Luring with Great Profit

These scions of great families indeed possessed some skill.

The entire process was utterly devastating.

However, Wang Yu was as hard as iron, as if he had hidden inside a turtle shell. It took considerable effort to finally kill him.

Lu Li let out a long sigh, his gaze, cold as a snake's, swept over the Wang family members.

They were immediately terrified to their core and scattered in all directions.

Some even trembled like sieves, falling to their knees and kowtowing repeatedly.

Lu Li ignored them; they were just minor figures, not worth his effort.

Lu Li employed his movement technique, scaling walls and leaping across rooftops, heading towards the next location.

The Eldest Miss and Huang He witnessed everything.

Watching Lu Li's devastating methods, she trembled all over.

"That Wang Yu fellow had entered the Organ-Refining Realm long ago; even I would feel apprehensive facing him."

"To think this Blood Ghost could kill him so easily, how terrifying!" Huang He stroked his beard, shocked.

The Eldest Miss nodded, her beautiful eyes on Lu Li shimmering with affection and wonder, full of admiration.

"His strength is almost on par with mine."

"Hahaha, excellent! The Wang family has lost a great general and some territory. To exchange it for Wang Yu's life, it's worth it!" Huang He laughed heartily, his gloom completely dispelled.

"Father, the Blood Ghost is getting further away, I'm going to find him."

This time, Huang He did not stop her.

She quickly leaped down from the pavilion and rushed towards Lu Li's location.

Running at full speed, her form a blur, she feared Lu Li would escape.

Soon, she caught up to Lu Li.

Lu Li felt a gust of fragrant wind and turned his head.

He saw a young lady in white, graceful and elegant, with a full chest and a curvaceous figure, standing behind him. It was the Eldest Miss, Huang Rongyue.

"Eldest Miss of the Huang family, is there something you need?" Lu Li asked in a hoarse voice, speaking indifferently.

Huang Rongyue bowed to Lu Li, smiling sweetly, appearing somewhat bold, with the demeanor of a chivalrous woman of the jianghu: "Mister Blood Ghost, do you have a grievance with the Wang family?"

"Whether I have a grievance or not, what business is it of yours?" Lu Li said, then turned to leave, fearing that saying too much might expose him.

He was, after all, just starting out, with little experience in the jianghu, so he naturally had to keep a low profile.

"Mister Blood Ghost, I'll be direct."

"I wish to invite you to be an honored guest of our Huang family. All treatment will be equal to that of the family head, with a monthly salary of a thousand taels of silver, and you may take whatever you wish from the treasury."

Such terms were equivalent to those of a family head. Huang Yuerong believed in the saying, "You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing your child."

She had always been generous, especially towards friends.

The reason she hadn't addressed Lu Li as brother was due to his somewhat distant attitude.

Lu Li shook his head; the Wind and Rain Pavilion had better offers than the Huang family.

Sacrificing his freedom for a thousand taels of silver was not worth it.

Just as he was about to leave, Huang Rongyue floated in front of him again.

She smiled enchantingly, her beauty boundless: "Mister Blood Ghost, why are you so distant? If you don't want to be an honored guest, how about we just be friends?"

"You will have freedom of action, only intervening to help in times of crisis, and all other treatment remains the same. What do you say?"

Lu Li shook his head again and employed his movement technique, ghosting around Huang Rongyue. With a few leaps and twists, he vanished.

This offer was indeed tempting, but he was originally a guard of the Huang family; he couldn't split himself in two to serve them.

Therefore, Lu Li decisively refused.

He left the Eldest Miss, Huang Rongyue, standing dumbfounded, her long hair fluttering and disheveled in the wind.

"Getting a thousand taels a month for doing nothing, there isn't even such a good deal at the Wind and Rain Pavilion," Huang Rongyue mused inwardly, becoming even more curious about Lu Li.

She had many friends, and when she offered benefits, they would all call her sister. He was the first person she had met who treated money as dirt.

"Mister Blood Ghost's character is truly noble and free-spirited, doing as he pleases without restraint," Huang Rongyue thought.

However, her recruitment attempt had failed, and she felt an emptiness, a sense of loss.

Being rejected for the first time felt unpleasant.

She sighed and returned to the pavilion.

Huang He looked at his daughter's dejected expression. He already had some guesses but still asked, "What did Mister Blood Ghost say?"

Huang Rongyue sighed, "He refused. I offered him a thousand taels of silver, access to the treasury, and treatment equal to the family head, and he still refused."

"This is the first time in my social life that something like this has happened."

Huang He shook his head: "I told you long ago, when making friends, the most important thing is character. Your attempts to lure him with money will only attract unreliable companions."

Huang Rongyue didn't mind, "It's fine. Relationships are mutual; if I treat others with sincerity, they will treat me with sincerity in return."

Watching his daughter's confident expression, Huang He sighed helplessly.

When she first ventured into the martial world and joined a sect, the Huang Family had provided her with plenty of wealth—at least ten thousand taels—all of which she had squandered on making friends.

The fact that not a single person came to help when the family met with disaster was proof enough of how cold and fickle human nature could be.

Forget it, forget it. She'll have to suffer a loss eventually; it'll be a good lesson for her, Huang He muttered to himself.

Realizing he had been away for too long and that his body was heavy with killing intent and stained with blood, Lu Li prepared to head home first.

Arriving at the outer city, he could hear the sounds of fighting in the distance.

Ignoring it, Lu Li returned home, took off his black robe, bathed, and changed back into his original clothes before heading out again.

On the way back, he specifically chose dark and secluded paths.

Some areas were blocked by high walls, but for Lu Li, who had mastered the Flying Swallow Step, scaling them was effortless.

By the time he returned to the apothecary, it was around the Hour of the Ox. Li Qing and the others were still hiding in their rooms, likely unable to sleep.

They had no idea that the Wang Family had suffered heavy losses because of his actions.

Only then did Lu Li set his mind at ease; he returned to his room, lay down, and crawled under the covers.

It was then that exhaustion flooded his entire body, and he drifted into a deep sleep.

The night passed in the blink of an eye.

Lu Li stretched and pushed the door open.

Li Qing and the other two were covered in dark circles, looking listless.

Seeing Lu Li wake up refreshed and full of energy, they were immediately filled with envy.

Yesterday had truly worn them out.

"How were you able to sleep? Weren't you afraid?" Li Qing asked curiously.

Lu Li smiled, "With the experts of the Huang Family blocking the way, what was there to fear? It's not like they would break in here, right?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than footsteps approached from outside.

A loud thudding sound echoed as the door was kicked, shaking violently and teetering on the verge of collapse.

Finally, with a loud crack, the door crashed to the ground.

Revealed were several members of the Black Wolf Gang, brandishing clubs and machetes with aggressive intent.

They were covered in blood, having clearly been through a battle themselves.

It seemed last night's conflict had been a clash between gangs.

However, the man leading them caught Lu Li by surprise.

With a gaunt face, narrow eyes, and a treacherous look, it was none other than Er Gou!

"Damn it, the inner city really is different. Even a mere apothecary is this big—there's definitely profit to be made here!"

He scanned the room with shifty eyes, let out a sinister grin, and raised his long blade, "Brothers, hack them to pieces!"