Chapter 234: Langya Wang Clan

The tall man's martial skill was the best among the black‑clad group, but it's easy to lose reason in a rage; facing Zhu Ti, who excelled at calculation, they fought briefly before he lost his life.

"The beauty personally saw you to your grave; remember to be grateful."

With the leader gone, the Owl Riders swept through Prince Yu's ambushes as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

Zhu Ti collected the weapons and announced, "Surrender and you will not be killed."

However, it was useless; the enemy didn't surrender but instead fought back desperately.

Zhu Ti stood in the courtyard and shouted, "It seems Bai Li Jin is truly despicable, surely cruel and vicious! Look at these people's reactions—if they lose, their fate back home will be grim. We're different, you know? Your Highness values you; if you ever suffer misfortune and are captured, just surrender—only by staying alive do you have a chance to strike back, so be smart."

When the black‑clad man reached her, he paused; Zhu Ti picked up the knife from the ground and cut him down with one stroke, saying, "It's too late now—you've heard our secret!"

Owl Riders: ……

One must admit, you become like the company you keep; these words sound exactly like something Da Wang would say.

The Owl Riders quickly settled the battle; some stayed to clean the battlefield and check for survivors, while others went to search the slaves.

Interesting development: after driving the slaves to stand in the courtyard, the number of kneeling manor slaves was surprisingly low, while He Guang's registered slaves had increased by seventy or eighty.

"Chief Steward, I fear someone of unknown status from the manor has mixed into our slaves." Sorting this out is truly a major undertaking; it will take time.

Zhu Ti sneered, "No problem—even if Bai Li Jin is hidden among them, from today on he's just a slave."

He Guang wanted to give her a thumbs‑up; she really dared to say that.

She didn't kill those who surrendered in the manor; instead, she bundled them all up to take away—worthless slaves shouldn't be wasted, and such people aren't qualified to go to Liaodong; sending them to the copper mine to break stones is just right.

However, while driving these people to the dock, they still searched each person before boarding; there was no time to check identities, and dawn was already breaking. Prince Yu's choice of this ruined manor was surely ill‑intentioned—it's terribly far from the dock.

Chen Kuo had been posting guards at the dock; as soon as the treasure ship approached, he found out.

Before the queued people had finished boarding, Chen Kuo led the Governor's office troops and arrived.

"Who is trafficking people in my East Sea? Stop at once!"

Zhu Ti gave him no face, attending to his own affairs while continuing to brief He Guang: "…The Owl Riders will leave twenty attendants with you to help separate the excess people, add the Wang clan manor slaves seized from the manor, and send them all to Youzhou to hand over to Your Highness for arrangement to the mines." The mines built by the system allow no escape.

He Guang asked, "What about the Chief Steward? Isn't he returning with the ship?"

Zhu Ti calmly replied, "No, Your Highness is furious and I have another mission. Withdraw your people; the slave‑purchase plan is temporarily over, and the East Sea Commandery likely won't send anyone for a while."

As the slaves hurried aboard, Zhu Ti turned back and stopped Chen Kuo.

Chen Kuo saw that everyone had withdrawn onto the ship, leaving only a few dozen blocking the dock, and his courage finally rose.

He had brought five hundred men.

But it was useless.

If he had brought five thousand, there might have been a chance, for they faced fully armed Owl Riders; the governor's troops' thin iron blades would leave no mark on the Owl Riders' armor.

Zhu Ti waited for the treasure ship to weigh anchor, then slowly left the dock; with a flick of his whip he entangled Chen Kuo and hurled him into the sea, swiftly ending the farce, and then led the Owl Riders away.

The remaining officials busied themselves rescuing the Governor, and not a single person pursued them.

With such a disparity in strength, being alive is a blessing.

The second night, outside the main residence of the Wang Clan's principal branch.

Zhu Ti brought the Owl Riders to hide in the darkness for a brief rest; they had just climbed over the city wall under cover of night.

No way—since they were wearing armor, forcing the city gate would have been too conspicuous.

In Langya City, the Wang Clan held half the region; after interrogating several people they finally confirmed the address. The Wang Clan had dominated this place for a thousand years—not merely deep‑rooted and lush—finding the main estate took considerable effort, with Wang Clan members filling Langya City.

After resting, the group again daringly attacked the Wang Clan directly under the cover of night.

No mistake—they stormed the main gate.

If we don't give Prince Yu a harsh lesson, he'll keep reaching out next time. The Wang Clan shouldn't feel wronged; the eldest nephew fought under the banner of Langya, so Langya will foot the bill—after all, that manor in the East Sea belongs to the Wang Clan.

The Langya King still looks down on her, so she went straight to the Wang Clan.

The Wang Clan's guards might be stronger than the feeble Langya King, but today they ran into a tough professional.

Zhu Ti whipped down the plaque on the main gate of the estate; even for a great clan this is a huge disgrace.

Several old men came running out, jumping and shouting furiously, "Who are you? You dare insult the Wang Clan with the gall of a bear and leopard!"

Anyone who asked Zhu Ti would hear that he was Prince Yu's enemy, come specially to seek vengeance.

She foolishly robbed and announced her name.

The old men were nearly driven mad: "You seek vengeance against Prince Yu but don't go to Ruyang—what sense does it make to smash the Wang Family's gate?!"

Zhu Ti's answer was to bypass those old men, smash any gate he saw, and take whatever caught his eye; the Wang Clan's guards could not stop him.

Meanwhile, Da Wang set up his stall as usual that night, but when he took things out of his warehouse he found it was frantically refreshing—truly lightning‑fast; in the blink of an eye the front row was completely replaced.

Opening it revealed everything: calligraphy, jade carvings, inkstones, flower vessels—you name it.

After another refresh, another row appeared, leaving Da Wang dumbfounded.

Oh no—money is falling from the sky!

After two seconds of excitement he figured it out: this certainly wasn't a dream‑addled brain handing out welfare; only Zhu Ti could share his warehouse, so where did he go to make a fortune?

Da Wang laughed himself silly; another refresh brought several more scrolls, and when he pulled them out he saw they were all famous works—even his disdain‑for‑studies child could recognize the signatures.

That's easy to guess—ninety‑nine percent likely belong to the Wang Family.

No other family has such a foundation.

Zhu Ti is truly capable!

Da Wang packed up his stall, pleased as punch, and headed to the White Poplar Shop, saying, "Brother Bai, let's keep going with the spring auction—here comes the goods!"

Bai Yang hurriedly set down what he was holding to take it, asking, "What painting is this? Is it good enough for the auction? Surely you didn't paint it yourself—your current work isn't worth anything." Mainly, Da Wang's painting skills are poor; if he ever rises a level, he might still need a filter.

Unfolding it revealed a silk painting, remarkably well preserved.

The style looks just like the murals he saw in the museum—big characters, valuable!

Take a look at these neat lines, the era‑style painting, the exquisite mounting—take it out for carbon‑14 dating and it would show over a thousand years; even if it's painted by an unknown master, it's worth money.

Good good good! Great stuff, don't tell me you bought it off the street—this painting doesn't look like ordinary goods even to a layman like me!

The great king, arrogantly arms akimbo, said: "Taken by the Langya Wang clan!"

"Cough cough cough!" Bai Yang choked.

Alright, stolen goods.