Eternal Beast Taming Family

October 3, 3397 of the Yuanhe calendar of the Jingyuan Dynasty.

After that snow disaster, Heyu Town finally ushered in a happy event.

A new aristocratic family has been born, and the remote village of Heyu Town is experiencing its most bustling day in the hundreds of years since its founding.

One after another, carriages and horses from the town transported the invited guests to Qixia Mountain next to Fuhe Village.

In preparation for this banquet, the area surrounding the Chu family compound underwent a major renovation.

Originally, the location of the Chu family compound was a gentle slope. In the past few days, Chu Jingyu had the "Golden Jade Beast" completely flatten the slope, and it has now become a very flat square.

The Chu family courtyard was not rebuilt in time, but the walls and blue tiles looked very bright, indicating that it had been carefully cleaned beforehand.

Chu Qinhui and Chu Shengfan stood at the gate to greet the guests. In addition to a banquet hall inside the courtyard specifically for entertaining distinguished guests, thirty mahogany round tables were also neatly arranged in the square outside the gate to entertain the other invited guests.

Guests began arriving as early as nine o'clock in the morning.

The first to arrive were some of the town's well-known merchants. After all, they were a newly established family. Although the Chu family didn't have much of a foothold in the town, it was possible that they might move in at any time.

It's always a good idea to make it happen in advance.

Even those without invitations were greeted with smiles and warmly seated by Chu Qinhui and Chu Shengfan.

The rest were villagers from Fuhe Village who had occasionally interacted with the Chu family in the past, and Chu Qinhui warmly welcomed them.

Next came the village chiefs of the eighteen villages under Heyu Town and the respected elders of the clans there. Although they all had a certain status and position, they still could not get the seat in the Chu family courtyard.

Around 10:30, a rumbling tremor occurred on the ground, and then six or seven stone giants, each three or four meters tall, carried members of the Shi family to the gate of the Chu family compound.

The old villagers gathered in the square, as well as the guests chatting at the table, all knew that the Shi family, one of the two prominent families in the town, had arrived.

This stone-like source beast is the symbol of the Shi family, but the newly arrived residents don't know much about it, so they can only listen to the explanations from those around them.

Regardless of their cultivation level, these stone figures at least appeared powerful and destructive, and their mere appearance boosted the Shi family's reputation among the villagers of Heyu Town.

The moment Chu Shengfan saw the stone man, he immediately returned to the courtyard and called Chu Jingyu out. It was Chu Jingyu who was to personally receive the people from the Shi family.

Three people jumped off the stone-like source beast, the leader of whom was a sturdy-looking middle-aged man.

"The location of the Chu family's residence is quite difficult to find; it's far too remote. I wonder when they will move to town?"

Chu Jingyu, like an ordinary old man, walked out of the courtyard with his hands behind his back. Hearing the Shi family patriarch's obviously probing question, he smiled and replied:

"We Chu people prefer quiet, and we can't adapt well to life in town. We won't be moving to town anytime soon."

Shi Jinghong, the head of the Shi family, wore a simple and honest smile, but he was inwardly unsure about Chu Jingyu's answer. If he really didn't want to move to the town, why would he let his grandson work at the town mayor's office?

The Chu family has someone in the logistics department, and the Zhang family has a Zhang Yu who is the head of the security department. Since the Liu family moved away, the town mayor's office can be considered the only powerful family in the town.

It seems that the center of power will remain in the town mayor's mansion from now on, and the Shi family needs to make plans early. After much deliberation, Shi Jinghong pointed to the two people behind him and introduced them:

"This is my younger brother, Shi Jinghan, and my son, Shi Yuntian."

Then he patted his younger brother on the shoulder and said, "Hurry up and come to pay your respects to the Chu family patriarch. You might need his help in the future."

Shi Jinghan is slightly thinner, but only compared to his older and younger brothers. Overall, he is much more robust and muscular than the average person, which may be the power of family heritage.

His smile had a refined air about it. "Greetings, Chief of the Chu family. I wish the Chu family a smooth path to becoming a prominent family from this day forward."

Shi Yuntian gave his uncle a strange look, scratched his head, and said, "Me too."

He exudes a naive charm, quite different from his father's seemingly honest yet shrewd nature.

"Haha." Chu Jingyu's smile became more sincere. "Then let's take advantage of your kind words and come into the courtyard to talk."

As he spoke, Chu Jingyu turned slightly to the side, gesturing for the three members of the Shi family to take their seats first.

Shi Jinghong waved his hand and refused, saying, "No need. Since the Zhang family and the town mayor haven't arrived yet, we can wait here and go in together."

Just as Chu Jingyu was about to offer some more advice, a clear and melodious cry of a crane suddenly echoed from the sky.

Then, three white cranes were seen flapping their wings, with human figures standing on them. The cranes did not land immediately, but circled twice in the square before slowly landing in front of the Chu family's gate.

Shi Jinghong disliked the Zhang family's behavior intensely and muttered under his breath, "Show-offs. All show and no substance..."

It was Shi Jinghan, who was standing next to him, who tugged at his arm to prevent even harsher words from being said.

An old man and two young men leaped down from the back of a white crane, their movements graceful and elegant, exuding the air of otherworldly masters.

The old man wore a crown and had white hair. His gaze first fell on the three members of the Shi family, revealing a faint disdain in his eyes. Then his gaze shifted and landed directly on Chu Jingyu.

"I am Zhang Yuhe, the head of the Zhang family, and I have come to attend the ceremony with my two grandsons."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang, for coming to witness the ceremony. The banquet is about to begin, please take your seats quickly."

Chu Jingyu was unaware of the feud between the Shi and Zhang families, but regardless, he only hoped that the two families would not cause trouble at his Chu family's banquet.

Zhang Yuhe's sharp gaze swept across the entire room, then a faint smile appeared on his lips. "Since the mayor hasn't arrived yet, let's wait here as well."

As it spoke, it closed its eyes, raised its head high, and its posture and movements were exactly the same as those of the white crane next to it.

As for the two boys beside him, they remained indifferent and didn't even glance at him after landing. You could even see their disdain for the ground beneath their feet, as if they looked down on the feast in the village.

Seeing the attitude of the two Zhang family boys, Chu Shengfan, who had originally wanted to strike up a conversation with them because they were the same age, lost interest in talking to them.

The rest of the square was as lively as ever, with people's eyes frequently falling on the stone figures beside the Shi family and the white crane beside the Zhang family, seemingly comparing the two families' source beasts to see which was superior.

However, the small area in front of the Chu family's gate, although in the very center of attention, became rather cold after the Zhang family arrived.

Shi Jinghong glanced sideways at Zhang Yuhe, who had his eyes closed, his mouth twitched rapidly a few times without making a sound, so no one knew what he was muttering. He then quickly turned his head to the other side, as if he wanted to avoid seeing Zhang Yuhe.

The Zhang family seemed to ignore the Shi family, offering only a glance after landing and refusing to utter a single additional word.

However, the Shi and Zhang families were clearly used to this, and only the three members of the Chu family, grandfather and grandson, felt uncomfortable.

However, the sound of gongs and drums coming from the mountain road soon rescued the Chu family.

A group of more than a dozen people appeared from the mountain road in the distance.

Leading the way was Bai Liangshu, followed by some of Chu Shengfan's colleagues from the logistics department, and some strong men who seemed to be hired.

The strong men were carrying something that looked like a long wooden plank covered with a red cloth on their backs.

Several other people beat drums and gongs to clear the way for the laborers carrying their loads, and the festive music spread throughout the mountains and fields.