281 A Brazen Extortion 2

After a short while, an ashen-faced Lei Qin returned with two guards in tow. The guards were carrying a big, heavy wooden case between them, which they then placed before Ji Fengyan.

"Grandfather…" Lei Qin refused to even glance at Ji Fengyan, even as she looked imploringly at Lei Kai.

"Open it." Lei Kai waved.

Biting her lips reluctantly, Lei Qin instructed the guards to open the big wooden case after much dawdling and procrastination.

Enclosed within the wooden case was another longish box. The two guards carefully lifted that box and placed it on a nearby table before slowly opening it.

Inside the box laid a heavy, silver-colored shield. Although one could not tell the material it was made of, its design and craftsmanship was exquisite. A life-like dragon was carved upon the shield, its wings spread out to both ends of the weapon. Two deep, blue jewels made up the dragon's eyes. From its head to its slightly protruding sharp teeth, the entire dragon was carved with expert detail and precision.

Legends on the origins of the Kingdom of the Sacred Dragon had been around for a long time. It was said that at the very beginning, thousands of years before the ancient dragons were driven into extinction, the founding father of the Kingdom of the Sacred Dragon had encountered a massive egg by a river. Purely by chance, he managed to hatch that egg and an ancient baby dragon emerged!

Thinking back to those days, when heaven and earth were one and the human race weak—that was the era of the dragons and other bizarre creatures. But with the shifting of time, those dragons who once dominated the world gradually disappeared until they became extinct.

Nonetheless, their power and mystery continued to live on in legends within humanity.

The founding father of the Kingdom of the Sacred Dragon personally reared that dragon to adulthood. The ancient dragon's prowess had already far surpassed the combined battle power of the entire human race. Owing to the existence of that one dragon, the Kingdom of the Sacred Dragon was formed and became the most powerful country in the continent.

Because of the ancient dragon's protection, none of the other countries on the continent dared to invade the Kingdom of the Sacred Dragon, enabling it to gradually expand its territory. That sole-existing ancient dragon on the continent was revered as the Sacred Dragon—for which the country was named after.

However, following the fall of the kingdom's first Emperor, the indebted ancient dragon disappeared without a trace after his benefactor's funeral.

After thousands of years, the Sacred Dragon had turned into a spiritual symbol for the Kingdom of the Sacred Dragon. It was also the dedicated insignia for the royal family.

The moment that heavy shield bearing the carving of the ancient dragon appeared before the Lei family, the hearts of every member constricted fiercely.

However, Lei Kai ignored his people's resistance and raised his head to look at the self-satisfied Ji Fengyan. His eyebrows twitched involuntarily, but he still subdued his anger. "Young Mistress Ji, this is the Sacred Dragon Shield. I apologize deeply for the Tree of the Flowing Bloodshed incident. The Lei family will present this Sacred Dragon Shield as atonement."

Lei Kai's words caused the entire Lei family to stare toward Ji Fengyan with renewed hatred.

However…

Ji Fengyan glanced nonchalantly at the Sacred Dragon Shield and turned away. She said sarcastically, "Lei family Head, are you kidding me? During the auction, your Sacred Dragon Shield failed to match up to the Tree of the Flowing Bloodshed. And you are now giving it to me as compensation. Do you take me for a fool?"