Yun Huang's wrath

Within moments, Steward Jia came in trembling with fear. At the sight of Yun Qing seated expressionlessly in the place of honor, and the almost tangible pressure radiating from him, sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Steward Jia," Yun Qing said quietly, each word as cold as ice, "when you reported to the Young Lord today, you said, 'Yun Shuo and Yun Hao came into conflict, causing the Soul-Suppressing Stele to shatter'?" His double-pupiled eyes fixed on Steward Jia, seeing through everything.

Steward Jia shuddered and lowered his head further. "Y-yes, Eldest Young Master."

"Oh?" Yun Qing's voice rose slightly at the end, edged with chilling skepticism. "As far as I know, Yun Hao provoked him first by insulting the collateral branches, and struck first as well. How did your account make it sound as though Shuo'er bore the greater fault?"

Steward Jia turned pale, cold sweat soaking his clothes. Yun Qing's aura made his heart quail. How was this still the gentle, deferential Eldest Young Master who had stood beside the Young Lord earlier that day? This was clearly a cold, merciless ruler who held life and death in his hands!

"Please see the truth, Eldest Young Master! I... I..." Steward Jia dropped to his knees with a thud, his words tumbling out incoherently.

Yun Qing leaned forward slightly, his gaze falling on him with almost physical weight. His voice was low and menacing. "Who told you to 'word' your report to the Young Lord that way? Think carefully before answering. The Young Lord has placed this matter entirely in my hands. If so much as half a word is false..." He did not finish, but that icy killing intent left Steward Jia in no doubt that Yun Qing could kill him with a palm strike in the very next instant.

Steward Jia dared not evade or conceal anything any longer. Tears and snot streaming down his face, he confessed, "It... it was the chief steward serving Young Master Yun Hao! He told me to mention only the conflict in my report, not what caused it. Ideally, it would make the Young Lord displeased with Young Master Yun Shuo, or even... even with you, Eldest Young Master! He threatened that if I disobeyed, the Fifth Elder would demote me and send me to dig in the mines of Desolate City. I was coerced, and that was why... I was a fool! I know I was wrong! Please show mercy, Eldest Young Master!"

After hearing him out, a cold gleam flashed through Yun Qing's eyes and vanished. Heh. Surely coercion wasn't all there was to it. They must have promised him something too. Was he hoping to choose a side early and invest in it, banking on the Fifth Elder's branch and its reputation for 'seeking fortune and avoiding calamity'?

He had known it could not be that simple. So they really were coming for him. With trouble breaking out at the Ancestral Shrine, it would have been perfectly natural for Yun Huang to turn his anger on him. If he did not, whoever was behind this could remain perfectly hidden and continue plotting their vicious schemes... So they thought I, Yun Qing, was bound to be the 'calamity'? Then who was their 'fortune'?

"Get out," Yun Qing said icily. "If you leak so much as half a word of what was said today, do not blame me for showing no mercy." He flicked a fingertip, sending a restrictive spell into Steward Jia's soul.

As though granted a pardon, Steward Jia withdrew, thanking him over and over.

Yun Qing stepped out of the side hall and asked the elder on duty waiting nearby, "Where is Yun Hao now?"

"Eldest Young Master, the Fifth Elder came in person just now and took Yun Hao to Perching Phoenix Hall. He said... he wished to bear the thorn rod and beg the Young Lord's forgiveness."

Inside the main hall of Perching Phoenix Hall.

Yun Huang sat high upon the principal seat, a jade slip glowing faintly between his fingertips. Below him, a handsome young man with delicately feminine features, dressed in dark purple robes, bowed as he reported on the recent situation at a spirit stone vein along the Eastern Region's border.

This was Yun Chi, the Twelfth Elder's grandson by the main line, who possessed the "spirit-devouring body." His words were clear and his bearing respectful, faintly echoing Yun Qing's usual manner.

Just then, an announcement came from outside the hall: the Fifth Elder had brought his grandson by the main line, Yun Hao, and requested an audience.

Yun Huang raised a brow slightly, his pale golden eyes glancing at Yun Chi below. Yun Chi immediately took the hint and stopped his report, bowing as he said, "Since you have important matters to attend to, Young Lord, I shall take my leave."

"No need." Yun Huang's voice was flat. "Since this concerns the Ancestral Shrine, you may listen too."

Yun Chi lowered his head and answered, "Yes," then withdrew to one side, an unusual gleam flashing through his eyes.

Soon, the slightly plump Fifth Elder, his face ruddy, dragged the bloodless Yun Hao into the hall. His expression was full of fear and remorse.

