Nanyang Zheng Clan, Not Up to the Task!

"Go!"

Zheng Renxin made his decision at once and immediately retreated.

But Li Ji let out a sinister laugh, leaping into the air and swinging his door-panel-sized saber in a sweeping horizontal slash at Zheng Renxin and the other three.

All four Organ Refining martial artists erupted with vital energy, raising the longswords in their hands across their chests to block.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Four dull thuds rang out. Zheng Renxin's entire body jolted, as though he had suffered a crushing blow. A vast, surging force bore down on him with savage pressure.

Even though he had unleashed all his vital energy, even though his bones and organs had been tempered and his strength had soared, he still could not withstand that force.

The next moment, Zheng Renxin was swept aside by the saber, forced back several steps.

"Pfft."

Zheng Renxin clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The taste of rust filled his mouth.

He was injured.

Injured by a single strike.

And Zheng Renxin was not the only one. The other three great Organ Refining Masters of Miraculous Garden had likewise been injured to varying degrees.

For a moment, stormy waves surged through the hearts of all four Organ Refining Masters.

With a single strike, Li Ji had forcibly wounded them.

Though they were both at the Organ Refining Realm, the gap in their strength was as vast as heaven and earth.

"No wonder Blade-Dragging Heavenly King Li Ji was able to gather men and cut off the trade routes, even escaping alive from the Imperial Court's great army during its encirclement. With such strength, how many beneath the Divine Strength Realm could stand against him?"

"Family Head, run! You cannot die here! The three of us will hold them off and buy time for you!"

"Family Head, we've lost! Go!"

The other three great Organ Refining Masters of Miraculous Garden roared themselves hoarse.

This time, Miraculous Garden had come out in full force. If their Organ Refining Masters were all lost, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Especially if Zheng Renxin died here, Miraculous Garden's century-old foundation might be destroyed in a single day.

"Trying to leave?"

"I said none of you are leaving. Stay here together!"

Li Ji carried the door-panel-sized saber on his shoulder and strode over step by step with a cruel grin.

Zheng Renxin was not a stubborn fool.

His eyes were bloodshot and veins bulged across his face. He was clearly furious beyond measure.

But under these circumstances, he could not die.

If he died, Miraculous Garden would most likely fall apart and descend into chaos.

Just as Zheng Renxin was about to retreat—

"Clatter!"

More than a dozen bandits suddenly appeared outside the Desolate Temple.

At their head was an Organ Refining martial artist.

He led his men, armed with crossbows, to block the retreat of Miraculous Garden's people.

For a moment, the Miraculous Garden martial artists still fighting inside the Desolate Temple were seized by terror, their morale plummeting.

"Wait."

At that moment, Zheng Renxin immediately shouted.

He stared fixedly at Li Ji and said coldly, "Li Ji, stop. This time, Miraculous Garden admits defeat."

"You came south to Nanyang City and took such a great risk for nothing more than gold and silver."

"Name your price."

Zheng Renxin's words left everyone slightly stunned.

Even Li Ji stopped in his tracks.

"Admitting defeat?"

"You're not going to fight to the death?"

Zheng Renxin shook his head. "Fighting to the death under these circumstances would only add to the casualties. There is no point."

With that, Zheng Renxin simply threw away his weapon.

This display of "sincerity" brought a smile to Li Ji's face.

"Hahaha, good. You do know how to read the times."

"Have your men throw all their weapons onto the ground."

Zheng Renxin glanced around the Desolate Temple. Of Miraculous Garden's seventy or eighty skilled fighters, nearly half had already been lost. Only thirty or forty remained.

He let out a long sigh. "Put down your weapons."

"Clatter, clatter."

Miraculous Garden's people all threw their weapons to the ground.

At a look from Li Ji, his men swiftly stepped forward, herding Miraculous Garden's people together and surrounding them.

"Li Ji, name your price."

Zheng Renxin spoke again.

Though it was humiliating, the Nanyang Zheng Clan was not a Martial Path family. Nor had Miraculous Garden earned its prestige through the bloodshed and killing of the jianghu.

It had built its foundation through generations of medical practice and a century of accumulation.

Now that they faced a vicious bandit like Blade-Dragging Heavenly King Li Ji and could not defeat him by force, they could only spend money to buy peace and pray to weather this calamity.

Though Li Ji looked enormously burly and rough-hewn, he was actually a shrewd man.

His eyes shifted, and he suddenly sneered. "Zheng Renxin, your Nanyang Zheng Clan founded Miraculous Garden. You have practiced medicine for generations and accumulated wealth for a hundred years. The gold and silver gathered by your successive generations must be beyond counting."

