Chapter 810: The Domineering Peafowl Guard
Captain Kong was calm and collected. He’d long since expected the Majestic Clan to resort to quibbling.
“Everyone, we of the Peafowl Guard only ever take action when we have concrete evidence and have never acted blindly. Our capture of the w.a.n.g father and son is indicative of the fact that we have concrete evidence against them.” Captain Kong continued indifferently, “We have studied this pill for several years now, and the exact recipe is still undergoing trial and revisions. Even the pill kings of our Sacred Peafowl Mountain haven’t been able to ascertain whether these pills have any side-effects or not. That was why we hadn’t brought them out for the benefit of the public. We’d never expected these thugs to steal our formula and refine the Longevity Pill with unproven methods just to rake in money! These are the actions of a madman!”
What?!
The Longevity Pill hasn’t been tested? It’s even unknown whether there are side effects? Everyone was starting to be convinced by Captain Kong’s words. How could he have made it all up? The Majestic clan lord laughed coldly, “Captain Kong, please stop this malicious slander. It’s useless to frame me with such a method.”
Captain Kong simply ignored him and continued, “Furthermore, despite its difficult refining process, we can tell everyone with absolute certainty that the market price, when commercially available, will be at most two million saint spirit stones. It most definitely won’t be priced at ten million saint spirit stones!”
At this news, the whole audience began to hiss and boo.
“Two million?! Good heavens, this Majestic Clan was actually selling it for ten million. This is daylight robbery!”
“They shamelessly stole the pill recipe and not only do they not reduce the price, but they raised it by five times! This is shamelessness at its finest!”
“And they were using an untested pill recipe! Are they trying to play around with everyone’s lives?!”
“Such a lack of conscience! This kind of family isn’t worthy of leading a clan. Behead them as soon as possible! Kill! Execute their whole house!” These people had long since been dissatisfied with the Majestic Clan. How could they not take this chance to chime in? There were also many from the Coiling Dragon Clan and House Wei mixed within the crowd. These people naturally stood out to add oil to the flames.
The Majestic clan lord smirked coldly. How could he not know what was going on when things had reached such a stage? The Peafowl Guard was here to frame him. But after some thought, the Majestic clan lord concluded that it was impossible for these accusations to hold water. Such blatant boasting! Does your Sacred Peafowl Mountain even have this pill recipe? That was the minimum required if Peafowl Guard wanted to suppress him. How otherwise would they stop the ma.s.ses from criticizing them? “Captain Kong, you’ve made up so many things just to set us up. How do you justify all of this?” The Majestic Clan asked with a sneer.
“Indeed. You claim to own this pill recipe but where is the proof?”
“Your babbling is worthless without any proof. The Sacred Peafowl Mountain can’t just expect something to be theirs just because they say so!” That captain of the Shura Guard began to jeer.
Captain Kong laughed, “I’d already expected such a last-ditch struggle. I’ll have you fully convinced and at the same time let everyone here know that our Peafowl Guard always upholds justice. We never wrong the innocent!”
With that, the captain pointed at the two pill kings by his side, “These two are the senior pill kings of our Sacred Peafowl Mountain. They spent meticulous effort to derive the Longevity Pill recipe from ancient records and serve as the most substantial evidence of our owners.h.i.+p.”
The Majestic clan lord laughed loudly, “You bring two random pill kings here and call it proof?!”
One of the two pill kings spoke with a grim voice, “Then what of the Majestic Clan? You lot fail to repent even at your last hour. The Longevity Pill Recipe is our lives’ work. Why can’t we testify?”
The Majestic clan lord laughed coldly, “Then let’s see you bring out a Longevity Pill, since you claim to be the owners of the pill recipe.”
The pill king nodded calmly, “I knew you would make such a demand. Everyone, please observe.”
With that, the pill king extended his hand to reveal an upper rank Longevity Pill. “Everyone, this is an upper rank Longevity Pill. The comparative difference is obvious—the Majestic Clan’s pills were refined with a stolen recipe—their products are absolutely incomparable to ours. This is proof!”
The appearance of a Longevity Pill shocked the entire audience. Many people bold enough stepped forth to examine the pill couldn’t help and sigh with admiration.
“This is indeed a Longevity Pill similar to that of the Majestic Clan, but the quality is much higher.”
This pill was the one Jiang Chen had given young master Ji San, which served as irrefutable evidence under present circ.u.mstances. The Majestic Clan was momentarily dumbfounded. They couldn’t accept the scene playing out before them. How had the Peafowl Guard gotten their hands on a higher quality Longevity Pill? Could it be that the Eternal Celestial Capital had given the recipe to the Sacred Peafowl Mountain in secret? That was highly unlikely. The Eternal Celestial Capital’s channels and influence could never reach the Sacred Peafowl Mountain. But what was with this pill?
