Chapter 142 - 141: Explanation
Ling Chengfeng was startled by Ling Yanzhi’s sinister gaze.
’The Dean is just an outsider, after all.’
’What if they refuse and we have a complete falling out...’
Ling Chengfeng didn’t dare to gamble and swallowed in fear.
"Fine, we’ll do it her way. Throw your things over here, and put on the Soul Beast-restraining bracelet. Have Jian Yu come over in exchange for the Dean. Otherwise, I’ll kill the Dean right now."
He added a reminder, "I might not be able to beat you, but before you can release your Soul Beasts, I’m fast enough to kill an ordinary person."
"Fine." Jian Yu put on the Soul Beast-restraining bracelet.
She took off her Space Ring and tossed it to Ling Chengfeng.
The urge to kill him was like a venomous snake coiled around her heart, sinking its fangs into her.
Jian Yu turned her head and winked at Ling Yanzhi.
’Stall for time, and let’s see what he really wants.’
’Her Soul Beast was a fake; the restraining bracelet had no effect on her at all.’
’Besides, she had already mentally prepared herself to be exchanged for the Dean before they even arrived.’
Ling Yanzhi understood Jian Yu’s hint, but he didn’t feel like cooperating.
He lowered his gaze, a bloody, hostile aura flashing in the depths of his eyes before vanishing.
The Red Snake hissed twice.
[A horde of Alien Beasts is approaching. There are a lot of them. In another two minutes, your father should be able to sense them too.]
[Our people have arrived nearby. Just say the word, and they can attack at any moment.]
Jian Yu squeezed Ling Yanzhi’s palm.
She mouthed silently, "Trust me."
Ling Yanzhi let go of Jian Yu’s hand.
’He shouldn’t have held out any hope for Ling Chengfeng.’
His knuckles tightened abruptly. A nameless rage surged within him with no outlet, pressing down until his very organs ached with the pain of it.
"See? Wouldn’t it have been better if you’d just done this from the start?"
Ling Chengfeng readily released the Dean.
"Pah!" Once untied, the Dean snatched the filthy rag from her mouth.
"You silly child, why did you agree to an exchange? I’m almost forty. If I’m gone, I’m gone."
Ling Yanzhi closed his eyes. "Dean."
The Dean paused, then moved to stand behind him.
’She understood. She couldn’t cause trouble. She couldn’t be a burden anymore.’
With his hostage secured, Ling Chengfeng excitedly began to state his terms. "If you want me to release her, you must agree to three conditions. First, from now on, I will be in charge of all resource allocation within the clan."
"Fine." Ling Yanzhi’s eyes were fixed on Jian Yu, and he didn’t hesitate.
’Besides, if the distribution is unfair, the clan members will only go after Ling Chengfeng.’
Ling Chengfeng was visibly excited. "If you had never been born, the position of Family Head should have been mine. It was you who stole my position."
"If you want it, take it." A sarcastic smile touched the corners of Ling Yanzhi’s lips.
Impatience flashed across his brow. "If you’d been capable of holding the position back then, it never would have fallen to me. Besides, haven’t I already given you all these things you’re asking for?"
Ling Chengfeng flew into a rage from the shame.
"Acting Family Head is not the same as the real Family Head!"
Everywhere he went, all anyone ever talked about was Ling Yanzhi.
When it came to major events or the allocation of important resources, he couldn’t even pull a few strings for his dear Ling Yong!
’And he calls that giving me everything?’
Still, Ling Chengfeng was a little worried that Jian Yu wasn’t important enough to Ling Yanzhi.
He tested the waters, "The third condition: after you give me the position of Family Head, you will marry Si Yan. Also, you will treat your younger cousin better. All resources must be prioritized for him."
"Si Yan?" It took Ling Yanzhi a long moment to even recall who that was.
His throat bobbed, the agitation almost bursting out of him. "I already have someone I love. Why would I marry someone else? Name another condition."
The test had yielded results. Ling Chengfeng almost squealed with laughter.
He had his answer. His eyes fixed on Jian Yu’s expressionless face. "Don’t tell me you’re actually in love with her?"
Ling Yanzhi’s brows furrowed. "Are you asking a question you already know the answer to? Didn’t you capture her to threaten me precisely because you calculated that I care about her?"
"Calculated? I’ve never been able to figure out what you’re thinking." Ling Chengfeng had been holding this in for too many years.
He almost let it slip. "You’re my son, but I can’t figure you out. I’m afraid of you. I’m afraid you’ll make me a figurehead in my role as acting Family Head, I’m afraid you’ll find out that I..."
Ling Yanzhi gave Jian Yu a look.
His eyelids drooped. "Find out that you tried to harm me, that you wanted me dead? Or find out that you shifted the blame to that woman, while you were fooling around with my uncle’s woman and fathered my ’cousin’? You want me to marry Si Xu’s cousin because Ling Yong likes her, isn’t that right?"
"You knew all along? HAHAHAHAHAHA." Ling Chengfeng dropped the pretense.
"Fooling around? She’s the woman I truly love! If the Clan Leader hadn’t forced me, she and Ling Yong would be my real family!"
The two-headed snake slithered onto Jian Yu’s head.
Ling Chengfeng threatened, "I want you to destroy your own Soul Beast and leave Imperial Capital Star. Otherwise, I’ll kill her."
Jian Yu’s fingers twitched.
