Chapter 382: It Was My Own Doing

Zhou Yu stared into Xiao Zhan's eyes and questioned, "Is that really what you think in your heart?"

"Master!" Xiao Zhan suddenly raised his right hand, straightened his chest, and said with an impassioned expression, "I, Xiao Zhan, swear to the heavens, if there was even half a lie in what I just said, then let me..."

"Enough!" Zhou Yu interrupted him and said, "Even if that is truly what you think, do you believe that what you did was right?"

"I..." Xiao Zhan slowly lowered his hand, and his head drooped as well.

"A gentleman has things he will do and things he will not do. Have you forgotten how I have taught you all this time?" Zhou Yu said earnestly.

"Master, I know I was wrong." Xiao Zhan looked at the floor and said in a low voice, "I promise I won't dare to do this again in the future."

"Sigh, you." Zhou Yu let out a helpless sigh, his face full of an expression of frustration that his protégé would not live up to his expectations. "Fortunately, no great disaster was caused this time, but while the death penalty may be avoided, the living punishment is hard to escape.

From now on, for one month, you will stay here and seclude yourself properly for me. You are not allowed to step one half-step out of this Quiet Room, do you hear me?"

"I... I hear you, Master." Xiao Zhan hurriedly nodded, though he felt secretly smug in his heart.

Sure enough, to deal with a person like Master, one has to play the victim; if one talks back or refuses to admit fault, it simply doesn't work in front of him.

"Ma... Master, then what do you plan to do next?" Xiao Zhan tentatively probed.

"You just stay here and seclude yourself properly; I will naturally handle this matter." Zhou Yu glanced at him, picked up his phone, and turned to walk out of the Quiet Room.

"Phew..." Xiao Zhan watched Zhou Yu's back disappear from his field of vision, and only then did he let out a long sigh of relief.

With Master's words, this matter should be considered to have come to an end.

However, a flash of ferocity crossed his eyes. You wretch Huo Yun, it's one thing that you couldn't get the job done, but you even dared to betray me?

Fine, once Master is in a better mood in a few days, I will leave here and settle the score with you!

Meanwhile, in the conference room on the other side.

Song Tian watched the time tick away second by second, his mood becoming increasingly restless and uneasy.

What on earth is the Headquarters President doing? If he really wanted to get to the bottom of things, he could have completely let Xiao Zhan and Huo Yun confront each other face-to-face, right?

Lu Yu glanced at Huo Yun beside him, his gaze then falling on the time in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Nearly five minutes had passed since the phone call was hung up just now. He wanted to see just how long the other party intended to make him wait.

"President, what on earth are you doing?"

Kong Ming was burning with anxiety, lifting his arm from time to time to glance at the time on his watch, then looking anxiously at his phone. Unfortunately, the phone remained silent; no call had been received.

"President, oh President, you wouldn't still be planning to favor Xiao Zhan, would you?" A foreboding premonition welled up in Kong Ming's heart.

Based on his understanding of Zhou Yu, this possibility was extremely high.

But if the President really chose to shield Xiao Zhan, little brother Lu would definitely be very dissatisfied.

What kind of situation would arise then was truly impossible to predict.

Just at this moment, a request to join the video call came through on the computer.

When Kong Ming saw it, his Spirit was instantly lifted, because the person initiating the video call was none other than Zhou Yu!

"Little brother Lu, the President will be video calling with us in a moment; prepare yourself mentally."

"Mm." Lu Yu nodded lightly.

The next moment, the screen split in two. On the left screen was Kong Ming, and on the right appeared a middle-aged man with a resolute face and a burly build.

His entire being radiated an innate aura of majesty; just by appearing, he stunned Song Tian and Huo Yun into standing frozen on the spot.

Lu Yu's gaze locked directly with the middle-aged man who had appeared on the screen.

It had to be said, just by standing there silently without saying a word, this Headquarters President felt like a towering Mount Tai, bringing a nearly suffocating sense of oppression.

The aura he emitted was the most powerful Lu Yu had ever seen to date.

Yet, this pressure did not make Lu Yu feel fear; instead, it was like a fire that instantly ignited his fighting spirit.

