Vol 6. Chapter 138: The Howling Ancestral Rite (Silver Dragon Inheritance Version)

When Leon and the others arrived at the backyard, the party had just reached the summoning phase.

“The princesses' piety moves the heavens! His Highness the Prin—”

“Wait, wait, wait, Sarah, you forgot Her Majesty’s mother.”

“Ah—ah—ah—ah! Ahem, ahem—”

Sarah cleared her throat and restarted the chant.

“The princesses' piety moves the heavens! Uh... their grandmother also keeps them in her thoughts day and night!”

“His Highness the Prince, Her Majesty the Queen, Her Highness the Princess, and Miss Xiaoxue—all revive!”

With the growing number of attendees and the expansion of the professional summoning team, Sarah’s lines this time were longer than ever before.

But fortunately, Their Majesties' pace of childbirth was just slow enough that Sarah wasn’t forced to improvise a new summoning chant on the spot.

Right after that, Muse blew her horn—woo woo woo—and led several maids in musical accompaniment.

Mulu, Fran, Shanbai, Grandma, and the other elder "skeleton troupe" members sat around the bonfire, already chewing on steaks.

Cecilia looked left and right, seeing if there was anything

she could help with.

The red-haired beauty simply sat down next to Moon and started crying along with her.

Seeing the scene, Leon leaned over to Rosvisser and whispered,

“Seriously, your mom’s crying really isn’t any less than Moon’s.”

Rosvisser shook her head in silence. “She’s hundreds of years old, and still joins kids in this kind of thing...”

The four of them approached.

Everyone else was busy, except Aurora, who stood there with nothing to do.

Or rather, what she was supposed to do was answer the questions of the main character of today’s summoning ritual.

“We’ve been back from abroad for quite a few days already. Why is the burial only happening now?” Leon asked.

Aurora held a ceramic bowl in both hands and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, old man? I thought you’d already figured out how the summoning ritual works. But judging from your tone, it sounds like not only do you not understand it—you even seem... disappointed?”

Leon scratched his hair and chuckled. “Guess I’ve gotten used to it. Every time we come back, if I don’t eat a serving of my own offering, it feels like something’s missing.”

“Well, no need to worry this time. Might not even finish it all, Dad, because I prepared four servings of offerings.”

Aurora tilted her body slightly and glanced at the people behind Leon—her mother, big sister, and Xiaoxue.

“Xiaoxue,”

“None of you came in vain, everyone gets a share~”

Xiaoxue blinked her beautiful golden eyes and curiously asked,

“Auntie Rosvisser, what’s an offering?”

“...A custom to respect the dead. People place food in front of the grave during funerals, as a tribute.”

She paused for a moment, seeming to recall something, then looked toward Aurora.

“So which photo did you guys use?”

“Oh, speaking of the photo, I searched the house for a long time but couldn’t find a three-person picture of you, Dad, and Big Sis—so...”

Aurora ran to the table behind the bonfire, picked up the photo on it,

and handed it to Rosvisser.

“So I just used your very first family portrait instead.”

Noa and Xiaoxue leaned in next to Rosvisser, and Leon also walked over.

The four of them looked down at the Melkvey family’s knockoff family photo.

And there it was again—Leon’s long-lost arch-nemesis, that cursed photo, back from the dead.

But what really made Leon speechless was the expression on his, Rosvisser’s, and Noa’s faces. After all, back then, he and Rosvisser were still in that “love-hate” phase, and Noa didn’t exactly trust him yet.

The worst part?

Originally, Moon had been in the photo too.

But now, her face had been taped over with two strips of adhesive in the shape of an “X.”

“What the hell kind of half-assed censorship is this?!”

“All you ever say is ‘Your second sister is cute and natural’!”

Seeing his dad’s face, Aurora knew he’d noticed the taped “X,” so she proactively explained,

“Based on your recent travel frequency and how many family members you bring, I’ve deduced that in the future, you’re likely to take more and more people with you when you leave.”

