Mo Tian Yun had a bumpy ride the whole way. Only 70 or 80 out of 200 experts were left by the time they returned to the Mo Clan. Moreover, everyone was injured. More than 100 people had already lost their lives along the way!
After that, he was greeted by a gloomy-faced Mo Tian Ji as soon as he entered the Clan’s gates.
"Mo Tian Yun, do you still have the face to come back?" Mo Tian Ji crossed his hands behind his back, and occupied a commanding position.
"What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? You ought to know that clearly! Our clan has 8 big assets. And, you have mortgaged four of them! Ha ha ha... Bravo, Mo Tian Yun. You are so courageous!" Mo Tian Ji coldly said, "Don’t you realize that you have endangered the safety and security of our Mo Clan?! In fact, it has become a question of life or death for us now!"
Mo Tian Yun’s complexion turned deathly pale. He retorted, "I am the future Clan Lord of the Mo Clan! Not you! What right do you have to ask me such questions?"
Mo Tian Ji sneered and replied, "You have made such a blunder, yet you still think you can become the Clan Lord in the future? Are you sleep-talking or what?"
Mo Xing Chen came from behind and said, "Tian Yun, what’s the matter?"
Mo Tian Yun knelt down with a ‘thud’, and began to shed tears, "Your son is incompetent..." he explained everything that had happened after he said this, "This son was thinking… my Mo Clan will rise up to become the number-one clan in the Middle Three Heavens if I win! No other clan will be able to challenge us! But, who would have thought... that such a sure-shot gamble would turn into an accident!"
Mo Xing Chen heaved a deep sigh, and slumped down in disappointment. He seemed to have aged several decades in an instant.
He still had some hope when he had heard about this incident earlier. He had thought that it was only a rumor…
However, he had no more illusions to latch onto now!
It was his eldest son – whom he had always had confidence on – who had committed such an outrageous act! He had ruined half of Mo Clan’s wealth in one fell swoop!
Mo Xing Chen shot a disappointed look towards Mo Tian Yun. And, he continued to look at him like that for a long time. Then, he eventually heaved a melancholic sigh, "The elders’ congress will pass a judgment on you."
Mo Tian Yun’s face suddenly turned pale.
The elders’ conference ensued soon afterwards, and it was even stricter on Mo Tian Yun. Mo Tian Yun was penalized for several crimes at once, and thus was removed from the position of the Young Clan Lord on the spot. He was then listed as a candidate… just like Mo Tian Ji.
This penalty was rather lenient because the Great Elder Mo Wu Xin had discriminated in Mo Tian Yun’s favor. Otherwise, Mo Tian Yun would’ve been sentenced to death…
~~On the same night~~
The night was already deep, and dark…
Mo Tian Yun stealthily sneaked out of the place he had been confined to, and silently made his way towards Great Elder Mo Wu Xin’s courtyard.
‘Dreaming of a Gentle Dance Saber’ had always been safely put in Great Elder Mo Wu Xin’s residence. And, Mo Tian Yun obviously knew this fact.
Mo Tian Yun had already gone through a long and painful consideration before he had come to this decision.
He had no other way out. He would have to hand over his own life if he couldn’t surrender ‘Dreaming of a Gentle Dance Saber’. And, that was because he was completely broke at the moment. Forget about the minimum three-day period… six days had already passed by…
In other words, he would have to pay 4.4 billion if he were to choose to repay the debt in money at this time! One could say that the money collected after selling-off the entire Mo Clan would still fall short of meeting this target!
Mo Tian Yun looked at the wooden door at the entrance. He secretly grasped some item in his bosom. A complicated look flashed in his eyes. It was accompanied by a faint trace of anguish.
[The Great Elder has always treated me with love and care. He has always treated me like his own grandson. From infancy to adulthood… I would be fine as long as the Great Elder was around… no matter how big and how many mistakes I’d make…! It can be said that the Great Elder has himself paved the way for me to the position of the Young Clan Lord...]
[What I am going to do tonight is truly beyond unfilial, treason, and heresy...]
