Showing Weakness to the Enemy

"Brother Yezi, please spare them."

Yin Xiaojiu hid behind Ye Tong, tugging at his sleeve with her small hand. She was naturally kind, and her ruthlessness was only for self-preservation; she never intended to harm anyone.

Ye Tong turned his head, a hint of indulgence in his eyes, and gently ruffled Yin Xiaojiu's hair. He then turned back and said, "Obscuring Black Poison, one hundred taels of Blue Silver per pill. Antidote pills, two hundred taels of Blue Silver per pill. Pay the Blue Silver, and I'll save your wife and nephew."

Three hundred taels of Blue Silver?

Butcher Zhang was burning with rage, wishing he could skin, dismember, and butcher the brat in front of him. Although he was a merchant and usually bullied his way through business, earning quite a lot of money, three hundred taels of Blue Silver was still nearly a year's income for him!

"I'll give it to you."

Butcher Zhang gritted his teeth, pulled out a stack of banknotes, and reluctantly peeled off three bills. He threw them at Ye Tong and said angrily, "Now, you should give me the antidote, right?"

Ye Tong watched Yin Xiaojiu pick up the banknotes and scanned the denominations, immediately shaking his head. "Three people are poisoned, requiring three antidote pills. Are you only thinking of saving your wife and willing to watch your two nephews be poisoned to death before your eyes? They were helping your wife!"

"You're dead."

Butcher Zhang drew a sharp knife from his waist, pointing the tip at Ye Tong and roaring.

Ye Tong narrowed his eyes and slowly said, "After your repeated insults, I suddenly realized I was confused by anger. The price of the antidote pills is four hundred taels of Blue Silver per pill. If you want to kill me, then do it! It won't be lonely to descend into the Nine Hells with your wife accompanying you."

The surrounding crowd, who had been watching, suddenly erupted in a clamor. They had initially expected to see a competition between a young boy and girl, but they never imagined the situation would escalate to this point.

So exciting!

Truly astonishing!

Especially this price-gouging tactic, it was truly the finishing touch, a stroke of genius.

This young man was definitely a business talent!

A rough, deep voice came from the crowd: "Little Brother Ye, is that your name? After this is over, are you interested in joining my War Tiger Adventurer Team? I, Crazy War Heaven, admire you greatly."

War Tiger Adventurer Team?

Crazy War Heaven?

Adventurers in the crowd, and even many ordinary citizens, showed expressions of shock. The name War Tiger Adventurer Team was thunderous to them. They had been active in the Golden Phoenix Mountain Range for years, targeting fierce beasts, and their strength was considerable. Crazy War Heaven was the second-in-command of the War Tiger Adventurer Team, known for his heroic demeanor and astonishing strength.

This young man had actually caught Crazy War Heaven's eye?

Ye Tong followed the sound and quietly observed the burly Crazy War Heaven for a few moments, then smiled and said, "Senior's kindness is deeply appreciated by this junior. However, I have been sickly since childhood and my life is precarious. If I were to truly join the War Tiger Adventurer Team, I'm afraid I would become a burden to you, so I must apologize."

Crazy War Heaven was taken aback. He also noticed that Ye Tong looked a bit frail, so he gave him an understanding look and stopped inviting him.

He gave up?

This young man actually refused Crazy War Heaven's kind offer?

Did a pig kick him in the head?

Most of the onlookers shook their heads with jealousy and pity, mentally criticizing Ye Tong.

Butcher Zhang's burning anger was completely extinguished by Crazy War Heaven's invitation. Knowing that Ye Tong was price-gouging and swindling him, he had no recourse. With his heart full of reluctance, his hands trembling slightly, he pulled out a few more banknotes and handed them to Ye Tong, saying, "Give me the antidote."

"A wise man knows when to adapt to circumstances."

Ye Tong signaled Yin Xiaojiu to take the banknotes and exclaimed, "It's better to resolve enmity than to create it. See how good it is now? We're all harmonious, no blood is shed, and no lives are lost."

"You..."

Butcher Zhang almost spat out a mouthful of blood from sheer anger.

The crowd around the stage collectively rolled their eyes, looking at Ye Tong with disdain.

This young man!

He's truly getting the benefits while acting like he's suffering, utterly shameless!

Seeing Butcher Zhang take the three antidote pills to his family, Ye Tong smiled at Yin Xiaojiu and said, "The matter is resolved, let's go back! Since we got some Blue Silver, we can go to the butcher shop and buy some meat. It's indirectly returning the Blue Silver to them!"

"Mhm, mhm!"

Yin Xiaojiu's admiration for Ye Tong had reached its peak.

Butcher Zhang's body trembled, almost dropping the antidote pills he was about to give to his wife. His hatred for Ye Tong intensified several levels. Therefore, he sped up his actions. After feeding the antidote pills, he looked at Ye Tong, who was about to step off the stage, and shouted, "Come back here, I challenge you."

Ye Tong stopped, turned his head, and stared at Butcher Zhang strangely, asking, "I just praised you for being sensible, and now you're doing something foolish again. Aren't you afraid I'll just throw some poison at you and send you straight to hell?"

Butcher Zhang roared, "We are cultivators, we compete with our fists on the stage. Poisoning and ambushing are the actions of despicable villains."

Saying that.

