Chapter 2 – A Filial Son Strived for the Honor of His Deceased Parents (1/2)

Chapter 2 - A Filial Son Strived for the Honor of His Deceased Parents

It was deep in the night and Grey City had turned rather chilly. The continuous rhythmically dropping of the raindrops added an additional feeling of coldness.

It was three o’clock in the morning; the streets were silent with barely any passers-by. Except for the dangling candlelight that was lighting a nightclub, this place, surprisingly, was almost static at this moment of the day, rendering a bleak prospect.

Quite opposite to the general picture, in the courtyard of the Ye Castle, at the City Major Mansion, candlelight from the lanterns were gleaming softly, illuminating all of the corners. More strangely, outside the closed gate of a certain courtyard, a teenager in green clothing was kneeling down in great sorrow.

The cold and rainy night, a brightly-lit courtyard, a kneeled-down teenager in the rain, and a couple of brightly shining lanterns, all of this presented a horrendous and uncanny scene.

“Respected Elder Clan, please accept my request. I will work like a horse to repay this favour…” The teenager begged, as he lifted his tear-filled face up. He then proceeded with a succession of kowtows towards the direction of the gate. Soon, the raindrops had soaked his hair and were streaming down his face, yet, he seemed to be unaware of the wet- and coldness.

His hoarse voice broke the silence of the night.

However!

There came no reply from inside the courtyard, as the gate remained closed. The shadow of the flame fluttered in the wind, which was quite vivid on the background of the window coverings (窗户纸) [1].

After a long, long time!

The teenager in green clothing kept shouting and begging, until finally he was utterly exhausted and lay prostrate. Once in awhile, he managed to slowly raise his head, expecting some form of response from the courtyard. Due to the continuously pouring of the rain on him, he was extremely pale; yet, in the reflection of the light, there was a hint of unswerving determination and bitterness.

The gate of the courtyard remained tightly closed and no words came out.

Outside, it was raining worse than ever!

……

It was already dawn, the sky was whitening and the weather quickly cleared up. In the courtyard, the fallen leaves and boughs were the only indicator of the heavy wind and rain from last night.

The teenager was still kneeling down, almost motionless. Due to the coldness, his body suffered from fits of trembles. And, because of sleeplessness, his eyes were filled with blood streaks. He managed to prop himself up, merely using his ironlike will.

- Creak! -

The gate of the courtyard finally opened!

Looking up at the two middle-aged men in front of the gate, the teenager widened his eyes, craving for sympathy. He wriggled his dry and rough lips, but words got in the way. All he did was kowtow to these two men.

“Kid, why are you so stubborn?! Do you even care about your own health?”

The two middle-aged men were both in their forties and both of them were well-known celebrities in the Mars Prefecture. The one in grey clothing was named Ye Ron, a member of the Elder Clan, who had a prominent nose and eagle-like eyes. On the corner of his mouth, there was a slightly discernible scar. Ye Ron was also the vice-president of the Punishment Department of the Ye Family. The one in the white robe and with the golden crown was Ye Qiang, the vice-president of the Combat Department of the Ye Family, as well as the third son of the clan leader of the Ye Family. This man carried a folding fan with him, presenting himself as an intelligent, yet dissolute man.

The one who spoke with the teenager was Ye Qiang. Out of compassion, he folded his fan and moved forward, trying to help the young man up.

Unexpectedly, the teenager refused his good intentions, and remained in a kneeled-down position. He licked his dehydrated lips, before he responded to Ye Qiang, “Third… Third Uncle, how’s it going? Did the Elder Clan approve my request?” He then anchored his bewildered eyes on Ye Qiang.

“Er… Alas…” Ye Qiang shook his head in dismal and helplessness. Obviously, the Elder Clan had disapproved.

“Ye Qinghan, stand up and go home.” Ye Ron interrupted in an unconcerned voice, his eagle-like eyes stared terrifyingly at the teenager. The scar on the corner of his mouth looked currently even more hideous than before.

“Remember, your mother used to be a famous prostitute. When your father announced his marriage with her, it was quite a sensation throughout the Ye Family. Everyone was in disapproval of this marriage, because it was an obvious betrayal of the family rules. You know, if it wasn’t for the clemency of the Ye Family, this couple would’ve been ousted from this family by the clan leader. Given all of that, we never admitted your mother’s identity as one of the daughters-in-law of this big family. Oh, and your father, that supercilious man, who trudged all by himself to the Holy Mountain for treasures, but never came back. Yeah, he died from severe injuries. Since the death of your father, the yearly payment (岁钱) [2] for you and your mother hasn’t been discontinued, which is a proof that we have never mistreated you, or your mother. Look, if it wasn’t for our Ye Family, both of you would’ve been reduced to street beggars long ago!”

“Now, your mother has died of her illness. Considering that you’re a filial son, the family has decided to help you bury her body. Nevertheless, we haven’t seen any gratitude from you. On the contrary, you go so far as to request for your mother to be buried in the ancestral tomb! Are you nuts? The ancestral tomb is a dignified place for the deceased forefathers of our Ye Family. It’d be a blasphemy, if we were to allow the disgraceful prostitute to be buried in this tomb. Give it up, young man. Your mother will never be buried together with your father. I suggest you’d better get out of here as soon as possible. If you continue disturbing us, I’ll show you just how strict our family rules are.”

“You…”

Ye Qinghan abruptly stood up, glaring at Elder Ron. However, he felt so dizzy that he was about to fall back down. Given the duration of his kneeled-down position and the cold rain from last night, he staggered backwards for several steps, before he managed to steady himself.