Chapter 151: Mayor Wei's Vulnerability

"Surname Wei, we want you to pay with your life for everyone in Mulberry Village!" Mulberry Leaf lacked any sense of humor whatsoever, coming straight to the point with such a blunt declaration. To be fair, this was actually the very first sentence she had spoken since entering the Wei estate. Having managed to hold back her temper for this long, she had certainly grown a little.

Even so, doing this was still a bit too impulsive. After all, they hadn't yet managed to squeeze the whereabouts of the captured villagers of Mulberry Village out of Mayor Wei's mouth. By blurting out their purpose in such a careless manner, it was unlikely that this mayor would willingly reveal the villagers' location now.

As expected, the old scoundrel immediately thought of this leverage and used it to threaten them. "It doesn't matter to me! With all the old and young of Mulberry Village buried with me, dying is just dying!"

"You...!" Mulberry Leaf was consumed with fury, pointing a trembling finger at Mayor Wei, completely at a loss for what to do. She realized now that she had ruined their master plan. Because of her carelessness, how much suffering might the people of Mulberry Village have to endure? Guilt and self-blame gnawed at her heart, magnified by the fear that Tang Wei and the others would blame her and wash their hands of the matter. Stealing a cautious glance at Tang Wei and Wan Wan, she felt slightly relieved upon seeing no sign of displeasure on their faces.

"Let me tell you, everything I am doing is by order of the King of Tang! Just dare to try and harm me! Are you trying to make an enemy of the entire kingdom?" The fellow surnamed Wei immediately tried to crush them beneath a towering charge. If that accusation stuck, Tang Wei and her companions would find themselves hunted across the realm by every martial artist in the Tang Kingdom. While they weren't afraid, dealing with that level of trouble was still a nuisance.

"Don't try to hoodwink us with that nonsense! Don't think I don't know that while the King of Tang is indeed collecting boys and girls from the realm, he certainly never ordered anyone to uproot an entire village. You are blatantly disobeying imperial edicts in defiance of your superiors. If word of this gets out, at the very least your entire clan would face execution, and your immediate family would definitely not be left alive!" Fortunately, Wan Wan had some inkling of the situation, otherwise she might have been truly deceived.

"You can't scare me. When I went to Mulberry Village, an envoy of the King of Tang went with me. It was the villagers of Mulberry Village who lacked judgment and dared to resist this mayor in the execution of his duty. Their deaths are entirely their own fault!"

Seeing the mayor adopt a posture of absolute defiance, Wan Wan knew that even if the matter were exposed, it might not be enough to convict him of a capital crime. Since he had the audacity to do it, he undoubtedly had corresponding countermeasures prepared. She had no choice but to think of another way. Glancing at the young master Wei, her eyes rolled and she smiled threateningly. "You're in our hands now, so all those words are just hot air. You might not fear death, but what about others? What about your son? And your women? If we were to execute them one by one right in front of you, could you simply watch them die without batting an eye?"

"Feel free to try!" Mayor Wei refused to yield an inch. He knew that as long as he held his ground, they could do nothing to him. Conversely, if he broke and confessed now, he would completely extinguish any chance of survival. He was gambling that they cared more about finding the missing villagers of Mulberry Village. Judging by the current situation, it seemed he had won the gamble.

"Fine! You simply want to make a deal with us, don't you? Are you trying to trade the whereabouts of the villagers of Mulberry Village for your own life?" Tang Wei probed tentatively.

"Tang Wei, you...?" Wan Wan had no idea what game Tang Wei was playing. Seeing her appear willing to negotiate with the man surnamed Wei, Wan Wan grew genuinely afraid that Tang Wei might actually agree to let him go. She hurriedly tried to intervene, knowing that if they let him off, the villagers of Mulberry Village would have zero chance of survival. Before she could finish, however, Tang Wei interrupted her.

"Wan Wan, don't worry, I know what I'm doing." How could Tang Wei not know what Wan Wan was worried about? She understood that martial artists in this realm, regardless of their usual moral character or conduct, were bound by their word. Once they gave a promise, no matter how difficult, they had to fulfill it. Otherwise, they would be cast out of the martial community—while not necessarily hunted by everyone, they would certainly lose all respect, effectively ruining any chance of being trusted or employed again. If Tang Wei accepted Mayor Wei's conditions right then and there, their original purpose for coming today would be entirely thwarted.

Wan Wan trusted Tang Wei enough that, seeing her so full of confidence, she held her tongue and let Tang Wei handle it, especially since they were out of options anyway.

Having appeased Wan Wan, Tang Wei turned back to Mayor Wei. "So, you want us to spare your family, and in exchange, you'll tell us where the people of Mulberry Village are. Is that right?"

"Is this deal really out of the question?" Mayor Wei was brimming with confidence; he refused to believe they would sacrifice the lives of an entire village just to spare his old life.

"Very well! Negotiation is possible, but we get to set the terms." Tang Wei refused to believe that Mayor Wei would rather cut off his own lineage than drag the people of Mulberry Village down with him. She was certain he would accept her upcoming proposal.

"What are your terms?" Mayor Wei's eyes lit up as he glimpsed a chance at survival.

