Chapter 784: The Hawthorne Family
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 784: The Hawthorne Family
Monopeng City.
This was a city located on a continent in the Main World, within the sphere of influence managed by the Wizard Transcendent Academy.
Although the Main World no longer had the concept of nations, the existence of Transcendent academies acted like regional "backbones," influencing various aspects of these areas to the bone.
From customs to architectural styles, from clothing to cognitive concepts.
Monopeng City was a city near the Wizard Academy. It was a place with a long history, and its architectural style carried that gloomy vibe characteristic of Wizards.
The brown stone floor tiles underfoot presented an irregular but nearly polished sense of age.
The city planning and road arrangements here were filled with the rationality of rules and order.
Furthermore, in the present day, Monopeng City had become a very special existence. Many streets still retained primitive transportation like hand-pulled carts and horse-drawn carriages because modern transportation was not allowed here. Cars were prohibited from passing through to avoid disturbing residents or damaging the historical heritage.
Of course, the more important reason was that this was the city where the Hawthorne Family resided. Their decisions were the absolute rules here.
The family's power had long since penetrated every aspect of this region. One shouldn't think of the "family" as something overly complex or aloof.
Even those who called themselves family members might just be people who inherited an old shop on a certain street, running a common business like a restaurant, a newspaper office, or a post office...
But through these, they subtly influenced the city's food culture, trending topics, and the transmission of important information.
They were still ordinary residents living normal lives—perhaps your neighbor or the person across the street—but they had become the terminal feelers of the gargantuan beast that was the family, sensing every rustle in the wind and influencing everyone's basic needs.
On a certain street in Monopeng City.
Two figures walked cheerfully along the road paved with brown stone tiles, feeling the subtle rise and fall of the ground with every step.
Even passing pedestrians would stop for a second or two to stare at these girls, who seemed so out of place here.
These two were, naturally, Sister Bai and me.
"Sister Bai, look, all the people passing by are staring at us~" I leaned in and whispered to her with a light laugh.
"Maybe it's because Xiao Han is too charming?" Sister Bai joked, not paying it much mind.
In truth, most of those who stopped were members of the family. Monopeng City was already the heart of the Hawthorne Family's territory, practically their back garden.
Because it was a historical and cultural city, foreign tourists visited frequently.
However, certain "special" tourists were easily targeted.
Sister Bai and I were just strolling leisurely, but our bodies had already inadvertently been brushed with a special pollen.
This pollen naturally couldn't hide from me, a Five Senses Body Cultivator, or from Sister Bai.
Combined with the Ley Line Identification Art, we knew this pollen was highly adhesive, nearly odorless, and translucent, making it very difficult to detect.
Moreover, the pollen seemed to have been modified by a special wizardry. Even common Transcendent methods like Cleaning Spells couldn't completely remove the adhesion.
Its main function was for marking. A specially bred species of butterfly could distinguish between different marks.
Thus, tourists coming to Monopeng City would sometimes find that some visitors were particularly attractive to beautiful butterflies. In reality, they had been brushed with this pollen, and this had even become a unique feature of Monopeng City.
But in essence, this was a way to mark and track tourists.
And the cost was extremely low.
Furthermore, at critical moments, it could quickly link with Transcendent means for even more precise positioning.
"What a beautiful butterfly~" I gently extended a finger. Under the influence of Heart Sense Affinity, a colorful butterfly landed on my fingertip.
If this were someone with an affinity for insects, they could achieve the same with a gentle call.
But in terms of perception in the affinity domain, my Heart Sense had already broken through to a special boundary.
For non-human life, I could perceive and resonate with them. As my understanding deepened and Sister Bai shared her insights on the practical application of Heart Sense, I began to touch upon another use for it.
That was controlling sensory pathways other than my own.
Through the understanding of Heart Sense, and relying on Time Sense, I could complete the operation of "control."
