Chapter 240 - 239: Who Said I Was Going to Do Business With You?
Chapter 240: Chapter 239: Who Said I Was Going to Do Business With You?
BOOM!
A massive figure was sent flying out of the courtyard, crashing into the men outside and sending them tumbling.
"Boss!"
"Are you okay, Boss?!"
The attack was sudden. Stunned by this turn of events, the four large men who hadn’t yet entered the courtyard rushed to help the fallen figure to his feet and check his injuries.
As they helped the man up, his eyes remained fixed on the courtyard. He tried to speak, but instead, he coughed up two mouthfuls of blood, a wretched sight.
"Let go! I’m fine!"
After spitting out those two mouthfuls of congested blood, he felt much better. He gave a shake, signaling for the others to let him go. Then he wiped the blood from his mouth, indicating he was not seriously hurt.
"This one’s tough!" he said, his gaze wary as he looked at the figure in the courtyard.
The four men around him also knew they’d run into a tough customer. They all drew their blades, their eyes filled with killing intent as they stared at the figure who had suddenly appeared in the courtyard.
Sun Yuting seemed oblivious to the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere. She simply turned and patted the little girl’s head, her voice gentle as she said:
"It’s okay. Don’t worry. I’m here."
The brother and sister stared blankly, their expressions unreactive. They just looked at the burly man who had been sent flying, then back at the figure before them.
They couldn’t fathom how powerful this person was. She was just standing there, and the burly man had been sent flying, completely helpless.
"Big sister, you’re amazing!"
The little girl was the first to react, looking at the woman’s delicate face and exclaiming in awe.
Sun Yuting smiled but didn’t say anything. She turned to face the figures outside the courtyard.
SHING!
She slowly drew her blade and walked toward the courtyard gate.
As the blade was unsheathed, a scalp-numbing tremor began to spread from her body.
Feeling a pain that seemed to pierce their very bones and flesh, their hearts pounding uncontrollably, the five burly men outside the courtyard stared wide-eyed and exclaimed in unison:
"Blood Coagulation Realm!"
Although they rarely encountered beings of this realm, they could tell from the aura she exuded that the person before them was definitely a Blood Coagulation Realm expert!
Blood Coagulation Realm!
How many of those were there in all of Cold Rain City?
"Milady, we were just here to do business with this brother and sister! What do you think you’re doing?!"
Under the pressure of Sun Yuting’s aura as she slowly strode toward them, the burly men kept backing away, their eyes filled with terror, without a shred of will to fight.
They wanted to mount their horses and flee immediately, but they knew that against someone of her realm, they probably wouldn’t even get the chance to mount up.
Their lives depended on her whim.
"Business?"
Hearing this, Sun Yuting sneered. "Forcing a sale, bullying the weak—you call that business?"
The man who had first entered the courtyard forced a smile.
"Milady, we were just trying to scare the kid a little, we wouldn’t actually..."
SWOOSH!—
Sun Yuting shot forward. With a light tap of her toes, she closed the distance in an instant, appearing right in front of the thug.
She couldn’t be bothered to reason with a pack of bullies or argue about right and wrong.
She had seen it clearly just now. If that thug’s grab had landed, the boy might not have died, but he would have had several broken ribs at the very least.
As she lunged forward, Sun Yuting twisted the hilt of her blade, striking out at the thug with its flat.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!—
Suppressed by the aura emanating from nine sources of the Blood Coagulation Realm, the thugs felt as if they were wading through a swamp. Their bodies were stiff, and as they watched the blur of the blade strike toward them, they instinctively tried to defend themselves.
But in the suffocating air, their defensive movements were incredibly slow, almost comically so.
With just a few strikes, all five thugs were knocked to the ground, clutching their heads and begging for mercy.
"Milady, we’ll never dare to do it again!"
"Young Heroine, have mercy!"
"..."
Ignoring their wails, Sun Yuting didn’t stop. With swift motions, she brought the flat of her blade down on them again and again.
The group of large men rolled on the ground from the beating, tears and snot streaming down their faces. As the blade continued to fall, bloody welts soon began to show through their clothing.
