154: Chapter 154 Variables

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Pei Qingyun also returned to Wuyang City.

With the Old Ancestor back, Pei Tianrong naturally hurried over to pay a visit.

Not to mention, his precious daughter had gone to Longxi, yet she hadn't returned.

He wondered if she had been abducted by some brat.

But on second thought, with the Old Ancestor there, what brat would have such audacity?

Under Pei Qingyun's explanation, Pei Tianrong finally learned what had happened over the past two months.

Upon learning that his daughter had been accepted as a disciple by Master Tianlan, Pei Tianrong was overjoyed, his face practically beaming with smugness.

“Old Ancestor, are you saying Yao'er has joined Master Tianlan's sect?” Pei Tianrong asked, suppressing his excitement.

Seeing Pei Tianrong's barely contained glee, Pei Qingyun knew exactly what he was thinking without even trying. “Yes, Yao'er has joined Master Tianlan. She must stay in the academy for these three years. If you want to see her, you'll have to go to Shanhe Academy yourself.”

“That's wonderful! With Master Tianlan personally teaching her, I won't go and disturb them,” Pei Tianrong said excitedly.

Though Pei Qingyun understood Pei Tianrong's feelings, he couldn't help but want to roll his eyes. “Enough, look at your pathetic display.”

“By the way, how is the situation with the Heyuan Cui Clan? Did Cui Ruiyuan agree to our conditions?”

Upon hearing business mentioned, Pei Tianrong's expression turned serious.

He paused and said slowly, “Half a month ago, a letter came from Cui Ruiyuan saying he's willing to agree to our conditions. As long as the Old Ancestor personally takes action to root out the mastermind behind the scenes.”

Pei Qingyun organized his thoughts and quickly deduced the sequence of events. “It took two months for Cui Ruiyuan to reply. It seems that during this time, he likely sought other helpers. Seeing that the matter couldn't be resolved, he finally remembered me, Pei Qingyun.”

Pei Tianrong explained, “Old Ancestor, you truly are as wise as a god. According to your instructions, two and a half months ago, I arranged for scouts to enter Heyuan territory to gather information. After Cui Ruiyuan returned to Heyuan two and a half months ago, he urgently convened a Family meeting.”

“A few days later, the Grandmaster of the Heyuan Luo Clan, Grandmaster Luo Dingpeng, personally arrived at Deep Water Harbor. However, according to rumors, Grandmaster Luo Dingpeng's arrival didn't seem to solve the Cui Clan's underlying crisis. Instead, it seems to have further exacerbated the predicament they face.”

“The Grandmaster of the Heyuan Luo Clan, Grandmaster Luo Dingpeng,” Pei Qingyun muttered to himself.

He was not unfamiliar with this name. Before leaving Wuyang, Pei Qingyun had already researched the Grandmaster-level powers associated with the Cui Clan.

The Heyuan Luo Clan was one of them.

As the Family of Cui Ruiyuan's wife, if the Cui Clan hadn't agreed to Pei Qingyun's terms, they would inevitably seek help from these Grandmaster powers.

That the Heyuan Luo Clan was chosen was also within his expectations.

Either this Heyuan Luo Clan was even more useless than he imagined, or this Grandmaster of the Luo Clan was unwilling to put in the effort.

However, he couldn't act based on mere speculation.

“Besides inviting Grandmaster Luo Dingpeng to preside over things, has the Cui Clan made any other moves during this time?” Pei Qingyun asked.

Pei Tianrong said, “A month ago, the Cui Clan organized a fleet guard to launch a counterattack, but it seemed to yield no results. In this past month, the merchant ships of the Cui Clan docked in Deep Water Harbor have shown no new movement. I suspect the Cui Clan has been plundered so much they're afraid, so they simply suspended their transport operations.”

Pei Qingyun generally agreed with Pei Tianrong's deduction.

It was then that Pei Qingyun asked the most crucial question, “Are there any clues regarding the mastermind attacking the Cui Clan?”

Pei Tianrong shook his head. “No. But in my view, the Gale Pirates are definitely involved, and the other two parties are also connected. However, I suspect the mastermind might not necessarily be one of these three.”

Hearing this, Pei Qingyun fell into thought. He knew very well that Pei Tianrong never spoke without reason. The situation of the Heyuan Cui Clan seemed even more complex than he had imagined.

He hadn't expected that a move he had made casually would result in so many variables.

Fortunately, he hadn't jumped in prematurely. Otherwise, a twenty percent share of the profits wouldn't be very profitable for him.

To Pei Qingyun, if he wasn't making a profit, he was losing money.

Seeing Pei Qingyun suddenly fall silent, Pei Tianrong continued, “Old Ancestor, do you think we should agree to the Cui Clan's conditions?”

Pei Qingyun shook his head. “Naturally, we cannot agree. Twenty percent of the profits was the condition from two and a half months ago. I gave Cui Ruiyuan a chance, and he didn't cherish it.”

Pei Tianrong asked, “Then how should we reply?”

“If the Cui Clan is willing to give up fifty percent of the annual profits of Deep Water Harbor and allow my Pei Clan to participate in the management, then I can take action,” Pei Qingyun said slowly after a moment's thought.

Pei Tianrong frowned slightly. “Fifty percent of the profits and participation in management. Isn't this condition a bit too harsh?”

In Pei Tianrong's view, twenty percent of the annual profits without participating in management was already quite good for the Pei Clan.

An annual profit of two to three hundred thousand taels was already equivalent to two years' worth of income for an ordinary third-rate family.

Pei Qingyun chuckled. “Harsh? Tianrong, you need to have a longer-term perspective. Our Wuyang Pei Clan is no longer that ordinary third-rate family from before.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Pei Tianrong's spirit jolted, seemingly understanding Pei Qingyun's thoughts.

“Old Ancestor, I understand,” Pei Tianrong said.

Walking out of the ancestral house, a smile immediately appeared on Pei Tianrong's face.

“My daughter, Pei Siyao, has the potential of the Innate realm.”

Whenever he thought of this sentence, he was full of confidence.

Compared to his daughter whose Bloodline had awakened, his own Bloodline had also recovered. His Bloodline Power might be far inferior to his daughter's, but his talent was still something an ordinary Five-Viscera Martial Artist couldn't hope to match.

Since his bloodline recovery, his cultivation speed in the Five Viscera Realm was even faster than it had been during the Divine Strength Realm.

He even had the confidence to charge into the Mid stage of Five Viscera Realm within another year or so.

But at the thought of his eldest son, Pei Tianrong's heart went cold.

If his wife hadn't carried him for ten months, he would have suspected the boy wasn't his own seed.

His excellent Bloodline and talent—the boy hadn't inherited a single bit of them.

However...

At this moment, far away in Kaiyuan Academy, Pei Sili seemed to sense his father's thoughts and let out a sneeze for no apparent reason.

However, he suspected someone was trying to harm him.

Ever since the news that Qi Yanran was his fiancée spread through Kaiyuan Academy,

Pei Sili found that his original status as a nobody had suddenly turned into that of a public figure.

For some of Qi Yanran's original suitors, learning this news was like the sky had fallen; the looks they gave him were filled with jealousy.

This left Pei Sili with a lingering sense of dread.

He always had the delusion that some commoner was out to get him.

Every time he passed through the small woods, he had to look around several times, fearing that if he wasn't careful, he'd be ambushed with a club.

At the same time, the number of people in the academy wanting to challenge him had also increased.

Fortunately, Qi Yanran protected her husband with domineering flair, giving his heart a small bit of comfort.

...