Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 217

Chapter 217: Ten Times Compensation

“This isn’t good… Boss Lin has messed with the wrong person this time around!”

“To think that he would be this unlucky!”

“Even our Dragonback Lane’s chief is only at ninth stage Ki Refinement… I wonder how he’d deal with this matter.”

Such murmurs could be heard from the doorway. Those who cooperated with Lin Yuezheng earlier to pressure Fang Chen cowered, fearing that they would catch Fang Chen’s attention.

Lin Yuzheng and Lu Ping’s bodies stiffened up. Even their breathing became ragged. This was a symptom of extreme fear. They had never been so afraid in their life before!

Fang Chen looked at Manager Li with a mocking smile. “You asked who I am? Didn’t I tell you earlier? I’m from the Fang Clan.”

“D-Daoist Fang, it’s all a misunderstanding. I’ll reinvestigate this matter. If they really extorted you, I’ll deal with them in accordance with our Dragonback Lane’s rules.” Manager Li hurriedly changed his tune.

“How can a tree grow straight when its base is crooked? You said you would reinvestigate this matter?” Fang Chen chuckled softly. He walked up to Manager Li and softly hit his face a couple times. “You expect me to believe that? You’d just find an excuse to sneak them out. How should I redress my grievance then? Am I supposed to take this lying?”

Manager Li’s body stiffened up. He was angered by Fang Chen’s humiliation, but he dared not to fight back.

Hierarchy was strict among cultivators. There was a huge difference between seventh rank and eighth rank Ki Refinement cultivators. He dared not to make a reckless move, especially when he hadn’t gotten to the bottom of Fang Chen’s background.

Manager Li was silent for a few seconds before he asked, “Daoist Fang, what do you suggest?”

“I want tenfold compensation. Since he tried to extort 50 low-grade ki stones from me, I want him to compensate me with 500. You’ll fork out the rest if the two of them don’t have enough,” Fang Chen said with a smile. “That’s the price of colluding with them against me.”

Manager Li’s face warped in shock. The crowd also gasped in astonishment.

500 low-grade ki stones?

That was a massive sum they dared not dream about.

Those who had 20 low-grade ki stones could already be considered wealthy. In fact, most cultivators in Dragonback Lane would struggle to raise even 10 low-grade ki stones, and some even had completely empty pockets.

Lu Ping fell to his knees and cried, “I-I only have 8 low-grade ki stones…”

Lin Yuezheng was also horrified. He instinctively turned to Manager Li, hoping that the latter could negotiate with Fang Chen to lower the sum. He had been trading in Dragonback Lane for years now, but he had only gathered roughly a hundred low-grade ki stones.

The last thing he wanted was for this single mishap to bankrupt him!

“Daoist Fang, 500 low-grade ki stones… is too much. How about this? I’ll have them pay you double the sum, 100 low-grade ki stones, and we’ll call it quits with that,” Manager Li carefully asked.

He knew that Lin Yuezheng had the means to fork out 100 low-grade ki stones.

“Does it look like I’m haggling with you? Either you pay me tenfold the sum or I’ll take your lives,” Fang Chen stated with a calm but unwavering tone.

The trio shuddered as cold sweat rained from them.

Just then, the crowd opened up a path, and an old man slowly walked over. He looked ordinary, but the cultivators of Dragonback Lane revealed respectful looks upon seeing him.

“Chief!”

Manager Li looked as if he had seen his savior. He tried to rush to the old man’s side, only to be stopped by Fang Chen.

The old man looked at Manager Li with an unreadable smile. “Manager Li, I warned you time and time again not to fool around with this place, but clearly, my words have fallen on deaf ears. Are you climbing over my head now because you think I’m on the verge of death?”

Manager Li felt as if someone had plunged his heart into a midwinter lake.

“Young friend, I am Song Yu. I founded the Dragonback Lane together with a few unaffiliated cultivators who share the same ideologies as me. It’s a pity that those old friends are either dead or have gone elsewhere, so I am the only one left guarding this place,” the old man said.

“We established this place in hopes that unaffiliated cultivators could work together to achieve win-win situations, but I see that my incompetence has led to maggots breeding.”

Fang Chen looked at the old man and placidly asked, “So, how do you intend to deal with this?”

He didn’t loosen his stance just because of the other party’s self-reproachful words.

“We’ll settle it as you have suggested. 500 low-grade ki stones, not a single one less,” Song Yu replied. “I’ll order my men to confiscate their properties and have them sold for ki stones. If the sum falls short, I’ll make up for it with my assets. Would you be satisfied with such a resolution?”

“Of course,” Fang Chen replied with a nod.

Song Yu smiled. “If you don’t mind, let’s wait here for a moment. It’ll take some time to confiscate and process their assets.”

“I understand.”

Song Yu ordered his men to confiscate the trio’s assets.

Lu Ping, who claimed to have only 8 low-grade ki stones in his assets, turned out to have 40 low-grade ki stones. Lin Yuezheng had 130 low-grade ki stones. Manager Li was the wealthiest one of all, boasting assets totaling 300 low-grade ki stones.

The crowd gasped. They looked at Manager Li with eyes filled with envy and dissatisfaction.

A mere seventh stage Ki Refinement cultivator actually accrued over 300 low-grade ki stones; this showed how much shady deals he had made through exploiting the influence he boasted in Dragonback Lane!

The trio’s fortunes totaled 470 low-grade ki stones.

Song Yu didn’t hesitate to fork out the remaining 30 low-grade ki stones from his pocket.

Within two short hours, 500 low-grade ki stones fell into Fang Chen’s pocket.

Manager Li and the others stood on the spot with tearful faces, looking as if their families had been killed. Rather than fearing death, they were more upset about losing their possessions.

Those were their life earnings!

“The three of you can scram from the Dragonback Lane. Never set foot here again,” Song Yu said.

Manager Li was stunned. He kneeled on the floor and cried, “Chief, I know I have done wrong. Please don’t kick me out!”

Lin Yuezheng and Lu Ping did the same and pleaded for mercy too.

It was already lucky for unaffiliated cultivators like them to find a place like the Dragonback Lane at all. It was questionable whether they could find another place similar to this even if they spent the next few decades searching around.

Without the access to such a market, they wouldn’t be able to acquire spirit materials and earn ki stones. They thought that was as good as taking their lives!

“Leave before I make a move.” Song Yu impatiently waved his hand.

Manager Li sucked his tears back in. He knew that Song Yu had made up his mind, so he quietly stood up and left. The other two did the same and hurriedly fled from the scene. They dared not to even glance at Fang Chen.

“Young friend, what do you intend to acquire in our Dragonback Lane? Shall I accompany you in your search?” Song Yu asked