Chapter 198: The Yilong Family Master’s Probe, Zerev Turns the Tables

Chapter 198: Chapter 198: The Yilong Family Master’s Probe, Zerev Turns the Tables

Zerev hid his hands in his sleeves behind his back, his fists clenched tight.

"Father, I don’t know what you are talking about."

The Fire Phoenix Family Master cast a sidelong glance at the Yilong Family Master. "It seems Young Master Zerev has grown bold enough to rebel."

Hearing the Fire Phoenix Family Master’s words, the Yilong Family Master’s face instantly turned cold. He stood up and raised his hand, landing a heavy slap on Zerev. Zerev did not dodge, forcefully taking the blow.

"Zerev, you..." The Yilong Family Master hadn’t expected his son to just stand there without evading. A trace of heartache flashed across his face.

Seeing Zerev remaining silent, the Fire Phoenix Family Master harshly reprimanded him. "What are you pretending for, Zerev? You killed Brada! I already know about this. Do you still want to hide it?"

Zerev raised an eyebrow. "What is the Fire Phoenix Family Master talking about? I don’t understand."

"Don’t understand?" the Fire Phoenix Family Master coldly snorted. "Since that’s the case, do you dare let us inspect your body to prove it?"

Zerev’s heart tightened. "What does the Fire Phoenix Family Master mean?"

"You mated with a little female in Ten Thousand Beasts City, and even had three little dragon cubs with her. Is this true?"

"What? You actually mated with a little female from a low-level tribe?" The Yilong Family Master glared with wide, angry eyes.

"I did not. Do you believe me, Father, or do you believe an outsider’s words?" Zerev showed no signs of panic; his tone was perfectly calm.

Seeing Zerev’s absolute composure, the Yilong Family Master began to doubt the Fire Phoenix Family Master’s claims.

The Fire Phoenix Family Master hadn’t expected Zerev to still deny it even at this point. He demanded sternly, "Zerev, do you dare take off your clothes and let us see if you have a Mate Beast Mark on your body?"

"That’s right, Zerev. If you want to prove your innocence, let us inspect your body," the Yilong Family Master chimed in. Whether or not Zerev had mated with the little female was directly related to whether he had actually killed Brada, so the Yilong Family Master took this matter very seriously.

"Why wouldn’t I dare?" Zerev replied.

Seeing this, the Yilong Family Master raised his hand and dismissed the other males from the meeting hall.

Once everyone had left, Zerev gracefully took off his coarse linen garments, openly allowing the Yilong Family Master and the Fire Phoenix Family Master to examine his body.

Seeing that there was truly no Mate Beast Mark on Zerev’s body, the Yilong Family Master breathed a sigh of relief. "Fire Phoenix Family Master, as you can see, Zerev has no Mate Beast Mark. The rumors that Brada was killed by Zerev are likely just a misunderstanding."

Previously, out of a sense of guilt, the Yilong Family Master’s attitude toward the Fire Phoenix Family Master had been somewhat gentle. Now that it was proven his son was not at fault, his tone returned to its usual commanding normalcy.

The Fire Phoenix Family Master’s eyes burned with fury. He circled Zerev twice, refusing to overlook a single inch of his skin. Finally, he discovered a scar on Zerev’s arm where a chunk of flesh had been gouged out.

The Fire Phoenix Family Master suspected this was exactly where Zerev’s Mate Beast Mark had been, but since the flesh was gone, it was completely impossible to tell if a mark had ever existed there.

"Zerev, what happened to this wound on your arm?" the Fire Phoenix Family Master asked, pointing at the scar.

The Yilong Family Master also looked at the mark on Zerev’s body.

Zerev showed no signs of panic, methodically putting his clothes back on. "This scar is from an injury Caesar inflicted on me while I was capturing him.

"Actually, I should be asking the Fire Phoenix Family Master a question instead. Caesar is from the Fire Phoenix Clan. Did you authorize him to smuggle and resell the Holy Capital’s sugar?"

"What nonsense are you spewing? I had absolutely no idea about Caesar smuggling sugar! This is slander."

"Then isn’t the Fire Phoenix Family Master also slandering me?" Zerev shot back. "I suspect you’re framing me simply because you’re afraid your illicit dealings with Caesar will be exposed.

