# 426
Chapter 426 – Baili Tuming
Baili Pangpang’s brows locked tight at the sight.
He slapped one hand on the desk, vaulted over it as light as a cat, and landed squarely in front of Baili Jing, who still lounged in the swivel chair. Clenching his right fist, he spoke in a voice like frost:
“You’re the adopted son of the Baili family, but since childhood have we ever short-changed you? Everything I owned, you had as well—sometimes even more!
Dad handed the entire Group to you because he trusted you—because we all trusted you!
You’re more capable than I am, more qualified to run Baili Group. I’ve always known it. I never wanted to hoard power; I don’t even care about it. My plan was the day I officially inherit, I’d transfer every shred of authority to you and let you keep steering the ship.
One brother fighting on the front lines, the other keeping the home fires burning—how is that not perfect?”
Baili Pangpang glared into Baili Jing’s eyes, teeth clenched:
“I treated you like a brother. What about you?
You tried to kill me!
Blow up my plane, turn four Forbidden-artefact guards, set a net across the whole Guang-Shen sprawl—hah! Baili Jing, quite the grand scheme!
How did the Baili family raise such an ungrateful wolf?”
He roared the last line, jerked his fist back, and smashed it toward Baili Jing’s face. The punch howled through the air with killing force.
Baili Jing, still seated, narrowed his eyes and lifted his right hand.
The jade-green thumb-ring flashed.
In the next instant it dissolved into flowing light that swept over his hand, forming an entire gauntlet of pale-green jade. He caught the incoming fist effortlessly.
THUD—!
The dull impact echoed through the office.
Baili Pangpang’s knuckles were locked in that jade grip. Baili Jing leaned forward in his chair, amusement dancing in his eyes.
“Me? The ungrateful wolf of the Baili family? Hahaha…”
The laugh cut off. He stared at Baili Pangpang, smile fading word by word: “After all these years, how can you still be so naïve?”
Baili Pangpang paled at the sight of the jade gauntlet. “Baili Jing, you plan to fight me with a Forbidden artefact—in here?”
“So what if I do?”
Baili Jing’s fingers tightened; a faint crack came from Pangpang’s fist. Pangpang’s face turned livid. Heart pounding, he shoved his other hand into his pocket.
“If you want a fight, I’ll give you one.”
Suddenly he froze.
His fingers scrabbled inside the pocket, then came out empty. He stared at his palm, stunned.
“My [Unfettered Space]—where is it?” he muttered. “Impossible, I brought it with me… why can’t I open it? My mental power—”
He shut his eyes, trying to feel the flow of energy inside him, but every vein of mental strength felt sealed; nothing answered his call.
Without mental power, he couldn’t activate any artefact.
Baili Jing’s lips curled. “What’s wrong—realise your power’s been sealed? Think hard: what did you eat today?”
The words struck like lightning. Baili Pangpang stood petrified.
A single memory surfaced—that lavish breakfast. The only thing he had eaten.
No… it can’t be…
His pupils shrank; he shook his head dully. “Impossible. She’s my mother—why would she harm me?”
As if a new thought stabbed him, he jerked his gaze down at Baili Jing, fury blazing. “You! You tampered with the food!”
Baili Jing gave a soft snort.
“Aren’t the holes obvious?
I may manage Baili Group, but only a slice of it. With my clearance, how could I order a missile strike on your plane?
The four Forbidden-artefact guards—faces of our family, older than I am—how could I possibly subvert them to kill the sole official heir?
This is Guang-Shen; this is Baili Group headquarters. Do you really think I could mobilise the entire conglomerate under Dad’s nose to assassinate you, and he’d know nothing?
You over-rate me, brother.”
Baili Pangpang stood like a statue carved from ice.
“…What are you saying?” he finally whispered.
“Still don’t get it?” Baili Jing arched a brow, then crushed harder; the jade gauntlet cracked Pangpang’s hand bones!
Agony exploded through Pangpang’s body; his face contorted, but he clamped his jaw and uttered no sound.
Baili Jing released the mangled fist, cocked his jade-clad arm, and drove a brutal punch into Pangpang’s chest.
The sternum caved; Pangpang flew backward, smashed through the heavy desk, rolled across the floor, and spat a mouthful of blood.
“Cough… cough…”
Blood dripped from his lips onto the carpet. He pushed himself up, swaying.
Baili Jing stepped forward, gauntlet gleaming, seized Pangpang’s collar, and hauled him upright until their faces almost touched. Word by word he breathed:
“Then let me spell it out for you…
The one who wants you dead isn’t me.
It’s Father.”
Baili Pangpang’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. He shook his head weakly. “No… why would Dad kill me? I’m his son—he has no reason—”
Baili Jing looked him up and down and gave a short laugh.
“His son? Are you absolutely sure?
In build, looks, character, brains—what part of you resembles him?
Father built Baili Group into Great Xia’s most successful conglomerate. He’s an honorary senior of the Night Watch, hailed as the curator of Forbidden artefacts, a living legend of Great Xia’s business world!
And a man like that has a lazy, fat, dull-witted ‘son’ like you—does that sound logical?”
Baili Pangpang stared blankly at the ceiling.
“You said it yourself: everything you had, I had—and more.
Yet how many times did Father ever look you in the eye?
Did he ever raise you like a father should? Did he ever care?
Never!
He only threw money at you, surrounded you with servants. Wherever you went, they followed, stuffing your head with idleness, handling everything for you, dragging you through every pleasure until you became a complete waste of space!
Your sole purpose was to bear the name Baili Tuming—like a decoy, drawing every assassin, bomber, kidnapper, saboteur who had a grudge against the Group. Count how many times you almost died.
After each escape, did Father ever, even once, send a single word of comfort?”
Baili Jing gave a cold chuckle. “Want to know what I was doing while you were out risking your life?
I was home, eating Mother’s cooking, learning management and finance from Father, sharing his workload—enjoying treatment you could never dream of.
I possessed everything; you possessed only the name ‘Baili Tuming’.
And now—sorry, brother—
it’s time you gave that name back to me.”