Most of them were the patriarchs or heirs of various families, and their Qiankun bags contained at least half of their family's savings.
Therefore, taking these out made them extremely pained, but they were helpless and could only cooperate obediently.
After a short while, Lan Yue finished everything and returned to Po Xiao's side.
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian swept his gaze over the crowd and said indifferently, "Now, line up and follow this seat back to the Dark Association."
With that, Ye Cangtian led the way out of the room.
Seeing this, the crowd gritted their teeth. With their spiritual energy sealed, they could only obey the opponent's arrangements and followed him.
They had just walked out of the Gathering Pavilion.
Ye Cangtian's expression suddenly turned grim. Dozens of figures had appeared in his sight, all wearing unified armor. They were all guards of the Dark Association.
Among them, the two at the entrance of the Gathering Pavilion were Gu Hai and Zi Long.
"Yo, Lord Po Xiao, you've worked hard."
"I heard there was a riot here, so I brought people to investigate. I didn't expect Lord Po Xiao to achieve new merits again. Congratulations!"
Upon seeing Po Xiao, Gu Hai laughed heartily and quickly stepped forward to flatter him.
He had known about the commotion upstairs for a long time but had never made a move.
After all, Po Xiao's strength was above his, and forcibly snatching credit was obviously unrealistic.
Therefore, he had blocked all the roads around the Gathering Pavilion and waited here for Po Xiao to come out.
"Heh, thank you then."
Ye Cangtian replied with a smile that didn't reach his eyes and then ignored them.
He didn't know why the other party appeared here, but their words did not imply any intention to steal credit, so he didn't need to pay attention.
Watching Po Xiao turn and leave, a hint of cunning flashed in Gu Hai's eyes. He immediately berated the subordinates beside him.
"How are you guards doing your jobs? Are you letting Lord Po Xiao personally escort these people back?"
"Hurry up and go help!"
As Gu Hai's voice fell, the surrounding guards immediately stepped forward without a word.
Ye Cangtian frowned slightly but ultimately said nothing more.
The Bright Hall was still lurking in the shadows, watching them from God knows where!
Therefore, even though he was displeased with Gu Hai's actions, he endured it.
If the Bright Hall discovered discord between him and Gu Hai, they would surely make a big fuss, which would be even more troublesome.
However, on the way back, Ye Cangtian immediately noticed something was wrong.
The streets around the Gathering Pavilion were completely sealed off by the Dark Association, and even the shops were empty.
But as they left the streets around the Gathering Pavilion, countless people on both sides of the street were watching their every move.
The stark contrast between the front and back made Ye Cangtian filled with doubt.
Soon, he understood.
This arrangement was precisely Gu Hai's method of stealing credit!
It was very simple. The people here only saw the guards of the Dark Association escorting the people from various families back to the Dark Association.
They did not see who escorted these people out of the Gathering Pavilion.
If even these people didn't know who was responsible, let alone Kong Ling who was a thousand miles away!
Perhaps Kong Ling would indeed give the credit to Gu Hai based on his one-sided account.
Thinking of this, Ye Cangtian's face turned gloomy.
Although he didn't care about the credit or rewards, he would never tolerate Gu Hai's blatant theft!
On the other side, Gu Hai and Zi Long, who were following behind the guards of the Dark Association, had smiles on their faces.
Just as Ye Cangtian thought, they intended to steal the credit.
Let alone that Po Xiao hadn't discovered it yet, even if he had, it would be too late! This credit was already in their hands.
All that was left was to wait for the reward, and to look forward to Po Xiao's angry reaction when he found out.
Just thinking about it made the two of them excited.
...
Upon returning to the Dark Association, Ye Cangtian did not return to his room. Instead, he turned around and went to the Chu family.
He wanted to meet Chu Changying.
Now that he had apprehended Chu Yuanji, he presumed that the Chu family patriarch would no longer be in charge. To prevent him from doing anything, Ye Cangtian decided to deal with it immediately.
As for other families, although similar situations existed, they were not a threat, so Ye Cangtian was not worried.
Chu Family.
When Ye Cangtian arrived at the Chu family again, just like last time, he was led to the reception hall.
After a short while, a wizened old man with dry skin, leaning on a cane, slowly walked in.
"I apologize, Lord Po Xiao. This old man is old, and my legs are not as nimble as they used to be. Therefore, I am a little late. Please forgive me!"
Only after sitting in the main seat did Chu Changying look at Ye Cangtian, cupped his hands, and said.
"A small matter, it's fine."
Ye Cangtian replied politely, his expression instantly turned serious, and he said, "Old Master Chu, you are already of a great age and should be enjoying your twilight years. Why are you playing with fire?"
"This..."
With just one sentence, Chu Changying's expression changed drastically.
This was clearly a warning.
His eyes darted around, and he couldn't discern whether the other party truly knew something or was trying to trick him.
After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "Lord Po Xiao, this old man doesn't understand what you're saying!"
"Heh heh, do you really not understand?"
"Why do I feel like you're pretending to be ignorant?"
With a playful smile, Ye Cangtian slowly said, "Alright, let me put it more clearly. Why did the Chu family pledge allegiance to the Bright Hall?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Changying's heart trembled.
However, he was the patriarch of the Chu family and had experienced countless storms. On the surface, he remained calm.
He quickly said, "Lord Po Xiao, such things cannot be spoken of carelessly. If they fall into the ears of someone with ulterior motives, the Chu family might face utter destruction!"
"Alas! You are already so old, why can't you just confess honestly?"
"Must you refuse to shed tears until you see the coffin?"
"Fine, I'll ask you then. Today, at the Gathering Pavilion, Chu Yuanji and Kong Yi organized most of the families in the city and persuaded them to join the Bright Hall. Are you aware of this?"
Seeing that the other party was not cooperating, Ye Cangtian stopped beating around the bush and directly mentioned the incident at the Gathering Pavilion.
He wanted to see what else the other party could deny!
"This..."
With this sentence, Chu Changying's eyes widened, and then cold sweat broke out on his forehead, trickling down.
Now that the other party had mentioned this, it was clear that the matter had been exposed, and Chu Yuanji had not yet returned. He might have fallen into the hands of the Dark Association.
Thinking of this, Chu Changying sighed in his heart.
No wonder! No wonder the other party would come to visit again! So something had happened at the Gathering Pavilion!
Alas! I hope Yuanji will put the Chu family first!
With this thought, Chu Changying looked at Ye Cangtian and slowly said, "Lord Po Xiao, this old man has not been involved in worldly affairs for a long time. Whether it is the Chu family or the outside world, whatever has happened, this old man truly does not know."
He now only hoped that Chu Yuanji would not expose him, because as long as he was alive, the Chu family could continue to exist.
After a pause, Chu Changying continued, "And what you said about my fourth son doing these things, this old man is also completely unaware. However, this old man wants to say that my fourth son is not that kind of child. Did you make a mistake?"
"Made a mistake?"
Ye Cangtian smiled playfully, then took out the document signed by everyone from his Qiankun bag and unfolded it in front of the other party.
Seeing Chu Yuanji's name as the first signature, Chu Changying felt a lump in his throat and roared in his heart.
This foolish fourth son!
It was a good idea to get these family members to sign, as it served as a handle to prevent them from betraying later.
But why did he sign his own name too?
This was like lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot!
Thinking this, he looked at Ye Cangtian and said, "Sir, it is my fault for not disciplining him properly. This old man is willing to offer half of his family fortune, hoping to bail out my fourth son. Sir, please rest assured, as soon as my fourth son returns, this old man will discipline him properly..."