Murim Recurve

It was evening as Re\'Kha and everyone exited the main hall. As for the Clan Head and the Central Lake Head, they had downcast expressions that they hid well. But to the experienced eyes of the other Lake Heads, it was apparent.

They gazed at one another, realising that something was up to make the two behave that way. Then, they glanced at the back of Re\'Bah, shuddering for a moment.

Everyone had been ordered to welcome the new Burkurel Ju Clan whose members would be arriving soon. It was just a formality for the day, as they would have to visit another day to gift the newcomers as a show of hospitality.

And, during the later stages of the meeting, they had been assigned the respective people they would have to meet and gift. The gifting session would only occur during the Peak Fire Month, once all the Clan members return from their missions and their city was deemed safe.

With the threat of them losing their positions, no one would be inclined to spend the time gifting the newcomers of an annihilated Elemental Clan. And as it was a time where all the other Elemental Clans too had to participate, they had collectively decided to postpone the date.

Moreover, they also wished to give some time to the new Burkurel Ju Clan to adjust to the atmosphere. So, it worked accordingly. And, they couldn\'t stint on their gifts, so it would take them time to prepare accordingly and present something suitable to the metal Clan Harmonisers.

And now, they were planning to head to the western gate of the city. As the western gate was the entrance to the Burkurel Ju Clan, it was only managed by them, used for their personal use. It was similar to how the southern gate was exclusively used by the Burkurel Re Clan.

And as the group would be arriving at the western gate, they planned to head there too. So, numerous carriages had arrived at their Clan\'s entrance. Just for this occasion, they had ordered most of the carriages from the nearby cycle rickshaw stops to arrive.

It caused a bustling scene in the Re Clan\'s entrance. The same situation was happening in the entrances to the other three Elemental Clans too. As for the Burkurel Ki Clan, there was hardly any commotion there as only four carriages departed from there.

Considering the recent state of things, they had been strained and weren\'t able to divert enough people to the event. They had faced significant losses and hadn\'t managed to recover from that yet, both emotionally and economically. After all, they had lost three Elders and the City Lord. It was damage they couldn\'t recover from even after a couple of decades.

So, no one would hold it against them for sending fewer people. This was another reason they had ordered all the members from the remaining three Elemental Clans to assemble. And from their side, they had sent the newly elected City Lord and some of the significantly influential Harmonisers.

From the Burkurel Re Clan, carriages streamed forth one after another. In the first carriage were the Clan Head and the Central Lake Head. Trailing in the carriage right behind them were Re\'Bah and Re\'Rak. They were followed by the other three Lake Heads and their respective spouses.

They had departed in order of their standing within the Clan. As for the head Elder, he remained behind to guard the Clan\'s secrets. As the other two Elders had left the Clan, it placed their Clan defenceless. After all, every other Harmoniser, except for those injured or resting from old age had left to welcome the new Burkurel Ju Clan.

Among the carriages, since Re\'Rel hadn\'t married yet, his carriage was empty. So, Re\'Fua and others boarded it to keep him company. Besides, no one seemed to care about a tiny detail like that, since it was only formality at this point and pride.

The only carriages that mattered were those in the front, belonging to the Five Lakes.

Once they had left the Clan and had travelled a fair distance, Re\'Bah looked at her husband, smiling, "That went fairly well."

"It wouldn\'t have if Re\'Kha said even a single statement differently." Re\'Rak frowned, "You shouldn\'t have placed that much pressure on her."

"Still, she fared wonderfully, right?" Re\'Bah smiled, "The only difference between Re\'Kha and Re\'Rel is that she dislikes to scheme or plot against others. Otherwise, with enough drive and motivation, she would perform as well as Re\'Rel or even better."

"This is the first time you praised her this much." Re\'Rak snorted, "She\'s still just a child. Don\'t burden her too much."

"This is nothing much compared to what we had to face when we were around her age." Re\'Bah looked outside the window as she let out a gentle sigh.

"The situation was different back then," Re\'Rak sighed, slowly holding her hand, "Besides, we vowed to lead a peaceful life. Why are you getting into so many murky situations and endangering the lives of both you and our kids? Re\'Rel is facing an assassination attempt at least once every month. And the attempt on Re\'Kha almost caused her life. She still lived as a blind girl for three months."

"The assassination attempts on Re\'Rel are dangerous, but every time, he grows stronger. And," Re\'Bah grinned as her eyes glinted with intense cunning, "I know of every method Re\'Tul can use against our son. If she uses any method beyond what Re\'Rel can handle, then I simply take care of them. He needs to mature faster if he has to lead our Clan."

"If you know of her every action," Re\'Rak glared at her, tightening his hold on her hand, almost crushing it under his hold, "Then why didn\'t you do anything back then? Re\'Kha almost died. And the reason she managed to live was through sheer luck."

"Luck is a frightening factor, dear." Re\'Bah changed her gaze, slowly making eye contact with Re\'Rak, "And, calculated luck is even more frightening."

"What…do you mean?" Re\'Rak frowned, looking at his wife in confusion.

"Re\'Kha must have told you everything by now," Seeing the minute fluctuation in his emotion, Re\'Bah smiled, "But, even she doesn\'t know of this. How can a person trapped in a cave for 20 years obtain the information about our Clan\'s cultivation technique and derive Mist Banyan?"