Chapter 169: Since Things Have Come to This, Eat an Apple First

"Kill!!!"

Deafening roars echoed down the street. Tiger stood up and pulled the shop's wooden doors inward, closing them a bit tighter.

"Mr. Yi Ji, the fighting has reached East Street."

He turned to look at Yan Jing, who was sitting in a chair inside the shop.

"Mm."

Yan Jing held a small iron spoon filled with white sugar, entirely focused on roasting the sugar paste.

Once the sugar had mostly melted, he added a little osmanthus jam, stirred it, and set it aside to cool. This could be considered a simplified version of osmanthus candy.

"It's fine. If it has reached East Street, that means it's about to stop," he said softly.

Compared to over ten days ago, Bianliu County was now completely different.

Ever since Wei Nantian received news that Wei Bufan had been killed by Mei Changfeng, he had flown into a thunderous rage and mobilized half the manpower of the Wei Faction Lineage, aiming them straight at Bianliu County.

He put out the word that even if they had to turn Bianliu County upside down, they would find Mei Changfeng.

But... Bianliu County was ultimately not Zhennan County.

This was not a place where Wei Nantian could do whatever he wanted.

Consequently, the search quickly met massive resistance.

First and foremost, Landlord Lin's North Street absolutely forbade any form of search. Then there was East Street, where Boss Bai rallied all the shops to hold a signing ceremony, bringing the signatures of every shop owner before Wei Nantian to vehemently protest.

Bianliu County had a total of four streets. Losing two right off the bat meant the search would be utterly useless, so Wei Nantian naturally refused to accept this.

However, he didn't reject them outright. Instead, he planned to delay the matter until both South Street and West Street had been thoroughly searched, only then returning to "negotiate" with the other two streets.

With this approach, he quickly finished searching South Street, which had already fallen into complete chaos.

Naturally, the process was rife with filthy and despicable deeds. It was said that the bluestone slabs at the entrance to Wanhua Alley had been forcibly worn flat, left smooth enough to act as a mirror.

Next in line was West Street.

Yet to Wei Nantian's surprise, he actually stumbled in the habitually silent West Street.

Two to three hundred people surged into Artisan Alley, but only a sparse dozen or so made it out.

Furthermore, apart from two Third Tier experts, every single one was gravely injured. Even those two at the Third Tier wore expressions of sheer terror.

Little did he know that as the most bizarre and eerie street in Bianliu County, it was a place where even Landlord Lin and Boss Bai wouldn't casually set foot. How could they allow a bunch of small fry to run amok inside?

And so, Wei Nantian's forces were slashed in half just like that.

This was undoubtedly a heavy blow, but what Wei Nantian expected even less was that when it rains, it pours.

Right at that moment.

The people from the Crop Plains surged into Bianliu County.

Originally, in this conflict, the Crop Plains had been the side in the wrong, but...

The Zhennan Army's Wei Faction Lineage had clearly drawn the public's ire.

If they didn't seize the chance to stomp them down now, they would be wasting Bianliu County's resounding reputation.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do; the very first thing the people of the Crop Plains did upon entering Bianliu County was hunt down and slaughter Wei Nantian's men.

In a short time, the Wei Faction lost nearly another quarter of their men.

Left with no choice, the Wei Faction's people could only retreat to South Street.

Therefore, South Street was currently under Wei Nantian's de facto control.

This caused great suffering for the various factions of South Street.

They had previously followed the Luo Family and the Mei Family, who were highly particular about honor and principles; they had never seen masters so utterly devoid of rules.

For a time, everyone lived in a state of panic, miserable beyond words.

Logically, the matter should have ended there.

But Wei Nantian stepped out once again.

With his own power, he altered the situation.

He had no other choice. He hadn't brought many subordinates to begin with, and now over half had perished in Bianliu County. He truly couldn't swallow his anger.

As a result, this leader of the Wei Faction did something no one could have predicted:

He became one of the few Fourth Tier experts in Bianliu County's history to personally take the field.

First, he stormed the living quarters of the Crop Plains' forces, slaughtering everyone inside in a single breath.

Then, he barged into West Street's Artisan Alley.

He forcibly smashed up five shops. Only when the Two Great Artisans of West Street struck did he barely come to a halt. Fighting until he was battered and bloody, he slaughtered his way back out of West Street.

It had to be said that as a Fourth Tier, he truly was highly capable.

These feats caused a massive uproar within the Wei Faction. Led by such an "outstanding leader," every man under his command was brimming with morale.

With a Fourth Tier backing them, what the hell was there to fear?

Thus, the people of the Wei Faction began to ravage all of Bianliu City.

Today, they had finally arrived at East Street.

"Mr. Yi Ji, why will it stop when it reaches East Street?"

Tiger walked over, and a spoon filled with yellow sugar cake appeared in front of his eyes.

"Have a taste, Mr. Tiger."

Yan Jing smiled.

Tiger took the spoon, tasted it, and his eyes lit up.

"The taste is excellent, Mr. Yi Ji!"

Yan Jing smiled faintly.

"Because West Street doesn't have anyone truly in charge; its management style is very similar to the Crop Plains. But East Street is different."

"You mean Boss Bai?"

"Those who do business can tolerate a lot of things, but if their road to wealth is blocked, that's a completely different story."

"I see."

Holding the candy, Tiger nodded blankly.

Seeing Yan Jing stand up and drape a long robe over his shoulders, he asked in confusion, "Are you heading out now, Mr. Yi Ji?"

"I have matters to attend to these next few days, and I'll be outside most of the time. If anything happens, contact me through the method we agreed upon."

