Chapter 50: Negotiation

Chen Chuan had been in the City Defense Battalion for more than forty years, had experienced many bloody storms, and had handled countless major and minor cases, but the tragic scene in the courtyard before him still made his whole body feel cold.

The Long Lin Bang guest minister with a black mole between his eyebrows was an expert who had opened seven springs; at this moment, he lay in a pool of blood, having been cut in half at the waist, his arms nowhere to be found.

Under the courtyard wall, there were about ten corpses, lying in a mess, all killed with one sword strike.

There were also Pincer Spider fierce insects all over the ground and sturdy spider webs connecting east and west. They were frozen under cold frost and ice crystals, clearly someone had driven a magic tool with large-scale lethality.

This could already be called a big scene!

And the creator of this tragic big scene was actually just a teenager who looked less than twenty years old.

If the opponent was really born into the Cangli tribe, then he was absolutely a potential new star of the tribe. Such a figure, he could not afford to provoke now, and even less so in the future. If he reported it upward... then the things dug out would be many, and it would involve the power struggle of the upper echelons of Nine Licheng.

Li Youyi lit the bone lamp and hung it back on the old poplar tree.

Under the light, the bloodstains in the courtyard appeared exceptionally bright, and coupled with the corpses all over the ground, it added a strange and terrifying sense of horror.

Chen Chuan's expression had become gentle, and he asked: "Who is the owner of this residence?"

"It's me."

Zhao Meng walked out with big strides, his six-meter-tall body causing the ground to vibrate slightly.

His magic power circulated in his body, his entire skin turned golden, his hair burned like flames, and his voice sounded like thunder.

It was Master Guan who let him appear in such a posture, trying to act as strong as possible.

"Senior Brother, this is Captain Chen of the City Defense Battalion..." Li Youyi was seeing Zhao Meng's miraculous appearance for the first time, and his heart was very surprised.

Zhao Meng was very impolite, walking toward Chen Chuan with the stride of a dragon and a tiger, and questioned: "When we rented the residence, we paid the City Defense silver. We were attacked by villains and were almost all killed; why did the City Defense Battalion arrive so slowly?"

In Chen Chuan's eyes, Zhao Meng's oppressive feeling was too strong, even surpassing Xie Jin, who had iron-blooded means.

His flesh was cultivated as if forged from gold, which was unheard of in the Gushing Spring Realm. He felt that Zhao Meng could easily tear him in half with just his physical body.

This was Xie Jin's senior brother, the owner of this place, absolutely a more terrifying figure.

He could never have imagined that Zhao Meng had only opened one spring.

Facing the strong, Chen Chuan hurriedly cupped his hands to show respect, and didn't even dare to ask Zhao Meng for the commoner's register, explaining: "We didn't expect that someone would be so bold as to break into a private residence and commit robbery so close to the city district. Your Excellency, please do not be angry; the City Defense Battalion will not ignore it, and such a thing will never happen again in the future."

Li Youyi did not expect his senior brother's deterrent power to be so great, so he consciously retreated to the side, like a junior brother who looked up to his senior brother, to set off Zhao Meng's stronger momentum.

A quarter of an hour later, the two finished their exchange.

Chen Chuan walked out of the residence gate, patting his chest and guaranteeing that he would find out the mastermind as soon as possible. Afterward, he ordered the more than twenty City Defense guards outside to take away all the corpses in the courtyard and clean up the ground.

Li Youyi carried his hands on his back, looking at the City Defense guards who were leaving: "Senior Brother, you see it now, only by having strong strength will others respect us; otherwise, we would definitely have been taken away by now. Of course, it also shows that Chen Chuan himself is not clean."

Zhao Meng smiled: "I just feel that our so-called strength is a bit fake; others probably treat me as a powerful figure in the Five Seas Realm. If the truth is exposed, the City Defense Battalion and the Long Lin Bang will have countless ways to make us pay back with interest."

"Five Seas Realm!"

Li Youyi read these three words.

These three words, in his heart at this moment, could completely represent dignity, status, and a sense of security, and he must go and ascend to them.

