Inside Lu Ming Hall's conference room, there was dead silence.
Not only Nanbu and his subordinates behind him, but even the other participants stared wide-eyed in shock, a chill involuntarily running up the backs of their necks.
It was like seeing someone drive off after robbing the food reserves of Yizhou's giant panda sanctuary...
The Great Tengu was one step away from blurting out, "What the hell?"
He had originally thought he would witness a battle of words and open and covert scheming today. Instead, Huai Shi had skipped every step and fast-forwarded straight to a full-scale reckoning.
And he even wanted Lu Ming Hall to do it personally, killing its own people to put on a show for Huai Shi!
Was that even an option?
This was no longer an attack right in their faces. It was outright surrendering sovereignty and humiliating the nation.
If Nanbu dared nod, never mind anyone else—his own people would probably start singing "The Waters of Miluo Abyss Churn in Chaos," and might even wipe out his entire family in the name of divine punishment.
For a moment, he froze, his motion of lowering his head in submission halted halfway.
And Huai Shi, as though he had noticed the eyes behind Nanbu that were practically spitting fire, nodded in understanding. "Indeed, asking Mr. Nanbu to personally kill his own subordinates would be somewhat too heartless..."
"Please, show mercy."
Nanbu's expression twitched violently. He stiffly lowered his head, forcing out a reluctant, ingratiating smile. Ask for the sky, settle for the ground. A momentary loss of face was nothing; as long as this matter could be smoothed over, anything was negotiable.
"That isn't impossible."
Huai Shi glanced at the old man with his head lowered and told him, "But you should at least show some