Inside his study, Ye Tianying pointed at the chair in front of him with a weary expression. “Sit down.”
Ye Feng frowned but did as he was told. He looked at his father, unsure of what to say.
Ye Tianying looked at him. “You want to know what happened, right?”
Ye Feng nodded. His father went on, “Now that you’ve reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, it’s time for you to know what’s been going on behind the scenes. Three months ago, Zeng Shuheng came to me out of the blue with an urgent request for a large batch of goods. We didn’t have enough in stock, but I thought we could pull it off after speaking with a few of our regular partners, so I agreed.
“But there was a clause in the contract—if we failed to deliver in three months, we’d owe them a hundredfold in compensation. At the time, I didn’t think too much of it because the other families assured me they could supply the goods on time. That’s how our family ended up in this mess.”
When he finished, Ye Tianying looked at his son. “What do you think?”
After a long time, Ye Feng left the study and saw Li Guanqi beside the room.
As they spoke, Li Guanqi frowned. Recalling what he’d overheard, he said, “I think you and your father are looking in the wrong direction. This whole thing was a trap set by the Zeng family. I’m certain they bribed the suppliers your father contacted so they wouldn’t follow through. And I don’t think they’re after the Ye family’s business, either.”
Ye Feng’s chest tightened. “What?”
Li Guanqi lowered his voice, speaking via sound transmission. “It is very likely that the Zeng family’s real goal is your younger sister, Ye Qing’er.”
Once inside, Li Guanqi repeated what he had overheard, as well as his suspicions. Ye Tianying flew into a rage, slamming his palm on the table. “So that’s why Zeng Shuheng insisted I bring Qing’er with me! That bastard! So the rumors about Zeng Yuan’s health were true after all!”
Li Guanqi recalled what he sensed about Ye Qing’er’s aura and asked, “Does Ye Qing’er have a Water Spirit Root?”
Ye Tianying nodded. “That’s correct. Qing’er has a Yin Water Body. Hmmph! So they were laying a trap for us!”
Ye Feng asked, “What do we do now?”
Li Guanqi was silent for a long time. “There’s not much we can do. The Zeng family has already made an open threat, which means they are confident you cannot supply the spirit herbs in time. As for the contract... they’ll stubbornly stick to the clauses.”
Ye Feng asked, “How much do we need to pay?”
Ye Tianying closed his eyes bitterly. “One million low-grade spirit stones...”
Then, he opened his eyes and roared, “Hmmph! Even if I have to pay him a million spirit stones, I won’t let Qing’er marry that brat! I’d rather empty our family’s coffers and start from scratch!”
Ye Feng felt conflicted. He lowered his head and asked, “Father... If Qing’er was so important to you, why did you neglect us and Mother all these years?”
Ye Tianying glanced at Li Guanqi, then sat back down. “Neglect? If I’d truly neglected you, would you still have a place to stay in this residence? Would you have food, clothes, and money whenever you wanted?”
Ye Feng was speechless.
His father continued, “You probably think I’m cold and distant, that I favor your older brothers. The truth is, I always knew you’d walk the path of cultivation, so I kept you out of the family business. I don’t expect much from your brothers—managing the business is good enough for them.
“Now that you’ve reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, it’s time. Tomorrow, you can move into the front courtyard.”
Ye Feng’s eyes reddened. All the resentment he had felt over the years rose to the surface.
Li Guanqi quietly stepped outside, giving them space.
As he walked away, his frown melted into a smile. “Looks like I gave them the push they needed...”
Three days passed quickly.
Ye Feng’s family moved from the back of the residence to the best courtyard out front. The new courtyard was large and had many more servants than before, all of whom were now even more polite.
Ye Tianying hadn’t shown up for two days—he’d been out personally searching for spirit herbs, offering triple the market rate. Even so, he came back nearly empty-handed.
Now, he sat in the main hall, haggard and sleepless. White strands had appeared in his hair.
Ye Feng said nothing. Today was the deadline.
Ye Tianying opened his eyes and sighed. “No more worrying. So what if I have to sell this mountain residence?”
He had clearly made up his mind.
Two powerful auras coming from the sky pressed down on the entire residence.
Ye Tianying huffed coldly and flew up to meet them.
Zeng Shuheng and another old man were standing mid-air. Behind them was a young man—Zeng Shuheng’s son, Zeng Yuan. Their long robes flapped loudly in the wind.
Ye Feng quickly grabbed his sword and flew up to join his father.
Li Guanqi followed behind, having just received a message via his jade slip.
Ye Tianying hovered three zhang before them. “Hmmph! Why are you in such a hurry to collect your debts?”
Zeng Shuheng laughed and took out a round jade pendant with two drops of blood on it. It was the contract jade pendant that they had both signed.
“Ye Tianying, the deadline stipulated in the contract has come. Have you made your decision? Will both our families marry in a joyous celebration? Or will the Ye family become poor and destitute?”
Ye Tianying smirked. “You must’ve gone to great lengths to block me from buying spirit herbs despite my high offers.”
Zeng Shuheng laughed. “I’ve bought out every stalk of Red Mountain Grass within a hundred li. If you think you can still find some, you’re dreaming. Marry off your daughter and this ends here. Otherwise, pay me one million spirit stones, and I’ll walk away.”
Ye Tianying’s face turned grim. With a wave of his hand, he flung over thirty storage pouches at them. Then, he threw in the land deed for the Qiongtai Mountain Residence.
“The pouches contain six hundred thousand in spirit stones, plus herbs worth another two hundred thousand. I also included the land deed of the Qiongtai Mountain Residence.
“It’s just one million spirit stones. Take it all!”