Chapter 362 - 359: 50 Million Compensation
Chapter 362: Chapter 359: 50 Million Compensation
The hall fell into a deathly silence.
The color drained from Wan Zhongshan’s face as Zhou Jin’s words sank in.
He opened his mouth to speak, but found his throat too dry to make a sound.
Hiring an assassin to kill a Celestial Pride True Inheritance of the Qingxuan Sect?!
After the apology before the new year, he had warned Wan Yuntian countless times not to provoke Fang Han again, not to provoke the Qingxuan Sect again.
He thought Wan Yuntian had listened.
He thought the matter was truly over.
But he never imagined...
Wan Zhongshan felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, as if he had been plunged into an icy cavern.
He shot to his feet and bowed deeply to Zhou Jin, his voice trembling.
"Elder Zhou, I... I truly knew nothing of this! That little beast... how dare that little beast..."
He couldn’t continue.
Zhou Jin watched him quietly, saying nothing.
Wan Zhongshan straightened up, his face deathly pale and beads of cold sweat forming on his brow. He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his roiling emotions, and said with difficulty:
"Rest assured, Elder Zhou. I will give the Qingxuan Sect a satisfactory explanation for this! That little beast... I will punish that little beast severely!"
Zhou Jin nodded slightly, finally lifting his teacup for a small sip.
"Master Wan, the Sect Leader’s meaning is this: this matter concerns the life of a Celestial Pride True Inheritance of our Qingxuan Sect. It is by no means an ordinary affair."
"Your son has provoked us time and again, his methods growing more vicious each time. If you do not provide an explanation of sufficient weight..."
He paused, his gaze landing on Wan Zhongshan’s face.
"I’m afraid it will be difficult to appease the Sect Leader’s wrath, and difficult to satisfy the members of my sect."
Wan Zhongshan nodded repeatedly, his voice hoarse. "What Elder Zhou says is absolutely right. I understand, I understand!"
He straightened up and bellowed toward the door:
"Someone! Go and bring that little beast Wan Yuntian to me! Immediately!"
A steward standing guard outside the door heard the furious shout, trembled, and quickly replied.
"Yes, Master!"
He turned and hurried away.
Wan Zhongshan sat down again. He picked up his teacup, wanting a sip to calm his nerves, but found his hand was trembling slightly.
He set the cup down, placed his hands on his knees, his expression so grim it looked like water could drip from it.
Zhou Jin remained composed, his gaze occasionally sweeping over Wan Zhongshan’s dark, shifting expression, a thoughtful look on his face.
The wait felt exceptionally long.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, footsteps were heard outside the door.
Wan Yuntian stepped over the threshold, a look of confusion and unease on his face.
He had just returned when the steward hastily summoned him, saying only that his father had urgent business with him, but not what it was.
When he stepped into the hall and saw the figure seated in the guest’s chair, he stopped short.
The visitor wore the robes of a Qingxuan Sect Elder.
Remembering how he had hired Duan Wuya to assassinate Fang Han not long ago, the sight of a Qingxuan Sect Elder at his door made the ominous premonition in his heart spike to its peak.
He suppressed the panic rising in his chest and forced a calm expression as he stepped forward, bowed, and greeted:
"Father."
Wan Zhongshan stared at his son, his gaze as cold as if he were looking at a stranger.
"Yuntian, your father has a question for you. You must answer truthfully."
"Yes, Father. Please ask."
Wan Yuntian’s heart skipped a beat as he lowered his head and spoke.
"You hired Duan Wuya, a True Inheritor of the Netherworld Pavilion, to assassinate Fang Han, a True Inheritor of the Qingxuan Sect—is this true?"
Wan Zhongshan’s voice was not loud, but each word struck Wan Yuntian’s heart like a hammer.
Wan Yuntian’s body stiffened slightly. He then looked up, his face a perfect mask of shock and confusion.
"Father, what are you talking about? I... when have I ever done such a thing?"
His voice was filled with disbelief as he turned his gaze to Zhou Jin and cupped his hands in a salute.
"Esteemed Elder of the Qingxuan Sect, could there be some misunderstanding? My conflict with True Inheritor Fang was settled with an apology before the new year. The matter is over. How could I... how could I do something so foolish?"
Zhou Jin watched him quietly, his gaze calm and unwavering, yet it made Wan Yuntian grow even more uneasy.
"A misunderstanding?"
Wan Zhongshan spoke slowly, his voice low.
"Duan Wuya himself admitted that you were the one who hired him."
Wan Yuntian’s heart pounded wildly, but he maintained his expression of having been wrongly accused.
"Father, who is this Duan Wuya? He’s a True Inheritor of the Netherworld Pavilion, a notorious villain on the Celestial Pride List who delights in killing!"
"How can his words be trusted? Perhaps... perhaps someone used my name to deliberately sow discord!"
He turned to Zhou Jin, his tone earnest.
"Elder, I swear to the heavens, I have never done such a thing!"
’Could Yuntian really have been framed? Was he not the one behind this?’ Wan Zhongshan’s brow twitched.
But just then, Zhou Jin spoke, his voice level.
"Master Wan, what your son says does make some sense. With no evidence, it is indeed difficult to determine the truth based solely on Duan Wuya’s testimony."
Wan Yuntian felt a small sense of relief. Just as he was about to say more, he heard Zhou Jin continue:
"However, Duan Wuya did mention that your son used a five-hundred-year-old Blood Coral as payment."
"This is one of Heaven and Earth’s Wondrous Treasures, exceedingly rare. It’s unlikely there would be more than one. If the Blood Coral in your son’s possession is still there, it proves Duan Wuya was lying. If it’s gone..."
He didn’t finish, but his meaning was perfectly clear.
