Chapter 427: Chapter 428: Kao Mountain Village

Manager Shi’s eyes flickered at the sight of the long line of carriages outside. It was clear the Gu family had prospered since leaving.

He led them to the mayor’s office. At first, the mayor had no intention of getting involved in such a thankless task and was about to send them away to handle it themselves. But when he saw the formal calling card Gu Yi presented, he immediately sprang to his feet.

"So Mr. Gu is from our humble town! I truly failed to recognize your eminence and have slighted you all." Although he was the mayor of a town, he had only obtained the position through connections. In truth, he didn’t even hold an official rank.

Before him now stood the family of the national top scholar. How could a minor town mayor like him dare to offend them?

"Kao Mountain Village has already been settled with new people, and they’re living in all the houses now. If you want to reclaim them, you’ll have to see the Lord County Magistrate. I don’t have the authority to make that decision."

He cursed his luck inwardly. ’A huge problem has just fallen from the sky.’ He was terrified they had returned to reclaim their land and village, which would put him in an impossible position.

Gu Yi said, "You don’t need to worry about that, Mayor. We have already settled down in Fu County. We only came back this time to relocate our ancestral tombs and retrieve the ancestral tablets, not to reclaim our family’s land."

He had seen the mayor’s worries at a glance and felt compelled to explain.

In truth, they had all come holding on to a glimmer of hope. If the land was still available, they could have sold it for some Silver. Now, it seemed that plan was destined to fail.

However, this was something they had anticipated, so it wasn’t too difficult to accept.

’As long as they’re not trying to take back the village, it’s manageable,’ he thought. ’I just hope those people weren’t foolish enough to destroy their ancestral hall. Otherwise, this will be impossible to smooth over.’

He didn’t dare to delay. After hastily giving some instructions, he readied his family’s ox-cart to take them on the journey.

Gu Yi thanked Manager Shi, then quickly led the convoy away, following the mayor.

The roads were familiar, but there were no familiar faces. Everyone’s expression was heavy.

Gu Yi had already found an opportunity to ride in the mayor’s carriage. "Mayor Shan," he began, "I remember some families didn’t flee the famine with the rest of us. Do you know what’s become of them?"

Through their conversation, Gu Yi had learned the mayor’s surname was Shan, and his given name was Duo.

He had been appointed mayor after order was restored in Bainiao; he was not a local.

"You should brace yourselves," the mayor said. "When we first arrived, there weren’t many people here at all." In truth, the reality was far more brutal than his brief words suggested. There had been uncollected bodies strewn everywhere, and the few who had survived were little more than skin and bones, barely clinging to life.

Gu Yi’s heart sank even further. Their Kao Mountain Village had always depended on a mountain spring for water, and even when they had fled, the spring was already on the verge of running dry.

’Even with fewer mouths to feed, as life became increasingly difficult, it was unlikely many could have survived,’ he thought.

’Many people had stubbornly insisted on staying behind. He wondered how many, if any, he would see again on this trip.`

Filled with this apprehension, the convoy finally drew near Kao Mountain Village.

Seeing such a long procession with so many carriages, many people along the road began to follow, curious why this group was heading toward such a remote mountain village.

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The people living in Kao Mountain Village heard the commotion and quickly blocked the entrance.

When the Gu family members saw the crowd and realized there wasn’t a single familiar face among them, grief-stricken expressions appeared on their faces.

The village’s chief, Village Chief Huang, saw the mayor and immediately trotted over. "Mayor, what brings you here today? And this is...?"

Mayor Shan explained the reason for the Gu family’s return, even making a point to mention they were the family of a Capital Official, hoping the chief would be smart enough not to cause him any trouble.

Village Chief Huang stared at the long line of carriages, his heart pounding with fear. ’These people are powerful and influential,’ he thought. ’Are they going to make us give up the village?’

’It took us years of hardship to finally settle here. If we’re driven out, we’ll be right back where we started.’

Gu Yi immediately understood the man’s undisguised expression. "Village Chief Huang," he said, "we only wish to retrieve our ancestral tablets and relocate our family’s ancestral tombs. We will not be staying long."

Village Chief Huang glanced back at the other villagers, his expression turning to one of panic. ’We never touched the ancestral tombs,’ he thought frantically, ’but when we first arrived, we saw the ancestral hall was still sturdy, so we used it as a temporary shelter.’

’Everyone found the tablets enshrined there a bit unsettling, so we gathered them up and tossed them on the back hill. After all this time, exposed to the wind and sun, they’ve probably rotted away completely.’

The surrounding villagers evidently understood the implication of his words and silently shuffled back a few steps. The people they had assumed were long dead had unexpectedly returned, and in such splendor.

The deed was done, and now they had no idea how these important people would treat poor folk like them.

Seeing their reactions, Mayor Shan guessed what had likely happened. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately just stood by silently.

The younger members of the Gu family immediately erupted. "What? You occupied our village, and you couldn’t even leave our tablets and tombs in peace?"

Village Chief Huang had no choice but to step forward, bowing and clasping his hands repeatedly in apology to the Gu Family. "We came into the village in a rush, and we cleared things out without much thought. We would never dare touch the ancestral tombs, but I’m afraid the tablets... they probably can’t be found."

"We have failed our ancestors," Gu Datian said, his voice choked with emotion as he stared toward the ancestral hall, tears streaming down his old face. "The incense has been cold for years, and now they have suffered such a humiliation."

The other family members who had come with him also began wiping away tears. If they hadn’t been burdened with so many belongings back then, they would have carried their ancestors’ tablets on their backs as they fled.

The people of Kao Mountain Village knew that what they had done was deplorable. None of them dared to say a word. Some, frightened, even began to shrink back, ready to run home and hide if the newcomers turned violent.

Gu Yi knew that what was done was done. Trying to assign blame now would be pointless, as they would probably never find the specific people responsible. He could only grit his teeth and ask, "Do you have any idea where the tablets from our ancestral hall were put?"

"It would be best if we can find them. If not, we will have to commission new ones and perform a soul-summoning ritual here to invite our ancestors to migrate with us."

Although the current residents of Kao Mountain Village were uneasy about a soul-summoning ritual being performed in their village, it was a far better alternative than being held accountable, so they all remained silent.

Gu Yi turned to Village Chief Huang. "Are you saying you don’t know where they were put?"

Village Chief Huang answered fearfully, "Th-they might be... somewhere on the back hill. But by now, I expect they’ve rotted away completely."

Gu Datian knew this was not the time to make a scene. As the most senior elder there, he had no choice but to step forward. "Let’s just recover what we can," he said. "And I have one more question. When we left, some of our village families insisted on staying behind. Do you know what became of them?"

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