The Capable Tan Jian

Elder Xu turned to Yao Tang. “These external injuries in their bodies are fatal. This can’t be the work of Xiao Tan, can it?”

Yao Tang sighed helplessly. “I did it.”

She really didn’t want to admit it to these old men. After all, she hadn’t exactly done a good thing. The Cabinet Elders might even disown her for this.

The worst part was that Yao Tang had always been well-behaved in front of them.

Now that she was exposed, she knew that her image was irrevocably ruined.

Unexpectedly, the elders didn’t admonish her right away. Instead, they seemed to be pondering among themselves, as though they didn’t believe her at all.

After a moment, Elder Li’s face lit up with realization. “Oh, I see. I understand now. It must have been Tan Jian!”

If it wasn’t the father, then it should be the son. In any case, it couldn’t have been Yao Tang.

Really, he didn’t expect the young man to be so secretive. All this time, they thought Tan Jian was just another wealthy playboy.

Elder Wang quickly jumped in with the assumption and nodded emphatically. “Yes, of course, it’s the kid. He’s impressive, isn’t he? Who would have thought that he actually had such skill.”

“Right? The kid looked skinny, but he sure is good at fighting.”

The elders laughed and began to heap praises on Tan Jian. Just like that, the tense atmosphere dispersed once more.

“Not bad, eh? When that boy comes over, I’ll be sure to commend him for his actions.”

“His attitude, too! A strong person doesn’t reveal his true appearance so carelessly. He is admirable for living up to that adage.”

“He must take after his father. Xiao Tan awakened his spiritual strength at a critical moment, while Tan Jian displayed his talent in combat. He took most of the goons out on his own, right? What a promising young man.”

“I am very much impressed. I honestly thought he was just another frivolous kid, but it turns out that he was simply good at keeping a low profile.”

Their exchange was followed by another round of laughter.

Yao Tang sat to the side and listened to the elders’ chatter in silence. She didn’t know how to feel about the situation.

“It really was me,” she tried telling them again.

But her words were drowned out by the old men’s merriment. Even Elder Xu, who sat closest to Yao Tang, didn’t seem to hear her.

“Elders, please contain your excitement for a moment. What should we do about this? There are so many people here, I’m afraid they wouldn’t fit in the vehicles we brought.”

Xiao Zhao looked rather bitter through the screen.

They had all presumed that they would only be carting a dozen people at most, which was why they only brought two medium-sized vans.

In reality, there were dozens upon dozens of bodies here. Even if they had brought ten vans, it would take several trips for them to bring everyone.

What were they supposed to do?

Beside him, the other apprentices stood at attention, their faces mottled with worry and apprehension.

Elder Xu waved a hand and declared, “Clean up the scene and only bring those who are still alive. Forget about everything else. Hurry and come back early.”

And then he ended the call.

It didn’t take long for the disciples to return. The vans screeched to a halt in front of the meeting hall, and the elders went over to take a look.

A handful of people alighted from the vehicles.

They hadn’t even filled a single van.

“I didn’t expect Tan Jian to be this capable! How did he deal with so many people all by himself?”

“But this is a good thing, too, isn’t it?”

“He is a promising young man, indeed. When Deng Hai and the rest arrive, we shall let them learn from Tan Jian and see how he managed to pull this off.”

“What a pivotal moment it is to bear witness to that kid’s skills. We have gravely underestimated him!”

Despite their surprise, the elders never stopped praising Tan Jian.

In their minds, he had truly exceeded all expectations. At first, they thought that he had only beaten up a bunch of people. Who knew he could be so ruthless that only a handful of people were left alive?

And to think that he only revealed his strength in order to defend Yao Tang and President Tan.

Tan Jian had really done well.

Yao Tang listened to the old men applauding Tan Jian and felt sorry for him for a brief second. Even so, she only nodded along and didn’t try to refute them again.

Since the elders had pinned the credit to someone else, she thought it best not to stir the pot.

The elders refused to believe her anyway. She might as well ride on the misunderstanding and write it off as a quirky twist of fate.

“Tangtang, I don’t suppose the Green Cloud Pavilion is aware of the extent of their casualties… Right?” Elder Xu asked tentatively.