"You have to continue acting out this Five Seas Realm; there is still a hard battle to fight tonight."

Li Youyi did not think Chen Chuan would offend the Long Lin Bang for their sake; the so-called "finding out the mastermind" was definitely just a polite phrase.

To truly solve the big trouble of the Long Lin Bang, they still had to rely on themselves.

The night was deep, and the air was slightly cool.

Li Youyi sat alone on the threshold of the main gate, using a gray cloth to repeatedly wipe the blood off the Huang Long sword. The water in the basin beside him for washing the cloth gradually became deep red.

Zhao Meng sat under the old poplar tree in the courtyard, looking calm and composed, but in reality, he had no confidence at all.

Old Liu and Old Guan cleaned the bloodstains in the courtyard.

Everyone did not take this opportunity to flee; having reached this point, fleeing would only lead to death faster. They had to put on a stance of fighting the Long Lin Bang to the death, so that it was possible to force the other side to weigh the pros and cons, thereby exchanging for a glimmer of survival.

"Clatter!"

"Clatter!"

Dense footsteps came rapidly from the end of the four-zhang-wide long street.

Led by Deputy Gang Leader Tang Yan and Flag Master Shi Chuanyu, dozens of Long Lin Bang members walked out of the shadows of the buildings in a grand manner, all dressed in black, scaring the merchants and residents on both sides of the street into silence.

The air on the entire street seemed to become viscous all of a sudden.

Li Youyi glanced over and saw that the Long Lin Bang members were not carrying knives or weapons, and his heart immediately felt at ease.

Since that was the case...

He had to put on a stronger stance.

Not long after, all the Long Lin Bang members stopped in front of the residence gate, and all eyes were on Li Youyi. However, they saw him still wiping his long sword as if they were nothing.

This boldness, calmness, and confidence made all the Long Lin Bang members not even dare to breathe loudly.

Shi Chuanyu stepped forward to salute Li Youyi, while glancing at Zhao Meng sitting in the courtyard, and without beating around the bush, went straight to the point: "Little brother Shi Chuanyu, I had eyes but failed to recognize the true god. Tonight, the Long Lin Bang admits defeat. The fright that the two of you have suffered—our gang has prepared generous gifts to express our sincerity, only asking to turn hostility into friendship."

Li Youyi did not say a word, his gaze falling on Tang Yan behind Shi Chuanyu.

From this old man, he felt an extremely dangerous aura; clearly, he was the big figure who could truly make the final decision for the Long Lin Bang.

Tang Yan had been sizing up Li Youyi, who was much younger than he had expected.

But it was this young man who had a terrifying combat record tonight, causing the Long Lin Bang to suffer heavy losses, and tomorrow he would inevitably become a laughingstock among the many gangs in the suburbs.

The opponent was full of confidence; it seemed he really had nothing to fear.

Tang Yan squeezed a friendly smile on his old face, walked to the right side of Shi Chuanyu, cupped his hands, and reported his name: "This old man is Tang Yan, Deputy Gang Leader of the Long Lin Bang. The people below had no eyes and caused a great disaster for the gang; they died deservedly for falling into the hands of the little friend. This is the land deed for this residence, which I just ordered people to process urgently; I hope the little friend will accept it."

After Tang Yan took out the land deed, Shi Chuanyu presented it.

Li Youyi glanced at it, and his heart was naturally greatly shocked.

One must know, even a small residence in this area would cost tens of thousands of silver coins.

Their three-acre large residence could not be bought without two hundred thousand silver coins.

What a big gesture!

Li Youyi withdrew his gaze without changing his expression and said lightly: "Where are my people?"

Tang Yan gestured.

Four black-clad gang members carried Zhao Zhizhuo over in a sedan chair and helped him to Li Youyi.

Zhao Zhizhuo's injuries had already been treated, and his dislocated arms had been reconnected, but one could still see that he had been subjected to inhuman treatment. Li Youyi waved his hand, letting Old Liu and Old Guan help him down.

The four gang members who carried Zhao Zhizhuo over all knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging, their expressions fearful.

Clearly, they were the ones who had made Zhao Zhizhuo look like this.

