5 Concealed kindness

Clan Leader Gu Yue Bo was with several other elders of the clan in the main hall. He contemplated everything that happened and sighed deeply. A a few hours earlier, he had received a late night report that a large scale fight broke out near the clan pavilion. Luckily Elders Gu Yue Chi Guang and Gu Yue Suo Ping reached in a short time and stopped it before it escalated into a riot with their Rank 3 strength.

When things died down, the pavilion guard found a kid in the middle of the moon orchid sea who managed to undergo an awakening on his own with a D grade aperture. Upon further enquiry, he found out that he was the half blooded kid who was recently orphaned.

"It is truly a pity that a kid had to undergo awakening procedure on his own before he came of age. Awakening an aperture is not always successful and more than half of those who try fail. But the kid was able to awaken his aperture with D grade at the age of nine. If he had taken the procedure at the proper age, his body would've become more mature and suitable to have a better grade aperture. I heard that he was very smart and had a natural talent for learning. He might have had a B grade aperture or if heaven willed it, an A grade aperture if he had waited for a while. Our village had truly lost a valuable opportunity.", sighed the clan leader.

The Dark Hall Elder chimed in, "Maybe all that happened was fated Clan Leader. He was the son of that traitor who married a Bai girl after all. So him having only a D grade aperture doesn't feel like a loss. The fact that he went unimpeded into the moon orchid sea at the exact same time the guards present there were out for a rotation of shifts is baffling to me."

Gu Yue Chi Zhong sneered at the dark hall elder, "If you had trained your subordinates to do their job well, this wouldn't have happened. Stop blaming your incompetence on fate."

The Clan Leader motioned both of them to stop, "There is no need to find blame among ourselves. We had already made a decision to allow the marriage of Gu Yue Li Bao and Bai Shen Shui when Li Bao gave up his wealth and inheritances. Half blooded or not, he is a member of our clan. I can allow discrimination but Peng Lin tried to use his gu insects to harm a kid who hadn't even awakened his aperture. It is reasonable for him to try to awaken his aperture to defend himself."

Gu Yue Chi Lian paused and added while smiling, "Besides, Peng Yi seems to grow richer from all the trades after the wolf tide. We can use this incident as a reminder to show him his place in the clan." The other elders in the factions seemed to nod to themselves in agreement.

The Academy Elder broke their silence, "But the problem of Gu Yue Guangzhi still exists. He has awoken his aperture at age nine and if he entered the academy I am sure that the discrimination will still continue. He won't fit in with anyone and his resentment towards the clan would only increase. If he had taken the awakening ceremony at the right age, he might have even made some friends of his own age. This whole situation is a mess. It almost feels like he shouldn't have existed in the first place."

Everyone present was drawn to those words. They shifted their gazes towards Secret Hall Elder. He realized what was being told in silence. He was about to say something in agreement when Clan Leader Gu Yue Bo spoke, "We are gu masters of the righteous path. We cannot allow the blood of an innocent kid tarnish the reputation of our clan. I'll deal with him in a way that befits our righteous path."

The next day, he ordered for a guard to bring in all the parties involved. Gu Yue Guangzhi, Peng Lin and his friends were brought in. Their parents and guardians were also present. Peng Yi was one of them. The guards and other gu masters involved in the fight were also present.

The Clan Leader spoke in an authoritative manner, "Peng Lin, you and your friends have caused a great ruckus yesterday night. You used gu insects to harm a member of the younger generation. You have also injured the guards who were trying to stop you. A great deal of damage could've been done in the spirit spring due to the result of your actions. I am punishing you with a fine of 5000 primeval stones. I am punishing your friends 500 primeval stones each. If you are unable to pay the fine, the Punishment Hall Elder will find suitable missions for you all to complete to compensate for the fine. If I find any of you doing such things again, the punishment will be much more severe."

Peng Lin was shocked at the amount. His father, Peng Yi, was an upcoming businessman and he could pay the fine after costing him an arm and a leg but his father would never pay for his friends. He had boasted previously that his father would take care of the fines. Some of his 'friends' weren't actually his friends. Some were just ruffians that he kept around. He was afraid what would happen if he didn't pay their fines.

The Clan Leader continued, "Gu Yue Guangzhi, you have violated clan law by entering the spirit spring sea without authorization. I am expelling you from the village. Since you are a kid, I will allow you to live near one of the border outposts. If you make outstanding achievements in the future, I will allow your return."

Everyone present there were stunned at the harshness of the punishment but no one raised an objection. They knew about the overall situation and realized that this was the Clan Elder's way of getting rid of the half blood from the village.

Gu Yue Guangzhi also understood this. He didn't expect even the clan elder to show such discrimination. He stood there for a moment and proclaimed, "Up until this point, I was thinking that I was 'Gu Yue' Guangzhi and I could depend on my clan, if only a little, for my survival. I was wrong. None of you people are my benefactors. I can only depend on myself to survive. I am no longer 'Gu Yue' Guangzhi. I will depend on my Gu from now on and become a master of Gu. I will become 'Gu' Guangzhi."

Everyone went silent for a second and then started laughing at the nine year old making an audacious claim.

"Just get lost.", waved the smiling clan leader and dismissed the gathering. He thought to himself, "Brother, it seems rebelling against the clan runs in your blood. Your illegitimate son did it by marrying a girl from the Bai clan. Now your grandson is doing it by giving up his family name. Hahaha. Expelling him and giving him a chance to live out his life as a gu master was the most I could do but it seems he inherited his pride from you. He is on his own now."