Lady Lingxiu could not help blus.h.i.+ng as she spoke with embarra.s.sment, "There"s something so unbelievable…. It really does sound mystical, barely imaginable. It has been about a dozen centuries since the Shangguan Family has risen in Yutang. Tracing back to the source, it"s all actually…"
"What you think is too simple and naïve."
Old Mistress Shangguan smirked. "The first ancestor I mentioned was the first generation of Shangguan ancestor who established the clan. If my count is correct, you should be Shangguan Family"s one hundred and seventy-second generation! Your nephews are the one hundred and seventy-third generation. The so-called family archive, other than to avoid troubles and to cover up, only records the dozens of generations since the beginning of Yutang."
"One – one hundred and seventy-three generations…" Shangguan Lingxiu was so stunned by the number that she could not think straight.
A hundred to nearly two hundred generations of legacy. How long must that have been? Even if each generation was only thirty years, it had to be at least five thousand years or even six thousand years by now?
"Why else do you think the Shangguan Family of Generals is revered by the world"s militants? Stars of the sky compa.s.sed the Big Dipper, generals of the world revere Shangguan! This doesn"t come from Yutang!"
"Dashang, Dazhou, Dazhao, Daqin... before this, through the countless rise and fall of dynasties and empires, the Shangguan Family of Generals has always been a nation"s generals! It"s just that as the dynasties rise and fall, the Shangguan Family, too, quieted down for some time."
"However, any Shangguan member who appeared on the battlefield has never lost an inch of land!"
"Winning every war and breaking any attack isn"t a legend that only exists in the recent century. Among the one hundred and seventy-odd generations of Shangguan, there were over four hundred imperial marshals! There were thousands of leading generals."
"The pedigree of the Shangguan Family isn"t just a bit of background, you see."
Old Mistress Shangguan"s voice was solemn but it was laced with an inexplicable sense of pride.
Shangguan Lingxiu, on the other hand, was completely tongue-tied by the series of new knowledge.
"Okay, back to the topic," said Old Mistress Shangguan, "I"m going to light up these three joss sticks now. If you"re unwilling to continue, speak now."
"Why… would I be unwilling?" Shangguan Lingxiu was taken aback.
"Because this serendipity isn"t ordinary. Once the joss sticks are lit, they won"t be extinguished. As the deity comes, your destiny will change accordingly. In the future… maybe you"ll realize that what you"re after now, what you"ve been pursuing, won"t be able to keep up with you anymore… By then, maybe you"ll have an all new change to your mindset."
Old Mistress Shangguan watched Shangguan Lingxiu lovingly. "That"s why I"m giving you the power to choose your own destiny."
"But… why are you certain that I"m… gifted? If I can"t do it, won"t an extraordinary chance be wasted?" Shangguan Lingxiu bit her lips and asked.
"Never mind about being gifted. I"m sure of the significance these three joss sticks hold. Since it can be anything, there"s no need to care about talent and whatnot! In fact, I"ve been wanting to light these three joss sticks since the first day I was given them. Not doing so until now, I think I"m impressively patient."
"Sigh, for so many years, the huge burden of the Shangguan Family has always been weighing you down. Now, it"s all thanks to you that Supreme Cloud has resolved our difficulty and our family vengeance against Ziyou is about to be avenged too. The family owes you too much. Just by compensating you with this, I don"t think it suffices at all!"
Shangguan Lingxiu spoke very softly, "I hope to know the cause and effect of the incident, all of it."
"Follow me," said Old Mistress Shangguan after a heartbeat of silence.
There was a small door at the corner of the Shangguan ancestral hall. It was one that Shangguan Lingxiu had never opened. Today, however, it was opened right before her.
Shangguan Lingxiu would never have dreamed that such a small door could lead to such a wide s.p.a.cious s.p.a.ce. It was so big that the room could already be called a warehouse!
Old Mistress walked over with a straight back. Unblinking, she spoke in a low voice, "Here are the biographies of the past ancestors! The weapons they used, the equipment they loved…"
Shangguan Lingxiu took in the view like she was pilgrimaging, moisture involuntarily wetting her eyes.
Entering the huge warehouse, she felt as if countless gazes were quietly but lovingly watching her. It was the spirits of her ancestors.
When they came to the end of the room, there was a table where a square jade box rested.
Old Mistress opened the jade case and retrieved a book. Below the book, there was another long tiny jade casing. She opened the book and flipped to the end, stopping at one of the pages. There were a few lines of messy writing.
"One day... a martial world battle was encountered when the army was withdrawing. One rather huge and plump person stumbled into the army, severely injured and lost consciousness, near death. I took pity on him and hid him to heal him. Afterward, I found out that this person"s surname was Tang. His name was Tang Yifang. Seven days later, his injuries improved and he left without bidding farewell. A year later, a lady came and said to grant Shangguan something, anything, for this incident. Due to the extraordinariness, I recalled it and thus formally doc.u.mented it."
The words were clear. He had not put the matter to heart then but because someone had come to repay the favor and he had known by chance that the person was unusual, he reminisced and highlighted it in his records.
"The joss sticks in the jade case can reach deific serendipity for Shangguan"s future generations. Please remember this…"
What was written after was similar to what Old Mistress Shangguan had said.
"It is indeed so."
Shangguan Lingxiu could not help being curious. Who could the person be to be so omnipotent? How bold of the person to promise that they could grant any wis.h.!.+
"Since you have no objections, I shall bring out these three joss sticks."
Old Mistress Shangguan was determined and decisive, firmly following through her words. She retrieved the long jade casing.
…
The three joss sticks were crystal clear, like jade pieces. They looked like they were transparent as one looked at them.
Observing them carefully, the joss sticks were finely made. They were only the length of a palm, delicate and fragile. They were not like any ordinary incense.
Old Mistress Shangguan brought over a small incense burner and piously planted the three joss sticks on top before carefully lighting them up.
A short while later, smoke wafted slowly into the air.
The grandparent and child duo were surprised to discover that the smoke was actually rising in a straight line. Like a metal thread, it rose all the way that even the rooftop could not stop it. The smoke actually made a clear hole through it without any hindrance.
The three joss sticks were incense that had been kept for many millenniums, yet the smoke from them being lit could penetrate the roof!
The situation was unimaginable – unbelievable!
Shangguan Lingxiu thought that if she had not witnessed it personally, she would never have believed it if anyone told her so!