Inside the room.
Qin Jiu looked exhilarated.
Although the information conveyed by his talent confirmed it, to be safe, he still summoned Qin Xuanzhou the next day and had him buy some potent poisons from Four Seasons Pharmacy so he could test them one by one.
Only then did he feel at ease.
"Family Head, Ruan Chen of the Divine Fist Sect requests an audience."
"Ruan Chen?"
At the voice from outside, Qin Jiu's brows furrowed slightly. The man had only retrieved the secret recipe yesterday, yet he had come again first thing this morning.
Qin Jiu pondered for a moment.
He put away the bottles and jars on the table.
Then he went to the reception hall.
Qin Jiu didn't bother with pleasantries. He got straight to the point. "Brother Ruan, is there a problem with the secret recipe?"
"Junior Brother Qin truly can see through everything."
A flicker of surprise crossed Ruan Chen's eyes. He sighed softly. "After I brought the secret recipe and banknotes back last night, I realized I'd misremembered. What Deacon Baili said was that, besides the secret recipe, you'd need thirty thousand taels of silver to secure your place as a core disciple of the sect."
"Thirty thousand taels..."
Qin Jiu's expression remained calm.
He wondered why the two men had seemed satisfied yesterday, only to change their minds overnight.
Could Baili Ce want a cut of the spoils, too?
"Brother Ruan, that's no small sum. The Qin Family will need some time to gather it. Please go back and inform Deacon Baili. Once I've collected the silver, I'll have it sent over right away."
"Have it sent over? No need..."
Ruan Chen froze. He was about to make some excuse to stall, but when he saw Qin Jiu's smile, his heart gave a jolt.
He forced a smile. "How long will you need, Junior Brother?"
"You should know we'll be leaving soon."
"And Deacon Baili isn't very patient."
"One or two days," Qin Jiu replied evenly.
At that, Ruan Chen turned and left at once.
"Xuanzhou, go to the accounts office and fetch some Rejuvenation Pills. Also bring over the Spirit Warming Pills I had the household buy earlier."
"Yes."
Qin Xuanzhou clasped his hands, then hesitated before saying, "Family Head, I don't think we can take this man at his word. Are you really going to send them more silver?"
Thirty thousand taels of silver.
Even for the Qin Family, that would be enough to cripple them.
And if the thirty thousand taels still failed to sate those men's appetites, who knew how much more silver they would demand?
So he wanted to offer a word of warning.
Qin Jiu waved a hand. "I have this under control. Go fetch the pills."
After saying that,
he slowly closed his eyes, seeming to doze.
But Ghost Illumination quietly activated at that moment.
The two wisps of mist, once a pale gray, had now turned black, reflecting across the sky above Qin Mansion.
Outside Qin Mansion.
Song Wenruo saw Ruan Chen emerge.
He hurried forward to meet him.
"Brother, how did it go?"
"Hard to say."
Ruan Chen glanced back at Qin Mansion, then lowered his voice. "Let's talk once we're back."
Then,
the two hurried off.
But they weren't heading toward the inn. Instead, they went straight to the Han Family.
"Brothers..."
When Han Qingyue saw them,
worry flickered in her eyes. She led the two men into the reception hall.
"Who is this?"
As soon as Ruan Chen entered the hall, his gaze fell on a burly man inside, built like an iron tower.
Han Qingyue smiled faintly. "This is my second uncle."
"Although Third Grandfather left the Han Family and took Third Uncle, who was also at the Three Refinements stage, with him, my Han Family still has Second Uncle and Fourth Uncle to hold down the fort. Both of them are Three Refinements martial artists. Second Uncle in particular is only a few days away from breaking through to Internal Strengthening."
"Qingyue plans to entrust the Han Family to Second Uncle in the future."
"That way, I can focus on training in the sect without worry."
"What do you think, Brother?"
"Junior Sister makes a fair point."
