Chapter 50: Negotiation

Chen Chuan had been with the City Guard for over forty years, experiencing countless bloody battles and handling innumerable cases, both major and minor. Yet, the horrific scene in the courtyard before him still sent shivers down his spine.

The Longlin Gang's guest elder, a master of seven springs with a mole between his eyebrows, lay in a pool of blood, severed at the waist, his arms missing.

Beneath the courtyard wall, about ten corpses were scattered haphazardly, all killed by a single sword stroke.

The ground was also littered with fierce Ao spiders and sturdy webs stretching in every direction, all frozen under a layer of frost and ice crystals, clearly indicating the use of a magic artifact capable of mass destruction.

This could certainly be called a major incident!

And the creator of this horrific scene was merely a young man who appeared to be under twenty years old.

If the individual truly hailed from the Cangli tribe, he was undoubtedly a rising star within that clan. Such a person was beyond his ability to offend now, and even more so in the future. Reporting this upward would uncover much more, potentially involving power struggles among the higher echelons of Jiuli City.

Li Weiyi lit the bone lamp and rehung it on the old poplar tree.

Under the lamplight, the bloodstains in the courtyard appeared unnaturally vivid, and combined with the scattered corpses, an eerie and terrifying atmosphere permeated the air.

Chen Chuan's expression softened as he asked, "Who is the owner of this residence?"

"I am."

Zhao Meng strode out, his six-meter-tall frame causing the ground to tremble slightly.

With his spiritual energy circulating, his skin turned golden, his hair appeared to be on fire, and his voice thundered like a clap of lightning.

Senior Guan had instructed him to appear in this manner, to project as much power as possible.

"Senior Brother, this is Captain Chen of the City Guard..." Li Weiyi was seeing Zhao Meng in such an extraordinary form for the first time and was quite astonished.

Zhao Meng, without ceremony, strode towards Chen Chuan with a powerful gait, demanding, "We paid city defense silver when we rented this residence. We were attacked by villains and nearly all killed. Why did the City Guard arrive so slowly?"

In Chen Chuan's eyes, Zhao Meng's oppressive presence was overwhelming, even surpassing that of Xie Jin's iron-fisted demeanor.

His flesh and blood appeared to have been forged from gold, a sight virtually unheard of for someone in the Surging Spring realm. He felt that Zhao Meng could easily tear him in half with just his physical strength.

This was Xie Jin's senior brother and the master of this place, undoubtedly an even more formidable individual.

He could never have imagined that Zhao Meng had only opened one spring.

Facing such a powerful figure, Chen Chuan quickly cupped his hands in respect, not even daring to ask Zhao Meng for his citizen's register. He explained, "We never anticipated that someone would be so audacious as to trespass and rob a private residence so close to the city limits. Please do not be angered, Your Excellency. The City Guard will certainly address this, and such an incident will never happen again in the future."

Li Weiyi had not expected his senior brother to possess such formidable deterrence. He instinctively stepped aside, appearing like a junior disciple deferring to his senior, thereby enhancing Zhao Meng's imposing presence.

A quarter of an hour later, their conversation concluded.

Chen Chuan exited the residence, promising emphatically that he would swiftly identify the mastermind behind the attack. He then ordered the more than twenty City Guards outside to remove all the corpses from the courtyard and clean the ground thoroughly.

Li Weiyi stood with his hands behind his back, watching the departing City Guards. "Senior Brother, do you see now? Only with great power will others respect us; otherwise, we would surely have been taken away by now. Of course, this also suggests that Chen Chuan himself is not entirely clean."

Zhao Meng chuckled, "I just feel that our supposed strength right now is a bit hollow. Others probably take me for a powerful figure in the Five Seas realm. If our true capabilities were revealed, the City Guard and the Longlin Gang would have countless ways to make us pay back everything, with interest."

"Five Seas realm!"

Li Weiyi uttered these three words.

At that moment, in his heart, these three words represented dignity, status, and security—a level he absolutely had to attain.

"You'll have to keep up this 'Five Seas realm' act; there's still a tough battle ahead tonight."

