Chapter 16: Jia Lie Ao

"Good! Good! Thank you! Thank you!" The vendor immediately smiled and took a bag from his pack to pack it for Xiao Yan. Just as the vendor was looking for the bag, a piece of black iron with yellow soil rust fell out of the pack.

Xiao Yan frowned. Seeing this piece of black iron, it was actually emitting a faint soul fluctuation.

"It can't be such a coincidence! Is this thing fated to be with me?" Xiao Yan felt a bit emotional in his heart.

"Xiao Yan, buy that piece of black iron, it's a good thing!" Yao Lao's voice also sounded in Xiao Yan's heart at the right time.

However, Xiao Yan didn't intend to spend any more gold coins and said nonchalantly to the vendor, "I've given at least fifty extra gold coins, you should at least give me something as a gift!"

"Ah?" Hearing that he had to give something away, the vendor was clearly a bit reluctant.

Seeing that Xiao Yan only took a bracelet worth only a few gold coins and that piece of black iron they had dug up when digging traps—this kind of iron piece was garbage in their perception, and they only didn't choose to throw it away based on the principle that even a fly is meat—plus Xiao Yan handed over the gold coins very readily, the slight heartache in the vendor's heart also vanished.

The vendor's choice was correct, because Pei En led the patrol team and arrived quickly, forcibly breaking through Jia Lie Ao's encirclement and coming to Xiao Yan's side. Every time Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er went shopping, he would send people to follow from a distance, so that when Xiao Yan encountered trouble, he could arrive immediately.

The surrounding mercenaries and merchants who were tall gathered around to watch, and those who were short brought chairs from the side to stand on and watch. After all, there were quite a few people who knew Jia Lie Ao and Xiao Yan, and knowing that these were the young masters of the two major families in Wutan City fighting, naturally, they didn't mind the chaos.

When the two were about to approach, they both swung their fists simultaneously, unleashing their killing moves, both wanting to kill with one blow.

Seeing Pei En ruin his good deed again, Jia Lie Ao was furious. Having suffered from having few guards last time, he brought quite a few guards this time, so naturally, he didn't leave in a dejected manner like last time. Instead, he sneered and said, "This monster core, this young master is determined to buy it! Give me the money!"

Xiao Yan was just about to speak, but Xun Er wanted to speak first, "Jia Lie Ao, do you still want your face? It was clearly Brother Xiao Yan who saw it first, do you understand the concept of first come, first served?"

"Baji Beng!"

Jia Lie Ao looked at the bracelet in Xiao Xun'er's hand. Upon closer inspection, besides being a bit prettier, this bracelet had nothing special; it was clearly just a street stall item and couldn't be worth many gold coins. He then mocked, "I don't know if Young Master Xiao Yan is stingy or has a low status in the family? To actually only buy this kind of street stall item to give to Miss Xun Er, this is too shabby! Hahaha!"

Seeing that this later-arriving young master was actually willing to pay double the price, the vendor was clearly very tempted, but he still didn't agree immediately. Having spent years in the market, he knew that the best choice now was to wait and see, because neither side was easy to provoke; offending either side would make it very difficult for him to survive in Wutan City in the future.

Under the vendor's slightly pained gaze, Xiao Yan casually picked up a light blue, quite good-looking bracelet and that black iron piece, then took out a bag of gold coins and handed it to the vendor.

Seeing Pei En arrive, a smile appeared on the corner of Xiao Yan's mouth. Pei En was worthy of being the patrol captain personally appointed by his father; he was very thoughtful in his conduct. This time, without Xiao Yan calling, he took the initiative to come and help Xiao Yan out of the siege.

The two did not disappoint the surrounding onlookers. Only to see Jia Lie Ao clench his right fist, a faint cyan color appearing on it, and with a step, he quickly attacked Xiao Yan.

"Hey! Am I dreaming? Is the one flying backward really Jia Lie Ao and not Xiao Yan?" A person in the field who knew Xiao Yan and Jia Lie Ao exclaimed.

"Hehe, straightforward! As long as you fight me once, if you win, it's naturally yours; if you lose, it's mine. I heard that you easily defeated Xiao Ning, who was at the seventh stage of Dou Qi in your clan, a few months ago, so you should be at least at the eighth or ninth stage of Dou Qi now! With your current strength, you shouldn't be afraid, right? Or is this just a play directed and acted by your family, with the purpose of letting you get rid of the 'trash' label!" Jia Lie Ao laughed loudly. He had also heard about Xiao Yan's duel, but he just treated this matter as a joke, thinking it was a trick directed and acted by the Xiao family.

The weather was relatively hot, and people's moods would naturally become irritable. The usually very quiet Xun Er couldn't help but start losing her temper at this moment.

"Isn't it rumored that Young Master Xiao Yan lost his cultivation talent and has become trash? How could he be so powerful, being able to blast Jia Lie Ao away with one punch? He must be at least a Dou Zhe!" Another mercenary raised his own question.

