Yu Miao fell heavily to the ground. Although his legs had been bitten off by Ao Buzun, there was not a drop of blood in the wound, only a pale blue colored, thick fluid that was slowly oozing out. This was the result of years of dealing with Ghost Gods. Yu Miao no longer had much blood in him, and he relied entirely on this blood-like mixture of ghostly aura, magic power, and the aura of living beings to sustain his life.
Had it not been for his constant consumption of precious spirit herbs, he would have depleted his life force and entered transmigration by the time the first drop of this fluid, called 'Ghost Blood', appeared in his body. But, after all, he was the Grand Elder of Yu Clan in Zhong Province, who had a lot of resources at his disposal. Therefore, he could continue to consume a variety of rare spirit herbs to prolong his life, and that was why he was still alive today.
Hiding in Wu Qi's collar, Ao Buzun munched contentedly on Yu Miao's legs. Because he had been taking a lot of spirit herbs for years, Yu Miao had accumulated a lot of undigested medicinal strength in his body. After all, he was not an immortal who could fully digest the medicinal strength in spirit herbs. The two legs that Ao Buzun bit off contained such amazing medicinal strength that if they were all digested, they would be equivalent to several spirit pills concocted by a Gold Immortal, which would bring a great benefit to Ao Buzun.
In front of the many members of the Yu Clan, Wu Qi had stamped heavily on Yu Miao's face.
Wu Qi was wearing a suit of heavy armor specially equipped for King Yang Qiu's personal guards. His boots were a set of metal boots joined with the leg guards, and the heavy, thick soles were cast with countless layers of pliable metal sheets. After refining with a secret method, the one-inch thick metal soles were as soft as cow tendons, but they had a very strong defense. On top of that, the soles were densely covered with rows of tiny sharp needles, and when Wu Qi stepped on Yu Miao's face, these needles dug deep into his cheek. Droplets of ghost blood seeped out of his face, but Yu Miao did not even snort.
With an odd grin on his face, Yu Miao stared fixedly at Yu Mu, not saying a word and just gasping.
Yu Mu gave Yu Miao a strange smile, which seemed to contain some unknown meaning, then cupped his fist and bowed solemnly to Wu Qi. "It's my Yu Clan's fault this time, General Tan Lang! I know that the little b*stard Yu Lei had said a lot of things that offended King Yang Qiu just now. But, I hope you can cover it up for us!"
Just now, although Yu Lei's intention was to humiliate Wu Qi, he had dragged King Yang Qiu into the picture with his vulgar remarks. Such things could be big or small, and it was easy to turn them into trifles. As long as no one told King Yang Qiu, the world would be at peace, and no one would take them seriously. But, if someone told King Yang Qiu about it, and then someone like Wu Qi stirred it up, it would turn out to be an act of rebellion against the King of the imperial clan, and thousands of heads would have to roll before King Yang Qiu's anger could be appeased.
From the beginning, Yu Mu had pointed out that it was completely Yu Lei's fault, and he also hinted that this matter was disrespectful to King Yang Qiu. His purpose was to silence the Elders of Yu Clan so that they could no longer speak for Yu Lei.
Wu Qi bowed respectfully to Yu Mu and said with a smile, "Why would you come out with such a request, Your Excellency Yu Mu? Yu Lei is just a lunatic rebel who has no respect for anyone. What do his words and deeds have to do with Yu Clan? And since I've killed him on the spot, so I guess this matter is resolved."
Yu Mu was pleased with Wu Qi's attitude. Although Wu Qi was already King Yang Qiu's immediate personal guard, he still behaved respectfully to Yu Mu as before, which made him feel really comfortable. He looked at Wu Qi appreciatively, then nodded with a smile and agreed that the matter was resolved.
The two exchanged a look, and then Wu Qi put on a fierce expression and gave the badly injured Yu Miao a hard stamp on the head, making his skull crackle. Luckily, Yu Miao's muscles and bones were strengthened by the aura of Ghost Gods after years of dealing with them, which made his fleshly body as strong as a mid-tier Heaven Immortal who specialized in body cultivation. So, even though Wu Qi's stamp was powerful, it did not break his skull.
But, being stepped under someone's feet was a burning insult after all, especially for someone like Yu Miao. It was a stain that would never be washed away.
Yu Miao rolled his eyes and stared at Wu Qi, his gaze cold and lifeless. Although his eyes were emotionless, Wu Qi knew that his hatred for him had reached its peak, and that the hatred could only be resolved with the death of either one of them!
It was a pity that they were in Zhong Ning City, standing in front of Yu Clan's residence.
If Wu Qi were an aristocrat of Great Yu and had a title of nobility, it would not be a big deal if he killed Yu Miao and Yu Lei here today. After all, it was Yu Lei who provoked him first, and then Yu Miao jumped out to attack him in the street. The most he could be punished for was having his title of nobility demoted. But, despite his military rank, he was still just a common people. He had no right to kill Yu Miao!
Wu Qi had good reason to kill Yu Lei because his words had insulted King Yang Qiu. But, for a man like Yu Miao, even if Wu Qi did have the power to kill him, he could not kill him in public. It would be seen as a provocation by Wu Qi to all the powerful and influential clans in the entire system of Directorate of Celestials, and a challenge to the entire aristocracy of Great Yu. If he did that, even King Yang Qiu would not be able to protect him.
So, Wu Qi could not kill Yu Miao. Even if he wanted to, he could only kill him by assassination, not by himself in full view of the public!
