Eternal Beast Taming Family

Inside the ancestral hall.

Chu Qinhui, who had been standing there lost in thought for a long time, trembled slightly, and his eyes regained their light.

Seeing her husband come to his senses, Jiang Nian breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Yinyue, nestled in Jiang Nian's arms, looked up at the offering table but did not find the young, illusory figure. A look of confusion appeared in her eyes.

Chu Qinhui first looked at Jiang Nian, nodded quietly, and then said to Xu Yinyue:

"Regardless of whether what you just saw was real or not, we really haven't received any news about anyone being conscripted. Why don't you stay at your grandfather's courtyard for now? We'll let you know as soon as we get any news, how about that?"

The little girl was silent for a moment, then slowly shook her head. "I want to go home. Grandpa promised me he would come home to celebrate the New Year with me."

How could she not wish that what she saw was an illusion? She remembered her promise to her grandfather, so even if he was just a ghost, he would definitely come back to celebrate the New Year with her.

She wasn't afraid; she could see the souls of the dead, and perhaps that way her grandfather could stay by her side longer.

As she spoke, she walked to the side, bowed respectfully to the two of them, and prepared to leave the courtyard.

Chu Qinhui gave Jiang Nian a look, and Jiang Nian quickly took two steps and put her hand on Xu Yinyue's shoulder.

"You'll be all alone when you go back, which will be quite lonely. Why don't you stay at my house? I have a daughter who's about your age, and you two will definitely get along well."

The little girl seems to have a strong sense of purpose; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to travel all the way over mountains and valleys to find her grandfather at the Chu family's house.

She shook her head firmly, "I want to go home and wait for Grandpa. I'm afraid he won't be able to find his way home."

Perhaps the lack of news for three consecutive days had made the little girl accept that what she was seeing was a kind of reality.

Compared to when she first arrived today, the little girl's emotions have stabilized considerably, and she has become much quieter.

"Home is where people are. The town has been unsettled these past few days. It's your grandfather who's really worried about you, a young girl, staying home alone."

"Just stay here and relax. Maybe when your grandfather comes back, he'll be able to see you at our house right away," Jiang Nian said softly.

Chu Qinhui added, "No matter what, you should go and take a look at the courtyard where your grandfather lives first."

……

After the couple persuaded her, the little girl finally agreed to stay in the courtyard where her grandfather had lived.

She took out ten Source Stones from her brocade bag. "This is my accommodation fee."

Jiang Nian pushed her hand back, "Does our Chu family lack a young girl like you for food and drink? I think you're about the same age as my daughter."

She doesn't have many friends here. I'd be happy if you could make friends with her.

Xu Yinyue's eyes flickered, as if she had thought of something, and finally nodded hesitantly.

Seeing that she agreed, Jiang Nian smiled slightly and personally led her to the small courtyard where her grandfather used to live.

Chu Qinhui breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to force a young girl to stay in the Chu family unless absolutely necessary. It would be best if she agreed to stay on her own.

It gets dark very early because it's the last day of the year, and no one is going to be stingy with oil lamps anymore. Villages and towns are all brightly lit.

The warm yellow light shone through the windows, doors, and lanterns onto the glistening snow, as if illuminating the way home for those who had left.

"Snap, snap, snap."

A somewhat thin figure slowly walked over to the front gate of the Chu family.

Among the footprints he left, there were faint red marks. His clothes were still intact, but his face was hidden in the shadows, making it impossible to see clearly what he looked like.

The warm light from the two lanterns in front of the door cast two shadows of him from different directions.

The somewhat lazy gatekeeper caught a faint smell of blood, quickly looked up, and saw a strange figure standing in front of the gate.

The portly doorman was startled. He frantically shook a red silk ribbon beside him and stood up, shouting in a panic:

"Who goes there? State your name immediately. We, the Chu family, will not be entertaining you on New Year's Eve."

The eerie figure stood in front of the door for a moment before a familiar voice rang out.

"What's with all this talk of hospitality? I'm just going home, why would I need to be entertained?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the doorman ran out of the room next to the gate, came to the lantern, and then saw the face of the eerie figure clearly.

Upon seeing that it was Chu Jingyu, he almost jumped up with excitement and hurriedly shouted joyfully into the courtyard:

"The patriarch is back! The patriarch is back!"

Chu Jingyu raised his right hand. "Stop, stop, stop. What are you shouting about?" He then stepped over the threshold and walked into the courtyard.

The gatekeeper scratched his head, feeling a little strange as he watched the head of the family enter, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

As soon as they stepped into the room, they were met by two guards from the Chu family, who had been summoned by the gatekeeper pulling the red silk and ringing the bell.

However, upon seeing that it was Chu Jingyu, they were first taken aback, and then quickly bowed and clasped their hands in greeting, "Welcome home, Patriarch."

"It's nothing, you can go back now. Xiao Fan and the others are in the main hall, right?"

One of the guards replied, "Yes, Master. The young master and the others have just gathered in the main hall to prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner."

Upon hearing the words "New Year's Eve dinner," Chu Jingyu paused for a moment, then gave a wry smile, realizing that seven days had already passed.

Nodding to the two guards, Chu Jingyu continued walking deeper into the courtyard.

The two guards watched Chu Jingyu leave. One of them looked on with a hint of regret and touched his left arm as he looked at the other guard.

Inside the central hall.

Jiang Nian introduced Xu Yinyue, who was temporarily staying at her home, to her family and had her sit next to Chu Shenghan.

The rest of the Chu family welcomed Xu Yinyue's arrival. At Jiang Nian's prompting, Chu Shenghan leaned closer to Xu Yinyue and whispered some girlish words.

Before long, Xu Yinyue, who had been tense, gradually relaxed under Chu Shenghan's comforting words.

Chu Shengyuan looked around at everyone sitting at the round table, then loudly asked his father:

"Dad, when is Grandpa coming back?"

Chu Qinhui remained silent at this question. Was this the same question Chu Shengyuan had been asking himself repeatedly in the ancestral hall these past few days? Ultimately, it was a question without an answer.

"Oh, is Xiao Yuan missing Grandpa?"

The sudden sound from outside the door caused the atmosphere in the entire hall to freeze.

Everyone looked towards the door and saw an elderly man wearing a brown robe, with a square face and a gentle smile. Who else could it be but Chu Jingyu?

Chu Shengyuan didn't have many thoughts on this. He didn't know what Chu Jingyu had been doing all these days. He only knew that his grandfather, who had been away from home for a long time, had finally returned.

So he excitedly rushed to the door and hugged Chu Jingyu, "Grandpa, you're finally back."

Chu Jingyu reached out his right hand and patted Xiao Yuan's head. "Yes, Grandpa is back."

Chu Shengyuan had his arms around his grandfather's waist when he suddenly felt something was wrong; he couldn't touch Chu Jingyu's left arm.

He looked up and asked in confusion, "Grandpa, where's your left arm?"

Chu Qinhui, who was standing inside the house, had already seen it clearly and noticed that his father's left sleeve was swinging empty in the air, and his face instantly turned pale.