"No real conditions to speak of—just trading your life alone for the lives of your entire family," Tang Wei repeated her previous stance.

"What do you mean?" Mayor Wei was completely baffled. What on earth was she talking about? Didn't she just say she could take his family's lives if she wanted?

"Exactly as it sounds. We are already being remarkably merciful by only demanding your life. Surely you don't want the Wei family line to end here? I assure you, if we make a move, not a single chicken or dog in your entire estate will be left alive—including your kept mistresses, illegitimate children, and all those other little side projects. We can cleanly sever all of them," Tang Wei said with utmost seriousness. She figured that since Mayor Wei wasn't afraid of having his lineage rooted out, he must have some sort of backup plan. Back in China, Tang Wei had seen plenty of wealthy men who secretly maintained three or four secondary families. She refused to believe that a mayor with this much power lacked people willing to attach themselves to him. Tang Wei also knew how deeply people in this world valued descendants, viewing the extinction of one's lineage as a grave sin. They firmly believed that souls returned to the underworld after death, and having no descendants would leave them unable to face their ancestors. Thus, she gambled that Mayor Wei must have illegitimate children and wasn't truly afraid of ending his main line, using this uncertainty to force a breakthrough. There was a chance it might buy them a path forward.

While Mayor Wei had managed to maintain his composure initially, the moment words like "mistresses" and "illegitimate children" hit his ears, his expression changed instantly, and he could no longer pretend to be unconcerned. In truth, he was exactly as Tang Wei suspected: he had several secondary households outside, and more than one illegitimate child. Yet, he hadn't kept mistresses merely out of a taste for beauty; he had his own calculations. He knew how utterly heinous his actions were. In these turbulent times under the tyrannical rule of the King of Tang, endless wars flared up constantly—domestically and externally alike—and conflict could erupt at any moment. Seizing every opportunity to hoard bargaining chips for the chaotic future was his way of preparing. Because of this, he had inevitably made countless enemies, meaning his life could be snuffed out at any second. He had no choice but to leave himself a backdoor.

While the Wei estate served as his public residence—a place where he appeared immensely wealthy with wives and concubines galore, yet only one legitimate son—the true Wei family consisted of a brood of children and even several grandchildren hidden away elsewhere. The vast majority of his wealth had already been secretly transferred there, and everything was arranged so thoroughly that if he were to die right now, he would have no lingering attachments. To have such a covert secret abruptly exposed by Tang Wei naturally sent a shockwave through his heart. He assumed Tang Wei had uncovered his deepest secret, instantly supplying him with fatal vulnerabilities.

Although Tang Wei and Mayor Wei approached the situation from completely opposite directions, it didn't disrupt their plan. The moment Mayor Wei showed even a sliver of hesitation, this silent battle was won.

The two stared at each other in silence. In the end, Mayor Wei defeated himself with his own imagination and conceded. He dared not take the lives of his family lightly. If Tang Wei truly knew of the existence of the second Wei estate, any stubborn resistance on his part might genuinely result in the eradication of his bloodline. Even if they didn't yet know the exact address, with such a suspicion planted, any serious investigation would easily unearth it. He couldn't afford to take the risk, leaving him no choice but to trade his own life for the safety of his family.

Sighing deeply, Mayor Wei surrendered in defeat. "You win. Ask whatever you like!"

"Very well then. To ensure you don't play any tricks, we'll have to resort to a little stratagem. Please forgive us!" Though Tang Wei spoke as if she felt terribly apologetic, her face showed not a shred of embarrassment. She then quite naturally pointed young master Wei toward Wan Wan and instructed, "Wan Wan, take this brat far away and interrogate him. I'll question the old man here. If their testimonies don't match, we'll sell off every single member of the Wei clan—the men's martial arts will be crippled before they're sold to brothels alongside the women. With all these tender young masters added to the mix, I'm sure business in those brothels will boom." Tang Wei was truly shameless; even when making threats, she had to use such filthy ideas. While such things were openly written about on the internet back on Earth, men in this world were vastly different—they held such matters in the utmost contempt, considering it something only the lowest scum of society would do. It was a fate far more agonizing than being sold off to labor in mines.

Seeing the color drain entirely from Mayor Wei's face until he was completely pale, too terrified to even let out a moan, Tang Wei felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction. *Hmph! Serves you right for putting on airs and acting like a big shot. Let's see if I don't scare you half to death!* With that, Tang Wei walked up to young master Wei and tapped a point on his chest, successfully releasing his restriction.

Surprisingly, the young man turned out to be quite filial. The moment he regained his movement, he began crying out, "Father! Are you alright?"

Tang Wei wasn't about to let father and son communicate with each other. Shoving the young man toward Wan Wan, she snapped, "Cut the chatter! One more word and I'm selling you to a brothel." Satisfied as she watched the pale-faced youth turn the color of a corpse, she told Wan Wan, "Take him away and question him."

Mayor Wei watched as his son was led into the distance. When he turned back, his posture had collapsed into utter dejection and listlessness; in that single moment, he seemed to have aged decades.

Yet, this was hardly the time for Tang Wei to play the saint. The innocent villagers of Mulberry Village were still suffering, waiting desperately for her to rescue them!