Chapter 87: Submission

Ou Peng said, "Chief Shui, you are joking. In a battle, where blades and swords have no eyes, who can hold back? I will naturally give it my all. Moreover, my second senior brother’s martial arts are naturally superior to mine. I have always been busy with the affairs of the sect, and my martial arts have fallen behind. In the path of martial arts, it is like rowing against the current; if you do not advance, you will retreat. I believe you understand this."

After saying this, he waved to Li Jian, who understood and sheathed his sword, returning to his original position.

Shui Yupeng snorted inwardly but did not respond, thinking to himself, "Who would believe such nonsense?"

However, at this moment, Shui Yupeng’s arrogance had vanished. He thought, the Ethereal Sect, though they took advantage of the Luo River Sect, caught them off guard, and wiped them out, indeed had the strength. Just looking at Li Jian’s martial arts, no one in the Luo River Sect could match him. If they had faced off in a fair fight, the Luo River Sect would have met the same fate.

At this moment, Shui Yupeng no longer harbored any侥幸 (侥幸 means侥幸, but in this context, it can be translated as 'false hope').

Ou Peng looked at Shui Yupeng’s expression and said with a smile, "Chief Shui, I have another gift for you, and I hope you will accept it."

After saying this, he nodded to Shangguan Lao Si, who immediately hurried out of the Hall of Justice. Shui Yupeng looked at Ou Peng with growing unease.

Sure enough, after a short while, Shangguan Lao Si slowly walked into the Hall of Justice, followed by a woman in a simple green dress, who was holding a child of about three years old, with a round and sturdy face. The woman’s face was pale, and she looked somewhat agitated, while the little boy’s eyes were darting around, holding a sugar-coated haw, and eating it with relish.

As the woman and the child entered with Shangguan Lao Si, Shui Yupeng, upon seeing their familiar figures, could not help but stagger, turning back to Ou Peng with a look of anger and saying sternly, "Ou Peng, you..."

Before Shui Yupeng could finish, Ou Peng cut him off with a smile, asking, "Chief Shui, what’s wrong with me?"

Shui Yupeng’s voice dropped a few notches, saying, "In the martial world, there are rules. My martial arts are inferior to yours, and I can give you my life. But my wife and child know nothing of martial arts. Why did you take them?"

By the end, his tone had become almost pleading.

Ou Peng still had that smiling face, waving his hand and saying, "Brother Shui, you are too harsh. I am not as despicable as you think."

As they spoke, the woman and the child had already entered the Hall of Justice. The boy, curious, looked around at the group of strangers. When he saw a familiar face, he shouted with joy, no longer focused on the sugar-coated haw, and struggled to get out of the woman’s arms. The woman held him tightly, not daring to let go, her eyes pleading with Shui Yupeng. The child’s face turned red, and he wriggled his small body, almost in tears, his free hand reaching out to Shui Yupeng. In that instant, Shui Yupeng’s mind was filled with nothing but warmth. He wanted to hug his son, rub his tender little face with his beard, and see him dodge and act cute in his arms.

At this moment, Shui Yupeng no longer had his previous arrogance. He bent his always straight back, extended his hand, and made a gesture to hug the child. The woman, seeing this, released her hold and carefully placed the boy on the ground. The boy, as soon as his feet touched the ground, let out a whistle and ran over with a laugh. Shui Yupeng, as the boy approached, grabbed him under the armpits, lifted him high over his head, and swung him from side to side, making the boy laugh uncontrollably. The boy seemed to enjoy this game, which they often played. After the boy had laughed enough, Shui Yupeng held him in his arms, tilting his head back, squinting his eyes, and lovingly stroking his little head, savoring this rare, once-thought-lost moment of family happiness.

The boy, seemingly uncomfortable with the stronger embrace, struggled to free his face from Shui Yupeng’s arms, and with all his might, offered the sugar-coated haw to Shui Yupeng, saying in a childish voice, "Daddy, have some, it’s very sweet."

Shui Yupeng said gently, "Tiantian, be a good boy, Daddy doesn’t want to eat it. You eat it yourself."

The boy, unhappy, twisted his body, pouting, and said, "Daddy, you must eat it. Tiantian has been thinking about giving it to you. If Daddy doesn’t eat it, Tiantian will eat it all, and then Tiantian will be sad."

Usually, Shui Yupeng would not eat the sugar-coated haw and would try to get the child to eat it himself. At this moment, he suddenly felt his eyes moisten, looking at the child’s earnest eyes, he opened his mouth. The boy, seeing that Daddy had agreed, was overjoyed, and put the sugar-coated haw into Daddy’s mouth, watching Shui Yupeng bite into it, and then smiled sweetly. He also carefully bit into the red fruit coated in syrup, enjoying it.

