Chapter 24: The Retreat of the Two Gangs

The strange owls screeched noisily, flying high above and following for a while, but as soon as Du En left the range of their nest, they immediately turned back and left, not actually swarming down in a pack.

When it comes down to it, they are just a group of scavenging birds, not some fierce-tempered predators.

Du En withdrew his gaze from them and weighed the strange owl he had just caught in his hand.

It was not one of those old or weak individuals that had thrown themselves into the trap before, or that could be easily lured by just playing dead, but a robust individual from the flock.

Now that he had actually caught one, he could confirm that this type of large owl was almost on the verge of becoming a demonic beast; it looked similar in size to the old and weak ones, but weighed over twenty catties—a full two times heavier!

"Actually, it's not strange; after all, what they eat all day long are the remains of those at the Qi Refining stage."

This point was also the reason why Wei Ming and the others subconsciously resisted eating them.

The two gang leaders looked at each other, confirming the situation.

A thicker fragrance was mixed into the strange owl's own sour, foul odor.

Wei Ming, however, only felt this was perfunctory, and the others didn't take it to heart either.

In this way, the predicament of being oppressed by the Bully Gang could be considered significantly eased.

It's not that we don't want to pay, it's that they started it!

"Ahem, so, uh, about the protection fee."

It wasn't that they were afraid of Du En and his group, but that they were currently in a dilemma.

The people from the Blood Eagle Gang!

Liu Qixiang stumbled and stammered.

At the same time, on the other side of the shanty area.

A lack of confidence drove a change in the situation.

"Not much, calculated by head count, one piece per person."

Of course, because they still needed to be wary of the stewards, this expansion was not blatant, nor did they dare to let it spread like wildfire, so the two gangs had the leisure to react now and had come to meet and negotiate.

Saying such flowery words, the two shook hands and made peace.

"Oh my, you brothers are truly too polite, to have actually arrived a step before us younger brothers—my fault, my fault!"

"Ha~"

After circulating his Qi for two major cycles, his stomach and intestines were already empty.

Liu Qixiang couldn't help but nod inwardly, thinking that he had judged the Hall Master too harshly, and that his focus had only wandered upon hearing about a tough job.

Although it hadn't been actually resolved, they had already bought precious time.

In short.

When Du En got up early the next day and went out to scout the situation, he indeed noticed an actual change in the atmosphere, and he was fairly satisfied with the fact that the two gangs were now truly tucking their tails between their legs.

Du En had to break in and wake them up one by one.

If the six tough guys like Du En chose to refuse payment, they would use that as a starting point to scheme to pay less or not pay at all, and if they really encountered trouble, they would push it onto Du En and the others.

It's all that bunch of corpse-burying wretches; if you want to blame someone, go blame them!

Du En glanced over and knew exactly what these neighbors, who usually only cast disdainful side-eyes at them, were thinking now.

Compared to the previous tension and the fierce slaughter of last night, they were now exceptionally polite and enthusiastic.

As he thought about it, he quickly recalled the words Zhang Lin had continued with at the time.

Looking at each other again, their thoughts were clear to one another.

If you have the ability, make them pay first, then come find us!

"Brother, did you happen to run into those bastards from the Green Clothes Gang over there too?"

Du En took the initiative to speak, neither humble nor pushy.

This was the first point.

Then, just as he stepped out the door, he was blocked by someone.

By the time things were handled here and thrown into the water with medicinal herbs to boil, the porridge and medicine were just right.

Looking at Liu Qixiang, who seemed quite young—only in his twenties—he was currently somewhat heavy-hearted and nervous; facing the six of them, he couldn't help but straighten the Blood Eagle emblem on his clothes, yet lacking confidence, he subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Wei Ming couldn't help but yawn; while washing up simply and changing clothes, he looked at Du En, who had a ruddy complexion and was full of energy, and then looked at the others, who were all listless and sickly, and couldn't help but complain: "Boss, why does it look like you, the injured one, are actually in the best state?"

Therefore, he nodded directly and asked: "How much are you collecting this time?"

Hunker down to preserve capital, and resist the Green Clothes together!

This was the strategy they were too embarrassed to state clearly.

He simply wrapped his clothes around himself and went to boil water to process the large owl.

