In the front hall, two middle-aged men sat upright in the seats of honor.
The man on the left wore a deep navy robe cinched with a jade belt. His features were resolute and sharply defined.
This was none other than Ye Feng's father, Ye Tianying, a cultivator at the peak of early Core Formation.
Yet at this moment, an ingratiating smile was plastered across Ye Tianying's face.
Behind him stood a young girl in an aqua-blue gown: Ye Qing'er.
Ye Qing'er was delicate and exquisitely beautiful.
Yet she kept her head lowered, tears misting in her phoenix eyes.
Holding a wine cup in hand, Ye Tianying smiled faintly and murmured, "Brother Zeng, it isn't that I'm unwilling to deliver the goods. It's truly that... for some reason, the suppliers beneath me suddenly couldn't deliver on time. Please, be magnanimous. For the sake of the friendship between our two families over all these years, grant me just two more days of leeway."
The man beside him, however, remained entirely unruffled.
He wore a blue robe embroidered with dragons in gold thread, his build slightly stout. With a bulbous nose, thick lips, and shrewdness gleaming in his eyes, he leaned back in his chair with his legs crossed, idly twirling his wine cup on the table without the slightest intention of picking it up.
His name was Zeng Shuheng, the head of the Zeng clan, and he was likewise in the medicinal herb and spirit grass trade.
Zeng Shuheng was a mid-Core Formation cultivator himself, possessing formidable strength.
"Old Ye... it isn't that I won't grant you an extension, but this shipment is meant for a major sect!" Zeng Shuheng said. "You know how troublesome it is to deal with sects. They only care about results. If not for the stakes involved, I wouldn't have insisted on a clause stipulating a hundredfold penalty for breach of contract. Besides, for an order this massive, if not for the good relationship between our two families, I wouldn't have invited you to provide the other half. If this deal goes through, you and I both know how much profit we stand to make."
Here, Zeng Shuheng paused slightly. Cold sweat broke out on Ye Tianying's forehead.
How could he not know how lucrative it would be?
Yet right now, he simply could not gather that much stock!
Once he defaulted and had to pay the indemnity...
The Ye family would be bled dry of its entire fortune, and other partner clans would cancel their contracts one after another.
The Ye clan would instantly plunge into an abyss of utter ruin.
Before Ye Tianying could speak, Zeng Shuheng continued, "There are only three days left until the delivery date. My share is already prepared. All that's missing is your half. Old Ye, tell me yourself: what am I supposed to do?"
Ye Tianying's expression shifted repeatedly. He had already uttered humble pleas countless times, yet Zeng Shuheng refused to budge, relentlessly holding him to the contract and the on-time delivery!
Just then, a hurried figure rushed in from outside.
Ye Tianying's brow furrowed. Looking at the arriving Ye Feng, he said, "When did you come b—wait!"
"You reached Foundation Establishment?"
With those words, a faint, almost imperceptible glint of delight flashed in Ye Tianying's eyes.
He gestured to Ye Feng and said softly, "Come, sit down first."
This time, it was Ye Feng who was stunned. His relationship with Ye Tianying had always been poor. In a situation like today's, he would normally only be fit to stand aside, yet with the atmosphere in the hall so oppressive, Ye Tianying had actually told him to take a seat below.
Then Li Guanqi appeared in the doorway, and Ye Feng said softly, "This is my friend."
Ye Tianying nodded slightly at the sight and signaled for Li Guanqi to take a seat as well.
Ye Feng frowned slightly, saying nothing. Leading Li Guanqi to the lower seats, he sat down and gave Ye Qing'er a gentle nod.
A cruel glint flashed deep in Zeng Shuheng's eyes as he chuckled softly. "To think your third son has reached Foundation Establishment. Congratulations, congratulations."
With that, the man moved to rise and leave.
Suddenly!
*Crash!*
Ye Tianying slammed his wine cup violently onto the table, shattering it to powder.
The humility from earlier vanished from his face, replaced by absolute composure.
Zeng Shuheng slowly turned around and sneered. "What? Smashing cups in front of me?"
Ye Tianying stood up as well, staring fixedly at him with a cold scoff.
"Heh. Since you've already made your plans, why bother putting on an act? Zeng Shuheng, lay whatever you want out on the table! I, Ye Tianying, have played the fawning dog for enough days. What does your Zeng family actually want? Speak plainly!"