A sharp glint flashed in Wan Zhongshan’s eyes, and he nodded slowly.
"What Elder Zhou says is right. We’ll know the truth as soon as we check if it’s there or not."
He turned to Wan Yuntian, his gaze like a knife.
"Yuntian, that five-hundred-year-old Blood Coral of yours... is it still in your possession?"
In that instant, all the color drained from Wan Yuntian’s face.
He opened his mouth to speak, but found his throat too dry to make a sound.
In his narrow, phoenix-like eyes, an unconcealable fear finally appeared.
Seeing his son’s reaction, the last shred of hope in Wan Zhongshan’s heart was completely shattered.
He took a deep breath and called out to the door in a low voice:
"Liu Cai, go to Yuntian’s courtyard and search it thoroughly. See if that five-hundred-year-old Blood Coral is still there!"
The steward, Liu Cai, acknowledged the order from outside and hurried away.
The hall once again fell into a deathly silence.
Wan Yuntian stood rooted to the spot, his legs trembling slightly.
He wanted to argue, to say that the Blood Coral was still there, but he knew that once they searched, everything would be exposed.
He looked up and met his father’s eyes, which were so cold they held not a trace of warmth. The gaze made him feel as if he had been plunged into an icy cavern.
Time seemed to stretch on infinitely.
Every breath was an agony.
Finally, footsteps were heard outside the door.
Wanfu walked in quickly, bowed, and reported, his voice trembling slightly:
"Master, in the young master’s courtyard... the five-hundred-year-old Blood Coral is gone."
As his words fell, the air in the hall seemed to freeze.
Wan Yuntian’s legs gave way, and he fell to his knees with a THUD. His face was ashen, and his lips trembled, but he couldn’t utter a single word of defense.
Wan Zhongshan slowly rose to his feet.
He walked over to Wan Yuntian and looked down at his kneeling son. The face that had once filled him with pride now seemed like that of a stranger.
"Yuntian."
His voice was low, betraying no emotion.
"What did I tell you before the new year? I told you not to provoke True Inheritor Fang again. You agreed to my face, then turned around and hired an assassin to kill him."
Wan Yuntian looked up, his eyes filled with terror and pleading. "Father, I... I was just momentarily foolish..."
"Momentarily foolish?"
Wan Zhongshan cut him off, his voice suddenly turning harsh.
"Spreading rumors was being ’momentarily foolish,’ and hiring an assassin is also ’momentarily foolish’? Do you take me for a three-year-old child you can deceive so easily?"
Before he had even finished speaking, he viciously kicked Wan Yuntian’s legs.
"CRACK!"
The crisp sound of breaking bones was especially piercing in the silent hall.
"AHHH—!"
Wan Yuntian let out a blood-curdling scream, curling up on the floor and clutching his legs. The color drained from his face, and cold sweat instantly soaked his robes.
His legs were twisted at an unnatural angle, clearly having been snapped by the force of the kick.
Zhou Jin remained seated, watching the scene unfold with a calm expression, not a ripple of emotion in his eyes.
’Is this an act for my benefit, or is he truly being ruthless? I’ll only know for sure later.’
Given their prior offense of hiring an assassin in secret after the last apology, he was now deeply suspicious of the Ten Thousand Treasures Building.
Wan Zhongshan withdrew his leg and stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at his son groaning in agony on the floor. His voice was ice-cold.
"From this day forward, you are stripped of your title as Young Master of the Ten Thousand Treasures Building. You are relieved of all your duties, and all your responsibilities are to be handed over to others immediately."
Wan Yuntian, enduring the excruciating pain in his legs, looked up, his face a mask of disbelief and terror.
"Father... Father! I was wrong! I truly know I was wrong! I beg you... I beg you, give me one more chance!"
He had many brothers and sisters; he was not the only heir. Losing his status as the Young Master of the Tower meant he would fall from the clouds into the dust.
All those who once fawned over and flattered him would instantly turn on him.
The status, connections, and power he had painstakingly built within the Ten Thousand Treasures Building for years would all turn to nothing.
He couldn’t accept it! He absolutely could not accept it!
But Wan Zhongshan just watched him coldly, his gaze devoid of any pity.
"A chance? The apology before the new year was your chance. And how did you use it? By hiring an assassin."
He waved his hand and said to Liu Cai, who was outside the door:
"Take him away. From now on, he is not to take a single step out of his courtyard without my permission."
Liu Cai bowed and replied, quickly calling two servants in to carry the wailing Wan Yuntian out.
The hall returned to silence.
Wan Zhongshan turned around to face Zhou Jin.
His face was a mixture of anger and exhaustion. He took a deep breath, walked over to Zhou Jin, and bowed deeply to the ground.
"Elder Zhou, I have failed in raising my son, leading to this terrible mistake. I am utterly ashamed and have nowhere to hide my face from the vile acts that little beast has committed."
He straightened up, his voice sincere.
"I am willing to offer fifty million taels of silver as compensation to your sect’s True Inheritor Fang Han to express my apologies. I implore True Inheritor Fang to forgive my failure in raising my son."
A flicker of surprise crossed Zhou Jin’s eyes at these words.
Fifty million taels.
This was no small sum. Wan Zhongshan was truly putting his money where his mouth was this time.
He pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly.
"Master Wan, I will convey your sincerity to the Sect Leader and True Inheritor Fang."
Wan Zhongshan immediately had someone prepare the money. A short while later, a steward arrived, his forehead beaded with sweat, carrying a large wooden box filled with 50 million taels’ worth of silver notes.
Taking the box, Wan Zhongshan held it with both hands and presented it to Zhou Jin.
"Elder Zhou, here are the fifty million taels in silver notes for the compensation."