Plotting Rebellion (4)

"Not urgent?" Ye Wenting took a step closer, and the spiritual pressure of the Purple Mansion Middle Stage stirred the fallen leaves in the courtyard without a breath of wind.

"Ouyang Xiong, do you think I'm joking? The main family has had its eye on you for a long time!

"You don't think that person from the Universal Sima Clan can save you, do you?"

"If you want to die, don't drag me down with you! For the tribute you've paid me over the years, I've given you a warning and left each of your families a chance to keep a spark of its bloodline alive. I've already done everything decency demands!"

Ye Wenting fixed his eyes on Ouyang Xiong, his tone growing harsher. "Why haven't you gone yet? Don't tell me... you still want to hold on to those things, turn around and bite the hand that feeds you, and threaten the clan elders?

"I'm telling you, if it really comes to that, the elders will wipe out your entire clans before the young master even lifts a finger, leaving no one alive to testify!"

The smile on Ouyang Xiong's face faded a little. He bowed slightly. "Guardian, you overstate the matter. We lowly people of the Ruin Realm owe our lives and fortunes to the Ye Clan. How would we dare harbor such rebellious thoughts, much less trouble the elders of the main family to concern themselves with us?"

"See that you don't!" Ye Wenting snorted, then swept his sleeve and turned away. "Clean everything up as quickly as possible. I'll do my best to delay the Transport Commissioner until the ten-day deadline."

"Guardian," Ouyang Xiong suddenly called out, his voice steady. "Please wait a moment longer."

Ye Wenting frowned and turned back. "What else is there?"

Just then, the small gate on the other side of the rear courtyard was gently pushed open.

A figure in the Transport Commissioner's blue-gray robes entered without a sound. It was Ouyang Yu.

Ye Wenting's pupils abruptly contracted, and fury surged through him.

His spiritual power gathered in an instant, a Divine Ability ready to erupt.

His Purple Mansion Middle Stage cultivation caused even the air around him to distort faintly, and space began to tear.

"You! Ouyang Yu? You followed me?!"

"Ouyang Xiong, what is the meaning of this? Hurry up and kill him!"

Without so much as glancing at Ye Wenting, Ouyang Yu walked straight to Ouyang Xiong's side and stopped, calmly meeting Ye Wenting's furious, startled gaze.

The humility vanished completely from Ouyang Xiong's face, replaced by a profound calm and even a cold, appraising look.

He turned slightly and nodded to Ouyang Yu, addressing him as an equal in a discussion. "Xiao Yu, you're here."

Watching this, Ye Wenting felt his heart sink, and an absurd yet chilling thought sprang to mind.

Seeing this, he calmed down and thought for a moment.

Then he sneered. "So you two are in league with each other?!"

"You lured me here to kill me?"

"Please calm yourself, Guardian," Ouyang Xiong said mildly, raising a hand to throw out another twelve Spirit-Locking Restriction Stones.

A terrifying presence then pressed down on Ye Wenting from Ouyang Xiong.

Ye Wenting felt his body tremble, and shock filled his eyes.

"Purple Mansion... Late Stage..."

Ouyang Xiong said nothing. He arranged the twenty-four Spirit-Locking Restriction Stones, sealing off the little courtyard and the space within it from the outside world entirely.

Only then did he speak. "I, Ouyang Xiong, have always been utterly loyal to the main family. What happened the other day was merely an act.

"Come, Guardian, allow me to introduce this impartial and incorruptible Transport Commissioner, so eager to earn merit and achieve success.

"He is also the future head of my Ouyang Household of the Tianlan Ruin Realm, Ouyang Yu."

Ouyang Yu cupped his hands briefly toward Ye Wenting, his face still largely expressionless. "Circumstances forced my hand. Forgive me for not telling you earlier, Guardian."

Ye Wenting's head buzzed as countless thoughts flashed through his mind. His expression shifted repeatedly before finally turning cold.

"Well, well, what an Ouyang Household! What a fine scheme! What are the two of you plotting, putting on this act together?"

"Do you want to keep lining your own pockets? Or are you trying to overthrow the foundations of my Ye Clan? Or do you intend to pin everything on me... Do you think I'll wallow in the mud with you?"

"If you're going to kill me, then do it... I, Ye Wenting, will fight you to the death..."

Ouyang Xiong and Ouyang Yu exchanged a glance.

Ouyang Yu spoke softly, yet his voice seemed to carry a clear radiance, warm and smooth as jade, inspiring exceptional trust. "Guardian, you and I are both caught in this game.

"But though it's a game either way, will you be a fat rat brought to account, or... a meritorious minister who quells the rebellion and secures the realm?"

"Quell the rebellion? Didn't you already report it? Could it be..." Ye Wenting narrowed his eyes, considering Ouyang Yu's words.

