Chapter 73 The Truth Behind the Descendants

The moment Zan Yunxiao finished speaking, the Patriarch's Hall fell into a wave of murmurs. The core members of the Clan exchanged puzzled glances, unable to understand how the people gathered in the plaza were not true descendants when every one of them possessed a Zan Clan token. In their eyes, only descendants of the Zan Clan could obtain such a token.

Hearing the word token, Zan Yunxiao's brows furrowed. He slowly turned his gaze toward Zan Wei and calmly asked, "What token are they talking about?"

The moment their eyes met, Zan Wei's expression stiffened. He opened his mouth several times before finally letting out a helpless sigh, knowing he could no longer hide the truth from his father.

"It happened ninety-five years ago," Zan Wei began. "There was a descendant of the Zan Clan... one who constantly visited brothels and spent his days indulging himself. Before long, several women became pregnant with his children."

After discovering the matter, Zan Wei had summoned the young man back to the clan and punished him by cutting off his monthly allowance. Unfortunately, the punishment accomplished nothing. Instead of reflecting on his mistakes, the young man secretly traveled to another city and repeated the same disgraceful behavior, leaving yet another woman pregnant.

When he was brought back for a second time, the clan imposed a harsher punishment. Even so, the descendant became even more arrogant. Relying on the Zan Clan's reputation, he openly boasted that he belonged to an immortal clan and that no one in the Crimson Empire dared offend him.

His arrogance eventually crossed the line.

He seduced the granddaughters of several families in the imperial capital, only to abandon them after they became pregnant. Those families personally came to the Zan Clan to demand justice, forcing Zan Wei to make a difficult decision.

"In the end," Zan Wei said quietly, "I expelled him from the clan."

"As for the women and the children... the Zan Clan accepted responsibility and brought them into the clan."

The hall remained silent as Zan Wei continued.

"Several years after his expulsion, that disgraceful descendant forged replicas of the Zan Clan token. Using those fake tokens, he continued pretending to be a legitimate descendant of the Zan Clan while deceiving others and carrying on his shameless lifestyle."

A faint cracking sound echoed through the hall.

The armrest beneath Zan Yunxiao's hand had shattered into pieces.

His expression had completely darkened.

The pressure filling the hall became so heavy that even the elders found it difficult to breathe. No one dared utter a single word.

A heavy silence enveloped the Patriarch's Hall.

After what felt like an eternity, Zan Yunxiao finally broke the silence.

"Where is he now?"

Zan Wei slowly lowered his head.

"He... Was dead long ago."

Hearing that answer, Zan Yunxiao closed his eyes for a moment.

A faint sigh escaped his lips.

"What a pity..."

"I was hoping someone had tortured that disgraceful descendant before he die."

His words were spoken softly, yet every core member in the hall heard them clearly.

No one thought the Founder was being excessive.

That descendant had repeatedly abused the Zan Clan's name, tarnishing its reputation and nearly dragging the entire clan into conflict with several great families. Had the Zan Clan not intervened in time, its prestige throughout the Crimson Empire would have suffered greatly.

Just then, Shenyuu rose from her seat and respectfully cupped her fists.

"Patriarch."

"This junior requests permission to speak."

Zan Yunxiao opened his eyes and nodded.

"Go ahead."

Shenyuu remained calm as she spoke.

"Founder, you needn't regret it."

"That disgraceful descendant did not die peacefully."

"I was the one who executed him."

The hall instantly fell silent.

Every pair of eyes turned toward Shenyuu.

Even Zan Yunxiao looked at her with surprise.

"What do you mean?"

Without changing her expression, Shenyuu calmly recounted everything that had happened.

. . .

Time slowly passed as she explained the entire incident from beginning to end.

. . . 

When she finally finished, an uncomfortable silence settled over the hall once again.

The expressions of every core member had become extremely ugly.

Even Elder Dan, who had seen countless deaths in his lifetime, couldn't help but twitch at the corners of his mouth.

As for Zan Yunxiao...

His expression became increasingly strange the more he listened.

When he heard that the man's severed private parts had been fed to pigs while the culprit was still alive and screaming in agony...

The entire hall turned deathly quiet.

Several core members instinctively swallowed.

Others looked away, unable to imagine such a scene.

Shenyuu lowered her head and cupped her fists once more.

"Founder."

"That man was my direct descendant."

