=I...want to say no, but I get the feeling you’re about to give a very weird justification as to why you were thinking that...=
=Dare I ask what kind of topic would cause an entire family to schism in the first place?=
=Ah...like succession politics?=
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A bit after the first set of round robin matches came to an end, the branch clan were all set to go back to their hotel, eat dinner and rest until it was time to go back to the arena for the next day of matches.
However, the main clan’s matriarch had other plans in mind.
Zhen Xun Tian had apparently made arrangements to hold a special banquet in honor of the 24th Prince and the 38th Princess’s arrival to Willow Scale City and gracing the Zhen Clan with their magnanimous presence.
Before Zhen Shi even had a chance to politely refuse, Zhen Xun Tian had hit them with a "if you’re going to be making amends with your family, there’s no better way to do than to do it over a delicious dinner" and a "as a member of the Zhen Clan, it is only proper to make an appearance, even if it was a short one".
Essentially, the woman had used the laws of etiquette and politeness to ensnare Zhen Shi and his immediate kin into a situation they weren’t exactly comfortable with.
And as the branch clan members would later find out while at the banquet, the feeling turned out to be mutual.
The banquet in question took take place in one of the large courtyards of the main branch’s compound of Blessed Willow Island.
Several large tables were wheeled out and loaded with dozens upon dozens of succulent dishes native to the Roaring Tide continent, from delicious stir-fried kelp noodles to a roast duck dish made from a 2nd grade aether beast the size of a bear.
Unfortunately, the branch clan members could hardly enjoy such fare and luxurious setting, due to the icy atmosphere surrounding them. Well, the younger generation noticed it anyways. The elders were doing their best to be polite and maintain an air of civility with their main clan counterparts.
The branch clan scions had decided to group together for this evening, partially for protection, partially because they knew they weren’t going to be mingling this evening...at least not in a flattering way.
"Is it just me or have we been getting dirty looks the whole time we’ve been here?," Zhen Hai asked as he noticed a pair of disciples in the corner of his eye whispering to one another before gesturing towards him and his cousins. The moment he turned his head towards them, those two disciples proceeded to look elsewhere.
"No no, it’s not just you," Zhen Yue answered, "we’ve been getting dirty sideway glances for the past...ten minutes, give or take. If it makes you feel better, most of those dirty glares are coming from the clansmen whose ass we whooped in the arena earlier. And that one distant cousin of ours that we accidentally screwed over a couple nights ago."
"Shit, I honestly forgot about that...hopefully they don’t try to get revenge..."
"I kinda hope they do," Zhen Tai joked with a vicious grin. "I’ve been looking for a excuse to punch one of them all evening."
"I’m not gonna lie to you guys, all of these passive aggressive feelings being aimed at us is making my skin act up," Zhen Guo complained. "I can’t tell if I’m breaking into a rash or if I’m developing a pimple...there’s no way it’s both at the same time, is there?"
"I get what you mean," Zhen Feng sympathized, "my stomach is getting all in knots from their feelings. Why else do you think I’ve been stuffing my face more than usual?"
"I thought that was just you being fat," Zhen Xing quipped.
"Bitch...," Zhen Feng trailed off for a bit before biting into a bun he had taken from one of the tables.
The branch clan’s scions had performed quite admirably in the first four rounds of the preliminaries round robin, with five out of seven of them winning all four of their matches in a row.
The only two who didn’t achieve this record, Zhen Xing and Zhen Feng, had gone on to earn three wins and one loss each. It should be noted that this loss wasn’t due to them being rendered unconscious or forced to surrender, but due to the both of them getting ringed out through tricky moves.
It wasn’t that bad of a situation for them, since they were both actually tying with their respective block’s favorites to win, but it was still mildly embarrassing.
Either way, their performances in battle were more than satisfactory to their families and the clan’s matriarch, but it was also to the chagrin of the...less than amiable...members of the main branch.
After all, it didn’t exactly look good that a bunch of exiled descendants were apparently beating the main branch at their own game.
That game being, the ability to raise young "heroes".
As the branch clan scions did their best to enjoy the banquet though, a familiar question popped into their heads.
One that seemed to happen whenever they hung out together in a group.
"Hey...y’all see where Zhen Liu went off to?," Zhen Feng asked, "The man seems to have a habit of disappearing on us whenever we’re in group situations ..."
"I actually have an answer to that," Zhen Hai began to elaborate, "You guys were getting food when this happened, but some jackasses were talking shit about how he looked, again. I told them off, but Zhen Liu decided to go and find some way to cool his head anyways. He told me he was tempted to do an encore performance of what he did in his first match. Only this time with rings."
It should be noted that Zhen Hai had only told half of the story as to why Zhen Liu had suddenly disappeared, but that was because he only knew that specific half.
Zhen Liu had indeed been insulted yet again by ignorant assholes, but he didn’t leave the area just to cool his head.
He left because it was rather rude to receive communications in public.
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’Alright, need to find someplace quiet and alone...’
By using the excuse of wanting to clear his head, Zhen Liu managed to slip out of the main banquet area without much fanfare, but with the expectation that he would return with a much more positive demeanor.
Now, one would expect that he would return after a quick trip to the bathroom or a smoke break, but in reality, he was going to go and meet with some of the zakos he had released earlier that same day in order to resolve some...issues...
It took Zhen Liu awhile until he found a hallway alcove that appeared to be incredibly empty, save for the sound of evening crickets.
Of course, he couldn’t be too careful.
’You guys sense anything amiss in this hallway, or...’
[No, milord, you’re on the clear.]
[No eyes nor ears of aether here, director.]
[Besides, even if we do get caught, we can take them out real quick.]
[I thought we weren’t supposed to be violent...]
As Zhen Liu stood in that empty hallway alcove, three spectral beings manifested from out of the ground and kneeled before the young man.
From what Zhen Liu could sense in regards to their emotions, they were feeling proud that they resolved their tasks successfully.
’Welcome back you three, I need you guys to give me a full debrief on how each of your respective tasks went. Can you do that?’
As soon as Zhen Liu mentioned the debrief, his mind was quickly overwhelmed with three different set of what Zhen Liu would consider as "proto-memories", happening all at once.
’Whoa, whoa, whoa! One at a time guys, one at a time.’
With more specified instructions, the zakos proceeded to their as lord ordered and give their debriefs in their assignments in a more orderly fashion.
The first to do so was the zako Zhen Liu had tasked with intercepting any saboteurs.
’Alright, so...anybody tried to do something uncouth towards my family?’
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