That disciple stepping in to preserve the lives of Han Bai and the others was the best he could do as a disciple. If he had been sothing more, perhaps a chief disciple of their founder or an elder, the Scarlet Blaze Saber Sect might have treated the Ye clan as the tail and severed it completely. But as a regular disciple, there was only so much he could do within the bounds of that identity. As benevolent as the dical Saint Garden was, would they go to war against a rank-one sect for the sake of a friend of one of their disciples? Allowing their disciple to use their na to protect that friend’s friends was generous; most organizations would not allow that, unless they were like the Order, whose purpose was to antagonize others at every opportunity.
Han Bai and the others were grateful, but not Fan Jie. He blad anyone he could for Chen Wunlai’s death, with much of his ire directed at the organizations that had targeted them, the Ye clan topping that list. But even the dical Saint Garden was not spared bla, as he felt they were of the sa ilk, treating the lives of lesser individuals with no backing as expendable items in deals and exchanges of favors with other organizations.
He hated any and all organizations, from sects to clans. But as he had shown earlier, he was adaptable despite his prejudice. He would not hesitate to make deals with them if it ant strengthening himself or the position of the Vast Blue rchant Company.
But as pragmatic as he was, would soone carrying so much hatred and grudge truly allow soone like Li Gang to take over the Vast Blue rchant Company? Li Gang represented everything he hated: a scion of a prominent clan belonging to an even more prominent organization, just like the Ye clan had the Scarlet Blaze Saber Sect’s support. In this case, Li Gang had his Li Clan, which in turn had the Yue State to lean on.
Yang Qing found it amazing that Fan Jie allowed Li Gang to be a branch manager. Given his connections with the Yue State and the market it provided, Yang Qing could understand why Fan Jie would relent on that point, but he did not believe the man would relent beyond that.
There was no way Fan Jie would agree to hand him the reins of the entire Vast Blue rchant Company, and the reports hinted that his aversion was even more serious than that.
Of the remaining four founders, Fan Jie had the highest cultivation base at the eleventh stage of the Palace Realm. Han Bai and Lai Bingwen (the other founder) ca second, both at the ninth stage, while ng Song ca in last with a seventh-stage palace realm cultivation base. The fact that she was considered the weakest was a testant to the quality of what they found in the ruins of Dawn Pill Array Pavilion and also Chen Wunlai’s efforts.
Fan Jie clearly had the highest talent of them all, and the reports suggested he had the potential to attempt the Domain Realm, if not for the heavy injuries that damaged his foundation and vitality, giving him yet another reason to hate cultivation factions, establishnts, and lineages.
The report also described him as a cold viper. On top of being the most talented of the four, he was also the most ruthless. Those he could destroy, he destroyed with extre violence; those he couldn’t, he endured. He was a figure described as a master of controlled violence, which made him an extrely dangerous individual.
But what if sothing happened that made him forego that control and indulge the violence within? Sothing like, let’s say, being close to death, and seeing the organization he bled for, and for which his sworn brother had died, slated to be inherited by soone from a background he had spent most of his life hating? What would he do then, with his life almost over and with nothing left to lose?
Parents, siblings, masters, disciples, dao partners, fellow martial siblings, and sect or clan mbers had murdered each other for less.
There was a chance Fan Jie, with his end approaching, would snap and decide to burn it all down, letting violence take over. It would not be strange for Han Bai and ng Song to get swept up in it, along with Li Gang. The veiled nervousness ng Song showed when he appeared indicated that part of her feared him, and the sa was true for Han Bai. They would not be that way if there was not sothing worth fearing or worrying about in Fan Jie.
Having judged his fair share of cases, it would not surprise Yang Qing if news later erged that Fan Jie had killed them both. He definitely had the strength to do it, and along with it, the determined violence to go through with it.
As for Li Gang, it went without saying that, as the catalyst, he would be the first to go, even if his death ant incurring the fury of the Yue State. Fan Jie might even welco it, reasoning that if he was already dying and his companions were joining him, it was better to burn the whole house down than let looters profit. After all, the Ye clan was still around, lurking.
Who knew what they might do once Fan Jie and the others were gone, especially if Chen Wunlai’s friend from the dical Saint Garden was no longer around, or decided that he had done enough to honor Chen Wunlai by protecting his friends, with that protection ending with them, and not the company itself.
The future was uncertain, and an extremist like Fan Jie might decide that destroying everything with his own hands was a far better alternative than relying on uncertainties, especially if those uncertainties risked everything ending up in the Ye Clan’s hands or the hands of any other organization he deeply loathed.
Yang Qing sighed, debating whether to advise Li Gang to leave, though he didn’t know if the Li Clan scion would agree. After all, he had given and endured so much to reach where he was today. Not to ntion that Han Bai was his master. He might choose to stay in consideration of him.
"Where lies your fate?" he wondered out loud.
"Hopefully he listens," Yang Qing muttered, taking another sip of his wine. Or his master. Maybe ng Song can help, he thought, deciding internally to bring the matter up when they ca for the wine he had promised.
Seems I’ve beco a ddler of late, he thought, smiling wryly as he shook his head.
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