Winning Him Over

Mount Jiuhua was only a little over five hundred meters tall. It did not sound particularly high, but it was still quite famous within Anyuan Town because it was the tallest peak among the surrounding hills.

Even across all of Ninghe County, Mount Jiuhua's height ranked among the notable mountains, let alone in Anyuan Town.

After Shi Yi and the others left Anyuan Town, they soon caught sight of the mountain.

Only upon reaching its foot could they feel that a mountain over five hundred meters tall still looked quite imposing.

"The map marks seven routes across Mount Jiuhua. We will follow those routes shortly."

"If we encounter any obstacles along the way, take turns clearing the path."

The Divine Constable Bureau members looked at Mount Jiuhua and spoke to Shi Yi and the others.

This was also one of the reasons they had brought Shi Yi and the others along.

Searching through mountain forests was nothing like investigating inside a town. Without a clear route, it was easy to miss things.

The task the Divine Constable Bureau had received this time was to conduct a carpet search of the regions around the Dan River, including places as distant as Anyuan Town.

Because the mother bead of the Buddhist Treasure Vajra Bodhi Bracelet had not been found.

The Divine Constable Bureau had already located the other subsidiary beads through various means. Only the mother bead remained.

An order had arrived from Divine Capital: they were to search for the mother bead with all their strength, even if they had to dig three feet into the ground.

At the same time, Divine Capital had intensified its manhunt for members of the Kongkong Sect, especially Duan Qianze, who had stolen the Buddhist Treasure Vajra Bodhi Bracelet.

This caused Duan Qianze's fame to soar in an instant, already surpassing many of his senior sectmates in the Kongkong Sect.

"Yes, sir."

Upon hearing this, everyone answered.

They all knew they were heading outside Anyuan Town to search for the Buddhist treasure, so everyone had brought weapons.

Shi Yi was no exception. He carried a large saber in his hand, which he had taken from Anyang Martial Arts School.

More precisely, Lu Feng had told him to pick any weapon he liked, and Shi Yi had decisively chosen the large saber.

He had never learned to use weapons, so swords and spears were not particularly good choices. A saber, on the other hand, was comparatively simpler.

With a saber in hand, he could simply swing it hard, and it would still display some of the saber's usefulness. Its results would be better than those of a sword or spear.

Zhao Cheng drew his weapon and cleared the way at the front.

"Brother Shi Yi, I am Jiao Darong, a hall master of the Five Tigers Gang. It just so happens that I was assigned to the same group as you. I would like to make friends with you, Brother Shi Yi."

While Zhao Cheng was opening the path ahead, a slick-haired man approached Shi Yi and spoke with great enthusiasm.

His face even bore a hint of a false smile, as if he were expressing goodwill.

"Mm, now we know each other."

Shi Yi glanced at him, tossed out a perfunctory reply, and continued onward.

He had never had much goodwill toward people from the Five Tigers Gang. That was related to what he had encountered when he entered Anyuan Town while disguised as a blind beggar.

On top of that, members of the Five Tigers Gang had later sneaked into his residence, making him dislike them even more.

His hands had already been stained with the blood of the Five Tigers Gang.

"Brother Shi Yi, to be frank, our Gang Leader thinks highly of you. If you join our Five Tigers Gang, we can directly grant you the position of hall master."

"In our Five Tigers Gang, if one wishes to become a hall master—"

Jiao Darong's mouth twitched slightly. Then he continued following Shi Yi, speaking of the benefits the Five Tigers Gang could offer.

Not long ago, the three major gangs of Anyuan Town had fought fiercely over the right to use the areas near the official road. Many people had died.

The Five Tigers Gang needed to replenish its fighters, so it had set its sights on outstanding performers from the major martial arts schools.

Shi Yi was naturally among them.

Breaking through to the Blood Essence Realm in under twenty days showed enormous potential. He would make an excellent fighter.

If Shi Yi had not already become Lu Feng's disciple, Shangguan Hu, the Gang Leader of the Five Tigers Gang, would have forcibly dragged Shi Yi into the Five Tigers Gang.

Gang members were most familiar with such methods of recruiting people into their gangs.

