Chapter 758: Hard Labor, No Escape
Looking at the blood seeping from the corner of Xu Bai Rou’s mouth, Miaoqiu’s face grew even uglier.
Could this distinguished expert from the Xu Family be so easily shocked into internal injury? How terrifying must the strength of this elder be, full of murderous intent?
"Brother, stop. Being too arrogant isn’t good..."
The second elder advised from the sideline, reminding that this isn’t a place for a family’s alliance to have the sole say; rather, the alliance and the families need to coexist. If the families are too offended, the alliances might lose their purpose.
Although every family seems harmonious on the surface, in reality, hidden waves surge beneath. One careless mistake could lead to a family’s downfall!
The current state is similar within the family’s alliance. Being overly arrogant would only make one a target.
With the second elder’s reminder, the first elder slowly withdrew his murderous intent. He had already accomplished enough intimidation, killing Xu Bai Rou would be going too far!
Killing a guiltless member of a family in front of all the family representatives was considered provocation!
The consequences would be unbearable for the elder, and no one else could bear them either!
"Hmph!" The elder snorted heavily, glanced at Xu Bai Rou, and said lightly: "You’re asking for misery! Because of those two, the alliance lost over three hundred herbs. Isn’t it reasonable to kill them?"
Xu Bai Rou took out a pure white silk handkerchief from her bosom to wipe the blood from her mouth. As if nothing had happened, she smiled and said: "Does the great elder need a reason to kill?"
"You!"
The elder’s anger was instantly stirred again; this woman was provoking him!
"If you dare, kill me! Do you really think everyone fears you? Old and miserable!" Xu Bai Rou mercilessly cursed. The Xu Family trained in the Charm Technique and were adept at reading minds. She knew the elder wouldn’t dare kill her, so what harm was a bit of provocation?
The scene left the audience dumbfounded. How did Xu Bai Rou suddenly become so vicious? Was she courting death?
Moreover, what shocked everyone was the mere twitching of the elder’s facial muscles; in the end, he just snorted and refrained from taking further action.
According to people’s understanding, no matter how much he could endure, in such situations, he shouldn’t be able to hold back.
Xu Bai Rou said calmly: "They are both from the Xu Family and have made mistakes, which should indeed warrant death. But I, Xu Bai Rou, won’t agree to let them die now!"
"Hmph, you’ve said they deserve death, so what won’t you agree to?"
"Those responsible aren’t just those two. There’s also the Wang Family and the Yue Family. Why should the Xu Family die before them? Moreover, the matter with the Tang Family hasn’t been clarified, so why shouldn’t we enjoy the spectacle a bit longer?"
"..."
People could understand the reasoning earlier, but as for that last part... it seemed a bit ridiculous, didn’t it?
Sitting in the hall, Mr. Tang felt somewhat embarrassed, turned his head to Xu Bai Rou, and said: "What kind of talk is this? Anyone with eyes can see the Tang Family was framed! Just killed a few guards, does it require the ’Buddha’s Slaughter Sword’? Frankly, the Tang Family has over a hundred kinds of poisons to silently kill those guards! And none of you could even detect it! I must say, this framing method is quite naive, isn’t it?"
The crowd nodded in agreement, recognizing the logic in his words. Killing a few henchmen with such a poison is indeed foolish.
Yue Yongnan lowered his head, suddenly feeling that the idea was indeed stupid.
The third elder scanned the room and asked: "Mr. Tang’s words make sense. Until there’s more evidence, let’s not involve the Tang Family. What do you all think?"
Everyone looked at each other, and the silence signaled agreement.
"Let’s return to the main topic now. The Wang Family, the Yue Family, and the Xu Family have clear evidence against them, and they should face the death penalty, but..."
Before the third elder could finish his words, the first elder interrupted: "Death penalty means death penalty, no buts! Old Three, shouldn’t these people be killed? If you find it hard to order your men, then I’ll do it myself! Just over two hundred people, they’ll be wiped out soon enough!"
"..." The third elder felt helpless; why is this guy so bloodthirsty?
The other spectators agreed, after all, killing members not from their own families meant less competition for resources.
The third elder coughed lightly twice and said: "Brother, don’t say it like that. This affects too many people and is a major event. The Wang Family has 123 members, the Yue Family 110, and the Xu Family 32. Killing them all would weaken the alliance!"
The third elder reasoned with sense and emotion, finally changing the first elder’s stance.
The alliance was established early on by every family to ensure balance among them. If these families become too weak, the alliance weakens too.
Each family’s core numbers were roughly about 300, and killing those individuals would severely impact the Wang and Yue Families, not to mention many from higher ranks were included.
If too many died, the resources submitted annually to the alliance would decrease.
How could the elder be willing to let the resources dwindle? He looked at the third elder, ponderingly asking: "So, what do you suggest we do?"
The third elder looked at the attending elders, asking: "What do you all think we should do?"
Xu Bai Rou had already noticed this old guy didn’t intend to kill, so she waved her hand and said: "I currently have no opinions, you decide."
Hearing Xu Bai Rou’s words, the other family elders also expressed one after another to let the third elder decide.
The third elder nodded and looked at the people standing before him, saying: "Death penalty can be avoided, but living punishment can’t! Due to you, the alliance lost over three hundred herbs, a massive loss! So, I give you a month to retrieve all the herbs for me! The exact number of herbs hasn’t been tallied; if there’s one missing, the three families compensate together, any objections?"
"None!" This was already the lightest punishment; could there be any objection?
"Very well. You have only a month’s deadline. If the herbs aren’t retrieved, the three families share the burden. Each family submits a hundred rare herbs, no objections?"
This statement caused Yue Yongnan and Miaoqiu’s expressions to change again.
A hundred herbs might not mean much to the entire family’s alliance, but to individual families, it was a significant amount, almost a third of their herb treasury.
If a hundred herbs can’t be provided, the death penalty won’t be avoided. Anyone disagrees with this?" The third elder laughed.
Silence, a deathly silence.
"Good, your silence is taken as consent! Then it’s settled!"