Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains-Chapter 741 - 329, two unexpected congratulatory gifts_2

Hou Yuxiao took a deep breath, interrupting Hou Yuduan's words, and said solemnly, "Let's not rush into anything. We can discuss these issues after the wedding feast tomorrow. Everyone is tired today; go back and rest early!"

All four nodded their heads, bade farewell to each other, and left the great hall.

Hou Yuxiao walked to the top of the main hall, unrolled the map of Shenzhou hanging on the wall behind him, and gazed at Hexi for a long time before finally moving his eyes slowly downward...

"The Nanjiang Temple is a pawn placed here by Sikong Yue. To rely on them to keep an eye on Leiyin Temple is unrealistic. Thus, it seems that the Nanjiang Temple is aimed directly at my Hexi. The Rakshasa Holy Sect is still fighting in Bingzhou, and I must take advantage of the current weakness of Leiyin Temple to remove Sikong Yue's pawn. Otherwise, once she is free from Bingzhou and in concert with the Nanjiang Temple, I'm the one who will suffer!"

Images of Sikong Yue flashed through Hou Yuxiao's mind, and his mood inexplicably became agitated. Thinking back to the first time he met Sikong Yue six years ago, he was so humble.

Today, he was finally able to face Sikong Yue.

...…

In the year 1327 of the New Yu Era, on the eighth day of sixth month,

Lord of Hexi, Family Head of the Hou Clan, Hou Yuxiao celebrated his grand wedding.

The whole Prefectural City of Hexi started the celebration early. Influences from all around, those far away, had already arrived at the Prefectural City of Hexi as of yesterday or the day before, while those nearby chose to arrive today. Together with people from various places, the city's population swelled from the original five million to nearly ten million, doubling in size.

If the Prefectural City was like that, there was no need to describe the Hou Mansion.

"The Jinling Shen Family presents eight White Ginsengs!"

"The Flying Sword Sect from Junkang Prefecture presents six Nine Spirit Jade Bone Grasses!"

"Xiong Yun Gang from Xingnan Prefecture presents ten taels of Mysterious Gold."

"The Earth Spirit Demon Sect from Tao City in Xiayuan presents sixteen jin of Gathering Divine Fragrance."

"The Lu Family from Yunlan gives three Heavenly Sea Spirit Pearls."

"The Wuwei Royal Mansion gives a hundred taels of Mysterious Gold."

"Tongtian Prefecture presents one Spiritual Artifact Traveling Dragon Sword."

"The Ziqing Holy Sect offers a thousand taels of Mysterious Gold, one set of Green Frontier Demon Mask Armor."

...…

The entire Hou Mansion was surrounded so tightly that it was impossible for water to leak through. The main entrance was bustling with carriages and horses. The forces who came from afar to give congratulatory gifts were one after another, each with more prominence than the last, and the presents they brought were more valuable than the next. The lucky ones squeezed in early, while the less fortunate could only stand outside the door. But even just standing outside was enough to greatly expand one's horizons today.

"The Earth Spirit Demon Sect is an Earth Level force, aren't they? They've come too, tsk!"

"Fool, what's the Earth Spirit Demon Sect? Haven't you heard of the Lu Family?"

"Which Lu Family?"

"The Lu Family from Yunlan, don't you know which one?"

"The Three Heroes of Yunlan, a great power at Heaven Level..."

"Hiss... how is that possible?"

"What's so impossible about it? The lady of the house is from the Ziqing Holy Sect, and the GuJiang Lu Clan should be paying respects to the Ziqing Holy Sect's influence."

"Incredible, incomparable! I originally thought that the Master of the Hou Family's wedding would at most cause a stir among the forces of the Yong and Xu States, but now it seems that people all over the world must know."

...…

Sounds of congratulations, admiration, envy, and astonishment filled the inside and outside of the Hou Mansion. There wasn't a single quiet place in the entire Hou Clan. The main actors, the Martial Artists of the Hou Mansion, basked in the well-wishing of the many forces. Everyone they met unconsciously puffed out their chests and held their heads high.

Just greeting the forces who came to present their gifts had been a non-stop affair from morning until noon. Even a rough count revealed several hundred families. The myriad of gifts were eye-catching. Without exception, to ordinary people and even Martial Artists, they were all treasures of inestimable value.

Naturally, there were two minor interludes.

"Lei... Leiyin Temple presents the Buddha Light Screen."

The servant tasked with announcing the congratulatory gifts was somewhat doubtful when it came to mentioning Leiyin Temple, not to mention the various guests. When they heard that Leiyin Temple had also sent a gift, the entrance of the Hou Mansion suddenly quieted down.

Leiyin Temple, sending gifts to the Hou Clan?

It hadn't been long since the battle at Longxiang Ferry, and Leiyin Temple should hate Hou Yuxiao and the Hou Clan to the bone. Not causing trouble was one thing, but to send gifts? How could that be possible?

