Chapter 274

"Lingluo is dead?"

Cao Wei looked at the corpse Li Rui brought back, extremely surprised.

But the corpse cannot be fake.

He had led the Anning Guard to fight against Manggu City many times, so naturally, he had seen Lingluo, which is why he was even more certain.

Almost at a glance, he recognized that the one Li Rui brought back to the Anning Guard was indeed Lady Lingluo, the City Lord of Manggu City.

"Lord Li, how did you do it?"

Cao Wei looked at Li Rui in shock.

The day before yesterday.

Li Rui came to him and said he was going to see off Jiang Linxian; at the time, he was still wondering why he needed to ask for leave to see someone off, and then he brought back Lady Lingluo's corpse just like that.

Full of question marks.

What is this situation?

Lingluo was notoriously cunning and had already escaped when Manggu City was breached; she was actually killed by Li Rui.

Of course, Cao Wei guessed that it should have been Jiang Linxian who made the move, but Li Rui's merit in it was probably not small.

But in any case, as long as Lingluo can be killed, they are friends.

Cao Wei looked at Li Rui deeply, then laughed loudly: "Good, very good. Brother Li has great merit in killing Lingluo; it is truly the fortune of Annan Town."

Lingluo didn't just incite demon beasts to attack the city, causing the Anning Guard to lose face.

When in the Wu Kingdom.

He and Lei Yong had suffered many losses at Lingluo's hands and had long wished to cut off Lingluo's head.

His attitude had clearly placed himself and Li Rui on the same level.

In the past, this was simply impossible.

An official one rank higher suppresses people; Cao Wei came from the Ministry of War and valued rules and hierarchy extremely heavily. A subordinate is a subordinate; even his most trusted Feng Yu is the same. If Feng Yu dared to overstep, he would also be punished.

In front of subordinates, a superior is a superior; the hierarchy cannot be chaotic.

Today, he actually called Li Rui "Brother" for the first time, catching Li Rui off guard.

"Lord Cao praises me too much."

Li Rui waved his hand with a smile.

Cao Wei laughed even louder: "Brother Li, no need for formalities. I am younger than you; if you think highly of me, just call me Brother."

Li Rui had to say: "Brother Cao, please trouble yourself to report the matter of Lingluo to Lord Xue."

Cao Wei's attitude changed so much.

First, it stems from Li Rui's strength; the news of Li Rui killing two Fifth-Rank experts alone had long spread. Cao Wei knew his strength was inferior to Li Rui's. As a military officer, strength is the foundation; Cao Wei naturally wouldn't continue to put on airs in front of someone stronger than himself.

The second is because of Xue Gui and Jiang Linxian; Li Rui had clearly found two big backers for himself, and they were of the kind with a very good relationship, much more stable than his relationship with the Fifth Prince.

With both combined, Cao Wei naturally treated Li Rui with great courtesy.

Although Jiang Linxian had not yet resigned as the Regional Commander of the Anning Guard, he had already headed north to the capital; promotion was only a matter of time.

The position of Anning Guard Assistant Regional Commander would then become vacant.

According to rumors, the candidate for this Assistant Regional Commander was likely Li Rui.

Li Rui is different from Jiang Linxian, and he is no longer the person he was when he first left the capital.

There is no need to make things too rigid.

The fighting above is the business of those above; those below should do what they should do — this is the long-term way.

Cao Wei also understood that making enemies casually is not a good habit.

"Brother Cao, how should Lady Lingluo be disposed of?"

Cao Wei's expression turned cold:

"Naturally, hang it on the city wall to vent the people's anger."

"This is the City Lord of Manggu City, the mastermind behind the demon chaos; to think it's a woman."

"Truly damnable; Lord Li is mighty."

"Well killed; such a villain should be whipped after death!"

"Don't say it, don't say it, she's truly good-looking."

"You, stop licking your lips; she's already cold."

Under the Qinghe city wall, thousands of people gathered.

They were all commoners who heard the news and came to watch the excitement. The impact of the demon chaos had not yet passed, and for this woman who launched the demon chaos, the people of Qinghe wished they could eat her flesh and drink her blood.

That night, too many people died in Qinghe.

How many people's husbands, wives, sons, fathers, and mothers couldn't make it through and eventually died in the sea of fire or the mouths of demon beasts; the hatred eventually converged on Lady Lingluo alone.

Now that Lady Lingluo is dead, the pleasure transformed from hatred fell on the head of Captain Li of the Anning Guard.

For a time, Li Rui's prestige reached its peak.

In Qinghe today, who wouldn't say a word of loyalty when mentioning Li Rui?

It even surpassed Cao Wei, the Assistant Regional Commander.

To this, Cao Wei had no dissatisfaction.

"Very good, very good."

