Zhang Qiling stayed in that room for two days.
On the evening of the first day, a group of old men came to find him, chattering incessantly, asking him to wear a complex robe embroidered with a hidden Qilin pattern to attend some succession ceremony for the clan leader.
Zhang Qiling didn't think it had anything to do with him, nor did he have any intention of catering to the elders. After his verbal refusal proved ineffective, he politely persuaded the old men away with his Black Gold Ancient Saber.
Later, Zhang Haike came and said with feigned "sadness" that it was the first time in his life he had seen a clan leader succession ceremony without the clan leader present, and those old men's faces had turned almost green.
Zhang Qiling glanced at Zhang Haike's beaming face and gained a new understanding of the old men's popularity.
Perhaps sensing something from Zhang Qiling's uncooperative actions, after the seemingly joking succession ceremony, the number of overt and covert watchers outside Zhang Qiling's room increased significantly.
Zhang Qiling sensed it carefully and found that the strongest among them was only about 0.7 times as strong as Zhang Haike, so he relaxed, completely ignoring these weaklings.
He wondered what Zhang Haike would think if he knew, but fortunately, young Zhang was not someone who voiced his thoughts.
And on the morning of the third day, the transaction finally arrived.
—
This was an unremarkable-looking mountain peak, shrouded in the morning mist and surrounding clouds, appearing ethereal and unfathomable.
Zhang Qiling looked up quietly at the mountain peak buried in the dim sky for a while, then slowly fixed his gaze on the heavy door directly in front of him.
The door was dark, its rough surface devoid of any decorative patterns, looking like a bare turtle shell.
This turtle shell was deeply embedded in the mountainside, covered with snow, exuding a somber and cold aura.
The old man who brought him was still chattering: "...Clan Leader, this is the sacred land of our Zhang family. You only need to go in and retrieve the lost clan heirloom."
"Here is a map of the sacred land passed down from a previous clan leader long ago. It will surely ensure your victory!"
Hearing this, Zhang Qiling tilted his head slightly, noticing that the so-called map was firmly held in the hand of a blank-faced Zhang family member, with no intention of giving it to him.
The old man saw his gaze and explained with a fawning smile, "This clansman will serve the Clan Leader into the sacred land. Entrusting the map to him is fine!"
Most Zhang family members had fair skin. Although this old man was full of wrinkles, his features all creased together, his skin tone was still pale, looking like wrinkled dead skin that had been soaked in water.
At this moment, this piece of dead skin twisted and emitted a hoarse laugh, making everyone uncomfortable.
Zhang Qiling didn't care about holding the map, and he understood that this was just a means for these old men to monitor him. But now, the person holding the map was deathly still, like a corpse puppet, which made him frown slightly.
"I don't like him," Zhang Qiling said faintly, his voice devoid of emotion. His gaze made the old man flustered.
Perhaps no Zhang family member could face the gaze of the clan leader calmly. The old man broke out in a cold sweat in the cold snow. He wiped it away and immediately called for a replacement.
But the replacements were all identical. Zhang Qiling stopped talking and instead hugged the Black Gold Ancient Saber, lost in thought.
The old man was so anxious he wanted to kill himself on the spot. Just then, he suddenly remembered someone, someone who had received supreme honor on the day the clan leader returned.
Although he looked down on him in his heart, at this moment he couldn't afford to consider it further. The old man directly sent a Zhang family member to summon him.
So Zhang Haike was brought over again.
Zhang Haike, who was lying on the bed recuperating from his injuries: ...
Zhang Haike's arrival was not only unexpected by Zhang Haike himself, but even Zhang Qiling, who had been in a daze, had not anticipated it.
The two looked at each other, and the atmosphere fell into silence again.
The old man didn't know the details. He only saw that the indifferent clan leader was finally willing to condescend to glance at him, and felt that he had found the right person.
Seeing that the two were about to be bundled away, after a moment of silence, Zhang Qiling still felt it was not quite right.
Although he had amnesia, he had not lost his sensitivity to the emotions of others.
Zhang Haike was indeed respectful and responsive to his requests, but Zhang Qiling still vaguely felt that this person didn't really want to get close to him.
Zhang Qiling didn't know why, but in his mind, he vaguely felt that this was normal; he seemed to have been unpopular before.
...These Zhang family members don't count; these people are not normal.
In short, young Zhang felt that he still couldn't go against the other person's wishes and force Zhang Haike to go in and find something with him, so he thought for a moment and planned to refuse again.
And at this moment—
"I obey the clan leader's orders. Zhang Haike will go through fire and water."
Zhang Haike, whose face had been changing through a spectrum of colors from red to orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple since he was brought over, suddenly knelt down on one knee, holding the map, and directly accepted the task.
Zhang Qiling: ...?
Zhang Haike: ...
Zhang Haike suddenly buried his head, appearing like a standard, extremely respectful Zhang family member, but in fact, the corner of his mouth hidden in the shadows was almost twitching to the sky, shoulder to shoulder with the sun.
In fact, he had originally planned to use his unhealed injury as a reason to try and refuse the task. Although the old geezer wouldn't care about his physical condition, he would definitely be afraid of him becoming a burden inside, so the chance of refusing successfully was not low.
But somehow, as soon as he saw Zhang Qiling about to speak, he felt an inexplicable urgency in his heart, and his body instinctively slammed onto the ground with a bang, directly cutting off his words.
...This is too much.
Zhang Qiling's confusion lasted only a moment. Although he didn't know why Zhang Haike was suddenly so enthusiastic, to be honest, Zhang Haike was indeed the Zhang family member he subconsciously disliked the least.
"Then let's begin."
So he stopped dwelling on it, turned to the old man, and gestured for him to open the door.
"Clan Leader, we cannot open this door," the old man lowered his head. "Only the blood of past clan leaders can open it."
"Please, Clan Leader, bleed to open the door!"
An ancient dagger was presented, its sharp blade flashing with a cold light, reflecting in Zhang Qiling's eyes.
Along with the dagger, a large basin was brought up to collect the blood.
He said nothing, but the stunned Zhang family members around him seemed to have received some command. They all knelt down simultaneously and shouted with a "bang": "Please, Clan Leader, bleed to open the door!"
"Please, Clan Leader, bleed to open the door!"
Zhang Haike did not join in the shouting. He was somewhat anxious and only bowed deeper. However, a blasphemous thought suddenly flashed through his mind:
...These sons of bitches are shouting so loudly, why doesn't an avalanche bury them all immediately?!
Although his reason told him that the snow mountains near the Zhang family's ancestral land had been specially reinforced and would not easily trigger an avalanche, Zhang Haike still hoped for some extraordinary event at this moment.
...Damn it, such a large bowl. How would a person feel after donating so much blood?
Zhang Haike buried his face even deeper, not wanting the expression on his face to be seen by the Zhang family members beside him.
...No wonder all the previous clan leaders who entered the door never came out again. He had been wondering why, even if those clan leaders were not legendary figures with immense bloodline power, they wouldn't all die after entering, unable to escape. But he hadn't expected this.
This was the shackles that bound everyone in the Zhang family, from which even the clan leader could not escape.
And as his thoughts raced, he suddenly heard the old man's exclamation!
Following it was a clear saber cry, like a phoenix's soaring call, like a waterfall suddenly cascading down!
A thunderous roar erupted!
Zhang Haike subconsciously looked up and saw—
Zhang Qiling, holding the Black Gold Ancient Saber in one hand, unleashed a fierce saber energy that, with sheer force, smashed open the turtle shell that had so firmly locked the lives of the Zhang family leaders for over a thousand years!