| °R E B O R N° |

Chapter °21°

"The Patriarch already must have informed you that our Ye clan works like a sect." Qing Qing saved Kohaku from his mistake as she swooped in to continue the conversation. "There are the direct descendant of the Patriarch, then the inner desciples, the outer deciples and then the normal people who work under the Ye clan." She pointed out.

"There is also the deciples that Patriarch Ye has taken as his students. But Patriarch Ye doesn't have anyone he teaches right now. Meaning he doesn't have any students currently." Qing explained. "People under the Ye clan that has the surname Ye, is either an elder from the inner desciples, an inner deciple or the direct descendant of the Ye clan."

Zhi Ruo pointed at herself. " I don't have the Ye surname though." She said.

"But you are the heir and the direct descendant of the Patriarch." Kohaku said. "Currently the Patriarch is making a way that you can change your surname from Liu to Ye so that you have no relations towards general Liu." He hesitantly revealed.

"Your are not supposed to reveal that." Qing Qing frowed at Kohaku. But the man only smiled wryly. Zhi Ruo briefly thought being handsome is also a talent.

"Would grandfather be fine? Wouldn't it be hard for him to change my surname?" Zhi Ruo pondered over what her seniors said to her.

"Given if the Patriarch makes an effort, I doubt that it would be hard for him to do so. And since you are his heir, although not yet officially, he will spare no things as long as he finally has someone he can trust this clan into." Qing Qing lamented softly.

Hearing what Qing Qing said, Zhi Ruo asked randomly. "Senior sister Qing, are you and senior brother Kohaku perhaps inner deciples of the Ye clan?"

Unsurprisingly, both Seniors nodded. "Indeed we are, since the Patriarch is always away from his part of the branch we usually are the one that looks around these parts." Kohaku supplied.

"Ah, if it's no trouble. Can we start the tour now? I've kept us form doing it because of my questions." Zhi Ruo softly exclaimed. "Let's talk while we walk if that's alright?" She expectantly waited for the reply.

Qing Qing and Kohaku stood up. They tucked their matching robes and nodded. "Of course, let's go. We shall explain to Junior Zhi Ruo how the merit points work." Kohaku did not waste anytime as he headed for the door to open it for the two ladies. Zhi Ruo can see how it became instinctual habit of his when he does this.

"What is this merit points that you say of?" Zhi Ruo asked curiously as they walked down the hallways. Many people made way for them as they looked at Zhi Ruo curiously. It was quite obvious that they knew that they have a new Xiaojie now. Given by how their gazes retreated, like Zhi Ruo might as well be a predictor looking for a prey by how they shrink their heads like a turtle.

Zhi Ruo can't help but feel wronged, it's not like she was scary ok? Why do they act like vampires who caught a sight of sunlight? She was caught between tears and laughter.

Noticing her gaze at the peoples reaction towards her. Qing Qing caughed and she chuckled a bit. "The merit points determine your place in the Ye clan. People with the highest merit usually is given the most resources, while the people with the least tend to have less." Qing Qing explained. "The merits can also be exchanged with taels, resources, armours, and weapons. And all around anything that the Ye clan can offer."

"Basically, if you have merits. You can exchange it with anything inside the Ye clan. Since the merits are like currency here." Kohaku flicked his sleeves at the passerbys that were far too obvious with their gazes. "And at some point, this merit also can be used in the military. Which military? The imperial, and the other nobles military."