No Bounds on Earth, No Law in Heaven! My Rules Are the Rules!

"You can't scrape together the money—what does that have to do with me? Fifty thousand liang, not a copper coin less."

The Black-faced Ghost Mask Man drew his blade and laid it across Lu Cheng's neck, saying coldly, "One copper coin short, and I chop off one of his fingers. Five copper coins short, and I chop off one hand. One liang short, and I chop off all four limbs."

The Red-faced Ghost Mask Man giggled. "How about you give us one liang less? We'll return a human stick to you—what do you say?"

"Haha, good idea."

The Green-faced Ghost Mask Man joined in with a hearty laugh.

Hearing their unbridled mockery, Lu Longjing's face instantly turned ashen, while the fury in Zhang Zhi and the others' eyes nearly solidified and shot forth.

If the other side had not held a hostage, they would have charged in without a second thought and fought to the death.

"Enough nonsense. Did you bring the fifty thousand liang or not?"

The Black-faced Ghost Mask Man said impatiently, pressing his blade down with a little more force. Several drops of blood fell from Lu Cheng's neck.

Lu Longjing jumped in fright. Not daring to haggle any further, he hurriedly said, "We brought it. We brought all of it!"

As he spoke, he gave a meaningful look, and his men carried out two large wooden chests.

"Are you fooling me?"

A cold glint flashed through the Black-faced Ghost Mask Man's eyes. "Do you think I've never seen silver before? Can these two wooden chests hold fifty thousand liang of silver?"

"These two chests contain thirty thousand liang in total. The small chest in my hand contains gold worth another twenty thousand liang. Take the thirty thousand liang in ransom first and release Lu Cheng. Then I'll give you this chest of gold. How about it?"

"Not happening."

The Black-faced Ghost Mask Man replied flatly.

"Once I have all fifty thousand liang, I'll hand him over."

Suppressing his fury, Lu Longjing took another step back. "Then we trade money for the man, hand to hand!"

"Money first, man after."

Lu Longjing stared at him fiercely. "Even thieves have their code. Even kidnappers should have rules, shouldn't they? Money for the man, hand to hand—that's perfectly reasonable."

"Rules? My rules are the rules! The man is in my hands. I'll do whatever I want!"

The Black-faced Ghost Mask Man threw back his head and laughed.

"No bounds on earth, no law in heaven; men die for wealth, birds perish for food! What bullshit rules? Bring the money first, then I'll hand over the man. That is my rule!"

Seeing how outrageously lawless he was, every member of the Lu Family trembled with rage.

Lu Cheng had spirit too, and he roared, "Father, forget about me! Fight them! Kill them and avenge me!!"

With the Young Master having spoken, some of the Lu Family members could no longer hold back. They panted heavily, their teeth nearly ground to pieces. If looks could kill, the three men opposite them would already have been torn into ten thousand pieces.

"Master, I can't take it anymore. Let's fight them!!"

They were practically shitting on their heads. How could Lu Longjing not want to fight them? But he could not act rashly.

Lu Cheng was young and hot-blooded, but as his father, Lu Longjing could not simply indulge his temperament.

"Hmph!"

The Black-faced Ghost Mask Man snorted coldly and suddenly shot forward, like a Fierce Tiger Descending Mountain—swift and tyrannical.

The distance of more than ten meters vanished in a flash. Cold light flickered through the air. Only Zhang Zhi barely reacted in time, drawing his blade at top speed to defend himself.

A tremendous force surged through the blade. Zhang Zhi staggered back three steps, the web between his thumb and forefinger split open, blood dripping down as the arm holding his sword shook uncontrollably.

When he looked up, the Black-faced Ghost Mask Man had already returned to his original spot, watching them with amusement.

Meanwhile, Lu Longjing lowered his head to look at his severed sleeve, a chill running through his entire body.

If the other party could cut off his sleeve, he could just as easily separate Lu Longjing's head from his body.

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching for the author—it may simply have been renamed!

"At the very least, he's a Blood Qi Like an Ox expert," Zhang Zhi murmured into Lu Longjing's ear.

