Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 464 Kneel Properly

Bai Zihan gazed down upon him briefly.

His face remained unchanged.

"Do it right,"

Bai Zihan stated evenly.

Yuan Jie's shoulders tensed up.

Bai Zihan's eyes dipped a bit, taking in the stiff posture, the tightly gripped hands, the lowered head that appeared more coerced than truly sorry.

"I sense no real remorse in what you said."

Yuan Jie's head jerked up a little, shock crossing his features.

(What?)

He was on his knees already.

He had apologized already.

What else could Bai Zihan possibly demand?

His shame had hit its peak.

"Young Master Bai," Yuan Jie forced through gritted teeth, his tone quivering, "I have already-"

Bai Zihan lifted one hand.

Yuan Jie's speech cut off at once.

"If you're going to kneel," Bai Zihan went on, his voice gentle, "then do it correctly." His look had lost its detachment.

"Drop your head. Keep your spine straight. Enunciate your words."

"If you're saying sorry, make it genuine."

Bai Zihan instructed as though proper bowing was a lesson drilled into everyone.

Yuan Jie's breaths came in harsh gasps.

This made no sense.

He held the rank of a Soul Formation cultivator.

A key disciple.

And yet now-

Not just compelled to kneel-

He was getting instructions on the right way to kneel.

His sense of honor rebelled fiercely.

"I-"

His words faltered.

"I have owned up to my error. Young Master Bai, do you really need to push this much?"

A subtle grin curved Bai Zihan's mouth.

It never warmed his eyes.

"You call this pushing?"

The air in the arena chilled noticeably.

Still, Yuan Jie sensed a massive weight crashing down on him.

"Who even suggested that bet to begin with?"

Yuan Jie's mouth opened-but silence followed.

He regretted it deeply. So very deeply.

"Give it another go," Bai Zihan commanded.

It wasn't optional.

Yuan Jie's thoughts shattered.

Another try?!

His embarrassment was already exposed to the whole sect!

He expects another round?

"This is too much!" Yuan Jie exploded, his tone wavering between fury and despair.

"I have honored my promise!"

His gaze whipped toward the supervising elder.

"Elder! You saw everything. I got down on my knees. I said sorry. I completed the bet!"

A few disciples shifted uncomfortably.

On paper-

He had indeed.

The elder's forehead creased a touch, obviously torn in his stance.

Before any words escaped him-

Bai Zihan's attention turned.

The slight grin vanished completely.

"I already mentioned your apology lacks heart. Start over!"

Yuan Jie's cheeks burned crimson.

His dignity broke.

"I already bowed!" he yelled roughly. "How much further down do you want me to

go?!"

The shout reverberated through the arena.

Bai Zihan's face grew icy.

"You need to grasp this. When I tell you to redo it-it has nothing to do with

your ego."

His stare fixed on Yuan Jie's shaking gaze.

"It's simply your duty."

Unyielding and merciless.

Yuan Jie's pulse thundered in his head.

"You ought to realize the price of not upholding a bet as required."

Bai Zihan offered no further details.

None were necessary.

Yuan Jie got the message without explanation.

It wouldn't just be his honor shattered; his very existence hung in the balance if he didn't comply.

He was Bai Zihan. Crippled or not, his origins could still doom Yuan Jie to lifelong regret.

His prior rebellion faded away.

His inhales became faint.

The roaring spectators had fallen completely silent.

They hung on every moment, observing closely.

Yuan Jie's defiance crumbled entirely.

Gradually-

His back curved once more.

Deeper this time.

His knees dug solidly into the floor.

His palms spread flat on the rock.

His brow lowered until it met the fractured stage.

On this attempt-

No rigidity lingered.

No pretended superiority.

Just pure dread. "... Young Master Bai," he murmured, his tone quaking wildly.

"I acted with hubris and disrespected Young Master Bai. I wronged you."

His forehead ground deeper into the rock.

"Please, I truly plead for your pardon."

The statement echoed distinctly.

Not booming.

Yet impossible to ignore.

Doubts about his honesty vanished now.

For it stemmed from sheer fright.

Quietness hung heavy.

Yet Bai Zihan found it lacking once more.

"Once more," Bai Zihan declared.

"What?!"

Yuan Jie stared in stunned horror.

Still, he held no power to deny the one empowered to end him and his entire family.

He bowed anew.

"Once more!"

"Once more!"

It started as amusing, then turned heartbreaking.

Even former victims of Yuan Jie's torments felt sorry for his state.

True enough, someone always looms larger in the shadows.

Only when Bai Zihan counted the repetitions of Yuan Jie's bows did satisfaction finally settle in.

"Well done! At last, I detect true remorse. I trust you won't repeat that error."

Yuan Jie slumped in fatigue, past caring about the shame paraded before all.

"...Thank you for your leniency, Young Master Bai!"

His tone rasped.

Hollow.

Bai Zihan eyed him shortly, then averted his sight as if the issue meant nothing anymore.

"Kong Zhanhong," he uttered steadily, pivoting a fraction.

Kong Zhanhong, Fei Ling, and Yun Qingmei stood ready, awaiting Bai Zihan.

Kong Zhanhong drew himself up on reflex. "Young Master?"

"Time to depart!"

Just so.

As if the recent events were merely a fleeting distraction.

Kong Zhanhong agreed at once.

"Yes!"

The audience gradually roused once more.

Murmurs rippled outward.

A shiver ran down Fei Ling's back.

"As I thought, Bai Zihan, you're downright wicked."

Bai Zihan halted.

Glanced back a touch.

"Wicked?"

He echoed, a hint of humor in his tone. "What wrong did I commit? I never

coerced him into the bet."

His eyes skimmed quickly over Yuan Jie, who remained prostrated on the stage like a broken doll.

"He chose it, and I simply granted what he sought."

Fei Ling shot him a skeptical look, baffled at Bai Zihan's bold self-justification.

Yun Qingmei interjected softly, her words gentle.

"Fei Ling, he earned that treatment."

Her gaze wandered to Yuan Jie.

"Countless outer disciples suffered his degradations. He merits no pity."

She gave a light shake of her head.

"It's pure retribution."

Fei Ling stayed silent.

She recognized Yun Qingmei's point.

Even so, didn't it cross the line a tad?

A subtle change crossed Yun Qingmei's face as a new concern arose.

"...But Han Shewu won't let this slide," she murmured, voice hushed. "Yuan Jie belongs to him. With this loss-and such disgrace-he might step in."

A subtle strain seeped back into their surroundings.

Lin Xuan's face tightened right away. Sure enough, with his underling beaten, he'd surely act personally.

That said, he believed he could manage even Han Shewu directly.

But Sect Leader Han backed him, posing a real challenge.

Bai Zihan merely sneered.

"Step in?"

A trace of scorn laced his words.

"I doubt he dares tangle with my followers."

He resumed his stride, garments fluttering softly per step.

"No need to fret over it."

His assurance rang with total conviction.

While Fei Ling harbored reservations, she figured it wasn't her burden to carry.

After several paces, Bai Zihan stopped once more, eyeing the sect gates.

"Xueqing and Chu Ziyan must be here already."

His tone warmed a fraction at their names.

"We can't leave them hanging. Let's move!"