"What?" Everyone present was stunned, especially the Grand Elders.
To them, if the treasury had been robbed, so be it. The silver there was not theirs.
But if their own residences had been robbed, everything stolen was their personal property.
"Sect Master, we must take our leave." Gu Haiying and the two Grand Elders hurriedly called out.
Gao Tianhe, however, said nothing.
He had only been an elder before, and there was little of value in his residence, so he was not afraid of it being plundered.
"Very well. Hurry over and see who dared to do this," Huo Lian said with a nod.
After Gu Haiying and the other two left, Huo Lian smiled at the envoy again. "We have made a spectacle of ourselves before you, honored envoy."
"Whether you make a spectacle of yourselves is of no consequence to me," the envoy said coolly. "Sect Master, I am merely here to relay orders. Have you understood them?"
"Yes, I have." Huo Lian seemed largely unaffected by the envoy's tone and replied with an ingratiating smile, "Rest assured, the Wild Ox Sect will pay this year's tribute in full."
"Good." The envoy nodded slightly. "There is one more matter. The Sect Master of the Demon God Sect is celebrating his thousandth birthday. As sects of the Demon Domain, we must all show our filial devotion, so there will be an additional hundred thousand taels. The Fierce Mountain Gang will collect this silver and purchase suitable congratulatory gifts to present as a token of regard from our region."
"What? Another hundred thousand taels?" Gao Tianhe could not help exclaiming.
He had already been shocked when the Fierce Mountain Gang raised this year's tribute to a hundred thousand taels.
They were leaving the little sects beneath them no way to