Conflict

"You know as well as I do that our Li Family cannot compare to your Yang Family..." Li Dehou said with a bitter smile, frowning.

Zhou Qi said nothing.

Li Dehou looked at him, his eyes carrying a hint of probing. "If Elder Zhou can settle matters with the Wang and Zhao Families, then my Li Family will hand everything over without a second word. But before that..."

He shook his head and said no more.

Zhou Qi nodded. "I understand."

Just then, Yang Jinshan suddenly slammed a hand onto the table and stood up.

"Bullshit!" He pointed at Li Dehou's nose, his voice so loud that it made the cave walls hum. "Why should your Li Family's mine pit wait for the Wang and Zhao Families? What the hell are they? You're afraid of them, but you're not afraid of our Yang Family?"

The smile on Li Dehou's face instantly froze, but he quickly returned to normal, lowered his head, and said nothing.

Zhou Qi frowned and said in a deep voice, "Fifth Elder!"

Yang Jinshan turned to look at him. "What? Was I wrong? The Li Family is just grass on a wall, bending whichever way the wind blows! Our Yang Family is the winner now, so why shouldn't they hand it over?"

Zhou Qi abruptly slammed his hand onto the table, rose to his feet, walked up to Yang Jinshan, and stared into his eyes.

Yang Jinshan was taken aback by that gaze and instinctively took half a step back.

Zhou Qi lowered his voice and enunciated each word. "Do you remember that the Master told you to listen to me?"

Yang Jinshan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but when he recalled Yang Zhenshan's face, he swallowed the words back down.

Zhou Qi continued, "If you keep this up, I'll have someone send you back to Lin'an City right now and let the Master speak to you personally."

Yang Jinshan's expression changed.

He glared fiercely at Zhou Qi, but in the end, he lowered his head and muttered, "Got it."

Zhou Qi turned around and cupped his fists toward Li Dehou. "Steward Li, the Fifth Elder has a straightforward temperament and speaks harshly. Please forgive the offense."

Li Dehou hurriedly waved his hands. "Not at all, not at all. The Fifth Elder speaks frankly. It is my Li Family that is in the wrong."

Zhou Qi nodded without saying more. After cupping his fists and bowing to Li Dehou once again, he turned and walked out.

Yang Jinshan followed behind him, looking as though he had swallowed a fly.

Yang Hong glanced at Li Dehou and followed after them.

The three left the mine cave, and Li Dehou escorted them to the entrance.

Watching their retreating backs, a trace of contemplation flashed through his narrowed eyes.

After they had walked quite a distance, Yang Jinshan finally could not hold it in any longer.

"What did you mean back there?" He caught up to Zhou Qi in several strides, his face full of resentment. "You scolded me in front of outsiders and even used my second brother to suppress me?"

"I'm the Yang Family's Fifth Elder. You're only an outer sect elder!"

Without slowing down or looking back, Zhou Qi said, "Fifth Elder, do you know why the Li Family dares refuse to hand it over?"

Yang Jinshan froze. "Why?"

"Because they know the Yang Family has no time to deal with them right now," Zhou Qi said. "The Wang and Zhao Families are the big fish. As long as those two families refuse to hand things over, the Li Family can keep stalling."

"If you curse at him a few times, what use is that besides forcing the Li Family to side with the Wang and Zhao Families?"

Yang Jinshan opened his mouth but could not say a word.

Zhou Qi stopped, turned around, and looked at him with a stern expression. "Fifth Elder, we came to the mines to get things done, not to vent our anger."

"If you truly want to fight, come with me to the Wang Family tomorrow. I'll let you fight to your heart's content."

Yang Jinshan's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Zhou Qi nodded. "Really. But before that, remember this..."

He leaned close to Yang Jinshan's eyes and enunciated each word. "At the mines, I call the shots. Before you speak or act, you need my approval. If I don't nod, you endure it."

Yang Jinshan's expression changed again and again, but in the end, he muttered, "Got it."

Zhou Qi turned and continued walking.

Only after Zhou Qi had gone several more steps did Yang Jinshan follow behind, muttering under his breath, "Fine, fine, fine. You call the shots. You're the boss..."

Zhou Qi ignored him.

Yang Hong trailed behind them, watching their backs as a strange glint flashed through his eyes.

This was the first time he had seen the Fifth Elder obey anyone other than Yang Zhenshan. Even Yang Yuanshan would have had a hard time managing it.

Early the next morning, Zhou Qi brought Yang Jinshan and several guards deep into the eastern district.

Beyond that mountain ridge lay the Wang Family's mine pit.

Compared to the Yang Family's mine cave, the Wang Family's operation was even larger.

