Ren Jie was in no hurry at all. He sat there quietly waiting. Before long, Fang Yan had already sent someone to fetch all the contracts for one of his pharmacies. Fang Yan himself did not come over, clearly having gone to deal with Chang Le Gambling House.
An hour later, Fang Tianen was invited out. After quite some time, he returned carrying Ren Jie's porcelain bottle of medicine and handed it back to Ren Jie. The Miraculous Apothecary of the Fang Family had already examined it. The ingredients inside were indeed a detoxifying medicine of the High Grade Potion level, inherently quite valuable.
However, it was not a specialized antidote for the poison Fang Qi had been afflicted with. Though this Detoxification Potion was precious, it should have been far from enough to save Fang Qi.
"The inspection found no problems, right?" Ren Jie took the porcelain bottle and put it away, smiling. "I think Fang Qi is just exhausted. I heard that the Silk Shop she runs opened three branches in Jade Capital City some time ago. A young girl working herself so hard—poisoned or not, she would have worn herself out."
What are you trying to do? Upon hearing Ren Jie's words, Fang Tianen abruptly looked at him. He was beginning to feel afraid. This fellow's extortion was simply too terrifying.
"I wonder when he'll be back. Family Head, why don't we go home first and return tomorrow? I remember Chang Le Gambling House has the Chang Le Gang behind it, one of the Top Ten Gangs of Jade Capital City. If Commander Fang can't settle it anytime soon, we can't just keep waiting here forever, can we?" Before Ren Jie could speak this time, the fat man had already spoken up from the side.
"Mm..." Ren Jie considered the suggestion with great seriousness.
"Since Ren Family Head has spoken, isn't it merely three Silk Shops worth three hundred thousand Jade Coins? I'll have people fetch all the contracts immediately." Fang Tianen was more proactive this time. Before Ren Jie could say anything further, he had already given the order.
"You're too kind. Fang Family Head is far too kind." Ren Jie turned and glanced at the fat man. "Since Fang Family Head is being so hospitable and has even given us three Silk Shops, wouldn't it be rude to leave now? No matter how long it takes, we should wait. Mm... let's wait another hour and see."
Fang Tianen finally understood why Fang Yan had been angered to the point of vomiting blood. The meaning could not have been clearer—if Fang Yan did not return after an hour, Ren Jie would raise the price and demand more.
Heavens, was this how those Hedonistic Young Masters usually bullied people? At that moment, he truly wanted to beat them all to death. Even if Fang Yan could forcibly acquire Chang Le Gambling House with two million taels, adding the pharmacy and Silk Shops meant the Fang Family had truly bled heavily this time.
An hour later, Ren Jie tried to leave again. This time, Fang Tianen, the great Fang Family Head himself, proactively gave Ren Jie an estate in the outskirts of Jade Capital City worth one hundred and fifty thousand Jade Coins.
Time passed little by little. Just as Fang Tianen was growing anxious and frightened, Fang Yan finally hurried back after another half hour, looking somewhat exhausted. He carried a wooden box in his hand and silently walked to the table where Ren Jie sat, opening it.
"These are all the property deeds and Land Deeds for Chang Le Gambling House. Fourth Old Chang signed and sealed everything, transferring it all to Ren Jie, Family Head of the Ren Family." Fang Yan pushed the box before Ren Jie, then walked to Fang Tianen's side, not daring to utter another word of nonsense.
"Good. Efficient. I like young juniors like you." Ren Jie spoke to Fang Yan in the tone of an elder, though in truth he did not even look at him. He was carefully counting through the contents.
After counting everything, Ren Jie handed the contracts for the pharmacy, Silk Shops, and estate to the fat man. He then took out the porcelain bottle from before, along with another porcelain bottle, and slowly opened them.
A faint, cool fragrance wafted from this porcelain bottle. Ren Jie slowly tipped it toward the porcelain bottle below.
Hm? Fang Tianen and Fang Yan stared nervously, only to discover that after Ren Jie poured for a long time, there was still no movement inside.