After all, Time Sense wasn't limited to the concept of time. Time was merely a subjective perception; its essence was "control" at the Body Cultivation level. Just as Heart Sense perceiving a heartbeat was only the surface—its essence was "understanding"—the same logic applied here.
So, the butterfly currently resting on my hand thought it wanted to land on my fingertip. In reality, I had used resonance to make it believe it wanted to stay there.
This was far more domineering than simple affinity.
But... wasn't so-called affinity essentially a form of psychological manipulation anyway? It was just the difference between active and passive.
I could do this easily with a simple existence like an insect, but it was much harder with complex, clear-minded humans. Sometimes, it might even backfire.
After all, humans were far too complex.
"Sister Bai~ do you know what it takes to ruin a family you've never even met?" Walking down the street, a fun thought suddenly occurred to me, and I asked.
"Hmm... I'm not sure. How would you do it?"
Faced with this question, Sister Bai couldn't think of any way to ruin a family other than wiping out the entire city along with them.
But families had another characteristic: as long as one person remained, they were the "Main Family," the most orthodox bloodline. They would be the first page of the new record after the genealogy was destroyed, settling elsewhere and starting over. Though difficult, they were truly like ghosts that refused to dissipate.
Because a family was never a specific person, but the family itself. A family's heritage was accumulated through generations—their wealth, pride, honor, status... none of these referred to a single individual.
Their common boast—"Your ten years of Transcendent power, how can it compare to my ten thousand generations of family!"—though it made people frown in discomfort, was a fact. You weren't competing against one person, but an entire clan.
"It's actually very simple~ You only need to kill a very common family member."
"Is that so? What's the logic behind that?" Sister Bai was puzzled by my explanation.
"Because I killed a family member for no reason, that person's wife, children, parents, and relatives will all hold a grudge against me and seek revenge. If they fail, they'll pull strings everywhere. They'll look for me, and I'll just keep killing. The more I stir things up, the more serious it becomes. Their network of relationships, with the family as the bond, allows me to follow the vine to the root, killing all the way up. And just like that, I've killed off the whole family~"
"Is... is this some kind of cold joke?" Sister Bai was caught off guard by my logic. If one only looked at the relationship network and ignored other factors... it was almost funny.
But thinking about it... it was indeed possible. However, a family certainly wouldn't be so stupid as to sacrifice the entire clan.
Once things reached a certain stage, how could a mere grudge over a murdered father compare to the survival of the family?
"It's satire~ Those family members, with their layers of relationship networks, protective umbrellas, and penetration into every aspect of society... family members protecting each other... Main World society is already the family's monologue."
It reminded me of those novels where the protagonist offends some rich second-generation kid at the start, then goes from a small place to a big city, and the enemies are always part of that rich kid's family network all the way to the Main Family, with the final ending being the destruction of that "tumor."
This trope was very common in the webnovel world of the Main World.
It was also an indirect satire of the disgusting nature of family relationships in the Main World...
"Does Xiao Han want to change this status quo?"
"I'd love to, but it's very difficult, isn't it? Though... in the end, it's actually quite simple. It's just that the Transcendents aren't willing to take over, and those who are willing will inevitably be corrupted by interests and power..."
Don't think that Transcendents couldn't be corrupted by the things of ordinary people. There would always be Transcendents willing to degenerate and enjoy these worldly pleasures to soothe their mental satisfaction.
Who wouldn't want to be a local tyrant?
Transcendent status was merely an upgrade in the level of life, not a transformation or awakening of a person's spiritual realm.
"Then what are you willing to pay for this, Xiao Han?"
"Pay? I'll pay with my interest, my fun, and my patience. When those things are exhausted, that's when I'll stop. In the end, this is just a complaint born from my dislike, but it isn't the pursuit of my life, nor is it a lifelong obsession."
"I see~" Hearing my response, Sister Bai unconsciously began to laugh, and she laughed very happily.
