Return of the Immortal Emperor Daddy-Chapter 250 - 251: Toast Not Taken Invites Penalty Drink (4/5)

"What did you say?" Murong Ziqi’s face changed dramatically. He never expected this plan to fail, let alone that Wu Tian wouldn’t give him the slightest bit of face.

The room fell into a dead silence. Murong Guangfu and the others were at a loss. In their minds, Wu Tian was certain to agree. What would they do if he refused? They had never considered that possibility.

After a long moment, Murong Guangfu finally regained his composure and said angrily, "No matter what, Ziqi is your cousin. Is this the proper attitude to have toward your cousin?" He then turned to Murong Yezi. "Little sister, take a good look. This is your son—arrogant, conceited, and utterly disrespectful. It’s a good thing we’re family. If we were outsiders and he spoke like that, wouldn’t we have beaten him up by now?"

Murong Yezi was displeased, but not with Wu Tian. She was upset because Murong Guangfu and the others were speaking ill of her son. In her eyes, even if her son was at fault, only she had the right to criticize him. Besides, she knew her son wasn’t an arrogant or disrespectful person. Wu Tian must have had his reasons for acting this way.

Seeing that his mother didn’t blame him, Wu Tian knew she trusted him. He certainly wouldn’t let her down.

"Family? Outsiders? Heh." Wu Tian scoffed disdainfully.

This display of scorn made all the Murong disciples, except for Murong Dawei and Murong Zhongzheng, gnash their teeth in fury.

Wu Tian continued, "I’d actually prefer it if we were strangers. That way, you wouldn’t be scheming against me. You Murong Family members have been sick in the head for years, yet you refuse to get it checked, instead passing the sickness from one generation to the next. You think you’re brilliant strategists, but you just treat everyone else like a fool. You want your Murong disciples to join the corporation, starting from the bottom? Heh. You just want to use that as a pretense to gain our trust so you can gradually devour the corporation from within, right?"

Wu Tian gave the Murong Family no face, laying their entire scheme bare.

Murong Zhongzheng’s face turned ashen. He never imagined his son and grandson had been thinking this way, and they hadn’t told him a thing. They had only asked him, as the grandfather, to intercede and get the Murong descendants jobs at the lowest levels of the Qin Corporation. He couldn’t believe this father-son duo had hidden such a plan from him. Murong Yezi was also furious. What kind of brother and nephew were these? They were nothing but a pair of ungrateful wretches.

"No, how could we possibly do such a thing?" Murong Guangfu said hastily.

"You have a major flaw," Wu Tian said, looking at his nominal uncle Murong Guangfu with disdain. "You’re a lot like Liu Bei—desperately ambitious but obsessed with saving face. You’re the classic case of a prostitute demanding an Archway of Chastity. If a person like you could restore a nation and become Emperor, then even dogs would become the king of beasts, roaring in the mountains and forests."

"You... you... you..." Hearing Wu Tian say he could never become Emperor, Murong Guangfu was so enraged that his body trembled before he violently coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Becoming Emperor was the dream Murong Guangfu cherished above all else. No one had ever told him he was unworthy. Hearing it now, so unexpectedly, sent a surge of blood rushing to his head.

Murong Ziqi quickly steadied Murong Guangfu, gritting his teeth. He knew Wu Tian was proud, but he’d never imagined his insolence ran this deep. He couldn’t tolerate the slightest offense; anyone who crossed him would face retaliation—an eye for an eye, blood for blood. Not even his own relatives were exempt. Murong Ziqi had once hoped to bring Wu Tian to his side, to make him his right-hand man, a figure akin to a Strategist. But now, he realized he had been sorely mistaken.

Pride is etched into his very bones. How could such a man ever be content to serve another?

His intentions had been exposed, but Murong Ziqi would never admit to them.

"You’ve misunderstood, Cousin Wu Tian," Murong Ziqi said at last, his face a mask of pain. "You and your wife’s Qin Corporation is now number one in Yang City and among the top ten enterprises in the Land of the South. Your herbal company is flourishing, growing more successful by the day. Such prominent corporations are bound to attract the covetous eyes of wicked people.

"My hope in having the Murong disciples join your corporation was twofold. First, to let them learn to be self-reliant. Second, so that if any trouble arose within the company, my family members, all skilled in martial arts, could help you resolve it.

"But you... you fail to understand my good intentions." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Sighing, Murong Ziqi gave a dismissive flick of his sleeve and turned to leave Wu Tian’s house. The rest of the Murong Family, too ashamed to remain, followed him out.

「On the way.」

Murong Zhongzheng spoke up again. "Guangfu, Ziqi, listen to this old man for once. If you get greedy again, if you continue to underestimate Wu Tian, I fear our Murong Family will face a disaster from which we cannot recover."

"He’s right," Murong Dawei nodded. He enjoyed seeing Murong Ziqi get taken down a notch, but he wasn’t willing to risk the entire Murong Family in the process. He still wanted to become the Family Head. Besides, if the Murong Family was destroyed, wouldn’t he be destroyed along with it? Murong Dawei certainly didn’t want Murong Ziqi to continue down this self-destructive path.

"Enough. I have my own plans," Murong Ziqi said, completely deaf to the words of Murong Zhongzheng and Murong Dawei. He, too, possessed a fierce pride.

Grandfather, you achieved nothing in your entire life. You want me to listen to you? And end up just as useless? As for you, Dawei, you’re a fool. You’re inferior to me in every way, from academics to martial arts. Why should I listen to someone so much lesser than me?

Murong Ziqi walked on in silence as killing intent gradually swelled in his heart.

Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit... Heh. If the soft approach doesn’t work, I’ll have to use force. Wu Tian, oh, Wu Tian... don’t blame your cousin for being ruthless.

Murong Zhongzheng, Murong Guangfu, and the others remained completely oblivious to the murderous thoughts in Murong Ziqi’s mind.

Murong Zhongzheng said, "Tomorrow is Yezi’s birthday. We must hold a grand banquet for her to atone for our actions."

Murong Guangfu nodded and smiled. "I’ll invite some friends over. They’re all prominent figures. We’ll let little sister see the network our Murong Family has built over the years. We’ll also let Wu Tian know that when it comes to connections, he is no match for his uncle. He has no right to criticize me."

「At Wu Tian’s house.」

After some thought, Wu Tian sought out Murong Yezi.

"What is it?" Murong Yezi asked. She knew that when her son actively sought her out, something was on his mind. This was true in any family. When a grown son sought out his mother, it was rarely for a casual chat; it almost always meant something serious was on his mind.

"Mom, I want to teach you the Martial Path," Wu Tian said earnestly.

"The Martial Path?" Hearing this, Murong Yezi sighed. "It’s no use. My aptitude is poor. I’ve practiced martial skills since I was a child, but I was never any good at them."

"No," Wu Tian said suddenly. "I’m talking about the Martial Path, not martial skills."

In Wu Tian’s view, the Martial Path and martial skills were two completely different things. Murong Yezi’s lack of talent in martial skills didn’t mean she would be incapable of walking the Martial Path.