The white jade flute was not merely the key to the Xiao Family’s beast-commanding arts — it was the very foundation of their standing within the Beast Clan of Nanzhao.

But none of that was the most pressing concern right now. The most urgent matter of all was the joint performance of reed pipe and flute.

The standing of the Xiao and Sheng families within the Beast Clan didn’t rest solely on their mastery of beast arts — it rested even more on the fact that both families were among the Beast Clan’s most ancient lineages.

The fact that the Heavenly Lake of Jade Water Nectar was shared between the Medicine Clan and the Beast Clan traced back to an agreement struck long ago between the ancestors of both clans.

The Medicine Clan possessed the ability to freeze the surface of the Jade Water Nectar Lake using rare medicinal arts, using that ice to protect the lake’s waters from contamination and intrusion alike.

And the ancestors of the Beast Clan had, in their day, used the joint performance of reed pipe and flute to tame the two venomous beasts dwelling at the bottom of the lake, binding them to guard the Heavenly Lake forever.

The waters of the Heavenly Lake of Jade Water Nectar were no ordinary waters — part of it sustained the Medicine Clan’s precious medicinal ingredients, while another part supplied the food and medicine needed by certain special beasts of the Beast Clan.

In short, the Beast Clan and the Medicine Clan jointly managed the Heavenly Lake of Jade Water Nectar, and jointly made use of it as well.

This time, the gathering wasn’t for the purpose of harvesting medicine — and even if it had been, there would have been no need to fully open the Heavenly Lake at all.

This time, it was because the Beast Clan was electing a new chieftain, and that new chieftain had to earn the recognition of those two venerable, elder venomous beasts.

The fact that the Beast Clan’s ancestors had once tamed those venomous beasts didn’t mean every generation since could do the same. In truth, aside from those ancestors, no one within the Beast Clan since had ever possessed the ability to truly command them. Combined with the immense pride of those two ancient beasts, every new chieftain since had maintained a relationship of equals with them, rather than one of master and servant.

So when a new chieftain took office, summoning the venomous beasts wasn’t a matter of earning their submission, but of earning their recognition.

To summon the venomous beasts, breaking the ice was the prerequisite — but the joint performance of reed pipe and flute was the true key.

These two venomous beasts were nothing like ordinary creatures — for one, they were intelligent enough to speak human language, and for another, their pride ran extraordinarily deep. If not for the memory of that ancient reed-and-flute performance that had once tamed them, they would never have shown the current generation of the Beast Clan any respect at all.

In other words, if the Xiao patriarch couldn’t recover the white jade flute, then this entire gathering would end in nothing but wasted effort for everyone — even if someone won the contest, they would never earn the recognition of the venomous beasts at the bottom of the Heavenly Lake.

This was no longer merely the Xiao Family’s own private matter — it had escalated into a crisis for the entire Beast Clan.

If he could, the Xiao patriarch would gladly have cut down these two little wretches standing before him on the spot.

What infuriated him most was that, even now, neither of these little brats had said a single word.

“I’ll ask you one last time — where exactly did you lose it? Are you going to talk or not!”

The moment he finished speaking, the room fell into utter silence — only to be broken by a knock at the outer door, sounding all the louder for the quiet. Knock, knock, knock.

The Xiao patriarch took deep breaths, one after another, forcing himself to stay calm.

“My lord, the Prince’s servant has come to inquire,” came a servant’s voice.

The Xiao patriarch didn’t answer, continuing his deep breathing instead. With everything happening so suddenly, he had no idea what to do — his mind was a complete blank.

“My lord, are you in there? The contest deadline is almost here.” It was clear from the voice that the servant was growing anxious.

Finally — bang!

The Xiao patriarch slammed his palm down hard on the table, startling the servant outside into silence.

He stared at the two children before him for a long moment, finally steadying his breathing. “It looks like I have no choice but to throw the both of you out there.”

At those words, Xiao Yu could no longer hold back, bursting into loud sobs. “Father, it was Sister who lost it! It was Sister who talked me into taking the white jade flute outside — it got lost on the road!”