“So I didn’t cut Third Sis out of the picture—I just covered her with tape.”

“That way, if you take Mom, Big Sis, and Third Sis out next time, when you come back, I can just peel the tape off and set the photo on the table.”

“Isn’t that super convenient?”

“Sweet cabbage!”

“That’s just sweet cabbage!”

Rosvisser handed the photo back to Aurora.

Then she shielded the side of her face with one hand, not wanting the other women nearby to see the helpless and embarrassed look spreading across her expression.

She quickly walked over to Cecilia and pulled this oversized red-toned “Moon” away from the real Moon.

“Mom... why are you getting caught up in their nonsense too?”

“Your father and I changed their titles to ‘Dad’ and ‘Mom’ a few days ago—less formal, more affectionate.”

That was Leon’s idea.

Just like how he once said he wanted Noa and Moon to call Rosvisser ‘Mama’ instead of ‘Mother’ or ‘Honored Matron.’

Cecilia stood up, patted the dust off her skirt, and smiled like she belonged there more than anyone.

“Ah~ I think it’s fun! So many people, singing songs, roasting meat—and I get to see you and Leon right after you got married, how great is that~”

She paused for a moment, then added seriously,

“Also, once the baby’s born, I won’t have to leave the house anymore. That way I won’t get lost. It’s a win-win!”

“...”

“Good thing the Silver Dragon Sanctuary’s backyard is big enough. Otherwise, with a funeral this size, we might’ve really had to go out to find space.”

Rosvisser glanced around and didn’t see Vida anywhere, so she asked,

“Where’s Dad?”

“Oh, he said if he came, he might not be able to stop himself from laughing, and that would ruin the mood—so he skipped it.”

“...With how weird this whole atmosphere already is, not sure there’s any mood left to ruin.”

Rosvisser couldn’t help but mutter inwardly.

And so, accompanied by Muse’s soft little tune, this raucous Silver Dragon version of the Ancestral Rite drew to a close—

But Leon didn’t linger.

In a few months, when he and Rosvisser returned from searching for the Five-Spirit Crown, they’d have to go through this all over again.

That thought filled him with a strange sense of excitement and anticipation.

The servants left the backyard. Cecilia took a few granddaughters and Xiaoxue off to play another game.

Rosvisser, busy with work again, exchanged a few words with Leon before heading back to the sanctuary.

And just like that, the once lively summoning scene was reduced to just Leon and Noa.

Father and daughter sat together on the bench beneath the old pagoda tree.

Leon opened a bottle of soda and handed it to Noa.

“Thanks, Dad.”

Noa took a sip—cool and sweet. It tasted great.

She sat on the bench, holding the soda bottle, her long legs wrapped in pure white over-knee socks crossed and swinging. Her little face showed no expression, as if deep in thought.

Leon noticed Noa’s mood and asked,

“What’s wrong? You look a little down.”

“Ah... just a little.”

Leon smiled teasingly. “Feeling weird about attending your own funeral for the first time? Don’t worry—you’ll get used to it.”

Noa laughed at that.

But then she shook her head.

“It’s not that, Dad. I was thinking—after this, you’re going to keep heading out to look for the remaining Primordial Relics, right?”

“Yeah. Why? I won’t be gone long.”

“I know. Then how long do you think you’ll stay home this time?” Noa looked up at Leon. “Roughly half a month?”

Leon thought for a moment and replied, “Half a month, huh...”

Noa pressed her lips together. “In just half a month, I probably won’t be able to finish learning all those new techniques you wanted to teach me.”

“Oh, so that’s what’s bothering you.”

Leon smiled and gently ruffled Noa’s hair, reassuring her.

“Don’t worry, Noa. The fact I’m giving you new lessons now means I’ve already got a plan. Even after I leave, you’ll still be able to keep learning my personal fighting style.”

Noa blinked obediently.

“But isn’t everyone’s combat style unique?”

“That’s right. But there’s one guy—or rather, one collection of techniques—that brings together the best of many masters.”