"Father," Zerev continued, looking earnestly at the Yilong Family Master, "the Fire Phoenix Family Master controls the sugar refineries of the Holy Capital. Only with his tacit approval could certain people steal sugar from within."

The Yilong Family Master’s face darkened, finding Zerev’s words perfectly reasonable. A surge of irritation rose in his heart as he felt he was being played by the Fire Phoenix Family Master. "Fire Phoenix Family Master, how do you explain this?"

The Fire Phoenix Family Master was infuriated. How had he never noticed before that Zerev was so silver-tongued? His ability to shift the blame and turn the tables was truly extraordinary. Taking a deep breath, he forced down the rage in his heart.

"Since that’s the case, then I will capture and bring back the little female who killed Brada. Surely you have no objections to that?"

The Fire Phoenix Family Master kept his eyes locked tightly onto Zerev’s face, refusing to miss even the slightest change in his expression. To his profound disappointment, Zerev didn’t so much as bat an eyelash. It was as if Ophelia’s name had absolutely no effect on him.

"If Ophelia is truly Brada’s murderer, then please, be my guest, Fire Phoenix Family Master." The Winged Dragon Clan did not care about the life or death of a low-level female.

"Good. Thank you for your cooperation, Yilong Family Master.

"I only had two children, Brada and Sophie. Now that Brada is dead, the only one I care about is Sophie.

"I think it is high time for Zerev and Sophie to become mates.

"What do you think, Zerev?"

Zerev knitted his brows. "You just slandered me for killing Brada, Fire Phoenix Family Master, and now you want me to mate with Sophie. Aren’t you looking down on our Winged Dragon Family a bit too much?"

The Yilong Family Master had originally intended to agree, but hearing Zerev’s retort, he also felt a wave of dissatisfaction toward the other man. "Zerev is right. As for their mating, let’s wait until you have completely resolved Brada’s matter before discussing it further."

"Rest assured, Yilong Family Master. I have already sent my people to the Fuzu Tribe in Ten Thousand Beasts City. Within a month, they will definitely capture Ophelia and bring her back.

"I will hack her to pieces in front of everyone in the Holy Capital to avenge my son."

Having said his piece, the Fire Phoenix Family Master flicked his sleeves and stormed off.

Zerev did not relax his hands until the Fire Phoenix Family Master’s presence had completely vanished from the Yilong Mansion. By now, the skin on his palms had been dug raw by his nails, his heart brimming with worry for Ophelia. He could only hope that Kaka would reach the Fuzu Tribe quickly and deliver the warning to her.

"There is nothing more to deal with here, Zerev. You may go back. Do not leave the Holy Capital for the time being," the Yilong Family Master said, waving his hand dismissively.

Zerev furrowed his brows. After pondering for a long time, he finally spoke. "Father, we cannot let the Fire Phoenix Family Master kill Ophelia."

"Why is that? Are you actually involved with that little female?

"Let me tell you, Zerev, even if you like that little female, you can only play around with her. Even if your future mate isn’t Sophie, it absolutely must be a female from a Holy Capital Family."

"Father, you misunderstand. The reason I don’t want the Fire Phoenix Family Master to kill Ophelia is because she knows how to make sugar."

"Make sugar? A female from a low-level tribe knows how to make sugar? What kind of joke is this?" The Yilong Family Master laughed out of sheer exasperation. In his heart, he was already certain that his son’s feelings for this Ophelia were indeed out of the ordinary.

"Father, I’m telling the truth," Zerev insisted. "A lie like this would be easily exposed. How could I possibly deceive you with something like this?

"The sugar refineries in the Holy Capital have always been monopolized by the Fire Phoenix Family. If we also knew how to make sugar, we would no longer need to cooperate with them."

The Yilong Family Master paced back and forth. After a long moment of contemplation, he looked at Zerev. "I believe your words. Since she possesses such a skill, it isn’t entirely impossible for me to allow you to mate with her.

"Moreover, since the two of you already have cubs, just bring her back to the Holy Capital. We certainly cannot let the bloodline of our Winged Dragon Family wander aimlessly in the outside world."

Although Zerev was tempted, he knew his father was only testing him with these words. "Father, do you still not believe me? I have no relationship with that female. The only reason I’ve paid so much attention to her is because she knows how to make sugar and cultivate rice."