Deliberation 2

Amidst the oppressive silence within the council hall.

The man who had remained silent upon the main seat finally spoke.

"That is enough."

His voice was not loud, yet it carried a heavy, unquestionable pressure.

The council hall fell instantly silent.

Every pair of eyes turned in unison toward the main seat.

The head of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—the Sect Master, Yu Yuanzhen.

He appeared to be in his thirties, in the prime of his life, with a tall, robust frame and an upright, imposing posture. His long, raven-black hair was tied behind his head, his face was square-jawed, and a neatly trimmed short beard adorned his chin. Between his brows lay the natural majesty and composure of one who had long held a position of power.

His hands were folded atop the table, his gaze sweeping calmly over those in the hall.

"Since the matter has already occurred, arguing here is of no use."

Yu Yuanzhen's voice was unhurried, as if he were stating the simplest of facts.

"What is most urgent right now is to consider how to handle it."

With a single sentence, he extinguished the brewing disputes and mutual finger-pointing within the hall before they could take root.

The elders fell silent one after another, each straightening their posture.

The hall remained quiet for several breaths.

Yu Kun was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked up.

His cloudy, aged eyes darted about as if he had thought of something, and he spoke tentatively:

"Sect Master."

Yu Yuanzhen glanced at him, signaling him to continue.

Yu Kun lowered his voice, leaning his body slightly forward.

"How about... we find a way to release some information? To cover up... or perhaps alter the narrative of this incident?"

His tone carried a hint of shrewd and vicious calculation.

"For instance—"

He cleared his throat and spoke in a measured, deliberate manner:

"We tell the public: that day on the street, my grandson Huan'er was merely looking to buy a few flowers from a flower-selling girl. His words were courteous, his behavior polite, and he had no improper intentions whatsoever."

"Yet that brat from the Ning family, a collateral branch of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, must have taken the wrong medicine; he came up and attacked Huan'er without a word. Huan'er was beaten into a critical condition, and only then did our clan, unable to swallow the insult, go to their door to demand justice."

"As for the child slitting his own throat afterward—that was entirely due to his own psychological instability, and it has nothing to do with us."

Having said this, Yu Kun spread his hands, wearing an expression of calm certainty, as if to say, "That is how it happened."

"When the time comes, we can spend some silver, find people to spread this version in teahouses and taverns everywhere. Then, have the minor forces attached to our clan help build momentum. If three people claim there is a tiger, the public will believe it; public opinion can melt gold."

"In this way—"

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

"Black can become white."

As his voice faded, another silence fell over the hall.

Several elders looked thoughtful, seemingly weighing the feasibility of this plan.

However—

"No."

Yu Yuanzhen's voice rang out once more.

Crisp, decisive, and beyond question.

These two words directly crushed Yu Kun's supposedly brilliant scheme in its infancy.

Yu Kun was stunned and looked up. "Sect Master, this..."

Yu Yuanzhen's gaze was like a torch as he looked at Yu Kun and said slowly:

"Not to mention the sensitivity of this current juncture. Public opinion has already fermented to such a degree that the commoners of the entire city—no, the entire continent—have heard of that child's story. There are countless witnesses, and no small number of people were present that day."

"You throw out a completely contradictory narrative at a time like this—how many people do you think will believe it?"

Yu Kun's mouth opened slightly.

Yu Yuanzhen continued:

"Not only will no one believe it, but it will make everyone feel that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is not only bullying others with our power, but also twisting the truth and confusing the public afterward."

"Originally, it was just 'arrogance and tyranny,' but if you do this, it becomes 'arrogance and tyranny while refusing to admit it.' The backlash from the common people will only be ten times fiercer than it is now."

Yu Kun's complexion shifted, his lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing more.

But Yu Yuanzhen was not finished.

He tilted his head slightly, and those deep, profound eyes finally looked directly at Yu Kun.

"Furthermore—"

His tone suddenly took on a meaningful weight.

"Have you considered that once your version of events gets out, it will be equivalent to dumping all the filth squarely onto the heads of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect?"

Yu Kun was taken aback.

Yu Yuanzhen's voice was unhurried, yet every word was distinct:

"According to your version—your grandson is innocent, the beating was unprovoked, and the entire cause lies with that child named Ning Zha from a branch family of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect. If that were the case, the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect would become the sole party at fault from beginning to end."

"Would that old fox Ning Fengzhi ever agree to that?"

As soon as these words left his lips, the expressions of everyone in the hall shifted.

Ning Fengzhi.

The Sect Master of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect.

An old man who had navigated the continent's political landscape for decades, building an auxiliary-type sect up to the level of the Upper Three Sects.

Calling him an "old fox" was being polite.

Although the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect were both ranked among the Upper Three Sects and maintained a seemingly decent relationship on the surface, everyone knew deep down that the bond between the two houses was far from as harmonious as it appeared.

Entangled interests, secret rivalries, and mutual wariness—these were the norm.

Under such a delicate balance, your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan suddenly dumps all the filth onto the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect?

How do you think Ning Fengzhi would react?

That old fox's methods were not something to be trifled with.

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

Yu Kun's proposal had been thoroughly rejected; he sat back down with a dark face, saying nothing more.

The other elders looked at one another, none of them able to come up with a better idea for the time being.

The silence lasted for quite a while.

In the end, it was Yu Luomian, sitting in the Vice Sect Master's seat, who spoke up.

"Sect Master."

His tone still carried a hint of fire, but it was much calmer than before.

"In my view—it's useless for us to rack our brains behind closed doors right now. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has never been good at these kinds of convoluted schemes."

He paused, then said a name with a complex expression.

"How about... we first see what the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect's thoughts are on the matter?"

As soon as these words were spoken, a subtle light flashed in the eyes of many elders in the hall.

That was true.

When it came down to it, this matter involved both houses. The direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was the fuse, and the branch descendant of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect was the detonator. Both houses were being cursed to high heaven; neither was better off than the other.

Since it was a matter for both houses, they should find a solution together.

Besides—

That old fox Ning Fengzhi was the best at this sort of thing.

When it came to brute force, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan feared no one.

But when it came to schemes... it was better to leave that to the professionals.

Yu Yuanzhen was silent for a moment.

His deep eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were weighing something.

A moment later, he nodded slowly.

"Hmm."

His voice was low and resolute.

"I suspect that old fox Ning Fengzhi likely already has a countermeasure in mind."