The Majestic clan lord was at a loss about what to do. He vaguely sensed something was off about this incident, but couldn’t put his finger on it even after racking his brains. A feeling of extreme foreboding welled up in his heart. At first, he had thought that the Peafowl Guard was here to intentionally cause trouble for them without any justifiable reason, just a simple setback to account for what the Shura Guard had done to the House Wei father and son. But things didn’t seem that simple now! It appeared that the Peafowl Guard had come well prepared. The Majestic clan lord’s rock-steady mindset wavered ever so slightly as a sliver of dread invaded his heart.
However, he was very clear that he would suffer dearly if he failed to offer an explanation and allowed himself to be captured. He hurriedly retorted, “It"s no surprise that you have a single Longevity Pill. Perhaps you bought it from us via certain channels.”
Captain Kong laughed loudly, “Are you kidding? It"s not as if your Majestic Clan is doing business for the first time. There’s no way you’d sell a Longevity Pill to me in secret before your shop opens. Furthermore, can your Majestic Clan even refine such a high rank Longevity Pill? Bring out a pill of the same rank for us to see!”
These words left the Majestic clan lord speechless.
“Everyone, I’m sure you’ve all witnessed the superior quality of our Longevity Pill and are clear regarding its implication. Everyone should already have a clear idea regarding whose Longevity Pill is the original,” Captain Kong spoke loudly.
The audience was immediately swayed by the captain’s words. After all, the Peafowl Guard’s public reputation was at stake. Moreover, their Longevity Pill was definitely of a higher quality. If the pill really was the Majestic Clan’s creation, why couldn’t they bring out one of the same quality? This went against all logic. And as such, the shouts and curses rose up continuously.
“Majestic Clan, how long are you going to keep deceiving the public?!”
“Still not admitting to the theft? Are you still trying to worm your way out? Liars!”
“Everyone has seen the truth with their own eyes. The w.a.n.g Family stole the pill recipe and refined unproven pills to sell at exorbitant prices. I was wondering why they didn’t test the pill on the aristocratic disciples but chose two lone cultivators instead. So it was because they feared side-effects!”
“Ah, it does feel odd now that you mention it. This Majestic Clan is too shameless! Are lone cultivators not humans?!”
“Down with the Majestic Clan! Down with immoral merchants!”
“Indeed! Overthrow them! These beasts who consider lone cultivators as test subjects are definitely bad people!” The fury of the lone cultivators was ignited as they began to curse and jeer. They were seconds away from rus.h.i.+ng up to tear the w.a.n.g father and son to pieces.
Captain Kong raised his hand, “Everyone, I can understand your anger. But the Majestic Clan’s theft of our Sacred Peafowl Mountain’s recipe has infuriated our higher-ups. Rest a.s.sured that they will be punished to the fullest extent of the law!”
The Majestic clan lord was now frantic. Judging by the other party’s tone of voice, they’d likely already decided upon the verdict. There’d be no return for him if he allowed himself to be taken away. He struggled and shouted loudly, “Everyone, don’t fall for their tricks! The pill was indeed not refined by our Majestic Clan, but it certainly wasn’t stolen from their Sacred Peafowl Mountain. Our Longevity Pills were provided by the Eternal Celestial Capital!” The anxious Majestic clan lord could no longer care about other considerations and revealed the truth in his panic.
Captain Kong laughed after hearing this, “Majestic clan lord, your shamelessness knows no bounds! You stole our recipe and cooperated with external forces but refuse to admit to the theft. This is living off the house yet secretly helping outsiders. This is a serious crime!”
The captain had long since rehea.r.s.ed his words in response to the possible scenarios. The Majestic Clan’s resistance and arguments were all well within his expectations. He was prepared to respond accordingly, no matter how the Majestic Clan tried to deny their crime. These words merely added fuel to the flames.
Previously, the Majestic Clan had only been accused of theft and dishonest business, but now they’d added external collusion to the list. This was much more serious, particularly of the final crime. External collusion was punishable by death. The Majestic clan lord roared furiously, “Captain Kong, this is blatant slander! Our Majestic Clan has always been devoted and loyal. How could we collude with external forces?”
“Then was it me who mentioned ‘Eternal Celestial Capital’?” Captain Kong chuckled sarcastically.
“It"s a simple business relations.h.i.+p. How does that amount to collusion?” The Majestic clan lord argued back resolutely. But to the others, it appeared as if he was trying to weasel his way out.
Captain Kong laughed disdainfully, “Stealing pill recipes and handing it to external forces—which part of that is simple business? This is leaking internal secrets! Such crime deserves exterminating nine generations of the family!”
The rapid escalation caused the Majestic clan lord’s back to be drenched in sweat. He knew he’d fallen into a disadvantageous position. Even jumping into the river wouldn’t be able to wash away these crimes. w.a.n.g Teng cried loudly, “Slander! Fabrications! The Peafowl Guard is concocting false accusations to frame us. Everyone, you’re all forthright people. Can’t you see what they’re trying to do?”