Yang Yong's mouth couldn't close from laughing every day recently; when he went out to play Pai Gow, they wouldn't even take his money when he lost, just because he lived in Li Rui's house.

A gambler's ecstasy is roughly equivalent to not losing.

"Li Lao, why don't you go out for a walk with me? You don't even have to talk, just stand there."

Yang Yong begged bitterly.

Li Rui decisively refused.

Reputation is a good thing, but it needs time to settle; Cao Wei didn't grab any of it, and it all transformed onto his head.

Being an official, a good reputation is very important, but if he were to stand out at this time, that would be stupid; now he doesn't need to do anything, and it's already enough.

There is no need to keep adding oil to the fire; if the fire burns too brightly, it will burn oneself.

Trade Office, Anning Guard Office.

"Li Laoge, people from the three major sects are here."

Tan Hu walked in and said.

Ever since Li Rui killed the two Fifth-Rank experts, he simply called him Li Laoge directly.

Li Rui nodded: "Hmm, please invite them in."

Although Xue Gui had promised him the position of Assistant Regional Commander, it wasn't yet; even if Jiang Linxian had already vacated the Military Commandant's Prefecture, if he were to run over now and claim to be the Assistant Regional Commander, that would be like a monkey wearing a hat, only to be ridiculed.

As long as the document doesn't come down for a day, he is a Trade Office Captain for a day.

This Captain's Office of the Trade Office is where he should be.

It cannot be chaotic.

Before long, the three walked into the gate of the Captain's Office.

Shi Zhou, Zhou Ting, and Bai Jing looked at Li Rui sitting at the very top; this scene was so similar to a few days ago, except that the person had changed from County Assistant Zhong Zheng to Li Rui, and they had also changed from masters to guests.

All these changes were due to strength.

They had all heard the news of Li Rui killing the two Fifth-Rank experts.

Before.

That was because Li Rui's strength was inferior to theirs, and he was only a small Sixth-Rank Captain; in their eyes, of course, he could be bullied.

But now, his strength alone could crush the three of them.

They didn't think they had the ability to fight two and kill the opponent.

The rules of the Jianghu: if you can't beat them, be honest.

So this time, when Li Rui invited them, the three of them came without even thinking.

Although the three were elders of major sects, the saying remains: a sect is a sect, and oneself is oneself; one cannot be too confused. Forgetting oneself will cost one's life.

"Lord Li."

Shi Zhou took the lead in clasping his fists and said with a smile.

He had the most grudges with Li Rui, but at this moment, he was as intimate and familiar as an old friend he hadn't seen for many years.

Zhou Ting and Bai Jing also had smiling faces.

Li Rui stood up and clasped his fists with a smile: "Three elders, please sit down. Xiao Hai, serve tea."

He was not arrogant at all.

He treated it as if the events of that day had never happened. If he were to be overbearing to the three in the hall today, he would have flipped the table that day; there was no need to go through so much trouble, but that was not his style.

Even if you gain power, you have to look at the situation before bullying others.

If bullying others is just to vent anger, it is really unnecessary.

The three sat down, and tea was served.

Only then did Li Rui chuckle and say: "I invited the three of you here today for the sake of trade between the two countries."

Shi Zhou and the others heard this and all looked as if they had known it all along.

It was all for business.

But their inviting Li Rui and Li Rui inviting them were very different situations.

Last time, it could only be considered a private matter.

That's why they dragged along Zhong Zheng, who was still alive at the time, and even if they dragged him along, Zhong Zheng didn't really dare to use the name of the County Assistant to suppress Li Rui.

Why?

Please... you... bookmark_(!)

The functions don't match.

A County Assistant, even a County Magistrate, only manages the small matters in the city; they can manage the affairs of the Trade Office, but if they manage too much, it won't just be Li Rui who is unhappy, but also Yan Zhongxing, and even the big shots in the Ministry of Revenue.

But Li Rui is different.

His official position is originally Trade Office Captain, and he manages the trade between the two countries.

Calling Shi Zhou and the others over is open and aboveboard; no one can pick out any faults.

Private matters and public matters are handled together.

Before Li Rui could continue, Zhou Ting took the lead: "Brother Li, just make your requests; as long as I, Zhou Ting, can do it, I will do it all. You killed that slut Lingluo, and I, Zhou Ting, am convinced."

That night, Zhou Ting had taken a punch, although it was the burly man who made the move, he counted this account on Lady Lingluo.

He, Zhou Ting, distinguishes between gratitude and resentment.

Since the person was killed by Li Rui, the gratitude should naturally be counted on Li Rui.

As soon as these words came out.

It actually left Li Rui speechless for a moment.

Shi Zhou and Bai Jing looked at each other and nodded: "That is the truth."

That day.

Eight elders from the eight major sects were blocked in the government office by a woman named Lingluo and could only swallow their anger.