He looked at Tong Kaishan below the stage and loudly said, "Young Master Tong, please be a witness and preside over our match."

Tong Kaishan looked at the somewhat ferocious Butcher Zhang and understood that Butcher Zhang, having been humiliated and losing money today, must be filled with resentment and hatred. He hadn't helped him before because Ye Tong could bring him benefits. But now, if he stood by and did nothing, Butcher Zhang might still resent him and stop being filial.

Therefore.

He glanced at Crazy War Heaven, who was silently standing in the crowd, then leaped onto the stage and said with a loud laugh, "Challenges are straightforward and naturally not suited for poisoning. I, Tong Kaishan, representing my Tong family, agree to preside over this match. However, I have one condition."

Butcher Zhang's face lit up with joy, and he asked urgently, "What is your condition?"

Tong Kaishan said, "In a stage match, life and death are determined by fate. However, Young Master Ye still owes me something, so you cannot kill him; you must spare his life."

"This..."

Butcher Zhang hesitated for a moment, then hardened his heart. Fine, I won't kill him, but this damned scoundrel made me a laughingstock and swindled so much Blue Silver from me. I must cripple him, disable him, and make him suffer torment.

And...

Butcher Zhang glanced at Ye Tong's chest. The silver notes he had just handed over were now inside that very shirt. If he wanted revenge, he had to make this damned scoundrel spit out what he had already swallowed.

"I agree, but a match without stakes is simply too boring. Ye, I'll put up another seven hundred taels of Blue Silver as the wager. Do you dare to match me?" Butcher Zhang shouted sternly.

"Bet with him!"

"That seven hundred taels of Blue Silver is free money anyway, no need to feel bad if you lose. Bet!"

"Exactly! What's the point of a fight without stakes?"

"Today's show is really exciting! Bet with him, you won't lose anything if you lose, and if you win, you'll get fourteen hundred taels of Blue Silver."

"..."

Around the arena, the onlookers were all waving their arms and shouting, typical of people who love to watch a good spectacle and don't mind stirring up trouble.

Ye Tong didn't know Butcher Zhang's strength, but as a butcher, he probably wasn't that powerful. Although Ye Tong himself was only at Qi Refining Third Level, with his past combat experience, he could still fight even if the opponent was at Qi Refining Fourth Level.

At this moment, Ye Tong smiled and looked at the other man, saying, "I haven't even agreed yet, and you're already rushing to add stakes?"

Butcher Zhang's expression changed, and he said sternly, "Think carefully. If you refuse my challenge, you will lose all face and will have no place in Cold Mountain City in the future."

Ye Tong asked directly, "Butcher Zhang, you truly have no shame. You're so old, yet you challenge me, a sickly young boy. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

Butcher Zhang felt a bit embarrassed upon hearing this. He also knew that Ye Tong was right. His own son wasn't much younger than Ye Tong, and he, an elder, was challenging him. Even if he won, he wouldn't gain any good reputation.

However!

He couldn't care about that anymore!

He had already embarrassed himself enough today. Even if he didn't get a good reputation, as long as he could thoroughly humiliate and get revenge on the other party, and get his Blue Silver back, it would be worth it.

Butcher Zhang looked at Tong Kaishan, as if asking him to make the decision.

"Cough cough..."

Tong Kaishan coughed a few times, then looked at Ye Tong and smiled, "Young Master Ye, you offended him. If you don't dare to accept his challenge, then you must kneel and kowtow to apologize, just as you humiliated him. I think! You should accept the challenge. A scholar can be killed but not humiliated! Besides, he has already promised me that he will spare your life, so you can just treat it as gaining practical combat experience!"

Ye Tong's eyes turned cold, and he made a mental note of Tong Kaishan's actions.

Then.

He deliberately showed a look of timidity and said, "Are you sure you want to challenge me? Although I am sickly and don't have much strength, I am also a master at Qi Refining First Level, a true cultivator."

Qi Refining First Level?

Butcher Zhang heard this and couldn't help but grin sinisterly, saying, "I'm sure."

He was at the Qi Refining Third Level realm, and coupled with years of swinging his cleaver to chop meat, his physical condition was excellent. Facing this underage, weak Qi Refining First Level opponent, he was fully confident that he could make the other party wish he were dead.

In the crowd.

Several experts who had broken through to the Innate Realm showed strange expressions. They were very sensitive to the aura of cultivators. They had keenly sensed the aura emanating from Ye Tong before, which was definitely not something a Qi Refining First Level cultivator could possess.

This guy is feigning weakness.

How cunning!

They all thought to themselves.

Ye Tong hesitated for another moment, then seemed to gather his courage, gritting his teeth and saying, "I accept your challenge. But we must keep our word and not take each other's lives."

"My word is my bond, I will absolutely not kill you."

Butcher Zhang slapped his chest with his palm, which was as large as a fan, but the killing intent in his eyes grew even stronger than before.

In an instant.

The crowd fell silent. The hundreds of onlookers looked at Butcher Zhang with very strange expressions.

"My word is my bond"?

What a familiar phrase!

Butcher Zhang's son, before his match with that young girl, had also patted his chest in the same way, saying the exact same words, "My word is my bond," but in the end, he was beaten like a dead dog.

"Like father, like son."

Old sayings are indeed true!