Chapter 455: Chapter 455

"Father! We missed you!" Kim Kim yelled.

Chin Chin pushed his father’s face away when he kissed her, "Father! Your beard tickles!" She said, laughing.

Four Eyes’ heart warmed. He had missed his daughters as much as he had missed his wife. Affection shone in his eyes, though a whisper of doubt crept in. It was a doubt he often kept hidden. He wondered if he could meet the expectations of fatherhood, especially with the clan’s pressures. He turned to his wife. "Were the boys behaving while I was away?" he asked, eyeing Ling Li’s protruding, round, pregnant belly.

Ling Li chuckled, knowing there were three little girls inside her womb, but that had to remain her secret for now. "They were all well behaved!"

"Don’t worry, Father, if they make Mom suffer, I’ll teach them a lesson when they come out!" Kim Kim proudly said.

"Yeah! Me too!" Chin Chin chimed in.

The twins’ enthusiasm amused both Ling Li and Four Eyes.

Shi Min stepped forward and hugged his sisters, his grip tighter than usual. A faint twitch betrayed his tension. He turned to Shun, Fatty, and Chatty, nodding respectfully, gaze flickering down to hide his fear. The weight of protecting his clan and loved ones pressed on him. Still, his voice was calm and proud: "You’ve stood strong. You’ve proven yourselves." His words carried not just admiration but also his hopes and need for leadership.

Chatty’s Return to Old Self

Chatty, finally unleashed, puffed out his chest and recounted his ordeals to Pharsa, his wife. Words spilled forth. His voice soared with pride. "I faced shadows, phantoms, and the ’Eye’ itself — and I stood tall!" He gestured theatrically. Pharsa arched an amused eyebrow. Her gaze combined admiration and faint skepticism, anchoring his bravado. Cannonball, the Enfield, newly reunited with him, flattened both his small ears.

El Padre and El Capitan exchanged sly glances. To them, Chatty strutted like a peacock before his mate, feathers fanned wide. Their laughter dispelled the tension.

Elders’ Gratification

Watching these reunions, Li Shenwu, Li Tianyuan, and Shinsei felt gratified. The disciples had endured, grown, and returned stronger. Li Shenwu’s voice carried, solemn and proud, yet a flicker of unspoken grief seemed to linger in the pause that followed, as if a shadow of personal loss tempered his call for celebration: "Let us return and celebrate. We shall give our fallen disciples proper burials. Remember, there is no success without sacrifice."

The words resonated. Everyone bowed their heads, vowing to honor the fallen and carry their strength forward.

The Triumphant Return

The Li Clan mounted their horses. Servants loaded provisions and prepared carriages for the fallen, whose bodies were arranged with serene respect. The creak of saddles and the cadence of hooves carried a grave weight, slowing as the fallen passed, signaling silent tribute. The procession advanced, fusing mourning with a dignity evident in their unwavering pace.

They rode toward the Li Clan’s mansion in the heart of the Hidden Valley.

Cheers erupted. People lined the road, applauding and shouting. Voices boomed like thunder.

Li Shenwu and Li Tianyuan, proud and generous, scattered power stones into the throng.

In Hidden Valley, these stones were rarer than mortal coin. Revered for their spiritual energy and as symbols of blessing and power, power stones were believed to be imbued with ancestral spirits, offering guidance and fortune. People scrambled to snatch them, tallying newfound wealth with wide grins. Children dashed after the procession, eager for more. Laughter echoed through the air.

Other sects and clans also paraded, raising banners to announce their disciples’ achievements. Yet none compared to the Li Clan. Their procession blazed with triumph, their banners snapping, their aura unmatched.

The valley is nestled amidst towering mountains. It was steeped in a rich tapestry of history. Legends spoke of warriors and rival clans. Distant peaks, shrouded in mist, stood as silent sentinels over Hidden Valley. The place was revered for its spiritual power. As the procession passed, cheers filled the air. The clan’s shared pride and triumph rang in every shout.

A Feast Beneath Flickering Blades

The great hall of the Li Clan mansion blazed with lantern light, its golden glow reflecting off polished jade pillars. Ling Li, seated at the center of the room, felt the coolness of the jade seeping through her robes, grounding her amid the rising murmurs around her. The air was thick with incense and murmurs, the weight of triumph mingling with grief. A smoky draft drifted unexpectedly from the corners of the hall, carrying a faint chill that contrasted with the warmth of celebration. Every member of the Li Clan and extended family within the Hidden Valley was present, yet Ling Li’s focus remained on the way the jade shimmered under the flickering lights, a reminder of both beauty and strength.

But beneath the grandeur, envy and jealousy simmered like hidden embers. Ling Li, the matriarch, sat at the center of attention, her calm presence a beacon and a target. As eyes followed her every move, her grip tightened ever so slightly around the cup in her hand as the whispers grew louder. Her gaze met an empty seat briefly, thinking of an ally lost to the shadows of ambition, a painful echo of the past. ’Mother warned me power is a lonely seat,’ she thought, the truth of those words settling heavily in her heart.

Whispers floated around, questioning why her daughters and husband shone brighter than their own kin. A hand clenched around a wine cup still spoke of unspoken rivalry, while a dismissive glance towards the table hinted at brewing resentment.

Vicious Inner Thoughts

Among the younger cultivator girls, resentment burned. Their smiles were masks, their hearts venomous.

"Ren thinks she’s special because she survived the ’Eye’. Hah. Let her needles drain her life away — then we’ll see how long she lasts."

"Lily’s carp voice? A trick. She’s nothing but a girl who hides behind whispers. I’ll prove her weak when the time comes."

"Why do the elders praise them? My cultivation is just as strong. If only I had been chosen, I would have shown them all."

"Ling Li sits there like a queen. Does she think her daughters are untouchable? I’ll make sure Ren and Lily learn humility."

Their eyes gleamed with hatred, lips curling as they watched Ren and Lily laugh with the twins.