Chapter 25: Luxury Mansion, A Sense of Urgency

Chang Yongsheng looked at the representatives of the various forces present, his attitude extremely firm.

"I hope everyone can be a little less selfish and a little more loving. There is a saying that goes well: if everyone can contribute a little love, the world will have a beautiful tomorrow."

The crowd remained silent with their heads bowed.

Chang Yongsheng sneered.

"Feng Wanqing, the Chief Disciple of Fengxue Silver City, is also my niece, the daughter of my own elder sister.

I presume everyone has some understanding of her achievements, so I don't need to explain them one by one, do I?"

Yan Xiao rolled his eyes; he truly had no idea what achievements the tall woman had.

But her strength was truly formidable.

"I presume everyone is unaware of why she came to Luoyue City, so I might as well tell you all: she has brought back some very terrible news.

The Demon King of the Demon Domain has completely torn off the mask with Fengxue Silver City, and war has already broken out; human cultivators have suffered heavy losses.

It may take a long time for the battlefield to reach Luoyue City, but do not forget there is another very unstable factor—the Phantom Demon.

War means death, and death will lead to the appearance of many, many Phantom Demons, among which there is no lack of fourth-rank or fifth-rank great demons.

Therefore, regardless of what mindset or thoughts you all present here may have, I have only one thing to say: if you want to gain a foothold in Luoyue City and be revered and worshipped by the common people as immortals, you must contribute money and effort to protect Luoyue City well.

Those who wish to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor or watch with cold indifference, please leave my Luoyue City; they are not welcome here."

Chang Yongsheng delivered this passage with resounding force, without beating around the bush.

It is fine to continue acting with authority in Luoyue City, but one must step forward in times of crisis to protect the local commoners and believers.

"Good... I support this with both hands."

Yan Xiao clapped and cheered; his attitude toward Chang Yongsheng changed immediately. Regardless of what kind of person he was, being able to think of the suffering poor in times of crisis made him a good City Lord.

"Lord City Lord, my Luoxia Mountain is willing to follow the arrangements of Chief Disciple Xiao Yan and fully cooperate with your Lordship's demon-slaying operation."

Qian Youdao stood up and bowed to Chang Yongsheng.

After speaking, he did not forget to wink at Yan Xiao.

"My Cangyun Mountain is willing to contribute, but as for money and resources..."

An old man stood up tremblingly, looking quite embarrassed.

His Cangyun Mountain was truly destitute and could not produce any wealth.

"Sect Master Cang has high moral character, which is understandable. Are you willing to send out your disciples to serve in the city defense squads and kill the surrounding Phantom Demons?"

Chang Yongsheng seemed to have made arrangements long ago, waiting for everyone to take the bait.

"I am willing..." the old Sect Master Cang Shu replied tremblingly.

Could this old Sect Master have been scared out of his wits by the City Lord? Look at how his hands are shaking.

"What about you all?" Chang Yongsheng looked toward the other sects.

"The... Dadao Sect is willing to contribute money and effort." Ren Jian hurriedly nodded.

"We are willing to follow the City Lord's orders."

The group exchanged glances and bowed one after another.

The City Lord was exceptionally domineering today; he was not to be trifled with... not to be trifled with.

Chang Yongsheng nodded in satisfaction and began discussing the matters each party would be responsible for.

When asked about the matters Luoxia Mountain would be responsible for, Yan Xiao looked at Chang Yongsheng, then at Qian Youdao, in a daze, not knowing how to answer.

How would he know what to be responsible for? He was just a fake Chief Disciple.

"Never mind, you have contributed so much money, and your Luoxia Mountain is gradually declining, so just be responsible for the matters under your jurisdiction."

Seeing Yan Xiao looking around and unable to answer, the City Lord thought he was in a difficult position, so he took the initiative to assign him a task.

"Many thanks for your Lordship's understanding." Qian Youdao was very happy and bowed again to thank him.

"Many thanks... City Lord!"

Yan Xiao had no choice but to bow and thank him, but in return, he received a look from Chang Yongsheng that made Yan Xiao feel a chill.

A greasy middle-aged man batting his eyes had too much lethality.

At dusk, under the protection of the City Lord's Mansion guard team.

All the money and Spirit Pills confiscated from the Yuhua Sect were escorted back, including the title deeds for all the shops, pharmacies, workshops, and surrounding land in Luoyue City.

