Ransoming Someone

Yue Qianchou was essentially just saying something to save face. Little did anyone know what Nong Zhu was really thinking.

"I'll be staying here for a few more days. You have a good relationship with the Wen family, so could you please put in a good word for me, so they don't think I'm deceiving them and hold a grudge?" Yue Qianchou didn't stand on ceremony with Nong Zhu; he was practically giving her a direct order.

Actually Nong Zhu was quite easygoing and wouldn't care too much. However, she said somewhat strangely, "You already lied to them, how dare you continue to eat and stay here for free?" Then she suddenly realized and said, "I understand, you haven't received the ransom yet, are you planning to leave after getting the Spirit Stone?"

"No matter what you say, I solemnly declare again that my character is not as bad as you think." Yue Qianchou hand and pointed at Zhang Peng, saying, "He took a fancy to the Princess of the Great Yang Kingdom and used the identity of the Biyuan Kingdom to participate in this martial arts competition to find a consort. For some reason, he declined the competition without cause. We will leave naturally after the competition is over. It's not what you think at all."

Zhang Peng, who had been silent, almost bit off his own tongue. It was clearly Master who arranged for me to go, so how did it become that I had taken a liking to the Princess of the Great Yang Kingdom?

Nong Zhu glanced at Zhang Peng and said, "What's so great about being a prince consort... Hmm! He actually has Innate Spiritual Root. It's such a waste that he doesn't cultivate." Nong Zhu circled around Zhang Peng and looked him over carefully, but he was just looking and had no interest in taking on disciples or anything like that.

Even Nong Zhu couldn't see through Zhang Peng's cultivation level, which gave Yue Qianchou even more confidence in the effects of the 'Breath Concealing Pill'. Yue Qianchou said expressionlessly, "That's a matter of personal taste." The subtext was, "Is it any of your business?"

"Oh! Since we've run into each other, I'll go join in the fun." Nong Zhu said nonchalantly, but actually he suspected that Yue Qianchou was up to something again and wanted to go and see.

"Do as you please!" Yue Qianchou said before lying down on the swing and pretending to sleep.

Nong Zhu grinned mischievously and turned to leave. Before leaving, he glanced at Furong a couple more times, only to find that she was also a mortal. He was speechless; it seemed this guy had a thing for mortals and liked to mingle with them. But that was none of his business.

After finding Wen Rui and the others, Nong Zhu learned that there was indeed a martial arts contest to select a prince consort. He immediately decided to stay for a few days. Not wanting to trouble them any further, he resolved to live in the same courtyard as Yue Qianchou. He needed to observe the boy carefully and see what he was up to.

The most frustrated person in the embassy was probably Wen Chongzheng. He never expected to encounter a swindler who actually promised him an imperial wish... In his frustration, his thoughts turned to the genuine Nong Zhu, hoping to find an opportunity to get closer to her.

Wen Qing fared slightly better, though somewhat disappointed. Despite being bullied by Yue Qianchou and given a false promise of eternal youth, she had indeed fallen for Furong. Having grown up in a privileged position, she had no real friends and was terrified of loneliness. Furong, however, gave her hope for friendship...

When Nong Zhu returned to the courtyard, she saw Yue Qianchou lying on the swing, looking incredibly relaxed. She immediately went over and said irritably, "Don't you know how to respect your elders? Move aside!"

"Disrespectful to your elders." Yue Qianchou rolled his eyes, jumped off the swing, and said to Zhang Peng, "You don't need to guard this place anymore, go back to your room and rest!" After saying that, he directly pulled Furong back to his room.

Nong Zhu lay down on the swing with a smug look on her face and found it quite comfortable. She immediately made a decision: when she returned to the South Sea Purple Bamboo Forest, she would also get one of these.

Although he appeared to be lying on the swing with his eyes closed and seemingly unaffected, his Divine Sense had actually enveloped the entire courtyard.

