Most immortal cultivation families often forge magical artifacts such as tokens or seals, both for the patriarch's use and to demonstrate his supreme authority within the clan.
It's a tradition for such families to deem the holder of the token the patriarch.
And Yan Mengchu was holding the Yan family's token.
Yan Yue was deeply surprised, for the Yan family's token had been lost decades before. The ancestor narrowly escaped death in a life-or-death battle, but the token was also lost.
When Yan Mengchu became patriarch, he hadn't officially inherited the token, allowing the patriarch to legitimately depose him. And when Yan Yue's father, Yan Mengyuan, became patriarch, he also lacked the token, making him unworthy of the title.
Yan Yue was stunned to see Yan Mengchu produce the long-lost token.
Yan Mengchu said arrogantly, "Yan Yue, look carefully, can I be in charge? The Patriarch's Order is in my hands. I, Yan Mengchu, am the Patriarch of the Yan Family! How dare you say that I am not qualified to be in charge! Yan Yue, I think it is you who is not qualified to be in charge!"
The cultivators beside him responded loudly, "The one with the Patriarch's Order is the Patriarch."
"How dare you say that the Patriarch is not qualified to be in charge? This Yan Yue is too ignorant."
"We must teach her a lesson. We can't let her run this store anymore."
"This is so treasonous that she must be expelled from the Yan Family!"
The spectators on the side also became noisy, most of them looked like they were watching a show.
Yan Yue lowered his head, then quickly raised it again, and collected his thoughts a little. "The Patriarch of the Yan Family is my father, Yan Mengyuan, and has nothing to do with you. Now I am an inner disciple of the Heyin Sect. Aren't you afraid of the Heyin Sect?"
Although these words were threatening, they were spoken very palely and without much strength.
Yan Mengchu's voice became louder, "Humph, how can a mortal like Yan Mengyuan become the head of a family of immortal cultivators? It's ridiculous. You, a woman, don't even think about it. I am the only one who can be the head of the Yan family. What's more, I have the head order in hand. No one can object, not even if you are a disciple of the Heyin sect!"
He turned to everyone and bowed one by one, "I am the only one who is the head of the Yan family. Naturally, this Yan family shop is also mine. From today on, the Yan family shop will be under my management. Please take good care of it in the future."
Then he looked at Yan Yue, "You, should go back to your Heyin sect and be an inner disciple. The affairs of the Yan family will have nothing to do with you in the future!"
"Yes, justice is in the hearts of the people. The Heyin sect is the Heyin sect, and the family is the family's affairs. No matter how powerful they are, they can't interfere in other people's family affairs."
"That makes sense. Everyone is watching. Who are you trying to scare by showing off the Heyin sect?"
"Yan Mengchu is the head of the Yan family. You're nothing. Hand over the shop!"
The cultivators around him pointed at Yan Yue in a frightening voice.
The sudden blow nearly crushed Yan Yue.
Her body trembled slightly, her face growing paler. She had experienced such scolding from her second uncle many times before, and now she was in this situation again, and the shadows in her heart resurfaced, and she was almost overwhelmed.
"What should I do? What should I do..." She
had risked everything for the family, only to be expelled by the family's playboy. This was something she simply couldn't handle. She knew Yan Mengchu had clearly seen the huge profits and wanted to appropriate them, but she was panicked and had no idea how to respond.
She fought back tears and maintained a strong appearance.
"What are you pushing for?"
"Where did you come from, you wild girl? You have no manners at all."
Outside the circle of people, a little girl desperately pushed her way into the circle.
Yang Mei quickly ran up to Yan Yue and shouted at the crowd, "Don't bully me, you bad guys!"
She glared at the people around her, her face flushed red.
"Junior sister, go back quickly, don't stay here."
Yan Yue, who was about to cry, was very moved, but she knew that Yang Mei could not help with this matter, and no one could even help. What could the family head's order be in the hands of someone else?
Yang Mei leaned close to Yan Yue's ear and whispered, "Senior sister, don't worry, senior brother has gone to find someone to help, and will be here soon!"
"Senior brother, Zhou Shu?"
Yan Yue was a little confused, but when she thought of what Zhou Shu had done, some hope surged in her heart, like a ray of light seen in the dark night, "Will Zhou Shu have a way... Maybe, there really is one."
Yan Mengchu glanced at Yang Mei and said disdainfully, "Little girl, why are you joining in the fun, go away! Yan Yue, you'd better hand over the shop consciously, otherwise I will drive you away!"
"Drive them away, drive them away!"
The cultivators on the side were also eager to move, and took a few steps forward together.
Yang Mei still stood in front of Yan Yue, glaring at them motionlessly. "Get out of the way!"
Yan Mengchu waved his hand. "Push them away."
Several cultivators stepped forward, unleashing their spiritual energy to form an invisible wall, pushing them forward.
Yan Yue quickly pulled Yang Mei behind her and angrily demanded, "Yan Mengchu, you really dare to fight here?"
"We won't fight, and certainly won't break the rules, haha."
