"You! You!" Huo Xiaoxiao almost fainted from anger, but she hadn't completely lost her temper. She glanced at Lin Qi, who had been silently watching the show from the side, and swallowed her resentment: "You just wait, this time, I will definitely succeed!"
Turning away angrily, Huo Xiaoxiao grabbed Huo Yi and pulled her to her side, shoving and pushing her: "What are you dawdling about? Can't you even do something as simple as carrying luggage?"
Seeing that the scene had finally quieted down again, Lin Qi then spoke: "You have half an hour to rest. In half an hour, gather here. We are going to hike into the Crimson Forest."
Stone pulled Linda away from the Huo sisters, while the Kru siblings glanced fearfully at their cousin. Nana, however, calmly issued the order: "This is the outpost before entering the Crimson Forest. Actually, this isn't part of the Crimson Forest itself, but from here onwards, the road is no longer suitable for vehicles. So we'll be walking from here. You can go get something to eat first, and take care of your personal needs."
Except for Nana and Shi Tou, everyone else blushed. Huo Xiaoxiao glared at her angrily, then pulled Huo Yi and strode away. Seeing this, Shi Tou also pulled Linda aside.
They brought food and other necessities. Linda's bundle contained hard-crusted bread from home; although it didn't taste very good, its advantages were that it was easy to store and kept you full for a long time. She also brought two large water bags. Stone's bundle actually contained only a few light clothes; she had put the heavier items in her ring space.
They found a relatively clean place to sit down. Stone and Linda ate a little something and drank some water before they saw Lin Yao arrive with his men.
"Oh, so they gave us a half-hour break to wait for them!" Linda exclaimed in realization. "They run really fast."
Stone glanced at her indifferently and understood. All that talk about having been to the Crimson Forest before was a lie. This child clearly had never left home: "Time's almost up, let's go!"
He beckoned Linda to move closer to Lin Yao and the others, but unexpectedly, a loud noise suddenly erupted from the carriage ahead.
Stone and Linda exchanged a surprised glance. Could it be that Huo Xiaoxiao and Nana were at odds again?!
☆, Chapter 110: The Emerging Family - Hollin
Obviously not...
Stone stood not far away, tiptoeing, watching the crowd in front of him.
In the middle of the crowd stood Lynch, and opposite him stood a young man with long blond hair. Clearly, the people surrounding the two were the blond man's companions.
"Lin Qi, how dare you show your face here? I remember you lost the last spring hunt, right? Heh heh, I never expected that while your Starshine Mercenary Group may not be good at anything else, you certainly have a thick skin!" the blond man said rudely.
"Shouldn't I be the one saying that to you? Yes, we lost the last spring hunt, but your Eternal Night Mercenary Group has been having a tough time lately, hasn't it? The Beth family has mobilized the entire clan to hunt you down, and your elites have been almost wiped out. Tsk tsk, if it weren't for that, you wouldn't have become the leader this time, would you?" Lin Qi glanced at him contemptuously and said indifferently.
The blond man was about to speak when Lin Yao suddenly appeared in front of them: "Dali Terunsu! What are you trying to do?"
Not all milk is called Mengniu...
It felt like being struck by lightning!
The stone turned to stone in a spectacular fashion. Holy crap, there really is someone with that name?!
"Oh, isn't this Young Master Lin? Why are you leading the team this time? Is there no one left in the Lin family?" Dali—well, let's just call him Mengniu, look how funny that name is—gave Lin Yao a sinister look, but before Lin Yao could speak again, he turned and left.
Stone watched silently as Terunsu and his men left, then pulled Linda closer to Lin Yao and the others: "We're back. Are we about to set off?"
Lin Yao glanced at the stone, then pointed at the Terunsu that had just left and hadn't gone far, and said, "Have you seen that person before in the capital?"
What?! Stone glanced at Terunsu again, swallowing hard. "This..."
"You don't remember, do you?" Lin Qi kindly answered for Stone, "Young Master Lin, you're making things too difficult for him. Dali Terunsu isn't an important person, who would remember him!"
