Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 397: 201, Sending money (request for subscription!)_3

Yue Wenzhu sighed softly when he saw the situation in the hall and just as he turned his head, he saw his daughter, Yue Qianfu, staring at Hou Yuduan with her round, unwavering eyes, and he couldn't help but reveal a look of helplessness.

The elder, Duan Heyan, who was advanced in years and had rich experience, chuckled lightly upon hearing the Sect Leader's sigh and said, "The ancients say to offer courtesy before force. If he starts by being polite, you can bet this young man will have nothing good to say later on!"

Duan Heyan's words immediately resonated with Yue Wenzhu, who nodded in agreement.

"Everyone, as you know, the reason the Hou Clan has gathered you all here today is by the order of the Holy Church. Therefore, Mr. Hou won't keep you in suspense any longer. Today, the Hou Clan has three announcements to make. Since these three matters all concern the Hexi Martial Arts World and are interrelated, Mr. Hou will discuss them one by one. After discussing and clarifying each matter, we will proceed to the next. What do you think?"

"Please speak, Fifth Young Master, we are all ears!"

"We have plenty of time, Fifth Young Master, please speak."

"Today, representatives from the three counties and twelve counties who matter are all present. Whatever the Holy Church's orders are, you just say the word, Fifth Young Master, and as long as it is fair and reasonable, we shall have no objections!"

...

Seeing the crowd's agreement, Hou Yuduan first gave a fist salute and bowed to everyone before extending a forefinger and saying out loud, "Thank you all for your cooperation. Then, Mr. Hou will start with the first matter!"

He paused for a moment, waiting for everyone to settle down before continuing in a subdued tone.

"Although all thirty-five prominent forces from the three counties have submitted their surrender to the Holy Church, the Church has not yet accepted their surrender. Previously, during the siege, every family sent sect members, more or less, to aid the Silver Armored Army in resisting the Holy Church's army. Currently, there are still 13,291 people imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison of Wanyang County, with both human and material evidence present. Surely, none of you would deny this, right?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone present changed...

"Fifth Young Master, it's truly unjust, I am Cheng Peng, the Gang Leader of the Green Tiger Gang from Jinchuan County. Mr. Cheng knew early on that the Holy Church's army was unstoppable and had no intention to send people to assist the Silver Armored Army. It was only under coercion by the Sword Control Bureau that Mr. Cheng had no choice but to send 200 gang members. It was not the Green Tiger Gang's intention to resist the Holy Church. I hope the Fifth Young Master will see the truth!"

Just as everyone was mulling over the situation, a burly middle-aged man suddenly stood up from behind the Wanyang County seating area and began to cry out his grievance at Hou Yuduan.

"It's the same situation with the Huangshan Sect of Pinghu County, forced by the Sword Control Bureau, we only sent 300 people out of necessity; we would never dare to be enemies with the Holy Church otherwise. The Fifth Young Master must see the truth."

"The Shayang White Sword Sect was also coerced by the Sword Control Bureau!"

...

Cheng Peng's outcry, like opening the floodgates, resulted in one person after another in the great hall starting to voice their grievances. Upon closer listening, the content was generally similar to Cheng's, all claiming they originally did not want to be enemies of the Holy Church, but were forced by the Sword Control Bureau because of their weaker strengths, not having intended to resist the Holy Church, and pleading for Hou Yuduan to understand their plight.

...

Hou Yuduan looked at the insincere crowd, a faint smile curling on his lips. He knew that before the Hexi counties fell, these people definitely would not have shown such a demeanor. They were just worried about the Holy Church's retribution and were thus making preemptive explanations.

He paused for a while, seeming to listen attentively to the crowd's explanations. Once everyone had finished, he nodded slightly and said, "Mr. Hou certainly believes everyone, but the problem is, the disciples you sent out caused great casualties to the Holy Church's army. If we let this pass so easily, I'm afraid the brothers in the army might hold grievances against you in the future..."

At these words, the corners of everyone's mouths involuntarily spasmed. The Demon Sect's army of 170,000 had suffered a total loss of just over 20,000 men in their attacks on the three Hexi counties, while they had killed nearly 60,000 of the Silver Armored Army and captured more than 70,000. Yet Hou Yuduan was portraying it as a huge loss!

"What kind of compensation is needed? Please, Fifth Young Master, be direct!"

Finally, Yue Wenzhu couldn't hold back any longer and asked the question, and the others immediately nodded, all eyes turning to Hou Yuduan, waiting for his reply.

Hou Yuduan looked troubled as he said, "Sect Leader Yue, what are you talking about? You are all now under the governance of the Rakshasa Holy Sect, we are one family. As family, why talk about compensation? Master Fanyin has said, we will not ask for any compensation!"

The crowd, upon hearing this, was taken aback, not understanding his meaning...

"However, those sect members of yours who are locked up in the Heavenly Prison, after all, were captured by us on the battlefield, whether under duress or voluntarily. Since they did aid the Silver Armored Army, you must pay a ransom to release them!"

As he said this, enlightenment dawned on the crowd.

"For Martial Artists of the Open Body Realm, each person's ransom is 1,200 taels; Warriors of the Gang Qi Realm, each person's ransom is 12,000 taels; and for Grandmasters, the ransom per person is 120,000 taels. Does anyone have any objections?"

When Hou Yuduan mentioned these prices in a calm voice, it immediately stirred up a commotion below...

"1,200 taels for one person, so for a hundred people that would be 120,000 taels for their release. Isn't that extremely expensive? If my Qinghu Gang wants to redeem two hundred of our members, that would mean we need 240,000 taels of silver, this... this..."

"That's too expensive, we simply can't afford it!"

"Fifth Young Master, could you possibly lower the amount? We really cannot produce so much money!"

...

No matter what the crowd said, Hou Yuduan's expression remained unchanged from beginning to end, a faint smile playing on his lips. When the noise slowly subsided, he said softly, "Don't worry, whether to redeem your sect members is up to each family to decide, if you truly don't have the money to pay the ransom, it's also fine not to redeem them!"

Upon hearing this, the faces of those below brightened considerably, and many began to look around slowly, obviously gauging the reactions of others.

"My Famed Sword Sect is willing to pay for the release!"

"I, Fengbo Hall, am willing to pay as well."

"The Gao Family, also willing!"

...