Tomorrow is the day to pay the ransom. Now, even late Spirit Transformation stage expert could easily break in and out of this place without escaping his pre-placed Divine Sense. He wants to see how this kid manages to get out of here, and whether he really has nothing to do with the kidnapping of Yin Baikang's grandson, as he claims.

However, they waited until dark, but the three of them never came out again. Nong Zhu became slightly alert and quickly used his Divine Sense to invade the room to check. But what he saw made Nong Zhu blush. That damned guy was actually having sex with that woman.

He quickly withdrew his Divine Sense. He checked Zhang Peng's room and found him there, so he closed his eyes with relief and quietly took control of the entire courtyard...

The following day, streaks of light echoed across the sky above Dayang City, all converging on a certain location outside the city. The city's inhabitants were completely bewildered; only the cultivators understood that these were individuals of extremely high cultivation levels flying through the air.

Nong Zhu squinted at the sky, wanting to fly up and watch the spectacle, but he gritted his teeth and decided to keep watching Yue Qianchou until he was dead. He refused to believe that this matter really had nothing to do with Yue Qianchou. He quickly scanned Yue Qianchou's room with his Divine Sense. A man and a woman were still fast asleep on the bed, seemingly having overindulged in their love.

Time ticked by, Nong Zhu's heart was burning with anxiety. Such a grand spectacle was happening not far outside the city, yet he couldn't see it. Of course, it wasn't far for him, but for an ordinary person, it would probably take half a day to walk there.

At this moment, Wen Rui entered the courtyard, came to the swing, and bowed slightly, saying, "Sir, it's almost time. Why don't we go together?"

"No, no, I'm going to keep an eye on this kid!" Nong Zhu shouted loudly on purpose. He wanted to make it clear to Yue Qianchou that as long as he was here today, Yue Qianchou wouldn't be able to keep quiet, and there was no way he could sneak away.

"Uh..." Wen Rui paused, somewhat puzzled. They'd come all this way to see how this would end, so why weren't they going?

Nong Zhu was of a higher generation than him, Wen Rui didn't say anything more. He immediately cupped his hands and said, "Then Wen Rui will go and see first. I'll tell you what the result is when I get back." Just as he finished speaking, another whooshing sound came from the sky. He looked up and immediately shot away.

As soon as Wen Rui left, Nong Zhu quickly glanced around the room again. The woman was already up and getting ready at her dressing table, while Yue Qianchou was still fast asleep in bed. Nong Zhu immediately sent a tirade through his voice, "Kid, you've been sleeping almost all day, don't you want to go out and get some exercise?"

Unexpectedly Yue Qianchou opened his eyes wide, raised his neck and roared, "What's all the noise about, you peeping tom? Haven't you ever seen a man and a woman sleeping together before?" His voice was so loud that everyone in the embassy could probably hear him.

"Fine, you dare to act tough with me. Let me tell you, as long as I'm here today, you won't be leaving this courtyard." Nong Zhu said with a cold laugh, her Divine Sense controlling the entire courtyard so tightly that it was impenetrable.

In a remote, desolate valley dozens of miles west of Dayang City, a place that was originally deserted, a thousand people had gathered, scattered around the valley. At first, some hid, afraid of ruining Yin Baikang's plans, but later, more and more people arrived.

So, everyone simply stepped forward openly. People were everywhere – on the mountaintop, treetops, cliffs – it was practically overflowing. The law doesn't punish the masses; everyone believed that even if Yin Baikang was arrogant, he couldn't possibly be an enemy of everyone.

The hundred or so Nascent Spirit Transformation stage cultivators standing high in the sky exchanged speechless glances upon seeing the scene below. With so many people guarding this place, would the kidnappers still dare to come and collect the ransom? Moreover, judging from the surrounding situation, it seemed that more people were still rushing to arrive.

The six people Huo Zongming started this exchanged glances. It seemed that the news had indeed spread quite widely. They hadn't expected that, in addition to Spirit Transformation stage cultivators, so many people would dare to come and watch Yin Baikang's spectacle.

