Xiao Yi Xian watched Li Xingluo's slightly eerie smile and immediately understood why he had deliberately slowed down earlier, occasionally stopping to look at things along the roadside.
He had deliberately led them here. But how had Li Xingluo known these people would follow?
Xiao Yi Xian still couldn't make sense of that.
"I'll explain later. For now, let's go collect our gift."
Li Xingluo slowly emerged from the shadowy ruins and brushed some dust from his clothes.
Xiao Yi Xian shook her head helplessly, then followed him out and stood beside him.
The two of them appearing out of nowhere startled An Yun. He hadn't found them yet, and if they suddenly attacked, he'd already be a dead man.
The An Family disciples gathered around An Yun, along with an An Family Elder. The brief fright soon passed, and An Yun regained his composure.
"Were you looking for us?" Li Xingluo asked, pretending not to know.
"That's right!"
"What do you want with us?"
An Yun took the scroll of drawings from his robes and waved it in his hand.
With a touch of anger, he said, "What do you think? I spent twenty thousand gold coins on a piece of scrap paper. Who do you think should pay me back?"
An Yun played the extortionist to perfection. A smile tugged at the corner of Li Xingluo's mouth.
Just as he'd expected: An Yun had been scolded by his father for wasting money, and after today's auction, he'd surely need to pinch every coin to afford the high-grade Mystic-tier Dou Technique.
And yet this spendthrift had carelessly thrown away twenty thousand gold coins without warning.
"You bought it, so you pay for it. Or did you expect me to?"
"You! If you hadn't deliberately raised the price, would I have done that?"
"You've got it backward. I was the first to make an offer. You were the one who did that on purpose. I only politely let you have the drawing because I saw how much you liked it. Now you're ungrateful and blaming me? That's making something out of nothing."
Li Xingluo spoke lightly, making it clear he wouldn't let himself be made the fall guy, while taking a jab at An Yun.
Li Xingluo's words infuriated An Yun, but he couldn't refute them.
"You..."
"Was I wrong? How about this: I'll take a little loss and buy it back for a thousand gold coins."
Li Xingluo could barely contain his delight. If he hadn't been covered by his black robe, An Yun would have been even angrier at the look on his face.
Xiao Yi Xian couldn't help covering her mouth as she laughed. She hadn't known Li Xingluo had this side to him.
Her snickering might not have mattered, but the gesture sent An Yun's fury erupting like a volcano.
Li Xingluo was openly humiliating him. How could An Yun stand for that?
"Fine, fine! You should find out what standing my An Family has in Maple Forest City. You dare provoke us like this? Looks like you don't want to leave Maple Forest City on your feet!"
An Yun's face turned green with rage. As he threatened them, he waved for the servants behind him to seize Li Xingluo and Xiao Yi Xian.
The eight An Family servants cracked their knuckles and strode out from behind An Yun, looking mighty pleased with themselves as they prepared to teach Li Xingluo a lesson.
"Let me handle this!"
Li Xingluo stopped Xiao Yi Xian, who was already angry. He hadn't expected these people to be trying to rob them.
Xiao Yi Xian obediently nodded and stayed where she was as Li Xingluo cracked his knuckles.
The eight men hadn't even figured out what was happening before cries of pain rang out. In an instant, all eight were on the ground, rolling around.
An Yun swallowed. He hadn't even seen how Li Xingluo had attacked before his men were all down. He couldn't fathom such strength.
The An Family Elder was secretly shocked. The eight men were at least Eight- or Nine-Star Dou Zhe. How had they failed to last even one move against this man?
Even he would have struggled to defeat all eight at once.
"Young master, I'm afraid we've kicked an iron plate this time."
The An Family Elder whispered. An Yun's face went pale with fear. Just moments ago he'd been arrogant and domineering, but now his legs trembled and his eyes darted around.
Seeing this, the An Family Elder grabbed An Yun and ran for the exit. Unfortunately, before they could leave the courtyard, a figure blocked their way.
"Leaving already? Isn't that a little rude? You disturbed someone's sleep. Shouldn't you offer some compensation?"
The figure was frighteningly fast. The An Family Elder's face changed, and he released An Yun, hoping to give him a chance to escape.
The An Family Elder launched an attack, trying to buy An Yun an opportunity to get away.
"Young master, run!"
Seeing the An Family Elder charge at him with lethal intent, Li Xingluo dodged, then seized the elder's vital point.
An Yun had been so terrified of Li Xingluo's strength that he'd wet himself. A rank smell wafted over, and he couldn't even move.
When dealing with useless young dandies like this, you only had to show them strength. They'd turn into complete cowards.
Li Xingluo showed no mercy to the An Family Elder, who had attacked with lethal intent. He struck with one palm, sending the man flying into a damaged wall. The elder tumbled to the ground and, after struggling for only a few breaths, died.
The An Family Elder's body landed nearby, his wide-open dead eyes fixed on An Yun.
An Yun collapsed onto the ground, terror filling his eyes.
Li Xingluo slowly approached An Yun. The moonlight stretched his shadow long across the ground. Seeing it coming toward him, An Yun trembled with fear, and the drawing in his hand fell to the side.
Li Xingluo calmly picked up the drawing. The moment he touched it, a strange feeling rose within him, though he couldn't put it into words.
"Don't kill me..."
An Yun repeated those words over and over, completely at a loss. What Li Xingluo didn't know was that An Yun had fought over that scrap of paper, which he couldn't understand at all, because of the glance Liu Ya had thrown Li Xingluo at the auction.
An Yun thought Liu Ya had rejected his advances because of Li Xingluo. It was pretty unfair of him to pin that blame on Li Xingluo.
Li Xingluo looked down at An Yun, sitting in a huge puddle of urine, pinched his nose in disgust, and waved his hand.
Xiao Yi Xian was even more disgusted. The change from his earlier arrogance to this pitiful state had been too abrupt.
Even after Li Xingluo and Xiao Yi Xian left, An Yun didn't recover from his terror.
Only then did the wounded servants see the two of them leave. They hurried over to An Yun and helped him up.
With Li Xingluo's oppressive presence gone, An Yun regained his nerve, forgetting the humiliation he'd just suffered.
He slapped the nearest servant and shouted, "Useless! Eight of you couldn't even deal with one man. What does our An Family keep you around for?"
None of the eight dared answer. They could only complain silently, lowering their heads to apologize even though they felt wronged.
An Yun put on a vicious expression again. "Hmph! You dared provoke me, young master. I won't let you leave Maple Forest City alive!"
"Young master, what do we do now?"
It would have been better not to ask. The question earned its asker another slap, stars dancing before his eyes.
"Idiot! Send people to find them at once. If you can't find them, don't come back!"
The eight didn't dare delay. They scattered like startled birds and began searching. An Yun glanced at the An Family Elder's dead eyes, and an idea suddenly struck him. A strange smile curled across his lips.
Before you continue