Chapter 203 - 202: Siege
"Sev... seventy percent?"
Luo Pingyuan’s expression changed. "Father-in-law, this... The treasury silver is substantial, but to suddenly be short so many silver taels—that hole is simply too big..."
"A hole?"
Jiang Hongyi slammed his hand on the armrest and shot to his feet. He loomed over Luo Pingyuan, staring him down as he enunciated each word, "You climbed to your current position from a Humble Family. How many silver coins has my Jiang Family spent on you over the years? You know the answer yourself!
And that doesn’t even include the favors the Jiang Family called in to pave your way. If we factor in interest, seventy percent of four hundred thousand taels might not even be enough to settle your debt. And you have the gall to talk to me about thirty percent?"
Fine beads of cold sweat broke out on Luo Pingyuan’s forehead.
He took a deep breath, trying to make one last plea. "Father-in-law, please understand! It’s not that I’m unwilling, it’s just... I’ve only just arrived and haven’t yet established my authority at the County Magistrate’s Office. If I hastily move such a huge sum and it’s discovered, the consequences would be unthinkable!"
"Authority?"
Jiang Hongyi sneered and slowly walked up to Luo Pingyuan. "That’s your problem. I’ll give you three days to handle your ’authority.’ Three days from now, if I don’t see what I’m supposed to see..."
With that, he let out a cold snort, flicked his sleeves, and left, not sparing his son-in-law another glance.
The heavy door slammed shut with a THUD.
Luo Pingyuan was left alone in the private room.
He remained in his slightly bowed posture.
After a long moment, he slowly straightened his back.
All the humility, terror, and shame on his face vanished without a trace, replaced by an extreme, icy gloom.
The flickering candlelight illuminated his face, half in light and half in shadow.
He walked to the window and watched as Jiang Hongyi’s carriage, surrounded by guards, disappeared at the end of the street.
"Old bastard..."
The nearly inaudible whisper, filled with bone-deep hatred, dissipated into the night wind.
...
Drunken Creek Pavilion.
The once brilliantly lit place of endless music and song was now deathly silent.
After the incident with the Jiang Family, "Jing Hong" had vanished without a trace, and the Xiang Sect had hastily withdrawn its few remaining members.
This once-premier den of indulgence had completely shut down.
At this moment, oil lamps were lit in a few scattered rooms inside the building.
Inside an elegantly furnished guest room.
"Are you sure he’s settled in?"
Jiang Hongyi listened with a grim expression to his subordinate’s report about Chen Li checking into an inn in the city.
"Yes, Patriarch. Confirmed."
A trusted subordinate in black martial attire reported in a low voice, "Chen Li entered the Ping’an Inn in the eastern part of the city, Room A-3, and has not come out since."
Jiang Hongyi waved his hand, and the subordinate retreated without a sound.
The room fell silent once more.
Jiang Hongyi turned to Elder Dao, who was resting with his eyes closed. "Elder Dao, at the banquet, did you get a clear look? That Chen Li... is he truly as I sensed, with no fluctuations of Inner Qi around him at all? Was my perception wrong? Or is Chaoshan’s death truly unrelated to him?"
Elder Dao slowly opened his eyes, a sharp light glinting within them.
He pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head, his voice hoarse. "I scanned him carefully with my Divine Sense. The boy appears unremarkable, but the circulation of his Inner Breath is long and steady, unlike that of a common person. Yet he absolutely does not have the presence of a Spirit Realm expert, much less the aura of a Grandmaster... It is indeed strange."
With Elder Dao’s confirmation, Jiang Hongyi’s brows furrowed even tighter.
’Could it... really not be him?’
’Was someone else responsible for what happened at Drunken Creek Pavilion, for the deaths of Chaoshan and Chaogong?’
The thought frustrated him, like a fully charged punch meeting empty air.
Elder Dao shook his head slightly. "It’s hard to say for sure. Perhaps there’s a greater expert backing him, or perhaps... he has cultivated some exceptionally advanced Concealing Breath Secret Technique."
