Twilight's Threshold Chapter 765: The Hu Family Legacy - Novel Cool

Chapter 765: The Hu Family Legacy

Chapter 765: The Hu Family Legacy

"State Preceptor, you are too kind..."

By this time, Hu Ma could no longer remain in the carriage.

The City Defense Army welcomed them, the Ten Surnames youth led the way, the various families opened their gates, and the State Preceptor himself held the horse's reins.

Although he didn't fully understand the customs of these nobles, he knew they were intentionally honoring the Hu family, and it seemed a bit overly grand.

He had no choice but to jump down from the carriage and hold the State Preceptor's hand, saying with a smile, "You've mistaken the horse."

"My father is behind, and as the younger generation, I should lead the way. But once we reach the village, I should step back and follow the coffin."

"State Preceptor, you've shown great respect for my family, but it's not right for you to come and disrupt the rituals for a junior like me..."

"..."

As he spoke, he also walked to the back of the coffin, raising his hand to support it, while his own carriage was pulled to the side.

The State Preceptor listened and was slightly surprised, but he only smiled faintly and led the horse pulling the coffin.

In such matters of funeral and marriage, various customs are often intertwined, known as rituals, but in reality, it's also a form of asserting one's authority.

Younger ones often dare not argue with their elders about these rituals, and the exchange of words between them is a way of testing each other.

But when he heard Hu Ma, he took a step back on this matter.

Hu Ma also turned to the crowd by the city gate, regardless of whether he knew them or not, as he could guess their identities. He bowed deeply and said, "Dear uncles and elders, I am honored by your presence, but even though I am a descendant of the Hu family, my father has not yet been buried, and the elders in the ancestral hall are still waiting for a pillar of incense. Without these rituals, it is not yet time for me to assume the role of the head of the Hu family..."

"Now, I am just a junior in the Hu family, and you are all my elders. There is no need for such empty gestures to flatter me."

"..."

Hearing this, everyone smiled and nodded, not responding with words, but just letting him be.

The city gate had long been opened, but no one rushed to greet Hu Ma, or rather, it was Hu Shan, Hu Ma's father, who was the first to enter the city.

As the carriage wheels rolled and they entered the city, the Old Abacus had already jumped down from the donkey.

He glanced at the State Preceptor from the crowd but dared not speak, shrinking his head and quietly following behind the carriage. The other servants were also stunned by the scene and dared not say a word.

Among the crowd, the most composed was the Kindness Fairy, who had also dismounted, but she looked around curiously.

The most confused was Thursday Miss.

Even before coming to the capital, she had been thinking about her family matters, considering the identity of the Ghost Grand Swordmaster. Her father didn't seem to mind, often saying that as long as she could get married, he didn't care about the other family's background. However, her mother loved to nag, always insisting on finding a suitable match. The identity of the Ghost Grand Swordmaster was something she wasn't sure her mother would approve of...

But just as she was having these thoughts, she witnessed Hu Ma's return to the capital and the respect shown by the Ten Surnames.

She also heard what Hu Ma said at the city gate.

She suddenly felt a bit dazed, and after a long while, she turned to the Kindness Fairy in disbelief, "What did they just say?"

"What about the Hu family's descendants?"

"..."

Seeing her confusion, the Kindness Fairy and the Old Abacus, who had intentionally stayed in the back, were also taken aback. Even Little Red Tang stared at her in surprise.

After a long pause, the Old Abacus lowered his voice, "You didn't know... all this time?"

Thursday Miss stomped her foot, "He never told me!"

"This..."

For a moment, no one knew what to say, and they quickly entered the city quietly.

Only Thursday Miss seemed dazed, taking deep and shallow steps as if in a dream, following along in a daze.

As they entered the city, they could see the well-arranged streets, rows of houses, and the streets had already been cleared. Shops lined both sides, but not a single one was open.

Only in the alleys by the street, people crowded, all craning their necks to watch the newcomers from a distance.

Looking ahead, they saw a memorial arch, and below it, a funeral altar had been set up. A group of mourners, all dressed in white, stood there, and the one in front, who seemed to be the eldest, was an elderly man. He appeared to be of a higher generation and didn't wear mourning attire, only a white band on his arm. On the right was a middle-aged man.

Dressed in light-colored silk, he also didn't wear mourning attire but had a white mourning robe draped over his body.

When they saw the coffin entering the city, the two men came forward to greet them, and those wearing white followed suit.

Some even scattered spirit money, and the musicians played their instruments.

Seeing this scene, Hu Ma frowned slightly.

But at this moment, someone quietly approached and said in a low voice, "Young Master Hu, I am Tao Kui, a single-named official from the Zhou family's Hall of Affairs."

"I know that the Hu family has just returned to the capital, and as a junior, you may not be aware of many things. I am here at the order of your father to offer some guidance and explanation."

"These two in front are both relatives of the Hu family."

"This one here is the Old Patriarch of the Qingyuan Hu family, who just arrived in the capital a few days ago."

"Although they are no longer on the same family tree as the Curse Suppressing Hu family, in terms of blood relation, you should call him Second Ancestor."

"The Ren family's Great Master... is your uncle."

"The Curse Suppressing Hu family is a separate branch, but they have come to send off Mr. Hu Shan, and it is proper for them to be here."

"..."

Hu Ma listened and reacted for a moment before understanding.

The Old Patriarch of the Qingyuan Hu family was the branch that had received blessings from the Hu family, and several members of that branch had been killed by their own hands. He hadn't expected them to come at this time.