The Fifth Elder bowed deeply. "Forgive me, Young Lord! My failure to discipline him allowed this wretch to defile the Ancestral Shrine and disturb your peace. I have brought him here specifically to beg your forgiveness!" His voice trembled slightly, his posture as humble as he could make it. Behind him, attendants carried several jade boxes shimmering with the radiance of treasures, clearly intended as offerings of apology.

Yun Hao dropped to his knees with a thud, shaking like chaff in a sieve. "Spare my life, Young Lord! Spare my life! It was... it was Yun Shuo who provoked me first! I lost my temper and struck harder than I meant to..." Tears and snot streamed down his face as he tried to shift the blame.

The Fifth Elder had not expected that, after all his instructions along the way, Yun Hao would still say such things at the crucial moment. Furious, he was just about to beg forgiveness.

"Please judge this fairly, Young Lord," Yun Chi suddenly said from the side. His voice was gentle, carrying just the right degree of "impartiality" and a hint of helplessness. "My younger cousin Yun Hao is young and hotheaded, and his conduct was indeed improper. His mother comes from our Twelfth Elder's branch. As his older cousin, I failed to counsel him in time and must also bear responsibility for that oversight. I am willing to share his punishment. As for our younger brother Yun Shuo... I hear the Eldest Young Master cherishes him deeply. Perhaps those beneath him relied on the Eldest Young Master's influence and behaved a little too ostentatiously? After all, the Eldest Young Master possesses exceptional talent and enjoys your trust, Young Lord. His prestige grows by the day, and those beneath him can hardly help growing arrogant and acting... a little less prudently than they should."

On the surface, his words seemed to accept responsibility and plead for leniency, but every word struck at the heart. He diverted the flood of trouble toward Yun Qing, implying that his swelling power had made him arrogant and indulgent toward his subordinates. He also bound himself to Yun Hao: if he was punished, should Yun Qing not likewise be implicated by Yun Shuo?

The Fifth Elder frowned slightly, apparently finding something inappropriate in Yun Chi's words, but out of consideration for their relationship, he did not immediately refute him.

Yun Huang lightly tapped the jade slip with a fingertip. Neither pleasure nor anger showed on his face, and no one could glimpse his thoughts.

Seeing that Yun Huang had not immediately condemned him, and that Yun Chi seemed to be speaking on his behalf, Yun Hao actually began to hope he might escape. He shuffled forward on his knees, trying to draw closer to Yun Huang, and sobbed, "Young Lord, ever since Yun Qing returned, he..."

Before he could finish, Yun Huang suddenly raised his eyes and looked at him. Even the corners of his lips lifted into an exceedingly faint, almost gentle curve as he beckoned. "Come closer."

Yun Hao was overjoyed. He felt as though the path had opened beyond a bend in the mountains-the Young Lord still valued the main line after all! He hurriedly crawled several steps closer, his face nearly touching the tips of Yun Huang's boots.

Yet just as he raised his head, ready to fling accusation after accusation at Yun Qing, he suddenly met Yun Huang's icy golden eyes!

There was nothing in that gaze but the utter indifference of one looking down upon an ant.

"Noisy."

That single, casually uttered word fell like a death sentence.

In the next instant, before Yun Hao could even scream, an immense invisible force slammed him viciously into the floor! His meridians crackled and snapped, his cultivation collapsing in an instant like a punctured balloon! He slumped like a puddle of mud, his eyes unfocused, with nothing but unconscious, rasping sounds left in his throat.

-His cultivation was utterly destroyed!

Yun Huang had not even moved a finger. With a mere thought, he had inflicted such a savage punishment!

The ruddy face of the Fifth Elder, Yun Jun, had now turned deathly pale. He bowed his head deeply, unable to bear looking any longer.

Yun Huang remained composed upon his seat, as though nothing had happened. The faintest hint of a curve still lingered at the corners of his lips.

Why bother with such reasoning as "one should not allow someone close one moment and suddenly condemn them the next" when dealing with someone of no consequence? Granting them a fleeting illusion when they pleased him, then casually crushing them when they became tiresome-that was the way to wield control.

Yun Huang picked up the slightly cooled spirit tea beside him and took a sip, his brow tightening almost imperceptibly. Tsk. Not as much to my liking as Yun Qing's tea.

The Soul-Suppressing Stele had shattered today, and the forbidden grounds had been disturbed. His anger was already burning fiercely. But since he had promised Yun Qing to let him preserve his dignity, he could hardly vent that anger on Yun Shuo and the others. Fortunately, there was this blind fool Yun Hao. Excellent.

Tapping a fingertip lightly against the armrest, Yun Huang turned his gaze toward Yun Chi, who stood to one side forcing himself to remain calm. An icy hint of amusement lay in his golden eyes:

"Did I just hear you say that you wished to share... his punishment?"