Daily life of a cultivation judge-Chapter 1010: Striking an agreement (13)

"Please don't misunderstand," said Yu Hui as he felt the deathly glares on him when his attention fell on the panicking Fan Cai.

Even without asking, he already knew what assumptions all of those present had made when they saw him look in that direction considering the bold and impulsive statement little Fan Cai had made a few moments before.

"I don't intend to bank on junior Fan Cai's offer," Yu Hui said trying to ease the tension. It did not work as he could feel the pressure of the unfriendly gazes thrown on him had not reduced one bit.

"Of course, this is not a slight on you, Junior Fan Cai. With your impeccable talent you'd be a great addition to any organization out there not just our own," added Yu Hui trying to placate Fan Cai who he had thought would take offense to his comments.

Turns out his worries were all for naught and so was his complement, after. Fan Cai was too anxious and panic-stricken to care about any of that, and in as much as he tried to hide it from his face, his mildly shaking knees, his dilated pupils, his sweaty palms, and the little streak on his forehead had already sold his state of mind out.

As for Yu Hui, his comments about Fan Cai were true and were not just a way of trying to butter Fan Ha up by complimenting her child.

From the moment he walked in he had noticed Fan Cai, and what stuck out about him other than the surprising fact that he bore a striking resemblance to Fan Ha, was his cultivation base.

A fourth-stage core formation cultivation base wasn't anything noteworthy to someone of his caliber and background, not when they had over a hundred of them at the clan, but what stood out to him about Fan Cai was the slightly youthful exuberance he released.

Yu Hui couldn't tell his exact bone age as he felt some subtle force that had surrounded the young boy subtly interfere with his ability to do so and he only noticed there was a force at play because of his cultivation realm.

He had doubts if anyone below the late stage of the palace realm would have noticed its presence.

That subtle force was one of the things that drew his curiosity about the boy.

While the force did interfere with his ability to tell his true age, there were still other means available to him that he could use to extrapolate his age.

They may not be able to provide an exact figure like sensing his bone age would do, but they could give an estimate that was more or less close enough.

He could already tell, despite hiding it using whatever means they were using, Fan Cai's look was a true representation of his age and if it was so, then the Yu clan or any other organization out there would willingly open their doors for such a young core formation expert.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

However much he appreciated his talents, he appreciated his mother more. Potential was at the end of the day ephemeral, an intangible concept. Before it is realized, it is no different than hot air.

He valued practical tangibles like his mother more. She was already a bonafide late-stage palace realm expert. Her addition to the clan would instantly provide benefits to them and as such if they wanted her to join them and willingly work for them, he couldn't accept her son's offer.

That was a sure way of destroying the deal which was already standing on shaky ground as it is thanks to Meng Jiayi's declaration.

That being said, even if he couldn't accept Fan Cai, he could still be of value to the deal between them and Fan Ha, especially in convincing her to take their offer.

No harm in trying.

"As a guardian of our clan, you will enjoy all privileges afforded to it which will be no less than what our grand elders receive be it in terms of resources and certain freedoms.

If you want your son to join you, as your son and you, our guardian, he will be entitled to resources similar to our core members, without him having to sign a contract.

His freedoms at the clan will in no way be restricted," said Yu Hui.

His offer had left a few looks of surprise amongst those present, especially on Xia Yuan who looked slightly flustered as her gaze drifted to Meng Jiayi who gently shook his head sideways, seemingly having read through what was on her mind.

Some at the table could read it too.

Putting the history between the two sides, aside, the offer put on the table was extremely lucrative. It had hit all the points that Fan Ha would want as a cultivator and on a personal level it was negligent either.

The guiding reason Fan Ha was willing to sign away her freedoms to the Yu clan was to ensure a lifeline for the Starlight Lake Sect. In exchange for giving her life away to the clan, the Starlight Lake Sect would get a breathing space of 500 years, where they wouldn't have to worry about retaliation or means of any kind from the Yu clan, but this current offer had not only given her what she wished for but it had even exceeded it by miles.

The grace period had been extended by twenty times moving it to 10,000 years instead of the original 500 years, and it didn't just stop there, the clan would also be handing back the earth profound jade stone which Meng Jiayi desperately needed if he wanted to heal the injuries done to his foundations and extend his lifespan.

By throwing in such an offer, Yu Hui had already enticed both Fan Ha and Xie Yuan. He had effectively hit two birds with one really precious earth profound jade stone.

It was already evident that both these ladies cared deeply about the old sect master as such the old sect master was likely the pathway of getting their agreements.

With the earth profound jade stone he could get Fan Ha's cooperation and he could also get Xie Yuan to support the deal, even if not directly at least it could put a hold on the suicide challenge they had issued before, where the entire Starlight Lake Sect promised to retaliate in its entirety for any slight from their clan no matter how small.

That statement was one of the biggest hurdles Yu Hui had to overcome if he wanted to get Fan Ha to agree to come over and he found a way through the earth profound jade stone. Now all he had to do was wait.

Yang Qing couldn't help but praise the elder's means. He could already tell Fan Ha who a few moments ago looked ready to terminate the deal was hesitant as her eyes secretly fell on Meng Jiayi.

Yang Qing wasn't sure whether Elder Yu Hui had already picked up on the likely intimate relationship between the two, but his plan had worked.

Meng Jiayi was just as an effective piece to use against her as was her son, and one could argue the former was even more effective, and it wasn't because she cared about him more than her son, but rather because of the urgency of his situation.

If things remained the same, Meng Jiayi had about 100 years at most left to live but with the earth profound jade stone that number would instantly skyrocket to above 1,000 years, and with it he would also have a chance at attempting to reach the higher realms.

Guilt and worry were what had fueled Fan Ha's decision to trigger this whole thing and now Yu Hui had cleverly dangled the right bait in front of her to take care of it in one go.

He had played it well.

Just as it looked like Fan Ha was about to make a decision, Yang Qing finally spoke up.

"Fan Cai are you okay with the terms as they are?" asked Yang Qing startling Fan Cai who wasn't expecting to be called out.

Because of the suddenness of it, and how distracted he had been, he ended up speaking his true unfiltered thoughts.

"No, I don't. I want to go back to the mountain and I want her there with me."

Having realized what he had just said, Fan Cai's eyes widened as he furtively looked at his mother, half expecting her fierce glare on him, but this time it wasn't there.

What he met with was her looking at him with eyes he had been desperately hoping for endlessly to get from her. It was the caring look of a mother to her child.

Despite not meaning to, his eyes instantly welled up with tears though he did a good enough job of keeping them at bay.

"I really have failed you," Fan Ha softly said as she used one of her hands to brush against her hair.

Fan Cai's heart instantly fell because he could tell from her words and face she was about to accept the deal. Meng Jiayi seemed to have thought the same too as he sighed from the other seat.

"Before you make a choice, Miss Fan Ha, how about you lend an ear? After all, since Fan Cai was the one to bring about this mediation, it only stands to reason that I try to consider his thoughts as well," Yang Qing said as he leaned slightly forward, his words drawing the attention of all, each with varying reactions to it.