Yan Jing's figure was hidden within the coarse cloth robe. He put on a mask to conceal his face. "Keep the door closed tight. If someone barges in to search, let them."

"Okay, okay, please stay safe,"

Tiger said hurriedly.

"Mm."

Yan Jing nodded and walked out the door.

At this moment, East Street was a scene of utter devastation. Smoke and dust filled the air. The sounds of smashing, fighting, and crying all mixed together, an unbearably noisy and chaotic cacophony.

Killing cultivators wearing coarse clothes and wielding weapons could be seen casually hacking and killing everywhere.

Yan Jing knew that Boss Bai should be waiting.

Waiting for the independent shops to fall into complete despair before stepping out to turn the tide.

However, none of this had anything to do with him.

Right now, he lacked the strength and energy to get involved in these affairs.

He would be entering the dungeon tomorrow. His most pressing task was to double-check every detail before then.

In terms of combat power, if his current identity as Luo Sheng utilized the Power of the White Stone, paired with the Fear Bird form he had chosen after Mantou's Favorability maxed out, he was essentially approaching the Third Tier.

Although Yi Ji's identity was suppressed to the First Tier, when paired with the aforementioned abilities, he also possessed the strength of the Second Tier.

And his original body was roughly at this level as well.

But if his original body stepped into the Second Tier, things would be completely different. Not only would his original body reach a level where it could contend with the Third Tier, but more importantly, his two Inner World characters would gain two additional abilities.

The Vessel was already prepared—the White Stone Cage.

The Ritual was also ready—the Mei Family Heirloom.

These past few days, he had secretly made a few trips to Tranquil Valley using Yi Ji's identity to exchange some items with Luo Sheng.

The groundwork he needed to lay was just about complete.

What he needed to ensure now was achieving the highest possible S-rank rating during Stage A.

For the task of becoming a shop assistant, a boss had already been found. For the task of helping someone with entering the ranks, a master had also been found, but... he still needed an apprentice.

With these thoughts in mind, he arrived at the entrance of the shop diagonally across the street.

Yes, it was that Funeral Shop where the Suona sounded awful.

At this moment, the shop's door had already been smashed open, and two or three killing cultivators had broken in.

Screams and cries of distress rang out from within.

Yan Jing's expression was calm.

What he intended to do was quite similar to what Boss Bai was doing.

After waiting for about ten seconds, a boy's voice rang out.

"Let go of my sister!!!"

The boy shouted desperately, followed by the sound of something slamming heavily against the wall inside the shop.

It was about time.

With a tranquil gaze, Yan Jing walked into the shop.

Inside stood three killing cultivators wearing cruel smiles.

A boy, clutching his stomach, was curled up in the corner of the wall. His mouth was full of blood, and his expression was full of agony. A young woman, around twenty years old, held the boy in her arms, using her body as a shield to block the killing cultivators' attacks.

"Stop hitting him! Stop hitting him!"

Tears streamed continuously down the face of the girl who played the Suona.

"We really don't have the person you're looking for... Please stop... I'm begging you... Just take whatever you want... It's our fault... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

The three killing cultivators were completely oblivious to Yan Jing's approach. They continued to grin sadistically, stabbing their weapons into the wall beside the girl to make her violently flinch, doing this merely for their own twisted amusement.

Occasionally, the blades would accidentally deviate, tearing through the girl's clothes and drawing a string of blood. As the girl screamed, their laughter only grew louder.

It wasn't until a sound rang out that everything came to an abrupt halt.

It wasn't the sound of someone speaking.

It was the sound of blood spurting wildly.

The two killing cultivators in the front turned their heads, discovering to their horror that at some unknown point, their companion's head had fallen to the ground.

Blood sprayed up to the ceiling like a fountain.

Before they could even speak, Yan Jing stepped forward. The Fear Thorn materialized in his hand, piercing straight through one of their necks.

The remaining killing cultivator finally snapped out of his daze. Caught between shock and rage, he tried to retaliate, but with the faint sound of a camera shutter, Yan Jing's hand landed on the back of his neck.

The interior of the shop instantly fell dead silent.

Everything had happened too fast. From beginning to end, it had only taken a few seconds. The girl hadn't even had time to process it.

She was still desperately sobbing and begging for mercy in a low voice.

Until Yan Jing slowly spoke:

"It's all right now, Boss Dong."

Yan Jing's voice seemed to pull the girl's soul back to her body. She shuddered, opening her eyes in confusion as she looked up at him.

"Mr... Mr. Yi..."

Her voice trembled uncontrollably. Upon seeing the corpses at Yan Jing's feet, she finally broke down into loud, wailing sobs.

"Mr. Yi... Thank goodness... Thank goodness you came... Thank you... Thank you..."

Over these past dozen or so days, Yan Jing had become quite familiar with the girl.

The girl instinctively attempted to kneel and kowtow, but Yan Jing stopped her. At this moment, she looked at her brother, who was still curled up on the floor, tears streaming down her face.

"Mr. Yi... I know you are a great figure... Could I please ask you to help me find a pharmacist in West Street? However much money you want... I'll give everything I have... Whatever you want me to do... I'll do it... I'll... I'll kowtow to you, Mr. Yi. I'll kowtow to you... I'll kowtow..."

The girl hurriedly dropped to her knees again, but Yan Jing reached out once more, lifting her back up.

Then, under her blank stare, an apple materialized in Yan Jing's hand.

"Since things have come to this, feed your brother an apple first, Boss Dong."

"After eating it, he should be fine."