The Ma patriarch seemed determined to stand his ground, refusing to yield even as his own brother knelt before him. He kicked Ma Sanlaizi to the ground and slammed his dragon-headed cane forcefully against the floor.
“Where are the Ma family guards? Assemble here at once!”
At his command, over twenty men quickly flooded into the hall, with another thirty standing ready outside.
Ma Sanlaizi scrambled to his feet, desperate to explain further. He felt Xu Fei had already helped him more than enough, and he couldn’t keep relying on others. Moreover, if a fight broke out over this, he would be consumed with guilt.
But to his surprise, Xu Fei held out a hand to stop him.
“Let me handle this.”
Xu Fei then turned to face the Ma patriarch.
“In that case, could you tell me what exactly this secret decree, passed down through generations of Ma patriarchs, entails?”
Without hesitation, the Ma patriarch replied, “There’s no harm in telling you. Do you see the carved patterns on the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Chest?”
“The dragon has no head, the phoenix no tail. When the Ma family first received this chest, we were told that one day, someone bearing the Dragon Head Jade Pendant and the Phoenix Tail Jade Ring would come to open it. That is the secret decree passed down through our generations!”
The patriarch’s lack of hesitation stemmed from his firm belief that Xu Fei could not possibly be the chosen one.
He assumed Xu Fei was hearing this story for the first time.
But to everyone’s shock, after the patriarch finished, Xu Fei, in front of the entire assembly, produced the Dragon Head Jade Pendant and the Phoenix Tail Jade Ring, holding them in his hand.
“Are these the two items you just mentioned?”
Xu Fei opened his palm, revealing the Dragon Head Jade Pendant and the Phoenix Tail Jade Ring, faintly glowing in his hand.
The Ma patriarch was utterly stunned, as was Ma Sanlaizi beside him.
Having travelled with Xu Fei, Ma Sanlaizi had no idea that Xu Fei was the legendary figure destined to open the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Chest!
“This, this, this… where did you get these treasures? This is too much of a coincidence!”
Even the Ma patriarch couldn’t help but exclaim, for the situation was truly extraordinary.
Who could have imagined that the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Chest, missing for decades, would reappear now, brought back by none other than Ma Sanlaizi, the one who stole it years ago?
And the person accompanying Ma Sanlaizi, who returned the chest, was none other than the prophesied chosen one destined to open it!
With the evidence before him, the Ma patriarch could not deny it.
As Xu Fei had said, while the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Chest was a valuable treasure to the Gong family, to the Ma family, it was a sacred trust they had guarded for generations.
At the same time, they were curious, eager to know what wondrous treasure lay within this chest, protected by the Ma family for so long!
After a long moment of reflection, the Ma patriarch finally waved his hand and said, “Since you possess these two items, you must be the chosen one foretold. Open it!”
