Though
"So he really is just some hillbilly from the sticks. Not an ounce of backbone. And here I was, needlessly alarmed for a moment. Let it be, let it be. Although that old man Zhou doesn't have me on his list, my uncle is there to block him. What can that old man Zhou possibly do to me?"
Thinking this, Lü Wuji felt much more at ease. Had Zhou Gui not been wielding the Grand Dragon Tooth Order, he would have likely stood up and swaggered out immediately.
Jiang Chen's failure to press the issue on the spot had surprised Lü Wuji somewhat. What surprised him even more was that even Zhou Gui seemed to have no intention of pursuing the matter further. With a wave of his hand, Zhou Gui declared: "This matter... you all best conduct yourselves accordingly."
Having said that, Zhou Gui led his fierce entourage and, unexpectedly, withdrew as well!
The moment Zhou Gui left and the Grand Dragon Tooth Order was put away, Lü Wuji instantly revived to full strength. He rose gracefully, dusting off his knees. "What rotten luck. A trivial matter ended up alarming the Grand Steward. And it let that old man Zhou ride on someone else's authority to humiliate me. Truly rotten luck!"
"Commander Lü..." His subordinates approached timidly.
"Look at you all, hanging your heads like you just lost your mothers! The matter is over, so why the long faces? Who are you pulling them for?" Lü Wuji scolded.
"Commander Lü, something feels wrong about this."
"Wrong my ass! It must be that old man Zhou stirring up trouble behind the scenes. What are you afraid of? With my uncle here, that old man Zhou can't make such big waves!" Lü Wuji said dismissively.
He then gritted his teeth and added: "But that animal Jiang Chen, that hillbilly, dared to humiliate me, the Commander. As long as you remain in the Tiangui Kingdom, I'll make sure you die a miserable death!"
Although Lü Wuji himself was unharmed, his position had drastically shifted from one of assured victory to a precipitous fall from grace. He had made all those arrogant boasts, and at the crucial moment, everything changed.
The Jiang Chen he had condemned to death had simply strutted past him and left.
And all his grand boasts had become ridiculous jokes.
Lü Wuji, accustomed to running amok in the Royal Capital, wielding influence, and controlling others' fates, deeply felt this was a humiliation, the greatest possible offense against him.
"Haaah, after all that fuss, that kid Jiang Chen still walked out alive. I'll have to give an explanation to the Qianlan Northern Palace later."
Harboring this disgruntled mood, Lü Wuji headed home. Just before reaching his gate, he felt he should speak to his uncle about this. He promptly changed course and headed towards the residence of
"What? Lü Wuji requests an audience?" Yang Zhao, already under pressure from all sides and in a state of frazzled exasperation, heard of the request, hurled his teacup to the ground with a crash, and launched into a torrent of abuse: "This beast! Does he have a pig's brain? At a time like this, he still dares to come see me?"
He cursed, but blood was blood. Yang Zhao had been cared for by his sister since childhood. Lü Wuji was his sister's only son, and Yang Zhao treated him no differently from his own.
"Uncle! For the sake of my late mother, you must stand up for your nephew this time!" Lü Wuji knew his uncle Yang Zhao's ways very well. He knew that if he simply cried, even the hardest-hearted uncle would soften.
He had used this tactic several times at critical junctures over the years, and it had always worked.
Sure enough, Yang Zhao, who was seething with anger, saw Lü Wuji's pitiful state, and all his fury dissipated in an instant. Seeing his nephew's features, he faintly recalled his sister from years past.
"Aih, Wuji. This time, you really shouldn't have come back."
"Why?" Lü Wuji was stunned. He hadn't expected his typically forceful uncle to speak so dejectedly today.
"Your dereliction of duty in handling the case... even if they only charge you with negligence, you should have stayed at the Dragon Tooth Guard headquarters, awaiting the superiors' investigation. Instead, you swaggered right back here. What do you think the outside world will think of that? You are my nephew. Does that mean you can evade punishment when you commit a fault?"
Lü Wuji was no fool. With Yang Zhao's explanation, he immediately understood.
Even if the charge of negligence wasn't a major issue, the formalities still had to be observed. His grand return home was undoubtedly sending a signal to the outside world—that he was Yang Zhao's nephew, and even if he made a mistake, he wouldn't be punished.
This kind of signal was undoubtedly very disadvantageous.
"That old bastard Zhou Gui! I was wondering why he was suddenly so accommodating, letting us go! So he was setting me up!"
Lü Wuji finally showed some sense and came to a sudden realization.
Yang Zhao looked at him, feeling both pity and anger: "You haven't been completely stupid, at least."
"What do we do now?" Lü Wuji, realizing he'd been played by Zhou Gui, felt very displeased.
"Well, there's nothing for it. You and I, uncle and nephew, will have to put on a show. A tear-jerker." Yang Zhao threw down a length of rope and two thorny branches. "Strip off your outer clothes and tie yourself up. I will personally escort you to the Grand Steward. The Grand Steward is a sentimental man. Hopefully, my doing this will quell his anger."