Not long after, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air. Before anyone could react, Yin Baikang, dressed in black robes and with white hair, had already appeared out of thin air before them. Such speed truly shocked everyone, and they all secretly thought that a master at the late Spirit Transformation stage was indeed extraordinary, far beyond the reach of ordinary experts.

Yin Baikang coldly swept his gaze around, his expression indeed not very pleasant, especially when he looked at the group of people below, his face twitching uncontrollably. They were simply courting death, their cultivation was not much, yet they dared to come and join in the fun. He immediately chuckled sinisterly, "You all really give me face, I will remember this face."

His gaze was like a sharp blade, causing the heads below to droop. No one dared to look him in the eye; from the implication of his words, it was clear he intended to remember those who had come to watch and seek revenge later.

However, even if Yin Baikang's cultivation level was high, it was impossible for him to remember the appearances of all the people below, let alone settle accounts with each of them. After all, not everyone was Rogue Cultivator; most of them, when considered from a background perspective, had the backing of Cultivation World from various countries. It wasn't something he could retaliate against at will. His words did indeed have a strong element of intimidation.

Seeing the group of people below lower their heads because of his words, Yin Baikang finally felt a little better, finding a sense of absolute authority. He looked around, waiting for the kidnapper to appear.

But then he paused, realizing he shared the same doubts as everyone else: with so many people gathered, would the kidnappers really show up? That would be incredibly audacious!

Yin Baikang even suspected that his grandson was dead, and that the kidnappers were just trying to embarrass him and make fun of him... Just as his expression was shifting between anger and uncertainty, a loud boom suddenly echoed through the valley.

Everyone was slightly startled and quickly looked over at the sound. At the foot of the valley, a two-meter square stone slab suddenly collapsed from one side of the mountain wall, revealing a cave.

"Hey! Look, there seem to be words on that stone slab?" A Spirit Transformation stage in the air suddenly pointed at the stone slab and said. Everyone looked intently and indeed found that there seemed to be words on it, but they were standing too high up, and the words were too small and densely packed to see clearly.

Yin Baikang vanished from the air in an instant, now standing at the entrance of the cave in front of the mountain wall. Without hesitation, he swiftly sent his Divine Sense into the cave to investigate... The cave was clearly newly dug; it wasn't deep, only about twenty meters, but it had a bend in the middle, making it impossible to see the bottom at a glance. However, this was no problem for a Spirit Transformation stage cultivator; a casual sweep of his Divine Sense was enough to clearly see the situation inside.

Yin Baikang frowned. The cave was empty; there was nothing there. His gaze quickly fell on the stone slab beside him, examining its contents...

A group of Spirit Transformation stage had already lowered their height from mid-air until they could see clearly. Many of them whispered, "Yin Baikang, if you don't want to deliberately kill your grandson, don't go into the cave. Just stand obediently outside the cave and throw the Spirit Stone I want into the innermost part. With your cultivation level, it shouldn't be difficult for you. As long as the number is correct, you will soon see your lively and unharmed grandson."

The surrounding cultivators dared not approach, and had no idea what was written on it. A group of Spirit Transformation stage looked at each other, somewhat dumbfounded. This kidnapper was not only bold, but also very experienced and professional; it didn't seem like he was doing this for the first time.

Looking at Yin Baikang again, they all shook their heads speechlessly. This guy was notorious in the Cultivation World for scheming against people. They never thought he would end up like this.

Yin Baikang looked at the words on the stone slab, but instead of being angry, his brows furrowed deeply. He thought to himself, "The cave is completely empty; there's not a single person there. I threw Spirit Stone in, but no one took them. Could they really be playing a trick on me? No..."

Yin Baikang quickly scanned the stone slab with his Divine Sense. This stone slab weighed at least several hundred pounds and could not have collapsed for no reason. He had not detected any strong air current fluctuations just now, so it was obvious that someone had pushed it over from the inside.

