Chapter 400 - 181: Tiger Monarch
Chapter 400: Chapter 181: Tiger Monarch
"...Alright. In that case, I’ll be on my way."
Chen Cheng nodded, gave Yan Chong an appreciative look, and was about to urge his tiger to leave.
"Your Excellency, please wait!"
Yan Chong hurried forward two steps, took out a small, palm-sized leather pouch that was still warm from his body, and offered it up with both hands.
"Inside is a Tier Two Treasure Medicine, the ’Seven-leaf Purifying Grass.’ Its medicinal fragrance is long-lasting. Carrying it on your person helps focus the mind, purify the heart, nourish the internal organs, and repel snakes and insects."
"This is our first meeting, and this old man has not prepared any other gifts. I can only offer this Treasure Medicine as a small token of my respect. I hope Your Excellency will not find it lacking."
"...Thanks."
Chen Cheng didn’t stand on ceremony with him. He took it directly and then asked,
"Where did you get this Treasure Medicine?"
"Rest assured, Your Excellency, I didn’t steal it, and I certainly didn’t take it by force!"
Yan Chong said,
"This old man found this medicine deep within Feidang Mountain by a stroke of luck. It’s extremely rare and cannot be bought with money."
"That is why this old man has always carried it with me. It is absolutely clean and will not cause Your Excellency any trouble!"
"...Feidang Mountain?"
Chen Cheng’s heart stirred. He probed, feigning casualness,
"Are you familiar with the area? I’ve heard many people are gathering there recently."
"Is Your Excellency asking about the Golden-eyed Mutant Tiger?"
Yan Chong smiled.
"That’s hardly a secret anymore. A Mutant Tiger that is infinitely close to Tier Three... many people have their eyes on it. It’s just that very, very few have the ability to take it down."
"...Which areas does that beast usually frequent?" Chen Cheng asked.
"Please, look here..."
Yan Chong picked up a longsword and began sketching a rough map directly on the ground. He circled and dotted, drew and sketched, his explanation clear and detailed, as if he were describing his own prized possessions.
...
The sun slanted west.
At the head seat in the main hall of Zhang’s Trading Company.
A young man in a brocade robe with a Jade Belt at his waist sat with one leg crossed over the other, his frivolous gaze sizing up Zhang Yu, who stood to the side personally pouring his tea.
This young man’s name was Dong Xing, a young master from the Direct Lineage of the Dong Family who was in charge of their commerce operations.
"Boss Zhang, do you see what time it is? If you still can’t make up your mind, I’m heading back."
Dong Xing threatened without any pretense,
"Once I walk out that door, if you come begging me again, it won’t be something that a twenty percent stake can solve."
The corner of Zhang Wenhui’s mouth twitched twice, his expression one of utter torment.
Zhang Yu bit her lip until it turned white, the hand holding the teapot trembling visibly.
She kept her eyes lowered, not daring to look at Dong Xing, let alone her father. She only felt the teapot in her hand grow heavier and heavier, as if its weight would crush her.
"Boss Zhang, I’m not trying to scare you."
Dong Xing extended a finger and traced the rim of the cup with its pad.
"That gang of vicious bandits on Grass Vulture Mountain has a great expert of the Divine Storage Realm backing them. Those seven rookies you hired are all outsiders who failed to get into a Sect. They don’t know the first thing about how things work, yet they dared to take on a job like this. They were just asking to die!"
"What!? A Divine... a Divine Storage expert!?"
Zhang Wenhui and Zhang Yu’s eyes both widened at the same time.
Although neither of them had ever practiced martial arts, they knew exactly what a great expert of the Divine Storage Realm signified.
Not to mention anyone else, the Peak of Nine Bloods Martial Artist they had previously retained already held a transcendent status. Within their trading company, he was someone who had to be revered like a great Buddha.
But before the Divine Storage Realm, even this Grand Tributor was just an ant that could be crushed with a casual flick.
Yet among the seven youths, including Huang Jiao, the strongest was only at the Nine Blood Late Stage.
If what Dong Xing said was true, then the seven of them were likely more dead than alive.
"Alright, I’m done wasting my breath on you. It’s not like you need my help anyway."
Dong Xing stood up directly and strode toward the exit.
"Young Master Xing, wait! Please wait..."
Zhang Wenhui hurried after him, his voice trembling.
"For this matter, I must ask Young Master Xing to step in and mediate. The terms we discussed earlier... I... I’ll agree to them..."
"Heh, too late."
Dong Xing said with a mocking smile,
"If you want my help now, you’ll have to add another condition: have Miss Zhang spend a night with me."
"You..."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Wenhui’s entire face contorted.
Zhang Yu’s face went deathly pale, and the teapot in her hand fell to the floor, shattering with a CRASH.
"Heh, just kidding."
Dong Xing sneered.
"The Dong Family is a great and prestigious house, backed by the Yunlei Commerce Association, with three young men from our Direct Lineage in the Mountain and Sea Sect. No matter how outrageous I, Dong Xing, might be, I would never do something that would bring shame upon my family name."
"That’s good... That’s good..."
Zhang Wenhui let out a long sigh of relief, and Zhang Yu’s tense body finally relaxed a little.
"But."
Before the father and daughter could even catch their breath, Dong Xing’s tone shifted.
"I want a thirty percent stake in your Zhang’s Trading Company. Also, I’ll be sending over an Assistant Shopkeeper to ’help out’."
Zhang Wenhui froze instantly.
Zhang Yu’s face turned ashen.
"...Not agreeing? Then I’m really leaving. My few concubines are waiting for me to come home for dinner."
Dong Xing started walking again.
"Wait!"
Zhang Wenhui immediately grabbed his sleeve, his voice trembling violently.
"I... I..."
"Father!"
Zhang Yu quickly said,
"Why don’t we wait a little longer? Just... just wait until the last day. If Young Master Chen is willing to help, maybe things will turn around..."
"Wait for what!"
Pushed to his limit by Dong Xing, Zhang Wenhui was filled with pent-up frustration and rage, which he suddenly unleashed on Zhang Yu.
"This is something seven Nine Blood Secret Martial Artists couldn’t handle, and you’re counting on a Lower Rank Eight Blood to solve it!? You must be insane!"
"This whole thing is your fault in the end! Get out! Go back to your room and reflect on your mistakes! You are not to take a single step out of that room without my permission!"