Chapter 78 Threat 2 Why can't pity be a form of power? ...
Old Master Wang stared at the small ball hanging on Xie Jiaoyue with suspicion and gloom: "Little girl, you're messing with me. The clan school is busy with classes, how can those people have so much time to play these kinds of tricks with you? That thing on you is probably more than just an ornament."
Xie Jiaoyue, with her usual innocent big eyes, said, "Grandpa Wang, I didn't say that the people watching us from the other side were the clan school teachers."
Old Master Wang breathed a sigh of relief, but as soon as he did, his murderous aura intensified.
Given his position, it wouldn't be entirely impossible for him to secretly eliminate those two directly. Even if he wasn't willing to pay such a high price, giving them a small lesson wouldn't be a problem.
Xie Jiaoyue held the small, blue ball in both hands: "On the other side is my brother."
"That kid Gongshi Moyu? Ha, although he has some talent, your Xie family of three is still just a fledgling that hasn't grown up yet."
The implication was that it was impossible to threaten him with these things.
Xie Jiaoyue seemed frightened by the murderous aura emanating from Old Ancestor Wang and his fierce tone. She took a step back and said timidly, "Director, look how Old Ancestor Wang treats us! I originally thought Jinling City was a rare paradise, thriving under your rule. I never imagined that Old Ancestor Wang would bully us, a widow and her orphans, in broad daylight." She choked back a few sobs, "How can we go on living like this?"
Old Master Wang was stunned once again.
Director?
Huh? Say it again, who?
Even if he had the greatest courage in the world, he wouldn't dare to openly do anything to these two people in front of the director.
Gong Shirao feigned reproach: "Alas, Moyu, you made a contribution by discovering the magical beast before, and were rewarded by the director today. I originally did not want to bother you, but what Wang Min did before also indirectly affected you. So we came here today to ask Old Ancestor Wang for the truth, and wanted you to know as well."
Only then did Old Master Wang remember that Gongshi Moyu had gone to the Heaven and Earth Bureau last year.
He wouldn't remember such a trivial matter.
The director is indeed very busy and is rarely seen on weekdays, but if it is because of Gong Shimoyu's previous meritorious service, he may actually be rewarded in person, and the Xie family seized this precious opportunity.
Damn it, the Heavenly Court is much more intimidating than the Clan Academy! This little girl tricked him!
He immediately suppressed his menacing aura, fearing that it would confirm his guilt in bullying an orphan and widow.
Most importantly, they were indeed in the wrong regarding Wang Min's matter.
Xie Jiaoyue had already started rambling on about what Wang Min had done.
“Old Master Wang, I think you probably don’t know about this yet.”
At this moment, if Old Ancestor Wang wanted to distance himself from this situation and confirm that it was solely Wang Min's youthful ignorance, he could neither stop Xie Jiaoyue from revealing everything nor show that he knew about those sordid matters.
He sat down in a chair, frowned, and naturally transformed from a menacing aura into an innocent look of confusion: "I really don't know what brings you two to the Wang family today. Why don't you tell this old man what you've come for?"
Xie Jiaoyue carefully counted the evidence they found, including Wang Min and several other cultivators from the Wang family. There was a clear chain of evidence showing how these people inquired about their pills and how they planned to steal their things. Even Chu Xingjin's two inexplicable threatening words were recorded as corroborating evidence.
Finally, Xie Jiaoyue concluded: "Ancestor Wang, why does your Wang clan treat the Xie clan this way? Do you think we, a widow and orphan, are helpless and can be bullied at will, or does the Wang clan not want to maintain the current balance and want to completely break ties with the Xie clan and start a war?"
Old Master Wang only knew the general outline of the matter beforehand, and didn't know every single detail. After listening to Xie Jiaoyue's explanation, he felt his head was about to explode.
He wasn't angry that Wang Min tried to win through underhanded means, but rather that the kid's methods were so low-level that he didn't know how to clean up the mess, leaving a bunch of loopholes for others, as if he was afraid of not having any leverage against him.
If Wang Min hadn't had an elder like him, he might have been expelled from the clan school for this one incident.
It's a headache. He was a hero of his generation, full of vigor and ambition in his youth. Even now, he is one of the few Golden Core Ancestors in Golden Spirit City. How did he end up with such a grandson?
What's hateful is that his son died young, and this is his only grandchild, whom he cannot afford to abandon.
Old Master Wang gritted his teeth and maintained his amiable demeanor: "Alas, how could such a thing happen? I had no idea before. I'm usually busy and haven't been able to discipline Wang Min properly. He was naughty when he was young, and I thought he was quite talented and would naturally become more sensible as he got older. But I never expected that this kid would do such a foolish thing."
He was a protégé of the Wang family since childhood, never suffering hardship or loss, and always living a smooth and successful life, never bowing his head to anyone.
The first time I bowed my head, it was to bow to a junior who was not even twenty years old.
Old Master Wang felt extremely humiliated, feeling that he had lost all the face he had accumulated over the years.
Unexpectedly, even though he had lowered his stance, Xie Jiaoyue remained relentless.
"Ancestor Wang, I have suffered such a great injustice. Not only did I almost lose the honor that was rightfully mine, but I also nearly perished in the jaws of a magical beast. Is this all I get in return for these two light words?"
These words were truly irritating, yet Xie Jiaoyue still looked like she was about to cry, as if if Wang Laozu were to be any more forceful, Xie Jiaoyue would immediately fall to the ground and weep weakly, causing Wang Laozu's anger to be forced to remain stuck in his chest, unable to be released.
