Bai Xiang was awakened by a kick, his grandfather lashed out with his foot without the slightest sympathy.
Opening his eyes, he found himself in an unfamiliar place, under the dim light of an oil lamp, the ancient, pancake-like face in front of him almost made him scream; he swiftly bit his hand and shouted in his mind, "Ah... a ghost!"
The pain brought him back to sobriety, and he realized that the scary pancake face was his grandfather, Bai Ming.
"Grandpa, Second Grandpa, and Xingxing, what are you all doing? Why aren’t you sleeping in the middle of the night and instead scaring me? Did I just sneak a few sips of alcohol?"
Bai Xiang’s sulky look made Bai Dan glance at Bai Ming.
"Big brother, are you sure you want him to be the next Clan Leader? He doesn’t seem very reliable."
It wasn’t just that he seemed unreliable, he was completely unreliable.
Bai Ming darkened his face and stared directly at Bai Xiang.
"Be serious for once. Can’t you see what time it is? Can’t you just try a little harder? Look at Xingxing, is she as exaggerated as you?"
Bai Ming pointed at Bai Zhi, who was sitting obediently aside. He was truly frustrated with his grandson.
"No, but Grandpa, why are you all so serious? What’s going on?"
That’s when Bai Xiang realized he was in a strange place. Where was this?
He had never been here before.
"This is our family’s cellar."
Bai Dan spoke with a stern face. Although this place was called a cellar, there was nothing stored here; of course, there were walls all around, which made it seem like a cellar.
"Oh, Grandpa, Second Grandpa, did you bring us to the cellar for a reason?"
Could it be that this was to reveal the big secret his father mentioned, the one he would only be told when he turned eighteen?
He suddenly felt a bit excited. Could it be that their family was actually very wealthy and only pretended to be poor to temper them?
As Bai Xiang looked on expectantly, Bai Ming pulled out a feather duster.
Without hesitation, he swiped it across.
"It’s just your chatter, be serious."
"Ouch... Grandpa, that hurts."
Bai Xiang touched the spot where he had been hit; it had turned red.
"Pain is meant to teach you a lesson. I brought you and your sister here to tell you about the Bai Family’s secrets."
Bai Ming glanced at Bai Dan, who nodded, and then he earnestly looked at the two of them.
The cellar was empty.
But, it was also a good place to reveal their situation.
"Bai Xiang, as you know, needles were placed in Xingxing’s body, we investigated and found that Bai Da had issues too, which means he was also hypnotized. The bracelet is the biggest problem, but we have no idea where Bai Da got it from.
What we do know is that someone wants him to probe into our Bai Family’s secrets.
The secrets of the Bai Family Ancestral Hall.
Your dad told you that he would tell you everything when you turned eighteen, that you would have responsibilities to bear.
The same goes for Xingxing.
We wanted to wait a few more years, to give you a happy childhood, but others won’t allow it.
You want to learn Kung Fu, don’t you? Envious of the Inner Strength depicted in books? We, the Bai Family, have it. In fact, you are learning it too; you just don’t know."
The revelation shocked both Bai Zhi and Bai Xiang. How could they not know?
The two exchanged glances, struggling to accept this revelation.
"Our Bai Family, are the Guardians."
Bai Ming looked solemn as he pronounced this to them.
Our Bai Family, are the Guardians.
Bai Xiang inhaled sharply, suddenly feeling an intense sense of importance.
It was as if no one but him could shoulder this responsibility.
"Grandpa, what are we guarding? Treasures of gold and silver?"
If that were the case, did it mean they were going to be rich?