While Velin dealt with his wife. Hog walked Cenn to his house and told him to pack the things he would need in the sect.

There wasn't much to pack. Three sets of clothes, leather armor, and a pair of boots. That was all his belongings.

After spending an hour packing, tidying himself up after the battle, and cleaning the house, Cenn was finally able to take a break.

[That's about it. Just enough time to visit Mom and Smoky.]

But suddenly his thoughts were interrupted. Someone knocked at the door.

When Cenn opened the door, he saw a wrinkled old woman in a gray woolen dress. He immediately recognized her as the babysitter who had looked after him and Aydor when they were babies.

"Oh how you've grown, Cenn. And it seemed like we'd only seen each other a short time ago." Said the old woman.

"Hello, Grandma Mold. I'm afraid it's been almost a year since we last met," replied Cenn.

" Really? Time does fly so fast when you're old," said the old lady thoughtfully.

Cenn nodded his head thinking how to continue the conversation. "How's your health, I hope you're doing well?" He blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Oh, just the usual. My bones ache, my eyes can't see, and the last tooth fell out recently. Hehe." The woman replied and smiled, showing her bare gums.

"Heh, why don't you come inside, I'll make some tea for you." Cenn smiled back confusedly.

"No, no, you don't. I came to tell you that Velin is waiting for you at his house. It seems he has some serious talk for you. So you better hurry up." Grandma Mold replied.

" So that's it. I'm sorry you had to come here, couldn't they have made someone younger as a messenger," said Cenn indignantly.

"Oh don't worry about it, I'm only happy to take a walk. All right, go already. You can't have the head waiting for you. You can't have the Head waiting for you," said the old lady.

"You're right, I'm sorry I can't walk you back, have a nice day Granny." Cenn bowed and walked quickly towards the clan head's house.

Once in front of the entrance to Velin's house, he saw that he was already being waited on. The unfamiliar man waved to him as soon as he stepped onto the walkway in front of the house. Cenn thought it was strange that Velin's house was guarded by a stranger, but as he got closer he remembered that he had seen the man this morning. He was one of the guards that escorted the carts to the arena.

"Young Master, come in. Master Velin will be here shortly, and asked me to wait for you inside."

Cenn nodded in response and made his way inside.

The guard followed and led him into one of the far rooms of the house, where he asked him to wait.

[I guess Uncle wants to give me a lecture on how to behave in a sect. Eh, I hope it won't take too long.]

…

It had been about half an hour and Cenn was getting impatient. All this time he had been sitting alone in the room, waiting for Velin. Finally, he decided it would be best to ask what was going on. When he left the room, there was another person in the corridor beside the guard who had met him earlier, and he was someone Cenn didn't recognize, which was strange. Usually, newcomers weren't allowed into houses. Although it wasn't that important right now.

"Young master, please stay in the room. Master Velin will arrive soon," replied the guard who had escorted him into the room earlier.

"How much longer do I have to wait? I should already be moving out to meet with Mr. Parive," Cenn said.

"Don't worry, he will arrive quite soon. In the meantime, stay in the room."

"Alright." Cenn returned to the room, sat on the floor, and began to meditate.

...

A little more time passed.

[It's still a long way from dinner, and I missed lunch. I should run to the kitchen and get some food."]

Cenn thought and left the room.

"Where are you going, young master?" Asked the same guard.

"I wanted to go to the kitchen to get something to eat. I'll be back soon, don't worry." Cenn replied and continued walking towards the exit.

"You are not allowed to leave the house, please stop."

"What, why is that?" Stunned, Cenn asked.

"We shouldn't have to tell you, but a few hours ago, Krinel Faro died from a wound he received. And now the Kinov family has conspired with a couple other families, and are preparing to avenge his death. We expect them to attack any minute. Please stay in the room until this is over." The guard agitatedly said, grabbing Cenn by the arm.

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[Damn Kinov family, aren't they even afraid of the Eldest Deacon?]

After thinking for a few seconds, Cenn went back into the room and closed the door behind him.

[Damn, if they attacked, it wouldn't end well. Even Uncle Hog and Uncle Velin might get hurt.]

An incredible sense of unease gripped his heart. The thought that he might be the culprit behind the tragedy tore at him from the inside out. His mind was racing with the idea of running to the Temple and telling the Bishop, or going to fight alongside Hog and Velin.

[Damn it! Uncle Velin, I can't hide here while you fight for me! ]

His first thought was to rush to the exit and run to the main gate as fast as possible, but then there was a good chance that he would be stopped and made to wait there, these guards didn't look weak at all. They were cultivators of the first rank, in addition to their superior physical strength. There was no way to just run away from them.

What other options were there? After looking around the room, Cenn's gaze stopped at the paper window. Which served as the only source of light. This room wasn't habitable, so the window in it wouldn't open, so it would have to be broken. The window was made up of small rectangular cells, so to get out it wasn't enough to just tear the thick wax paper, you'd have to break the thin frames that held the paper as well.

Unable to think of anything better Cenn coughed loudly several times to cover the sound of tearing paper and cracking wood. A couple quick movements and the way out was ready. With a sharp jump, he sprinted outside and froze. But everything was quiet in the room he'd gotten out of. The escape plan had succeeded. What remained was to find out what was going on at the manor.