"I failed to guide him properly."

"As his ancestor, I bore responsibility for his actions."

"To prevent him from bringing further disgrace upon the Zan Clan..."

"I personally ended his life."

"If my methods were too cruel..."

"I am willing to accept any punishment."

Before anyone could respond—

"Blech!"

A retching sound suddenly echoed through the hall.

Everyone turned to see Zan Moxuan, Shenyuu's husband, clutching his stomach as he hurriedly turned his head aside before vomiting.

He had managed to endure the story until the very end, but the final part had completely overwhelmed him.

The remaining core members also wore pale expressions, their stomachs churning after hearing the gruesome account.

Only Shenyuu remained calm, standing respectfully before Zan Yunxiao as though she had merely reported an ordinary clan matter. 

Meanwhile, Zan Yunxiao sat silently upon the Patriarch's seat, unsure whether he should commend her unwavering resolve... or be disturbed by just how mercilessly she had carried out the punishment.

Zan Yunxiao rubbed his forehead, a trace of regret appearing on his face.

He had only spoken out of frustration.

He never expected someone had actually carried out what he had casually wished for.

His gaze slowly shifted toward Shenyuu.

She stood there with a straight back, looking at him expectantly, almost as if she were waiting for him to praise her.

"This is bad..." Zan Yunxiao thought.

"If I praise her, everyone will think their Founder is completely insane."

"But if I criticize her... she'll probably think she did something wrong despite protecting the clan."

After weighing his options, Zan Yunxiao cleared his throat.

"What I said earlier was only a figure of speech."

"What you did..."

"...was too cruel."

"If something like this happens again, just execute the culprit cleanly."

"There is no need to go that far."

The core members immediately nodded in agreement.

"Patriarch is right!"

"A clean death is enough!"

"Exactly! No need for... extra steps."

Shenyuu blinked before calmly adding,

"Patriarch and acting Patriarch."

"That descendant wasn't just a shameless playboy."

"He was also a rapist."

"A murderer."

"A kidnapper."

"And a human trafficker."

"I personally investigated everything before carrying out the punishment."

The hall fell silent.

"..."

"..."

"..."

A moment later—

BANG!

Elder Dan slammed the table.

"THAT'S NOT CRUEL ENOUGH!"

"I AGREE!"

Another core members immediately stood up.

"HE DESERVED WORSE!"

"SHENYUU SHOWED MERCY!"

"HE SHOULD HAVE SUFFERED LONGER!"

Zan Wei suddenly rose from his seat and pointed at the ceiling.

"FOR SOMEONE LIKE HIM, THAT PUNISHMENT WAS PERFECT!"

"I SECOND THAT!"

"I THIRD THAT!"

Within seconds, the dignified Patriarch's Hall descended into complete chaos.

Everyone who had opposed Shenyuu just moments earlier was now shouting louder than the next person.

"MAKE IT CLAN LAW!"

"YES! CLAN LAW!"

"ANYONE WHO COMMITS SUCH CRIMES SHOULD RECEIVE THE SAME PUNISHMENT!"

Elder Dan stroked his beard before dramatically raising his hand.

"I PROPOSE THAT THIS BECOMES THE HARSHEST PUNISHMENT OF THE ZAN CLAN!"

"I AGREE!"

"AGREED!"

"APPROVED!"

"I SUPPORT IT TOO!"

Watching the core members shouting over one another like children fighting to answer a question, Zan Yunxiao's mouth slowly twitched.

"What... happened to the dignified atmosphere from a moment ago?"

"Weren't they all opposing this method just now?"

Without realizing it, he also found himself nodding.

"...Approved."

The moment those words left his mouth—

"LONG LIVE THE PATRIARCH!"

"THE PATRIARCH IS WISE!"

"THE PATRIARCH HAS GREAT VISION!"

The hall erupted into another round of loud cheers.

Meanwhile, seated quietly to the side, Xueyun leaned toward Jin Feixue with an amused smile.

"...Do they realize they're shouting inside the Patriarch's Hall?"

Jin Feixue covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"I don't think so."

"They're acting less like respected elders..."

"...and more like children who just won an argument."

The two women exchanged helpless smiles as the core members continued arguing excitedly over the details of the new punishment, each trying to shout louder than the others. Even Zan Yunxiao could only sit there in silence, wondering how the meeting had somehow turned into a noisy marketplace.