At the time, they could naturally only admit defeat.

It was truly stifling.

Even Shi Zhou, who was the most calm at the time, was extremely annoyed in his heart.

The news that Li Rui killed Lingluo had already spread.

Although Li Rui didn't go to kill Lingluo because of them, as long as everyone's enemy was Lingluo, then everyone was friends.

Shi Zhou clasped his fists: "Brother Li, I was reckless before; I hope you can be magnanimous."

His attitude before and after was like two different people.

Before, Li Rui was just an ordinary small official in his eyes; even if he had an official position, he had the Divine Weapon Shanzhuang behind him and was not afraid at all.

Offending him was just offending him.

Moreover, his grudges with Li Rui didn't involve any private grievances; they were all just to complete the tasks of the big shots in the Divine Weapon Shanzhuang.

But today is different from the past.

Li Rui has not only become a Fifth-Rank but is also very likely to become the Assistant Regional Commander of the Anning Guard.

With a different status, the attitude must naturally be different.

Not to mention that he truly admired Li Rui for being able to kill that woman Lingluo; only those who have been opponents of Lingluo know how powerful that woman is.

With means and strength.

If he continued to fight such a person to the end, his brain would be broken.

And with the relationship of Tiekuang, there is a possibility of repairing the relationship between the two sides.

Bowing one's head is not shameful.

Li Rui has already climbed the towering tree of Jiang Linxian; if he opposes him, the Divine Weapon Shanzhuang might be fine, but he would likely be in trouble.

Now is the best time to ease the relationship.

Shi Zhou: "Brother Li, our three families will never interfere in the business of the Tiandi Alliance from now on; you can rest assured."

The corners of Li Rui's mouth curled up slightly.

This is the effect he wanted.

If he had directly turned against the three people in front of him before, although he could have solved it in the end, it would have been inevitable to take action, increasing karma in vain.

As for using the forces in the dark, it was even more unnecessary.

There is no need to trouble Jiang Linxian with things he can handle himself; no matter how many favors there are, if they are used often, they will eventually be used up, so it is best to save them.

Originally, Li Rui thought he could wait for an appropriate time, but he didn't expect Lingluo to attack the city, forcing him to reveal his Fifth-Rank strength ahead of time.

With strength as support, the attitude will naturally change for the better.

But if he only showed Fifth-Rank strength, it would of course be somewhat insufficient, but if he added an Earth Immortal like Jiang Linxian, it would be completely enough.

And more than enough.

Who in Qinghe doesn't know that Jiang Linxian once called him "Brother" one mouthful at a time? This treatment is the first in Qinghe.

Move against Li Rui?

Is this to test the gold content of Jiang Linxian's "Brother"?

So much so that Li Rui didn't even need a backup plan; he just had to call people over, and they would admit their mistakes and apologize themselves.

Isn't that better than fighting and killing?

Moreover, although he used Jiang Linxian's reputation, he didn't need him to take action personally; this is the correct way to use a backer.

Otherwise, if you have to beg for everything, the backer will eventually get annoyed.

Borrowing momentum to get things done without knowing it is the most superior way.

"Three brothers, what are you saying?"

"This old brother invited you all here today to talk about trade; if there is money, of course, we should make it together. I want to ask when your people will come; we can almost set off."

Hearing Li Rui's words.

The three of them opened their mouths, not knowing what Li Rui meant for a moment.

Shi Zhou spoke first: "Brother Li, we are dull; please show us the way?"

Li Rui chuckled: "Of course, it's the golden road. We will split the profits three-seven; you brothers have no objections, right?"

Shi Zhou and the others' eyes lit up.

They didn't expect Li Rui to be willing to continue doing business.

Three-seven split is already very fair.

At this time, Shi Zhou looked at Zhou Ting and Bai Jing: "Brother Li opened the path for the business, so he should take more; I think four-six is appropriate."

"Brother Zhou, Brother Bai, what do you think?"

Zhou Ting and Bai Jing nodded: "Makes sense."

Seeing this.

Li Rui was happy; these three were aggressive a few days ago, and now they are so reasonable.

He no longer declined and agreed reluctantly: "Four-six it is then; you guys, no need to specially take care of this old brother."

The matter was quickly settled.

The goal was achieved.

Tiekuang left, and the weapon business certainly couldn't continue, so Li Rui needed to expand the demon beast business even more. It is difficult to make it big relying only on the Tiandi Alliance, so he needed to borrow momentum; rather than waiting for other major sects to barge in arrogantly, it was better to bring Shi Zhou and the others in ahead of time.

In this way, the external pressure could be much smaller.

Relying only on the Tiandi Alliance, he couldn't hold it.

As for that Holy Lord, he had sent money and had a relationship, but that was the final trump card and couldn't be used casually.

Now is just right.

Everything fell into place.

(End of chapter)