Threat

The Ren Family estate was not within the city proper, but a grand residence near the northern suburbs. There were no other houses nearby; this single manor stood alone, its grounds sprawling across nearly half a street.

At the center of the main hall, an old man in a traditional Chinese jacket sat in a broad chair at the front, both hands resting on his cane. Though he looked aged, his posture was perfectly upright, carrying an innate authority that kept everyone seated to either side of him with their heads lowered. On closer inspection, their legs were trembling faintly.

"Ah!"

"Ah!!"

"Grandpa, I was wrong!!"

Ren Xu, who had been brimming with arrogance at noon, was now suspended in the air and left to be whipped.

The whip seemed specially made, covered in barbs. Its wielder struck with tremendous force, every lash leaving an afterimage and sending Ren Xu spinning like a top.

"Wrong? You think you know what you did wrong?"

The old man snorted coldly. "You only know you were discovered. What are you admitting to? There is no absolute right or wrong in doing things—only doing them well or badly! Look at the rotten methods you used!"

He looked at the middle-aged man wielding the whip. "What a fine son you taught! A Magic Treasure worth ten million, and he wanted to buy it for four million? When he could not buy it, he wanted to use force. Is our Ren Family that short of money?"

Smack!!

At those words, the middle-aged man whipped even faster.

The old man continued, "Who knows where he found the nerve to run wild? He usually looks clever and sharp-witted, so why did he become so muddleheaded over this? Is he the only one with family standing and connections? Does the other side have none? That is the Pest Control Bureau!"

Like an old lion, the man roared, "Behind the Pest Control Bureau stands the heavens! If they truly decide to fight us, one finger is enough to crush us to death! Do you understand?!"

"Yes, Grandpa. I know I was wrong. I will reflect on it."

Ren Xu had been whipped until his breath was as faint as a thread. Blood flowed from him like water, dripping steadily to form a pool of crimson beneath him.

The old man waved a hand, and only then did the middle-aged man stop. A trace of heartache showed in his eyes as he looked at Ren Xu, but he did not dare do anything more.

"Of course, we are not afraid of trouble either. If we are wrong, we admit fault and accept punishment. But if we are not wrong, no one can touch us. At most, you asked a question, and the other side refused to sell. The rest had nothing to do with you. In the future, be more humble. Beyond one mountain lies another mountain. You are only a student; you are not qualified to look down on anyone."

The old man sighed helplessly. "Do not blame Grandpa for being ruthless. If I do not teach you properly, and you stir up a grave disaster in the future, even if you do not reveal the Ren Family, others will still drag us into it. That is enough. Carry him back to rest. After summer vacation, send him abroad to study. He should not stay in the country."

"Dad."

Those words finally made the middle-aged man unable to hold back. "Isn't this making a mountain out of a molehill?"

As soon as he spoke, another middle-aged man who looked seventy percent like the old man hurried over. "Dad, Sun Shun from the Pest Control Bureau has arrived."

The old man froze, and his gaze at Ren Xu grew even colder. "They have come to our door, and you still call this making a mountain out of a molehill? Keep him hanging there. Let them see it too—we have shown our attitude. Invite him in."

The man nodded and headed back out. Before long, he returned with Sun Shun.

"Section Chief Sun."

A smile immediately appeared on the old man's face as he trembled and made to stand. "You should have told us before coming, so we could arrange a welcome ceremony. Otherwise, we would seem discourteous."

"Old Master Ren, please do not stand on ceremony. You are a senior."

Sun Shun hurried over and pressed down the old man's hand, stopping his seemingly imminent rise. Only then did he sweep his gaze around the room, finally settling on Ren Xu, who hung off to one side, covered in blood.

"This is...?"

"A younger member of the family made a small mistake. We are teaching him the rules."

The old man chuckled. "You know how it is—the larger the family, the more it must understand the rules. While I am still around, I should teach them more. Otherwise, when I die, there truly will be no one left to keep them in line."

"Yes, the larger the family, the more it must understand the rules. As the old saying goes, a great Lineage cannot be killed from the outside; only when problems arise within can it be ground to death bit by bit. Teaching rules is a good thing."

Sun Shun said it with a smile, though his words carried deeper meaning. "But Old Master Ren, your Essence Qi is far better than mine. You will certainly live a long life!"

"Then I shall borrow Section Chief Sun's auspicious words!"

The old man smiled without warmth and gave two seemingly hearty laughs before addressing the others. "Have you no manners? A guest has arrived, and no one is serving tea?"

"Section Chief Sun, please take the seat of honor."

"No, no, no. I only came to deliver something and say a few words on the way. There is no need for such trouble."

Sun Shun waved his hands repeatedly, then pulled a long black cloth bundle from his pocket. After opening it, he revealed a test tube filled with a black liquid like sesame paste. Looking closely, one could even see granular particles shifting within it, along with black threads.

"This is from Director Pan. I do not know what it is either. He said it absolutely had to be delivered into your hands."

Sun Shun placed the test tube on the table and said with a smile, "There are also two more sentences. Director Pan fondly remembers Old Master Ren's 'contributions' to Ningjiang in his younger days. Before I came, he even told me he intended to vacate his position and have Old Master Ren become director of the Pest Control Bureau."

He stressed the word "contributions" particularly heavily.

As soon as those words were spoken, the faces of everyone present changed abruptly. Yet the old man remained beaming, as though he had truly heard praise, and said with a laugh:

"Director Pan thinks too highly of me. What virtue or ability does this old man possess? Even eating is difficult for me now. I can only rely on a few external things to barely keep one breath hanging on. But if there is a need, let alone this old man, my entire family can step forward. Please put Director Pan at ease."

"It is good that you have such spirit, Old Master. Director Pan will surely understand. Very well, I shall not disturb you while you teach your family rules."

He stressed his final few words just as heavily. After saying them, he turned and left.

"Oh, right."

But when he reached the entrance of the main hall, Sun Shun turned back with a smile. "The inspections have been strict lately. If there is anything noncompliant, it is best to rectify it promptly. It is all to cooperate with the work, after all."

With that, he strode away without pausing in the slightest.

Bang!

Only after Sun Shun's figure disappeared did a violent explosion ring out in the hall.

The chair beneath the old man and the tea table beside him suddenly shattered. Splintered wood shot out like darts, piercing the surrounding pillars and floor, embedding deeply into them.

The old man stood up. Light seemed to blaze from his eyes, and with his beard and hair stirring, where was the decrepit old man from moments ago?

He stretched out a hand and caught the test tube as it fell through the air. After glancing at it, he sneered. "Trying to scare me with this? Pan Zhengyang's methods are not very impressive either."

"Dad, this is..."

"A little trinket from the Locust God Cult. Hmph, they have even resorted to framing people. Do you see now? They came to our door under the pretext of an excuse just to threaten us. If we do not rein ourselves in, sooner or later our entire family will be wiped out!"

With a casual flick of his hand, the test tube and the object within suddenly melted away, stained with a trace of blood-red. When flung to the ground, they became a single drop of blood.

"Unfortunately, this old man truly is old. My spirit is not as high as it once was, and I can actually endure it."

He shook his head with a smile, braced himself on his cane once more, and turned back into an ordinary old man. Though his movements were slow, his steps remained light and steady as he headed toward the rear. "So be it. Let them investigate. No matter how much we lose, we will bear it."

"There is no need to stop what is happening in the county. I have my own methods. That Sun Shun was right: a great Lineage cannot be killed from the outside. So long as nothing goes wrong within, Ningjiang will ultimately still bear the Ren name!"