In addition, there was also someone from the Ren family... His biological mother had long since lost contact with her family, but he never expected to meet someone from his mother's clan.

However, the head of the Zhou family had thought it through and, fearing that he might not understand, arranged for someone to come and guide him.

Since he had come in the name of sending off the deceased, he naturally would not show any displeasure and simply followed the funeral rites.

Amidst the crowd that surrounded and guided him, he moved forward, and the more he saw of this majestic city, the more extraordinary its aura became. However, it was shrouded in a pervasive, sinister ghostly aura.

Nowadays, on both sides of the city's wide roads, funeral altars were occasionally set up. Some people offered incense, some burned paper offerings, some swept and cleaned, some recited sutras and offered blessings, and so on. The Zhou family's question-answering official, standing by his side, kept explaining to him: "This person is from this family, that person is from that clan, this one is an old acquaintance of the ancestors, that one is a descendant of the Bai family..."

As they moved forward, the ground was covered in pale white. Hu Ma walked slowly, and his heart couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.

The Hu family had been struggling to survive in the Old Yin Mountain, isolated and on the brink of extinction.

Now, they had just returned to the capital, but unexpectedly, so many relatives had emerged...

In the coffin was the dry bones of someone who had died in the Old Yin Mountain over a decade ago, with no one to care for them. But now, upon returning to the capital, the streets were filled with white mourning cloths, and it seemed as if they had more dignity in death than they ever had in life.

As he first arrived in the capital and didn't know his way around, seeing these funeral altars on both sides guided his path. He was curious and lowered his voice, asking the Zhou family's question-answering official:

"With so many people, where are they leading the way to?"

The Zhou family's question-answering official replied: "Of course, it's to the Hu family."

"Doesn't Young Master Hu know that the Hu family also has a residence in the capital?"

"?"

Hu Ma was surprised: "I really didn't know that!"

Hadn't the Hu family's assets been reduced to just one or two thatched huts in the Old Yin Mountain? How could they have a mansion in the capital? But indeed, they did.

As they gradually entered the city, they reached a high wall, and in the distance, they saw a large manor.

Two large white funeral lanterns were already hanging at the entrance, with the character "Funeral Rites" written on them. A group of servants, whom Hu Ma had never seen before, were wearing mourning clothes and kneeling at the manor's entrance.

An elderly-looking servant approached from afar, bowed to Hu Ma, and respectfully addressed him:

"Master, you have returned."

"This old servant has been guarding the Hu family's manor for twenty years. The gates have been closed for twenty years, and today they have finally been opened."

"..."

Since Mr. Hu Shan had not yet been buried, in the eyes of others, Hu Ma was merely "Young Master."

But in the mouth of this old servant, there was no longer a master; he was now "Master."

Hu Ma took a deep breath, nodded in agreement, and the servants had already removed the threshold. The group carrying the coffin entered the manor.

Instantly, a chorus of wailing filled the courtyard.

The ones wailing were all servants, bought from the slave market after learning that Hu Ma was returning to the capital.

Although their cries were loud, they lacked a bit of sincerity.

Or perhaps, everything they had heard along the way was fake, after all, the person had been gone for over a decade, and Hu Ma couldn't cry sincerely.

The carriage entered the manor, and the coffin was carried down and placed on a platform covered with a white canopy. After Hu Ma carried the coffin to the north, things temporarily came to a pause, and what remained was the actual funeral procession to the ancestral hall.

By the time they arrived, the mourners had followed them to the Hu family, and the housekeeper was there serving tea.

Hu Ma had just been led into the hall and seated when a messenger arrived with a note.

The messenger spoke in a low voice: "The Wang family invites the young master to the Zhi Shou Pavilion for a banquet to welcome the Hu family's young master."

"I won't go."

Hu Ma had already seen enough along the way and knew what was going on.

Most of the ten surname families were not in the capital, except for the Immortal Wang family, whose ancestral business was still in the capital.

Nowadays, people from the various branches of the ten surnames had come from afar. Although they all had some assets in the capital and even had people staying there, they were actually unfamiliar with the place. Therefore, the Immortal Wang family, also belonging to the ten surnames, had become the host in the capital.

The ten surname families wanted to invite him to a banquet and sent the invitation under the Wang family's name.

Hu Ma could guess what the ten surname families wanted to tell him, but he directly refused.

"I have just come from carrying the coffin from the Old Yin Mountain, and my biological father has not yet been buried. I haven't even burned the incense at the ancestral hall. How could I have the heart to attend a banquet?"

He waved his hand and said: "Go back and tell them!"

"We've waited for twenty years, what's a few more days?"

"You don't need to meet the other relatives for now. Tell them that tomorrow morning, I will send my father to the ancestral hall and prepare the offerings to commemorate Grandmother."

"Before that, I won't see anyone, no matter who it is!"

"I won't talk about anything, no matter what it is!"

"..."

The elderly servant beside him listened and quickly nodded, then left to deliver the message.

For a moment, the people around were surprised, except for a pair of cold little hands that grabbed Hu Ma's arm. Little Red Tang looked at him timidly: "Brother Hu Ma, I... I sense Grandmother. She's so close to us, she's watching us..."

"..."

Hu Ma patted Little Red Tang's head and said gently: "We'll see Grandmother soon. Nothing is more important than seeing her."

"Isn't that right?"

(End of Chapter)

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