He paused, then looked at Jiang Hongyi. "Patriarch, in that case, should we proceed with tomorrow’s plan as scheduled?"
A look of ruthless determination flashed across Jiang Hongyi’s face. He declared decisively, "The arrow is already on the bow; it must be fired. I don’t care if Chaoshan died by his hand or not. It’s better to kill the wrong person than to let the right one go. When he leaves the city tomorrow, we’ll proceed as planned. Kill him first, then head straight to Lingxi and wipe out his entire family to eliminate any future trouble."
"Very well."
Elder Dao responded curtly, his aged eyes showing no ripple of emotion, as if they were discussing a trivial matter.
However, just as the words left his mouth...
CREAK!
The wooden door to the room swung open.
A figure, who had been standing silently in the shadows outside the door, slowly walked in.
"Who’s there?"
Both men were shocked. It was the dead of night, and this place had long been sealed off. Who could have arrived so silently?
Jiang Hongyi and Elder Dao shot to their feet.
When he saw the face of the person entering, Jiang Hongyi’s pupils contracted. Shock and rage mingled in his voice. "Chen Li? It’s you! Good, good, good! Truly, you refuse the path to heaven and throw yourself into the gates of hell! I was going to let you live one more night, but since you’re in such a hurry to die, I’ll oblige you tonight!"
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Li made the first move.
There was no pointless chatter, not a hint of hesitation.
With a grip of his right hand in empty air, the dark Qiankun Ruyi Staff materialized.
The staff’s body trembled with a low hum, and a vast, ferocious aura erupted, instantly filling the entire room.
VWOOM!
The first to bear the brunt was Elder Dao, who was closest to the door.
Chen Li moved like lightning, thrusting his staff forward. The attack was simple, direct, yet unimaginably fast.
"You dare, junior!"
Elder Dao, a battle-hardened Divine Hall Grandmaster after all, was startled but not panicked. With a furious roar, the scimitar at his waist was instantly unsheathed. It flashed like a cold moon, its vicious and cruel blade light and chilling saber qi aimed straight for the staff.
This was the Breaking Army Style from his signature Seven Kills Saber Technique.
CLANG!
A deafening clash of metal rang out.
A visible shockwave erupted from the point of impact, spreading out and causing the oil lamps to flicker violently, nearly extinguishing them.
The moment the weapons met, the confidence on Elder Dao’s face froze.
He felt an irresistible force travel up the blade. He stumbled back several steps—THUMP, THUMP, THUMP—and with a CRASH, he smashed through the door behind him and flew into the next room, only then managing to dissipate the terrifying force.
When he stood up, his eyes were filled with utter horror.
"You really are a Grandmaster!"
Elder Dao cried out, all traces of disdain gone from his eyes.
Having forced Elder Dao back with a single blow, Chen Li’s momentum didn’t falter. He spun, using the motion to swing his staff’s shadow directly at the shocked and enraged Jiang Hongyi.
"Protect the Patriarch!"
From the shadows, two personal guards lunged forward.
Without a glance, Chen Li casually tapped his long staff left and right.
With two dull thuds, the two Spirit Realm Initial Level guards were sent flying as if hit by a heavy blow, their chests caved in, spraying blood. They crashed through a set of broken tables and chairs, and after landing, made no further sound, their fate unknown.
Jiang Hongyi was also at the Spirit Realm Third Level of Cultivation, but before the aura Chen Li now displayed, he was like a child facing a tiger.
Scared out of his wits, he turned to smash through the window and flee for his life, but how could he be fast enough?
Chen Li took a single step and appeared behind him as if he had teleported.
The staff’s shadow flashed again.
CRACK!
CRACK!
The sound of breaking bones rang out one after another.
Jiang Hongyi let out a bloodcurdling scream; the joints in his four limbs had been shattered by the staff.
He collapsed to the ground like a boneless heap, his face contorted in agony, and cold sweat instantly soaked his clothes.
"AHH! My arms and legs! Kill him! Someone, kill him for me!"