"That's right." Ouyang Xiong picked up the thread, a ruthless gleam flashing in his eyes.

"Let me ask you, Guardian: which is the greater merit, merely auditing accounts and collecting some tribute, or quelling a rebellion in a high-grade Ruin Realm that could shake several realms, recovering lost territory, and displaying the Ye Clan's might?"

Ye Wenting's breath caught.

Ouyang Yu took half a step forward, speaking at a measured pace, though his words cut straight through. "The six families-Gongsun, Sun, Li, Zhao, Chen, and Zhou-were led astray by the Great Jin's Universal Secret Pavilion. They secretly harbored rebellious intentions, colluded with foreign enemies, concealed resources, and opposed the main family's new policies. For their crimes, their clans must be exterminated."

Ouyang Xiong continued, his tone carrying a cold mockery. "And my Ouyang Household saw through their treachery."

"I, Ouyang Xiong, did not shrink from bearing a sullied name. I pretended to join their conspiracy, ventured deep into the tiger's den, and investigated in secret. I have long since uncovered every detail of the core evidence of the six families' crimes, their secret warehouses, and their channels of illicit communication across realms."

"We need only wait for the right moment. Then, working together from within and without, we can wipe out the rebels in one stroke and present everything they have accumulated over a hundred years to the young master!"

"Think about it, Guardian. Once the families are all dead... won't the account be wiped clean? With everything presented to the young master, he will naturally forgive a few things.

"Besides, we of the Ouyang Clan aren't fools. We'll naturally destroy certain things beforehand, so the main family won't be put in a difficult position..."

Ye Wenting felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, while a wave of heat burst from his chest.

He could not help feeling a little excited and delighted.

He stared at the two men before him, one singing while the other chimed in, and said in a dry voice, "You... intend to use the other six families of the Tianlan Ruin Realm... as a pledge of allegiance?"

"A stepping stone to advancement," Ouyang Yu corrected him. There was no warmth in his eyes, only an almost cruel clarity.

"When the Tianlan Ruin Realm attached itself to the Ye Clan back then, we sold it once already. Now we're merely selling it again. To climb higher, I'll pay any price."

"That's simply the kind of person I've always been. I want to climb higher, one step at a time..."

"The wealth of these six families, amassed through a hundred years of plundering-what an enormous fortune in resources that is! It's enough to present the young master with a lavish gift, enough to count as a great merit. My achievement will rank first among the Transport Commissioners.

"And it will also show that my Ouyang Household is loyal and capable. As for you, Guardian..."

He looked at Ye Wenting and enunciated each word. "You presided over the Tianlan Ruin Realm, saw the smallest detail, decisively quelled the rebellion, pacified the region, and earned merit through your guidance. How could such illustrious achievements compare with a mere share of the spoils?"

Ye Wenting's heart pounded, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He understood at once.

What secret dealings? What sordid collusion within the clan? If they were all dead, what evidence would be needed?

The elders would readily agree and boast of his competence, while even the Ouyang Household would become meritorious ministers who had restored order.

The young master would be satisfied, the elders would be satisfied, and both the Guardian and the Transport Commissioner would have earned merit. The only dead would be rebels from the Ruin Realm. Why not?

Seizing the wealth of Tianlan's six families to fill the treasury-what an immense achievement that would be! If he cooperated, he would claim the greatest merit in quelling the rebellion. Merit must be rewarded, just as wrongdoing must be punished; the young master would surely grant him a reward.

Ye Wenting fell silent.

The two Ouyangs waited for Ye Wenting to make his decision.

Only the heavy breathing of the three men remained.

After a long while, Ye Wenting slowly raised his head and put on a friendly smile.

"You two Ouyangs truly are pillars of my Ye Clan. It's good to deal with clever people..."

"Then how should we proceed? Shouldn't we plan it out carefully and leave these six families without a place to be buried?"

His words fell like the underworld itself, utterly merciless.

"Hahahaha, as expected, Guardian, your wisdom is superior..."

Ouyang Xiong and Ouyang Yu said with smiles.

Ouyang Yu's voice was low.

"The six families' crimes are too numerous to record even if every bamboo stalk were used. They corrupted the main family's Guardian with lavish gifts, sought to join forces with foreign enemies, plotted wrongdoing, and schemed to overthrow the Ye Clan. The Guardian and the Transport Commissioner bore humiliation and heavy burdens. The Ouyang household head, Ouyang Xiong, found his way back from the wrong path, turned from darkness to light, and earned merit in quelling the rebellion, taking first place as well..."

"As for that Sima Clan spy... someone will take care of him... Uncle, hurry back. In ten days... only my Ouyang Household will remain in Tianlan."