Chapter 173: Talking My Ass

"Talk?" Jiang Tian was stunned for a moment, then thought to himself that dealing with Meng Yifan alone was indeed quite strenuous; it would be better to pretend to negotiate to stall for time, and once Long Guxing and Liu Sheng arrived, the three of them as gang leaders could surround and attack Meng Yifan, making it certain they could kill him right here.

As long as Meng Yifan was dead, that group of rebels would become leaderless and scattered, making them easy to deal with; in the end, Luolong County would still be under the control of their Three Great Gangs.

"Fine, Boss Meng, if you want to sit down and talk, you should show some sincerity; how can you send us an invitation during the day, only to come and raid our underground granary at night, and kill so many of our brothers? This is a bit lacking in martial arts integrity," Jiang Tian reproached.

"Heh, Boss Jiang, let's speak plainly; the common people in the city are starving, and the grain here is life-saving food, so I must take it away."

"You placed so much dynamite and Fire Oil here, clearly not wanting to give the grain to me; for the sake of the common people in the city, I have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure and take the grain myself."

"Don't worry, I won't take it for free; I will pay you the silver according to the original market price," Meng Yifan laughed.

Jiang Tian was so angry his nose was crooked; it had always been their Three Great Gangs running rampant and robbing others, yet now Meng Yifan came to rob their grain and spoke with such righteous indignation.

Given Jiang Tian's explosive temper, he really wanted to twist off Meng Yifan's head and use it as a ball to kick, just to see if he would still dare to be so sophistical.

"Boss Meng, you also know that because of your rebellion, the Prefect of Dongchuan Prefecture ordered a blockade of Luolong County; now, not a single grain of rice can enter Luolong County through official channels."

"This grain was all brought in by our brothers risking their lives, shedding blood and sacrificing their heads to break through numerous obstacles, so it is only natural that the price of grain has risen."

"You say you want to buy our grain at the original market price? Aren't you joking? If you want to buy, fine, the price is five taels of silver per catty of rice," Jiang Tian said.

"Boss Jiang, don't think that just because I haven't been in control of Luolong County for long, I don't know that the corrupt official Lv Dazhi sold the grain from the Luolong County granary to you, letting you sell it at high prices to exploit the people."

"I saw it just now; many of these grain bags are still stamped with the seal of the Luolong County granary, so how could they possibly be what you painstakingly transported from outside?"

"This batch of grain will be at the original market price, two catties of rice for one tael of silver; this is already much higher than the initial market price, so you aren't losing out."

"As for the grain you smuggle in later, you can raise the price appropriately, but raising it tenfold directly is impossible; if you sell the grain so expensively, how could the common people afford it? Do you just want to watch the common people starve to death?" Meng Yifan said.

Just at this moment, Long Guxing's body flickered and he appeared in front of Jiang Tian; ever since he received the news that the granary had been raided, he had been using his Lightness Skill, rushing over at full speed in a state of anxious urgency, arriving at the first opportunity.

Long Guxing said: "Hmph! Meng Yifan, stop spouting high-minded nonsense here; whether the common people can afford grain or whether they starve to death is none of our business."

"Our Three Great Gangs make a living by licking blood off the blade; from now on, the grain price is five taels of silver per catty of rice. If you want to talk, we can continue talking; if you don't want to talk, we'll just go to war directly. Do you really think our Three Great Gangs are afraid of you?"

"That's right, Meng Yifan, if it weren't for your rebellion, how could the Prefect have ordered no grain to be shipped to Luolong County? If the common people can't afford grain and starve to death, that's all because you killed officials and rebelled; if you want to blame someone, blame yourself."

Liu Sheng, the leader of the Axe Gang, also rushed over; he was full of anger toward Meng Yifan. Liu Sheng wouldn't stop Meng Yifan from wanting to rebel.

But Meng Yifan was reorganizing the city's security, taking the Three Great Gangs as his first targets, forbidding them from collecting protection fees, and dealing with many gang members, all to establish his own prestige and win over the people by stepping on the Three Great Gangs; this could not be tolerated. Did he really think the Three Great Gangs were soft persimmons, easy to bully?

Jiang Tian saw that Long Guxing and Liu Sheng had arrived, and his courage grew; he shouted: "Talk? Talk about a fart!"

Meng Yifan shook his head; it seemed there was no way to talk. To make the Three Great Gangs behave obediently, he would have to show them the real deal; only by beating the Three Great Gangs into submission could he then talk about incorporating them.

Jiang Tian was stalling for time, and Meng Yifan was well aware of this; he did not stop him, as he was waiting for the other two gang leaders to arrive so he could round them all up at once.

"Illusion Array, rise." Meng Yifan formed a seal with his right hand and pointed toward the center of the array, and the several Yin Spirit Stones on the array simultaneously emitted a brilliant, dazzling black light.

Strands of thick black fog spread out, and in an instant, the entire underground granary was filled with wind and clouds, gusts of Yin wind, and the sounds of Ghost Crying Wolf Howling echoed incessantly, as if one had entered the Eighteen Levels of Hell.

Long Guxing and the others all felt their vision blur, as if the stars had shifted and the world had turned, and everything around them had changed its appearance.

The original underground granary had disappeared, replaced by a primeval forest with rolling mountains, dense rivers, and lush vegetation.

In that forest, there grew towering trees that reached into the clouds, as well as colorful blooming flowers; the air was filled with a rich floral fragrance, and in the depths of the forest, one could hear the roars of Wild Beasts, as if beasts were fighting inside.

Everything around him had suddenly changed, and Long Guxing looked around, surprised to find that Jiang Tian and Liu Sheng, who had been standing beside him just a moment ago, along with a large group of gang members, had all disappeared; at this moment, he was standing alone by a large river, completely unaware of where the others were.

Long Guxing tried to reach out to his left; logically, Jiang Tian should have been standing right there, but Long Guxing extended his right hand and touched nothing at all, as if there were truly nothing there.

Long Guxing clicked his tongue in wonder; he placed his hand into the river beside him and actually felt the coolness of the river water flowing past his fingertips.

Long Guxing curled the five fingers of his right hand into an eagle claw and grabbed a towering tree beside him; with a 'crack', he tore off a large piece of bark.

The wood fibers of the giant tree actually seemed real as well, which made Long Guxing marvel: "What a powerful illusion; it's actually just like the real thing."

"It's a pity that fake is fake; I can already feel that these trees, rivers, and high mountains are all transformed from Yin Qi."

Long Guxing bit his tongue, mobilized his thick True Qi, and sprayed a mouthful of Tongue-Tip Blood toward a towering tree in front of him.

"Whoosh!" The tree in front of him was like it had been doused in gasoline, and it immediately burst into roaring flames.

But suddenly, the wind and clouds changed color, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and drops of pitch-black Yin rain fell.

The flames on that tree were instantly extinguished by the Yin rain, and the spot on the tree that had been burned by the Tongue-Tip Blood also recovered to its original state at a speed visible to the naked eye under the nourishment of the Yin rain.