The Li family was one of the three great families of Tongzhou Prefecture, with vast estates and businesses. Every year, several merchant caravans traveled in and out, accompanied by large numbers of martial artists to guard against bandits. This time, they dared to take the remote small path through Yuanbao Town because they had brought many people and feared no one—most of those bandits were just disorganized mobs anyway.
Although Li Jing was a servant of the Li family, he had earned the favor of the Li family's Third Young Master and been transferred to the merchant caravan. Though not a steward, he was considered a minor leader. At this moment, in another inn in Yuanbao Town, Li Jing walked up to the door of a superior room. Hearing the sounds of merriment coming from within, he knocked. A lazy voice called out:
Li Tong: "Come in."
Pushing open the door, Li Jing saw a man in his thirties wearing brocade robes inside the superior room. He was holding a heavily made-up woman with a vulgar, seductive appearance, laughing and teasing her. On the table were arranged some wine and dishes. Two other stewards from the merchant caravan were also keeping him company, each with an ordinary-looking woman beside them. This man was the leader of the Li family's merchant caravan, Li Tong. He was greedy for wine and women, mediocre in ability, and mediocre in strength. His current behavior made that clear—he had to have wine and women prepared even in a small place like Yuanbao Town, and he could stomach women of such quality. That such a person could become a caravan leader was entirely due to Li Tong's origins.
He was from a collateral branch of the Li family. Though greedy for wine and women, and mediocre in ability, he could at least get things done—better than those wastes who couldn't accomplish anything but could ruin everything. With two capable stewards assigned to him to actually manage the caravan, nothing major had gone wrong over the years. So Li Tong's position in the Li family had actually grown higher. Looking at Li Tong, a hint of unwillingness and disdain flashed in Li Jing's eyes.
Even such goods could become a caravan leader. Even if he was capable, even if he became a Li family steward in the future, in the end he would still be a servant, having to assist and serve such waste. But though he thought this in his heart, Li Jing still squeezed out a smiling face and cupped his hands:
Li Jing: "Greetings, Seventh Master."
Because Li Tong ranked seventh among his generation, the Li family's servants all called him Seventh Master.
Seeing Li Jing, Li Tong smiled and waved his hand:
Li Tong: "It's Li Jing. Come, come, sit and drink. I'll have the innkeeper send up another girl. Don't be picky—in a small place, having girls at all is good. When we return to Tongzhou Prefecture and collect our rewards, I'll treat you all to a splendid time at the Drunken Flower Tower."
Although Li Tong was mediocre in ability, he wasn't stupid. He knew he couldn't manage the caravan alone, so he had always treated the two stewards well, making them deeply grateful. Usually, when problems arose in the caravan, the two stewards played the harsh roles while he played the kind one. So within the caravan, it was actually Li Tong who commanded the highest prestige.
Though Li Jing was currently just a minor leader, he was favored by the Third Young Master. By generational ranking, he was the Third Young Master's cousin, but actually, before the Third Young Master, he was no different from those stewards. So his attitude toward Li Jing was also quite good.
A hint of grievance appeared on Li Jing's face:
Li Jing: "Seventh Master, just now I was robbed in town. I revealed the Li family's name, yet the other party still didn't put our Li family in their eyes."
Li Tong: "Oh? What's going on? Someone actually dares to rob a Li family member?"
Li Tong immediately frowned.
After Li Jing exaggeratedly recounted the matter to Li Tong, Li Tong immediately snorted coldly:
Li Tong: "Don't worry, this matter isn't over. Even if he's just a servant of our Li family, he's not someone those small families can provoke!"
Saying this, Li Tong instructed a servant from the caravan to investigate who the other party was. Yuanbao Town was only so big—such matters were easy to find out.
Li Jing: "Many thanks to Seventh Master for standing up for this servant!"
Li Jing hurriedly expressed his gratitude.
Seeing Li Jing's tearfully grateful appearance, Li Tong nodded in satisfaction. This kind of method—winning people's hearts without expending much effort—was what he excelled at most.
After half an hour, the servant returned and reported in a low voice:
Servant: "Seventh Master, the other party is from the Chu family."
Hearing this, Li Tong's expression immediately changed. He adopted a mature, steady tone and said to Li Jing:
Li Tong: "Li Jing, the other party is from the Chu family—that's somewhat troublesome. Of the three great families of Tongzhou Prefecture, the Shen family is undoubtedly first. The Shen family head, Shen Mo, is the younger blood brother of 'Falling Rain Sword' Shen Bai, the chief disciple of the great Canglan Sword Sect of Wei Commandery. With this connection, even though Shen Mo had just reached the age of thirty when he succeeded as family head, killing seven Shen family elders to establish his authority, no one dared say anything. The Chu family, though they only moved to Tongzhou Prefecture twenty years ago, the Chu family head, that old fellow Chu Zongguang, has no simple strength. He has passed beyond Body Tempering and Blood Coagulation, reaching the Innate Realm where the body's blood, qi, bones, and tendons merge into one, without impurities, like a newborn infant. A man over fifty looks like he's just over forty. When our Li family's old family head was alive, he could compete with that old fellow Chu Zongguang, but now that the old family head has passed, though the First Young Master, Second Young Master, and Third Young Master are all dragons and phoenixes among men, supporting the Li family after the old family head's death, and are called the Three Tigers of the Li family by outsiders, there is still a certain gap compared to the Chu family. Let this matter go."
