Chapter 221: Yu Yu Hongxi's Proposal

Outside the Golden Dragon Treasure House.

Yu Yu Hongxi brought Lv Qing'er to see Li Luo and his group off. Those high-grade antidote medicinal ingredients had already been loaded onto the convoy, with Lei Zhang leading the escort in tight security.

Yu Yu Hongxi watched the scene with an indifferent expression. As they were leaving, her gaze lingered for a moment on Li Luo's face, which bore a striking resemblance to a certain someone. Finally, she sighed and said, "Li Luo, although you managed to procure these antidote ingredients in time, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to cure the poison afflicting those Phase Refinement Masters."

"The other side has been planning this for a long time. They won't let you unravel their scheme so easily."

Li Luo was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Thank you for the reminder, President Yu. I'll do everything in my power to deal with it."

"Sometimes, doing everything in your power still isn't enough."

Yu Yu Hongxi deliberated for a few breaths, then said, "If Xiyang House suffers a crippling blow this time, and your House Luolan Mansion has no way to recover, I think cutting off a limb to survive might not be a bad path."

Li Luo was taken aback. "Cut off a limb to survive?"

"The Golden Dragon Treasure House can offer you a contract to acquire Xiyang House. House Luolan Mansion sells Xiyang House to the Golden Dragon Treasure House, and I'll give you a generous price. Once your House Luolan Mansion stabilizes, you can buy Xiyang House back at the original price." Yu Yu Hongxi said calmly.

Li Luo was somewhat surprised by Yu Yu Hongxi's proposal, because she was offering quite favorable terms. After all, if he couldn't resolve this crisis, Xiyang House's reputation would be utterly ruined, and keeping it in House Luolan Mansion's hands would only be a burden. If the Golden Dragon Treasure House acquired it at this point, the funds could alleviate House Luolan Mansion's crisis. Most importantly, once things settled down, House Luolan Mansion could buy Xiyang House back at the original price.

One could say these terms showed considerable consideration for his side.

Li Luo could also sense some goodwill in Yu Yu Hongxi's words, which was the main reason for his surprise. After all, over the years, under Yu Yu Hongxi's leadership, the Golden Dragon Treasure House's relationship with House Luolan Mansion had never been particularly close.

However, although he sensed her goodwill, Li Luo didn't accept on the spot. Instead, he smiled and said, "Thank you, President Yu. If it really comes down to Xiyang House having no other choice, I'll consider this measure. But before that, I still want to try harder. After all, this is the legacy my parents left behind, and I don't want to let it collapse so easily."

Yu Yu Hongxi nodded, unsurprised by Li Luo's answer.

"I'll take my leave now." Li Luo gave Yu Yu Hongxi a slight bow, then stopped lingering. With a wave of his hand, he led the convoy away swiftly.

Yu Yu Hongxi watched the departing convoy and said softly, "This Li Luo looks mild and easygoing on the surface, but the pride in his bones is no less than Li Taixuan's."

Beside her, Lv Qing'er cheerfully looped her arm through Yu Yu Hongxi's and said, "Thanks, Mom."

"What are you thanking me for?" Yu Yu Hongxi shot her a glance.

"Thank you for helping out today, and for leaving Li Luo a fallback option at the end." Lv Qing'er smiled. She knew Yu Yu Hongxi's usual style of doing things—never accepting a bad deal. But the acquisition of Xiyang House she'd proposed earlier, while not exactly a loss, probably wouldn't yield much profit either.

After all, Xiyang House at that point would be nothing more than an empty shell—a tainted empty shell at that.

Moreover, from what she knew, Yu Yu Hongxi had never held any particular fondness for House Luolan Mansion in the past. Especially after Jiang Jiang Qinge took charge of House Luolan Mansion, the two sides only had occasional business dealings. In her view, among the Five Great Mansions, House Luolan Mansion and the Golden Dragon Treasure House had the most distant relationship.

But Yu Yu Hongxi stepping in to help twice today also surprised Lv Qing'er greatly.

Hearing this, Yu Yu Hongxi pursed her lips slightly. In the past, House Luolan Mansion had been run by Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan. After certain events back then, she naturally didn't want any further ties with House Luolan Mansion. Then, when House Luolan Mansion underwent its great upheaval and Jiang Jiang Qinge became its leader, this girl was indeed exceptionally outstanding, but her personality was too similar to that woman Dantai Lan. Every time Yu Yu Hongxi saw her, it reminded her of Dantai Lan.

She was the only woman who had ever made Yu Yu Hongxi taste defeat.

Both Yu Yu Hongxi and Jiang Jiang Qinge were forceful personalities. When they occasionally met, it was strictly business, with no extra interaction. In this regard, Li Luo was completely different.

This young man's temperament was much milder, and he knew how to keep a low profile. Of course, Yu Yu Hongxi had to admit that the main reason was that Li Luo looked quite a bit like Li Taixuan...

Otherwise, she really couldn't be bothered to get involved in all this.