“You’re lying!” Xiao Xue shot back at once. “It was clearly you who wanted to take it out to show off!”

“Where did you lose it!” the Xiao patriarch bellowed in fury.

Xiao Yu immediately fell silent, and Xiao Xue could no longer keep her composure. “Father, it was my little brother who wanted to take it out to show off. We ran into people blocking the road and got into a fight with them. While we were crossing a bridge, they cut the ropes, and my brother and I fell into the water along with the carriage. That’s when the white jade flute was lost! Father, we searched the entire river, but…”

“Which river?” the Xiao patriarch asked urgently, at least seeing a faint glimmer of hope.

“The Lancang Golden River!” Xiao Xue said quickly.

At those words, the Xiao patriarch was struck dumb. The Lancang Golden River was an extremely swift stream that flowed straight out to sea.

“Father, we searched for months, even at the river mouth where it meets the sea, but it was nowhere to be found!” Xiao Xue choked on her words, forcing herself not to cry again.

“Someone, summon the fish-beasts to search at once — hurry!” the Xiao patriarch ordered decisively.

But Xiao Xue’s next words shattered even that last shred of hope. “Father, I already summoned over a hundred fish-beasts and searched for an entire month straight. We found nothing at all.”

At those words, the Xiao patriarch nearly staggered and fell. He stumbled back several steps and collapsed heavily into his seat.

But Xiao Xue’s blows had not yet come to an end.

“Father, earlier… earlier, that disturbance in the waters around the Meng Clan islands — the merfolk suspected it was a sea serpent, but actually…”

The Xiao patriarch hadn’t taken that matter seriously before, since even when the Jiao clan had reported it, they’d only suspected — no one had actually seen any trace of a sea serpent.

Besides, summoning a sea serpent would certainly require the white jade flute, and the flute had been sitting safely in the Xiao household the whole time — why would he have thought any further into it?

During that whole period, he’d been thoroughly occupied with preparations for the Beast Clan’s chieftain election.

“Are you telling me the white jade flute may very well have already fallen into someone else’s hands — that the sea serpent really was summoned?” the Xiao patriarch asked, each word deliberate.

Xiao Xue, holding back her tears, nodded.

“You insolent girl — if you knew, why didn’t you say something sooner! Who told you to hide it and only speak up now! Your brother is young and doesn’t understand better, but how old are you! Do you have any idea how serious this situation is!” the Xiao patriarch exploded in fury.

“My brother wouldn’t let me say anything… Father, I didn’t mean to, it was my brother’s fault!” Xiao Xue immediately shifted the blame.

Seeing this, Xiao Yu only cried harder, sobbing and protesting his innocence at the same time.

“Enough! Both of you, shut your mouths!” the Xiao patriarch roared, and immediately after, a mouthful of blood burst from his lips.

At that, the two little wretches finally fell silent.

Knock, knock, knock! Knock, knock, knock!

The knocking at the door grew increasingly urgent.

“My lord, there’s not much time left — everyone’s waiting on us!”

“My lord, the Prince has sent someone again. His Highness is quite displeased.”

“My lord, if we don’t step forward soon, it’ll count as a forfeit!”

…

One anxious voice after another kept calling out. What was the Xiao patriarch to do?

He had no way out — even forfeiting wouldn’t let him escape the Beast Clan’s punishment.

He cast a cold look at the two children, a flicker of ruthless calculation passing through his eyes. “Whoever made the mistake will bear the consequences.”

As he spoke, he produced a replica he always kept on his person — a white jade flute convincing enough to pass for the real thing — and tossed it to Xiao Yu. “You’ll go in your brother’s place. Your brother is ill.”

Once word got out that the white jade flute was lost, the Xiao Family would certainly be punished by the entire Beast Clan, and as the head of the household, he himself would be unable to escape blame. There was only one option left: pass off the fake as real, and survive this crisis for now.

Xiao Yu’s ability had its limits, and if he lost, that would be understandable enough — no one would think to suspect the flute itself. As for the final joint performance of reed pipe and flute… the Xiao patriarch’s face darkened with cold calculation, though whether he had actually found a solution, no one could say.