Mei Rulan’s face turned pale as the memory resurfaced.
At the time, she had thought Bai Zihan was just bluffing.
Who could’ve imagined he’d actually be mad enough to follow through?
"You want to destroy my clan?"
Bai Zihan replied without the slightest hesitation.
"Rulan, what did you do?!"
The Mei Clan’s elders shouted furiously.
How could they not be angry? After all, she was the reason this calamity had descended upon the Mei Clan today.
Mei Rulan looked guilty, at a complete loss for words.
Her voice caught in her throat. Her hands clenched into fists as the stares of her clan bore down on her—some filled with disbelief, others with silent blame.
Elders, younger disciples, even city guards... all of them looked at her like she was the cause of this doomsday.
"I didn’t think he’d really do it..."
She muttered under her breath.
Unfortunately for her, Bai Zihan heard her loud and clear.
"You didn’t think I’d really do it?"
He repeated mockingly, floating lazily in the air, hands still behind his back like he was on a casual stroll.
"Did you forget who I am?"
He glanced at the stunned Mei Clan forces, then turned back to her with a tilt of his head.
"I said I’d wipe out your clan. Or did you think I was one of those idiot young masters who bark but never bite?"
His voice turned cold. The playful edge vanished like mist.
Another Mei Clan elder stepped forward, his face flushed with anger.
"So what if Mei Rulan offended you? You’d go this far just because of one clan member? You want to slaughter an entire clan? Isn’t this too much?"
Bai Zihan turned toward him slowly. His eyes were calm, distant—bored.
"Of course it is not too much. Who told you to raise someone who would challenge the Heir of the Bai Clan? You should’ve done a better job educating her."
He raised a single finger.
"And didn’t I give her a chance? She’s the one who threw it away."
"So don’t blame me for what happens next."
He pointed at the Mei Clan elder.
A wave of spiritual Qi burst from the flying ship behind him.
The Bai Clan’s elders stepped forward, robes flapping in the wind, faces calm and murderous.
At their head was Grand Elder Bai Ren, stroking his white beard with idle amusement.
The Mei Clan’s Elders weren’t going to back down easily as they got ready to respond to the Bai Clan’s threat though many were visibly scared.
A new voice echoed like thunder through the sky—steady, deep, and filled with authority.
Everyone turned toward the heart of Meihua City, where a majestic pressure surged upward, parting the clouds above like a divine blade.
From the main hall of the Mei Clan manor, a figure rose into the air.
He wore flowing silver and crimson robes embroidered with golden plum blossoms.
His long black hair was streaked with gray, and his stern face bore the weight of decades of leadership.
His presence silenced everything.
It was the Mei Clan Leader—Mei Yunhe.
The air turned heavier as he floated forward, stepping between his trembling clan members and the Bai Clan’s looming forces.
"Young Master Bai Zihan!"
He said calmly, hands clasped behind his back.
"I am Mei Yunhe, head of the Mei Clan!"
He introduced himself politely with his head bowed.
Mei Yunhe’s gaze swept over the devastation in the sky and finally landed on Mei Rulan.
He turned back to Bai Zihan and bowed.
Not a groveling bow, but a formal, sincere gesture of submission.
Gasps erupted behind him.
"Surely there must be another way!"
Several Mei Clan elders stepped forward in protest, faces twisted in disbelief.
"Patriarch, how can we just—"
Mei Yunhe’s voice cracked like thunder.
Those who spoke immediately shut their mouths.
He turned to them with eyes that had once led the clan through wars, disasters, and sect rivalries.
"Look around you. Do you think we are in any position to bargain?"
His eyes landed on Grand Elder Bai Ren.
Others might not recognize him, but how could he not?
Bai Ren—a monster in his prime. His name once echoed across the continent. No one dared to provoke him.
He was said to have reached the Immortal Realm—a realm Mei Yunhe couldn’t even dream of touching.
If Bai Ren wanted to, Mei Yunhe knew that he could reduce Meihua City to ashes in seconds.
And even if they managed to defeat Bai Zihan and his forces now... what then?
The Bai Clan would simply send stronger reinforcements. Bigger. Deadlier!
Surrendering... was the only option.
"That is the Bai Clan’s Grand Elder. The power gathered here today could wipe us out ten times over. Do you want to resist and die, dragging all our disciples and families down with us?"
"All because of one mistake?"
The elders lowered their heads in shame.
Then his gaze fell upon Mei Rulan again.
Mei Yunhe’s voice dropped, now full of fury.
"You’ve truly brought disgrace to our clan."
She tried to speak, but he raised a hand.
"Enough! Not a word!"
His voice cut like a blade.
"You will be punished. Severely!"
Mei Rulan’s lips trembled. She bit down and lowered her head, pride shattered.
Bai Zihan watched it all with amusement dancing in his eyes.
"Interesting," he murmured. "Looks one isn’t completely stupid."
Mei Yunhe turned back to him.
"We accept all responsibility," he said steadily.
"If compensation is required, we will pay it. If punishment is needed, we will accept it."
He cupped his fists deeply.
"I only ask... for the lives of our people."
The Bai Clan disciples and elders looked toward Bai Zihan, waiting for a signal. After all, everything depended on what Bai Zihan and they were just here to fulfill Bai Zihan’s wish.
But Bai Zihan just smiled.
He leaned forward slightly in the air.
"You’ll accept any punishment?"
Mei Yunhe said without hesitation.
"Even crippling your cultivation?"
"If that’s what it takes... I’m willing."
Mei Yunhe said firmly.
Mei Rulan cried out. She never imagined that chasing a little personal gain would bring her and her clan to this point.
Even her proud father was being humiliated, forced to kneel and bear this shame.
"I’m in a good mood today. Let’s head to the Mei Clan. I’ll decide what to do... once I’m there."
He hadn’t expected the Mei Clan to surrender so easily.
Looks like their leader was a sensible man—he knew that resistance was pointless.
Though if this were a protagonist’s story, he figured there’d be some dramatic last stand, a surge of power, or a last-minute miracle.
But this was the villain’s path.
And villains rarely got that kind of drama.
Villain’s path is easy until his death!