A hint of unwillingness flashed in Li Jing's eyes, but he could only nod obediently.
At this moment, Li Tong subconsciously asked:
Li Tong: "Which Chu family member came? I don't seem to have heard of any Chu family caravans coming and going recently? And Chu family caravans never take the Yuanbao Town route."
Servant: "It's the Chu family's Second Young Master, Chu Xiu."
Hearing this, Li Tong was stunned for a moment, then burst into loud laughter:
Li Tong: "So it was that waste! Li Jing, don't worry, I'll stand up for you in this matter!"
Li Jing asked in surprise:
Li Jing: "Isn't that the Chu family's Second Young Master? Not a steward—can we afford to offend him?"
Li Tong sneered coldly:
Li Tong: "If it were a Chu family steward, I really wouldn't dare provoke them. Even Chu family stewards hold some real power in their hands. But this Chu Xiu—this master truly fears him not! Don't look at him as the Chu family's Second Young Master, but he's illegitimate, utterly unloved within the Chu family, without a shred of real power in his hands. And his character is timid and cowardly—even Chu family stewards don't put him in their eyes. I heard that a year ago he did something stupid and was banished to the Chu family's Southern Mountain mines to eat dust. Such a waste—even if we offend him, he wouldn't dare tell Chu Zongguang, afraid of even harsher punishment."
Saying this, Li Tong directly waved his hand and led people to find trouble with Chu Xiu.
Li Jing followed behind the group. For some reason, he felt uneasy in his heart.
Li Tong said this Chu family Second Young Master had a cowardly character and was basically a waste, but the one who had snatched the secret chests from him earlier had acted overbearingly, with a sinister, fierce expression. Were these two really the same person?
Inside the inn, Chu Xiu played with a short blade, concealing it in his sleeve, constantly visualizing and simulating in his mind the scene of the Azure Dragon in the Sleeve striking out like an azure dragon emerging from the sea.
The Azure Dragon in the Sleeve wasn't an overly complex martial technique, but Chu Xiu could sense that cultivating it to ultimate mastery wouldn't be so easy. The limits of this technique might be deeper than Chu Xiu had imagined.
Just then, Chu Xiu suddenly heard a commotion coming from below the inn, and someone seemed to be calling his name.
Chu Xiu went down to look. His several guards were confronting a group of people, while the servant girl Yue'er cowered in a corner, not daring to make a sound.
Seeing Chu Xiu come down, Li Tong sneered coldly:
Li Tong: "Chu Xiu, you certainly put on great airs, daring to even rob the Li family's things. Let me tell you—even a servant of our Li family isn't so easily bullied!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the Li family servants who had followed Li Tong all showed excited expressions. Clearly, Li Tong's act of seeking trouble with the Chu family Second Young Master for a servant moved them deeply.
Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, a hint of smugness flashed in Li Tong's eyes, but he still spoke righteously:
Li Tong: "Chu Xiu, hand over the secret chests you robbed from Li Jing and apologize, and this matter will be settled. After all, both the Li and Chu families are among the three great families of Tongzhou Prefecture—I don't want to harm the harmony. Otherwise, you know the consequences!"
Chu Xiu raised his head and looked at Li Tong. There really was such a person in his memories, but the former Chu Xiu wasn't favored even within the Chu family, let alone by other families. Whether the Li family or the Shen family, they all regarded him as a waste. After all, the Chu family's future heir definitely wouldn't be him, so he wasn't worth paying attention to. The only thing Chu Xiu didn't understand was just how cowardly his former self had been, that even a collateral branch member of the other family dared to be so arrogant toward him?
Looking at Li Tong, a hint of unreadable expression appeared in Chu Xiu's eyes:
Chu Xiu: "And if I don't hand them over?"
Li Tong sneered coldly. Those Li family servants surrounded them, looking aggressive.
Though Chu Xiu also had a dozen or so people beside him, given his status in the Chu family, only five or six of these dozen had actually reached the Body Tempering Realm. The rest were true servants attending to Chu Xiu's daily needs. Meanwhile, the Li family side was a merchant caravan. The servants qualified to join the Li family caravan had all practiced martial arts and fist techniques—all Body Tempering Realm martial artists.
At this moment, a servant beside Li Tong stepped forward and shouted fiercely at Chu Xiu:
Servant: "Seventh Master telling you to hand things over and apologize is giving you face! Otherwise, with just your few people, you won't be leaving Yuanbao Town today!"
This servant who stepped forward was Li Tong's confidant. When else should he show loyalty if not now?
Besides, Seventh Master had said that this Chu Xiu had no real power in the Chu family, not even equal to a steward—there was nothing to fear at all.
Not a hint of expression appeared on Chu Xiu's face. He merely said indifferently:
Chu Xiu: "You won't let me leave Yuanbao Town? Heh."
A seemingly mocking, faint laugh came. That Li family servant was about to say something, but at that moment, his vision was already filled with a flash of blade light! Incomparably swift, like thunder cutting across the long sky. By the time he reacted, he immediately felt pain in his chest—a short blade had already been plunged into his chest. As Chu Xiu gently twisted the hilt, blood foam continuously surged forth. He wanted to say something, but merely widened his eyes, gradually losing all signs of life!