Chapter 552: 552 is going overboard with extortion!
Though he really didn’t want anything bad to happen to Fourth Miss Zhao, at this point, he had no choice but to calm down, face reality, and prepare for the worst.
Seeing Zhao Sinin bending over to speak, Pang Dezong knew he was about to report something confidential. He did not ask Mu Hanyan to leave but casually waved his hand, and a soundproof barrier was set up around them.
Unlike Ye Yanran when setting up barriers, Pang Dezong did not chant spells or perform hand formations; he must be relying on an alchemy artifact as well.
With Mu Hanyan’s current strength, she could not break through his soundproof barrier, so she couldn’t hear what Zhao Sinin was saying. However, from his expression, she could guess a thing or two.
"Mu Hanyan, you are so bold! As a member of a family and, moreover, a son of the City Lord, you dare act so recklessly!" After listening to Zhao Sinin’s words, Pang Dezong was invigorated.
Mu Hanyan thought she had him at her mercy, daring to posture and make outrageous demands in his presence. But now, he had grasped Mu Hanyan’s Achilles’ heel. He was not planning to provide anything he had promised earlier, not to speak of multiple alchemy artifacts.
"Senior Pang, I don’t understand what you are talking about. If you are just going to take Zhao Sinin’s words against me and try to slander me, the Mu Family is not so easily bullied," Mu Hanyan scoffed and walked straight out.
After all, Exotic Beast Valley was so vast, even if Pang Dezong believed Zhao Sinin’s words, finding the body of Fourth Miss Zhao would be no easy task, and what could be done even if it were found? Could a dead person leap forward to proclaim their innocence?
Pang Dezong’s expression faltered. Everything Zhao Sinin said was conjecture. If it were any other family member, this conjecture could have been enough to manipulate them, but Mu Hanyan was different. The Mu Family in the capital was one of the oldest and strongest families of Anyun Country. Even Zhengying Academy wouldn’t dare act against a descendant of the Mu Family based solely on conjecture.
After all, it concerned the reputation of the Mu Family. Even though Mu Hanyan and his father had been exiled from the capital, the Mu Family would not ignore such matters.
With this thought, the momentum Pang Dezong had mustered faded away, and he was troubled once again.
"Wait, wait, wait, I was just speaking off the cuff, just casually speaking," Pang Dezong quickly caught up with Mu Hanyan, pleading with a forced smile.
The very idea that such a dignitary—a Holy Sword Master and the Imperial Chief Alchemist, acting Dean of Zhengying Academy—was being humbled before a teenager was even shameful to Pang Dezong himself.
"So, about the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill and the Seven-Transformation Refining Qi Pill, and the alchemy artifacts you mentioned earlier, Senior Pang, you weren’t just speaking off the cuff about those too, were you?" Mu Hanyan asked, looking at Pang Dezong with an innocent expression.
Did I mention alchemy artifacts? Did I mention them, mention them, mention them? Weren’t those all your words, not mine? Pang Dezong’s smile was twisted, feeling a flurry of discomfort inside him, causing his stomach to ache—ah, not just his stomach, but now his teeth were starting to hurt as well.
"It truly was just casual talk," Mu Hanyan said, seeing Pang Dezong’s distorted face remain silent and then made a move to walk out.
"Wait, let’s talk this over. Alchemy artifacts? I happen to have a top divine artifact in hand, called Cangxuan Cloud Silk, personally refined by my late master, which can provide Absolute Defense once. If you want, I can give it to you," Pang Dezong said, as if he had made a great resolution.
Absolute defense! Mu Hanyan’s heart gave a fierce beat.