Zhe Bieli had no delusions of grandeur and was aware of his status. It was indeed difficult for him to talk on equal footing with a 12 Chart expert. For this reason, he had gone all out and treated this distinguished guest as luxuriously as possible.
“Senior Lu, I don’t dare hide anything from you. Five days ago, the Alliance Leader received a challenge from a swordsman from beyond the Great Wall. The swordsman was also an expert so the Alliance Leader had no choice but to deal with the matter. I hope Senior Lu can forgive me…”
Shen Xi smiled and said, “Alliance Leader Fan is an expert with 11 Birth Charts. Where did that swordsman from beyond the Great Wall get the courage to challenge him? Is he tired of living?”
After all, the reason Great Yuan was united and formidable was also in part due to Fan Ruoxi’s martial strength.
Zhe Bieli said, “The swordsman from beyond the Great Wall is Yelu Chunan.”
‘Chunan? Doesn’t that mean virgin? There’s also Fan Ruozhi which means retard… A retard and a virgin… Your parents are really good at naming that I wonder if they’re transmigrators as well…’
“Yelu Chunan? Wasn’t he defeated before?” Shen Xi was puzzled. Before he formed the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar, he liked listening to the elders speak about Thousand Realms Whirling experts. Among the stories he liked to listen to was the fight between Fan Ruozhi and Yelu Chunan. At that time, Fan Ruozhi was nowhere as strong as he was now, and he was not yet the Alliance Leader of the Dark and Light Alliance. At that time, Fan Ruozhi defeated Yelu Chunan.
Zhe Bieli explained, “Yelu Chunan had been focusing on his cultivation in recent years, and his swordsmanship has improved a lot. No one knows his true strength now. It’s said that he has comprehended the swordsmanship of unity between heaven and earth. Moreover, he has also obtained many rare life hearts beyond the Great Wall. His strength has greatly increased. In the past month itself, he had sent more than ten challenges…”
Following that, Zhe Bieli waved his hand.
A subordinate brought over the letters of challenges and respectfully placed them in front of Lu Zhou.
Indeed. There were more than ten letters of challenges. Moreover, it was clear the handwriting belonged to the same person.
Lu Zhou glanced at the letters briefly and said, “This has nothing to do with me.”
Zhe Bieli nodded and said, “Indeed, it has nothing to do with Senior Lu. I’m only trying to prove that I’m not lying. Although the Alliance Master isn’t here, he gave me full authority in handling the alliance’s affairs.”
Lu Zhou stroked his beard and looked at Zhe Bieli. Regardless if Zhe Bieli was telling the truth or lying, he did not care as long as he obtained justice. Therefore, he raised his hand.
The four cultivators carried the two stretchers in front of everyone. The two injured people who were wrapped like dumplings did not move at all.
“This is…” Zhe Bieli was confused.
Shen Xi explained, “Hundreds of common folks and cultivators died in Great Tang’s mountain in the Shanbei Circuit. Don’t you think the Dark and Light Alliance owes us an explanation?”
Zhe Bieli frowned and said, “There’s such a thing?”
In fact, Zhe Bieli’s attitude and his treatment of the guests were rather commendable. However, with this denial, Yu Zhenghai grew angry.
Yu Zhenghai said indignantly, “You’re not stupid so it’s best for you to speak truthfully. Otherwise, you might die from being slapped in the face.”
“…”
Zhe Bieli sighed and said, “There are many members in the alliance. Perhaps, someone gave an order for this. Since Senior Lu is certain this was the alliance’s doing, then it must be true. I’ll definitely severely punish those involved and give Senior Lu a satisfactory explanation.”
Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “No, I don’t need an explanation. The explanation should be for the family members of the deceased.”
Zhe Bieli glanced at the two people on the stretcher. “Senior Lu, you must be joking…”
“Do I look like I’m joking? Were you born a cultivator? Your father, your grandfather, and your ancestor; were they born cultivators as well?” Lu Zhou asked.
Zhe Bieli shook his head in confusion.
Lu Zhou said, “In my eyes, your life is no different from his life…”
“…”
After saying that, Lu Zhou pressed the table lightly and said, “All of you are fragile. Just a palm strike, and you’ll die…”
Silence descended on the hall.
The maids standing at the sides lowered their heads, trying to reduce their sense of existence. They did not even dare to refill the wine cup.
The food and wine had long grown cold.
For some reason, at this time, everyone noticed Zhe Bieli’s long robes were somewhat similar to Lu Zhou’s robes. It was like robes that big shot would wear.
Zhe Bieli remained silent. As time passed, he grew more uncomfortable and ill at ease.