At last, they finally saw a single drop of liquid slowly gather at the mouth of the upper porcelain bottle. It moved incredibly slowly, making them tense just watching it.
"Pry Fang Qi's mouth open at once. This is a true Detoxification Treasure. Once it merges with my medicine from earlier, it will immediately form Detoxification Sacred Water, capable of neutralizing a hundred poisons." The act had been built up enough in advance. Ren Jie's utterly baseless grandiosity now made Fang Tianen nod repeatedly as he personally came over to pry open Fang Qi's mouth.
Bang... At last, the hard-won drop from above fell into the porcelain bottle below. A foul stench immediately erupted from it. Just as Fang Tianen and Fang Yan felt the urge to vomit, Ren Jie had already poured the liquid from the porcelain bottle directly into Fang Qi's mouth.
"Gurgle... gurgle... gurgle..." Strange gurgling sounds came from Fang Qi's stomach, while the color of her face gradually began to change.
"Who... who set the fire..." Fang Qi, who had lain there without a sound like a corpse, suddenly spoke. In her muddled state, she was clearly still trapped in the scene of Ren Jie setting fire and luring her into the formation she had arranged herself.
She was alive, truly alive! In that instant, Fang Tianen actually forgot Ren Jie's hateful behavior from before. No matter what, Ren Jie had genuinely saved Fang Qi in the end.
"Fang Family Head, you and your daughter will have plenty of time to be close later. Let's discuss the reward first." Ren Jie patted Fang Tianen, who was trembling with excitement.
"Reward? What reward? What else do you want?" Fang Yan finally exploded from the side. This fellow was too greedy. He had already taken so much, and he still wanted more?
Fang Tianen also abruptly looked at Ren Jie. A Chang Le Gambling House alone is worth several million Jade Coins. What else does he want? Has he gone mad? What is he even thinking? "I recall that Fang Family Head offered a reward of one million Jade Coins and a Middle-Grade Spirit Tool for saving your daughter. You said this before Your Majesty in the Five Clans Great Hall. I haven't remembered wrongly, have I?" Ren Jie ignored Fang Yan entirely. By now, he could not even be bothered to lecture him. He looked directly at Fang Tianen.
"Ren Family Head has already obtained three, perhaps five million Jade Coins' worth of things. What more does Ren Family Head want?" Fang Tianen gave Gao Ren, standing behind Ren Jie, a cold glance, looking at the wooden box in his arms.
Gao Ren was stunned as well. He had thought the task was already complete. He had not expected Ren Jie to be even more ruthless than him, still wanting more.
Ren Jie's demands had come wave after wave just now, frightening him out of his wits. He had been deeply afraid Fang Tianen would turn hostile. Their gains had already exceeded imagination. The wooden box he held contained enough wealth to rival all the assets of a medium-sized Lineage, yet Ren Jie still wanted more.
Family Head, this is already more than enough. You really have gone from one extreme to the other. People always said I loved money as much as life, but you practically came to the Fang Family to scrape three feet off the ground.
"Weren't these things voluntarily given to me by Fang Family Head?" Ren Jie looked at Fang Tianen in surprise. "Fang Family Head, get this straight. Did I ever tell you these things were the reward? Did I say they were medical fees? I came to help Fang Family Head purely because the Five Great Families were originally one body, and because I could not bear to see a young girl like Fang Qi poisoned. If it were about money, how much could buy my Healing Sacred Medicine? I never asked you for money, never extorted you, never demanded anything. Now I'm merely asking you to fulfill your promise, and you refuse?"
Ren Jie looked at Fang Tianen with utter contempt. "Fang Family Head, if this is how it is, you're truly disgracing the Fang Family. You only need to say you don't want to give it, and I won't ask for it. To be honest, I don't care about such a small amount of money. But a dignified Fang Family refusing to honor its promise—I'm afraid that if this matter spreads, it will damage the Fang Family's reputation."
Damn it, if he did not give it, Ren Jie would make sure everyone in the Bright Jade Dynasty knew.
