Xiang Mantang had also heard the commotion by now and turned his head, seeing Mu Jinyu's return, a wry smile appeared on his face as he teased, "Back again? Did you come because you heard someone was in trouble and wanted to fight for justice?"
Mu Jinyu was left speechless by his snide comment and could only reply, "That was my intention, after all, I'm just the type of person whose heart easily overflows with compassion. When I see stray cats and dogs with no home by the roadside, even though I know I won't keep them, I still buy them some food, sigh..."
With a low sigh, Mu Jinyu changed his tone and said, "Aren't you the same, Ah-Xiang? You love to stand up for the weak as well, don't you? Joining Dragon King Hall, you should also be doing good deeds often, right? Right now, that Beidou Tian Quan is blinded by his own desires, oppressing innocent women, whether it's for the public good or personal reasons, you should roar out against injustice when you see it!"
The public reason, naturally, is not allowing such things to happen, and the personal reason, of course, is that Xiang Mantang was also preparing to compete for the position of Tiance True Dragon, and naturally couldn't let Shen Cangsheng succeed.
"Hehe..." Xiang Mantang couldn't help but chuckle lightly when he heard Mu Jinyu's words, then sighed, "Alas, had the Saintess been unwilling to marry Beidou Tian Quan, I would have certainly helped her escape from suffering, but who would have thought her own son, whom she lost to kidnappers, doesn't take care of her anymore, and she is looking out for her later years, this is a good outcome for her. For this reason, I would gladly give up the position of Tiance True Dragon!"
"Bullshit!"
Mu Jinyu cursed angrily.
Then feeling his reaction might have been a bit too excessive, he tried to calm down, and continued in a more subdued tone, "What you said is wrong, no matter what, the Saintess is being coerced by Beidou Tian Quan, this is oppression! This is a malfeasance! Have you forgotten everything your master taught you? How can you let your conscience sink for the sake of power and influence, or are you, perhaps, afraid of that Beidou Tian Quan?!"
Mu Jinyu was full of disappointment, trying to save his wayward junior brother as though he lamented iron not becoming steel.
Hearing this, Xiang Mantang also appropriately showed a hint of guilt, then shook his head, "Brother, you are right to scold me, but although I know your scolding is meant to awaken my submerged conscience and integrity, your provocation is hardly enough to make me neglect the bigger picture!"
"The 'bigger picture' my ass!" Mu Jinyu, seeing that Xiang Mantang was obstinately unrepentant, cursed and didn't bother to persuade him any further.
He rolled his eyes and said, "Forget it, if you're happy being a hound, then I don't have you as a junior brother. Now, you can tell me when is their engagement taking place?"
Xiang Mantang lazily responded, "Since you no longer consider me your junior brother, why should I tell you?"
Mu Jinyu felt veins pulsate near his temples with anger upon hearing Xiang Mantang's words, utterly infuriated!
"Wow, this is outrageous!" Mu Jinyu cursed loudly, looking around the conference room for a handy weapon, and said, "Our sect is in misfortune, in misfortune indeed! Today, I shall help cleanse the sect on behalf of our master!"
Xiang Mantang didn't dare provoke Mu Jinyu too much and with a few chuckles, said, "Alright, alright, I'll tell you, I'll tell you. It's seven days from now, at..."
Following that, Xiang Mantang informed Mu Jinyu of the exact location.
After hearing the details, Mu Jinyu snorted coldly and, without further ado, walked straight out of the conference room.
Xiang Mantang was originally planning to follow him out and return to the banquet to continue eating and drinking, but his phone rang. After answering, his expression changed slightly, he said "yes," then quickly walked towards the exit of the hotel while sending Mu Jinyu a text message saying he had to leave first due to urgent matters.
Mu Jinyu, seeing the message, didn't take it seriously, thinking that Xiang Mantang was afraid of being dealt with by him, hence the hasty escape.
"Hmph, so ungrateful, now I'll have to make the trip myself!"
Mu Jinyu put away his phone, and with a snort of discontent, still held resentment that Xiang Mantang wouldn't heed his advice and actively help save Su Zijin from her plight, making him, the senior brother, exhaust himself running around.
However, having made up his mind that he couldn't let the common people suffer, and with the trip to Capital City in seven days, Mu Jinyu was no longer as conflicted as before.
Upon returning to the grand banquet hall, Mu Jinyu sat down and noticed that several dishes had been served, but that nobody had touched them, presumably waiting for his return, so he waved his hand and beckoned, "Go ahead and eat, everyone, eat, no need to wait for me."
Gu Xiyan could not stand his arrogant demeanor, snorted, and said, "Who's waiting for you? We just don't like these dishes, that's all."
Having said that, just as another dish arrived, she began to pick up her chopsticks to serve herself.
The others also took the opportunity to reach for the dishes.
Mu Jinyu let out a light chuckle and said nothing more.
After eating for a while, Gu Xiyan glanced at the empty seat beside Mu Jinyu and curiously asked, "Jinyu, where's your junior apprentice?"
Mu Jinyu replied, "Never mind him, as long as he's not dead."
"Uh..." Hearing this response, Gu Xiyan swallowed the words she was about to say and frowned, asking, "Are you two having a disagreement?"
Mu Jinyu gently shook her head and sighed, "Ah, people grow up, their wings get strong, and they stop listening."
Speaking of this, she sighed with disappointment, then picked up her chopsticks to eat without saying anything more.
Gu Xiyan, seeing this, exchanged a glance with Mei Yinxue, guessing that the disagreement between the brothers probably wasn't too serious, just some minor discrepancies.
Otherwise, Mu Jinyu would not be so composed and would have likely scolded Xiang Mantang terribly.
With this in mind, they also let the matter rest and did not ask further.
The banquet soon concluded, and Mu Jinyu, together with Yu Linglong and Lin Qiaoxia, took the stage to briefly express their thanks to everyone, then announced the end of their birthday celebration.
The guests were somewhat surprised, for normally, after a banquet, shouldn't a dance party be starting?
Then they could also take this opportunity to network and discuss partnerships.
Now, it seemed they were just there to make an appearance?
Mu Jinyu couldn't care less about their feelings; as long as she had eaten her fill, why stay and dawdle any longer?
After she announced the end of the party, she asked Wang Zhengbiao and the others to help with delivering Yu Linglong's and Lin Qiaoxia's gifts to their home. Then, feeling unsure, she decided to have them move directly to the villa at Seaview Garden, a property that Xiang Mantang had just given them, overnight.
There, the security was better and safer, and the villa was fully furnished, ready for them to move in immediately.
So, Wang Zhengbiao and his crew began to organize the move for Yu Linglong, Lin Qiaoxia, and their family.
After bidding them farewell, Mu Jinyu asked Gu Xiyan and Wen Rou to head back first, saying she had some matters to discuss with Mei Yinxue, and they left together.
...
At Xiang Mantang's.
She kicked open the iron gate and looked into the dark and damp room, her eyebrows furrowing tightly, then her sharp eyes scanned inside.
Even though it was very dark inside and ordinary people couldn't see anything without a light, Xiang Mantang still saw the children, thin as rails, locked inside the iron cages.
These children were huddled in a corner of the cages, shivering, and when they looked at Xiang Mantang, their eyes conveyed both fear and hope.