The entrance was a full two zhang wide, and the timber supports were all newly cut. More than a dozen guards stood at the entrance, each with blades at their waists and wary eyes.

Zhou Qi stepped forward and cupped his fists. "Zhou Qi of the Yang Family, here to see Steward Wang."

One guard sized him up and said coldly, "Steward Wang is not here. Please leave."

Zhou Qi raised a brow slightly. "Not here? When will he return?"

The guard shook his head. "Don't know."

Zhou Qi nodded and turned to leave.

Yang Jinshan was stunned and hurried after him, lowering his voice. "We're leaving just like that?"

Zhou Qi said nothing. After walking several dozen steps, he stopped.

He looked back at the Wang Family Mine and said calmly, "Fifth Elder, didn't you want to fight?"

Yang Jinshan's eyes lit up. "Now?"

Zhou Qi nodded. "Now. Don't kill them, don't cripple them. Just let them go inside and report it."

Yang Jinshan grinned, turned around, and charged back.

"Wang Tianfu! Get your ass out here!"

He roared as he charged, reaching the mine entrance in a few strides.

No matter how poor Yang Jinshan was, he was still at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refinement. Before those guards could react, he knocked them to the ground one punch at a time.

Bang!

"Ah—"

"Ow!"

Cries of pain rose one after another.

Yang Jinshan was like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep. With every punch and kick, someone fell.

But he remembered Zhou Qi's words. He did not strike to kill, yet he showed no mercy either, beating those guards until they rolled around all over the ground.

"Stop!"

An angry shout came from inside the mine cave.

Wang Tianfu strode out, with Zhao Dazhu following behind him.

Yang Jinshan stopped, clapped his hands, and grinned at them. "Oh? Steward Wang is here? Steward Zhao too? Didn't they say you weren't here just now?"

Wang Tianfu's face turned livid. His gaze swept over Yang Jinshan's honest-looking face before finally settling on Zhou Qi. He enunciated each word. "Zhou Qi, what do you mean by this?"

Zhou Qi slowly walked over and stopped three steps away from him.

"It means nothing," he said calmly. "Steward Wang was busy and could not be invited, so I had no choice but to invite you this way."

Wang Tianfu stared at him, his chest rising and falling violently.

Standing behind him, Zhao Dazhu said in a muffled voice, "Brother Tianfu, this brat is too arrogant. Let me beat him up!"

Wang Tianfu raised a hand to stop him, took a deep breath, and forced down his anger.

"Zhou Qi, what are you here for?"

Zhou Qi looked at him, his tone calm. "Steward Wang should know. Of the twenty percent stake won by the Yang Family, twenty percent belongs to your Wang Family. Let us discuss the handover today."

Wang Tianfu sneered. "Discuss? You brought people to attack our doorstep, and you call that a discussion?"

Zhou Qi shook his head and waved a hand. "I invited you, but Steward Wang was not here. So I had to invite Steward Wang out first, then we could discuss it."

Wang Tianfu stared at Zhou Qi for a while.

Then he took a deep breath.

"Fine, let's discuss it," he said. "How do you want to discuss it?"

Zhou Qi said, "Simple. The Wang Family's twenty percent of the mine pits will be handed over today."

Wang Tianfu shook his head. "Impossible."

Zhou Qi raised a brow slightly. "Why?"

Wang Tianfu stood with his hands behind his back, his tone arrogant. "Handing over mine pits is not something settled with a single sentence. The accounts must be checked, the miners must be relocated, and the tools must be inventoried. All of that takes time."

Zhou Qi asked, "How long?"

Wang Tianfu thought for a moment. "At least three months, at most half a year."

The moment Yang Jinshan heard that, he exploded. "Bullshit! Three months? Are you playing us for fools?!"

Wang Tianfu did not even look at that reckless brute. He only stared at Zhou Qi, a faint mocking smile at the corner of his mouth.

Zhou Qi was silent for several seconds, then nodded. "I understand. Then we'll take our leave."

With that, Zhou Qi casually cupped his fists.

Yang Jinshan froze and hurried after him. "We're leaving just like that? He's playing us for fools!"

Zhou Qi said nothing and continued walking.

Yang Jinshan grew anxious and followed behind him. "Wait! Are we just letting this go?"

Just as Zhou Qi was about to speak, Wang Tianfu's voice came from behind him.

"Stop!"

Zhou Qi stopped and turned around.

Wang Tianfu stood at the mine entrance, with Zhao Dazhu and a crowd of guards behind him.

He looked at Zhou Qi. The smile had vanished from his face, replaced by gloom.

"Zhou Qi," Wang Tianfu said darkly.

"You injured my men, and you think you can just leave?"