Taking a deep breath, Wu Qi rubbed Yu Miao's face with his sole and shredded the flesh, then put on a serious expression and said, "Yu Lei's case is over. But, what about the case that His Excellency Yu Miao attacked me in the street? Could it be that because he is the Left Minister of Zhong Province, he thinks he can attack me without facing any consequences?"
Yu Mu smiled nonchalantly, then nodded and said, "Yu Miao is indeed abrupt to the point of rudeness. He should have known that King Yang Qiu had personally recruited you as his bodyguard and military advisor, and yet he still attacked you in the street. He is solely responsible for his act. Therefore, General Tan Lang, although you've severely injured Yu Miao with counterattacks, we, the Yu Clan, do not blame you for that!"
Yu Mu made the conclusion on behalf of the whole Yu Clan. As the current head of the Yu Clan in Zhong Province, his words were tantamount to saying that Yu Miao had been beaten for nothing, and that his legs had been eaten by Ao Buzun for nothing. With Yu Mu's assurance, the members of the Yu Clan could never publicly launch any retaliatory attacks against Wu Qi. As to whether Yu Miao would secretly send someone to assassinate Wu Qi or not... Wasn't that what was happening now? And, since that was hard to avoid, there was no need to mention it.
While grinning, Wu Qi gave Yu Miao's head another strong kick.
"He might be spared of a death sentence, but not living punishment!" said Wu Qi in a deep voice, "I can swallow the resentment of His Excellency Yu Miao suddenly assaulting me…After all, I killed his son. Although that fellow is nothing but a nuisance who brings only troubles, he is bound to lose his reason and do something impulsive. But, can his impulsive behavior be seen as a provocation to King Yang Qiu?"
More and more people of the Yu Clan gathered around, and the street had been cordoned off by Yu Clan's private army. All the mansions in the vicinity, which belong to the important ministers of Zhong Province, had their doors tightly shut. But, countless people were standing on top of the walls or tall buildings to watch the scene while gesticulating and making some unknown remarks.
Yu Mu glanced at the crowd that was watching and rubbed his palms. Immediately, a gray plume of smoke rose from the ground and enveloped this part of the street.
Then, after ordering the people of Yu Clan to back off a dozen feet, Yu Mu leaned over to Wu Qi and unleashed a voice concealing spell which wrapped all three of them together. When he was done, he looked at Yu Miao, who had been trampled under Wu Qi's feet, and suddenly smiled happily. "You are the victim in this matter, so you can put forward your request at will! As long as the foundation of the Yu Clan is not harmed, as the current head of the Yu Clan, I can agree to any of your requests!"
They looked at each other and smiled tacitly. Then, Wu Qi said with a straight face, "It's easy to solve this matter. His Excellency Yu Miao's unruly behavior is a proof that his conduct is tainted, and since both his legs are missing, he no longer looks dignified. I think... Why doesn't he resign as the Left Minister of Directorate of Celestials?"
Yu Mu agreed to Wu Qi's first request without hesitation. Getting Yu Miao out of his position was something he had been trying to do for years; and now that he had the chance, why should he reject the request? As soon as Yu Miao stepped down, Yu Mu would be able to replace the position with one of his closest confidants, and then the entire Directorate of Celestials in Zhong Province would be in his hands.
Yu Miao trembled with anger. He gritted his teeth and growled, but the blast wave produced from the collision of Lei Meng and Gui Shao next to him had wounded him so badly that he had no strength to resist. Moreover, Wu Qi's physical strength was so great that even though he had only one foot on Yu Miao's head, the latter could not move at all.
"His Excellency is a generous man, and I'm sure he'll not pursue further into the matter of Yu Lei insulting him in the street. As for the hush-money..." said Wu Qi as he rubbed his fingers. This was the first time that the term 'hush-money' had appeared on the Pangu Continent. Undoubtedly, Wu Qi had made a great contribution to the construction of spiritual civilization in the Great Yu Dynasty!
"Hush-money?" Yu Mu and Yu Miao were puzzled at the same time.
"…and the compensation for the emotional distress!" Wu Qi once again added bricks and tiles to the construction of spiritual civilization in the Great Yu Dynasty!
Yu Mu was a smart man; otherwise, he would not be the Grand Oracle of Directorate of Celestials, and the head of the Yu Clan in Zhong Province!
He gave Wu Qi a thoughtful look and then said in a deep voice, "Yu Lei had humiliated and damaged His Excellency reputation. Although he was killed by you, His Excellency's reputation... Well, we can only make amends with gold, silver, and jewelry!"
Wu Qi and Yu Mu looked at each other for a moment, then looked down at Yu Miao at the same time.
"I believe His Excellency Yu Miao should be very rich! In my opinion, all the losses caused by his son's mistakes should not be borne by the Yu Clan!" Wu Qi said.
Nodding and smiling, Yu Mu chimed in, "Indeed! Whose son caused the trouble, he shall bear all the responsibility!"
After dismissing the voice concealing spell and the thick layer of gray smoke, Yu Mu summoned all the Elders of Yu Clan at the front of their mansion and repeated Wu Qi's requests. He also seriously warned everyone that if they did not fulfill Wu Qi's requests, he would certainly complain to King Yang Qiu, and Yu Miao would likely be severely punished by King Yang Qiu!
A quarter of an hour later, the Elders in Yu Miao's branch emptied most of their vaults, satisfying Wu Qi's extortion demands.
With a smile on his face, Yu Mu took Wu Qi by hand and personally escorted him to the teleportation formation. Wu Qi walked into the teleportation formation with his pockets full, then bid farewell to Yu Mu with a big smile and a bow.
He had killed someone's son, severely wounded someone's father, and seized their wealth. Wu Qi suddenly heaved a deep sigh.