There was someone inside just now! Yin Baikang narrowed his eyes slightly and quickly searched the cave with his Divine Sense. However, after searching every corner of the cave, he found that there was no possibility of anyone hiding inside. He even used his unparalleled Divine Sense to tap on every cave wall, but found no hidden passages.

The group of Spirit Transformation stage cultivators at the top were unaware of the situation inside the cave, so they couldn't understand what he was hesitating about.

"This is unbelievable!" Yin Baikang narrowed his eyes to almost slits, thinking to himself, "I want to see who this is and what method they have to take something away from under my nose."

He reached out and pulled out two Storage Bag. With a gentle toss, the two bags seemed to be held up by an invisible hand as they slowly flew into the cave, then turned and went deep into the bottom of the cave before automatically falling to the ground.

What could have been contained in one Storage Bag, he deliberately divided into two bags, intending to create a slight difference in quantity. Don't underestimate these slight differences; for those at their level of cultivation, even a tiny difference at a crucial moment could be fatal.

He believed that anyone who dared to target him must be at least as powerful as him, so he made some preparations in the details.

"Huh?" Yin Baikang suddenly let out an incredulous groan, his eyes widening. His Divine Sense had followed the Storage Bag inside, and he had been carefully guarding his surroundings. But the moment the Storage Bag fell to the ground, he suddenly sensed the fluctuations of another person's Divine Sense. Before he could pinpoint the direction from which it was coming, the two Storage Bag on the ground inexplicably disappeared.

"What's wrong with Yin Baikang? What did he see? Why is he so shocked?" The group of Spirit Transformation stage at the top whispered among themselves. If they weren't afraid of being blamed by Yin Baikang if something unexpected happened, they would have gone down to find out long ago.

They hadn't seen what was inside, so they couldn't possibly understand how shocked Yin Baikang was. To be precise, Yin Baikang was too shocked to speak; his face was filled with horror. To be able to take away two Storage Bag right before his eyes was simply unbelievable.

He had witnessed Bi Changchun's cultivation level before, but even if Bi Changchun were there, with others blocking the cave entrance, it was impossible for Bi Changchun to take the item away from him without anyone noticing!

Good heavens! Could there be someone in this world whose cultivation surpasses Bi Changchun's? Or is it a celestial being descended to earth to target me? Yin Baikang swallowed hard...

Meanwhile, inside the cave where Yin Wufeng and his family were imprisoned in Utopia, Yue Qianchou, dressed in black and masked, quickly channeled his Divine Sense into two Storage Bag to check them. After a moment, he nodded in satisfaction and chuckled at the battered Yin Wufeng, "Your grandfather, Yin Baikang, truly keeps his word. Not a single one of the two hundred million high-grade Spirit Stones was missing. Rich indeed! No wonder he's the boss of the Tianxia Chamber of Commerce, haha!" With that, he put the bags away.

Yin Wufeng glanced at the several whip marks on his youngest son's body, his eyes filled with resentment, and said angrily, "Who exactly are you? Since you know that my grandfather is the owner of the Tianxia Chamber of Commerce, how dare you torture my family? Aren't you afraid that my grandfather will come after you?"

"Yin Baikang is nothing to me!" Yue Qianchou sneered. Seeing his menacing look, he waved his hand lightly and said, "This guy's itching for a beating. Let's give him a good memory before he leaves. Beat him up!"

With a "whoosh," a masked man in black swung Yin Wufeng whip, causing Yin Wufeng to scream in agony as he rolled on the ground. His entire family of women and children immediately burst into tears.

"You dare to talk back to me? You have no sense of what it means to be a prisoner." Yue Qianchou waved his hand again and said, "Forget it, a few lashes will do. It wouldn't be good if I killed you. Yin Baikang would definitely accuse me of being untrustworthy. Damn it, I'm the most trustworthy person."

Yin Wufeng remained unrepentant, his eyes still fixed fiercely on Yue Qianchou. Yue Qianchou chuckled and said, "Don't look at me. Your grandfather has paid the ransom to redeem you and will be sending you back soon. You should take a closer look at your wife and children! If your grandfather refuses to pay more to redeem them, then your family will be separated forever."