[But, I would certainly die if I don’t do it!]
Mo Tian Yun’s face was revealing the pain of contradiction. He hesitated for a long time. He had wanted to turn around and leave on several occasions. But... he eventually didn’t. And, he merely stood under the starlight for a long-long time... Finally...
He lifted his hand, and knocked on the door in a gentle manner. His eyes closed as his finger knocked on the door. However, his eyes had become ruthless by the time he opened them again. And, the look on his face had become sinister!
Knock Knock…
"Who is it?" Great Elder Mo Wu Xin’s faint voice came from inside.
"Great Elder, it’s Tian Yun," Mo Tian Yun respectfully replied.
"Why did you come here?" Mo Wu Xin asked in a puzzled manner, "What are you doing here at such a critical time?" It seemed like he considered this for quite a while. Then, the door finally opened with a ‘creaking’ sound.
Mo Tian Yun stepped inside. Then, he quickly turned around, and shut the door.
The Great Elder had always been an eccentric and reclusive person. He had never allowed any servant to be around him. And, he had always preferred being alone.
"Tian Yun, why have you come at such hour?" The oil lamp’s light was calmly flickering in the room. In fact, the lone lamp seemed like a sacrificial vessel.
"I have failed to live up to the Great Elder’s expectations. So, I have come to apologize in person," Mo Tian Yun respectfully knelt down.
"Sigh..." Mo Wu Xin sighed. A trace of sadness flashed on his skinny face as he said, "What you have done this time… is far beyond preposterous. It’s too absurd. How could you make such a blunder? What were you thinking?"
"I made a calculation mistake." Tears started to stream down Mo Tian Yun’s face as he remained kneeling on the ground. He didn’t dare to raise his head…
That ‘Dreaming of a Gentle Dance Saber’ was mounted in an ordinary scabbard, and was currently hanging on the wall behind Mo Wu Xin.
"You have made such a blunder that I can’t help you… even if I want to. I will end up losing my position in the Mo Clan if I try." Mo Wu Xin sighed and said, "I have put all my effort into suppressing everyone’s intentions to support Tian Ji for all these years. And, I’ve done that to support you! Even that plot of yours to deal with your younger siblings in the Lower Three Heavens… was also drafted by me!"
Mo Wu Xin gently slammed his palm on the table, and angrily said, "Your little sister – Qing Wu – had the ‘Three Yin Meridians’ in her body! But, they got damaged because of your conspiracy! Do you even know what the ‘Three Yin Meridians’ represent? They represent the addition of a powerful Emperor Level Expert to my Mo Clan in a few decades’ time! At least the Emperor Level at that! Do you understand?!
"The Mo Clan has been in its most powerful and prosperous phase even though it only has three Emperor Level Experts! The ancestor has been cultivating in seclusion for many years... God knows whether he’s dead or alive..."
Mo Tian Yun was sweating profusely…
Mo Wu Xin angrily brushed his beard, "You know, I feel uncomfortable in my heart every time I see that poor little girl? So, I had no alternative but to make a decision to marry her off so that I could get her out of my sight. What the eye doesn’t see — the heart doesn’t grieve over...
"I kept suppressing Tian Ji for so many years, and I continued to clear-away the obstacles from your path! And, you gambled away half of Mo Clan’s fortunes at such a crucial juncture…?!"
Mo Wu Xin faced upwards, and heaved a deep sigh, "You have come here so late at night to make me help you. But, how do I do that?"
Mo Tian Yun burst into tears as he prostrated on the ground, "I know that I have betrayed your hopes, and let you down. I know I have hurt you, and ruined your painstaking efforts. I wish I could die to recompense you..."
"You don’t need to die to recompense me." Mo Wu Xin knitted his brows in contemplation and said, "Now... stripping you of your position as the heir is only a stop-gap measure. We must wait for the right timing, and keep fostering you up until then... we will only need to use some tricks here-and-there; that’s all. That shouldn’t be a big task..."
