What Now? Serve It Cold!

Two days later, morning.

Zhou Qi was cultivating in his room when Yang Hong hurried over, his face beaming with joy.

"Elder Zhou! The Zhao Family and Li Family have come!"

Zhou Qi opened his eyes, rose to his feet, and pushed open the door.

At the courtyard gate, Zhao Dazhu and Li Dehou stood side by side, with several attendants behind them carrying several large chests.

When they saw Zhou Qi emerge, the two clasped their fists in greeting at the same time.

"Elder Zhou."

Zhou Qi nodded and looked toward the chests.

Li Dehou hurriedly spoke first, his face piled with smiles. "Elder Zhou, these are the account books for the Li Family's twenty percent of the mine pits, the roster of miners, and the inventory of tools. It's all here. Would you like to check?"

Zhao Dazhu followed up, "The Zhao Family's are here as well. Twenty percent of the mine pits, thirty-seven miners, various tools, and all the account books."

Zhou Qi walked over and casually flipped through them.

The account books were detailed, and the number of miners matched as well.

He nodded and looked at the two men.

"You two stewards have been straightforward."

Li Dehou hurriedly waved his hands. "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. It's only what we should do."

Zhao Dazhu said nothing, but the expression on his face relaxed considerably as well.

At the side, Yang Hong directed the guards to carry the chests inside, then had someone serve tea.

Zhou Qi invited the two to sit down, and they chatted idly for a few moments.

Li Dehou was talkative, constantly praising Zhou Qi for being young and promising, with a boundless future ahead of him.

Zhao Dazhu spoke little. He merely drank his tea in silence and nodded now and then.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the two rose to take their leave.

Zhou Qi saw them to the courtyard gate and clasped his fists. "Take care, you two."

Li Dehou hurriedly returned the greeting, and Zhao Dazhu clasped his fists as well.

The two turned and left.

Zhou Qi stood at the courtyard gate, watching the direction in which they had gone. He was silent for a while.

Yang Hong walked to his side, his face full of delight. "Elder Zhou, both the Zhao Family and Li Family have handed them over. Now only the Wang Family remains!"

Zhou Qi nodded without speaking.

Yang Hong continued, "On the Wang Family's side, Wang Tianfu has been prowling around the mines these past few days, and his expression has been awful. Now that he has heard the Zhao Family and Li Family have both handed theirs over, he definitely won't be able to sit still."

Zhou Qi withdrew his gaze and turned back inside.

After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and muttered:

"The Wang Family..."

Yang Hong waited at the side, thinking he was about to say something.

But Zhou Qi merely fell silent for a moment before continuing onward.

Back in his room, he sat at the table, his gaze falling upon the mine mountains outside the window.

The Zhao Family had been dealt with.

The Li Family had been dealt with.

Now, only the Wang Family remained.

But the Wang Family was not the Zhao Family or Li Family.

That old fox Wang Tianfu would not be jolted awake by a few words like Zhao Dazhu, nor would he follow the wind and steer his sails like Li Dehou.

He would resist to the bitter end.

After all, Wang Tiannan was not much weaker than Yang Zhenshan. This display of intimidation might not work on Wang Tiannan.

And Wang Tianfu was no easy target either.

Given Wang Tianfu's character, even if all the people at the mines were handed over, they would still drag things out, cling on, and wear everyone down.

But it did not matter.

Zhou Qi withdrew his gaze, a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips.

If he made a move, there was not a single person at the Wang Family's mine pits who could fight him.

If Wang Tianfu would not hand them over, then Zhou Qi would beat him until he did.

As for whether it would trigger conflict between the two families, or even conflict with Yang Zhenshan, that was not something Zhou Qi needed to consider.

He picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip.

Outside the window, the sunlight was just right.

Wang Family steward's office.

Wang Tianfu sat in the seat of honor, his face livid.

Before him stood a guard reporting with his head lowered.

"Over at the Zhao Family... this morning, Zhao Dazhu took the account books and the roster of miners to the Yang Family to see Zhou Qi. The Li Family did the same. Li Dehou went personally."

Wang Tianfu clenched his fists until they cracked.

"Two spineless wretches!" He slammed a palm onto the table, jolting the teacups into the air.

The guard did not dare make a sound.

Wang Tianfu rose and paced back and forth through the room.

"That coward Zhao Dezhu had his courage shattered by a single sword from Yang Zhenshan! That old fox Li Yuanba could follow the wind and steer his sails faster than anyone!"

