Chapter 49: 48. Kill Without Mercy

48. Kill Without Mercy

A continuous light rain nourished the parched earth.

The weeds, which had been slightly dry, were quickly soaked by the rain and drooped down.

Chen An woke up leisurely from his sleep.

When he looked up toward the window, he discovered that it was already quite bright outside.

Being in the room at this moment, he could hear the voices of neighbors on the street from time to time.

Various signs indicated that it was already late.

Chen An looked at his young wife and daughter who were still fast asleep beside him, and reached out to wipe the drool from the corners of their mouths.

Then, he expanded his Divine Sense to perceive the surroundings.

He sensed that the concubines in the other two rooms were still fast asleep, sleeping very soundly.

"It seems they were tossed about too late last night, and they are too tired to get up at this hour."

"I must exercise some restraint in the future."

Thinking this, Chen An put on his clothes and got out of bed, intending to go to the kitchen to make breakfast for the first time in a long while.

Keep it simple.

Boil a few eggs.

Deep-fry a few dough sticks.

Grind a few bowls of soy milk.

Finally, cook a small pot of vegetable porridge, and that would basically be enough.

"Everyone in Green Willow Alley!"

"Come out immediately!"

"Elder Zhao Qingshan of the Bamboo Leaf Gang Law Enforcement Hall has important matters to announce to everyone!"

Just as Chen An was about to push the door open and go out, a deafening shout suddenly came from outside.

The voice was familiar; it sounded like the Bamboo Leaf Gang Deacon who had come to call everyone to the battlefield yesterday.

"Waa... waa... waa!"

His daughter, Chen Yuejian, was woken up by the noise, sat up from the bed, and began to wail loudly.

Song Huaying immediately pulled her into her arms, gently stroking her head while soothing her: "Xiao Yuejian, don't be afraid, Mother is here."

"Ying, I will go out and take a look."

"Husband, be careful."

"Mm."

Chen An said this and cast a Sleep Aid Technique on his crying daughter, letting her fall into a sweet slumber, before pushing the door open and leaving the room.

When he arrived at the main hall, he saw that Wen Zhiyun and Gu Xinyue had also come out, clearly having been woken up by the shouting just now.

"Yue, go to the kitchen and make some breakfast."

"Zhiyun, come with me and take a look."

Chen An looked at Wen Zhiyun and Gu Xinyue and said.

Gu Xinyue was very obedient; she said "Okay" and walked toward the kitchen, not following them out out of curiosity about what was happening outside.

Wen Zhiyun did not speak, silently following Chen An out to see what the situation was.

When the two arrived outside, both sides of the alley were already filled with residents.

And in the middle of the alley stood several Bamboo Leaf Gang cultivators.

Except for an additional old man, the others were all familiar faces from the Bamboo Leaf Gang who had come yesterday.

"That old man is an Elder of the Bamboo Leaf Gang's Law Enforcement Hall; he is a Foundation Establishment powerhouse whose strength ranks in the top five within the Bamboo Leaf Gang."

Wen Zhiyun leaned close to Chen An's ear and whispered this information to him.

Chen An nodded without saying more.

Seeing that the residents of Green Willow Alley had mostly come out, that Elder of the Bamboo Leaf Gang's Law Enforcement Hall, namely Elder Zhao, soon spoke in a resonant voice:

"Everyone, the war between the Bamboo Leaf Gang and Black Iron Villa is intensifying. I hope everyone can lend the Bamboo Leaf Gang a helping hand, go to the battlefield to charge and kill the enemy with us, and crush Black Iron Villa."

"Of course, the Bamboo Leaf Gang will not treat everyone unfairly; we will reward you based on your performance on the battlefield afterward."

"The lowest reward is one year of rent exemption in the Core Area."

"Those who perform outstandingly can even join the Bamboo Leaf Gang to become a Manager or Deacon."

Elder Zhao did not waste any words, getting straight to the point and speaking concisely to announce the benefits of being a mercenary for the Bamboo Leaf Gang.

Afterward, he waited quietly for the response of the Green Willow Alley residents.

However, several breaths of time passed.

Not only did the residents of Green Willow Alley not respond, but many even returned to their houses and shut their doors, not giving him any face at all.

What a joke!

No matter how generous the reward, one must have their life to collect it.

Everyone knew what the situation on the battlefield was like now.

