Stealing the Pen: Kirin's Primordial Lotus

Zhang Xishan drove the carriage, carrying the sick Zhang Qishan, Mr. Qi Baye and some of his personal soldiers, and finally arrived at the foot of the Zhang family area, which was once like a mountain pressing down on their side branch.

The carriage driven by Zhang Dianshan stopped in front of the stone tablet.

Master Qi Ba felt the carriage stop and asked, "Adjutant, are we there yet?"

"It's almost there, we're at the door. As long as we pass this line of life and death, we'll reach the Zhang family's old house." Zhang Dianshan looked at the stone tablet and couldn't help but tighten the reins of the carriage.

Master Qi Ba listened to some words that seemed a little strange, and was still thinking: How can there be a life-and-death line in this family? Master Ba, thinking this, stuck his head out of the carriage, and just when he was about to ask Zhang Xishan what was going on, he saw a stone tablet erected not far in front of the carriage.

The inscription on the stone tablet reads "If you are not from my tribe, you will die if you enter my territory."

Not far behind the stone tablet stood several stone statues, and at the feet of those statues lay a pile of bones.

When Mr. Qi jumped out of the car, he sprained his ankle and followed Zhang Xishan carefully.

"Adjutant, what did your family do before? Why do you have to set up such a dangerous mechanism at the front door of your house?" Mr. Qi Ba hid behind Zhang Xishan and clutched Zhang Xishan's sleeve.

"The Zhang family is a very large family, divided into the inner sect and the outer sect. The inner sect consists of direct descendants of the Zhang family, their bloodline is very pure, and they all have Qilin tattoos on their bodies. The outer sect consists of collateral branches, their bloodline is not pure enough, and they cannot always serve the inner sect, so the outer sect members usually do things that have nothing to do with family affairs, and they have tattoos of poverty on their bodies."

"Qiongqi is a vicious beast. How dare you use this evil creature to stab your family members?"

It was also the first time that Mr. Qi Ba heard about their family from Zhang Xishan, and he was shocked to see that they tattooed the Qiongqi pattern on people from their side branches.

"The direct descendants of the Zhang family's old house can be said to be the kings of the entire underground world. We have to practice various mechanical arts since we were young, such as the hair-raising finger, bone-shrinking skills, and disguise... as well as identifying antique items from different dynasties. We even practice the celestial star feng shui technique, locating locations by listening to sounds, and so on."

"Wait a minute, adjutant, since the tattoo on Master Buddha's body is of Qiongqi, how do you know so much about the inner sect?" Master Qi Ba was puzzled as to how Zhang Xishan knew so much.

"I am different from Master Fo. Master Fo is the product of intermarriage between the direct lineage and outsiders, while I am a direct lineage member. My parents are also direct lineage members of the Zhang family."

"Then is it Master Buddha's father or mother who is the legitimate descendant?"

"Master Buddha's father was the son of the previous clan leader, but because he violated clan rules, he cut off his right arm and left the Zhang family."

"This is too inhumane. Just because you marry someone who doesn't share the same surname, you have to cut off one of your arms. Isn't the Buddha's grandfather the patriarch of your Zhang family? Shouldn't he protect his son and grandson a little bit?"

"The Buddha's grandfather is not the real clan leader. He is only the acting clan leader. When the real clan leader appears, the position will be returned to him. And there are elders around the clan leader to check and balance each other, so..."

"I see. Your family really has a lot of rules. So how should we get there now? I can't just leave you guys alone here! There's no shelter here, and there's no one around."

Mr. Qi glanced at Zhang Xishan awkwardly, then looked around at the place full of bamboos, with no village in front and no shop behind.

"Master Ba, don't worry, there are so many of us here, we can always protect you and get in safely."

After saying this, Zhang Xishan arranged his men to pass the levels one by one.

After everyone had passed the line between life and death, Zhang Tingshan drove the carriage straight to the gate of the old house.

Everyone arrived at the gate of the old house before dark.

Zhang Xianshan's bad premonition finally came true. He saw that the door of the old house was empty, without a single person. There was no sign of life inside the old house.

It seemed as if this old house had been vacant for a long time and no one had lived in it, but looking at the spotless ground at the door, there was a glimmer of hope.

Zhang Xishan went to knock on the door, hoping that someone would open it.

However, it happened that a group of people had come to the old house before Zhang Tingshan and his group. They were cleaning inside at this moment and felt surprised when they heard someone knocking at the door.

How could someone follow them when they came here quietly?

Zhang Dianshan stood at the steps in front of the door, watching the door slowly open. A somewhat cold young man holding a broom walked out.

"Senior, Zhang Xishan is here to ask for help!"

Zhang Xishan and his personal soldiers knelt down before the visitor and begged for help.

The visitor was stunned when he saw the dozen or so people suddenly kneeling down.

"Zhang Dianshan? Didn't he leave with the traitor who was driven out of the Zhang family? How come he would still need our help?" The visitor thought for a long time before he remembered who this Zhang Dianshan was.

Zhang Xishan kowtowed several times.

"Wait! I'll go ask the clan leader."

After saying that, the man came with a broom and slammed the door.

Zhang Xishan and others did not dare to get up and had to kneel at the door. Mr. Qi Ba was sitting in the carriage and did not dare to move, for fear that people would discover that he, a foreigner, had entered their territory.

Zhang Tingshan waited until his legs were numb from kneeling for a while before the gate opened again. Zhang Tingshan watched a group of people walk out, surrounded by a young man.