"So don't talk to me about a price. Send someone back and bring everything that can be carried."

"If I am satisfied, I will naturally let you go. After all, you are right. My old brothers and I risked coming south for nothing more than gold and silver. Your lives are of no use to us."

Zheng Renxin's expression changed slightly.

He had known Li Ji was greedy, but he had not expected him to be this greedy.

Li Ji did not name a specific amount. He wanted to empty Miraculous Garden entirely.

That was the Nanyang Zheng Clan's century of accumulated wealth!

But could he object?

They were the fish on the chopping block, while the other side held the knife. Refusal meant death.

Zheng Renxin's chest heaved violently. He thought of the ancestral instruction left behind by the Nanyang Zheng Clan's forebears.

No matter when, people came first.

Everything else could be cast aside.

It was precisely because of this ancestral teaching that the Nanyang Zheng Clan had repeatedly avoided several disasters of extermination over more than a hundred years and endured to this day.

Thinking of this, Zheng Renxin gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "Li Ji, I will have my son Zheng Yifeng return. Send your men to move the goods. How much you can carry away will depend on your own methods."

Li Ji burst into hearty laughter. "Hahaha, good. Erhu, take your men and escort Zheng Yifeng back. Remember, take everything that can be carried."

"If Zheng Yifeng dares play tricks, kill him on the spot."

"Yes, Heavenly King."

Then Li Erhu led more than ten men away from the Desolate Temple, escorting Zheng Yifeng.

There were still many corpses inside the Desolate Temple, but the atmosphere suddenly relaxed.

Zheng Renxin and the others squatted on the ground under the watch of Li Ji's men.

Li Ji rubbed his head and said with a smile, "Zheng Renxin, you know when to bend and when to stand tall. You are someone."

Yet a bandit beside him shook his head and said coldly, "Heavenly King, the Nanyang Zheng Clan has endured for over a hundred years, so naturally they have their own way of handling the world."

"They are not a Martial Path family. Naturally, they would not fight and kill, staking their lives against others like us people of the jianghu."

"Still, I thought they would struggle a little longer, considering they had four great Organ Refining Masters. I never expected them to be so cowardly, not even as good as the Imperial Court's lackeys. Tsk, tsk..."

"Miraculous Garden brings in gold by the day and enjoys great wealth and rank. Where would they still have a martial artist's blood and fire?"

For a time, the bandits all laughed loudly. The way they looked at Miraculous Garden's people carried a hint of mockery.

Miraculous Garden's people glared at them furiously, but most lowered their heads.

Because what the bandits said was true.

The Nanyang Zheng Clan had long since lost its fierce spirit. They could scarcely even be considered people of the jianghu anymore.

They had four great Organ Refining Masters in name, but their actual fighting strength was weak.

Zheng Renxin's gaze was icy as he clenched his fists.

But he did not dare erupt. He could only endure Li Ji and the others' ridicule.

"Rumble."

Just then, the sky suddenly changed, and peals of thunder rolled through the air.

Before long, heavy rain began to fall from the heavens.

Yet the rain had little effect on those inside the Desolate Temple.

The bandits continued to gorge themselves on meat and drink great mouthfuls of wine. They were merely waiting for Miraculous Garden's gold and silver to arrive, and naturally they were in high spirits.

"Pat, pat, pat."

At some point, a figure appeared in the rain.

The person wore a bamboo hat, black clothes, and a black cloth over his face. He was wrapped up from head to toe, walking step by step toward the Desolate Temple.

"Stop! Who goes there?"

The bandits guarding the Desolate Temple entrance immediately shouted their challenge.

The newcomer was naturally Lu Changsheng.

He raised his head, and he could already see the situation inside the Desolate Temple.

So many people from Miraculous Garden were squatting within it. They had clearly become the bandits' prisoners.

Lu Changsheng shook his head. The Nanyang Zheng Clan truly was not up to the task!

Then Lu Changsheng continued forward step by step, as though he had not heard the shouted warning.

He walked all the way to the gates of the Desolate Temple.

"Shing!"

The bandits guarding the entrance immediately drew their sabers.

Lu Changsheng stopped.

He glanced at the two bandits, then called loudly into the Desolate Temple, "I am a traveler hurrying through the night. A heavy rain has fallen from the heavens. Might I enter the temple and rest my feet awhile?"

PS: A quick report on the results: yesterday, the book just made it onto the first round of PK recommendations, and its results are much better than my previous books. Old Moon has also found his old form again, so this book will not be abandoned. Please read with ease!