In the past few days alone, the number of fallen Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators he had heard of was no less than two digits.

With such danger, who would dare to be a mercenary?

Seeing that no one responded to his call, Elder Zhao narrowed his eyes.

He immediately mobilized the Spirit Power in his body, making his voice extremely piercing:

"Starting from next month, the rent for Green Willow Alley will increase to 200 Low-grade Spirit Stones per month!"

What?!

Raised to 200 Low-grade Spirit Stones per month?

The residents of Green Willow Alley present all thought they had misheard, and one after another, looks of shock appeared on their faces.

Soon, a resident asked:

"Elder Zhao, is what you said true?"

"Absolutely true!"

Elder Zhao's voice was extremely authoritative, sounding as if it brooked not a shred of resistance.

After confirming that the rent was really going to rise to 200 Low-grade Spirit Stones per month, almost all the residents of Green Willow Alley exploded.

"Elder Zhao, this rent increase of yours isn't according to the rules. It's a special period now, so not lowering the price is one thing, but how can you double it?"

"Exactly! With such a high increase, how can we afford it?"

"This is forcing us onto the battlefield in disguise; we might as well just move away."

"Elder Zhao, for the Bamboo Leaf Gang to raise the rent so recklessly is damaging the reputation of the Bamboo Leaf Forest."

"This is too unreasonable."

The residents in Green Willow Alley issued protests one after another.

Everyone felt that this rent-raising behavior of the Bamboo Leaf Gang was very much against the rules, and they felt quite dissatisfied in their hearts.

Elder Zhao remained unmoved, his tone indifferent as he said:

"The rent is set. When the next rent collection day arrives, I will come to collect it personally; not a single copper coin less will be accepted."

Having said this, he turned around and left with the people who had accompanied him.

Some residents could not swallow this insult and began to loudly incite those around them:

"The rent has doubled all at once; isn't this forcing us onto the battlefield, forcing us to go to our deaths?"

"If worse comes to worst, we just won't live here!"

"I'm packing my luggage right now, and I'm moving out of the Bamboo Leaf Forest today!"

"If this place won't keep me, there is a place that will!"

Many residents were already dissatisfied, and now, being incited by someone, they immediately followed suit and shouted:

"Who gives a damn about living here? I'm leaving tonight!"

"I would rather die in the mouths of Demon Beasts outside the forest than die on the battlefield!"

"Anyone who wants to move away today, we can form a group together so we can look out for each other when we leave!"

Once these words were spoken, many residents responded, shouting that they wanted to leave this Bamboo Leaf Forest that only knew how to constantly squeeze its residents.

More and more residents were shouting, and the momentum became increasingly massive.

"During this special period, anyone who dares to move away will be treated as a mole passing information to Black Iron Villa, and will be killed without mercy!"

As Elder Zhao spoke, his Foundation Establishment cultivation base erupted suddenly, and his powerful spiritual pressure instantly suppressed all the noisy sounds.

After feeling this terrifying spiritual pressure, as well as the wisps of killing intent mixed within it.

The residents of Green Willow Alley who had been clamoring to move away instantly lost their voices, daring to be angry but not daring to speak.

"You had better behave yourselves!"

After dropping this sentence, Elder Zhao left Green Willow Alley with the group that had accompanied him.

After he had walked far away, Green Willow Alley became noisy once again.

Some were cursing loudly.

Some were sighing and lamenting.

Others were whispering to each other, not knowing what they were plotting.

"What are our plans for later?"

Wen Zhiyun's willow-leaf brows furrowed slightly, and she felt very pessimistic about today's sudden rent increase.

Chen An picked up one of her slender, jade-like hands and, while rubbing it, said:

"Your husband is an Alchemist; I only need to provide medicinal pills to the Bamboo Leaf Gang regularly to be exempt from rent. I don't need to risk going to the battlefield for now, so let's just take it one step at a time."

"Mm, I'll listen to you."

A faint blush spread across Wen Zhiyun's cheeks.

At this moment, one of her jade-like hands was being gently kneaded by Chen An, and the warm, tactile sensation coming from her palm made her feel somewhat shy.

She felt very embarrassed in this public place.

However, she did not want to pull it back.

Because she very much enjoyed this feeling of being doted on by Chen An at this moment.

This made her feel very happy in her heart.

PS: Setting out the bowl, begging for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!