Chapter 584: Fathers and Sons (Two-in-One)

Yan Jing did not receive validation.

This outcome surprised everyone somewhat, but on second thought, it made perfect sense.

Everyone present belonged to the Fear Pathway, but Yan Jing had clearly not walked it during his years outside.

At the very least, he had not focused on it exclusively.

This was why Shi Sanchuan had remarked yesterday that Yan Jing's studies were a bit too mixed.

Everyone could see this.

Still, seeing him fail to earn validation lifted a heavy weight from the hearts of Shi Sanchuan, Shi Yicheng, and Qi Hu.

They found this youngest brother who had just returned home completely unfathomable.

Mystery was also a source of fear.

"Ah Ji, your path has become too mixed."

Seeing Yan Jing fail to receive the Fear Bird's validation, San Yan's face remained calm. Showing neither joy nor sorrow, he simply offered a level critique.

"Yes. I saw a lot and learned a lot during my years outside," Yan Jing said with a nod.

"I have failed your expectations, Father."

San Yan shook his head.

"Your Seventh Uncle—you should have seen him, the one who spoke at the Gods' Association this time—didn't walk the path of fear either, yet he still became a Divine Envoy in the end."

"Not continuing down the Fear Pathway only means you cannot become a candidate for the Family. It doesn't mean you lack diligence or excellence," he said. "To reach the Ninth Tier at such a young age outside the Family... you have worked hard, Ah Ji."

San Yan turned to look at the others as he spoke.

"Is there a Ninth Tier younger than Ah Ji in the Eerie Capital right now?"

Shi Sanchuan immediately stood up and replied, "Across all factions in the Eerie Capital, the youngest Ninth Tier should be over thirty."

San Yan nodded.

"Has there ever been a Ninth Tier younger than Ah Ji in the Eerie Capital?"

Shi Sanchuan shook his head.

"Never heard of one."

San Yan nodded once more.

"Then this is a blessing for our Fear Family."

"That concludes today's meeting. Everyone besides Ah He and Ah Ji may leave."

The others stood up. Shi Sanchuan and Shi Yicheng walked over to the unconscious Jiuhai, each grabbed one of his arms, and dragged him out like a slaughtered pig.

Soon, only the three of them were left in the conference hall.

"Tell me about your experiences outside these past few years."

San Yan spoke softly.

Both Wuhe and Yan Jing recounted their experiences from the past few years.

Yan Jing deliberately omitted certain parts, of course, such as the girl named A Si.

San Yan listened quietly, fell silent for a moment, and then turned to Wuhe first.

"Ah He, you've done well outside these past few years. What happened back then wasn't your fault."

"It was mine."

At San Yan's words, a visible tremor ran through Wuhe's eyes.

He lowered his head and took a deep breath.

Then he looked up at San Yan again and opened his mouth.

No sound came out.

He took another breath.

Yan Jing simply sat quietly to the side.

He could tell.

Wuhe's first breath was to steel himself, ready to spill words he could no longer hold back.

His second breath was an attempt to force those same words back down.

The old Yan Jing definitely wouldn't have understood.

But he was different now.

To a certain Rat, he was also a son.

He had his own father too.

In the end, Wuhe merely spoke in a soft voice, "This fifth son of yours hasn't accomplished a single thing all these years. With my stubborn and unruly temper, I've only brought shame to you, Father."

San Yan's gaze was calm.

A few seconds later, he slowly spoke.

"When your older brothers were first born, I always placed great hopes on them."

Yan Jing had thought San Yan would say something comforting, or perhaps brush it off lightly, but the moment San Yan spoke, he seemed to steer the topic in an entirely different direction.

"But none of their temperaments matched what a Patriarch should be."

San Yan spoke slowly, yet his words carried a heavy truth, like a lone boat gliding across a sweeping green river between towering chasms.

"By the time we got to Ah Hu, we finally had one with a better temperament, but his body was too frail."

"Advent Day was fast approaching, so I pinned certain expectations on you before you were even born—expectations I shouldn't have had."

"You truly aren't suited to be the Patriarch either, my child."

"The disparity was too great, which caused a rift between us. I remained distant and failed to care for you as I should have."

"I always felt that none of you were ready to be the Patriarch."

"But in truth, the one who was never ready was me."

"I was never ready to be a proper father."

"You don't need to blame yourself for the incident that happened later. It was my failure of duty."

Wuhe stared blankly at San Yan.

In his memory, this was the first time this strict Patriarch of the Fear Family had ever admitted fault.

