Return of the King, Dominating the City
Chapter 914: 903 Scriptures

Chapter 914: Chapter 903 Scriptures

Elder Wang walked to the front of the wooden door, and somehow, a very ancient-looking key suddenly appeared in his hand. He then inserted it into an old-fashioned lock in the center of the wooden door.

With a click.

The lock was opened, but Elder Wang did not rush to push the door open. Instead, he bent down and knelt on the ground.

Mr. Song and others who were following him also knelt down. There was no padding on the ground, yet it was exceptionally clean.

Song Yun quickly followed his parents and knelt down as well.

“The XXXth generation descendants of the Song Family, Song Wu, Song Meiqin, Song Meifeng, Song Dong, Song Chun, Song Ergou, Song Yun. We bow to our ancestors!” After Elder Wang finished speaking, he did not bow, but Mr. Song and others did, extending their hands forward until their whole bodies were almost touching the ground.

Song Yun naturally mimicked them. The rules of this big family were different from ordinary people; even before entering the door, they had to bow first at the entrance. Who knows how complicated it might get inside later.

After bowing three times, Elder Wang stood up. Song Laifu hurried over to help Mr. Song up, and naturally, other elders came forward to help the others up as well. Those helping them were all from another generation of the Song Family.

“Enter! Meet the ancestors!” Elder Wang said as he opened the door, then stepped inside first.

Mr. Song and others followed him in, while Song Yun and a few others entered last. As for the other people, they could only stand at the entrance, unable to enter the room.

As soon as Song Yun entered the ancestral hall, he smelled a faint scent of incense. In front of him was a very large table, rectangular in shape, and divided into three tiers. The first tier below had the most tablets, the second tier noticeably fewer, and by the third tier, there were only a few tablets, with some ancient text inscribed on them that Song Yun could not fully recognize, but he could vaguely make out the character for Song.

These were the tablets of the ancestors of the Song Family.

Upon seeing these tablets, Song Yun was filled with solemnity. These were the people who established the unprecedented legacy of the Song Family. The blood flowing through him was all theirs.

“Descendants of the Song Family…” Elder Wang closed his eyes slightly, standing directly in front of the table, ringing a bell and murmuring something. Song Yun, standing further back, could not hear clearly, and many of the terms sounded very bitter and hard to understand. Song Yun pondered whether they were speaking in classical Chinese.

About five minutes after Elder Wang started reciting, Song Yun saw those in front kneel down again, and he quickly followed suit.

Next, they bowed three times.

Then stood up again to continue listening to Elder Wang’s recitation. After another five minutes, Mr. Song went to the side, took a handful of incense from a bag, lit it, and placed it on the central incense burner.

The lingering scent of incense released a pleasant aroma.

Elder Wang walked to the side and lit candles in front of each tablet. According to Song Yun’s understanding, this was probably a summoning ritual, meant to invite the spirits of the ancestors to observe the descendants of the Song Family. Of course, these were all idealistic traditions, and whether it was effective or not, no one knew.

Once all the candles were lit, the lighting in the room took on an unusual glow. It was already close to five in the afternoon, and the sun was starting to set. The sunlight slowly turned yellow, filtering through the lattice patterns around the room into the ancestral hall. The candlelight was also yellow but differed from the sunlight. The interplay of lights created a dazzling effect.

After Mr. Song finished offering incense, he stepped down, and then it was the heads of branches like Song Mei Qin who offered incense. Soon the incense burner was filled with incense sticks, and the aroma inside the room became very strong.

Song Ergou also went up to offer incense, but Ye Qingsi did not go up, directly passing the turn to Song Yun. Song Yun guessed that only those with the blood of the Song Family could offer incense, which is why his mother and Qingluan were not allowed to.

After offering incense, another lengthy, esoteric text flowed from Elder Wang’s mouth. The voice sounded mystical, inducing a drowsy feeling, yet it was a very comfortable kind of sleepiness. But if you wanted to sleep, you couldn’t because one or two words in the chant would often jump out and stimulate your nerves, making you suddenly wake up, then drowsy again. Anyway, it was a cycle of confusion and clarity. At first, when Song Yun didn’t pay attention, he was quite lost in it, but once he focused, he was fine. After all, Song Yun had strong willpower. As for Mr. Song and others, perhaps they had heard it many times, so they showed no other reactions.

The recitation of this passage lasted a good ten minutes. After it ended, Elder Wang again told everyone to kneel, bow three times, then remain kneeling while he continued the recitation.

The recitation lasted a good twenty minutes, and Elder Wang showed no intention of letting anyone stand up. Kneeling for twenty minutes is quite uncomfortable; fortunately, Song Yun was in good shape, and the other elders remained calm and composed as well.

After twenty-five minutes, Elder Wang finally had everyone stand up, then chanted, “Descendants and daughters-in-law of the Song Family, pay respects to the ancestors!”

At this time, Ye Qingsi and Qingluan went up, kneeling on a cushion in front of the table. Elder Wang stood before them, shaking the bell and chanting something. This time it was quick, taking only about three minutes. After the chant, Elder Wang had them offer incense, but their position for incense was different from Song Yun and the others. They placed their incense on the side pillars.

Then, under Elder Wang’s guidance, Mr. Song knelt in front of the table and said, “The second generation of the Song Family in Shen Zhou, Song Wu, now brings the third generation descendant Song Ergou, and the fourth generation descendant Song Yun to bow to the ancestors. Due to various hardships, Song Ergou and Song Yun were separated from the Song Family, and now, thanks to the ancestors’ blessings, they peacefully return to the Song Family. Therefore, we ask the ancestors if they will allow these two to return.”

As he spoke, Mr. Song tossed two wooden pieces to the ground.

One landed face up, the other face down.

Mr. Song showed a slight smile, bowed, and said, “Thank you, ancestors!”