Lin Yao gave Lin Qi a reproachful look, as if blaming him for meddling: "Alright. Gather the people together. These seven children are yours."
Lin Qi scratched his head with a troubled expression: "Young Master, could you let me do something else next time? This job is just too..."
"Stop talking nonsense and take good care of them." Lin Yao left with his men without looking back.
Shi Tou stared at Lin Qi in disbelief, then asked uncertainly, "Um, Brother Lin Qi..."
Lin Qi gave Shi Tou a resentful look: "It's okay, you can call me uncle. My son is older than you."
Shi Tou shuddered. Did this other world actually encourage early marriage? "Uncle Lin Qi, I just want to ask. When we enter the Crimson Forest, are you the only one responsible for taking care of us?"
Lin Qi nodded: "Yeah, what else do you want?"
Shi Tou suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. Um, was it too late for her to regret it now?
But before she could regret it, the others came over as well. Lin Qi looked at Nanako and said, "From now on, Nanako, you will be in charge of counting the number of people. I will only be responsible for your safety."
Nana nodded to indicate that she understood, and then quickly looked around: "Everyone is here, we can leave at any time."
Lynch gestured for everyone to follow him. The Huo sisters followed closely behind, with Stone and Linda behind them, followed by the Kru siblings, while Nana automatically moved to the back of the group.
For some reason, Stone felt something was off. After looking around for a while, it dawned on him. There were eight people in the group, including Lin Qi. Apart from Stone and Linda, no one had any luggage. That meant either they had all forgotten to bring their luggage (⊙o⊙), or they all had those legendary spatial items (╯▽╰)?
These questions were immediately answered during the rest period half a day later. Lin Qi simply flipped his wrist, and a huge tent appeared out of thin air on the open ground: "There are three rooms inside the tent. Young Master Kru will share a room, and Nana can arrange the rest. Now, enter the tent immediately."
Stone pursed his lips. He then pulled a horrified Linda into the tent.
It was a huge tent, somewhat like the yurts Stone had seen in his previous life, but not as tall. There were indeed three rooms inside, but the so-called rooms were just partitions made of felt. Nana stood at the doorway, pointing to the outermost room and saying, "Cage, you sleep in this one."
Cage Crew obediently lifted the curtain and went inside.
"Huo Xiaoxiao, Huo Yi, you two sleep in this room," Nana said, pointing to the room on the other side.
"Why should I?" Huo Xiaoxiao protested, "I want to sleep in the middle!"
Nana ignored her completely and turned to Stone and Linda, saying, "My cousin and I will live in the middle. You two can choose for yourselves."
Stone, expressionless, pulled Linda into the middle room, followed by Nana and Annie, leaving Huo Xiaoxiao outside jumping up and down in frustration.
"Hehe, sister, that Miss Huo is so funny. Does she think she's the most amazing person in the world?" Anne Cree was a cheerful little girl, unlike her twin brother, she was very lively.
"Ignore her, even her father looks down on her now." Nana curled her lip dismissively: "By the way, this tent has been magically treated, it's very safe."
Stone knew these words were specifically addressed to him and Linda, so he looked up and smiled at Nana: "Thanks for the reminder."
I glanced around casually. The tent wasn't exactly fancy, but it had everything a room should have. A thick felt blanket was spread on the floor, with a pile of sleeping bags and animal hides on top, and some dry rations nearby.
"Take the sleeping bags and animal hides as you like, but be careful with the rations; some of them are leftovers from last year." Nana, quite unlike her earlier brashness towards Huo Xiaoxiao, kindly reminded Shi Tou, "Miss Bess, didn't you get any Blood Bead Fruit last time?"
Stone was holding a sleeping bag and studying how to use it. What could she do? She'd been a homebody in her past life and had never used such things before. Hearing Nana's words, Stone quickly came up with an explanation: "Yeah, the last time I went into the Crimson Forest, it didn't go very smoothly. Then something else happened, and I was so focused on escaping that I didn't even have time to look for the Blood Pearl Fruit."