During this period, the Five Tigers Gang had wanted to arrange for someone of sufficient standing to approach Shi Yi. However, Shi Yi's daily life was far too regimented. He only traveled back and forth between Anyang Martial Arts School and his residence diagonally opposite it, his routine exceedingly regular, making him nearly impossible to approach.

As for approaching Shi Yi openly, Lu Feng would certainly interfere and prevent Shi Yi from having contact with them.

This time, Jiao Darong had been assigned to the same task as Shi Yi. Once Gang Leader Shangguan Hu learned of it, he handed Jiao Darong the task of recruiting Shi Yi into the Five Tigers Gang, telling him to win Shi Yi over before Lu Feng and the others could react.

As long as it succeeded, even if Lu Feng objected afterward, the impact would not be significant.

"Not interested."

Shi Yi cast him a sidelong glance, cut him off, and answered coldly.

He was doing perfectly well at Anyang Martial Arts School. Only someone sick in the head would join the Five Tigers Gang.

Fighting and killing all day long—would he still have time to cultivate?

"Brother Shi Yi, do not refuse so quickly."

"Our Five Tigers Gang is the strongest gang in Anyuan Town. We have money, men, resources, and backing. Cultivation resources, silver, whatever women you want to play with—we can provide all of it."

"Isn't that what you strive to cultivate martial arts for?"

Jiao Darong offered numerous benefits and used the things young people liked most to tempt him.

Especially after learning that Shi Yi was merely an ordinary person and an orphan, the allure of those things became even more apparent.

So long as they brought out such things, these country bumpkins with little experience would sell their lives for the gang.

They had previously used this very method to lure one of Lu Feng's disciples from Anyang Martial Arts School into the Five Tigers Gang to work for them.

The results had been quite good. The only pity was that the man's combat strength had been average and his luck poor; he had been hacked to death by members of the Jinyang Gang.

Shangguan Hu had even specifically ordered someone to send the corpse back to Anyang Martial Arts School and recount how the man had been killed, intending to use it to provoke the people of Anyang Martial Arts School into seeking revenge.

Unfortunately, Shangguan Hu had miscalculated. Lu Feng did not make a move against the Jinyang Gang. Instead, he went straight to confront Shangguan Hu.

Within a little over fifty exchanges, he injured Shangguan Hu, then drifted away with effortless grace.

After that, the Five Tigers Gang took the initiative to stop trying to recruit Lu Feng's disciples from Anyang Martial Arts School.

The two sides kept to their own waters and did not trespass upon the other's river.

"I said I'm not interested."

"Also, we are not familiar with each other. Do not speak to me."

"Otherwise, I will have Senior Brother Zhao Cheng speak with you."

Shi Yi stopped walking and spoke with a thoroughly serious expression.

The Five Tigers Gang was trying to paint him a pie in the sky, and such an ugly one at that. He did not even have the patience to listen any longer.

And that fake smile on Jiao Darong's face looked far too false before Shi Yi's Double Pupils.

Shi Yi also understood Jiao Darong's concerns clearly. Jiao Darong had only dared approach while Zhao Cheng was clearing the way ahead. He must have been deeply wary of Zhao Cheng, which was why he acted this way.

The blood essence on the two men's bodies looked roughly equal in Shi Yi's eyes. Therefore, with Zhao Cheng present, he was not worried about his safety.

Taking a step back, there were still people from the Divine Constable Bureau here.

Taking another step back, he still had a pistol tucked in his robes.

He had even killed Martial Scholars of the Flesh and Blood Realm before. If they were hit by a pistol, they would die.

"Hmph, refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!"

"One day, you will regret this."

Jiao Darong was rejected by Shi Yi again and again, each time like pressing his warm face against a cold backside. His expression turned extremely ugly.

His earlier courteous words were not because he had such a good temper, but because he wanted to recruit Shi Yi and had thus restrained himself.

This furious, sinister look was his true face.

If he did not have his misgivings, he would have attacked directly.

His expression shifted between light and dark without end. Only after a short while did he follow the others with a cold face.

However, the way he looked at Shi Yi now held several more traces of killing intent.