Inviting a Wolf Into the House

Wesley felt that he had hit the jackpot.

He was exactly forty years old this year. As the captain of the farm under Master Liszt's name, his talent in cultivation was only average and he had not yet reached Bronze-tier. All he did in the farm was catch thieves and maintain order. He never did anything too overly meritorious and could not even save up a single gold coin a year.

At that moment, Wesley looked at the eggs on the plate and gulped. He felt that a bright future was right in front of him.

It was a Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken!

He initially accompanied Vincent home because he wanted to inquire about the latter's family's conditions and urge Vincent to gather a hundred gold coins. He had changed his mind after that. Rather than letting the kid sell his family's assets and marry into the family, why not...

Wesley had always looked down on Vincent. They were both poor kids, but the Master looked up to him because his talents were slightly better. Why must the Master look up to Vincent instead of Wesley? 

"Captain Wesley, this family actually has a live Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken! This chicken is worth more than ten thousand gold coins. Now that we know the situation, should we go back and report it to Master after we finish eating?"

"Do you guys think that Vincent will use the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken as a betrothal gift?"

One of the subordinates leaned close to Wesley's ear and lowered his voice to ask in an excited manner.

Like Wesley, they did not think much of Vincent in the past, but as long as Vincent married into the family, the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken would be considered half of their farm's property. They might be able to occasionally eat such expensive eggs in the future, and everyone would be happy if Vincent was willing to use the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken as a betrothal gift.

"How stupid. Do you think Vincent would dare to give such a precious thing away? Look at this family and find out more about them. If they don't have anyone influential backing them, we can take the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken away."

"It isn't nice to eat other people's food and rob them so openly, is it..."

One of the subordinates spoke weakly, but recevied a glare from Wesley. "Shut up. Is it robbing if you're doing it for Master? You've all got limited vocabulary and you should speak properly. This isn't robbing, but protecting. A precious thing like the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken is only safe in our hands."

Wesley glanced at Edward and Catherine, who were still being courteous, then looked to the side. He noticed that there were only two other children in the house aside from Vincent, and those two were not even teens yet. His gaze then became dangerous.

Should he just let Vincent marry into the family?

Absolutely not. Even if Vincent agreed to use the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken as a betrothal gift, doing so would only make Master Liszt favor Vincent more while wanting nothing to do with Wesley. It would be better for Wesley to bring the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken back. If Master Liszt was pleased, Wesley might even be rewarded with gold coins so plenty that he could not even spend it all in his entire life.

It was every man for themselves.

Looking at Vincent again, Wesley realized that Vincent seemed reluctant to eat the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken's egg even though he wanted to, and was instead asking his family about the changes that had happened over the years. A subordinate immediately sneered, "You all saw that, right? He's a poor kid. He wouldn't be able to enjoy the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken even if he had it. Why not let us have it!"

His subordinates quickly acknowledged him in a low voice. Then, someone gave him a push.

Wesley turned his head in dissatisfaction. "What are you guys saying? Didn't I say that this is protecting instead of robbing..."

The person who pushed him stared fixedly at the egg on his plate. "Captain Wesley, you've misunderstood. What I'm trying to say is that your egg is about to get cold! Such a precious egg won't taste good if it gets cold. Why don't you give it to us if you don't want to eat it?"

"Get lost!"

Wesley immediately stuffed the egg into his mouth, tasting the rich fragrance and the warmth that flowed into his limbs. His resolve was strengthened even further.

He had to rob that Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken!

...

An hour later, at the chicken farm.

"Captain Wesley, what is you wanted to say when you dragged me here?"

Vincent stood outside the chicken farm and sighed as he looked at a half-meter tall male chicken adorned in colorful feathers.

He had just heard from the dining table that the chicken farm was now managed by his eighth sibling. A thousand hens were unfortunately lose after accidentally obtaining a Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken.

It did not matter though. Vincent did not mind at all.