"This is also... out of respect for the Ziqing Holy Sect, right?"

"No, no, no. Although Leiyin Temple is only a Quasi-Holy Land, after all, it is the head of the Chan Sect. By right, it should be equal in status to the Ziqing Holy Sect, which is the head of Taoism. Do they need to give face to the Ziqing Holy Sect and submit to the Hou Clan?"

"Yet they really did send a gift!"

"And what was given, was a spiritual artifact."

...…

If the arrival of Leiyin Temple with a wedding gift was merely surprising, the second interjection instantaneously set the whole venue ablaze with excitement.

"Rakshasa Holy Sect presents a Merit Gold Page!"

Gasps...…

The appearance of the Rakshasa Holy Sect caused a sudden collective shock, silence fell over the crowd as everyone doubted their ears. Only when it was repeated a second time and confirmed to be true did the venue erupt into a frenzy of speculation.

"Rakshasa Holy Sect has come as well."

"This is simply unimaginable!"

"But what exactly is this Merit Gold Page?"

"Don't know what it is, but it must be very precious."

"What makes you say that?"

"Didn't you see? The Master of the Hou Family has come out in person."

...…

Rakshasa Holy Sect's appearance was astonishing, and reasonably so. Although Rakshasa had withdrawn from the Xiayuan Taoism, it was after all the master, and with the declining reputation of Leiyin Temple, some speculated that after conquering Bingzhou, Rakshasa would certainly return.

The Hou Clan is flourishing now, but the astute have already seen the reality - Rakshasa retreated, and right on its heels, the Hou's allied with the Ziqing Holy Sect. Clearly, the Hexi region found a new pillar of support, and this support had likely been there for quite some time.

Some now even suspected that in the battle at Longxiang Ferry, the reason the Hou Clan could defeat Leiyin Temple was that Ziqing Holy Sect must have made a move in secret.

How did the Hou Clan rise to prominence in the past years?

Previously relying on the Holy Maiden and later on Zhan Taiqing, Hou Yuxiao's reputation for living off women, despite to this day, still circulates widely.

The moment they left, you found someone else and even proceeded to marry them. Following this line of thought, the Hou's are no different from traitors to Rakshasa Holy Sect. Would Rakshasa send a wedding gift to a traitor?

...

What people thought of the Rakshasa Holy Sect's wedding gift, Hou Yuxiao did not know. At this moment, he took the Merit Gold Page handed to him by Peng Yuhu, felt its resonance with the Merit Gold Page in his Sea of Consciousness and his face showed a gravity never seen before.

"Master Hou... Master Hou?"

As Hou Yuxiao was lost in thought, he was brought back to the present by Peng Yuhu's call. Looking up at Peng Yuhu, although his heart was weighty, he managed to force a slight smile.

"Mr. Peng, thank you for taking the trouble to make this journey."

"I dare not accept the honorific of 'Master'; Mr. Peng humbly declines!"

Hearing the term 'Master,' Peng Yuhu quickly bent down and lowered his head, waving his hands repeatedly, his heart much heavier than that of Hou Yuxiao.

It was just five years ago in this city that he first saw Hou Yuxiao, who at the time was only at the Gang Qi Realm and faced life-threatening dangers under the oppression of Ding Dian and his apprentices. Eventually, Hou exploded in rage and killed Cheng Yue, and even begged Peng for help to deal with Ding Dian and Zhou Xuan.

Now, Hou Yuxiao was a being he had to look up to!

Facing such unpredictability of the world, Peng Yuhu couldn't help but feel deeply nostalgic.

"Mr. Peng, we were acquainted in the past, there's no need for such formality!"

"Times have changed, Master Hou. Now esteemed as the Lord of Hexi, remembering me is already more than I could ask for. Additionally, on this occasion, I am merely acting on order. Master Hou, should you wish to express gratitude, it should be directed at the Holy Sect, not at me."

...

Hou Yuxiao certainly knew who had sent this Merit Gold Page.

Thinking of the identical Merit Gold Page inside his Sea of Consciousness, given to him by Sikong Yue six years ago, Hou Yuxiao's heart grew incredibly heavy.

Unconsciously, his mind conjured the indifferent face of Sikong Yue, casting a shadow over his spirit momentarily.

"Is this a warning, then?"

...…

There was no chance of figuring out this matter in the short term. Hou Yuxiao carefully pocketed the Merit Gold Page and ushered Peng Yuhu inside, continuing with his wedding. After the conclusion of the two incidents, all the guests had almost arrived.

"The bride is coming...…"

The emcee's resonant call pushed the wedding ceremony to its climax. Hou Yuxiao straightened his clothes and walked to the entrance of the main hall of Hou Mansion. He watched Zhao Qingxue, dressed in a phoenix robe and a bridal headdress covered by a red veil, walking towards him with gentle steps, his eyes filled with tenderness...