"That's already pretty good. If I were left alone in the Crimson Forest, I'd be terrified. You've done a great job." Nana saw Stone dragging a sleeping bag and frantically fussing over it in a very unladylike manner, and her lips twitched slightly. "Miss Beth, are you a direct descendant of the Beth family?"
Direct descendants? This is probably the same concept as the concept of legitimate and illegitimate children in ancient times, right?
After a moment's hesitation, Shi Tou decisively said, "No."
"And this is Miss Beth?" Nana asked, still not giving up.
"No, I'm just Miss's servant." Linda was a little nervous. She had been instilled with the idea of aristocracy from a young age, so she naturally knew what a crime it was to impersonate a nobleman. Although she changed her name because she followed Stone, she still couldn't help feeling uneasy.
Nana looked back and forth between Stone and Linda in surprise: "You two..."
Stone felt it was better to be clear about some things: "Linda is my servant, a servant I just took in in Tingyun Town. We signed a master-servant contract." Anyway, Linda only said that she couldn't tell her grandmother about the master-servant contract, but she didn't say that she couldn't tell anyone else.
Looking at Linda and seeing that she didn't react in any particular way, Stone continued, "I am the real young lady of the Beth family, but I am only from a collateral branch. By the way, Sister Nana, you can just call me Serena."
“Okay, then Serena, you can call me Nana too. By the way, this is my cousin Annie.” Nana said to Stone, pointing to Annie.
Stone noticed that she had just said "you" instead of "you all," and understood. It seemed that she still minded Linda's status as a servant: "Nanako, Anne, from now on we are partners."
To be honest, compared to Huo Xiaoxiao, who's like a firecracker that can explode at any moment, Shi Tou would rather be friends with the Nana sisters: "By the way, Nana, do you know that..." He pointed to the side: "What's going on?"
Nana laughed brightly: "The eldest daughter of the Huo family! Humph, good background, good looks, but not much talent, and bad luck too. She's already come to the Crimson Forest three times and eaten a total of seven Blood Bead Fruits, but she still hasn't been able to activate her talent for fire magic. Isn't that tragic?"
"She's already nine years old. I remember the Blood Pearl Fruit only works on people under ten. What if she doesn't succeed this time?" Stone's face showed a hint of pity, but in her heart she was quite dismissive. With Huo Xiaoxiao's personality, even if she succeeds this time, her future path won't be easy.
"Didn't you see? Huo Yi, the nominal second young lady of the Huo family, is actually the daughter of a slave, a symbol of lowliness. But look what happened? She actually came out with Huo Xiaoxiao this time, which is why I said even Huo Xiaoxiao's father has lost hope in her." Nana spoke with great enthusiasm, not at all worried that Huo Xiaoxiao next door would hear her.
What's even stranger is that it was very quiet next door.
"Sister, if Huo Xiaoxiao fails again this time, are they really going to let her younger sister become the family heir? That's terrifying. What is the Huo family thinking?" Annie frowned and looked at Nana with confusion.
"What else can we do? Watch the family line die out?" Nana raised an eyebrow: "The Huo family... Hmph, nouveau riche are all trash!"
"Sister!" Annie cried out urgently, abruptly interrupting, "Stop talking, the Huo family... the Lin family..."
Nana, reminded by Annie, realized her mistake and smiled awkwardly: "Although the Huo family and the Lin family are both newly established families, they are fundamentally very different."
Stone lowered his head, remaining silent. The Huo family… the Lin family… the emerging family…
☆, Chapter 111 The Rise of the Six Great Families
Shi Tou lowered his head, organized his thoughts, and slowly asked, "Nana Ke, although I'm not very familiar with the Huo and Lin families, aren't they similar families? They seem to be allies, right? Why does it seem like Lin Qi isn't taking special care of Huo Xiaoxiao?"
Nana looked at her in surprise: "I've always heard that the Beth family has a rule that, apart from the eldest son of the direct line, all the young masters and ladies of the collateral branches are sent to other families to be raised. It seems that it is true!"
