Chapter 29

Humiliation! Humiliation! Nothing but humiliation! At this moment, all that was on Wolf's mind was the word "humiliation." His youngest son was killed, his eldest son and himself were kidnapped, and not only could he not swiftly eliminate the murderer, he had to humbly beg the murderer to spare his life. Such an experience was unprecedented in Wolf's nearly sixty years of life. He had always been a nobleman high above others, and it was always others who had to be humble. When had it ever been his turn?

Bryan kept giving him meaningful glances. Although Wolf was initially too angry to react, he soon understood Bryan's meaning. The most crucial thing now was to preserve their lives. No matter the cost, as long as they were alive, they would have the means to reclaim what they had lost. If they could escape from He Ping's hands, they could reorganize their forces and find an opportunity to take revenge. Bryan had not forgotten about Chris's great vengeance; he was merely waiting and looking for the right opportunity!

"I hereby guarantee that if you release both of us and spare our lives, we will pay any price. Anything we possess can be yours, and any task we can accomplish, we will do our utmost to complete!" Wolf gritted his teeth as he said these words. They seemed like a curse, and after speaking, Wolf felt as if all his strength had been drained, even the light in his eyes dimmed.

The father and son looked at He Ping. They were now prisoners, and despite making such a promise, their lives were still in He Ping's hands. If He Ping did not relent, they were still doomed. Seeing the hopeful yet deeply murderous look in their eyes, He Ping smiled, a bright and radiant smile. If someone who did not know He Ping and thought he was just an ordinary child saw this smile, they would not have noticed anything unusual. But Wolf and Bryan felt a chill down their spines.

*Swish!*

He Ping waved his hand, and Wolf was taken away again. He smiled at Bryan and said, "You are very smart, smarter than I could have imagined, but you are also very foolish, foolish beyond measure. Your intelligence lies in your ability to make the right judgments at the right time, knowing what to do in any situation. But your foolishness is also evident, in that you treat everyone as fools, at least as fools inferior to you."

When He Ping called him a fool, Bryan almost interrupted to argue, but considering his situation, he did not speak. Being insulted a few times was nothing to Bryan now, but when He Ping mentioned his foolishness, Bryan was taken aback. No one had ever spoken to him like this before, so he had never noticed it. But when He Ping said it, he began to understand where he had gone wrong.

Ignoring Bryan's thoughts, He Ping continued, "You treated Chris as a fool, underestimating my strength. You treated your father, Wolf, as a fool, blaming him for not seeing the situation clearly. You treated me as a fool, thinking that you could buy your life with empty promises. You treat everyone as a fool, and this flaw has affected your strengths. Do you understand?"

Bryan understood, of course. When He Ping said, "You treat everyone as a fool," Bryan realized that He Ping had never intended to spare his life from the beginning. Although he still did not understand why he and Wolf were captured alive instead of being killed on the spot, Bryan had figured out a lot. The fool was not others, but himself.

Even his father, Wolf, who seemed to be unclear about the situation, had already seen that He Ping had no intention of letting them go. That was why he had cursed so fiercely at the time. Following Bryan's advice to beg for mercy was merely a last glimmer of hope and a desire not to waste his son's efforts. In reality, Wolf was the one who truly understood the current situation.

Realizing this, Bryan slumped to the ground, looking at He Ping and said, "It seems you are determined to kill my father and me. Asking for mercy or inquiring about any deep-seated grudges would make me seem too naive. All I want to know is, why have you kept us alive until now? If you just wanted to kill us, you would have done so already, and we wouldn't be alive now."

He Ping nodded and said, "This time, you seem truly smart. I killed your brother on the battlefield. No matter what happens between us, that one act alone makes us mortal enemies with no chance of reconciliation. Of course, I do not regret killing Chris, as he was trying to kill me at the time. I killed Chris, and no matter what your attitude is now, you will not let me go if you get the chance in the future."

"To eliminate future threats, I cannot let you live. If I don't eliminate you, my life here will never be peaceful, always worrying about being assassinated. That's not my style. You can see that I am not a good person. For anyone who threatens me, I will quickly eliminate the threat. As for why I haven't killed you, it's because I plan to use your final value. Tell me, where are the treasures that the Wolf family has hidden?"

He Ping, of course, did not tell Bryan that he was not killing them because the blacklist's recommended punishment was not immediate execution but a trial. Instead, he gave a plausible explanation. Treasures! He Ping did not lack money, as he had not found anything he wanted to buy here. Even if he returned to his original world, he would not lack money, despite being poor for most of his previous life. In this life, he had countless ways to earn money.

However, not lacking money was one thing, but not taking money when it was available was not He Ping's style. He Ping deduced that the Wolf family and the Trevor family, as lords, must have had some conflicts. How could a powerful figure like Wolf allow a junior to lord over him? Although he did not know if there was a special reason for not acting yet, Wolf must have made preparations to gain the upper hand in a future family war!

Sure enough, when He Ping asked about the hidden treasures, Bryan's eyes began to waver, a sign of guilt. He Ping had only intended to bluff Bryan, but it seemed he might gain some extra benefits!

[PS: Second update of the day! More to come tonight!]