Chapter 42 - Extortion
Shaochuan stared at Xu Yi with his scarlet red eyes. He was rather outraged, as well as confused by Xu Yi’s response. He then knitted his eyebrows and waved to his warriors, as a sign to retreat. Eventually, all of them strode out with a hilarious conceitedness.
The giant tiger quickly made the last few meters to the threshold of Xu Yi’s property and quickly jumped over it. This place had thoroughly creeped it out and it didn’t wish to stay here any longer.
The cowardice of the tiger was in obvious discordance with the arrogant-looking parade, which greatly embarra.s.sed Shaochuan, as he didn’t want to lose face in front of Xu Yi. To vent his anger, Shaochuan threw his halberd towards the tiger, which narrowly missed the tiger. However, in order to escape from this attack, the tiger had to make a somersault and soar up into the sky.
Xu Yi observed the tiger, as if he was watching a circus show. He then turned to Shaochuan: ”Buddy, wait a minute.”
Xu Yi then carried Autumn to her room and laid her on the bed, before he went into the side room.
“Come in with me!” Xu Yi yelled at Shaochuan, with an undertone of spitefulness.
In the side room, Xu Yi was sitting on a chair, cross-legged. Shaochuan restrained himself from attacking this arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d in front of him. Instead he tightly clenched his fists, drawing blood on his palms, letting go of some of his frustration
“Murderer of my son! You’re now the archenemy of my Black Dragon Palace. You know what? We’ve already investigated your background - you are merely a guard in plain clothing. I can randomly send anyone from the Black Dragon Palace and pulverise you like a roach. Do you believe in my words?” Shaochuan madly screamed at Xu Yi.
“Yes, I totally believe you! Please, do go on!” Xu Yi replied carelessly.
“You, you…”
Shaochuan felt like all of his intelligence had left his body, which left him unable to continue this conversation. Although he still had a bunch of intimidating words to throw at Xu Yi, he decided to give up.
But, how could Xu Yi trust the words of this man so easily?!
“Yeah, I believe that the Black Dragon Palace is mighty and influential. So, what am I supposed to do? Shall I commit suicide by cutting my throat and apologise to your dead son?” Xu Yi suggested ironically.
Shaochuan’s original plan was to direct a bluffing show in front of Xu Yi to force him to hand over the refined iron. Initially, he had imagined to see Xu Yi’s frightened face, or maybe to even seem him kneel down, begging for mercy. However, the unpredictable reaction of Xu Yi had left Shaochuan speechless, as all of the plot lines he had thought out were now left in small bits and pieces.
“Young man, listen, you seem quite tough. I won’t waste anymore time on you. Let’s just cut to the chase. If you give us back the refined iron, I promise that all of our past hostilities will be wiped clean. I won’t even hold you responsible for my son’s death, as long as you return the refined iron. The Black Dragon Palace has millions of members all over the country; you won’t be able to hide anywhere. You’d better think it over very carefully, since it’s a matter of life and death!” Shaochuan changed his strategy. Because, as a leader, he was supposed to be smart and adaptable.
Since Xu Yi had killed his son in front of a large crowd of people, Shaochuan regarded Xu Yi as a boorish fellow, who would probably surrender under his deterrent force.
However, now, Shaochuan finally realised that Xu Yi was a person who would never feel enticed to the carrot or be browbeaten by the stick.
“Why does it take so long for you to speak out your true purpose. The earlier the better!” Xu Yi continued, as he still remained in his cross-legged position, “At first glance, the refined iron instantly caught my attention. However, after I tried to play with this thing several times, I realised that it’s useless for me. If you want it back, it’s all yours!”
“AAAHHHHHHHH!”
Shaochuan widened his mouth, rea.s.suring himself that these unbelievable words were actually originating from Xu Yi. Immediately, joyfulness filled his heart.
Since the death of his son, Shaochuan had been orchestrating plans to regain the refined iron from Xu Yi. Indeed, his mind was so occupied with the refined iron that he had almost completely forgotten about the death of his son.
“Then, give me the refined iron!” Shaochuan stretched his hand out towards Xu Yi, letting out a sigh of relief.
“What?! I never said that I would give it to you for free! Your evil son was doomed to die. But, what about the injuries that he afflicted to Elder Mu? What about the big carp? Oh, I almost forget, you’ve, just now, also ruined several pieces of my furniture. Plus, the compensation for the emotional damage…” Xu Yi listed a long line of things that he wished to obtain compensation for.
“Shut up, just let me know how much you wish to extort from me?” The naggingly long list made Shaochuan want to vomit. So he angrily interrupted.
In front of such a formidable enemy, Xu Yi chose to act rascally and shamelessly, without showing any sign of fear for the Black Dragon Palace.
“Great! 1,000 gold coins in total, er…I’ll offer you a discount, say, 800 gold coins. This is final, no bargaining.” Xu Yi replied with a subtle smile.
- Boom! -
Shaochuan punched his fist high in the air, the strength of which lifted the roof of the house almost immediately.
“f.u.c.k off!” He could no longer hold his patience and show mock kindness to Xu Yi. No one in this world had ever spoken to him like this; he had also completely lost the initiative in this conversation. His flaming anger made all of his inner organs cramp, which slightly suppressed his breathing.
“Majesty Jiang, this house is not my private property, it belongs to the government. Well, I’ll exclude the damage fee of the roof, and keep the price steady at 800 gold coins. If you accept it, then it’s a win-win deal; if not, it’s up to you to kill me right now or later in the arena. I’m ok with both.” Xu Yi continued negotiating with Shaochuan, hoping to hoax some money from him.
Since he had left the Exquisite Pavilion, he had intentionally been waiting for the arrival of the Black Dragon Palace, precisely for this reason.
“Are you crazy? Believe it or not, but with 800 gold coins, I can buy ten servants like you!” Shaochuan gradually realised that Xu Yi was a money-lover, who took him as a potential opportunity to get rich.
However, no matter how much he disliked Xu Yi, his priority was to get the refined iron back.
It was easy to say that the refined iron would automatically fall into Shaochuan’s pocket once Xu Yi was beaten to death in the arena. But, what if the b.a.s.t.a.r.d hid the refined iron in a secret place and left no clue about it?
That was why Shaochuan visited Xu Yi today.
“Don’t tell me you cannot afford a mere 800 gold coins? Well, I have sensed your insincerity in this deal, therefore, I have to resort to other ways, or maybe I’ll have it auctioned. This iron is rare, it must hit a high price.” Xu Yi sneered .
“No way!”
The mentioning of the word “auction” stirred up his nerves, as Shaochuan exclaimed in rejection.
This morning, the auction in the Exquisite Pavilion had made headline news in Guanan. How Elder Shui had traded the Shen Yuan Pill for the refined iron.
On hearing these rumors, Shaochuan had hurried to Xu Yi’s resident, suspecting that Xu Yi had already sold the refined iron to the Exquisite Pavilion.
In the beginning, Shaochuan sounded out Xu Yi about the refined iron and found out that Xu Yi hadn’t identified the true value of it yet. He was sure the refined iron was still with Xu Yi.
Now, that Xu Yi planned to auction this refined iron, Shaochuan stopped him in a fury. Because he knew very well, that the day that this iron ball was revealed to the public, he would be in big trouble.