Chapter 691 — Pleading

"As the saying goes, a dying man speaks kindly. The fact that you still think of your sister proves how much you love her—I have to admire that. She may be the only person you hold dear. I never thought a man as cold as you would have a weakness!" Fang Tian said.

"Master, you mean..." Dong Jun froze for a moment, thinking Fang Tian meant to go after Alice. Regret struck him at once—he should never have said so much about Alice. Now he had handed Fang Tian a hold over him!

If Fang Tian wanted to vent his anger, wouldn't his sister be in danger?

"What do I mean? Can't you figure that out for yourself?" Fang Tian said mildly.

"Master, I beg you, spare my sister. She's innocent—she's been urging me all along to work with Yan and stop opposing him. It was her counsel that finally made me start to change my mind! Master, you must spare her!" Fearing Fang Tian might vent his wrath on Alice too, Dong Jun pleaded without pause, pouring out her virtues with all his might.

"Enough, I understand. In that case, you may go and die." Fang Tian said with some impatience. "As for your sister Alice, I'll leave that for Yang Ce to decide. What comes of it in the end is for Yang Yanzhou to reckon."

"Ah..." Dong Jun sighed ruefully. "Master, couldn't you put in a word with Yang Ce? He ought to listen to you."

"No more words. Accept your death." As he spoke, Fang Tian made to strike.

Dong Jun closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, meeting the death that was about to come with resignation, yet strangely calm.

"Wait! Uncle, hold your hand!" At that moment Wang Yanqiu pushed the door open and hurried out, stopping Fang Tian.

A faint smile crossed Fang Tian's lips. He had only meant to frighten Dong Jun, to teach him a lesson and make sure he never harbored such schemes again.

"Wang Yanqiu?" Dong Jun was startled at the voice. He hadn't expected Wang Yanqiu to be in Fang Tian's house at this hour. But thinking of the portrait from before, he understood: Wang Yanqiu must have just brought it over and hadn't left yet when Dong Jun arrived ahead of schedule, so she had hidden herself in the bedroom.

"Uncle, let him off for now, would you? Since Yang Cenbin hasn't moved against him for so long, it means Yang Ce wants to handle this himself. We shouldn't interfere, should we?" Wang Yanqiu said. In truth, she had another thought as well, one she didn't voice in front of Dong Jun.

Yang Ce was a man who treasured old ties, so he would surely take Dong Jun's dying request with the utmost seriousness. When the time came, Yang Shuoxuan would fight with his life to protect Alice and help her break free of the Center—of Dr. Banlin's control. In that case, it was better to let Dong Jun live than kill him.

After all, Dong Jun knew the Center and Dr. Banlin very well. With Dong Jun here to offer counsel and take part, their odds would be better—far better than fighting alone later on.

So Dong Jun alive was worth far more than Dong Jun dead.

"Since you put it that way, then..." Fang Tian nodded. "I'll let him off for now!"

Fang Tian hadn't really wanted to kill Dong Jun in the first place, so he gladly took the chance to step down from the ledge and do Wang Yanqiu a favor.

Dong Jun hadn't expected Wang Yanqiu to plead for him, nor that he would escape death today, and least of all that Fang Tian would actually agree to her proposal! It seemed Yang Ce and Wang Yanqiu truly held no ordinary place in Fang Tian's eyes.

"Thank you, Yanyan and Shichen..." Dong Jun smiled bitterly and raised his head as if granted a great pardon. "Rest assured, after this, I will do everything in my power to assist Yang Ce against Dr. Banlin!"

"It's you who wants to deal with Dr. Banlin, who wants to break free of his grip—what does that have to do with Yan?" Fang Tian scoffed dismissively. "Do you think Yang Ce is some kind of superman, rushing to your rescue the moment he sees you in danger?"

"That..." Dong Jun flushed. Indeed, he was the one begging Yang Ce for help! He coughed dryly twice. "In any case, Yang Ce is helping me break free of his control... When it's done, I will repay him!"

"Forget about repaying him. With that little skill of yours, Yang Shuoxuan can't count on you for anything. And don't celebrate too soon—don't think that because I've let you off for now, Yang Ce will surely forgive you. What happens then is still for Yang Yanzhou to reckon!" Fang Tian said with a cold snort.

"I understand!" Dong Jun nodded hurriedly.

"All right, I'm tired. Go on back. I need to think carefully about this Dr. Banlin business you've told me." Fang Tian waved a hand, signaling that Dong Jun could leave. As for Dr. Banlin, Fang Tian meant to call a few old friends and ask around.

He had never heard of the Center before. From the look of it now, it had little to do with him or with Yan. The only thing that could count as a connection to Dr. Banlin was Su Ya, Yang Juehuan's girlfriend.

So was it really worth it to make an enemy of Dr. Banlin so rashly? In general, he never involved himself in the grudges and feuds between factions, because he was a specialist who worked for hire.

How could he make Dr. Banlin compromise, spare Dong Jun and Alice, and give up the search for Su Ya? For now, Fang Tian had no good answer.

If it was really as Dong Jun said, and Dr. Banlin's men were all modified steel men of that kind, then Yang Ce truly had no confidence of holding his own against them. Even with himself and the Butterfly Family added in, they still couldn't contend.

But as Dong Jun had said, Yang Ce was a man who treasured old ties, and so Yang Ce would certainly help Dong Jun and Alice. That was what made it so hard to refuse!

"Then, Master, I'll take my leave..." Dong Jun rose to his feet and turned to go.

Wang Yanqiu, too, meant to say her goodbyes. She had intended to leave earlier, only Dong Jun's arrival had delayed her.

"I'll be going as well."

Wang Yanqiu nodded and said.

"Good. If there's any news, I'll be in touch."

And so Wang Yanqiu and Dong Jun left Fang Tian's house one after the other.

At the gate of Fang Tian's home, Dong Jun looked at Wang Yanqiu and found himself at a loss for words. What he had done before truly left him with no face to meet her. He had been scheming against her and her husband all along—that was a heavy sin indeed!