Chapter 399: Killing but Not Burying

Chapter 399: Chapter 399: Killing but Not Burying

In the younger generation’s experience, ancestral graves were usually on some rather remote mountain.

Such remote places rarely had convenient transportation, so Arabella Donovan and the others had prepared to get out of the car and hike before they arrived.

They never expected that while the place was indeed remote and sparsely populated, the road was completely clear, allowing them to drive all the way up the mountain.

Perhaps noticing the surprise on Arabella Donovan and the others, Caspian Rhodes’s lips curved into a slight smile as he explained, "This mountain is quite out of the way. People from the nearby villages generally don’t come here unless they have a reason."

"Years ago, when the government wasn’t so strict about land management, buying and selling mountain and forest land was allowed. My great-grandfather took the initiative to buy this entire mountain. He then had this road built straight to the top, along with the ancestral hall, to give everyone a place to rest when they come for ancestral worship."

Arabella Donovan was speechless.

’What an understated way to put it. I guess I was being presumptuous. Good lord, has buying houses and cars become too boring for you rich people? You bought a whole mountain and built a house on it just for a rest stop during the once-a-year ancestral worship? Only you could come up with something so extravagant. I can’t listen to any more of this, or I’m going to start hating the rich!’

Caspian felt a pang of guilt and rubbed his nose, trying to explain. "This was all a long time ago. It would be impossible to do something like this nowadays. The mountain used to be quite desolate. After the road was built, more people started coming. It significantly shortened the travel time to the next mountain over, making things more convenient for the local mountain folk. So, when we’re not here, the villagers voluntarily help maintain the area."

Caspian’s explanation was meant to show Arabella that building the road was a mutually beneficial arrangement with the local villagers, not some act of a local tyrant claiming a mountain and bullying the populace.

Unfortunately, Arabella didn’t really grasp his point. She just gave a perfunctory nod and let the topic drop.

Caspian was speechless.

Thanks to their proximity, Caspian Rhodes’s family arrived quite early. When they reached the ancestral hall, only the family of his First Uncle from the second branch, who was in charge of the ancestral rites this year, was there.

Seeing Caspian and the others, the First Uncle and his wife paused for a moment before quickly composing themselves and coming out to greet them.

"Uncle, Aunt, Xavier, Eloise, and Caspian, you’re all here. Come on in and have a seat. It’s still early, so the others haven’t arrived yet. It might be a bit of a wait."

Mr. Rhodes waved his hand. "It’s all right, it’s all right. You go on and get busy. We can find a place to sit ourselves. We’re the ones who are early. You should go prepare what’s needed for the ceremony. Don’t worry about us."

"Ah, alright..."

The First Uncle glanced at the young people trailing behind Mr. Rhodes, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes. However, with things to do, he had to suppress his questions for now, planning to find a chance to discreetly inquire later.

Although it was described as just a rest stop, the ancestral hall housed the memorial tablets of generations of ancestors. With more and more people coming to pay their respects each year, the hall had been built to be not only large but also magnificent. With carved beams, painted pillars, and elaborate lacquerwork, it was a breathtaking riot of color.

The first time Arabella and the others saw it from the outside, they almost mistook it for an ancient, secluded temple hidden deep in the mountains, rather than a private ancestral hall belonging to a single family.

Besides the large main hall inside used for displaying the ancestral tablets, there were several tearooms around the periphery for people to rest in.

Mr. Rhodes and his group chose a tearoom close to the main hall and sat down. As both juniors and guests, Arabella and the others stood quietly to the side, listening to the Rhodes family members chat over tea.

Arabella wasn’t bored. She cracked melon seeds while observing the First Uncle’s family, who were bustling about in the main hall.

But what she saw gave her quite a shock.

’Oh my, this family is really... TSK TSK TSK...’

Hector Donovan and the others stiffened for a moment before quickly relaxing, trying their best not to let Arabella notice anything was amiss.

But while they appeared calm on the surface, Arabella’s exclamations had already hooked them. They were practically scratching at their chests, dying to get the gossip on this family.

’Stop with the TSKing and just tell us what’s going on with this family! The suspense is killing us!’

Caspian was curious too, but despite his curiosity, he didn’t forget what was important.

The moment he heard Arabella’s inner voice, he immediately turned to observe his grandfather and grandmother’s expressions.

The two pendants he had gotten from Arabella had been rush-delivered to the two elders a few days ago. They were hanging around their necks right now.

However, no matter how hard Caspian stared at them, he couldn’t see the slightest hint of shock or confusion that would come from suddenly hearing Arabella’s thoughts.

This brought Caspian a mix of relief and disappointment. It confirmed their previous theory: to hear Arabella’s inner voice, it wasn’t enough to just possess jade containing spiritual marrow. It had to be a personal gift from her.

He had paid money for the two jade pieces his grandparents were wearing, so by any definition, they didn’t count as gifts.

Caspian was speechless. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to feel relieved or frustrated.

Caspian’s First Uncle’s family had only four members present today, all told: the First Uncle and his wife; their son, Walter Rhodes—who was the eldest among Caspian’s generation of cousins—and their eldest daughter-in-law, Sheila Wyatt.

As mentioned before, Caspian’s second and third grand-uncles were both womanizing playboys. The number of children they had was several times that of Caspian’s branch of the family, which made his own monogamous family seem like the odd ones out.

This First Uncle had perfectly inherited his father’s "fine tradition." While he only had one wife, he had plenty of mistresses and illegitimate children. But his affairs were kept private; no one would dare bring such matters out into the open.

Especially at a solemn occasion like ancestral worship. If he dared to bring a mistress and an illegitimate child to upstage his legitimate wife and son, his long-dead father wouldn’t be able to climb out of his coffin to break his legs, but he would certainly become a laughingstock in the family.

Thus, the First Uncle had only brought his legitimate son and daughter-in-law with him today. Right now, only these four were in the main hall.

Eloise Donovan and the others scanned their eyes back and forth across the four of them, eagerly guessing which one was the source of the gossip Arabella had hinted at.

Unfortunately, it seemed Arabella had just made a passing comment. She watched the First Uncle’s family, nodding repeatedly, but remained completely silent, both out loud and in her mind.

Everyone was speechless. ’Seriously? You can’t just light the fuse and walk away! Don’t leave us hanging like this!’

Fortunately, it seemed fate took pity on them for having to endure the cold mountain wind so early in the morning. They probably wouldn’t last without some gossip to tide them over, so it arranged for someone to walk right into the trap.

"Grandfather, Grandmother, Uncle, Aunt, and Cousin Caspian, you’re here so early! And these people are...?" Walter Rhodes’s gaze swept over Arabella and the others, his eyes filled with a probing and calculating look that seemed anything but friendly.