Li Weiyi didn't believe Chen Chuan would offend the Longlin Gang for their sake; the so-called "investigation to find the mastermind" was undoubtedly just a formality.

To truly resolve the major trouble with the Longlin Gang, they would have to rely on themselves.

Night had fallen deep, and the air was slightly cool.

Li Weiyi sat alone on the doorstep, repeatedly wiping blood from the Yellow Dragon Sword with a piece of gray cloth. The water in the basin beside him, used to rinse the cloth, gradually turned deep red.

Zhao Meng sat beneath the old poplar tree in the courtyard, appearing calm and composed, though in reality, he felt completely out of his depth.

Old Liu and Old Guan were cleaning the bloodstains in the courtyard.

No one attempted to flee, as at this point, escape would only lead to a quicker death. They had to present a stance of fighting to the death against the Longlin Gang to force the opposing side to weigh the pros and cons, thus earning a sliver of hope for survival.

"Clatter!"

"Clatter!"

The sound of rapid, dense footsteps quickly approached from the end of the four-zhang-wide long street.

Led by Deputy Gang Leader Tang Yan and Banner Master Shi Chuan-yu, dozens of Longlin Gang members emerged en masse from the shadows of the buildings, all dressed in black, frightening the vendors and residents along the street into silence.

The air throughout the entire street seemed to suddenly become thick.

Li Weiyi glanced over and, seeing that the Longlin Gang members were not carrying weapons, immediately felt a sense of reassurance.

In that case...

They needed to adopt an even more assertive posture.

Soon, all the Longlin Gang members stopped in front of the residence, their gazes fixed on Li Weiyi. Yet, he continued to calmly wipe his longsword, treating them as if they weren't even there.

This display of courage, composure, and confidence left the Longlin Gang members speechless.

Shi Chuan-yu stepped forward and bowed to Li Weiyi, simultaneously glancing at Zhao Meng, who was seated in the courtyard. Without beating around the bush, he went straight to the point: "This humble one, Shi Chuan-yu, had eyes but failed to recognize true greatness. Tonight, the Longlin Gang admits defeat. For the distress you two have suffered, our gang has prepared generous gifts to express our sincerity, hoping only to resolve this conflict peacefully."

Li Weiyi remained silent, his gaze shifting to Tang Yan, who stood behind Shi Chuan-yu.

From the old man, he sensed an extremely dangerous aura; clearly, this was the true, decisive figure within the Longlin Gang.

Tang Yan had already been observing Li Weiyi, finding him much younger than he had expected.

Yet, it was this young man whose terrifying achievements tonight had caused the Longlin Gang heavy losses, ensuring they would become the laughingstock among the many gangs in the suburban area by tomorrow.

The other party's confidence was absolute, seemingly fearless and unconcerned.

Tang Yan's aged face contorted into a friendly smile. He moved to Shi Chuan-yu's right, cupped his hands, and introduced himself: "This old man is Tang Yan, Deputy Gang Leader of the Longlin Gang. My subordinates lacked discernment and brought great calamity upon the gang; their deaths at your hands are well-deserved. This is the deed to this residence, which I had someone rush to acquire just now. Please, young friend, do accept it."

After Tang Yan produced the deed, Shi Chuan-yu presented it to Li Weiyi.

Li Weiyi glanced at it, naturally feeling greatly shaken internally.

One must know that even a small residence in this area would cost tens of thousands of silver.

Their three-mu residence would be impossible to acquire for anything less than two hundred thousand silver.

What a grand gesture!

Li Weiyi withdrew his gaze without changing his expression and calmly asked, "Where are my people?"

Tang Yan raised a hand to signal.

Four black-clad gang members brought Zhao Zhizhu over in a sedan chair and helped him to stand before Li Weiyi.

Zhao Zhizhu's injuries had been treated, and his dislocated arms reset, but it was still evident he had suffered inhumane treatment. Li Weiyi waved his hand, instructing Old Liu and Old Guan to help him away.

The four gang members who had carried Zhao Zhizhu knelt on the ground, kowtowing and pleading, their faces filled with terror.

Clearly, they were responsible for Zhao Zhizhu's condition.