And the person he was admitting it to was him.

"Dad..." he started softly, but San Yan raised a hand, cutting off whatever he was about to say.

"Is Mu Tian truly dead?"

Wuhe paused, unsure why San Yan was suddenly bringing this up, but he still nodded.

Hearing this, San Yan fixed his gaze on empty space and murmured softly, "He had the greatest talent among all of us back then."

"The world called him a fool."

"To fall from the strongest Ninth Tier down to merely the Ninth Tier closest to the Tenth Tier, all for a woman."

"But remember this, Ah He. Sometimes in life, only you know what the best way to live is."

"...Right. Understood, Father." Wuhe nodded, though he honestly had no idea why San Yan was suddenly telling him this.

Yet, an inexplicable sense of panic rose in his heart.

He wanted to say more, but San Yan waved a hand, signaling him to leave first.

Left with no choice, Wuhe stood up and walked out.

Before exiting the conference hall, he deliberately shot Yan Jing a look.

The gist of it was likely telling Yan Jing to keep a close eye on San Yan's condition.

Thud.

The door shut.

Only San Yan and Yan Jing were left in the conference hall.

"Ah Ji, do you know why I asked you to stay?"

Facing San Yan's question, Yan Jing looked at the floor, his eyelids lowered.

"I'm not entirely sure, but there are a few likely reasons."

"Either you feel that your health is failing and you have final words for me."

"Or you noticed something inside me and want to verify it further."

"Or you have a task to entrust to me."

San Yan stared blankly for several seconds after Yan Jing finished speaking.

Then, he looked at him.

"Are you really Ah Ji?"

"Naturally, Father." Yan Jing's gaze was calm.

"...That's true. At a time like this, I suppose it doesn't matter anyway..." San Yan retracted his gaze, muttering a few words before asking, "How did you know I was injured?"

Yan Jing raised his head. A string of fine runic fragments surfaced, simulating the scent of blood.

"Wizardry." San Yan understood immediately.

"Are you quite close with that Wen Xu?"

He had naturally heard about Wen Xu's performance at the Gods' Association. Besides, according to his intelligence, his son had actually been brought back by the other party.

"We're alright," Yan Jing nodded.

"That's good. Making a wide circle of friends is a good thing." San Yan nodded.

"I simply haven't made enough friends..."

Then, he said softly, "I am indeed injured, and the injuries are not light."

"Actually, they are quite severe."

"But I don't have any friends I can trust. I don't know if you've heard about the recent events at the Gods' Association, but that fellow, the Hermit, made a complete joke of himself precisely because he trusted Haiti too much."

"Still, you don't need to worry. If I enter secluded cultivation, holding out for a year won't be a problem."

"But Advent Day will have already arrived by then," Yan Jing said plainly.

"That is exactly what I'm worried about." San Yan's eyes remained calm.

"Considering the future of our Family, who among your three older brothers will you cast your vote for in a few days?"

"Fourth Brother."

Yan Jing replied flatly.

San Yan's expression didn't seem to change upon hearing this answer.

"Why?"

"Eldest Brother's heart lies too little with the Family and too much with the Mo Family."

"If it were for his own small family, Eldest Brother would do wonderfully. But you asked me to consider the future of the Family, so Eldest Brother is not a good choice."

"Second Brother's mind is too heavy with schemes, and his actions are far too risky. He isn't a good choice either."

San Yan raised his eyes.

"Do you think your Fourth Brother isn't heavy with schemes?"

Clearly, the ideal candidate in San Yan's heart was Shi Yicheng.

Yan Jing stated calmly, "Fourth Brother may have hidden it from the Family to break through to the Ninth Tier in secret, but that only proves his behavioral style leans toward caution."

"That is merely on the surface," San Yan said softly.

"Do you know that years of suppression can drive a man mad? Once a volcano that has been quiet for too long finally erupts, it is impossible for anyone to predict whether it will bring utter catastrophe."

Faced with San Yan's words, Yan Jing did not answer. Instead, he directly pulled a cable from the back of his head and plugged it into the conference room projector. San Yan watched quietly as Chengfa's figure appeared on the screen.

He watched until the video finished playing entirely.

He looked at Yan Jing.

"You think your Second Brother did this? And that's why you won't vote for him?"

He thought he had seen through Yan Jing's intentions.

But Yan Jing shook his head.

"I think Fourth Brother did this. That is why I am voting for him."

San Yan looked at Yan Jing, waiting for his elaboration.

