Under the gaze of countless onlookers, Jia Lie Qing and Ao Ba Pa arrived before Zhang Yuan, slightly lifting their heads to look up at him atop the Silver-Horned Black Rhino Horse.
"Something you need?" Zhang Yuan was clad in armor, heroic and imposing. Holding the reins in one hand, he looked down at the two men.
The smiles on their faces remained unchanged. There was even a trace of humility in their brows. Jia Lie Qing spoke first, "Squad Leader Zhang, Clan Leader Ao Ba Pa, and I have come as well to see you off."
"See me off?" Zhang Yuan raised an eyebrow, his expression arrogant. "With the relationship between your two clans and me, you actually came to see me off?"
"Squad Leader Zhang, what are you saying?" Ao Ba Pa immediately followed up. "Our Ao Ba Clan and the Jia Lie Clan have long been old allies of the Xiao Clan. Naturally, we should come to see you off."
"Hahaha, interesting." Zhang Yuan leaned forward slightly, looking at them with amusement. "Old allies? You mean the kind that stab others in the back?"
The Xiao Clan members present immediately burst into mocking laughter.
Even Lin Zhengqing and Ya Fei could not help letting a trace of playful amusement appear on their faces.
Jia Lie Qing and Ao Ba Pa stiffened slightly. The former took a deep breath and said, "Back then, when the Xiao Clan suffered a great calamity, many forces were eyeing it covetously. Our two clans merely chose another way to help preserve the Xiao Clan's assets."
"When the Xiao Clan regains the strength to guard these foundations, our two clans will naturally return everything with both hands."
Ao Ba Pa nodded repeatedly at the side. "My Ao Ba Clan thought the same."
As they said this, humiliation and pain were evident on their faces. It was clear they were extremely unwilling, yet still forced themselves to accept it.
Seeing this, Zhang Yuan nearly laughed out loud. He secretly praised the two for their acting. If this were Earth, they would definitely be contenders for best actor.
If he did not already know of the moves behind the scenes, he might truly have believed they were betting everything on the Xiao Clan again.
"What great resolve," Zhang Yuan said mockingly. After a brief pause, he continued, "Empty words mean nothing. Do you dare put this in writing, with City Lord Lin and Master Gu Ni acting as witnesses?"
Jia Lie Qing and Ao Ba Pa were clearly prepared. They immediately took out documents from their storage rings.
The terms were written clearly. Once the Xiao Clan produced a powerhouse one major realm above the strongest expert of the Jia Lie Clan or Ao Ba Clan, all Xiao Clan assets taken back then would be returned in full.
They even meticulously listed the assets, such as the mine controlled by the Ao Ba Clan and several marketplaces under the Jia Lie Clan.
"Interesting."
Zhang Yuan scanned the contents and inwardly noted that the two clans were not fools.
By showing such sincerity now, they hoped to lower his guard, let him grow complacent and reveal a flaw, then have him caught completely off guard by the Illusory Mist Nine Bandits.
Not only him, but the Xiao Clan as well would likely grow overconfident, possibly turning joy into disaster.
When news of his death at the hands of the Illusory Mist Nine Bandits arrived a few days later, the two clans could distance themselves from suspicion to the greatest extent.
And if by some chance Zhang Yuan did not die, as long as he could not trace the bandits' actions back to them, these two agreements would simply become money spent to buy their lives, with City Lord Lin Zhengqing as witness.
"Uncle, take a look. If there are no issues, go ahead and sign."
With a satisfied smile, Zhang Yuan handed the documents to Xiao Zhan.
Xiao Zhan read them carefully. His hand trembled slightly before he bit his finger and signed his name in blood, adding a clause that once the assets were returned, all past grudges would be settled. With Jia Lie Qing and Ao Ba Pa present, everything was then handed over to Lin Zhengqing.
At this moment, Jia Lie Qing took out another jade box from his storage ring and presented it with both hands. "This is a small personal farewell gift from our two clans to you, Squad Leader."
Zhang Yuan inwardly exclaimed, 'Impressive.'
They were really trying to stack buffs on him, hoping he would get so full of himself that his tail would stick straight up.
"It's actually this pill."
He opened a small gap to inspect it, his pupils shrinking slightly.
Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill. A peak 4th Tier Pill. It could raise a Da Dou Shi by one star with minimal resistance, and at most two pills could be consumed.
The price of this pill was extremely high. It would take nearly the combined net profits of the two clans over several years to purchase one, and even then, it was often unavailable.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
At that moment, Yao Chen's voice sounded in his mind, "Yuan Boy, the pill itself is fine. It really is a Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill. But there's Thousand-Mile Orchid pollen sprinkled on it. Hehe."
Yao Chen originally called him "Little Yuan," but Zhang Yuan felt that sounded like he was being called a eunuch, so he strongly demanded the change.
"Thousand-Mile Orchid?" Zhang Yuan immediately understood.
The Thousand-Mile Orchid was a rare flower. Ordinary people could not smell its fragrance. Its pollen could penetrate Dou Qi armor and enter the bloodstream, lingering for half a month once contaminated.
There was a 1st Rank magical beast, the Three-Needle Tigerhead Bee, that was extremely sensitive to this pollen and could track its source from a hundred miles away.
Jia Lie Qing and Ao Ba Pa were essentially installing a Dou Qi Continent version of a tracking device on him.
"This gift is quite good. I am very satisfied."
Zhang Yuan put the jade box into his storage ring, the smile on his face growing even more pleased.
"I hope you uphold what is written in the agreement. My sights will not be limited to Wu Tan City, nor will the Xiao Clan's. When the time comes, you may not be able to rise along with us."
Leaving them with these arrogant words, Zhang Yuan snapped the reins and led his dozens of subordinates away.
Dust rose along the official road as the riders disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye.
"City Lord, Master Gu Ni, Miss Ya Fei, Clan Leader Xiao Zhan," Jia Lie Qing said, stopping the four. "Our two clans are hosting. Would you care to join us at Junya Pavilion for a drink?"
The four exchanged glances and smiled as they agreed. After all, one does not strike a smiling face.
Several hours later, after seeing the four off, Jia Lie Qing and Ao Ba Pa returned to their private room. The smiles on their faces vanished instantly, replaced by icy coldness.
Ao Ba Pa crushed a wine cup stained with lipstick, saying coldly, "Master Gu Ni behaved normally, but Ya Fei and Lin Zhengqing were clearly close to Zhang Yuan. It seems they are optimistic about him."
"As expected," Jia Lie Qing said coldly. "The Miteer Auction House is forming a caravan with the Xiao Clan. We have already planted several of our people inside."
"At the city gate earlier, Lin Zhengqing immediately acted as guarantor. That does not match the old fox's previously neutral stance."
Ao Ba Pa nodded slightly, then smiled. "They were quite happy eating and drinking just now. Hopefully, when news of Zhang Yuan's death arrives in a few days, they can remain so."
Jia Lie Qing nodded. "Earlier, Xiao Zhan asked about the clan leader. I said he was still recuperating. Xiao Zhan even showed an amused smile, not knowing that…"
The two clinked their cups lightly.
Over the next few days, they and several experts from their clans would appear openly in various places around Wu Tan City.
When news of Zhang Yuan's death returned, no one would suspect the two clans. Even if they did, there would be no evidence. After all, the payment to the Illusory Mist Nine Bandits had all gone through Zhang Yuan himself.
A 4th Tier Pill required secluded cultivation to refine its medicinal power. Zhang Yuan would definitely bring it to Qingyun Town before consuming it.
That Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill would never be his to eat.
"This pill actually tastes pretty good."
On the official road, the Silver-Horned Black Rhino Horses were still galloping. Zhang Yuan casually commented after swallowing the Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill, thinking that it was no wonder Zi Yan loved eating such things. It seemed he would need to prepare more magical beast "candies" in the future.
The guards: "..."
Their lord was becoming more outrageous by the day.
Boom!
Suddenly, a wave of energy surged from Zhang Yuan's body, but before it could spread far, he circulated the Heavenly Thunder Art and forcefully suppressed it with the power of the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame, confining the shock within his body.
Even so, that brief moment was enough for Xiao Boyuan and the guards to clearly sense Zhang Yuan's current strength, leaving them utterly shaken.
"5-Star Da Dou Shi!?"
(End of Chapter)
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