The flesh on Zeng Shuheng's face twitched. He glanced at the young girl standing behind Ye Feng and chuckled softly.
"Old Ye, not to lecture you, but why such a temper? It's just a bit of compensation and goods. It's easily resolved."
The moment the words left his mouth, Ye Tianying's heart tightened. He knew the man harbored foul intentions!
Sure enough...
Zeng Shuheng smiled and said, "I see Qing'er is turning fourteen soon. She's already a grown young woman. She and my son, Zeng Yuan, make a fine match. Why don't our families become in-laws? Once two families become one, this small matter naturally won't be an issue at all."
Looking at Zeng Shuheng's beaming face, Ye Tianying felt as if he had plunged into an icy cavern.
Hearing Zeng Yuan's name, Ye Feng's anger flared instantly. He shot to his feet and roared, "In your dreams!!"
"Let me tell you, anyone can marry my sister, but never Zeng Yuan!!"
Heaving violently with rage, Ye Feng shouted in brazen defiance. He had long heard of Zeng Yuan's reputation. That man was nothing but a good-for-nothing dandy who relied on his clan's power to commit wicked deeds, having abducted women of respectable families more than once.
Very few women ever made it out of the Zeng clan alive, and in the end, it was always settled with a bit of hush money.
That was why back when the Great Xia Sword Sect executed that outer disciple, Ye Feng had felt justice was truly served!
He had known Zeng Yuan since childhood; the fellow was utterly cold-blooded at heart, and when it came to women, he harbored a twisted depravity.
Zeng Shuheng let out a cold snort, and a terrifying aura of pressure instantly slammed down onto Ye Feng!
*Boom!!*
In an instant, the chair beneath Ye Feng shattered into splinters, and the crushing force pinned him to the ground, unable to move.
The man narrowed his eyes with sinister cruelty, glancing down at Ye Feng on the floor with a sneer. "A mere brash brat who just reached Foundation Establishment dares shout at me? Ye Tianying, it seems your household discipline is rather lacking. How about I discipline him for you?"
At that same moment, Li Guanqi drew his sword in a flash, killing intent flashing in his eyes as origin energy surged.
His muscles coiled tight, and the bluestone beneath his feet violently cracked!
Left hand forming an incantation seal, right hand gripping the sword!
Above the villa, the sky instantly churned with turbulent wind and clouds. In a breath, dark clouds gathered and thunder rumbled!!
*Boom!!*
Another aura surged skyward. Ye Tianying stepped across to shield Ye Feng, reaching out to hold Li Guanqi back.
With a swift motion, he drew the longsword at his waist and pointed it straight at the man!
*Clang!!*
The tip of Ye Tianying's sword leveled directly between Zeng Shuheng's eyes as he sneered, "Try disciplining him, and see what happens!"
"I showed you respect by calling you Brother Zeng, but have you taken your Zeng clan too seriously? If you hadn't had the dumb luck to break through to the Core Formation stage, and then obtained a thousand-year Liujia purple ginseng to reach mid-Core Formation, your Zeng clan wouldn't even qualify as an established clan! In my eyes, you're nothing more than upstarts!"
Zeng Shuheng's cheek twitched slightly. Ever since he had gained power, what he hated most was being called an upstart!
A cold gleam flickered in his eyes as he offered a chilling smile.
"I've given you your choices. Three days from now. Either deliver the goods, or pay enough to ensure the Ye family never rises again!"
"Hmph!"
With a sweep of his broad sleeves, Zeng Shuheng stormed out of the Ye estate in fury!
Li Guanqi lowered his sword and helped Ye Feng up.
Ye Tianying looked deeply at Li Guanqi, then said softly, "Feng'er, take Qing'er back first. And take your friend to stroll around the villa as he pleases. After that, come to my study."
Then Ye Tianying gave Li Guanqi a gentle smile and said softly, "Don't be a stranger. Make yourself at home."
Li Guanqi bowed respectfully in return.
Yet he could tell that the man before him was not at all the kind of father Ye Feng had described.
Judging by the murderous intent Ye Tianying had unleashed the moment he drew his sword, he cared deeply about Ye Feng and Ye Qing'er!
Ye Feng was also shaken to his core. The father he had seen today was vastly different from the father in his memories.
Chapter 78