It was a miserable sight.
These howls naturally attracted the attention of the other households in the village.
The neighbors, not knowing what was happening, peeked their heads out of their doors. Seeing such a brutal scene, they feared getting involved and quickly pulled their heads back in.
"Alright, that’s enough. Now we can talk business with them."
Only when the young man leaning against the doorframe, who had been enjoying the show, spoke up did Sun Yuting sheathe her blade and stand guard at the gate.
Wu Chen walked over to the brother and sister and stared at the boy.
"There’s no way you can hold onto this snake soup recipe."
"If you keep being stubborn, forget about opening a shop in the future—you probably won’t even be able to protect your own sister."
"Think about it carefully."
Wu Chen was speaking the truth. He and Sun Yuting still had to investigate the case of the disappearing people in Cold Rain City and couldn’t stay here.
And as for these bandits and bullies, what would killing them today accomplish?
It was foreseeable that another group of thugs would come another day to forcibly demand the family’s ancestral snake soup recipe.
When that time came, without him and Sun Yuting, the brother and sister would likely be beaten to death, and no one would step in to help.
The boy looked at the young man before him, then glanced back at his sister, lowering his head to ponder Wu Chen’s words.
After about a dozen breaths, he nodded heavily.
"Alright, I’ll sell them the snake soup recipe!"
Selling the snake soup recipe wasn’t just about the sale; it meant they could no longer sell the soup themselves, let alone open their own soup shop.
So, after making the decision, even though they would get a sum of silver taels, the light in the siblings’ eyes dimmed considerably.
"I’ll add another ten taels of silver! An extra ten taels for the snake soup recipe."
The big man outside the courtyard had already gotten to his feet and was shouting into the house, "Thirty silver taels in total! We’d never shortchange you two!"
Looking at the figure squatting in front of the two siblings, the big man knew this man’s strength was certainly no less than the young woman’s at the gate.
Otherwise, there’s no way he could have made her stop with just a single sentence.
That was why he hastily added to his previous offer of twenty silver taels.
He had thought that after raising the price, the young man in the courtyard would gladly agree.
After all, for a pair of destitute siblings, thirty silver taels was definitely a considerable sum of money.
But unexpectedly, the young man sneered, "Who said I was going to do business with you?"
’Not with us...?’ the burly man wondered.
Then he heard the young man continue, "Take us to your master. I’ll talk to him."
Hearing this, the burly man’s expression changed several times. He was clearly unwilling.
But he glanced at the young woman blocking the gate, then at the young man’s icy eyes, and finally at his brothers, all covered in blood.
Finally, he could only grit his teeth. "Fine! I’ll take you two to see my master right now!"
"No rush. You can wait."
Wu Chen said unhurriedly, calling out to the young woman standing at the gate with her blade, "Miss Sun."
"Hm?"
Sun Yuting heard him and turned around.
Wu Chen pointed at the little girl. "Help her wash up and change into some clean clothes."
"Alright." Sun Yuting nodded, walked into the courtyard, and led the little girl into the house by the hand.
Wu Chen then looked at the boy. "You go wash up and change into clean clothes, too."
"Then pack up any valuables in the house. We’re leaving in a bit."
"Pack our things?"
The boy’s eyes widened. "My sister and I aren’t living here anymore?"
Wu Chen retorted:
"All your neighbors know someone offered thirty silver taels for your recipe. What do you think will happen if you stay here?"
The boy fell silent.
He knew in his heart that the world was far crueler than he had imagined. The seemingly friendly neighbors were more frightening than the fangs of a viper in the mountains.
When his parents were alive, things were still alright. Under their protection, he and his sister had enough to eat and warm clothes to wear.
But after his parents passed away, the world began to bare its fangs. It wasn’t long before people started coveting their ancestral recipe.
Even if he sold the recipe today, villains would probably come after the thirty silver taels.
If he didn’t leave and stubbornly stayed in their old home, he and his sister would likely still end up dead.
"Alright. I’ll go pack our things now."
Looking at the three simple rooms of their house, although he was reluctant to leave, he knew that for his sister’s safety, he had to trust this young man and go with him.