A hundred thousand hens could not be compared to a single Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken. Eighth Brother had said that a Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken could lay a hundred eggs a day, and each egg was worth one gold coin. Originally, he had been reluctant to eat the eggs given by his mother, but after hearing that, he felt relieved and ate them.

Other than tasting absolutely superb, his physical fitness had also improved a lot. He was originally only one step away from becoming a Bronze-tier warrior, but he felt that he could have a breakthrough at any time.

However, the news that made him the happiest was  his third and fourth brothers bringing over 200 eggs to sell in a nearby farm. He estimated that they would be back in two days, and his father had already promised to give him a hundred gold coins as a betrothal gift.

Vincent could not help but smile because he was in a good mood,  .

The sight of that expression made Wesley curl his lips in disdain. "I won't beat around the bush,  Vincent. The reason I called you here is very simple. Hand over the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken and let me bring it back to Master Liszt."

"What do you mean, Captain Wesley?" Vincent's expression changed instantly.

"What do you mean? Hehe, such a precious magical beast is wasted on your family. A good thing must be given to someone who is capable. Is this explanation enough?"

"You want to rob this Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken? You're crossing the line."

Their family had good intentions and did not skimp on the eggs of the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken. They were even prepared to let Wesley and the others stay and rest before leaving. How inhumane could Wesley be?

"Don't you know that it would only invite disaster if people find out that a weak person is in possession of such a precious magical beast? It'll be taken away by someone else sooner or later, so why don't you just hand it over to me Don't worry, as long as you agree to my request, we can reduce the betrothal gift appropriately. When that time comes, I'll put in a few good words in front of Master that'll guarantee your marriage into the family."

Wesley spoke slowly and his eyes narrowed into a slit. "You're a smart person. Now that I've mentioned all this, you ought to know what to do."

"You bastard, I won't agree to you! You promised that I'd gather a hundred gold coins and let me marry the young lady, but you went back on your word. Aren't you afraid that I'll tell Master about this?" Vincent was so angry that his face turned red.

He could see that Wesley was greedy for the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken and would rob him openly if the threats failed. There was only one Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken in their family. Were his younger brothers and sisters in the house supposed to suffer and if he just gave it away?

Slap!

Wesley was angered by the mockery and slapped Vincent hard in the face. "Who's robbing you? This is called protecting. Do you understand? Protecting! Besides, if I bring the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken back, you can say whatever you want and Master won't even care. Whether you're handing over the chicken or not, I'll definitely take it from you today."

"Captain, we've already captured the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken. When do we leave?"

At this moment, four guards came running from behind. They had a black sack in their hands, and the sound of a rooster could be heard from within. It was shaking non-stop and took a concerted effort from several people to control it.

The guards bodies were covered in chicken feathers, and there were even scratches on them. It was obvious that they had fought for a while, and they even complained, "Lives up to its name as a Gold-tier magical beast. It really is powerful. If it weren't for the fact that the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken doesn't have any combat ability, we wouldn't have been able to control it."

"Let's go!"

Wesley strode out without even looking at Vincent. After taking two steps, he stopped and said, "Vincent, since we have the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken, you can still their a son-in-law if you go back with me a long as you don't talk nonsense. If you dare to stop me, don't blame me if I go for your family."

He had found out at the dinner table that Edward's family was just a poor noble family with no backing. Other than Vincent, only the eight sibling named Watson seemed to have some capability as a mage. However, no matter how strong they were, they were still children who could never stop Wesley's people.

Vincent stood at the same spot blankly, not knowing what to do. He did not want these people to take away the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken, but everything Wesley said was right. What else could Vincent do even if he did not want to go along with it?

Humiliation, unwillingness, anger... All of it finally turned into a sigh of shame. "Let's go then."

He was the one who had led the wolf into the house and harmed his family. He would have never come back if he had known that would happen. For the moment, he could only let Wesley and the others take away the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken, after which he would think of a way to steal it back.

"Hold it right there! Who dared to touch my chicken?"

As Vincent was lost in thought, a childish shout suddenly came from behind him. Everyone turned around and saw Watson striding over with an angry look on his face.