Yao Ran shot Uncle Tian a pleading look. “I really want to know. Please, just tell me.”
The longer she remained in the dark, the harder it would be for her to devise an escape plan.
She needed to know what her options were so that she could choose the best one.
Qin Jing took another peek at Yao Tang, but said nothing.
Yao Tang was not the lenient type. If she allowed Uncle Tian to divulge everything to Yao Ran there and then, it must mean that she wanted to know these things, too.
At last, Uncle Tian took a deep breath. He didn’t think there was any use in hiding the truth anymore.
Except for Qin Jing, everyone here was already in the know. There shouldn’t be any harm in revealing it to one more person.
“We originally wanted to ease you into it, but since you insist, I shall tell you everything now. You’ll eventually find out, anyway.
“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Tian Xiao, the 287th head of the Tian family of the Sky Clan.”
The man’s face was brimming with pride as he announced his rank and position.
Grandma Xu seemed affected as well. She straightened her back and said, “I am a direct descendant and the current head of the Xu family of the Sky Clan, Xu Yi.”
Yao Ran froze and stared at them in shock.
Yao Tang, on the other hand, slowly rubbed her fingers together and studied the two elders. Her face was devoid of any emotion, and her eyes turned deep and pensive.
Uncle Tian continued to speak, his voice cold and somber.
“If you hurt Miss Yao Ran, I can guarantee that the Sky Clan will chase you to the ends of the earth and take retribution. You can give it a try and see whether I’m telling the truth or not. We of the Sky Clan always honor our word.”
Yao Tang was just as serious in her tone when she replied. “The bracelet you’re referring to can be bought from a certain shop on Taobao. They sell one for four yuan, three for ten. They ship for free, too.”
Uncle Tian’s jaw dropped, and he looked like a fish out of water.
A few feet away, Grandma Xu also gaped at Yao Tang, stunned speechless.
A deafening silence fell as everyone else tried to process Yao Tang’s words.
This was definitely not the reaction that Uncle Tian had expected from Yao Tang.
How could their precious heirloom be sold on some online shopping app?
And they were even sold in bulk? What kind of sordid joke was this?
These artifacts were considered to be priceless treasures of the clan. How could they be peddled around like some trinket? And at such a low price, too!
Uncle Tian was dazed for a while. When he finally jolted back to his senses, he exploded. “What nonsense are you spouting? That online store must be selling replicas! There’s no way they could be the tokens of our Sky Clan!
“Since you’re also a member of our clan, you should know about the special patterns, right? It’s not something that anyone can just fake!”
Uncle Tian flushed with outrage, but his words were laced with doubt and apprehension.
They were blindsided by this sudden plot twist.
Just then, Yao Tang held her phone in front of his face and showed him her screen display. “Take a look for yourself and see whether the patterns are fake or not.”
Uncle Tian was already dead set on refuting her claims, but he still couldn’t resist looking at the photo.
At first, he was shocked by how clear the picture was. His eyes narrowed, and his breath caught in his throat.
Before he knew it, he had already snatched the phone from Yao Tang’s hands.
The ones etched in these trinkets were very similar to the ones in the original tokens.
No, they were exactly the same!
If he didn’t know any better, he would have believed that this store actually sold their clan’s heirlooms.
Uncle Tian’s eyes darted to the product description just below the photo.
Only one word was written there: “Bracelet.”
There were no other details.
Uncle Tian’s lips twitched. He investigated further and learned that the store had already sold 3,000 pieces. There were no bad reviews, nor any substantial comments about the product.
It appeared that the sales were legitimate.
Although he seldom shopped online, he could at least tell that much.
This shop didn’t seem any different from another trinket stall on the street. If it wasn’t for the bracelet, he doubted he would have bothered with their wares at all.