Yan Jing smiled.

"If the person in the car hadn't been me, you would have already lost two more children."

This was what Yan Jing wanted to say.

The overall details of this assassination were actually executed quite well.

"Arranging for Grandpa Chengfa shows that the mastermind had earned Grandpa Chengfa's approval."

"Planting a forbidden curse shows that the mastermind was careful and cautious enough."

"And what I admire most is that Grandpa Chengfa named Second Brother."

"This means that even at death's door, he still stood on the side of the mastermind."

"Of course, I might be wrong. It could actually be Second Brother's doing, and that forbidden curse was just a smokescreen to clear his own name."

"But..."

Yan Jing switched to another video tape.

In the recording, Shi Yicheng was on a phone call.

Holding his cell phone:

"The plan failed?"

"What did I tell you guys back then?!"

"They've returned now! When Father comes back tomorrow, there'll likely be huge changes! What did you promise me back then?!" It was precisely the recording Xiao Xin had captured that night.

San Yan finished watching it, his expression apathetic.

"Doesn't this prove exactly that it was your Second Brother's doing?"

Yan Jing smiled and shook his head.

"If Second Brother was meticulous enough to set up a forbidden curse in advance to clear his suspicion, then making this phone call right at home would be too contradictory."

"With evidence like this, no matter what forbidden curse he used, I could nail him to the wall with it."

"Of course, taking a step back, one could argue that Second Brother made a single slip-up in his master plan."

"He didn't think anyone would be able to spy on him at home."

"This is where it gets interesting. Second Brother is cautious; he planted the forbidden curse. Yet he isn't cautious enough, making a phone call straight from home. He seeks stability, choosing to intercept and kill us beforehand to stop Fifth Brother and me from disrupting things. Yet he isn't stable enough, remaining completely unworried about my ability to spy on him once we arrived."

"With such contradictory behaviors appearing in a single person, I can only lean toward the conclusion that these actions were not done by the same person."

"Then what do you think he was talking about in this phone call?" San Yan's words fell like a judge's gavel during a trial.

Silence descended upon the conference hall.

Yan Jing looked at the man across from him, dressed in a red suit, whose expression hadn't changed from beginning to end.

Those crimson eyes on either side of the camera finally showed a ripple of emotion for the first time.

Veins gradually bulged on the hand gripping the armrest.

Yan Jing lowered his head slightly and said softly, "Ah Ji doesn't know about this matter."

This was naturally an excuse.

Such a conversation.

If the targets of the interception weren't Yan Jing and Wuhe.

Then it could only be the other person mentioned in those words.

"The plan failed?" ('Did you fail to kill Father?')

"What did I tell you guys back then?!" ('You must kill him.')

"They've returned now! When Father comes back tomorrow, there'll likely be huge changes! What did you promise me back then?!" ('My two younger brothers have returned. When Father comes back alive tomorrow, there'll likely be huge changes! Didn't you guarantee you could kill him?') The biggest point of suspicion across these three lines, was the "tomorrow" that Shi Yicheng had mentioned.

Clearly, during dinner, Shi Yicheng had still been saying that San Yan "should be back in a day or two."

Yet here he was, absolutely certain that San Yan would arrive the very next day.

And after seeing that San Yan was injured, Yan Jing was finally certain of everything.

Of course, these were just speculations.

But...

Sometimes, with certain matters, presenting a speculation to the other party was more than enough.

Yan Jing knew that it was absolutely impossible for San Yan to be completely oblivious to the matters unfolding behind the scenes.

As the Patriarch who had led the Fear Family for centuries, and the universally acknowledged strongest entity in the Eerie Capital for hundreds of years, anyone who underestimated him would pay the price... An unknown amount of time passed before San Yan finally spoke.

"I am a failure."

Yan Jing said nothing.

Which was tantamount to a silent agreement.

Things had gone wrong within the Fear Family. That was an indisputable fact.

A powerful family ought to be united against outsiders.

Yet, because San Yan was overly obsessed with pursuing a perfect heir...

Things had clearly changed.

Perhaps he had noticed this midway, but it was already too late.

San Yan closed his eyes and spoke softly.

"In truth, the heir I favored the most back then was Ah Shan."

San Shan.

The "older brother" who had left the deepest impression on Yan Jing.

He still kept the letter that San Shan had written to Yi Ji.

However, San Yan's next words instantly opened a dust-sealed door for Yan Jing.

"Back then, I was the one who doomed you and Ah Shan."