Li Weiyi looked up and stared at Tang Yan, his gaze sharp as a sword.

Tang Yan waved his hand. "Indeed, those who commit mistakes must pay the price. Break all their arms and legs, and leave them to their own devices."

After the four were dragged away, their shrill screams and the sounds of bones breaking followed in succession.

Li Weiyi felt no pity or sympathy; given the Longlin Gang's methods, there were likely few good people among them, and whatever fate befell them was well-deserved.

"Since the Deputy Gang Leader is so sincere, I, Xie Jin, will accept this deed," Li Weiyi said again. "But I'm very concerned that a similar incident might occur again late one night..."

Zhao Meng's voice, like a tiger's roar and a dragon's cry, came from within the courtyard: "Then let's attack the Longlin Gang, arm wrestle, and see who's tougher."

Tang Yan's eyes slightly darkened. If this matter hadn't already escalated, if the Young Mistress hadn't instructed them to resolve it peacefully, and if these two didn't possibly have the Cangli as a backer, how could the Longlin Gang endure such humiliation?

Tang Yan, with a faint smile, promised, "Rest assured, gentlemen, such an incident will never happen again. May I inquire, is Master Qi doing well?"

Li Weiyi had kept the strange man in white robes because he believed him to be an insect master, of significant value, and usable as a bargaining chip with the Longlin Gang.

He had originally intended to exchange him for Zhao Zhizhu.

Now, however, Li Weiyi had a new idea: "That old man is still alive. How much silver does the Deputy Gang Leader intend to pay for him?"

Tang Yan inwardly cursed Li Weiyi's greed, but then recalled that the other party only dared to rent a residence in the suburban area, suggesting genuine poverty.

Anything that could be resolved with money was not a problem.

He would endure it for now!

After some negotiation, Tang Yan ultimately redeemed Master Qi for one hundred thousand silver.

When Tang Yan learned that only Master Qi had been redeemed, and not the Ao spiders, his face turned green with rage.

Li Weiyi stood up, watching the Longlin Gang members, who had arrived in force and were now departing in the same manner. Adopting an unapproachable stance, he declared loudly, "A word of warning to the Deputy Gang Leader: it would be best not to send anyone to monitor us. If I discover it, I will personally deliver their corpses back to the Longlin Gang."

Tang Yan, who had already walked a hundred paces away, his chest heaving violently, his eyes betraying a murderous intent.

Shi Chuan-yu asked, "Deputy Gang Leader, did you ascertain the depth of that person in the courtyard?"

Tang Yan replied, "It's certain he is of the Five Seas realm, no doubt. He ingested the blood of two ancient immortal beasts; didn't you notice yesterday?"

Shi Chuan-yu quickly explained, "Yesterday, he deliberately concealed his cultivation, his divine aura restrained. At my level... alas, my cultivation is insufficient... I was mistaken..."

Tang Yan's expression was grave. "A Deviant only attains the ability to drink the blood of a second ancient immortal beast once they reach the Five Seas realm. Of course, those with unique physiques are an exception, but such individuals are even rarer than pure immortal bodies, making them irrelevant for comparison."

"Are we truly just going to endure this? The price we paid tonight was too high," Shi Chuan-yu said, clearly unwilling.

Tang Yan replied, "First, we must ascertain their relationship with Cangli. If they are distantly related, then this humiliation, if not avenged tonight, will certainly be repaid with a terrible price in the future. Even if they are closely related, if overt means are not feasible, can we not use covert ones?"

"Oh, and that Xie Jin fellow is probably not in the Five Seas realm. Most likely, he's an arcane-martial cultivator who has opened eight springs."

Shi Chuan-yu felt the same way; the oppressive feeling Xie Jin gave him was significantly less than Zhao Meng's. He asked, "Should we list his name at the Five Burials Temple and have the Fodu Brigands help us test him further? If we can kill him, wouldn't that be a way to vent our frustration?"

The Five Burials Temple is the largest assassin organization in Jiuli City's underground nether-market, rumored to be backed by Coffin Mountain Xu Fodu, one of the three great barbarian brigands of the Southern Territory.