One had to admit, Chang Yongsheng's efficiency was very high.

Looking at the several large carriages of gold, silver, jewelry, and Spirit Pills, Yan Xiao was overjoyed.

Although most of the Spirit Pills were Lower Grade, they were still valuable...

Shi Yaoqian was clearly not lightly injured and was being supported out by Shi Xingfeng and others. Seeing Yan Xiao's ecstatic expression, he was so angry he had a stroke, foaming at the mouth, and nearly collapsed.

"Xiao Yan, my Shi Family will not let you off!"

Shi Xingfeng looked at Yan Xiao with bloodshot eyes; if looks could kill, Yan Xiao would have died hundreds of times over.

"You had better pray for your own good fortune."

Yan Xiao shook his head. The Yuhua Sect had gone completely bankrupt; it was a stroke of luck that they could even keep their lives.

The members of the Shi Family left Luoyue City overnight, moving far away from this sorrowful city.

Chang Yongsheng walked up to Yan Xiao with a smile and said, "Little Brother Yan Xiao, according to our agreement, you should take one-fourth, but because there are too many disaster victims, I will not give you the properties that originally belonged to the Yuhua Sect, though I can allocate a few courtyards to you."

He called him Yan Xiao?

It seemed he had investigated him.

That made sense; he was the uncle of the tall woman, so he would know his residence upon asking, and it could not be hidden for long.

Yan Xiao mocked himself.

"Since the City Lord is so straightforward, I will not hide anything either. My real name is Yan Xiao, and I am not any Chief Disciple of Luoxia Mountain.

As for these assets, I will follow your Lordship's distribution. The City Lord has such high moral character that I imagine you would not look twice at my petty gains."

Yan Xiao laughed heartily, acting very magnanimous, "You decide how much you want to give; you are the City Lord after all, and I can't beat you anyway."

"Good, the little brother is indeed a straightforward person. How about this: as written in the IOU, I will give you ten thousand taels of gold, one hundred Lower Grade Spirit Pills, three mansions, and two workshops?"

Chang Yongsheng looked at Yan Xiao and laughed.

Yan Xiao nodded, bowed to Chang Yongsheng with cupped hands, and said respectfully, "Many thanks for the reward, City Lord!"

The tall woman on the roof watched the two men's hypocritical display, yet she felt not the slightest disgust, and instead, a trace of a smile appeared.

"Senior Sister, weren't you going to enjoy the moon? Why did you run here to watch them split the loot?"

Qianyue Fairy flew to the tall woman's side and teased her.

"Both of them are true villains, so they don't seem that annoying after all," the tall woman said, rarely speaking a complete sentence.

"Pfft... You called the City Lord a true villain; if he heard you, he would surely scold you."

Qianyue Fairy covered her mouth and chuckled.

"He wouldn't have the heart to..." The tall woman took a deep breath, thinking of a story from her childhood.

Back then, she was only six or seven years old and loved to linger at her uncle's City Lord's Mansion, not even wanting to return home.

Later, her family suffered a great disaster, and she was the only one left of her family; it was only because she was at her uncle's place that she escaped the calamity.

But from that day on, her uncle became even more doting toward her, yet she never again acted spoiled or cute in her uncle's arms.

In fact, this time she returned, besides helping Chang Yongsheng stabilize the status of the City Lord's Mansion, there was another important reason.

She wanted to take revenge; after years of effort, she had found a clue regarding those who murdered her family back then.

Perhaps once the massacre is avenged, she will hold her uncle and cry bitterly.

Taking a deep breath, the tall woman stepped on the wind and left, disappearing into the moonlight.

Over an hour passed, and Yan Xiao finally finished organizing the assets that belonged to him.

A full, large chest of shiny gold ingots; Yan Xiao felt very happy looking at them, grinning from ear to ear.

Taking a deep breath, Yan Xiao took a little less than half of the gold ingots, about four thousand taels or so, and also put the Spirit Pills and property deeds into the System Space.

The rest remained in the wooden chest.

Seeing that Yan Xiao did not take all the gold ingots, Chang Yongsheng could not help but be puzzled, "Little Brother Yan, what is the meaning of this? Are you dissatisfied with my... distribution?"

"No, I would like to trouble the City Lord to distribute this money to the disaster victims outside the city, to give them a bite to eat.

Besides... I have a group of friends in Majia Town, not many, three or four hundred people; I would like to bring them over and ask for your permission to let them pass."