Zhang Zhi was the strongest member of the Lu Family, yet even all of them together were no match for that man. And there were three of them. Slaughtering every last one of them would be no difficult matter.

"This is only a warning. Keep dawdling, and I'll kill every last one of you. Then the silver and gold will all be ours." The Black-faced Ghost Mask Man's tone was grim. "So you see, I'm still being reasonable. If I were completely unreasonable, I wouldn't bother wasting words on you. I'd just kill you all."

From the strength he had displayed just now, Lu Longjing knew perfectly well that he was speaking the truth. He stopped wasting time and directly handed over the full fifty thousand liang.

The Green-faced Ghost Mask Man and the Red-faced Ghost Mask Man began counting it. Once they had finished, the Green-faced Ghost Mask Man said, "All fifty thousand liang are here."

"Very good."

With a casual swing of his blade, the Black-faced Ghost Mask Man cut through the ropes binding Lu Cheng. Lu Cheng immediately strode off impatiently, but he had only taken one step when another blade was placed against his neck. The icy edge left him too frightened to move.

"What does this mean?"

Lu Longjing asked coldly.

The Black-faced Ghost Mask Man said flatly, "Your dawdling just now made me very unhappy. And when I'm unhappy, you have to pay the price. How about this? I can return the man to you, but bring another ten thousand taels, and this matter will be settled."

"What?!"

Lu Longjing's expression changed drastically.

The fifty thousand taels had already nearly drained the Lu Family's savings. Another ten thousand would mean selling off their shops.

He had thought Iron Dragon Stockade was black-hearted enough, but these kidnappers were more than ten times worse.

"What, didn't you understand? Bring another ten thousand taels, and everything will be wiped clean. From now on, we won't touch anyone from the Lu Family again."

The Green-faced Ghost Mask Man laughed mockingly.

This increasingly chaotic world was practically their paradise. So long as one had strength, one could plunder at will and squeeze the wealth from the weak.

Looking at Lu Cheng, now back at his side, Lu Longjing clenched his teeth. "Give me three days!"

"Fine. Three days. Don't think that just because you're in the county town, we can do nothing to you. You understand the saying: there are thieves for a thousand days, but no guards against thieves for a thousand days. This time, I won't take a hostage."

"Of course, if we don't get the money after three days, we won't mind slaughtering your entire family."

Lu Longjing's heart sank. This Black-faced Ghost Mask Man was extremely confident—unafraid of him seeking help, confident that he could keep them under control.

"I understand."

Lu Longjing supported Lu Cheng as they walked outside.

Though he had not suffered any physical torture, he had not closed his eyes for an entire day and night. The torment of the mind was far more intense than torment of the flesh, leaving him utterly exhausted.

"Remember, only three days."

The Black-faced Ghost Mask Man's voice came from behind them.

The group left in silence. Only after they had walked out of the village did Steward Shen ask with a worried face, "Master, what should we do? Are we really going to give them another ten thousand taels?"

"Give him another ten thousand taels? I object!"

Zhang Zhi strongly opposed it. "Again and again—those kidnappers are obviously the sort who have no sense of honor. If we hand over another ten thousand taels just because of a few threats, won't that prove we're easy to bully? If there's a first and second extortion, there'll be a third and fourth. Can the Lu Family withstand that kind of extortion?"

Steward Shen argued, "You know their strength as well. You weren't even his match in a single exchange. And those people look like desperadoes. What if they really come to kill their way to our door? Just as he said, there are thieves for a thousand days, but no guards against thieves for a thousand days!"

The two argued without stop, their stances completely opposed.

Lu Longjing remained silent, the two thoughts clashing fiercely in his mind as well.

If he sought Third Foot Zhou's help and used money to clear the way, the authorities might be able to protect the Lu Family for ten days, half a month, or even a month—but they could not protect them forever.

Those ghost mask men could simply hide during that time. Once Third Foot Zhou's protection ended, they would come to the Lu Family's door for revenge.

A band of highly skilled desperadoes was truly difficult for the Lu Family to handle.

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