Chapter 213 My reckoning has only just begun.

Inside the ancestral hall, the sound of shattering porcelain shards acted as a pause, shattering all of Yan Hongyi's smugness.

He looked at Mu Chuji in disbelief, then suddenly turned to Yan Tingnan.

"You've been..."

"It's not early."

Yan Tingnan spoke indifferently.

"Just when you used her to spoil the plot and thought you had the victory in the bag."

"Very good! Very good!"

Yan Hongyi stared intently at Mu Chuji with his cloudy eyes, each word seeming to be ground out from between his teeth.

"You traitor!"

"Even a lowly pawn like you dares to betray us?"

Why wouldn't I dare?

Mu Chuji suddenly looked up, interrupting him.

The usual timidity and weakness on her face were completely stripped away, replaced by a hint of mockery.

“Mr. Yan, a good bird chooses a good tree to perch on, and besides, you are an old tree that is almost hollowed out by insects.”

Five hundred million.

Five hundred million can be spent in this world!

Hesitating for even a second longer is disrespectful to money!

The awakening of the overworked is sometimes so simple, unadorned, and tedious.

Less than five minutes after Su Ruan left her rented apartment, Mu Chuji dialed the number on the black business card.

Immediately afterwards, Mu Chuji revealed Yan Hongyi's plan to kidnap people and take them to the Yunnan border, even going so far as to use his connections in Myanmar.

At the time, she had a "what the hell" mentality and thought, "Let's take a gamble!"

If you win the gamble, you'll enjoy wealth and glory; if you lose...

Anyway, even if I don't gamble, I might still end up working on a sewing machine!

The system should just electrocute her!

She must accept this immense wealth!

Let whoever wants to mess with this villainous, reckless team member do it!

She ran away as soon as she got the 500 million, who cares about system tasks or not!

This year's male lead and the plot holes are too hardcore; she can't handle them. Isn't it better to just lie back and make money?

Five hundred million!

She'd be willing to be electrocuted in her next life!

Therefore, she chose the rich women's camp!

Yan Hongyi suddenly laughed hoarsely, his eyes filled with malice.

"You think you can win by turning a fence-sitter?"

He suddenly pointed his cane at Yan Tingnan.

"Su Ruan is still in my hands. All I need to do is make a phone call..."

"You can't get through."

Yan Tingnan calmly interrupted him, raising her hand to glance at her watch.

Your message was delayed.

"By this time, your lines along the Yunnan-Guizhou border should have been wiped out by Wen Jinxiao's men."

Yan Hongyi's pupils contracted sharply, and his withered hand gripped his cane tightly, his knuckles protruding.

"Taken?"

His voice was hoarse, trembling with disbelief.

"How could you..."

How could you possibly know so much?

After Yan Tingnan finished asking for him, his gaze fell on Mu Chuji, who was trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.

"We have to thank Assistant Mu for abandoning the darkness and turning to the light."

Mu Chuji quickly lowered her head.

It's five hundred million!

Five small goals helped her distinguish right from wrong!

Yan Tingnan looked at Yan Hongyi, whose face was ashen, and continued to tell his story.

"Even the most elusive snake will reveal its vital spot when it peeks out to hunt."

"You're too impatient, Grandpa."

"They were so eager to use Ruan Ruan to control me that they didn't hesitate to use this secret network."

"But they forgot that the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."

"Ruan Ruan went to Assistant Mu, and Assistant Mu's defection was the key to obtaining your plan."

"She contacted Ruanruan immediately, and Ruanruan promptly notified Wen Jinxiao."

“Every line you use and every person you send out is under our watchful eyes.”

"You think you can force me to comply by holding her safety in your hands?"

"But little did they know, from the moment she was taken away by your people, Wen Jinxiao's Skynet system had already locked onto her."

“Every road the kidnappers take, every checkpoint they pass through, is a guide to your hidden stronghold on the border.”

“You have personally handed me the justification for eradicating your last forces.”

"You cling to your shady methods, thinking that you are unmatched by anyone by hiding in the shadows."

"You used that line not because it was powerful, but because it was dirty and secretive; it was your last trump card that you couldn't let the light of day shine."

"Unfortunately, you forgot."

He took a step forward, the candlelight casting a long shadow behind him that completely enveloped Yan Hongyi.

"Light is born to dispel darkness."

“Your underworld forces, every one of them that shows itself, dies.”

"Kidnapping Ruan Ruan was the worst move you ever made."

This is why Su Ruan, before being drugged, mustered all her strength to tell Yan Tingnan on the other end of the phone why she wanted to find Mu Chuji.

After receiving Su Ruan's abruptly ended phone call in Zurich, Yan Tingnan listened to his wife and contacted Mu Chuji before boarding the plane to confirm all the details and inside information.

Yan Hongyi swayed slightly, his dragon-headed cane supporting his unsteady body.

The breath that had been held in his spine for decades seemed to be completely drained at this moment.

He had been setting up a scheme for decades and managing his undercover operations for half his life.

He was completely uprooted by this grandson whom he had raised himself, under the pretext of saving a woman.

Throughout his life, he was a master strategist, believing himself to be infallible, manipulating people's hearts and power with ease.

Unexpectedly, in the end, he would be defeated by the very control he was most proud of.

"What a brilliant inside-outside collaboration!"

He laughed in his extreme anger, a desolate and eerie laugh.

"Yan Tingnan, do you really have to go to this lengths for that woman..."

His voice was broken, filled with his last bit of resentment.

"It wasn't for her that I went to this extent."

Yan Tingnan corrected him, his tone resolute.

"It's because of her that I'm willing to take this step."

The flickering candlelight illuminated Yan Hongyi's instantly ashen face.

He lost.

Utter defeat.

Yan Tingnan stood up straight, no longer looking at the dejected old man.

"The clues you provided were useful."

He turned to Mu Chuji and said succinctly.

"I will keep my promise and not a penny less."

Mu Chuji's eyes lit up instantly, and she tried hard to suppress the smile that was about to stretch from her lips to her ears.

He cleared his throat, trying to make himself appear less greedy.

"Oh, Mr. Yan, you're too kind. Mrs. Yan is very generous!"

"This is what I should do; I am determined to sever all ties with evil forces!"

Yan Tingnan ignored her declaration of loyalty and ordered her to leave.

"This is none of your business, you can go now."

"Jinghuai will contact you if we need your cooperation in any future situations."

"No problem, I'm available anytime!"

Mu Chuji patted her chest to assure him, then immediately turned around.

As he passed Yan Hongyi, he paused for a moment and muttered something under his breath.

"Old man, next time... uh, there won't be a next time."

"Find a job, stop doing these crooked things, really."

After saying that, he ran out without looking back.

Inside the ancestral hall, deathly silence returned.

Yan Hongyi, leaning on his cane, slowly sat down in the grand master's chair, his back to his ancestors and to the glory of his life.

The grandfather and grandson, one standing and the other limp, are separated by decades of grudges and conflicts.

Yan Tingnan refocused her gaze on Yan Hongyi.

"grandfather."

When he spoke, the last word he uttered was devoid of any warmth.

"Your performance is over."

"My reckoning has only just begun."