Celestial Night Emperor

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: No More Lofty Ambitions

Li Changshan, his hair turned white overnight, had rushed here but stayed out of sight.

Qin Tianxuan had him listen and watch from the sidelines, to see for himself what kind of scum the members of the Li Family truly were.

Now, with bloodshot eyes, Li Changshan advanced, his steps slow and menacing!

Across from him, Li Tianhui’s eyes rolled back in his head as he collapsed to the ground.

Meanwhile, the Li Family’s uncles and cousins shrieked, ”A ghost! It’s a ghost!”

Li Changshan sneered. ”I’m no ghost. I’m human! And you worthless fools thought you could plot against me?”

Several of the Li Family cousins threw themselves to the floor, frantically pointing at Li Tianhui. ”He made us do it! We never wanted to hurt you, Uncle.”

Li Changshan’s mouth twitched as he stared at Li Tianhui with a complicated expression. ”All these years, I’ve been observing you and your brother, and I chose you to be my successor. Did you not have even that little bit of patience? After I’m gone, wouldn’t the Changshan Financial Group have been yours anyway?”

Li Tianhui trembled for a long moment before slowly getting to his feet.

He burst into maniacal laughter. ”One wrong step leads to another, and now I’ve lost! Do what you will, Uncle. I’m utterly defeated. As for being the successor, I never trusted it. Even your will could be changed at any moment!”

Li Tianhui’s face twisted in a snarl. ”What if you got a sudden urge, found some woman, and had another son? Then what would become of my brother and me? What about my uncles? We’d be nothing more than hired hands for you, Li Changshan! If you were really sincere, why didn’t you give us a single share of stock all these years?”

Even now, he was still trying to justify his actions. ”I was just protecting myself! It was my only choice!”

Li Changshan sighed, his gaze turning to the heavens.

His disappointment was absolute.

With a flourish, he produced a document. ”In your years at the subsidiaries, you’ve embezzled over a billion from the company! On top of that, you’ve been forming cliques and factions, and those senior executives behind you have all reaped the benefits! I’ve only just realized you’ve practically hollowed out the Changshan Group!”

Li Changshan roared, ”You animal! It’s a damn good thing I’m not dead, that I didn’t hand this company over to you! Do you think you’re worthy?”

He strode forward, viciously grabbed Li Tianhui by the ear, dragged him aside, and unleashed a dozen slaps across his face.

Li Tianhui struggled for a moment but then froze, not daring to move a muscle.

After all, who in the entire Li Family wasn’t afraid of their patriarch?

In that moment, the decisive authority of Li Changshan, the renowned general of the Battle Department, was on full display.

He pointed at the group of senior executives. ”Suspend all of them. Investigate every single one! Don’t worry about them making a fuss; I, Changshan, have plenty of people to handle them!”

Then he pointed to Li Tianhui’s cronies. ”Take them to the back. I’ll deal with them myself!”

Li Tianhui, his uncles, and his followers all screamed and pleaded for mercy.

Li Changshan remained unmoved. ”Today, I am cleaning house. My apologies to all my friends for having to witness such a joke!”

”To all my friends and family, please spread the word: I, Li Changshan, am not dead, and the Changshan Financial Group will continue to operate as usual!”

The entire crowd was stirred. Li Changshan was a highly respected business leader in Su City. With him safe, Su City’s business world would remain stable. This was undoubtedly a great relief to many.

Then Li Changshan issued another order. ”Give every rank-and-file and mid-to-low-level employee at Changshan a large bonus. This money will be deducted from Li Tianhui and his cronies’ accounts! I, Li Changshan, can do without these animal relatives, but I cannot do without my colleagues at Changshan!”

Spoken like a true tycoon who had navigated the business world for years. His words moved every employee present to tears.

The memorial service setup was quickly dismantled.

After handling his family affairs and seeing off the guests, Li Changshan returned to the villa. Though his face was haggard, he went straight to Qin Tianxuan.

With a THUD, he fell to his knees, his face filled with shame. ”For such a scandal to erupt in my own family... and to require you, Sir, to bring our old brothers to save the day... I... I am deeply ashamed.”

At that moment, tears streamed down his face.

This iron-willed veteran of the outer-realm battlefields could barely control himself, on the verge of breaking down completely.

Qin Tianxuan quickly helped him to his feet.

The old comrades behind him had tears welling in their eyes as well. ”Brother Changshan, why be so formal with us! If the Sir hadn’t given the order, we never would have known you’d been wronged like this!”

Li Changshan wiped away his tears. ”Look at me, getting so sentimental. Old brothers, don’t leave tonight. We’re drinking until we drop.”

After he spoke, he lowered his voice and began to report the situation on the outer-realm battlefield to Qin Tianxuan.

Qin Tianxuan listened intently, finally asking, ”You just returned from the outer realm, so you know the situation at the front better than anyone. Tell me one thing: can it be held?”

Li Changshan shook his head vehemently. ”We can’t hold it. Absolutely not. The new commander, Ye Tianlong, might be a little better than that Qin Celestial King, but he’s underestimating the enemy to a dangerous degree. He still hasn’t come up with a plan to counter-attack. Our Northern Domain... when have we ever been on the defensive? Have we ever done anything but attack?”

The old comrades around him all nodded. ”Back when the Sir led us, we always charged straight into the Celestial Demons’ main camp. The best defense is a good offense—that’s the way of the Northern Domain!”

It was infuriating!

Even a retired veteran like Li Changshan was seething with frustration.

Morale in the Northern Domain was currently at rock bottom. After a succession of new commanders, some soldiers at the front were only thinking about getting rich, while others were pulling strings trying to get transferred out. It was a total mess.

BAM!

Reaching the peak of his anger, Li Changshan slammed his fist on the table. ”The foundation the Sir led us in building, through all our blood and sweat... I fear it’s about to be destroyed.”

Everyone looked to the former Night Emperor, hoping he would say something.

But Qin Tianxuan slowly rose to his feet and said calmly, ”Changshan, get some rest. I won’t join your reunion tonight. I have my child at home.”

With a nod, he patted each of the old veterans on the shoulder and turned to leave.

The men exchanged wry smiles and sighed.

’The Sir has changed,’ one of them thought. ’Ever since finding his daughter, it’s like he’s lost his ambition. With his old temper, wouldn’t he be charging straight to the Northern Domain right now?’

’It can’t be helped,’ another mused. ’Madam Ye Shuanghua’s death already dealt him a heavy blow. Now that he has a child at home... I don’t think the Sir will ever come out of retirement.’