He stopped and looked toward the Yang Family's mine pits outside the window, his eyes brimming with venom.

"Zhou Qi..."

He gritted his teeth and spoke each word slowly.

"You think that just because you've taken in those two families, you can force me to submit?"

He sneered.

"My Wang Family has dominated Lin'an City for decades. We will not admit defeat so easily!"

He turned to the guard.

"Go. Gather all our people. From today onward, assign extra men to patrol the mine tunnels. Do not let even a fly enter!"

The guard acknowledged the order and left.

Wang Tianfu stood by the window, staring at the distant mine mountains, his expression shifting between light and dark.

After a long while, he muttered to himself:

"Zhou Qi, I'd like to see what you can do to me."

What could he do? Serve it cold!

Just as Wang Tianfu was still muttering to himself, Zhou Qi had already charged in with Yang Jinshan.

"Zhou Qi! What do you mean by this?"

After receiving the news, Wang Tianfu hurried out from the inner courtyard. By then, two guards were already rolling on the ground in pain.

Zhou Qi stood on the open ground before the mine tunnel. Behind him were Yang Jinshan, rubbing his fists and itching for a fight, along with more than a dozen Yang Family guards.

He lifted his eyes toward the tunnel entrance. Wang Tianfu and over twenty guards blocked the way, every one of them with sword or saber drawn, as if facing a formidable enemy.

"Nothing much." Zhou Qi's tone was calm. "I'm here to take back the mine pits."

"Take back the mine pits?" Wang Tianfu sneered and stepped forward. "Zhou Qi, the Zhao Family and Li Family were cowards—that is their business. My Wang Family is no coward! You want to take the Wang Family's mine pits? Keep dreaming!"

Zhou Qi looked at him without getting angry or arguing.

He simply stepped aside.

"Fifth Elder, I'll leave it to you."

Yang Jinshan's eyes lit up. He had been holding himself back for far too long.

He strode forward and grinned at Wang Tianfu. "Old Wang, cut the nonsense. Let's fight!"

Wang Tianfu's expression changed, and he instinctively took a step back. "Yang Jinshan! You dare make a move? This is the mine, not your Yang Residence!"

"So what if it's the mine?" Yang Jinshan rolled up his sleeves as he walked forward. "Does being at the mine mean we no longer need to follow the rules? Your Wang Family is squatting on the mine pits and refusing to hand them over, and you still think you're in the right?"

He walked to the center of the clearing and crooked a finger at the more than twenty Wang Family guards.

"Come on, all of you at once. Save your grandpa the trouble."

The Wang Family guards looked at one another, but none dared to be the first to step forward.

Though Yang Jinshan was not as famous as Zhou Qi, he was still genuinely at the late Sixth Layer of Qi Refinement.

Wang Tianfu gritted his teeth and waved his hand. "Attack! He's alone! Wear him to death if you have to!"

More than twenty guards rushed forward together.

Saber gleams and sword shadows flashed as fist winds howled.

Yang Jinshan neither dodged nor evaded, charging straight into them.

Army-Breaking Fist.

With one punch, the foremost guard and his saber were sent flying backward, crashing into three people behind him.

Then came two more punches, sending two more men sprawling.

But there were simply too many of them.

More than twenty men surrounded him, blades slashing at him from every direction. Though Yang Jinshan was fierce, he could not withstand such numbers. Before long, several wounds had appeared on his body.

"Come on! Again!"

The more he fought, the braver he became. One punch, one man—every punch sent someone down.

Blood sprayed, and cries of agony rose one after another.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

More than twenty guards lay scattered across the ground. Some clutched their arms and screamed, some held their stomachs as they rolled around, and several had fainted outright.

Yang Jinshan stood where he was, gasping for breath.

He had gained seven or eight new wounds. His clothes had been slashed to ribbons, and blood stained his face, yet his eyes shone with a terrifying brightness.

"That hit the spot!" He grinned and looked toward Wang Tianfu. "Steward Wang, your men aren't much good. How about you come up yourself?"

Wang Tianfu's face was livid, his clenched fists cracking.

All his men were down.

More than twenty of them—not one remained standing.

And the other side had sent out only one man.

He looked toward Zhou Qi, who had stood to one side and never lifted a hand from beginning to end, his eyes filled with venom.

"Zhou Qi, don't get too pleased with yourself!" He spoke each word slowly. "My Wang Family has stood in Lin'an City for so many years. We are not someone your Yang Family can trample whenever you please!"

Zhou Qi finally spoke, his tone still calm.

"Steward Wang, I'll come again tomorrow."