End

The leaders of both groups had originally been facing off at close range. Bound by the inn's rules, neither side had made a move; they had merely stood near each other.

But when one of the leaders was ambushed from behind by one of his own subordinates, the two leaders facing each other rolled straight onto the ground, their faces pressed together.

That subordinate was actually fairly strong, also a Dou Shi. Otherwise, he would not have succeeded in the sneak attack. However, in his haste, he had not used a Dou Skill, only pure Dou Qi.

The attack was not particularly powerful, and neither leader was seriously hurt.

From Xiao Ming's brief observations, after their earlier exchange of insults, unless they were masochists, those two bosses definitely would not like each other.

Sure enough, the man who had been kicked quickly pulled himself out of the other leader's embrace and shouted with a disgusted expression.

"Peh, peh, peh! That was disgusting! You didn't brush your teeth, did you? Your breath reeks of garlic. You lot, grab that traitor for me! He dared kick me? Let's see how I deal with him. Ugh!"

After speaking, he even retched, as though that brief contact had truly disgusted him beyond measure and dealt a devastating blow to his soul.

"Hehehe, what an idiot. The two of them were spitting everywhere while trading insults earlier, and neither cared. Now they merely bumped into each other, and he's making such a fuss." The Strong Man Duo nearby had also turned toward the commotion. Bearded Uncle seemed deeply disdainful of the leader's retching and mocked him loudly.

"Hahaha, unlike us, when we want to hug, we hug. It's merely proof of friendship. We're not afraid of anyone else's stares," the white-bearded old man sneered.

Neither of them lowered their voices; if anything, they seemed to be deliberately speaking louder.

Everyone in the inn heard them. Hearing the two burly men's teasing, they all burst into laughter, delighted to add fuel to the fire.

The leader who had been knocked down stood up from the floor, his face flushed red and his eyes bloodshot.

He had already been furious when someone spat into his bowl while he was eating peacefully. Then came a short exchange filled with vicious insults.

Now, he had been mocked for having garlic breath, while the onlookers laughed at him and made things worse.

Had they merely touched? His mouth had nearly been smashed open from the collision!

Damn it!

The laughter around him was like the cries of demons. He could not block it out, and it threw his mind into chaos. Finally, the string called reason in his mind snapped. In an incomparably low voice, he said, "Kill these bastards for me!"

"But, Boss, there are too many people here, and this is..." One subordinate wanted to step forward and dissuade him. There were too many people in the inn; they were not people his group could afford to provoke.

Smack!

"Are you teaching me how to do things? I said kill those bastards." The leader slapped his underling and pointed at the group that had been confronting them earlier and was now blocking the traitor.

He was not stupid enough to think his group could take on everyone in the inn.

After saying that, the leader raised his saber and charged forward at the head of the group.

"Mad Blade Slash!" He went straight for the kill, chopping directly at the other man's head.

"Damn it! You bastards actually dared to launch a sneak attack! Brothers, get them! Kill them! Stone Shattering Palm!"

Xiao Ming watched from the side with great interest. All kinds of Dou Qi lit up the battlefield, the clanging of weapons rose and fell, splintered wood and stone flew everywhere, and unlucky people occasionally screamed when they were hit.

The battle escalated quickly. Xiao Ming retreated to the edge of the inn and watched the two leaders clash.

They truly deserved to be people who had survived in the Black Corner Region. Pale yellow Dou Qi Gauze wrapped around their bodies, and in a short time, they had already exchanged dozens of moves. Their long blades swung back and forth, weapons embedded with Magic Cores flashing with dazzling murderous light. Every strike sliced toward vital points from tricky angles, and every flash of blade light brought with it a shrieking gust of wind.

Their subordinates tacitly moved away from the area where they were fighting, avoiding being caught in the crossfire.

Just as the two were fighting fiercely, the fat man and Scarface finally ran out from the back.

"What are you doing? Have you forgotten that fighting is forbidden in the inn? Stop right now!" Seeing the hall's tables and chairs scattered everywhere and bloodstains all over the floor, Scarface shouted in a chilling tone.

