Chapter 1226: Punishment

Chapter 1226: Chapter 1226: Punishment

"Murder?" Pei Yan withdrew the folding fan in his hand and gently slid the bone of the fan along his scalp, exuding a roguish air and said puzzled, "How could I commit murder within the Immortal Palace? I’m merely handling a subordinate who broke a promise and failed in his duties! What? Do you really think I’m wronging you?"

"Lord Pei! I know that I was negligent in guarding your personnel, and I’m willing to take responsibility for this matter, whether it’s being hit or punished, I’ll accept! But no matter what, I don’t deserve to die!" Xiang Zizhen knew that if he didn’t contest this now regarding life and death, there would be no opportunity to contest later. He straightened his back and, gathering his courage, argued with reason, "We have our hardships too! The Embroidered Robe Envoy is not a large team! We must follow the orders of the Spirit Lord to covertly monitor the various sects within the Immortal Palace and closely track the movements of the Blood Slaughter Calamity. This task has already consumed a significant amount of manpower and energy from us. The sudden increase in investigative personnel here, demanding a five-to-one allocation standard for staffing, makes it practically impossible for us to gather sufficient manpower in a short time! Lord Pei, you’re a reasonable man! You can check the request for adjusting manpower, which I submitted early on. The defensive gap occurred simply because there was no one available for deployment in the short term!"

"Oh?" Pei Yan responded, leaning back against the round chair. It was at this moment that Xia Yu approached from behind, whispering, "This matter indeed exists! He previously used this excuse to evade us. Subsequently, we investigated the Embroidered Robe Envoy. After the Sword Discussion Conference ended, in order to prevent a repeat of the Blood Slaughter Calamity from the Disaster Territory happening in the Daoist Realm, they began collaborating with the Hell Demon Race to inspect and reinforce the leyline seals throughout the Daoist Realm. Their manpower is indeed somewhat strained, but not as exaggerated as he claims. Ultimately, they judged the urgency and importance of matters, thinking that our area had been long inactive and hence delay is justifiable. It can’t be solely blamed on him; it should be an internal consensus of the Embroidered Robe Envoy."

"Oh!" Pei Yan nodded and then straightened his body, continuing to ask, "You say that the manpower shortage issue cannot be blamed on you. Then what about your responsibility over the outer vigil of my residence? How do you explain the problem?"

"Uh~ This!" This time Xiang Zizhen truly had no words. Since Lin Daozi left, he had not paid much attention to the outer vigil, especially after seeing a team from Dragon Realm arriving for co-defense. He believed that the abundant manpower would make defense more than adequate, leading to a sense of negligence among the entire Embroidered Robe Envoy from him on downwards. But who knew, at this precise moment, it would allow the opponent to exploit a gap, causing him unable to shirk responsibility.

"Indeed, this allegiance oversight was mine, and I, Xiang Zizhen, am willing to accept punishment! But if it comes to killing me, I won’t be content! And let’s not say my men were indeed a bit slow to react during this attack, but they did bravely participate in the ensuing operation against the assassin, with two even sacrificing their lives! We, the Embroidered Robe Envoy, have rightly served you well, haven’t we? Moreover, even if I have sinned, it still requires the Spirit Lord’s approval, the order from the chief commander! Lord Pei, although our cooperation is tight, you as an ally do not have the authority to overstep in controlling my life and death!"

"There’s truth in what you say. If I were to kill you like this, you’d indeed not be content, and might become a wronged ghost to haunt me in the future. Let it be." Pei Yan said as he put the folding fan back into his ring, casually pulling out a note from his sleeve and tossed it in front of Xiang Zizhen, saying offhandedly, "Today I’ll enlighten you on why you must die, take a look! See if I actually have the right to kill you!"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Zizhen bent down to pick up the note that had drifted to his feet, unfolded it and, at once, looked deflated like a punctured balloon, his body slumped down, kneeling before Pei Yan, cold sweat streaming down with a face of deathly gray that could no longer speak a word in defense.

"Do you see? You’ve become a pawn to appease the wrath of my Investigation Hall! Resigned to fate?" Pei Yan stood up and walked to Xiang Zizhen’s side, bending down to whisper in his ear.

"Resigned!" Xiang Zizhen squeezed the word out from between his gritted teeth with great difficulty.

"Good! Resigned is good! As Lin Daozi is willing to show an attitude, I, Pei Yan, am also a man who speaks of reason. Eat that piece of paper."

Hearing Pei Yan’s words, Xiang Zizhen, who had already fallen into despair from abandonment, looked up at Pei Yan and immediately understood the meaning behind his words. Without further ado, he opened his mouth and stuffed the note, swallowing it with haste.

"Ah—!" A scream echoed in the courtyard as Xiang Zizhen, who had just finished swallowing the paper, held his bloodied eyes, his body curling up in agony, wailing in pain.

"Life! I’ve given it to you! These eyes are your punishment for incompetence! Go back and tell your chief commander, I, Pei Yan, honor my commitments and do as promised, you must also comply with the agreed-upon terms and give us the proper treatment. This matter is settled between us and your Spirit Lord; what right do you have to defy and delay? This time, I want you to hold onto this pair of eyes without any restoration until the true culprit is thoroughly vanquished! Should it repeat, I’ll make sure the Embroidered Robe Envoy suffer severely."

As Pei Yan spoke, he tossed the impure substance clenched between his fingers in front of Xiang Zizhen, stepping on it with his foot to crush it, followed by wiping his bloodied right hand back and forth on Xiang Zizhen’s shoulder, smiling coldly and warning.

"Thank you, Lord, for sparing my life!" Xiang Zizhen heard the crunching sound of Pei Yan’s shoe sole crushing the objects excavated from his eyes, and despite the blinding headache and heart-wrenching pain, he still gritted his teeth, kowtowing in Pei Yan’s direction, not resentful but instead expressing gratitude.

"Hati! Have your men lift him up! We’re leaving!" Having done all this, Pei Yan, without turning back, headed out of the courtyard ahead of everyone.

Hati, standing behind Hu Jiu, had long been captivated by the scene before her. As the daughter of the Fenrir Race’s leader, Hati was not a flower raised in a greenhouse; within the Beast Race, one’s status is affirmed by bloodline but more valued by personal strength. Hence Hati was well-seasoned through power growth, witnessing violent storms and bloody battles; such minor situations wouldn’t terrify her.

What truly frightened her was the method Pei Yan showed; in her eyes, the kneeling Xiang Zizhen was someone already touching the threshold of the ninth-level Heavenly Dao, someone anytime could break through into a Heavenly Dao Expert. Yet, such an expert was toyed with in Pei Yan’s palm. Just a note completely shattered his will, making the heavily injured person still kowtow and express gratitude.

"Why are you still frozen? Quickly get that man and catch up!"

Upon hearing the voice in her ear, Hati finally came to her senses, looked around at those in the courtyard who had followed Pei Yan out, then turned to the speaker to find it was Pei Jin, who had taken care of her quite well since her arrival.

Compared to the fearsome, ferocious Pei Yan in her heart, Pei Jin, this elder sister, was far more amiable and kind, speaking gently, never scolding her, treating both her and Tushan Suisui equally without favoritism, even when arranging tasks, always discussing with her. If it weren’t for secretly investigating and confirming that she was Pei Yan’s biological sister, Hati couldn’t believe the evil man would have such a good sister.