Anyway, there were plenty of spirit stones; it was only six pieces, and even the other corpse-buryers didn't pay much attention, just glancing once before following Du En, passing by Liu Qixiang, and heading toward the corpse-burying wasteland.

At this moment, other people living nearby who belonged to the same protection area noticed the situation here and stopped one after another, watching over.

A group of people, dejected and dispirited, walked in facing the sunlight.

Du En did not hesitate in the slightest, took out the spirit stones he had prepared early, and tossed them directly to the other party.

Didn't they say the corpse-buryers were very tough now?

The Hall Master had even specifically mentioned it, so what was going on?

He swallowed it directly to fill his hungry gut, then circulated his Qi to accelerate the absorption of the meal's and medicine's effects.

Du En's answer was simple and true.

Last night they had gone to the Qingya Garden to plead guilty and beg for mercy, and had only managed to return with their lives with great difficulty; naturally, they dared not have any more conflicts for the time being, and even if they had to pretend, they had to put on a harmonious front.

Now was not the time to create more trouble, and even less so to be used as a pawn for nothing.

He opened his eyes, watched over the Three Talents Stewed Owl, and it was only after a while that it was fully cooked.

"Eh, no need for that, little brother; as your older brother, it doesn't matter if I came a bit early!"

Both sides were harmonious and exchanged pleasantries, everyone wearing a smiling face, forcing out a sense of sincerity.

This protection money must be collected; the Blood Eagle Gang must recover its strength as quickly as possible, but Hall Master Zhang Lin specifically warned that everyone must keep their tails tucked for a while and absolutely must not cause a scene while working, otherwise he would personally slaughter them!

In a relatively spacious, specially reserved open area, the two gang leaders of the Blood Eagle Gang and the Iron Hand Gang each led a group of hall masters to gather here.

These despicable wretches, now seeing that they were loathed by the steward and had suffered heavy losses after a fierce battle, immediately began to expand their territory.

"What is the matter?"

There is a second reason!

"Oh? Is my little brother one too?"

"In this kind of situation, there is no spare capacity to quibble over this; it is better to treat it as the final contribution given by the dead to the living..."

The medicine and porridge simmering in the two clay pots still needed quite a bit more time over the fire.

It really was the Green Clothes Gang that did it!

With this thought slightly floating in his mind, Du En walked back quickly.

"Daring to provoke your elder brother's tiger whiskers, this little brother will certainly not spare those Green Hat bastards!"

Very obviously, with anticipation.

Hmm, it's only a little bit better than the usual stewed owl; it's still hard to eat.

Du En ate the spirit meal and began to practice diligently.

Wait until the heat dies down, then come back to settle the score!

It was not just the Green Clothes Gang that harbored secret hatred in their hearts, but also another gang besides them.

Huh?

It was collected just like that?

Liu Qixiang caught the spirit stone, clearly bewildered.

"Fine, I'll give it to you."

"Because I eat a lot and train a lot."

Although the core members of the two gangs were not lost, and if they truly joined forces to counterattack the Green Clothes Gang it would not be impossible, but they were currently trying to keep their tails tucked, so how could they dare to stir up trouble again?

The color in his face recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

When he returned to the small courtyard, the others had not yet woken up, sleeping like dead pigs.

"Hmph! Coming over to my side to loot a burning house is one thing, but to actually dare to go to my little brother's side—this is simply outrageous!"

Therefore, this was the optimal solution.

"That kid was just injured after being made difficult by the steward for demanding his wages, so he shouldn't be able to hold on much longer; in short, I have faith in you, hurry up and go collect it!"

Regardless of anything else, the work that had to be done still had to be done.

Du En scooped up a spoonful of soup and drank it.

However, the meal's efficacy was indeed sufficient; compared to the previous stewed owl, which was only barely ranked, this pot of stewed great owl was a solid first-rank low-grade spirit meal!

This level of meal efficacy was enough to support his current cultivation needs!

Because of this, the gang members responsible for the specific execution all had heads as big as buckets, yet they could only bite the bullet and proceed.

Then, having dealt with the troublemakers and tough nuts, he gained confidence and swept his gaze around, looking at the others in this area.

Those who were originally still watching from the sidelines were now all completely dumbfounded.

No, you bunch of wretches, how did you just cave in this time?!

(End of this chapter)