Ruan Chen managed a smile. Thinking of what he'd done the previous night, a sinister glint flashed in his eyes.
Han Qingyue seemed not to notice.
Once the two men had taken their seats,
she asked, "What brings you two brothers here?"
"The Qin Family..."
Ruan Chen composed himself and sighed. "Qin Jiu won't fall for this trick. He's already decided to gather the silver and deliver it to Deacon Baili in person. If he does, what the two of us have done will come to light, and we'll certainly be punished."
"If the punishment is severe,"
"it may even drag the Han Family into it."
"At the very least, Qingyue's plan to take the Han Family with her may be put on hold."
"Put on hold?"
Han Qingyue's brows knitted tightly.
After a moment's thought, she said, "Brother Ruan, don't worry."
"The Qin Family's old steward, Wang Yue, was summoned by the County Magistrate along with my father and the others to eliminate demons. My father died, and the others are still unaccounted for. I doubt Wang Yue fared any better. At the very least, the Qin Family has no Internal Strengthening martial artists right now."
"Qin Jiu is good for nothing."
"He previously drove out three Three Refinements martial artists from his own branch of the family, then sent them to the Demon Suppression Bureau. Right now, the Qin Family has only one Three Refinements martial artist. Here's what I'll do: in the next few days, I'll find a chance to bring the Qin Family's Old Madam here. Then you two brothers can use her as leverage."
"We can take the entire Qin Mansion fortune for ourselves."
"I hope Brother Ruan and Brother Song won't hesitate. If we're going to do it, we should finish the job and leave no loose ends, lest trouble arise later."
"..."
Ruan Chen and Song Wenruo exchanged a glance.
Both saw a flicker of astonishment in the other's eyes. Neither had expected Han Qingyue to be so ruthless.
"Fine."
Ruan Chen gritted his teeth. "We'll go back and make preparations. If you succeed, send someone to notify us at once."
As he spoke,
a vicious glint flashed in his eyes.
Then he left the Han Family with Song Wenruo.
"Junior Brother Song, what do you think?"
Outside Han Mansion,
Ruan Chen's expression shifted uneasily. Han Qingyue's ruthlessness had made him wary.
Song Wenruo sighed softly.
"We should report this to Deacon Baili."
"Brother, you shouldn't fixate so much on Han Qingyue. This woman is shrewd and calculating; she isn't someone you can keep in check. If she uses your shoulders to leap into the Divine Fist Sect, she may well leave trouble for us both down the line."
"I understand."
Ruan Chen let out a long breath.
Then he quickened his pace.
He returned to the inn.
There, he reported everything that had happened recently to Baili Ce, sparing no detail.
"You worthless fools!"
When Baili Ce heard the report, his face turned livid.
He sent a burst of inner force through his palm.
At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to tear the two men apart.
"My Divine Fist Sect has always conducted itself with honor. How did it end up raising two wretches like you?"
"Please calm down, Deacon."
Song Wenruo showed no fear. He lowered his voice and said, "You have to understand, the Qin Family's fortune is worth nearly two hundred thousand taels. Now demons have surrounded the city, and several great families in the Inner City have already been wiped out. It wouldn't be strange for the Qin Family to suffer an attack by ruffians, too."
"Two hundred thousand taels. Even if we split it among the few of us,"
"once we return to the sect,"
"you won't just break through to a realm above Internal Strengthening. With this fortune, the Grandmaster realm may no longer be a castle in the air."
After he spoke,
the room fell utterly silent.
Only a few breaths could be heard.
After a long while,
Baili Ce spoke expressionlessly. "My Divine Fist Sect is an upright sect. Apart from you lot, not another soul can know about this. The Han Family must be dealt with, too."
Qin Mansion.
Qin Jiu's gaze was dark as he rubbed the long saber beside him and slowly exhaled.
"Why..."
"I was clearly willing to pay more."
"But... why do you insist on driving me into a corner..."
Before you continue