Seeing the shock written all over Jiamo Lin's face, the man who had been so full of confidence, so certain of victory, soon found himself utterly alone.
"Patriarch Jiamo, I truly came here to cooperate with you."
Looking at the fallen guards, and having no idea how the other party had struck, Jiamo Lin felt a trace of wariness rise in his heart.
But as a patriarch, he had his pride—and that mattered.
"Cooperate? How?"
Seeing that Jiamo Lin's attitude had changed, Li Xingluo didn't beat around the bush. He went straight to the reason he had come.
After hearing Li Xingluo out, Jiamo Lin lowered his head in thought, his eyes darting around.
Every so often, he glanced up at the person before him, whose entire body was hidden beneath a black robe. For a moment, Jiamo Lin didn't know whether he should trust him.
If the cooperation Li Xingluo proposed and the facts he laid out were true, this was undoubtedly the best chance to wipe out the An Family.
Once the An Family was gone, the remaining Mu Family would have no choice but to submit to him, Jiamo Lin.
But if it was all a lie, and this person had been sent by the An Family, the consequences were obvious. Jiamo Lin was caught in a dilemma.
"Patriarch Jiamo, you only get one chance. If you don't intend to cooperate, I won't force you. I'll take my leave."
Li Xingluo didn't hesitate in the slightest. He turned to leave, the corner of his eye naturally stealing a glance at Jiamo Lin.
Just as Li Xingluo was about to leap away, Jiamo Lin called out to him.
"Fine. I agree to cooperate with you."
The corners of Li Xingluo's mouth lifted ever so slightly, his satisfaction plain to see. But when he turned around, his expression had become perfectly composed, betraying nothing.
"Congratulations, Patriarch Jiamo. You've chosen a good path."
"May I ask why you're targeting the An Family? Given your strength, Senior, you could wipe them out all by yourself."
"I like your ambition, but I don't like people sitting back and reaping the rewards. As for choosing you as my partner, I suppose it's fate. Patriarch Jiamo, are you satisfied with that answer?"
Li Xingluo gently turned the ring on his hand. A red glow enveloped his body, and his presence became imposing.
Even Jiamo Lin, who had already become a Dou Ling, couldn't help but feel startled. The pressure was overwhelming.
"I'm satisfied."
"If you don't believe me, you can ask around at the Aus Auction House. But the operation is tomorrow night. You'd better seize the opportunity. Naturally, I hope nothing goes wrong. Otherwise..."
Li Xingluo drifted away, leaving only those unfinished words hanging in the night.
After Li Xingluo left, the guards who had been lying motionless began to wake up, still clueless about what had happened.
Jiamo Lin couldn't help wiping the cold sweat beading on his forehead. He remembered the words Li Xingluo had left unfinished before departing.
At first, Jiamo Lin might not have believed what Li Xingluo had said, but when the guards had collapsed without a sound, his resolve had wavered.
This man was terrifying. Jiamo Lin actually laughed. The An Family, huh?
After leaving the Jiamo Family, Li Xingluo and Xiao Yi Xian didn't hurry away. Instead, they hid in the shadows. Before long, the gate opened, and someone hurried out.
Li Xingluo let out a long breath. Jiamo Lin really wasn't easy to deal with.
"Xing Luo, why are you so sure Jiamo Lin will help you attack the An Family?"
Xiao Yi Xian asked the question that cut to the heart of it. Earlier, to intimidate Jiamo Lin, Li Xingluo had already had Xiao Yi Xian scatter a colorless, odorless poison around him.
Anyone who came close would collapse at once. Before leaving, Li Xingluo had personally scattered the antidote powder and used Dou Qi to activate it. No one would notice a thing.
"Because Jiamo Lin is ambitious. He's wanted to unite Maple Forest City for a long time, but the An Family and the Mu Family have been in his way all these years. Now, if he learns that he can join forces with the Aus Auction House to take down the An Family, how could he not be tempted?"
Li Xingluo had grasped what Jiamo Lin wanted. Xiao Yi Xian nodded, seeming to understand.
"Where are we going now?"
"To wait outside the An Family. Let them put on the rest of the show."
Li Xingluo chuckled and headed toward the An Family with light, nimble steps. Xiao Yi Xian followed close behind.
At nightfall the next day, someone came rushing into the An Family in a panic.
Before long, several middle-aged men who looked like elders led many An Family disciples, hurrying toward a place with the newcomer showing them the way.
Once the group had left, Li Xingluo knew his chance had come. He blurred into motion, swiftly clearing the wall and entering the An Family grounds.
The only elder left behind at the An Family spotted Li Xingluo suddenly appear in the family's meeting hall.
His eyes darted about, and he flailed in alarm as he pointed at Li Xingluo. "You—you're... Who are you? How dare you trespass into the An Family?"
Li Xingluo didn't answer the An Family Elder. Instead, he walked toward him at an unhurried pace.
A chill emanating from Li Xingluo made the An Family Elder cry out in panic.
"Guards! Guards..."
Li Xingluo stopped three steps from the An Family Elder. His cold, unblinking eyes fixed on him.
"Don't bother. No one's coming."
Xiao Yi Xian walked in from the doorway, holding two An Family disciples in one hand. She flung them down in front of the An Family Elder.
They lay motionless, thin streams of black blood trickling from their mouths. The An Family Elder's eyes widened, and terror seized him.
They had been poisoned to death. He immediately realized the two people before him were poison masters. In the Chuyun Empire, poison masters inspired more fear than Alchemists.
"You..."
"Don't struggle. The An Family has hardly any guards left, and your life is in my hands. Do you want to live or die?"
Li Xingluo stepped forward and to the left. Behind him, a ball of purple Dou Qi flared in Xiao Yi Xian's hand, its aura terrifying.
With a casual flick of her hand, the purple Dou Qi landed on the corpse, instantly engulfing it. The smell, however, was truly unbearable.
The An Family Elder had been so frightened that his face was pale and he had no will to resist. He stared at them in terror.
"Well? Have you made up your mind?"
Seeing how things were going, the An Family Elder dropped to his knees with a thud and began kowtowing frantically.
He muttered, "Don't kill me..."
They had achieved the desired effect. Li Xingluo and Xiao Yi Xian exchanged a glance, and Xiao Yi Xian put away her Dou Qi.
Li Xingluo bent over to look at the kowtowing An Family Elder, unable to keep from finding it ridiculous. Was this one of Maple Forest City's three great families? How could its elder be so spineless? They hadn't even laid a hand on him, and he'd already surrendered.
"If you don't want to die, just do as I say. If you dare harbor any other intentions, I'll make you wish you were dead."
The reprieved An Family Elder was overjoyed. He lifted his ingratiating face.
"Rest assured, Senior. I wouldn't dare. I just don't know what you need me to do."
"It's simple. Your An Family has been in Maple Forest City for hundreds of years. I imagine you've amassed plenty of good things."
Li Xingluo stopped there. The An Family Elder looked troubled.
But the moment he saw Xiao Yi Xian raise her hand, he immediately caved.
"Senior, I'll take you to the An Family's Treasure Pavilion right away."
Seeing how quickly the An Family Elder had caught on, Li Xingluo tossed a round pill onto the ground.
"Eat it."
It wasn't that Li Xingluo didn't trust this life-loving coward; he was simply taking precautions against trouble later. After all, even a rabbit will bite when cornered.
The An Family Elder was a thousand times unwilling, but when he saw the killing intent flash in Li Xingluo's eyes, he immediately picked up the pill and swallowed it whole.
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