"What do you mean?" Yin Wufeng's eyes widened as he roared.

"It doesn't mean anything," Yue Qianchou said cheerfully. "Your grandfather paid to redeem you, so naturally I have to send you back. But, well, he only paid for the redemption of you alone. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Despicable! Shameless!" Yin Wufeng roared madly, "You said you'd let my family leave after you got the money, you broke your promise..."

Yue Qianchou's gaze turned cold. He waved his hand lightly, and with a "whoosh," the masked man beside him immediately lashed out with his whip, causing Yin Wufeng, who had just struggled to his feet, to scream again and fall to the ground, rolling around with difficulty.

"I'm a man of my word. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I never speak carelessly." Yue Qianchou sneered, "Raise your proud head and think about it. I've always said that I'll release you once I get the ransom. When did I ever say I would release your whole family? I hate it when people slander me."

Yin Wufeng trembled with rage. Thinking carefully about what the other party had said, it was indeed true. The other party hadn't said they would release his whole family after receiving the money; they had only promised to release him alone. But the other party's misleading statements were clearly implying that "you" represented his entire family. Now that the other party had gone back on their word and was in their hands, what could he do?

"What do you want from me to release my family?" Yin Wufeng roared.

"Well... let me think of something for you." Yue Qianchou turned around twice with his hands behind his back, then suddenly nodded and stopped, saying, "How about this? I'll send you back first, and you can ask your grandfather for another 100 million high-grade Spirit Stones as ransom. As soon as I get the money, I'll release your whole family."

Yin Wufeng was utterly speechless, staring intently at Yue Qianchou. Yue Qianchou sighed, "Don't look at me with such resentment. This price is already very fair. Think about it, you alone are worth two hundred million in ransom. Do you really think all your wives and children combined aren't even worth one hundred million?"

"Won't you find another reason to back out later?" Yin Wufeng spat out each word through gritted teeth.

Yue Qianchou waved his hands repeatedly and said, "No, no, listen carefully this time. As long as we get another 100 million high-grade Spirit Stones as ransom, I guarantee that your whole family will be returned to you safely and without any loss, so that you can be reunited with your family."

"Fine, I promise you." Yin Wufeng and said, "But I also have a favor to ask of you, and I hope you can grant it."

Yue Qianchou was slightly taken aback and said in surprise, "Tell me first and see if I can do it. I will not do anything that is not true to my word."

"Perhaps I can't get 100 million high-grade Spirit Stones in the short term, but I will get them sooner or later." Yin Wufeng turned around and looked at his wife and children behind him, and said, "I beg you to give me some time."

Yue Qianchou stared intently at him, a slight sigh escaping his lips... This was at least a person with a conscience, unlike Yin Baikang, who was described as wicked in the imperial genealogy. But I wasn't wicked either; I only caused you some physical pain and fright, without harming you or taking any of your lives.

Remembering how he had already killed the family to use those captured cultivators as bait, Yue Qianchou coughed twice, squatted down, and patted Yin Wufeng on the shoulder, saying, "Don't blame me. Your grandfather, Yin Baikang, did even more despicable things than I did. I'm only doing this to seek justice for those who died. I'll grant your request, but I'll only give you ten days. After that, it's over."

Yin Wufeng nodded silently. Yue Qianchou then smiled and explained some details about paying the ransom to him, before pointing a finger at his neck, knocking him unconscious. He then grabbed Yin Wufeng and carried him out of the cave. Inside, a group of women and children burst into tears, acting as if they were facing a life-or-death separation. Little did they know, Yue Qianchou had already decided that even if he didn't get a single Spirit Stone, he would release them later...

Over there, Yin Baikang, seeing that the two Storage Bag had been missing for so long without the other party handing over the people, instinctively felt he had been tricked. He was trembling with anger, yet helpless. What could he do? He hadn't even found the other party's people; it was utterly shameful if word got out...

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