The people looked at each other.
There was already a strong sense of dissatisfaction on their faces.
Even the clouds outside seemed thicker than before.
After a long silence.
Out of nowhere came an outburst.
The first lightning bolt of autumn struck, killing a traveler having their first cup of sake of the season.
"I’m beginning to feel that Yuchi is getting carried away."
This was still Changsun Hao speaking.
While the others remained speechless, Changsun Hao furrowed his brows and said:
"As an elder, I’ll just say these unpleasant truths myself."
"You young folks, listen to see if I’m right?"
Including Bai Rou, no one said a word; their expressions were identical.
They tacitly agreed with Changsun Hao’s words and wanted to hear what he had to say.
Whether it matched their own thoughts exactly.
Then they heard Changsun Hao begin to analyze.
"A month ago, I thought Yuchi was still quite impressive."
"His relations with other organizations were indeed very good."
"Especially to get someone from the Demon-slaying Bureau to our Xufu Town, it’s something I couldn’t have imagined."
He tapped the table once, causing ripples in the tea in his cup, and paused slightly.
He continued to speak further.
"But a month ago, he suddenly went to Jiangzhou City."
"After going to Jiangzhou City, he didn’t inform us of any news."
"And he stayed there for a whole month."
"Throughout this entire month, he paid no attention to our Xufu Town Commerce Association, completely letting go."
"What does this mean?"
"Did he feel assured in his position, and then became lazy?"
"Does he really think the rest of us are unimportant?"
"Does he truly believe the Commerce Association can develop steadily ?"
"It’s simply a ridiculous idea!"
Changsun Hao’s words grew heavier, and by the end, without any cursing, they were already critical.
Upon hearing Changsun Hao’s words, Bai Rou’s face immediately showed some displeasure.
Even if she internally agreed with Changsun Hao’s viewpoint, at least he wasn’t making things up, everything had a basis.
But she felt uneasy when Changsun Hao criticized Yuchi.
It felt as if something she liked was being despised, making her very uncomfortable.
Indeed, liking something means loving its whole, even its flaws.
Besides Bai Rou, the other three families were fine with it.
They nodded from time to time as Changsun Hao spoke, agreeing with his opinion.
Initially, Changsun Hao was somewhat fearful, afraid these people would fully support Yuchi.
And that they would gossip behind his back once he said these things.
But upon seeing the displeasure on everyone’s faces, he felt much more assured.
It turns out, I wasn’t the only one thinking this; they just didn’t dare to voice it.
Changsun Hao seemed to be brimming with excitement and continued with a smile, following his logic:
"We must know that many things have happened in Xufu Town this month, especially the joint town price pressure."
"Yet the Wei Family itself didn’t suffer any business attacks, while the ones hurt were our other five families."
"What does this mean?"
He forcefully tapped the table, amidst its creaking sounds, his tone intensified.
"This is looking down on us!"
"This signifies that Yuchi only cares about the Wei Family’s own business!"
"This signifies that Yuchi doesn’t care about how our other families feel, it’s blatantly obvious!"
Amid Bai Rou’s clear discontent and complex expression, his gaze suddenly landed on her.
Bai Rou instinctively pressed down on her skirt.
Noticing Bai Rou’s unease, the old fellow Changsun Hao, with a vivid expression, continued:
"Even when the Patriarch of the Bai Family went to find him today, he acted as if it was nothing?"
"Seemingly unrelated to him, Yuchi?"
"Doesn’t he know what real pain means?"
"In my opinion, he simply doesn’t care about us at all!"
"He’s simply inhuman."
The targeted Yuchi retorted silently: "You’re the one who’s inhuman!"
However, what Changsun Hao said was indeed based on facts, excluding motives, just the facts as they stood.
Zhou Xingcai in Jiangzhou City was indeed planning two steps at that time.
Regarding Yuchi in Jiangzhou City, they were implementing detention followed by slaughter.
As for the Commerce Association itself, they directed their subordinate families to attack the other families aside from the Wei Family.
Their aim was to divide the entire Commerce Association, inciting internal strife within.
This way, there was no need to attack the Wei Family directly; it would be devoured by the other families.
In terms of logic, it was a very clever tactic.
By attacking five people, they ultimately destroyed six, further preventing the opposition from uniting during a crisis.
In simple terms, what Zhou Xingcai did back then was exploiting "injustice."