Chapter 750: Glory of the Vermilion Bird Family (1)
In the main hall of the Vermilion Bird Family’s estate, Ruan Yingzhe took the center seat with Shen Duan and Shen Yue sitting by his sides, and facing him were the Family Heads of the other four aristocratic families!
“Shen Yifeng’s situation has been stabilized. Mr. Ruan, what else do you need?” An aged man with a friendly look asked. He was Yan Zheng, the current Family Head of the White Tiger Aristocratic Family, grandpa of Yan Yu. When Shen Yifeng was severely injured, Ruan Yingzhe asked Yan Hua the Great Priest to the Vermilion Bird Family to heal Shen Yifeng.
Next to Yan Hua were Yang Qiong, Family Head of the Azure Dragon Aristocratic Family, Qi Cang, Family Head of the Qilin Aristocratic Family, and Tang Ao, Family Head of the Black Tortoise Aristocratic Family.
Early this morning, with the invitation from Ruan Yingzhe, they stepped into the Vermilion Bird Family’s estate, a place they had not stepped in for decades.
“Be patient. I have asked you all here because I have some business to discuss with you.” Faced with four Family Heads, Ruan Yingzhe did not show any ounce of respect at all. Rather, he was behaving quite arrogantly, as if he was looking down on Yan Hua and the other three.
Once, thanks to the protection provided by the five mythical beasts, the five families housed a great number of talent. However, as the five mythical beasts fell into deep slumber years ago, the five families’ power and reputation had shrunk. Their past glory could not be restored soon, even if the five mythical beasts were to wake up again.
The five families that could once be on par with the Broken Star Palace had now become too vulnerable.
“What is it?” Qi Cang was advanced in age but he could still hear and see well. He looked a bit like Qi Xia but the tests of time had given him a wiser and more refined appearance.
Ruan Yingzhe answered, “According to Shen Duan, the new Family Head of the Vermilion Bird Family, a few months ago, all of your families had suffered from some thieving incidents. A reckless thief had snuck into your family estate, and caused you great losses.”
Qi Cang and the others were seasoned men. They knew Ruan Yingzhe must not have brought up the previous thieving incident all of a sudden for nothing.
These sly, old foxes would just say some simple words to reply while they waited for the cat to spill out of the bag.
“That is true.” Tang Ao answered.
“Thinking about the past prosperity of your five families, but looking at you now, your families have fallen victim to the same thief time after time, and you have not caught that thief yet. What’s left of your past glory is truly gone.” Ruan Yingzhe let out a cold grin. He did not conceal the contempt he had for the five families at all.
Though angry, Qi Cang and the others knew that they no longer could fight the Broken Star Palace, so they could only submit to the humiliation.
“The Broken Star Palace has some connections with the five mythical beasts. Therefore, I am unwilling to see you in this miserable state. As such, as long as you can find that thief, I will help you get rid of him. I have found out that the thief is Gu Qingming, the second-in-charge of Silver Hands. I will leave it up to you to find where he is.” Ruan Yingzhe made it sound like he was selfless but anyone knew that it was unlikely that he would be kind.
Plus, they had heard that Ruan Yingzhe’s student was hurt by an archer yesterday and that Ruan Yingzhe had flown into a rage.
These seasoned Family Heads were smart. They understood that Ruan Yingzhe was not here to save their glory, but to seek revenge for his student.
As for Gu Qingming, it did not matter if he was actually the thief they were looking for. The theft happened over half a year ago. Back then, they felt humiliated. But since the lost items were not that valuable and did not cause any significant damage, the five families stopped their investigation.
But Ruan Yingzhe had brought this topic up again just so that the five families could use their connections in the Longxuan Empire to help him find Gu Qingming.