The treasure spirit responded, "Truth."
All the elders and the patriarch stared at Yan Liren with a mixture of surprise, anger, and disbelief. They had never expected that he, as one of the clan's elders, would know about the poisoning plot and not take any action to prevent it. As an elder, he was responsible for protecting and nurturing the younger generation of the clan, and the fact that he knew about the poisoning of a Heaven-grade talent without intervening was a significant breach of his duties.
The looks on their faces reflected their disappointment and outrage, as well as suspicion, as they wondered just how deep his involvement in this scheme might have been. They could not help but question Yan Liren's loyalty to the clan and his commitment to its future prosperity.
Yan Liren removed his hands from the treasure, turned to the patriarch, and said, "Patriarch, let me explain. It was Yan Qiao's plan to poison Yan Kai so our great-grandchildren could receive more resources. But the poison was switched somehow, and Yan Fei got poisoned. It was Yan Qiao's idea; I had nothing to do with it."
Hearing this, Yan Rui was furious. These two old men wanted to poison his great-grandchild! All the elders and the patriarch had frowns on their faces too.
The patriarch turned to Yan Qiao and spoke in a strict voice, "Is this true?"
Yan Qiao sighed and nodded, "It is true, but one of these two brats is the culprit for poisoning my great-grandchild."
Yan Rui fumed, "You dare!"
He released his Earth Immortal Qi.
Yan Rui's anger had no bounds as he realized the extent to which Yan Qiao and Yan Liren had almost ruined his household's Heaven-grade talent. They had invited him for tea under the guise of goodwill, but their true intention was to poison Han Cai. He felt more and more furious as he understood the potential consequences of their actions. If they had succeeded and Han Cai had been poisoned, all his hopes of having a Rui household member enter the Azure Dragon Sect would have been shattered. All his dreams, plans, and efforts would have been for nothing.
Yan Rui seethed with rage towards these two old men, who had nearly destroyed everything he had been working towards. He wanted them to suffer for their actions, so he released his Earth Immortal Qi and prepared to unleash his fury upon the Qiao and Liren households. Yan Rui was ready to tear down everything they held dear, making them pay for their treachery.
The patriarch, recognizing Yan Rui's volatile state, knew that Yan Rui would become an unstoppable force of destruction if he did not intervene. With the fate of the entire Yan City hanging in the balance, the patriarch quickly stepped in to address the situation.
"Yan Qiao and Yan Liren, you both conspired against a child of the Yan family, putting our clan's future at risk. From now on, you both are removed from your positions as core elders of the family. If any other vile activities such as this are discovered in the future, you will both be banished from this family. All core businesses of the Qiao and Liren households will be given to the Rui household as compensation for your actions."
With the patriarch's stern decision, Yan Rui's wrath was momentarily quelled.
After saying this, the patriarch ordered, "Everyone, leave now."
With that, the debacle ended, with the Rui household profiting the most, while the Liren and Qiao households suffered a significant loss. The only remaining mystery was the identity of the person who severely beat Trader Shi, forcing him to visit the family halls and escalate the matter. This ultimately led to the patriarch having to use the family treasure to uncover the truth.
Time continued to pass, and the Rui household became a renowned household in the Yan Family, thanks to the presence of one of the most talented seeds of the family and the successful businesses they acquired from the Qiao and Liren households.
Han Cai was now eight years old and had reached level seven of Qi condensation.
Life for him was quiet and peaceful. He cultivated most days without any hassle, and once a week, he would chat with his grandpa. His freezing techniques reached level three, and his flame techniques reached level three as well. He didn't try to learn more techniques; four were enough for him for now. In his free time, he would practice arrays theory or study talismans to get the hang of them, as they were comparatively cheaper than alchemy. He didn't plan to start learning alchemy yet.
The tournament was held again this year, and Han Cai defeated his competition once more, coming out on top and cleaning the floor of the tournament hall with his cousins and relatives. Just like before, everything was fine for the first month after the tournament.
But the next month, one day, while Han Cai was cultivating peacefully, a maid brought a meal for him and left it at the door. When Han Cai went to get the food, his perception tingled again—the food was poisoned.
Han Cai asked Zhen Long, "Who is it?"
Yongnian replied, "Your first mother."
Yongnian was a Heaven Immortal sitting in the courtyard; he could see and know everything happening in the whole city.
Han Cai was surprised, "Why is she trying to poison me?"
Yongnian answered, "It's not her, really. It's the Ren family. They promised her child a bright future as long as she does the job for them."
Han Cai asked curiously, "Why does the Ren family want me dead?"
Yongnian said, "Clan competition."
Han Cai nodded and asked, "How did they convince her, and when did she add the poison?"
Yongnian answered, "Your first brother is not really your brother. Your first mother comes from a family that is a distant relative of the Ren family; she was in love with one of her own clan members and is still in love with him. That ren family member joined as a guard for your first mother. Your father's household is really Lax in hiring guards. I was able to manipulate my way in becoming your guard without any effort"
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Gifts are always appreciated, but golden tickets and power stones matter a lot too.
If we reach 2000 power stones, I will release two supplementary chapters.
If we reach 1000 golden tickets, I will release five supplementary chapters.
Thank You