At the same time, a trace of doubt arose in Lu Yu's heart: what about that Xiao Zhan? Why did he not appear in the frame with the Headquarters President?

"This youth is truly not to be underestimated." Zhou Yu appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was churning like a stormy sea.

Even when facing the presidents of other branches, they could hardly endure for long when locking gazes with Zhou Yu due to his own aura, let alone those young people under thirty; no one could withstand his gaze.

But this young man before him, who looked to be only about twenty, perhaps even just seventeen or eighteen, was staring back at him without a hint of fear. This mettle was far stronger than Xiao Zhan's.

This also made Zhou Yu realize that today's matter was likely far from as easy to resolve as he had imagined.

However, since he had already promised Xiao Zhan, Zhou Yu would naturally do his best.

"Ahem." Seeing that the atmosphere was somewhat heavy, Kong Ming hurriedly coughed and took the initiative to introduce: "Little brother Lu, this is the Headquarters President of our Nanshan Branch Martial Arts Association. President, this is little brother Lu Yu."

"Truly a hero among the youth." Zhou Yu nodded slightly, a trace of approval appearing in his eyes as he said, "Little brother Lu, I have already understood the ins and outs of this matter in detail. You can rest assured; regarding this affair, I will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation."

"Good." Lu Yu responded briefly, his gaze firm as he said, "I will wait and see."

Zhou Yu nodded slightly, his gaze turning to Song Tian as he said, "President Sun, for you to have suffered this calamity without cause this time, rest assured, the Headquarters will definitely give you a proper explanation."

"No... I dare not, Pre... President." Song Tian was so excited that he stuttered.

He had never dreamed that he would one day be able to speak with the Headquarters President one-on-one.

Zhou Yu's gaze finally landed on Huo Yun, his tone calm yet carrying a trace of majesty: "Huo Yun, you claimed just now that this matter was instigated by Xiao Zhan, is that correct?"

"Yes, yes, that is so."

Huo Yun nodded repeatedly, his head bobbing like a chick pecking at rice, and said with a mournful face:

"President, I know I was wrong, and I am willing to accept any punishment the Headquarters gives. But Xiao Zhan absolutely cannot escape responsibility for this matter; one could even say he is the mastermind behind the whole thing."

As the saying goes, "the barefooted are not afraid of those wearing shoes." By now, Xiao Zhan must surely know that he had betrayed him, and given Xiao Zhan's character, he would certainly not let him off easily.

Since he had already offended him completely, he might as well go all the way.

"Is that so?" Zhou Yu slowly spoke up: "Is it really like that? Think about it carefully again?"

Once these words were spoken, everyone present, including Lu Yu, couldn't help but be stunned.

Because these two sentences from Zhou Yu seemed to have hidden meanings and were quite profound.

Huo Yun was also stunned, his eyes fixed directly on Zhou Yu's, trying to find an answer in his gaze.

"I just asked Xiao Zhan, and he said he did indeed look for you last night and also mentioned the matter regarding little brother Lu Yu to you."

"However, he did not ask you to go to Anshan City to take away little brother Lu, nor did he even give a hint. I wonder if that is the actual situation?"

Zhou Yu's expression was like a deep, ancient well; calm on the surface, but unfathomable in reality.

Kong Ming turned his head in shock, staring intently at Zhou Yu.

What exactly did the President mean by those words? Was he hinting at Huo Yun, or was he threatening him?

Huo Yun's body jolted violently, and in an instant, he understood Zhou Yu's intention.

The next moment, he replied hurriedly: "Yes... yes, President, I am truly sorry, I... I was wrong."

"That's right, Xiao Zhan did indeed look for me last night and spoke to me about little brother Lu's matter."

"In his words, he was very envious that little brother Lu could refine Superior True Qi Pills. After he left, I developed thoughts I shouldn't have had."

"I thought that if I could kidnap brother Lu back to the headquarters, I might be able to curry favor with Xiao Zhan. The more I thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, so I set out from the headquarters early this morning and rushed here."

"I didn't expect brother Lu to be hiding his true strength; I was no match for him at all."

"In order to save my own life, I pushed all the blame onto Xiao Zhan. President, I truly know I was wrong." As he spoke, he began to wail loudly.