreme unease rose within her.

Wu Tie smiled at Wa Qinger and said softly: "Elder sister Qinger, Mother told me to get closer to you…… Well, could you tell me how my elder brother has been spending his time here in Wa Valley?"

Wa Qinger remained silent for a long time.

She didn't want to say it, but seeing Wu Tie's gaze that inexplicably put great pressure on her, she sighed inwardly and spoke in a low voice.

Wu Tie listened with a smile to Wa Qinger's narration, but as he listened, his expression began to change.

As it turned out, Wu Jin had been transferred by the blood‑line protective divine ability that Wa Mu had left on him, breaking through space directly from the Cangyan Realm to Wa Valley.

As it turned out, when Wu Jin was transferred, the souls of the slain Wu Zhan, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong were also transmitted along with him.

As it turned out, Wu Zhan, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong each have a high probability of being resurrected…… at least the Wa clan's classics contain related secret arts, though those arts are now fragmented and incomplete, yet they at least prove that it can be done.

As it turned out, Wa Mu wanted to extract materials from the Wa Valley storehouse to craft a soul‑nourishing basin to nurture the souls of Wu Zhan and his sons, but Wa Xiu interfered, leaving Wa Mu— still in a weak position at that time— unable to obtain the needed materials.

As it turned out, forced into a corner, Wu Jin voluntarily joined Wa Valley's arena as an outsider‑in‑law, and by continually fighting strong opponents he earned huge wagers for Wa Valley, which he exchanged for enough materials to barely forge a soul‑nourishing basin.

As it turned out, while struggling to forge the soul‑nourishing basin, Wu Jin acted with extreme caution, daring not to offend anyone in Wa Valley…… yet he was constantly sought out for trouble by Wa Yao and her circle of Wa Valley maiden ladies…… often whipped, often insulted, often humiliated by vile means……

As it turned out, Wa Yao's targeting of Wu Jin was not only due to the feud between Wa Mu and Wa Xiu; more importantly, Wa Yao had taken a liking to the tall, sturdy, handsome and martial Wu Jin, wanting him to be her male favorite, but Wu Jin firmly refused.

As it turned out, in the arena Wu Jin often faced opponents far stronger than himself, ending up covered in wounds and several times nearly killed on the spot— all of these were secretly arranged by Wa Yao's group of "admirers"……

As it turned out, if it weren't for that period when Wa Mu was undergoing a rapid surge in power, promptly grasping some immensely strong life‑saving divine abilities, and promptly applying healing to Wu Jin, Wu Jin would have been slain long ago.

Wu Tie's face sank like water, his heart felt as if cut by a knife.

He could not imagine how, in the unfamiliar Wa Valley, in the strong and exclusionary Wa Valley, in the Wa Valley where the status of in‑law men is low, Wu Jin managed to survive by being extremely cautious, even struggling like a lowly ant.

He did not live for his own life; he lived for the last hope of Wu Zhan, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong.

He could not imagine how, having just entered the Ganxuan Realm, Wu Jin managed to survive in the Wa clan's arena; those who dare to participate in the Wa clan's arena are either ruthless villains, various dangerous beasts, or elite scions of the great families.

They put up huge stakes to gamble against the Wa clan, or madly wager against each other, and every win or loss involves enormous interests.

How could the low‑strength Wu Jin possibly survive in that bloody arena?

And Wa Mu……

Wu Tie did not know what state Wa Mu was in at that time…… but the fact that Wa Xiu could force her to be unable to obtain the materials for the soul‑nourishing basin from the storehouse shows that her situation could not have been good.

"Actually, besides Wu Jin refusing Wa Yao's terms……" Wa Qinger's face looked a bit off, and she said in a low voice: "More importantly, Wa Xiao Xi's talent is extraordinarily strong— so strong that her aptitude surpasses all the women of our generation…… Wa Yao envies her, and Wa Xiu even wants to have the Gong Sun clan's offspring marry Wa Xiao Xi."

Wa Qinger spoke at length, and Wu Tie then learned that his youngest sister— the daughter of Wu Zhan and Wa Mu, Wa Xiao Xi— had awakened her divine talent at birth, and thereafter, with a terrifying frequency of awakening every two or three years, she, under ten years old, had already mastered several powerful divine talents.

In particular, according to what Wa Qinger heard from Wa Yin, Wa Xiao Xi seems to have awakened a kind of secret art that is extremely important to the Wa clan, regarded as the Wa clan's vital point.

During the previous ancestral sacrifice ceremony, Wa Xiao Xi and a group of peers of the Wa clan maiden ladies received the secret "Ancestral Transmission of Skill" ritual on the altar; when the ritual ended, Wa Xiao Xi was only at the Half‑Step Chonglou Realm, but now, just a few months later, she has already reached the Ninth Heaven of the Chonglou Realm.