The cultivators chuckled, using only spiritual energy without resorting to physical force. Their combined strength forced Yan Yue to retreat.
Yan Mengchu chuckled a few times and, accompanied by the cultivators around him, swaggered back into the shop.
Forced aside, Yan Yue was terrified. She knew that if these people entered the Yan family shop, it would truly be under a new owner.
With a clang—
the Flying Water Sword suddenly rose, hovering above Yan Yue's head, pulsing and emitting energy. In an instant, most of the surrounding crowd dispersed.
The flying sword of an eighth-level Qi Refining Realm cultivator was no joke.
Yan Mengchu was stunned, his legs and feet shaking uncontrollably.
All around him was quiet, and it remained silent for a long time.
"Don't be so brave! Keep going! If she really dares to use magic, how can she stay in this market? The Yan family shop will be mine."
Strangely enough, it wasn't Yan Mengchu who spoke, but a gray-robed cultivator behind Yan Mengchu. He had a gloomy expression and stared at Yan Yue with a provocative look, with a smug smile on his lips.
Yan Yue was speechless.
She was furious for a moment and couldn't help herself, but she also knew that she must not take action.
"Stop!"
A shout came from not far away. Zhou Shu parted the crowd and walked over quickly. Behind him, followed a group of blue-robed cultivators.
One of the old men snorted coldly and waved his sleeves. The spiritual pressure at the door suddenly dissipated. Yan Yue hurried to the door of the shop and stood in front of Yan Mengchu.
Yan Mengchu was stunned for a moment and stood there motionless.
"Hey, isn't this Deacon Shen Bailie from the market town?"
"He never participates in patrols, so why is he here?"
"Who is that young cultivator? He actually comes to join in the fun, to be a hero and save the damsel in distress."
"Haha, maybe, maybe."
Listening to the discussions of the people around him, the gray-robed cultivator's expression changed slightly, and he pushed the dazed Yan Mengchu hard into the circle.
Yan Mengchu looked back and saw the look in the gray-robed cultivator's eyes, and nodded hurriedly and anxiously.
He held up the family head's order and said to Shen Bailie, "Deacon Shen, what are you doing here? This is our Yan family's family affair, and it has nothing to do with the market town, right?"
Shen Bailie smiled, "Of course the market town won't interfere in your family affairs, but you instigated other sects to gather in the market town to cause trouble, disrupting the order of the market town, so we can't just ignore it."
Yan Mengchu seemed to be electrocuted and was stunned for a long time.
The gray-robed cultivator winked at him again, and Yan Mengchu suddenly woke up and shouted, "What other sects? They are all my relatives and friends. Coming together to deal with family affairs, is this against the rules?"
Zhou Shu took a step forward, pointed at the gray-robed cultivator, and said calmly, "Relatives and friends? I see that this person, and the ones behind you, are all cultivators from the Liuchu Sect. They are all your relatives and friends? You colluded with each other and came to Qingxia Market to deliberately seize the shops of legitimate merchants, affecting the business of other people in the market. Can't the market do anything about it?"
Shen Bailie also said with a dark face, "Liuchu Sect, don't stretch your hands too far. We don't care about other places, but Qingxia Market will not tolerate your unruly behavior."
How could it be possible that he was found out?
The gray-robed cultivator glanced at Zhou Shu with a hint of hatred that was difficult to erase. He wanted to say something but didn't.
He turned to Yan Mengchu and whispered, "I've helped you enough. You'll have to handle the rest on your own. If you can't, don't blame me for being rude."
He quickly left, and the cultivators behind him followed suit in the blink of an eye, leaving Yan Mengchu alone.
Yan Mengchu glanced around, then at himself. His courage suddenly vanished, but he managed to speak. "I'm alone now. No one will care about my family affairs, right?"
Shen Bailie nodded. "As long as you don't violate the rules of the market, it's up to you."
Yan Mengchu pointed the Patriarch's decree at Yan Yue. "I have the decree. I'm the Patriarch. This shop must be mine!"
Faced with the decree, Yan Yue was bewildered, unsure how to respond.
"Your position as Patriarch was long ago dismissed by the Yan family. What's the point of being Patriarch? But you have the decree, so you do have the right to speak. So, please come into the shop and have a proper discussion."
Zhou Shu took two steps forward and gestured, "Come in."
"Yes, let's talk," Yang Mei shouted.
Yan Yue calmed down and came to her senses. "Second Uncle, since this is a family matter, let's go into our house and talk it out."
After that, she walked into the shop first.
"Come on, come on." Yang Mei followed Yan Yue and turned back to make a face. She didn't quite understand what happened, but she felt that it should be a happy time.
Yan Mengchu looked at the shop and hesitated for a long time, but didn't dare to follow in.
Zhou Shu urged, "Hurry up, don't you want to talk about family matters? I'm afraid Senior Sister Yan has been waiting for a long time."
Yan Mengchu gritted his teeth. He was alone and didn't have the courage to go in. "Huh, I'll come next time!"
After that, he stomped his feet hard and turned to leave.