Soul Taming Breath could not only severely injure a Soul Ghost Body, but it could also attack the master of an Awakened Soul Beast.
When Pei Yin was training her, she had successfully landed a sneak attack on him.
Based on what happened then, Pei Yin had been immobilized for at least seven seconds.
Ling Yanzhi was very familiar with Jian Yu’s pre-attack tells.
He refused in a nonchalant tone, "No can do. If I can’t protect her and have to watch her end up in someone else’s arms, we might as well die together. Without my Soul Beast, would I still be standing here negotiating with you?"
BANG.
Ling Chengfeng had blown up Jian Yu’s Space Ring.
Clothes and snacks of all kinds scattered across the ground.
Among the items, a bottle of black medicine rolled to Ling Yanzhi’s feet.
The Red Snake, quick as a flash, snatched it in its mouth.
It crawled onto Ling Yanzhi’s shoulder.
It was Sweet-Dream Death, a concoction the Alliance marketed to ordinary people.
It allowed a person to die in their sleep within half an hour, completely without pain.
Ling Yanzhi narrowed his eyes in disbelief as a sudden heat rushed to them.
He knew Jian Yu was unwilling, but he never thought she would actually plan to secretly take poison and kill herself.
Jian Yu’s gaze was blank.
’Could she tell him she’d completely forgotten she even bought that thing?’
Ling Yanzhi’s scorching gaze felt like a brand against Jian Yu’s heart.
It was the kind of look that said he wanted to grab her and punish her severely.
Forgetting her plan to attack, Jian Yu lowered her head, her gaze shifting away.
She heard Ling Yanzhi’s icy voice say, "I’ll trade you Ling Yong."
The moment he finished speaking, a group of people in uniforms bearing a snake emblem appeared.
They were dragging Ling Yong with them.
Ling Chengfeng’s expression grew frantic. "No! Don’t touch him! I’ll trade! I’ll trade you right now!"
Jian Yu was a little surprised.
’She thought Ling Chengfeng wouldn’t pass up this opportunity. She thought he only cared about power, not his son.’
’Then... what did that make Ling Yanzhi?’
’Not important. Attack first.’
’Avenge the Dean.’
Jian Yu brushed past Ling Yong.
Just as she was about to reach Ling Yanzhi’s side, a ribbon of purple mist she had conjured rapidly solidified into the shape of a hemp rope, looping around to launch a sneak attack on the two-headed snake.
It aimed for the Snake Tongues and struck true.
Ling Chengfeng let out a blood-curdling scream.
His Soul Beast, the two-headed snake, fell from the air to the ground, its body twisting violently.
At the same time, Ling Yanzhi’s figure merged with the Red Snake.
He used Instant Teleportation to appear before Ling Yong, directly piercing through his body.
Flesh and blood exploded.
"My son! My son!" Ling Chengfeng scrambled madly to pick up the chunks of Ling Yong’s flesh. "You! How dare you touch him!"
Ling Yanzhi’s jawline tensed, but his eyes were devoid of emotion.
"You gave birth to me, you resent me—take it all out on me. I’ll consider it a debt I owe you. But you should never have targeted her."
"It’s true I’m not like you. Your son was just as worthless as you, even more incompetent, in fact. No matter how you look at it, you two were the real family."
Ling Chengfeng flew into a thunderous rage. "Attack! All of you, attack!"
The beast horde was upon them. The ground shook as the auras of various Alien Beasts drew near.
The mercenaries were suppressed by the giant Red Snake Beast Soul in the sky. Their movements were restricted, becoming slightly stiff.
They raised their soul shields to resist the Soul Beast’s pressure and quickly pulled out their Mechas.
"Sorry, our respected employer, but we’re quitting this job!"
’To hell with professional ethics; survival came first.’
Jian Yu was dumbfounded.
The Dean sounded a little regretful. "If they took off their masks, they’re actually quite handsome. Abs, pecs... and I bet they’re well-equipped in other areas, too."
Jian Yu: "..."
She looked at the Alien Beasts closing in from all sides and gave a little wave of her hand.
Green Mist swirled out, giving them a bit of Healing as payment for their trouble.
The leader of the group asked Ling Yanzhi for instructions. "Family Head, how should we deal with him?"
Ling Yanzhi stared at Jian Yu without blinking.
His voice was cold and severe. "Expel him from the family. Banish him to the Dark Star."
The Dark Star, a gathering place for Fierce Beasts.
Ling Chengfeng’s eyes nearly split from rage. "I’m your father! You’re sending me, seriously injured, to that godforsaken place? You bastard, are you trying to kill me?"
Gag him, take him away. It was all done in one smooth motion.
The Dean wanted to catch up with Jian Yu.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ling Yanzhi, still radiating a bloody aura, walking toward Jian Yu. She assumed he was angry about Jian Yu being taken hostage.
After a moment’s thought, she went over anyway.
He was too tall; she couldn’t reach his shoulder to pat it.
The Dean tried to placate him. "Whatever it is, let’s talk it out calmly. It was my fault for getting you two into this mess. You’re so handsome; with a face like that, I can see why my baby likes you. My baby always says a cool guy like you needs a sweet girl like her."
"Take the Dean back to rest." Ling Yanzhi grabbed Jian Yu’s wrist.
His chest heaved, and a more complex, aggrieved emotion swirled fiercely in his eyes.
"The poison. Explain."