Chapter 19: Founding Ancestor

Chapter 19: Founding Ancestor

Dark miasmic energy swirled violently around Mei Ling, cocooning her weeping form. With an earth-rending shockwave, the cocoon exploded outward. Mei Ling emerged, floating several feet off the ground, her hair now dichromatic - snow white on the right and arterial crimson on the left.

As she touched down gracefully, her mismatched gaze turned to examine her transformed body. Gone was the petite girlish frame, now replaced with alluring, voluptuous curves barely contained by the contrasting silks of innocence and vengeance.

The Patriarch and Elder gaped at this dramatic metamorphosis until realization sparked in the Elder's eyes. Immediately, he dropped to one knee, head bowed.

"Ancestor!" he uttered; his usual nonchalance gone. "This junior pays his respects and bids you welcome back to our clan!"

The Patriarch's eyes bulged in disbelief. "What nonsense is thi-" he began, but the Elder urgently yanked him down into a similar kneeling posture.

"Show respect, you fool!" the Elder hissed under his breath. "She is the Founding Ancestor!"

The Patriarch trembled, droplets of nervous sweat beading his brow. To think the legendary progenitor of their Mei Clan had returned to the mortal plane after all this time...it was unthinkable. Immediately, he pressed his head to the floor.

"Ten thousand apologies, Revered Ancestor!" he exclaimed, pulse thundering in his ears. "This junior apologizes for not recognizing you!"

Mei Ling blinked slowly, still adjusting to her new level of senses and perception. These kneeling fools before her...why did they seem so familiar? She tried to grasp the fleeting memories fluttering away like mist.

"You..." she began, but a spike of agony lanced through her mind. With a scream, she clutched her head, the foundations of the great hall cracking from the energy currents swirling around her.

The Elder darted forward, snatching her comatose body from mid-air before she could impact the debris below. Gently, he laid the slumbering girl down, brushing errant bangs from her sweat-slicked forehead. His own energy reserves were nearly empty from the battle and strain of damage control.

For several long minutes, he simply watched the steady rise and fall of Mei Ling's chest as she slept. The answers he desperately sought lingered just out of reach, but time was no longer an ally here. This child clearly harbored the soul and powers of their Revered Ancestor. That complicated matters tremendously.

With a tired sigh, the Elder stood slowly. The clan power structure and politics would be in chaos after these events. He needed to take Mei Ling somewhere secure while he sorted through this puzzle and determined the best path forward.

But one thing was certain - the girl slumbering serenely before him was perhaps the greatest Opportunity that had surfaced for the Mei Clan in its long history. Whether she was truly their progenitor reincarnated or not, the child must be protected and nurtured at all costs.

She represented the clan's future now. He would mold her into the prestige and influence befitting one of her limitless potential. This disaster could yet transform into a new golden age for the Mei Clan.

He thought to himself that although the Mei Clan had incurred huge loses that day, there were still huge gains. Mei Ling turning out to be the reincarnation of the founding ancestor was a blessing in disguise. Although she couldn't control her power at the moment, she could still fully revive as the founding ancestor if her cultivation reached the soul formation realm.

He gathered the slumbering Mei Ling gently in his arms. After the unbridled chaos unleashed by the girl across the devastated compound, an uneasy silence now hung over the ruined ancestral shrines and buildings as scattered fires continued burning.

The Elder took a deep, centering breath. There could be no delay. He needed to relocate Mei Ling somewhere more suitable until she awakened and he could piece together exactly what had transpired here. Too many specifics waited on razor's edge. The future and destiny of the entire clan depended now on his handling of this volatile situation.

Tearing a talisman he held with his two fingers, he opened an interspatial portal to transfer them both to a secure-

"Did I say you could leave?"

The softly menacing words cut through the crackling fires as the opened spatial portal closed itself shut. The Elder froze in place, blood turning to ice in his veins. That voice...here?! Impossible!