He would spread the news himself first. After all, he had saved Fang Qi. No matter how they explained it afterward, the damage would already have been done.
Most importantly, they absolutely believed Ren Jie was capable of doing such a thing.
"Despicable..." Fang Yan gritted out the two words, but he did not dare say them aloud. Ren Jie was, after all, the Ren Family Head. If matters truly became troublesome again, he feared Fang Tianen would be put in a difficult position, and he himself would lose face as well.
"Ren Tianxing truly has a fine son. Ren Family Head is indeed the most formidable Family Head I have ever seen in my life. Men, bring Ren Family Head one million Jade Coins in Jade Notes. Also retrieve the sealed Profound Yin Sword and give it to Ren Family Head. My daughter has only just recovered from a serious illness, so forgive me for not seeing you off. Men, see the guests out." Fang Tianen now wanted nothing more than to throw these two fellows out immediately, as far away as possible.
He had been worried about Fang Qi just now, and Ren Jie had advanced step by step, so Fang Tianen had not felt it too strongly. But now that he thought about it, his heart bled.
"This place reeks so badly. Honestly, it really isn't fit for people to stay." Hahaha, the mission was complete. Ren Jie felt incomparably pleased. He had no desire to remain here anyway, especially since something was about to happen next.
The instant he thought of that, he immediately led Gao Ren away in haste. The Fang Family servants were quite efficient. By the time they boarded Beast Uncle's Spirit Beast Carriage, the Fang Family had already brought over ten large-denomination Jade Notes worth one hundred thousand each, along with a short jade box, handing them to Ren Jie.
"Wow, wow, wow! Hahaha, we're rich! We finally won't have to watch those elders' faces over a little bit of gold anymore..." The moment they entered the Spirit Beast Carriage, Gao Ren could no longer hold himself back. He snatched the million-plus Jade Notes and shouted wildly in excitement.
Inside this Spirit Beast Carriage, there was no need to worry about anyone overhearing them. They no longer had to suppress themselves.
"Feels good, so good!" Ren Jie sat down in satisfaction. This was more exhilarating than directly killing that venom-hearted woman. What was more, he had dealt with Fang Yan, who always loved playing petty tricks behind people's backs, and had angered Fang Tianen, the Fang Family Head, until he was nearly stomping his feet. Satisfying—far too satisfying.
"One million Jade Coins—that's a full ten million taels of gold! And there's a Middle-Grade Spirit Tool, worth more than a million Jade Coins as well. Then there are the Silk Shops and the pharmacy. Most importantly, we got Chang Le Gambling House, that golden hen that lays golden eggs. From now on, wealth will roll in like a mighty river! Hahaha..." The fat man hugged the box, holding the jade box containing the Middle-Grade Spirit Tool in his left hand and the million-Jade-Coin Jade Notes in his right, laughing continuously in excitement.
"Ren Jie, my Fang Family isn't finished with you..." Voices inside the carriage could not be heard outside, but those outside could be heard clearly within, unless they chose not to listen. They only needed to tell Beast Uncle. Their carriage had not yet left the Fang Family's great courtyard when an enraged roar suddenly rang out in the distance. It was Fang Tianen.
Ren Jie and Gao Ren both froze, slowly looking at each other. The next moment, they burst into wild laughter.
"Hahaha..." Gao Ren laughed so hard he nearly had a fit.
"Yeah!" Ren Jie laughed and bumped fists with the fat man, because he had added something to the antidote. It was completely harmless, but enough to make the entire Fang Family stink for days.
At that moment, outside Fang Qi's room, many servants had been nauseated into violent vomiting by the stench inside. Fang Tianen and Fang Yan had only felt slightly better by using their power to seal off their sense of smell. Yet as they watched Fang Qi continuously vomit black matter, her body and mouth both giving off a foul odor, Fang Tianen was completely enraged.
He finally could not hold back and let out an angry roar. Even a fool could see that Ren Jie had definitely tampered with something.
Before you continue