Then, as Phoenix smiled and wiped her hands, from a particular angle, Chen Xiao noticed a faint scar on her lips as she smiled. Suddenly, Chen Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but blurt out, "Ah! It was you that day!"
Phoenix gave Chen Xiao a strange look, reached out and took an incense stick from the table. With a flick of her finger, a flame spontaneously appeared at her fingertip and lit the incense stick.
Phoenix glanced at the Xiao family members lying on the ground, then at Old Master Xiao standing to the side with a somewhat shocked expression, and finally even smiled at Xiao Qing in the distance.
She quickly turned around, bowed three times to the ancestral tablets of the Xiao family enshrined above, and then inserted incense sticks into the incense burner.
During this process, several members of the Xiao family rushed up from behind, but Phoenix knelt on the ground and did not turn around. She simply flicked her hand lightly, and the several members of the Xiao family flew out into the air.
"Grandpa, is the ceremony complete?" Phoenix stood up after finishing everything, smiling at Old Master Xiao with her hands behind her back: "After registering names, offering sacrifices to ancestors, and burning incense, we have informed our ancestors. In any case, we have informed our ancestors that I, Xiao Phoenix, am now a member of the Xiao family!"
The old man, however, did not seem too annoyed. He was only surprised by the phoenix's appearance and even more surprised by its abilities.
"Who exactly are you..." The old man's voice was very serious. Phoenix's appearance was exactly the same as Xiao Qing's, which made the old man vaguely think of something.
"I told you I'm from the Xiao family. I've come here today to acknowledge my ancestors and return to my roots," Huang replied with a smile.
"..." The old man stared at the phoenix, but suddenly raised his hand forcefully and made a gesture to stop the other Xiao family members who wanted to rush up.
Then, after a few seconds of consideration, the old man took a deep breath, his eyes still fixed on the phoenix, and shouted, "The clan gathering is over! Everyone, leave the ancestral hall! Heads of each branch, keep a close eye on your clansmen! Go to the old house and wait!"
Several elders of the Xiao family were stunned, and one of them couldn't help but exclaim, "Clan leader..."
"Listen to me, get out!" Old Master Xiao said sternly.
The people in the ancestral hall immediately erupted in commotion. However, seeing the unprecedented majesty of the old patriarch's expression, many finally opened the ancestral hall gates under the urging of the elders in charge of each branch of the family, and the crowd dispersed.
"Elders, stay here, and... Xiao Qing, stay here too!" The old patriarch's low-pitched command sparked a lot of speculation. However, some of the more hesitant ones, after being swept over by the old patriarch's stern gaze, immediately became trembling with fear and quickly ran out. Even those on the ground were swiftly dragged away.
"Close the door. No one is allowed to come in without my permission!"
The heavy doors creaked shut, leaving only nine elders of the Xiao family clan, including Old Master Xiao, Chen Xiao, Fenghuang, and Xiao Qing in the large ancestral hall.
"This little girl, now you can tell my old man what you want to say!" Old Master Xiao snorted heavily.
Phoenix, still wearing a respectful smile, bowed slightly and said, "Grandpa, I was rude just now. You are my patriarch, so please punish me severely for my mistake."
Old Master Xiao squinted and remained silent, but several elders beside him could no longer contain their tempers. Some of the elders glared and shouted, "Where did you come from, you little brat, running wild in my Xiao family's ancestral hall! You're just relying on your power!"
Phoenix deliberately put on an innocent expression and blinked her big eyes a few times: "I don't have any connections with anyone, I'm just a member of the Xiao family."
"Ha! The Xiao family? You're just spouting nonsense, what evidence do you have!"
Phoenix stroked her chin, a sly smile playing on her lips. "Evidence... isn't difficult. Luckily, this isn't ancient times, so we don't need to play those blood-dropping kinship tricks. Hmm, we can do a DNA test. This pretty little sister and I are genuine sisters!"
As she spoke, Phoenix glanced at Xiao Qing, who stared in astonishment, his mouth agape.
At that moment, she felt quite absurd. She wasn't thinking about anything else, but only a strange thought kept flashing through her mind.
It's her! It must be her! She's the girl Chen Xiao mentioned, the one who looks so much like me… She, she really does look like me! It's her!!
