"One million gold coins? Very well, then it's settled. Your Zhou Family's debt of gratitude ends with this one million gold coins."
Xu Yi said coldly.
"What insolent fool is this? Step aside!"
The purple-clothed middle-aged man called "Third" slapped the armrest of his round-backed chair. As he spoke, he shot a meaningful glance at the beautiful woman in red.
Just then, a brocade-robed middle-aged man burst through the door and hurried over. He called to the red-faced elder, "Patriarch, the imperial edict's bearer has arrived. We couldn't stop him. He's already reached the second courtyard."
"What!"
The entire hall erupted in an uproar.
"Why are you pressing us so hard? Why?"
The red-faced elder shot to his feet, seething with rage.
"Big Brother, what do we do? Are we really supposed to hand over our ancestral secret manual? How could we face our ancestors?"
The purple-clothed middle-aged man was frantic.
"Exactly, Big Brother. If we lose the Three Returns Sword Art, what sort of great clan will the Zhou Family be? We should never have stayed cooped up in the capital. Even drifting off to Jinbei and joining the rebels would be better than sitting here like fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others."
The elder in a coarse robe, seated just above the purple-clothed middle-aged man, stamped his feet and lamented.
The others chimed in noisily, none of them able to make up their minds.
Xu Yi furrowed his brow slightly and sent a voice transmission to the beautiful woman in red. "Third Madam, thank you for looking after my younger sister. I'll certainly pay you the one million gold coins shortly."
The beautiful woman in red truly couldn't tell whether this young man in blue was out of his mind. She glared at him