Jiang Hongyi screamed horrifically, the joints in all four limbs having been crushed with unerring precision by the long staff.
The excruciating pain instantly overwhelmed his senses, and he collapsed like a boneless heap, as if every bone had been removed from his body.
His body convulsed violently from the extreme pain as cold sweat soaked his fine robes.
Just then.
The dense, urgent sound of footsteps could be heard approaching from outside the Drunken Creek Pavilion, rapidly drawing nearer.
Having sensed the commotion, the two Divine Hall Grandmasters, Zheng and Tong, along with seven or eight of the Jiang Family’s Spirit Realm Honored Guests, rushed in.
Seeing the scene before them, everyone’s scalp tingled with shock and fury.
"How dare you, fiend!"
Elder Dao suppressed his churning qi and blood, let out a sharp cry, and was the first to attack, swinging his saber straight for Chen Li’s vitals in an attempt to rescue Jiang Hongyi.
Grandmaster Zheng unsheathed his Longsword, its gleam like a smattering of cold stars as he thrust toward Chen Li’s face.
Grandmaster Tong let out a low roar, each of his fists gripping a bowl-sized Copper Hammer as he brought them smashing down with immense force.
The other Honored Guests also brandished their weapons and attacked from all sides.
In an instant, the glint of sabers and swords and the whistling of hammers filled the air. A biting killing intent completely submerged Chen Li’s figure.
Inside the Drunken Creek Pavilion, Qi Strength crisscrossed the room, and the sharp whistle of attacks tearing through the air was endless.
At the center of the storm, Chen Li’s expression remained calm.
He began to wield the Qiankun Ruyi Staff, executing the defensive stances of the Qiankun Qi Wandering Dragon Staff Technique to perfection.
His feet seemed rooted to the ground; he hadn’t moved an inch from the start. No matter how ferociously the others attacked, he remained as steady as a boulder.
The shadow of his staff was like a mountain, layer upon layer, protecting the space around him so thoroughly that not even a splash of water could get through.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
A cacophony of dense collisions, explosions of Qi Strength, and the occasional scream intertwined.
The staff’s shadow clashed constantly with the flashing sabers, swords, and whistling hammers, sending sparks flying.
Chen Li’s defense was as solid as Mount Tai. Occasionally, he would switch his staff’s momentum to suddenly strike, and an Spirit Realm Honored Guest would inevitably scream and fall—either with tendons torn and bones broken, or struck in a vital spot and killed instantly.
In just a few dozen exchanges, more than half of the attacking Jiang Family Honored Guests were dead or injured.
Severed limbs and shattered weapons littered the floor. The thick stench of blood filled the air, nauseatingly.
"Everyone else, back off! Tong, form up!"
The more Elder Dao fought, the more terrified he became.
Their opponent was fighting many at once, yet even against an assault led by three Grandmasters, he handled it with ease and even killed several in counterattacks.
Realizing that the human wave tactic was just sending his men to their deaths, he had immediately let out a hoarse roar.
Grandmasters Zheng and Tong understood. Their figures flashed, and in an instant, they formed a triangle with Elder Dao, trapping Chen Li at the center.
The three Grandmasters cast aside all distracting thoughts and unleashed their full power. Their attacks became a torrential storm, and with their synchronized coordination, their combined might increased severalfold.
The entire Drunken Creek Pavilion trembled violently under the force of such a fierce Grandmaster-Level clash.
Stray wisps of saber qi and sword gleams carved countless deep gashes into the walls and pillars. Splintered wood flew everywhere, and dust filled the air.
The thick beams supporting the building groaned under the strain with a creaking sound, cracks spreading rapidly across them. The entire structure teetered on the verge of collapse.
Yet even so, Chen Li, relying on a single, seemingly ordinary long staff, met the combined assault of the three Grandmasters head-on.
Though he appeared to be defending more than attacking, his steps remained steady and his breathing long and even. He showed no signs of being overwhelmed, like an eternal reef standing firm against crashing waves, unmoving and unshakable.