She didn't want Xiao Han to be held back by such things, but clearly, Xiao Han wasn't that kind of person. Thus, she could relax and support Xiao Han in doing whatever she liked.
As long as Xiao Han was happy, she would be satisfied.
As I released the butterfly from my fingertip, a Cleaning Spell directly cleared the pollen from Sister Bai and me.
Although common Cleaning Spells couldn't remove it, the Spell Derivation version I mastered was a different story.
As we walked down the road, brushing past people, it was as if two people had silently vanished from the street.
We were still strolling here, but no one noticed us anymore.
"Eh~ this guy who isn't noticing us actually subconsciously walks around us?" I said in surprise after passing a stranger.
I had thought that Sister Bai's Ordinary Subject had erased our presence so that others couldn't see us, but looking at it now, this method seemed even more sophisticated.
"What are you thinking~ In their eyes, we are just ordinary people, so plain that we couldn't be plainer. They won't give us any extra attention, but it's not that they can't see us. It's like a stranger you notice in your peripheral vision; a moment later, you'll have forgotten him."
"Is this the application of the Ordinary Subject at the Transcendent level—the conceptual use of 'plainness' in life?" I marveled.
"It's only a very shallow application~" Sister Bai explained patiently.
"Where are we going next? Continue enjoying a stroll where no one bothers us, or go straight to find your 'fun'?"
"We're strolling all the way there, of course~" I pointed to the massive castle in the distance. That was the main house of the Hawthorne Family—at least, it was their nominal, public base.
The area further ahead was a "tourists stop here" zone, but that likewise couldn't block our path.
The deeper we went, the more we noticed that the surrounding residences and villas became colder and quieter. Even the roads took on the feel of private lanes for specific vehicles.
There were even main roads and branch roads clearly demarcated, connecting to various parts of that sprawling castle. This was the most direct manifestation and division of status within the family hierarchy.
The more ancient a family, the stricter their rules—or rather, the family never raised "children," but clearly defined heirs, followed by various other roles, including but not limited to students entering Transcendent academies, managers of family industries, and so on.
It was as if children were treated as individual components within the family machine.
From behavior and character shaping to social etiquette, family protocols, and the indoctrination of "Family Above All"...
Perhaps every family was different, but they all gradually converged in their management, differing only in severity or laxity.
It reminded me of what Lifaeya had told me about her experiences... it was truly lamentable.
Sister Bai and I strolled along the quiet roads, admiring the scenes passing by.
We were walking on a branch road, not the main road. Thus, the Ley Line Identification Art traced back the history and images of the lives of those with lower status in the family.
But in the end, we were just spectators. We were too lazy to give any extra sympathy or resonance to these people.
Don't talk about how they enjoyed the family's benefits while living under the pressure and suppression of the clan, with status gaps making every day feel like walking a tightrope.
One sentence: what does that have to do with me? I haven't experienced it, so I can't resonate with that kind of sorrow.
I only saw the rise and fall of the family and its surface glory. No matter how much hardship or exhaustion they endured, they still looked down on those at the bottom like ants.
They enjoyed the superiority the family gave them while hating the shackles and oppression it imposed.
It was just a different way of living.
Even I enjoyed the confidence granted by my Transcendent status to define those I deemed foolish.
These were all objective perspectives of empathy, and they were once my favorite way of looking at things.
But people must be a bit selfish. The current me should think more for myself... selfish enough that there's no need to care too much about the pointers and feelings of others, ignoring those who drain me.
What matters, in the end, is one's own experience.
One can't satisfy everyone. It's important to recognize one's own position and figure out what one needs.
Just as I have arrived here—to this place, I am the most terrifying time bomb!
Therefore, I am the villain...
I came here to achieve what I hoped for. Perhaps my actions will harm the interests of too many people, but it doesn't matter, as long as I don't harm myself.
"Xiao Han~ speaking of which, the April you mentioned is a member of this family, right? What are you going to do next? According to what you said, her current situation should be quite dire."