Common folks could not and would not rely on arrogant cultivators to stand up for them. Many times, they died just like ants. Their lives were worthless in the eyes of cultivators.
In fact, this was common in the cultivation world and had become a dark joke.
Meanwhile, the two injured lying on the stretcher teared up and their bodies trembled slightly upon hearing Lu Zhou’s words.
Upon seeing this, Yu Zhenghai wanted to give those two injured people a thumbs-up; their performance was very convincing. It was until he saw their tightly clenched fists that his expression grew solemn. He was reminded they were here to seek justice today not to threaten or blackmail.
Zhe Bieli waved his hands hastily and said awkwardly, “Everything can be discussed. What kind of explanation do you want?”
“Shen Xi, how many people died in Shanbei Circuit?”Lu Zhou asked.
“352 people. 120 of them were cultivators, and the others were common folks,” Shen Xi replied.
“I’ll give you two options. First, you can pay with your life. The Dark and Light Alliance will kill as many members as the people who died in Shanbei Circuit. However, I’m not unreasonable. Dead people can’t be resurrected. If you can pacify the families of the deceased, I’ll let the matter go,” Lu Zhou said.
Zhe Bieli understood Lu Zhou’s intention. “What do you think? I’ll punish the culprits. Apart from that, for each deceased, I’ll compensate their families with 100 gold taels…”
Without waiting for Lu Zhou’s reply, Yu Zhenghai said, “I’ll give you 10,000 gold taels after I kill 100 of your men. What do you think?”
Zhe Bieli was truly rendered speechless by Yu Zhenghai’s words. In the end, he said, “I’ll compensate each deceased’s family with 1,000 gold taels.”
In fact, the amount was rather good for common folks.
However, Yu Zhenghai said again, “Do you think gold is useful to cultivators?”
Zhe Bieli felt the pressure was going stronger and stronger and could only say, “Each cultivator will be compensated with 1,000 top-grade talismans, 100 top-grade healing pills, and 10 catties of top-grade medicinal herbs. Senior Lu, this isn’t a small amount. If it’s any more, the Dark and Light Alliance won’t be able to afford it.”
Lu Zhou looked at the two injured people on the stretcher and said, “I don’t think both of you are satisfied with this, right?”
The people on the stretcher shook their heads.
Zhe Bieli. “…”
Zhe Bieli had almost forgotten the real main character today was Senior Lu. Why would such a big shot suddenly come to the Dark and Light Alliance? It seemed like blood would have to be shed to appease this big shot. He gritted his teeth and said, “We’ll add three fire spirit stones…”
“Three?”
“Fine. Ten.”
Yu Zhenghai turned to Shen Xi and asked, “Are fire spirit stones useful? Guardian Shen, what kind of weapons does my master possess?”
“They’re not very useful. After all, it can only upgrade weapons to the flood grade,” Shen Xi said.
Zhe Bielie felt suffocated. ‘Fire spirit stones aren’t precious? Isn’t this daylight robbery? What justice are they trying to seek?’
Shen Xi said, “Lord Zhe, why don’t you choose the first option. There’s no need for you to feel so conflicted. Killing 352 of your members will be able to appease the souls of the 352 people who were killed…”
Sometimes words were enough to cause one to lose one’s temper; especially when it came from the mouth of an annoying person. Moreover, these words hit Zhe Bieli’s sore spot. In the heat of the moment, he could no longer control his emotions. “Shen Xi! You’re just a traitor of the BTC! Why are you meddling in this matter?!”
As soon as Zhe Bieli uttered these words, he immediately regretted them.
Shen Xi remained silent.
As the saying went, ‘One had to look at the owner when beating a dog’.
Even if he was one of the brilliant Five Tigers of the Dark and Light Alliance, Zhe Bieli did not know how he should smooth things over. After he calmed down, he said, “I’m sorry for the outburst. I didn’t mean to disrespect you. The Dark and Light Alliance will give you a portion of obsidian essences. These rare items can be used to upgrade weapons to the fusion grade…”
This time, Shen Xi and Yu Zhenghai no longer spoke up. They waited for Lu Zhou’s decision.
Everyone looked at Lu Zhou, waiting for him to speak.
Lu Zhou stroked his beard while thinking. After a while, he looked at Zhe Bieli and asked, “Are you certain you have authority to make decisions regarding all matters ?”
“Senior Lu, don’t worry. Since I’ve already made the decision, I’ll deliver the compensation immediately,” Zhe Bieli said.
“Very good,” Lu Zhou said indifferently, “Increased all the compensations you mentioned by tenfold. With this, the matter is settled.”
“…”