But both sides were fighting with all their might, their battle nearing its climax. Who had time to pay attention to him?

"Hehe, you're courting death."

Being ignored enraged Scarface. He pulled out a pair of Gauntlets from his waist and put them on, while the Dou Qi within his body began to circulate.

A cold smile appeared on his lips as he suddenly lunged toward the two leaders locked in fierce combat.

"Who?"

The sudden attack made both men's expressions change drastically. They rolled awkwardly across the floor, narrowly avoiding the punch.

His strike having missed, Scarface did not pause. He swung both fists in broad, sweeping arcs, and a streak of cold light shot past the broken tables and chairs toward one of them.

The man on the ground could not dodge in time. His Dou Qi Gauze was useless at that moment, and the blow landed squarely on his head. Instantly, his skull burst apart like a watermelon, red and white matter spraying everywhere.

"Boss!"

"Fuck, Boss is dead! Run!"

The commotion startled the other subordinates who were still fighting. The group whose leader had died immediately sensed that things had gone wrong. They forced back their opponents and tried to flee.

The group whose leader was still alive saw how ferocious Scarface was and felt that their own boss would soon meet a grim end as well. They, too, began considering abandoning him and running.

But by then, the fat man had quietly blocked the entrance. After several of their own men were effortlessly killed, everyone obediently settled down.

"Scarface, what do you mean by this?"

The unlucky man whose head had been smashed was the one who had been kissed. The one left alive was the man kicked by the traitor. His face was ugly as he looked at Scarface; they appeared to know each other.

"What do I mean? Fighting is forbidden inside the inn. Don't tell me you forgot that rule. You've put our other guests in danger." Scarface spoke righteously, as though he were truly concerned for the guests.

Damn it, everyone in Green Rock Town knows your place is a fucking Black Inn that butchers passing travelers. Who are you pretending for?

The man's fury surged, but remembering that Scarface was two stars stronger than him, he could only ask, "What do you want?"

"Hehehe, we're old acquaintances. Pay up."

"How much do you want?" The leader felt that he was about to suffer a huge loss.

Scarface held up one hand.

"Five hundred gold coins?"

"No, five thousand gold coins."

"How much?" The leader doubted his own ears, feeling that he must have misheard.

"You heard correctly. Five thousand gold coins. And that's five thousand for each of your subordinates. You pay ten thousand." Scarface wore a mocking smile.

Xiao Ming had not expected the man who had previously called him "my lord" to make such a ruthless demand. What did five thousand gold coins mean? In the Jia Ma Empire, twenty gold coins were enough to cover a family's expenses for an entire year.

Some people could not earn five thousand gold coins in their entire lives.

Even though everyone fighting here possessed at least the strength of a Dou Zhe, with several Dou Shi among them, that did not mean they could afford such a sum.

Thus, they all looked desperately at their leader, hoping he would think of a way or pay for them.

When power was against them, losing money was still better than losing their lives.

Ignoring the pleading looks from his subordinates, he said, "Fine. I'll pay ten thousand gold coins."

Yes, he only paid his own share. He did not care about the others. Brothers could be found again, but once money was gone, it was truly gone.

Besides, he could not afford that much money anyway. Ten thousand gold coins already made up most of his savings.

Xiao Ming was not surprised when he watched the leader hand over a Black Card.

Scarface pinched the Black Card, nodded in satisfaction, and waved his hand. "You may leave."

"Boss, don't go!"

"Boss, save us!"

"I know you still have money. Save me, and I'll have Cuihua keep you company tonight..."

In the end, the man still left. Scarface fed his remaining subordinates a kind of poison and locked them up.

From the discussions of the local onlookers in the inn, Xiao Ming learned that they were already used to such things. These people would eventually be sold as slaves to certain factions.

This matter did not affect Xiao Ming much, but Scarface's actions made him slightly wary.

The Black Corner Region was chaotic, and this inn even trafficked people. It was probably not a decent inn.

The main hall had already been wrecked beyond recognition.

Since Xiao Ming had never intended to eat the inn's food, he directly asked where his room was.