He spoke this much before he suddenly frowned. A puzzled look appeared in his eyes soon after. He then scratched his head, and asked in a bewildered manner, "What’s happening…?"
Mo Tian Yun panicked and asked, "Great Elders, what’s wrong…?"
"Why do I feel dizzy...? Tian Yun, what's happening to me?" Mo Wu Xin shook his head. He tightly wrinkled his white brows together. Then, his body began to sway, and he nearly fell-off his chair.
However, this pitiful Mo Wu Xin still hadn’t suspected Mo Tian Yun…
"Great Elder... you..." Mo Tian Yun called out in alarm.
Mo Wu Xin’s body suddenly began to tremble. He somehow used his hand to support himself by holding onto the table. Then, he strenuously turned his head, and looked at Mo Tian Yun with a look of disbelief in his eye. He bitterly smiled and said, "Tian Yun... It's you… isn’t it?"
There was still a hint of doubt in his voice.
The panic-stricken Mo Tian Yun slowly stood up while Mo Wu Xin was still looking at him with disbelief in his eyes. Each and every action and movement of Mo Tian Yun’s had suddenly become calm and unflustered. He patted-off the dust he had caught by kneeling on the ground. Then, he took out something from his bosom, and placed it in front of Mo Wu Xin since he was still unconvinced. This unknown object was melting, and looked like nasal mucus…
Mo Wu Xin’s eyes suddenly turned lifeless when he saw it.
Mo Tian Yun serenely replied, "Great Elder, please forgive me. I didn’t wish to bite the hand that fed me… But, I... had no other way."
Mo Wu Xin’s eyes nearly turned stiff as he looked at Mo Tian Yun. He couldn’t believe that Mo Tian Yun had turned against that one person who had always supported him unconditionally, and had tried all he could to provide full assistance!
"For… for what reason, ok?" Mo Wu Xin’s lifeless eyes looked at him. His lips were quivering. His tongue had already become somewhat stiff. And, this had caused him to add that unnecessary ‘ok’ at the end of the interrogative sentence...
"Why? Because I want to save my life!" Mo Tian Yun looked at him with a guilty conscience. He then said in a painful voice, "Great Elder, the fact is that I don’t wish to kill you. After all, you are so good to me. In fact, you have always been like that since my childhood. You are always so good to... I genuinely wish to repay you. I also want to look after you, and your needs through your old age. I wish to serve you as you enjoy your years of retirement. But, I cannot…
"And, that’s because you will never allow me to take the ‘Dreaming of a Gentle Dance Saber’… You regard this saber as the hope of Mo Clan’s rise. But, do you know that this saber is the only hope of my survival right now? "Mo Tian Yun roared in a low voice, "How will I get this saber if I don’t get rid of you?"
Mo Wu Xin was stubbornly looking at Mo Tian Yun with a bleak look in his eyes. However, the look in his eyes slowly turned into a grieving one, and it seemed as if he was slowly dying of heartbreak.
The look in his eyes was the representation of that moment of realization when one finds out that one’s lifetime-worth of hard-work and struggle has turned out to be a pile of shit on the last day of their life… that extreme despair and sense of utter failure makes one sick… and so depressed that they are only left with a desire to die!
Mo Tian Yun reached out with his hand, and took off ‘Dreaming of a Gentle Dance Saber’ from the wall. He held it in his hand, and slowly said, "Great Elder, you must be feeling wronged, right? Very angry…? Do you want revenge?"
He smiled softly and continued, "But, you won’t get a chance. This is ‘Seven Fragrances Paralyzing Poison’. I have spent a great price to get my hands on it.
"In fact, I was reluctant to do this because there aren’t many old dogs as loyal as you. It can be said that I am putting you down far too early... You have been my dog from my childhood. And, you have served me well up until now. However…"
Mo Tian Yun approached Mo Wu Xin’s face and whispered, "A dog will always be a dog! Emperor Level Strength… but still a dog! It will be abandoned whenever the owner wants to discard it! Because… it’s merely a dog! It can bite quite hard, but its... still just a dog! Do you understand? Old dog?"
...