While eating, he mumbled, "Sister Xue was right, she didn’t lie to Tiantian. Here, I really saw Daddy."

Shui Yupeng was taken aback and asked, "Who is Sister Xue?"

Tiantian, while eating, tilted his head and said, "It’s the pretty sister with something on her face. Sister Xue took Tiantian and Mama, saying to find Daddy. She also gave Tiantian this delicious thing. I haven’t seen Daddy for several days, and I thought Sister Xue was lying."

Shui Yupeng immediately understood the situation.

Then, he hugged Tiantian and walked to the woman, saying, "Tiantian, be a good boy and go play with Mama. Daddy has some things to do, and I’ll play with you later."

Tiantian, hearing this, stretched out his arms, hugging Shui Yupeng’s neck, frowned, and said unhappily, "Daddy, come quickly. Don’t be like before and break your promise."

Shui Yupeng smiled and kissed Tiantian’s little face, saying, "This time, Daddy will keep his promise."

Tiantian cheered, kissed Shui Yupeng’s face, and said, "Tiantian will wait for Daddy outside." Then, obediently released his arms, twisted his body, and hugged his mother. The woman quickly and carefully took him, holding Tiantian in her arms.

At this moment, the woman’s face had returned to normal. Shui Yupeng looked at her and nodded deeply. She looked at him with surprise but did not speak, turning and walking out of the Hall of Justice, with Tiantian still looking back at Shui Yupeng.

After the two figures disappeared, Shui Yupeng turned to Ou Peng and said, "Chief Ou..."

Ou Peng understood and said, "Chief Shui, rest assured. Your family of fourteen is unharmed."

Then, Ou Peng said to his subordinates, "Bring a chair for Chief Shui."

The subordinates placed the chair next to Shui Yupeng. Ou Peng said, "Chief Shui, please sit down and let’s talk."

Shui Yupeng looked at the chair, pondered for a moment, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled, sitting down calmly.

Ou Peng, seeing this, smiled in satisfaction.

He continued, "Since Brother Shui has sat down, let’s talk about the topic I mentioned earlier. In your view, whether the Luo River Sect is taken over by the Ethereal Sect or the Dalin Temple, the result is the same—annihilation. However, if you think carefully, you will see a fundamental difference. If the Luo River Sect were attacked by the Dalin Temple or the Xingrong Sect, it would be because you failed in your attack on the Xingrong Sect, or the Dalin Temple came to avenge the Xingrong Sect. Given the strength of the Xingrong Sect and the Luo River Sect, it would be the latter. At that time, the Dalin Temple, driven by revenge, would not hold back. Not only would your family be in danger, but your brothers in the sect would also suffer heavy casualties. Moreover, the Dalin Temple already has influence on the waterways and would not leave the Luo River Sect intact. The fate of the Luo River Sect would be annihilation, with no other choice."

Shui Yupeng smiled bitterly and said, "I overestimated myself. If I had really attacked the Xingrong Sect, this would have been the result."

Ou Peng continued, "But now, the situation has changed. You had not yet attacked the Xingrong Sect when the Ethereal Sect took over. Therefore, you have not yet formed a grudge with the Dalin Temple."

Shui Yupeng sneered, "But the Luo River Sect was still taken over by you, and the fate of annihilation remains. The only difference is that the casualties were not as heavy. Do you expect me to continue leading the Luo River Sect?"

At this point, he was taken aback and looked up at Ou Peng, "Do you, Chief Ou, really have such thoughts?"

It seemed unexpected to him. Since the Ethereal Sect attacked the Luo River Sect, he had arranged for his family to escape and led the elders and hall masters to fight, resulting in total defeat and capture. Shui Yupeng had lost all hope, believing that the Luo River Sect would be annihilated, and he would be killed. Bringing him to the Ethereal Sect was likely to boost morale and publicly execute the leader of another sect, which would have a greater impact than a private execution.

Therefore, Shui Yupeng had always maintained his integrity, hoping to leave a good name before his death.

In fact, Shui Yupeng had also considered the possibility that the Ethereal Sect might spare his life to use him for their waterway development. However, he thought that although the Ethereal Sect lacked waterway influence, the Luo River Sect had many elders and hall masters. Any one of them, though lacking his authority, could manage the sect’s affairs. With the Ethereal Sect’s martial support, the Luo River Sect could still develop without him, and keeping him would be a potential threat.

Therefore, Shui Yupeng had always believed that the Ethereal Sect would not spare him.

However, now, after Ou Peng compared the strengths of the two sects, mentioned the background of the Xingrong Sect, and displayed the Ethereal Sect’s martial power, and finally brought in his family, he wondered if...

Shui Yupeng’s heart stirred. He could hardly believe that Ou Peng had such vision, willing to give him a chance to lead the Luo River Sect again.