Chapter 321: The Grand Finale (Part Two)

On Christmas Day, it was Sheng Siheng's full-month banquet.

Zhu Yuan didn't want to deal with the brain-racking task of naming the child, so she left it to Sheng Yu; Sheng Yu chose the character "Heng," asked Pei Ling to think of one too, and finally, they pieced together the name Sheng Siheng.

Zhu Yuan jokingly called their child's name a "pieced-together" one.

On the day of Sheng Siheng's full-month banquet, the Sheng Family held it very grandly, inviting every person of status in Kyoto City.

When the Sheng Family held a joyous event, regardless of whether they had matters at hand or not, everyone set their private affairs aside to personally visit and send blessings to the little young master of the Sheng Family.

The full-month banquet was lively, and the Pei Family sent a congratulatory gift: a Longevity Lock.

However, Pei Ling did not show up.

Although Zhu Yuan had doubts in her heart, Pei Ling seemed very busy lately; she had only seen him once since giving birth, and she didn't know what he was busy with, as the gift had been delivered by Pei Li.

"Is your Second Master not even coming to his godson's full-month banquet?"

Pei Li gripped his hand at his side and replied with a smile, "The Second Master cannot get away, so he asked me to express his apologies to you."

Zhu Yuan wouldn't truly mind this, "You must remind him to pay more attention to rest; don't let him neglect his health while busy. His complexion didn't look too good when I saw him last time."

Pei Li's breath hitched, and he nodded, "Yes, I will certainly convey your words."

Taking advantage of the bustle of the banquet, he quietly left through a side door, but he didn't expect to run into Sheng Yu.

"Is he busy, or is he unable to come?"

Pei Li's eyes grew slightly hot, "The Second Master does not want to come."

Sheng Yu's gaze froze.

A week after Sheng Siheng's full-month banquet, Zhu Yuan suddenly saw a piece of news about the Pei Family appear online.

All industries operated by the Pei Family had come to a standstill; the police had received a tip-off and wiped out the Pei Family's dark web in one fell swoop.

Pei Shaoshen was arrested by the police, and with the massive amount of money involved in the Pei Family's case, the former second-greatest wealthy clan in Kyoto City was on the verge of collapse.

Pei Family Bank.

Pei Ling threw the last piece of raw meat from the iron bucket into the cage; in nearly a year, the wolf cub kept in the cage had grown very large.

Yet the man who used to feed it was growing increasingly thin and exhausted day by day.

"Have someone take it away in a moment; this cage is no longer suitable for it to stay in."

Pei Li followed behind the man, not leaving his side, "Second Master, the police have already mobilized and will arrive at the bank very soon."

Pei Ling gave a hum, wiped his hands clean, and looked at the sparse sunlight falling on the ground outside the door.

Even though it was winter, the sunlight was so dazzling it made one unable to open their eyes, intense and piercing.

Pei Ling closed his eyes, and when the light before him flickered again, a familiar figure appeared outside the door.

"Zhu..." Pei Li was startled, "Miss Zhu!"

He still wasn't used to calling Zhu Yuan "Mrs. Sheng" in front of the Second Master.

Pei Ling clenched his fingers; what was Sheng Yu doing, letting her come out just like that?

His anger had just flared up, but as soon as he saw Zhu Yuan's red, angry eyes, all his temper vanished.

"You deliberately didn't show up at Hengzai's full-month banquet because you didn't want everyone to know you are his godfather; you want to distance yourself from us, don't you?" Zhu Yuan questioned sharply.

She stood at the doorway, wearing a long white down jacket with a circle of pure white fluff on the collar, which made her look very charming; her clean aura could not blend into the foul air of the Pei Family Bank.

Pei Ling watched her quietly for a while, and after a long time, he said in a low voice, "It's windy outside, come in and talk."

"You give me an explanation first!"

Bargaining with him?

Pei Ling stared at her stubborn face and slowly walked toward her.

"When I was very young, I was locked in a dog cage by that person; beatings and scoldings were a daily occurrence, and I often went without meals. He fed me poison and ravaged my body just to control me. Year after year, I was tamed by that person into a dog of the Pei Family, living days without a glimmer of light. At that time, I secretly swore that I would destroy this Pei Family with my own hands."

"Yuanyuan, this is my obsession; do you want me to let it go?"

He spoke of the past lightly, but when he mentioned his obsession, every word was measured and resonant; the seeds of destruction had taken root in his heart for many years.

Zhu Yuan's vision blurred; she certainly knew the harm Pei Ling had suffered.

She had not experienced Pei Ling's pain, and she could not bring herself to say such cruel words as telling him to let it go.

"But do you know what your fate will be? Is this filthy Pei Family worth you dying together with it?" Zhu Yuan choked up, trembling all over from the intense emotion, "It's not worth it, Pei Ling, the Pei Family is not worth you taking this step!"

Pei Ling reached out and gripped Zhu Yuan's wrist, pulling her into the room with a gentle tug.

In truth, it wasn't much warmer inside the room than outside; it just lacked the wind, yet it remained icy cold.

"It isn't worth it." Pei Ling looked down at Zhu Yuan, firmly imprinting her face in his mind, "But this is my destiny. They assumed I would protect the Pei Family to save my own life, but how could I let them get their way?"

Outside the Pei Family Bank came the sound of police sirens piercing the sky.

Zhu Yuan's heart panicked, and she subconsciously reached out to grab Pei Ling's sleeve.

But suddenly, she heard the sound of machinery turning inside the room.

This sound was somewhat familiar, and by the time she realized what it was, it was already too late.

Countless black bars fell from the ceiling, precisely embedding themselves into the mechanisms on the floor.

A giant iron cage separated her from Pei Ling.

This was the iron cage where Pei Ling had once locked her inside to fight against a wild wolf.

"Pei Ling!" Zhu Yuan pounded on the bars with all her might, shouting sharply, "Stop right there!"

However, her shouting did not make Pei Ling stop his steps.

"If you take another step forward, I won't acknowledge you as a friend anymore!"

Pei Ling's steps toward the exit paused; fresh blood slid from the corner of his mouth, and another mouthful of blood surged out.

With his back to Zhu Yuan, he braced one hand against the door frame and wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb; did she really think he cared about being her whatever-friend!

But what could he do.

It seemed he had made her angry again.

Pei Ling let out a breath, "I'm not leaving."

Zhu Yuan looked at his thin back; so all his busyness these past few months had been for these matters, no wonder he had lost so much weight.

"You can take revenge for yourself, I support you in destroying the Pei Family, but can you consider yourself for once? You aren't left with nothing; you have friends, you have us, and you still have Hengzai. Do you really want him to go to prison to call you godfather?"

By the time she reached the end, her voice was choked with tears.

Pei Ling desperately wanted to turn back, but he had locked her in the cage precisely because he didn't want her to see him coughing up blood.

He said in a low voice, "It's not as serious as you think. At most, it will only be a few months; I'll be out in less than a year. Did you really think I wanted to perish together with the Pei Family?"

Zhu Yuan did not believe him, "Then why did you lock me inside?"

"If I didn't lock you up, wouldn't you have tried to stop me just now? Obstructing the police in their duties—what kind of nerve do you have?" Pei Ling breathed lightly.

"After being abandoned by my mother, I dreamed of her coming back to pick me up, but when I woke from the dream, I was all alone. Later, I prayed for Sun Wukong to descend from the heavens and rescue me from the dog cage, but I still didn't get my wish. Now, just treat it as me fulfilling a dream, taking charge for once."

He slowly turned his head to look at Zhu Yuan and chuckled, "Yuanyuan, don't be angry anymore."