Unable to go up or down, he almost caused his meridians to flow backward.
He silently recited the Pure Heart Sutra, which he had secretly learned from a Buddhist practitioner, several times to keep himself from losing his composure.
“It is indeed Wang’s fault, and Wang should naturally apologize to you, young friend. Jiaoyue, how do you intend to resolve this matter?”
Old Master Wang thought that it was just a matter of compensating for some things. He was also the patriarch of a large and wealthy clan, so it was fine to spend a little money to avoid disaster.
Xie Jiaoyue had been going on and on with this old man for so long, just waiting for these words.
She slapped a list out, which clearly listed spirit stones, spirit materials, magic robes, magic tools, and so on. These were all very easy things to obtain, not particularly precious, but there were quite a few of them.
It was Xie Jiaoyue who had carefully calculated Wang Min's importance in Old Ancestor Wang's heart.
Or to be more specific, the weight of Wang Laozu's own face.
Face is valuable, but not that valuable, so the portion she ordered was just right at Old Master Wang's psychological threshold, and even a little less.
The missing piece was added to the last item.
Foundation Building Pill.
Gong Shirao glanced at it and happened to see this item. Her expression failed her for a few seconds. Why did Jiaoyue write this item?
This list was actually compiled by the two of them together; this item wasn't on the list at the time.
Although Ancestor Wang was at the Golden Core stage, or rather, the ancestors of the Xie, Xin, and Wang clans, as well as the Director of the Heaven and Earth Bureau, were all at the Golden Core stage and did not need Foundation Establishment Pills, Foundation Establishment Pills were one of the most important resources for every aristocratic family and were almost never circulated on the market.
Because it takes at least five Foundation Establishment stage cultivators for a family to become the lowest-ranking family, and to climb up the ranks, more advanced cultivators and more Foundation Establishment stage cultivators are needed.
The three families at the upper level of the Yellow rank have only just reached the standard. On the surface, they are incredibly prestigious, but in reality, they are desperately trying to maintain their precarious upper-level Yellow rank status.
Even families that are slightly above the current standard will not slacken in their efforts to improve their level, and will still firmly hold onto the Foundation Establishment Pills and the materials for researching and producing Foundation Establishment Pills.
The hierarchy of aristocratic families is like a carrot dangling in front of a donkey pulling a millstone. Cultivation is like pulling the millstone, making every aristocratic family so engrossed that they are willing to work hard to pull it.
Therefore, Xie Jiaoyue's words were truly a dangerous slip into someone else's sensitive area.
Old Master Wang looked at the pitiful Xie Jiaoyue with a gloomy expression, pointing to the last line of the list: "Little friend Jiaoyue has quite an appetite."
Gong Shirao was worried that something might happen to her daughter and wanted to stop her. She had already prepared a Foundation Establishment Pill for her daughter, and they didn't need to risk angering a Golden Core cultivator for a single Foundation Establishment Pill.
Xie Jiaoyue secretly pinched her mother's finger gently to tell her not to be anxious.
"It's just a Foundation Establishment Pill. The Wang family is currently at its zenith and is showing signs of becoming the number one family in Jinling City. They are now firmly in the upper-level Yellow rank, unlike our Xie family which is so lacking in Foundation Establishment cultivators."
Yes, the Xie clan was the one most in need. In fact, they didn't even have enough Foundation Establishment cultivators a few years ago. The clan kept quiet and kept it a secret until Gongshi Moyu successfully established his Foundation Establishment, which temporarily eased the crisis.
Otherwise, they would probably have become the first fallen aristocratic family, being trampled and drained dry by the remaining two.
The significance of the Foundation Building Pill was completely different for the Xie family's poverty and the Wang family's wealth.
Xie Jiaoyue dared to gamble for this reason. Under such circumstances, compared to the slight weakening of the Wang family's future, Old Ancestor Wang cared more about his own face.
Xie Jiaoyue and Gong Shirao are not ordinary orphans and widows. Xie Qingyun, who sacrificed himself for the sake of the entire Jinling City, even has a shrine in Jinling City where people often make offerings.
This is the underlying reason why Gong Shirao and Xie Jiaoyue have not yet been completely devoured by the rest of the Xie family. Weighing the pros and cons of their reputation, some people are like bloodsucking insects lurking beside the main branch of the Xie family. They dare not openly devour the remaining members, so they plan to quietly devour Xie Jiaoyue and Gong Shirao over time, using the blood and bones of others to feed their own blood and bones.
For example, the Third Elder, and Xie Yuehua.
Fortunately, not everyone is like that; otherwise, if the bleeding were to occur too quickly, the family might not be able to recover before Xie Jiaoyue gets back on her feet.
Xie Jiaoyue chuckled as she thought of the aloof but somewhat kind third-wife couple and Xie Xinghui, who was silly and always teasing cats and dogs. There are still many good people in the world.
With a father who sacrificed himself but still protected the orphans and widows, Xie Jiaoyue was able to openly rob Old Ancestor Wang.
"I wonder if Old Master Wang has ever been to a restaurant. There's a stage in the middle of Fu Lai Restaurant, and they recently hired a storyteller who tells stories to the diners whenever he has free time."
"If Old Ancestor Wang refuses to give Jiaoyue this small compensation, the storyteller at Fulai Restaurant might like to tell a new story."
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