The sun began to set as the Bei Clan gathered around for a feast. Not far from the teleportation array, they had set up a ring of tents around a roaring fire. They brought out the last remnants of the giant rock spider legs that they had been saving. There were also roasted bats as snacks and a few other critters of the desert.
As for the drinks, the Bei Clan and everyone in the south for that matter were big into alcohol. Fruit wines, rice wines, and wines made from strange desert plants. Chen Wentian liked to enjoy a drink now and then for the buzz it gave him but he was surprised by the amount that the Bei Clan women could consume. They were even better than the men.
“Alright, alright. Grab your food and then grab your drink. We’re playing a game!” First Aunt Bei Yujing’s shrill voice could not be ignored.
They gathered in a wide circle as she took out a hollow wooden cylinder. She then counted out twenty or so chopsticks and placed them inside.
“Alright, you all know the rules. One of these chopsticks is not like the rest and its tip is covered in gold.” She said and sloshed the container and chopsticks around, mixing them up, “If you don’t pull that one, you have to drink. If you do pull out the one, you have to tell an embarrassing story!”
“Okay!”
“Let’s go!”
“First round!”
Everyone used their spiritual control to pull a chopstick out of the bin. The one left over was given to Bei Yingluo since she couldn’t utilize spiritual energy.
One of the men cursed as he held a gold-tipped chopstick. The others laughed as they downed their drinks.“Come on, tell us quickly!”
“Don’t you dare lie!”
The man named Zheng Hai told a quick story about how he was cheated out of a reward for a mission in his youth. The employer offered him a choice between gold and a medicinal pill of great value to his cultivation. Naturally, the pill was a piece of trash and he was completely cheated.
This earned him more laughter from the rest as the next round commenced. This time, Tenth Aunt Bei Yifang pulled the golden chopstick and described an event in her youth where she suffered stomach problems for a whole month after eating some undercooked street food.
“Hahaha, I remember that!” Fifth Aunt Bei Shuang burst out. She couldn’t hold back her laughter and even started to cry. “You clogged up three toilets!”
“Hahaha!”
“Shut up! You didn’t have to say that!” Bei Yifang got so angry that she downed a cup of strong wine even though she didn’t have to.
“Haha, alright, alright. Next round!” Bei Yujing said excitedly.
Bei Yingluo was the unlucky victim. She looked around at her family and then at her master who was sitting next to her.
“Yingluo, don’t be shy.” Bei Yujing said with a sly smile, “You are already Elder Mo’s woman, what’s there to worry about?”
Bei Yingluo rolled her eyes and then cleared her throat. She told a story of something that happened in her childhood when she was around ten years old.
It was a particularly hot and dry summer. Water was scarce and so were food supplies. The whole Bei Clan was suffering along with the commoners of Drifting Sand City. As money became tight, they had to conserve even essential necessities. Many poor people died of thirst or hunger.
Her sister, Bei Mingyu, was only an infant a few months old. Her mother was struggling to feed her, and as a result, she developed a serious illness that threatened her life. Her mother tried her best and even spent their savings to hire a doctor who practiced a healing Dao.
However, whether it was because Bei Mingyu was too young or already too weak, the treatment did not work and left the small family without options. Bei Yingluo liked her little sister very much and didn’t want to lose her. But Bei Yingluo was only ten years old and she didn’t know what to do.
But one day, as her sister was getting worse and worse, Bei Yingluo overheard a conversation in the garden. One of the grand-aunts was talking to another grand-aunt and they were discussing the matriarch and a gift they had received for a recent job they had completed with great difficulty. Amongst the gift was a high-grade medicinal pill for healing all bodily injuries.
Bei Yingluo got a great idea in her childish mind and decided to steal the medicinal pill for her little sister. She was naturally caught by the old matriarch and punished by the clan rules. However, in the end, the old matriarch gave the pill to her little sister in order to save a life.
“That was you?” Bei Yujing exclaimed.
“Heavens, no wonder!” Bei Jixiang added, “When we tried to ask for the pill later, the matriarch would always avoid the subject!”
"Yeah, she would mumble something and talk about something else!"
Bei Yingluo smiled bashfully, “It was me. But the incident also left a great impression on me. The matriarch was a tough person and stern to us. Yet she had this kind of heart towards her family. Mingyu was only an infant. There were so many other people in the clan that might have used that pill. But at that moment, it was the only thing that could save my sister’s life. I’m glad that we had someone like the matriarch. I’m glad that she considered all of us a family.”
The circle of people fell silent. The four aunts present reflected on their previous clan leader. They all had no complaints about Bei Yingluo’s words.
At the same time, Bei Yingluo’s eyes flashed crimson. She hadn’t really intended to test out her hidden power at this moment but she had a moment of inspiration. Utilizing the mental state brought about by her story, she once again focused her thoughts on the subject of family.
It came to her almost naturally. The surge of destructive power that filled her body seemed almost obedient and in control.
In a blink, Chen Wentian arrived beside her and surrounded her with shadow.
“Excuse us.” He said the rest, “Yingluo is going through a small breakthrough in her cultivation. I will help her.”
“Yes, Elder Mo!”
“Thank you!”
As the rest bowed to him, he took Bei Yingluo and left towards a secluded spot in the middle of the desert.
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