Seeing this, Yang Heng shook his head and said coldly, "Twenty taels of silver isn't enough!"
"It needs more money!"
The man in black looked pained as he took out another thirty taels of silver. "Look, is this enough now?"
"Can I leave?"
Yang Heng shook his head again, expressionless. "When I said more money, I wasn't referring to silver. I meant your movement technique."
The man in black instantly flew into a rage and sneered. "You want my movement technique? Your appetite is far too great. Even a rabbit will bite when driven to desperation. Don't push people too far!"
Yang Heng broke into a smile and said coldly, "So what if I do push you too far?"
"Are you going to risk your life against me?"
"Do you dare?"
"Besides, once you're dead, everything on you will be mine!"
Cold light flickered in Yang Heng's eyes as he watched the man in black's every move.
It seemed that if the man dared utter a single word of refusal, Yang Heng would attack at once.
The man in black's face turned ashen, his lips twitching nonstop and his entire body trembling, yet he did not dare say no.
He felt as though his lungs were about to explode from rage.
As a minor leader of Black Wind Stronghold, he was usually the one saying such things to others. Today, the boomerang had come back and stabbed him instead—something he had never imagined.
After a while, the man in black calmed himself and said, "I don't have the Movement Technique Manual on me."
In truth, the manual had been hidden in his sleeve all along. He said that deliberately to trick Yang Heng.
Yang Heng would surely tell him to write out the movement technique from memory later. Then he could tamper with it, adding a few words here or leaving out a few words there.
Once Yang Heng began cultivating it and noticed something was wrong, it would already be too late. Even if he did not suffer cultivation deviation, he would still be severely injured.
The man in black sneered to himself, as if he could already see Yang Heng's miserable fate, though his face remained calm and unruffled.
But who could have expected Yang Heng to refuse to play by the rules?
"You didn't bring the manual? Then sorry, you can only die!"
With that, Yang Heng moved to attack.
"Wait! I can write out the movement technique from memory without missing a single word."
Seeing that Yang Heng was about to strike at the slightest disagreement, the man in black broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly spoke up.
"Write it out from memory?" Yang Heng scoffed. "Do you think I'd dare trust something you wrote down?"
"This..."
The man in black was so embarrassed that he did not know what to say.
"I'll ask one last time. Can you take out the Movement Technique Manual or not? If you still refuse to tell the truth, then once we start fighting, it'll be too late even if you take it out."
Yang Heng looked at the man in black coldly and shouted.
Seeing Yang Heng's intent to attack grow ever more obvious, the man in black was scared out of his wits. He no longer hesitated and said in a trembling voice, "I can... I can... I can!"
"I remembered wrong just now. The manual is on me. I forgot because I was panicking."
The man in black gave an awkward laugh.
Naturally, Yang Heng did not believe his nonsense. People like this would not shed tears until they saw the coffin.
Yang Heng would not let someone like him off so easily. He had to squeeze him hard.
"Given that you deceived me just now, I'm very angry.
However, I'm magnanimous. Take out another fifty taels of silver. Together with the previous fifty taels, that makes a total of one hundred taels. Offer it as an apology, and I'll spare you."
"This request isn't too difficult for you, is it?"
Yang Heng spoke with a smiling face, looking utterly amiable.
At the same time, however, he stretched his limbs, ready to strike at any moment.
How could the man in black dare refuse? He nodded repeatedly, his face piled with smiles. "Not difficult. Not difficult at all."
He looked extremely enthusiastic on the outside, but inwardly, he was groaning bitterly.
What did he mean, not difficult?
It was very difficult, all right!
He could think of a way to make up fifty taels of silver, but how was he supposed to cover one hundred taels? He could only pay out of his own pocket to fill the deficit.
Otherwise, when he returned to Black Wind Stronghold, he would have no good days ahead if he handed over too little money.
Alas, he had tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used to bait it.
If he had known this would happen, he might as well have agreed sooner.
The man in black was filled with regret.
"Throw the money and the manual over here. Once I've checked that everything is in order, you can leave."
Yang Heng said.
The man in black nodded in agreement, not daring to argue.
If it had been earlier, he would have asked, If I give you both the money and the manual, and you still refuse to let me go, won't I be drawing water with a bamboo basket and ending up empty-handed?
But at this point, he did not dare ask anymore.
He feared Yang Heng would attack at the slightest disagreement. That would be disastrous.
Now, he could only hope Yang Heng would keep his word and let him leave after taking the items.
If Yang Heng went back on his word, then even if he had to risk his life, he would bite a chunk of flesh off Yang Heng and make him understand that even a rabbit would bite when driven to desperation—let alone a man!
Yang Heng caught the manual tossed over by the man in black. Opening the first page, he saw three words written there: "Levitation Technique."
After flipping through it, Yang Heng felt a little regretful. This was only a Beginner Martial Art.
However, compared with offensive and defensive martial arts, movement techniques were relatively scarce. Its value was no less than that of an ordinary Intermediate Martial Art.
After inspecting it carefully, Yang Heng found no problems.
This was a martial art that could be cultivated. There were no traps hidden within it.
If there had been a trap inside, the man in black would not have waited until now to hand it over. He would have taken it out long ago in exchange for his dog life.
Yang Heng nodded at the man in black, signaling that he could leave.
The man in black was overjoyed. He had not expected Yang Heng to truly honor his promise and let him go instead of tricking him.
The man in black cupped his fists and bowed to Yang Heng, thanking him for sparing his life.
Then, spreading his hands, the man in black used his movement technique. Like a flying swallow gliding through the air, he sped into the distance.
After several leaps, he vanished from sight.
Yang Heng was a man who kept his promises. Once he agreed to something, he would find every possible way to accomplish it. He was not the sort of hypocrite who wore one face before others and another behind their backs.
Besides, this man had not offended him beyond redemption. He had even offered up a valuable movement technique. So what if Yang Heng spared him?
But Yang Heng would not spare Wang Gui, a man steeped in countless crimes.
When he returned to the courtyard, Wang Gui and Wang Er had already disappeared.
During the fight, Yang Heng had kept an eye on the gate and had not seen anyone leave the courtyard. Unless something unexpected had happened, the two should now be hiding in some corner of the courtyard.
Yang Heng searched the rooms one by one and eventually found the two in a secret chamber inside a side room at the far left of the courtyard.
Yang Heng smashed open the secret chamber's door with one punch. At first glance, he saw no one, but the hurried breathing coming from within the chamber gave them away.
Yang Heng walked over to a large wooden chest in the middle of the secret chamber and flung open its lid. The two men had their feet pressed together and were curled up inside, their faces filled with terror.
When they looked up, Yang Heng's icy gaze met their eyes, and they instantly wet themselves in fright.
Yellow liquid burst forth and ran down their trouser legs.
At once, the secret chamber filled with the stench of urine.
Yang Heng had no desire to waste words on them. He reached out with both hands and grabbed their throats.
With a hard squeeze, a crack rang out. Every bone in their necks shattered. The two men spat out mouthfuls of blood, their bodies collapsing limply inside the chest without letting out a single scream.
Yang Heng had at least granted them a quick death.
The secret chamber was where Wang Gui stored his treasures. After searching through it, Yang Heng found banknotes worth one hundred and fifty taels of silver.
Still uneasy, Yang Heng searched every room again, but in the end, he found only a few taels of silver.
Strangely, he had turned every room upside down, yet he had not seen Wang Gui's wife or children. Were they not home today?
After thinking for a while, Yang Heng stopped dwelling on the matter. Once he had gathered everything up, he strode out of the Wang residence.
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