Chapter 286: Under the Skin

The large family that Koda had brought over did not know the situation of the Nicholas family clan. The posture of the dozen or so people when they paid their respects did not seem wrong, but the Faith Points provided from the worship ritual were not many at all.

Speaking of which, this situation was actually normal. When Romo first woke up, Norton and the others each had around 10 Faith Points.

However, the Faith Points provided by these 15 people were too little. There was even a clansman with just one Faith Point…

This meant that when they paid their respects to the Old Ancestor, they basically did not have any sincerity in their hearts!!

Moreover, there was a person who did not even provide any Faith Points at all when he paid his respect!

The total number of people who had returned was 15, but there were a total of 16 people paying their respects!

Romo brought out the System interface and opened the genealogy to check. He saw the 15 new names added to the side branches. He flipped through the [life experiences] of these people one by one.

As he obtained more and more information, a hint of gloominess gradually gathered in his eyes.

Koda and the others faced the ancestral tablets and paid their respects in turn. Then, they lowered their heads and stood in the ancestral hall. The current head of the family, Norton, performed the ending of the worship ritual.

Norton spoke solemnly to the ancestral tablets in the front row.

“The 15th generation descendant of the Nicholas family clan, the side branch of the Koda family clan, has returned to the main family. We obey the Old Ancestor’s instructions!”

After the report, he stood respectfully, as if waiting for some specific response.

Zoro and the other Nicholas family members also waited in silence.

Such an action was indescribably strange in the eyes of Koda and the others. The dozen or so people were all very puzzled, and Yaben was already a little impatient.

“What the hell is going on? Why are they all standing there in a daze? Do they really think that the Old Ancestor has instructions? Can it be done quickly? I still have to…”

Just as Koda and the others were lost in their thoughts, a chill suddenly crawled up their spines.

There was clearly no wind in the ancestral hall, but a few people could not help but shiver.

At this moment, the flame of the white candle on the offering table suddenly trembled and then it was suddenly extinguished. Then, under the horrified gaze of Norton and the others, a few white candles fell and snapped!!

Norton was shocked, and the fear in his heart overflowed.

“What… what’s going on?!”

In the past, they had held a few worship rituals for the returning clansmen, but they had never seen such a situation!

When making the reporting previously, Norton and the others had all felt a hint of warmth. This meant that the clansmen’s return had met the approval of the Old Ancestor, which meant that the clansmen who had returned could officially join the Nicholas family.

However, even though it was their first time seeing such a situation currently, Norton and the others could understand the meaning behind it.

The Old Ancestor of the Nicholas family clan is furious!!

Seeing Norton and the others all look frightened, Koda and the others were even more puzzled. What was going on?

Yaben scratched his hand and was extremely irritated. “Are you crazy?! What the hell are you doing?! Are you done…”

“Ahhhhhhhh—”

The shrill screams continued. Everyone looked in the direction of the screams and saw that the person’s face was twisted in pain. After falling to the ground, he still held his head and screamed. As he screamed, he struggled crazily and rolled around!

The person beside him dodged and retreated in fear. He was in such panic that he almost screamed.

Koda and the others were stunned. The shock and confusion in their hearts intertwined and rose.

Norton and the others had thought of a possibility. Many of them could not help but look at the ancestral tablet of the Old Ancestor.

“My dear! What’s wrong with you?!”

“My son, don’t panic! Don’t be frightened… Ah!!”

Yaben’s parents had just regained their senses when they immediately went forward to help their son up and check on the situation. However, Yaben seemed to have gone mad. As he struggled violently, he even kicked his father, causing the defenseless person to fall to the ground. He was stunned.

Koda panicked and asked Norton for help. “Cousin, this…”

Norton’s eyes flickered. He was not sure if this had anything to do with the Old Ancestor. Perhaps he had suddenly become ill?

At the same time, Yaben, who had been wailing non-stop, suddenly stiffly stopped moving. It was not clear if he had become ill or was possessed by a ghost. He twitched as he got up from the ground. Then, he knelt on the ground facing the tablet. His eyes were lifeless, and he started to confess with a blank expression.

“My name is Yaben… When I was 16 years old, I bullied a person. When the other party resisted, I grabbed his neck… and he died.”

“17 years old… There was a beggar who was an eyesore to me. I sent someone to kill him…”

“18 years old. I snatched a bride from a wedding and killed her. Father and Mother helped me eliminate the evidence…”

“20 years old. Aki and I plotted a flawless plan… We had an alibi… The men and women were all dead.”

[21 years old..]

… .

One by one, blood-tainted tragedies were presented in straightforward narration… Everyone was shocked.

“Yaben! Shut up! Stop talking…”

“Shut up!!”

The parents of Yaben shouted in fear. They wanted to go over and gag him, or do something, but they were shocked to find that they could not move?!

The others were the same. They could only curse and shout… Only their mouths were moving.

Norton and the others, who were on the side, understood. They were all certain, “It must be the Old Ancestor!”

The family head Norton’s expression was extremely gloomy. He turned his head and gave Jimmy a look. Jimmy nodded gently and then got someone to bring the few children out of the ancestral hall.

After a long while, the muddle-headed Yaben stopped confessing. After he had confessed all his crimes, he suddenly regained his senses.

His face was pale and he was horrified. “I’m finished!!”

“Ahhhhhhhh—”

The screams had been passed down. Everyone looked sideways and saw another ferocious-looking young man rolling on the ground.

Similarly, this person also knelt down strangely with a hollow expression and started to narrate, “My name is Aki… Murder… Rape… Conspiracy…”

Like the Yaben earlier, this person recounted his criminal history.

Apart from what had been mentioned earlier, he had also carried out many heinous and evil things.

“Ahhhhhhhh—”

The woman beside Aki, his mother, was next.

“Aki… is not a descendant of the Nicholas family clan…”

As soon as she spoke, everyone’s expression changed drastically.

Especially Koda. He was shocked, frightened, angry, and terrified. He glared at the woman with his old eyes, as if he wanted her to die!

What is this person talking about?! Aki… why is he not the son of his second son? Moreover, his second son… is already dead!

As the woman explained everything in detail, everyone present then knew…

It turned out that Aki was the outcome of this person’s private relationship with someone else! It turned out that she had colluded with the adulterer to poison her husband!!

Therefore, out of the 16 clansmen who had returned to pay respect to the Old Ancestor, only 15 of them had been included in the System’s statistics because that Aki was not a member of the Nicholas family at all!

Through the [Family Genealogy], [Life Experience], and the System notifications, Romo had already understood the character of this group of people.

And some of the “loaded” cases had caused his mood to become cloudy and stormy.

Regardless of the situation, the Nicholas family would not recycle scum and trash!