A Mere Million—I'll Pay You!

Inside the study. His face etched with exhaustion, Ye Tianying pointed toward the chair before him and murmured, "Sit down." Ye Feng frowned slightly, but took the seat nonetheless. Looking at his father, Ye Feng found himself at a loss for words. Ye Tianying looked at him and said, "Do you want to know what happened?" Seeing Ye Feng nod, Ye Tianying said softly, "Now that you have achieved Foundation Establishment, it is only right that you know about the family's affairs. "Three months ago, Zeng Shuheng suddenly came to me demanding a shipment of goods. It was on short notice, and the volume was massive. "Our family's inventory was far from enough, but I contacted several partners we often work with and believed we could pull it off. "So I agreed. However, the contract stipulated that if the goods could not be delivered on time within three months, a hundredfold penalty would be owed! "At the time, I didn't think much of it because the other parties had all replied that they could gather everything within three months. "Yet now, for reasons unknown, none of them can deliver the goods. "And that has left our Ye family backed into a corner." After finishing, Ye Tianying looked at Ye Feng and asked softly, "What are your thoughts on this?" A long while later, Ye Feng stepped out of the study and happened to find Li Guanqi nearby. The two talked as they walked. Li Guanqi's brow furrowed, recalling what he had overheard beside the wall. Shaking his head at Ye Feng, he said softly, "I think you and your father are looking in the wrong direction. "This is without a doubt a trap laid by the Zeng family! "Chances are, the suppliers your father contacted were bought off by them long ago. "And the Zeng family's true goal isn't your Ye family's business at all!" Hearing this, Ye Feng's heart clenched, and he blurted out, "What?" Li Guanqi sent a grim voice transmission: "The Zeng family's ultimate target is very likely your sister, Ye Qing'er!" Ye Feng's expression darkened. He quickly dragged Li Guanqi back to Ye Tianying. When Li Guanqi shared his suspicion and what he had overheard earlier, Ye Tianying's face shifted through several expressions in rapid succession! He slammed his hand on the desk, bellowing in fury, "No wonder Zeng Shuheng kept insisting that I bring Qing'er along! "That bastard! So the rumors that something went wrong with his son Zeng Yuan's body were actually true!" Recalling the aura he had sensed back then, Li Guanqi spoke softly, "Ye Qing'er... does she possess a Water spiritual root?" Ye Tianying's gaze turned sharp as he nodded. "Indeed, Qing'er has a Yin Water constitution. "Hmph! To think their schemes would target our Ye family!" At this, Ye Feng asked, "Then what do we do now?" Li Guanqi pondered for a long time before replying softly, "There are no easy ways out. Since the Zeng family made their trap so blatant, it means they are certain you cannot gather so many spirit herbs. "Moreover, as for the contract... they will definitely hold you to every single word of it." Ye Feng asked in a heavy voice, "If we pay the penalty, how much would it be?" Ye Tianying closed his eyes and said bitterly, "One... one million low-grade spirit stones..." Yet a moment later, Ye Tianying snapped his eyes open and growled, "Hmph! Even if I pay him a million spirit stones, he can dream on if he thinks Qing'er will become a concubine for his son! "At worst, I, Ye Tianying, will scatter my entire fortune and start over from scratch!" Watching Ye Tianying's furious outburst, Ye Feng felt a surge of mixed emotions. Lowering his head, he murmured, "Father... if you care about Qing'er so much, why did you ignore us and Mother for all these years?" Ye Tianying glanced at Li Guanqi, then slowly sank back into his chair, speaking softly. "Ignored you? If I hadn't looked out for you, where would your place be in this villa? "If I hadn't looked out for you, how could you and Qing'er have lived free of worry, never wanting for food, clothes, or silver?" Ye Feng was completely stunned... Ye Tianying continued, "You felt I was always strict with you, even cold and unfeeling. "You thought I doted on your elder brothers, but that was because I knew you would ultimately set foot on the immortal path to seek the way of longevity. "That was why I never let you touch the family business. "I didn't expect much from the two of them; it was enough for them to manage the household affairs. "Now that you have stepped onto the immortal path and achieved Foundation Establishment, move to the front courtyard tomorrow." Ye Feng's eyes rimmed with red. The grievances accumulated over so many years welled up and burst out all at once. Seeing this, Li Guanqi slipped out of the study, giving father and son the space to talk. Stepping outside, Li Guanqi furrowed his brow, but then a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He murmured under his breath, "Looks like... I'm the only one who can give this matter a little push~" And so, three days flew by in the blink of an eye. Ye Feng's family residence had been moved from the rear to the finest front courtyard. The sprawling compound was staffed with many more servants, and everyone's demeanor toward Ye Feng turned exceedingly deferential. Yet over the past two days, Ye Tianying had hardly shown his face, spending all his time outside scrambling to gather spirit herbs. He had even raised his offering price to three times the market rate. Even so, the spirit herbs he managed to collect were pitifully few. In the main hall, dark circles hung beneath Ye Tianying's eyes, and several strands of white had appeared at his temples. Ye Feng remained silent as well, knowing that today was the final deadline. Ye Tianying opened his eyes, let out a long breath, and said, "What use is fretting? At worst, I'll simply give up this villa!" Clearly, Ye Tianying had already made his decision! *Boom!!* Two majestic pressures descended one after the other over Qiongtai Mountain Villa. Ye Tianying let out a cold snort and soared straight into the air! Zeng Shuheng and another elderly man stood suspended aloft! Behind them was a youth riding a flying sword—the very same Zeng Yuan whose words Li Guanqi had overheard that day. A brisk wind whipped past, setting their robes fluttering with loud snaps. Seeing this, Ye Feng threw out his sword and took to the sky in an instant! Li Guanqi followed right after him, and at that very moment, the jade slip in his hand finally pulsed with a reply. Standing three zhang before the two men, Ye Tianying said in a heavy voice, "Hmph! So eager to come demanding your debt?" Zeng Shuheng smiled coldly and drew out a round jade pendant bearing two drops of essence blood. It was the contractual jade pendant the two had signed. "Ye Tianying, the contract's deadline has arrived. Have you made your decision? "Shall our two families unite in marriage? Or will your Ye family be left destitute?" Ye Tianying sneered. "To go through so much trouble just to stop me from buying at high prices—you must have exhausted yourself." Zeng Shuheng threw his head back and laughed loudly. "I've bought up every stalk of Red Ridge Grass within a hundred li! High prices? Keep dreaming! "Today, either your daughter marries my son and this slate is wiped clean, "or you hand over a million spirit stones, and I will leave this instant!!" Ye Tianying's face turned as dark as night. With a wave of his sleeve, he hurled out over thirty storage bags! And finally, a land deed to Qiongtai Mountain Villa! He said in a thunderous voice, "In these, there are six hundred thousand spirit stones, plus spirit herbs worth two hundred thousand, and the deed to Qiongtai Mountain Villa! "A mere million spirit stones—I'll pay you!"