CHAPTER 2060: CHAPTER 2058: HAND IT OVER OR DIE

The arena was silent, and many who had just followed the uproar to demand Bai Ruozhu to get out lowered their heads. They spoke insincerely to avoid offending the Second Elder. Where did their innate pride go?

"This is unfair. Yesterday she poisoned me, and my body hasn’t recovered. She must have calculated it long ago, claiming she wouldn’t use poison as a means to publicly humiliate me," Fo Lanying was unwilling to believe her own failure and began to look for excuses, somewhat flustered.

Bai Ruozhu sneered, "Didn’t you ask the Second Elder to call a doctor for a check yesterday? If you felt your body hadn’t recovered, you could have refused to compete with me."

Bai Zepei walked over and pulled Bai Ruozhu, "Miss, let it go. Let’s leave; there’s no fairness here, and saying more would only be a waste of time."

Bai Ruozhu nodded, "Alright, let’s go back."

Then she bowed to Elder Su and the Fifth Elder, "Thank you both for upholding justice. I shall take my leave now."

"You..." Fo Lanying still wanted to argue, but her mother pulled her back, and she angrily returned home.

Having returned home early, the Second Elder, who had been waiting for half a day, finally saw the mother and daughter arrive and angrily shouted, "Why did it take you so long to return? Where’s my MechanicalMechanism Cat?"

"Father, don’t be angry. Wasn’t it Bai Ruozhu who stopped Ying’er, forcing her to kneel and apologize..." Du Fei gave her daughter a look and quickly said.

"What? Bai Ruozhu is courting death!" The Second Elder roared in anger, "Daring to make my granddaughter kneel, they better not think they can leave unscathed!"

Fo Lanying’s eyes were filled with hatred. Now Bai Ruozhu was doomed; once she was dead, Fo Lanying would be the esteemed outstanding woman once more, and the clan would soon forget about this competition.

"Where’s my MechanicalMechanism Cat?" The Second Elder asked again.

Fo Lanying hurriedly handed over the disassembled MechanicalMechanism Cat, and the Second Elder’s face changed rapidly as he roared furiously, "Where’s the meteoric iron inside?"

Du Fei and Fo Lanying were both taken aback; they didn’t know the MechanicalMechanism Cat used meteoric iron, and the Second Elder had never mentioned it.

Fortunately, Du Fei reacted quickly and said, "Was there meteoric iron inside? Could it be Bai Ruozhu disassembled the MechanicalMechanism Cat and stole the meteoric iron?"

Fo Lanying hurriedly said, "Yes, I didn’t see any meteoric iron; she must have taken it!"

"Bai Ruozhu! I won’t let you get away with this!" The Second Elder roared and turned to leave, slamming the door hard on his way out.

In the backyard, Fo Wenhui was working on making mechanical devices. He was a mechanist obsessed with creating mechanical objects, and his project was nearing completion. He wasn’t interested in his daughter’s affairs and just focused on crafting a Mechanical Puppet.

Finally reaching a crucial moment, he was startled by the old man’s angry shout, instantly disrupting the most critical step and rendering months of effort in vain.

He had been yelled at by the old man so much as a child that he instinctively shivered at the old man’s loud voice, and as a result...

Fo Wen ran out, crying, "What happened? Why did Father suddenly shout? My Mechanical Puppet, all gone to waste!"

Du Fei, enraged, pinched his arm, "You only know about making Mechanical Puppets. A big incident happened at home, and you didn’t know. Your daughter almost got killed!"

"What?" Fo Wen was shocked, "Ying’er didn’t go out for training; how could someone want to kill her?"

Du Fei, undeterred by the potential uproar, continued, "An outsider claiming to have Jiuli Bloodline came into the clan, and isn’t she the illegitimate child born by the Jiao Family’s old lady outside? She tampered in competition against Ying’er and nearly killed her, even forcing Ying’er to kneel. Just now, our father found out the meteoric iron in his MechanicalMechanism Cat was missing, and it must have been taken by Bai Ruozhu."

Du Fei was shocked, "How did Father’s MechanicalMechanism Cat have meteoric iron? And how could it be stolen?"

"Our father gave the MechanicalMechanism Cat to Ying’er for competition, but it was destroyed by Bai Ruozhu..." Du Fei continued to explain but noticed Fo Wen seemed lost in thought.

Suddenly, Fo Wen lightly slapped his head, muttering, "I wondered why Father’s earlier-made MechanicalMechanism Cat was so perfect. It turned out it had meteoric iron inside. Father is indeed tight-lipped, never mentioning it for years. That MechanicalMechanism Cat was just at Ying’er’s level to control, but with meteoric iron added, it indeed was a rare and fast Mechanical Puppet."

Du Fei stomped her foot in anger, "At this time, you’re still thinking about mechanical fabrication. Hurry and help Father get back the meteoric iron!"

"Alright, I’m going now." Fo Wen ran out hurriedly.

On the other side, the Second Elder had already found himself in front of Jiao Yunyun’s Diaojiao Building. His furious demeanor quickly attracted someone to report to Elder Su and the others that the Second Elder was looking for trouble with the Bai Family.

"Bai Ruozhu, come out and face me. How dare you steal my meteoric iron! Hand it over, or face death!" The Second Elder shouted beneath the Diaojiao Building, his voice bolstered by inner strength, carrying far enough for Elder Su and the Fifth Elder, who had come due to rumors, to hear.

Additionally, the Fourth Elder and the Seventh Elder also arrived, already aware of today’s events, feeling that the Second Elder oppressing a junior in such a manner was disgraceful.

"Meteoric iron?" Elder Su and the Fifth Elder had been talking together earlier and now arrived together. At these words, they exchanged a look with each other.

Inside, Bai Ruozhu wanted to go out but was held back by Jiao Ling, "Ruozhu, don’t go. It’s too dangerous. Let me speak to the Second Elder; we can’t let him bully people like this!"

"Aunt, I’ll deal with what I stirred up myself. Otherwise, what difference is there between me and Fo Lanying? You all shouldn’t concern yourself," Bai Ruozhu pressed Jiao Ling’s hand, quickly rushing out of the Diaojiao Building.

"This isn’t what she stirred up; it was really me who..." Bai Zepei started to say, shaking his head, "I shouldn’t have returned."

Jiao Ling and Jiao Yunyun exchanged glances, both feeling sorrow; when did the clan become like this?

Bai Ruozhu exited the door and jumped directly down from the building, looking at the Second Elder, "If the Second Elder is dissatisfied with me, come at me directly! Talking about meteoric iron, when have I ever stolen your things?"

"The MechanicalMechanism Cat you destroyed used a small piece of black meteoric iron; it’s now missing. If not you, who else could have taken it? Hand it over quickly, or I won’t be courteous!" The Second Elder roared, having previously suffered internal injuries due to a Mechanical Puppet he made with heart’s blood being destroyed, he coughed after his shout.

At this moment, many people had already gathered, showing shocked expressions upon hearing about the black meteoric iron. It was known that black meteoric iron was extraordinarily rare, and not every mechanist could get their hands on it.

"Although I’m not an officially recognized mechanist, I have learned some Mechanical Techniques from my aunt. As far as I know, meteoric iron is extremely rare, let alone black meteoric iron. Such a precious item, would the Second Elder have casually let Fo Lanying use it? Moreover, a Mechanical Puppet with added meteoric iron would be twice as strong as a puppet of the same level. Was there really black meteoric iron in that MechanicalMechanism Cat?" Bai Ruozhu questioned in return.