Li Youyi looked up at Tang Yan, his eyes sharp as a sword.

Tang Yan waved his hand: "Having made a mistake, it is indeed time to pay the price. Break all their hands and legs, and let them fend for themselves."

After the four were dragged away, shrill screams and the sound of breaking bones came one after another.

Li Youyi had no pity or sympathy; with the Long Lin Bang's style, there were probably not many good people in the gang, and whatever ending they met was deserved.

"The Deputy Gang Leader is so sincere; this land deed, I, Xie Jin, will accept it." Li Youyi added: "But I am very afraid that one day late at night, something similar will happen again..."

Zhao Meng's tiger-roaring and dragon-singing voice came from the courtyard: "Then we will fight the Long Lin Bang, arm-wrestle, and see who is tougher."

Tang Yan's eyes sank slightly. If this matter hadn't already made a big scene, if it hadn't been for the young lady over there telling them to settle things peacefully, and if it hadn't been for the fact that these two might have the Cangli as their backing, how could the Long Lin Bang be willing to suffer such humiliation?

Tang Yan promised with a smile: "The two of you, rest assured, such a thing will never happen again in the future. May I ask, is Master Qi still well?"

Li Youyi had kept that white-robed freak because he felt that he was an Insect Controller and had great value, which could be used as a bargaining chip for negotiations with the Long Lin Bang.

He had originally intended to use him to exchange for Zhao Zhizhuo.

Now, Li Youyi had a new idea: "That old man is still alive; how many silver coins does the Deputy Gang Leader intend to use to redeem him?"

Tang Yan cursed Li Youyi for being greedy, but thinking that the other side only dared to rent a residence in the suburbs, he thought he must be truly poor.

Things that could be solved with silver coins were not things.

This time, I will endure it!

After some bargaining, Tang Yan finally redeemed Master Qi with one hundred thousand silver coins.

When Tang Yan learned that only Master Qi was redeemed, and not those Pincer Spiders, his face turned green with anger.

Li Youyi stood up and looked at the Long Lin Bang members who had come in a grand manner and were leaving in a grand manner, putting on a stance that he was not to be trifled with, and said loudly: "Reminding the Deputy Gang Leader, it is best not to send people to watch us. If I find out, I will personally send the corpses back to the Long Lin Bang."

Tang Yan, who had already walked a hundred paces away, had his chest heaving violently, and the murderous intent in his eyes was exposed.

Shi Chuanyu said: "Deputy Gang Leader, did you see the depth of that person in the courtyard?"

Tang Yan said: "I can be sure, it must be the Five Seas Realm without a doubt. He consumed the blood of two ancient immortal giant beasts; didn't you see it yesterday?"

Shi Chuanyu explained hurriedly: "Yesterday he deliberately hid his cultivation, his divine brilliance was restrained, and with my realm... Alas, this subordinate's cultivation is not enough... I was wrong..."

Tang Yan's expression was grave: "Deformed humans can only drink the blood of a second ancient immortal giant beast after reaching the Five Seas Realm. Of course, those with special constitutions are exceptions, but such figures are even rarer than pure immortal bodies and have no reference value."

"Is it really just enduring it like this? The price we paid tonight is also too great." Shi Chuanyu was very unwilling.

Tang Yan said: "First investigate clearly what kind of relationship they have with the Cangli. If the relationship is distant, then this breath, if not vented tonight, will inevitably make them pay a miserable price in the future. Even if the relationship is close, if the open way doesn't work, can't we come in the dark?"

"By the way, that kid Xie Jin shouldn't be in the Five Seas Realm; it is highly probable that he is a magic martial arts cultivator who has opened eight springs."

Shi Chuanyu had the same feeling; the oppressive feeling Xie Jin brought him was far worse than Zhao Meng. He said: "Should we hang his name in the Five Burial Temple and let the thief Chan Hai help us test him again? If we can kill him, wouldn't that be venting our anger?"

The Five Burial Temple was the largest assassin organization in the underground nether market of Nine Licheng, rumored to be backed by the coffin mountain Xu Fudu, one of the three great barbarian thieves in the Southern Region.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 51 =====