Wa Xiao Xi is two years younger than Wu Tie, and much younger than Wa Yao and Wa Qinger.

The Wa clan possesses a powerful secret art for rapidly boosting the cultivation of young maiden ladies; even so, Wa Yao and Wa Qinger, who are many years older than Wa Xiao Xi, are at most at the Third to Fifth Heaven of the Chonglou Realm among them.

Wa Xiao Xi merely underwent the "Ancestral Transmission of Skill" secret ritual once— it was like opening a heaven‑defying cheat door— and in just a few months she surged forward, breaking through all the way to the Ninth Heaven of the Chonglou Realm.

With such talent, such aptitude, how could Wa Yao and the others not be jealous?

What's more, during the ancestral worship ceremony, Wu Mu suddenly displayed transcendent power, defeating all her sisters in one fell swoop and becoming the current lord of Wu Valley.

"Anyway, the Wu Valley always feels a bit unsettled these days." Wu Qing'er sighed: "So I often take people out to patrol the borders, and I can't be bothered to stay long in the Wu Valley… Seeing those Wu Yao people makes my eyes ache and my heart ache."

The dining hall doors were pushed open, and a girl with delicate features, spirited aura, shoulder-length hair, and a small blue flower pinned on her left temple cautiously poked her head through the gap opened more than a foot wide, then began to size up the interior of the dining hall.

Wu Qing'er sprang to her feet, smiling and waving at the girl: "I was just talking about you, Xiao Xi—come quickly."

Wu Tie shot to his feet so fast his belly slammed into the huge stone long table, giving a loud 'Boom!' as the table, several zhang long and about a zhang wide, slid seven or eight zhang away from the impact, nearly pinning Old Bai and Lu Ji against the rear wall.

Wu Tie turned his body with a slight stiffness, looking toward the girl standing at the doorway peering inside.

"Wu Xi? No, Wu Xiao Xi…" Wu Tie stared fixedly at the girl at the doorway, suddenly feeling a throbbing of blood‑line connection, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Wu Tie isn't one to openly show his emotions; even with countless thoughts churning in his mind, he simply stood there blankly, gazing at the clean‑cut, petite, lovely Xiao Xi at the doorway, who looked like a little flower.

Xiao Xi's watery eyes locked onto Wu Tie's cheeks, then she suddenly laughed: "Fourth Brother? Are you Fourth Brother Wu Tie? How… did you get so tall? Big Brother said your frame is weak, so you couldn't be much taller than me."

A breeze stirred as Xiao Xi hurried inside, grabbing Wu Tie's big hand in one sweep and holding her hand up from her own head to his to compare heights. She was only about eleven or twelve, far shorter than him.

Wu Tie reached out and gently patted Xiao Xi's head.

He grinned, wanting to say something, but he didn't know how to express his feelings.

Wu Nu emerged from the roasted meat's belly, clutching a large rib, smiling at Xiao Xi and loudly asking, "Father, is this Aunt?"

Wu Qing'er's face stiffened.

Xiao Xi was clearly startled, she pointed at Wu Nu and yelled, "Wah! Father? Father? Fourth Brother… you, you… Big Brother said you're only two years older than me!"

Wu Tie closed his eyes, at a loss for words. How could he explain Wu Nu's origins?

The dining hall doors were suddenly flung open, the two doors slamming hard against the walls with a tremendous boom.

Two identical handsome youths, each followed by a dozen or so warriors, strode in, their hawk‑like eyes locking onto Wu Tie, then they simultaneously gave Xiao Xi a false smile as they greeted her.

"Xiao Xi, did you come to play with us? Hehe, this is Gong Sun Clan's turf—since you're here, we'll certainly give you a warm welcome."

"Your turf?" Wu Tie opened his eyes, frowning at the two handsome youths with hawk‑like eyes and sharp aura.

"Gong Sun Ying!" a youth cupped his fist toward Wu Tie.

"Gong Sun Xiong!" the other youth, hands behind his back, gave Wu Tie an arrogant smile.

"We are the heroic brothers of Gong Sun Clan—this must be Wu Tie, right?" Gong Sun Ying lowered his hand with a smile, then said coldly, "This is Gong Sun Clan's garrison in Wu Valley. Uninvited guests… troublemakers… are to have their legs broken and be thrown out."

Xiao Xi furrowed her brows and softly said, "You want to break my fourth brother's leg?"

Gong Sun Xiong gave Xiao Xi a false smile and shook his head: "Xiao Xi, you're young… you don't understand, so you don't need to worry about this. Once we've driven off the troublemakers, we'll happily play with you."

Gong Sun Ying and Gong Sun Xiong laughed together, their smiles sinister and lecherous, making Wu Tie want to destroy their faces.