Shi Tou froze. Was she really that naive? She gave a couple of fawning laughs, then remained silent.
“Serena, the Beth family is an aristocratic family with a history of thousands of years, which is naturally different from these emerging families. You should know that although the Qin family, Shui family, Chu family, Huo family, Lin family, and Han family are known as the six major families in the East, in fact, their power is worlds apart.”
The Six Great Families of the East...
Shi Tou was startled. She remembered that Baozi had once said that its former owner was the sole heir of an ancient Eastern martial arts family. But why would the Six Great Families of the East suddenly appear?!
Stone carefully inquired about the six major families from Nanako, pondering the matter at length. Fortunately, although Nanako was clever, she wasn't particularly cunning, and Stone easily obtained the answers she wanted.
The six great families of the East are relatively new families, having emerged in the last six hundred years. Compared to those aristocratic families with histories spanning thousands of years, they are indeed somewhat insignificant. However, even so, no one dares to underestimate them.
The Qin family is the head of the six major families, possessing power almost equal to the combined strength of the other five. Not only is the family large and prosperous, but it also produces numerous elites. To name just a few, the Qin family currently boasts three nine-star mages, eight eight-star mages, and dozens of seven-star mages. This makes them the undisputed number one family in the Luo Ming Empire.
The Shui family. When it comes to the Shui family, most people have extremely polarized impressions. The reason is simple: the Shui family is a matrilineal family. In fact, in the Luo Ming Empire, many aristocratic families with thousands of years of history have female heirs, but only the Shui family is truly astonishing. The Shui family has always passed down the family tradition to daughters, not sons. All the direct descendants of the eldest daughters marry into the family. However, the Shui family's wealth is considerable; otherwise, they wouldn't rank second among the six great families.
The Chu family was not as famous as the previous two. However, the Chu family was known for its small number of offspring. Basically, each generation only had a few children, and they often did not live to adulthood. Therefore, although the Chu family ranked third among the six major families, very few aristocratic families were willing to form marriage alliances with them.
The Huo family, also known as Huo Xiaoxiao's family. The Huo family was originally the weakest of the six great families, but thanks to two geniuses in this generation—Huo Xiaoxiao's grandfather and her father—the Huo family managed to rise to fourth place. However, some people are spreading rumors that the Huo family will likely fall back to the bottom in Huo Xiaoxiao's generation.
The Lin family's story is a tragedy. Originally a large and prosperous family with many direct and collateral descendants, a great calamity a hundred years ago severely damaged their strength. Although they have had a century to recover, they have barely managed to maintain their second-to-last position. It's worth noting that at its peak, the Lin family was a force to be reckoned with, on par with the Shui family.
As for the Han family, ranked last... well, the Han family is a joke. Ever since the six major families were established, the Han family has been hovering between last and second-to-last place. While the other five major families have experienced ups and downs, the Han family has remained consistently in the same position. You might say they've also fluctuated? Not at all. Since the six major families were established, the Han family's sphere of influence, number of members, and elite talents have remained completely unchanged. As for their fluctuating ranking, that can only be blamed on the instability of the other families.
╮(╯_╰)╭
Shi Tou listened blankly to Nana Ke's story, wondering to himself, "Why does the story of the six great families of the East sound so strange?"
“Serena. Let me tell you, although you weren’t a direct descendant of the family before, things are different now. When you go back, the Beth family will definitely do everything they can to nurture you. Remember, none of the six great families are easy to mess with, but if you have no choice but to mess with someone, then go mess with the Han family.”
"Why?" Stone was depressed. Although they were the last in line of the family, they weren't exactly pushovers, were they?
"Why has the Han family remained unchanged for six hundred years? It's because of their ability to endure!" Nana's lips twitched slightly. "To put it simply, the Han family members are all bullies at home. No matter how fierce their personality is, once they go out, they become as docile as lambs. They make people feel embarrassed to bully them."