Jiang Shaohuan glared at Xu Yi with bloodshot eyes for a long while. Then, without warning, he raised a hand and waved. The two squads of black-armored guards who had swaggered in promptly swaggered back out.
The giant tiger was even quicker. With a few bounds, it leaped out the door, seemingly unwilling to spend another moment in that strange courtyard.
Its hasty retreat infuriated Jiang Shaohuan. He casually hurled his halberd at it. The blade scraped past its hide, scaring the giant tiger into leaping right into the air.
Xu Yi had no interest in watching a tiger perform acrobatics. He told Jiang Shaohuan, whose face was ablaze with fury, "Wait here for a moment," then carried the sleeping Qiu Wa back to her room.
Before long, Xu Yi came back out and called to Jiang Shaohuan like he was summoning a servant: "Come with me." Then he headed for the side room.
Xu Yi lounged in the bamboo chair in the side room, crossing one leg over the other for quite some time. Outside, Jiang Shaohuan had nearly ground his teeth to dust and snapped one of his finger bones. At last, he stepped inside and launched into a tirade. "The vengeance for a son's murder is irreconcilable. Boy, I've already looked into your background. You're nothing but a lowly constable. My Black Dragon Hall could crush you with a single finger. Do you believe me or not?"
"I do!"
"You, you..."
After choking on his words several times, Jiang Shaohuan began to suspect his wits weren't up to the task. He still had a whole speech prepared about how anyone who crossed the Black Dragon Hall was doomed, and the man had already believed him.
How could he believe him that easily?
Looking at Jiang Shaohuan's flushed face, Xu Yi almost felt sorry for him. "I believe you! What do you think I should do? Cut my own throat to atone to your son?"
Jiang Shaohuan wanted to cry. The whole damn scene had gone nothing like he'd planned. It was all a complete mess.
"Boy, I've figured you out. You're a hard case who won't be moved by threats or bribes. So I won't waste time with pleasantries. My fool of a son brought this on himself. He's dead, and that's that. I can let this grudge go. But you took something you shouldn't have. Don't you think you should hand it over? I can promise that if you return it to its rightful owner, we'll call the matter settled. Otherwise, my Black Dragon Hall has tens of thousands of members and experts as numerous as the clouds. Even if you hide in Guang'an City, we can pile up one life at a time until you're dead. I've said my piece. Your choice—make it now!"
A man capable of leading a branch hall in a county was no fool.
At first, he'd thought Xu Yi must be a brute to dare slaughter his son in broad daylight, so he'd prepared this show of force, hoping to cow him into submission.
But now he could see that the other man was no brute. He was a slippery, shameless rogue who wouldn't yield to anything. Threats and bluster were useless, so Jiang Shaohuan simply dropped the pretense and got straight to the point.
"Wouldn't it have been better to start like that?"
Xu Yi swung his leg idly. "You want the thing? That's easy. I tried it out. It looked interesting at first, but it's really just a flashy trinket. You want it back? No problem!"
"Ah!"
Jiang Shaohuan's mouth fell open.
Happiness had come too suddenly.
In truth, ever since he learned that Young Master Jiang had stolen the iron essence, he'd wanted to flay him alive. His hatred for Xu Yi had nothing to do with the murder of his son; it was entirely about the iron essence.
Now that Xu Yi was willing to return it, the deed was done. The pent-up breath in Jiang Shaohuan's chest finally escaped, and he relaxed completely.
"Good. You know what's good for you!" Jiang Shaohuan reached out toward Xu Yi.
Xu Yi glared at him. "What do you think you're doing? I said I'd return your item, not hand it over for free. Your son deserved to die, sure, but what about the injuries my family suffered? What about the Great Green Carp we caught with so much effort? What about the damage you just did to my courtyard? And what about the emotional and mental trauma you inflicted on my whole family by picking a fight with the Black Dragon Hall? How are you going to make up for all that..."
"Enough! How much do you want? Name your fucking price!"
Jiang Shaohuan fought down the urge to vomit and barked the words.
He'd seen through him. The boy was a complete deadbeat, even dragging out emotional trauma. Did this shameless bastard look like he was afraid of the Black Dragon Hall? Compared to him, the Black Dragon Hall was practically a model citizen.
"Now that's more like it! Since you're being straightforward, I won't waste time. I was going to ask for a thousand gold. I'll give you a friendly discount—one price, eight hundred gold!"
Xu Yi smiled warmly, as if a spring breeze had rippled across the water.
Boom!
Jiang Shaohuan's fist shot up, blowing the roof off the side room in an instant. His voice cracked like spring thunder. "Get lost!"
Hall Master Jiang was furious. It felt as though the blazing anger surging through him had squeezed his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys into one lump. He'd roamed the world for years, but this was the first time Hall Master Jiang had ever been shaken down.
"Hall Master Jiang, this little courtyard may belong to the public, but I'll still have to pay for the damage. However, since we've met, we must have been fated to cross paths. I'll cover the enormous repair bill for you. Same price as before: eight hundred gold. If that works for you, we have a deal. If not, please leave. Whether you want to fight or kill, I, Yi, will take it all."
Xu Yi wasn't asking for an outrageous sum on a whim. Ever since his purse had run dry, he'd been desperate for money.
He'd hurried back from Linglong Pavilion for the express purpose of waiting for Hall Master Jiang, the walking moneybag.
"You must be out of your mind with greed! Do you believe eight hundred gold could buy your life ten times over?"
Though he'd suffered an indignity unlike any he'd ever experienced, Jiang Shaohuan knew he couldn't leave just yet. He also saw clearly that this boy had taken him for a fat piece of meat and wouldn't let go without sinking his teeth in.
And yet, he had to get the iron essence.
In theory, he could simply kill Xu Yi in the arena, and the iron essence would naturally fall into his hands. But who could guarantee Xu Yi wouldn't hide it somewhere else before the fight?
That was precisely why Jiang Shaohuan had come here.
All he wanted was to quietly settle the matter.
"Eight hundred gold is too much? Don't try to fool me, Hall Master Jiang. Since we can't agree, I'll just send the thing to an auction. It looks like it has some tricks to it. Maybe it'll fool enough people to fetch a high price."
Xu Yi gave a cold snort.
"No!"
Jiang Shaohuan cried out in alarm, as if someone had stepped on his tail.
The words "auction" had struck him right in the heart.
That morning, an astonishing announcement had rocked Guang'an at the Linglong Pavilion auction: an elder of the Shui family had traded a Divine Essence Pill for a piece of iron essence.
Jiang Shaohuan feared the iron essence at the auction might be his own, which was why he'd hurried over.
Now Xu Yi had also said he'd tried the thing and found it somewhat unusual, but all show and no substance.
That proved Xu Yi hadn't yet realized the iron essence's true value, and that it was still somewhere else. This would make it all the easier for Jiang to openly bully him and secretly steal it.
But now Xu Yi was angry and threatening to send the iron essence to auction.
If the iron essence really appeared at an auction, wouldn't the whole place erupt? The iron essence had come from Guang'an, and plenty of people had seen it. Even the slightest hint of its whereabouts would bring down a disaster.
Not only would Jiang Shaohuan fail to get his hands on the iron essence; he'd also be doomed beyond any hope of survival.
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