When Li Luo obtained the antidote ingredients from the Golden Dragon Treasure House and hurried back to Xiyang House headquarters, in a certain street-facing elegant room somewhere...

"Li Luo actually managed to get those antidote ingredients from the Golden Dragon Treasure House?"

Manager Pei Hao listened to the report and couldn't help but chuckle. "He's got some ability, after all."

Before Manager Pei Hao, Pang Pang Qianchi frowned and said, "With these ingredients, isn't Xiyang House's crisis resolved?"

"It's not that simple."

Manager Pei Hao waved his hand, his expression composed. "The strange poison I went to such great lengths to obtain—if it could be neutralized so easily, that would be underestimating the price I paid."

"Those antidote ingredients do have some use, but the healers Li Luo invited may not necessarily have the ability to handle it."

Pang Pang Qianchi said with some surprise, "You've thoroughly investigated those healers he invited in advance?"

"What did you think I was doing all these days—nothing?" Manager Pei Hao sipped his tea lightly. The golden sword earring at his earlobe reflected an extremely sharp gleam under the lamplight.

"In Great Xia City, the number of healers capable of neutralizing my strange poison can be counted on one hand. And on the day I arrived in Great Xia City, those healers all temporarily left for various reasons."

"The healers Li Luo found afterward don't have that capability."

Hearing this, Pang Pang Qianchi looked at Manager Pei Hao with some fear and awe. Clearly, the ability the other had displayed left him horrified. After all, those top healers were no ordinary people, yet Manager Pei Hao had been able to send them away. This showed how unfathomable and vast his abilities—or rather, the forces behind him—truly were.

"Then I should congratulate Manager Pei Hao in advance on winning the first round. After today, Xiyang House will become infamous throughout Great Xia City." Pang Pang Qianchi said with a reverent smile.

Hearing this, Manager Pei Hao shook his head and said calmly, "I didn't originally want to destroy Xiyang House. After all, it was also the life's work of Master and Mistress. But I didn't expect that in just half a year or so, Xiyang House would grow so much in the hands of this young mansion master."

"If given more time, and he truly managed to develop Xiyang House, then House Luolan Mansion would benefit from it, gradually stabilizing its situation and beginning to grow."

His gaze passed through the window, looking toward Xiyang House headquarters in the distance, his expression unreadable.

"I've truly underestimated this useless young mansion master."

Over this period, as news related to Li Luo came in one piece after another, Manager Pei Hao gradually shifted from his initial indifference to suspicion and wariness.

He never imagined that the hopeless empty-phase young mansion master he'd met at the old residence half a year ago could undergo such tremendous change in just six months.

And as this young mansion master's reputation gradually spread within House Luolan Mansion, Manager Pei Hao discovered that the people and forces he originally controlled were all secretly discussing this matter, with even faint signs of wavering. Although he promptly extinguished these signs, it forced him to start taking Li Luo's influence seriously.

After all, from any angle, Li Luo was the most legitimate heir of House Luolan Mansion.

On this point, even Jiang Jiang Qinge was at a disadvantage, let alone a registered disciple of the mansion master like himself?

Moreover, Jiang Jiang Qinge was still engaged to Li Luo. The two were essentially one entity. Now that they'd joined hands, House Luolan Mansion really might be stabilized by them.

Half a year had passed since their parting at the old residence. In another half year, it would be House Luolan Mansion's "Mansion Sacrifice." Originally, Manager Pei Hao had planned to wait until then to come to Great Xia City and have his final showdown with Jiang Jiang Qinge, to see who would ultimately take control of House Luolan Mansion.

But Li Luo's rise forced Manager Pei Hao to change his plans and come to Great Xia City early.

"Manager Pei Hao's methods are superb. That Li Luo is nothing but a greenhorn. If not for the lingering favor of the two mansion masters, how could he possibly compete with you?" Pang Pang Qianchi said with a flattering smile.

"That's what's truly enviable."

Manager Pei Hao shook his head and smiled. "For today's power base, I don't know how many years I've painstakingly built it up, how much effort I've put in. But he only needs those four words 'rightful and proper' to push me into a sorry state. The two mansion masters truly doted on their biological son more—even after they left, they left him plenty of capital."

Pang Pang Qianchi gave an awkward laugh, not quite knowing how to respond. He could hear the undisguised emotion in Manager Pei Hao's words, but... Li Luo was the biological son of the two mansion masters. If they didn't dote on him, were they supposed to dote even more on a registered disciple like you?

Still, he understood Manager Pei Hao's mindset. This man had once worshipped the two mansion masters excessively. Perhaps that worship had been too intense, leading to a certain twisted pathology. So when he saw that Li Luo only needed to be born to enjoy the two mansion masters' unconditional love, his mind had become somewhat warped.

Thinking about it that way, it was also somewhat... pitiful.

Manager Pei Hao paid no attention to Pang Pang Qianchi's wandering thoughts. His gaze remained fixed on the massive Xiyang House headquarters in the distance, a faint smile playing at the corner of his lips.

Li Luo, if I can't have something, I'll destroy it rather than leave it for you.