"Hmph, what DNA testing!" an elder roared. "You barged in so recklessly, causing such a ruckus in my Xiao family's ancestral hall! Little girl, don't think you can act recklessly just because you have some skills!"
As he spoke, several clan elders gathered around.
Those who can serve as clan elders are the most senior members of the Xiao family, closest to the patriarch Xiao, and are also among the most senior experts in the Xiao family clan.
Although the group of old men were all white-haired, when it came to fighting power, they were far superior to the young members of the Xiao family who had just attacked.
Phoenix chuckled softly, then suddenly stood next to Chen Xiao, looking at him and saying, "Hey, they look like they're going to beat me up! You're someone's boyfriend, are you just going to watch me get beaten up?"
Chen Xiao touched his nose and stared at Phoenix.
Phoenix sighed, "I could have made a move just now, but I can't now! I... I can't get too close to her."
After saying that, he pointed at Xiao Qing.
Almost simultaneously, the two girls' eyes met, and suddenly they both swayed. Xiao Qing and Fenghuang's faces turned pale at the same time, and Fenghuang even grabbed Chen Xiao's arm, almost collapsing.
Xiao Qing also plopped down on a stool next to her. If she hadn't managed to keep her balance, she would have fallen right down.
“One minute…” Phoenix gave a bitter laugh, but pulled hard on Chen Xiao’s arm and rested her head on Chen Xiao’s shoulder: “Idiot, Xiao Qing and I can’t be together for more than one minute. Our brainwave magnetic fields repel each other. When we are together, we will both temporarily lose all our abilities.”
Chen Xiao felt his mind was in complete chaos. He opened his mouth, looked at Fenghuang, then at Xiao Qing, and then at Master Xiao and the others.
"Don't rush into action." Old Master Xiao, after all, still understood things somewhat, staring at Phoenix: "You and that girl Xiao Qing..."
"Yes." Phoenix's forehead was already sweating, and she leaned limply against Chen Xiao. If Chen Xiao hadn't held her waist in time, she would have really slid under the table.
"Sisters? Who can testify?" Old Master Xiao dared not be rash and said in a deep voice, "This is no small matter, I cannot listen to you rashly! Hmph, looking alike is perhaps a coincidence... Besides, with science so advanced now, plastic surgery is not a difficult thing!"
"Hmph, the Xiao family has mountains of gold and silver. Why would I impersonate them to covet anything? Even if they really did have mountains of gold and silver, I wouldn't even look at them." Phoenix smiled weakly, but stared at Chen Xiao: "Hey, they're going to attack me. Will you help me or not?"
Chapter 271 [Embracing Both Beauties]
Looking into Phoenix's eyes, Chen Xiao hesitated. Although he recognized Phoenix as the girl he had "kissed" with that day, he still couldn't remember who she was. He only instinctively felt that the girl in his arms should be someone extremely close to him. However, he had only recently been recognized as a member of the Xiao family, and Old Master Xiao had been very kind to him, being an elder... He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately his instincts prevailed. He sighed and whispered to Phoenix, "Just behave yourself and don't cause trouble. I won't let anyone hurt you."
Phoenix seemed quite pleased to hear this, letting out a "haha" and wrapping her arms around Chen Xiao's neck.
Xiao Qing, sitting at a distance, turned pale upon seeing this scene.
Chen Xiao gently reached out and removed Phoenix's arm from his neck, then glanced at Old Master Xiao: "Old Master, what do you think of this matter..."
“Unauthorized trespassing in my Xiao family ancestral hall will naturally be punished. It’s not that easy…” An elder was about to speak when Old Master Xiao gave a soft “humph” and the elder immediately shut his mouth, glancing hesitantly at the pillar of the Xiao family.
"You say you're from the Xiao family, but that's just talk. And your appearance isn't enough to prove your identity either. Unless you give me a convincing reason," Old Master Xiao paused, then said in a deep voice, "Even if you really are a member of the Xiao family, barging into the ancestral hall, disrupting the clan gathering, and rashly registering your name for ancestral worship is a highly disrespectful act!"
"That's going to be difficult." Phoenix smiled weakly, feeling a little dizzy, but she forced herself to stay awake. "Grandpa, I don't have an ID card or a birth certificate or anything like that. As for blood relations, testing takes time."