...

Hog was sitting at a table in the banquet hall of the main building. The feast Valtira had organized for Cenn's victory was in full bloom.

Somehow Mizra had managed to bring Felnor Pariv to their estate, and now Velin and Mizra were trying to please him. Even Eidor had been brought here on a stretcher, and he was sitting at the table next to his grandfather with a sour face.

What was bothering Hog was Cenn's absence. Velin had already sent servants to find him, but they came back saying that the boy needed to clean himself up, as he still hadn't changed his clothes after the fight.

Half an hour had passed since then, but Cenn still hadn't come.

"Ahah, Mr. Pariv, what an honor for our family to receive such a valiant warrior like you. Let's drink some more." Mizra pronounced while holding out a shot glass with Baijiu to Pariv. "To Mr. Parive and the Iron Fist Sect, Gan Bei!"

Several dozen people present at the banquet all drank the contents of their shots at the same time. Hoge looked at the faces of those present and felt nothing but disdain. Half of them were scions of the Orist family, as useless and hypocritical as their Head.

The remaining half were merchants and artisans with whom the Bael family did business in Heartglen. Yet they were all just business partners, nothing more, nothing less. So why the heck had they all been summoned?

"Ah, Mr. Orist, you embarrass me, I don't know I deserve such flattering words," Felnor Pariv replied.

"Well don't be so modest, for our humble families a visit from someone like you is a big deal." Old man Orist continued to be gracious, handing Pariv another shot glass of Baijiu.

"Well no, I can't take it anymore, forgive me." Parive politely declined the shot glass. "We need to move out to the sect as soon as possible. If we don't reach the gathering place by the morning of the 6th day of this decade, I'll be in big trouble."

"Don't worry, the Orist family has been in the caravan business for 100 years, we can easily get you where you need to go, after all, we still have two more days to go. Trust me," Mizra replied proudly.

"No, no, we can't put it off. We have to leave tonight, before sundown, or there's no way we'll make it. I have a whole caravan full of supplies for the sect. I hope our agreement stands and your men can escort me?" Parive turned to old man Orist.

"Yes, of course, it's all in force." Replied Mizra.

"What arrangement are you talking about, father-in-law?" Asked Velin cautiously.

"Ahahh, it's nothing much. It's just that we'll need to escort Mr. Pariv's caravan to the sect lands, don't worry." The old man replied evasively.

"Who 'we'?" Velin interjected.

"Well here's the thing. Lord Pariv has been assigned a very important mission, and he has a very valuable cargo in his caravan. So we can't send it out without guards. And will need at least 2 cultivators of the third rank to guard it. Hahah." Embarrassedly, Mizra said and drained his shot glass.

"You old fucker, since when do you make such decisions behind our backs?" Hog exploded.

"Calm down Hog, how can you make a scandal in front of your guest? It's already been decided anyway. But you don't have to worry, I will personally go along with you, as will 8 of my best men." Said Mizra and winked meaningfully at Parive.

" Quiet Dovor, there's no need to discuss this here. Mr. Pariv, I would be glad to accompany you, but I'm afraid I can't leave family matters behind. I hope you will enter into my position." Velin said cautiously.

"I must admit I am disappointed by your words. Not only are you refusing to help the Iron Fist Sect, but you are willing to endanger the life of your son," Parive replied unhappily.

"I'm sorry what are you talking about?" Asked Velin perplexed.

"Why, didn't Mr. Orist tell you? This year the migration of the northern buffalo started earlier than usual, and unfortunately our routes with them overlap. Therefore, no later than the morning of the 6th day of this decade, we must meet caravans from other towns that will have their own escorts. That way we'll have enough power to protect the caravan from these ferocious creatures. But the entire caravan will be doomed if you refuse and we are short-handed." Parive said with undisguised horror, and then immediately drained his shot glass.

After hearing Parive's tirade, Hog realized that there was no way to refuse the trip. But at the same time, he was more concerned that Parive had somehow decided that Cenn was Velin's son.

"I understand you Mr. Parive. In that case, we have no choice but to escort you." Velin muttered gloomily. "How long will it take to reach the assembly point?" He asked.

"A day's journey at best, but I wouldn't count on it going smoothly. So we should leave today," answered Pariv.

"I understand, but we need time to prepare our gear and provisions," said Velin.

"Calm down son-in-law, my men have already prepared wagons, gear, and food for a ten-day journey, for all of us. I have already taken care of everything." Mizra said smugly.

"How farsighted of you, father-in-law. Too bad you forgot to warn me," replied Velin irritably.

"'Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to distract you with such trifling matters,' said Mizra." "Mr. Pariv, my wagons, and men will arrive soon and we can hit the road together, for now, let's have another drink."

"Ahahh, thank you, I don't even know what I would have done without your help Mr. Orist! This time, I will make the toast. On behalf of my Iron Fist Sect, I want to say that I'm happy that the Orist and Bael families are joining us. And I want you all to raise a glass to the winner of this wonderful event. To the winner of the tournament. To Aydor Bael! Gan Bei!"

"What the fuck?" Hog muttered, watching as all the people in the room except Velin and Aydor cheerfully emptied their glasses.