The guards who followed Jia Lie Ao also mocked and laughed along. However, the laughter did not last long before it was like someone had suddenly grabbed their necks. Everyone opened their mouths wide, their stunned appearance extremely comical.

The two stood in the center of the field surrounded by the Xiao family and Jia Lie family guards, looking at each other. A confident smile was on Xiao Yan's face, and seeing this expression, Jia Lie Ao thought Xiao Yan was just putting on an act.

Seeing Jia Lie Ao actually pursuing Xun Er in front of him, Xiao Yan's mouth twitched. He stood up, handed the newly bought bracelet to Xun Er, and said indifferently, "I will help Xun Er buy whatever she needs, so I won't trouble Young Master Jia Lie Ao."

"This monster core, this young master has also taken a fancy to it." Just as the vendor was about to take the gold coins, a somewhat dissolute voice sounded behind Xiao Yan.

Seeing Xun Er lose her temper, Jia Lie Ao was clearly stunned; he obviously hadn't expected that the usually very gentle and elegant Xiao Xun'er would also curse. However, he was only stunned for a moment. Seeing Xiao Xun'er's true side, Jia Lie Ao became even more tempted and liked her even more in his heart. He smiled faintly and said, "I need to make a piece of jewelry recently, so I also desperately need a wood-attribute monster core. If Miss Xun Er wants it, how about I give this piece of jewelry to Miss Xun Er for free after I make it?"

Seeing Jia Lie Ao blasted away by Xiao Yan with one punch, the whole scene fell into a deathly silence. Everyone rubbed their eyes in unison, thinking they had seen it wrong.

"This bracelet doesn't belong to you yet, right? How much are these things? I'll pay double! You haven't paid yet, so don't say I'm being unkind."

Xiao Yan took a deep breath, knowing that today's matter could not be settled easily. Even if he didn't buy that monster core, the black iron piece was something he needed, so he couldn't yield. He said in a deep voice, "What do you want? Just say it?"

Xiao Yan also waved his hand to let the guards disperse. Xun Er just smiled and said "be careful," then walked directly to the side. She knew Xiao Yan's strength; even she could only fight Xiao Yan to a draw, let alone Jia Lie Ao. Although both were at the ninth stage of Dou Qi, could they be the same?

"Oh? Are you sure?" A mocking smile appeared on Xiao Yan's face, because he felt several powerful auras appearing around him, one of which was slightly domineering, like a male lion.

"Hehe, don't worry, I won't take anything expensive, I just want to buy a gift for my Xun Er." Xiao Yan said with a smile.

The guards who followed Jia Lie Ao took out a heavy bag of gold coins and forcibly handed it to the vendor. The vendor felt the two bags of gold coins in his hands, his heart bitter. He had never felt that gold coins were so hot to handle in his hands, and he looked at Xiao Yan with a wry smile.

Seeing Jia Lie Ao attacking, Xiao Yan's body tightened like a bow, his eyes narrowed, and his fists clenched.

Hearing that Xiao Yan wouldn't take anything expensive, the vendor finally felt relieved and said with a smile, "Good, you can pick any two items!"

Only a "crack" sound was heard, the sound of bones breaking. Jia Lie Ao spat out a mouthful of blood, and his body flew backward directly.

"Hehe! I didn't expect Miss Xun Er to have such different hobbies, I miscalculated a bit." A look of jealousy flashed across Jia Lie Ao's face, and he waved his hand to order his followers to surround the entire stall.

Hearing this slightly familiar voice, Xiao Yan frowned slightly, turned around to look behind him, and saw Jia Lie Ao walking toward him and Xun Er with more than a dozen guards, walking with a swaggering gait.

Only to see Xun Er quickly put on the bracelet and say excitedly, "What a beautiful bracelet, thank you Brother Xiao Yan, Xun Er likes it very much!"

"Clear Wind Profound Fist!"

"Third Young Master, are you okay?" Pei En asked respectfully.

"Hehe, I'm fine." Xiao Yan said with a smile.

Seeing Xiao Yan's fearless appearance, a look of disdain appeared on Jia Lie Ao's face, thinking Xiao Yan was just bluffing. He had been at the ninth stage of Dou Qi for a long time, while Xiao Yan had only been at the third stage of Dou Qi a few months ago; no matter how much of a genius he was, how much could he improve in just half a year? He immediately waved his hand to let the guards disperse, leaving an open space, and sneered, "Don't bluff there, your little tricks can only fool children."

"It seems so! And I heard the sound of bones breaking, it seems Young Master Xiao Yan broke Jia Lie Ao's arm with just one blow." The person next to him widened his eyes and said in astonishment.

"You don't understand! Actually, I heard! Young Master Xiao Yan didn't lose his cultivation talent, the previous things were all smoke bombs released by the Xiao family. Because the young master's cultivation talent was too heaven-defying, they were afraid of attracting the attention of interested people, so they deliberately spread rumors that he lost his cultivation talent to protect the young master." A burly man said confidently, but this was just his guess.

"So that's how it is!" Hearing this explanation, everyone present had a sudden realization.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 17 =====