"Since we've run into the two of you here, it saves this old man the trouble of making the trip himself. Please accept these few Saint Crystals — I insist you don't refuse!" As the old man spoke, he shot a meaningful glance at the green-clothed young woman.
The young woman clutched her Space Ring, shaking her head repeatedly, clearly unwilling to hand over the spoils from their recent adventure. They had risked their lives for those gains.
"Take it out!" the old man barked in a low voice.
Under his stern gaze, the young woman reluctantly retrieved a bundle from her Space Ring and placed it in the old man's hands.
The old man forced a humble smile. "All the Saint Crystals we obtained are here. Please graciously accept them, my lords!" With that, he tossed the bundle over.
The burly man across from them caught it, weighed it briefly in his hand, and his eyes lit up. "Not bad, old man."
"Heh heh, we had rather good luck this time," the old man replied with an embarrassed laugh.
In the past, their adventures had never yielded this much. But this time, having followed behind Yang Kai, their harvest had indeed been considerably greater.
"My lords, we'll take our leave now!" The old man clasped his fists briefly, not intending to linger.
"Wait — I didn't say you could leave. Who among you dares to go?" The burly man tossed the bundle to his companion and barked another command.
"Might I ask what further instructions you have, my lord?" The old man clutched his chest, a touch of panic creeping into his voice.
"You were caught red-handed sneaking a private trade this time! But what about before? All those times I wasn't watching — where did those Saint Crystals go?" The burly man's expression turned ugly.
"Injustice, my lord! Every time we traded in the past, we paid the required Saint Crystals according to regulations — not once did we miss a payment. Please see clearly, my lord!" The old man was terrified.
"Heh heh, whether I see clearly or not is my business. Today, you either hand over all the Saint Crystals from your previous trades and I'll let you live, or you all stay here!" The burly man snorted coldly.
"My lord, you're putting us in an impossible position," the old man said, his face taut with anxiety. "We've never done this before — how could we possibly produce those Saint Crystals?"
"Exactly — nearly all our Saint Crystals have been collected by you already. Where are we supposed to get extras to give you?" the green-clothed young woman cried out as well.
"You've got quite the nerve, little girl." The burly man cast a sinister glance at the young woman, then his eyes suddenly brightened as his gaze settled on her lithe, full-figured body. A lewd light gleamed in his eyes, and low chuckles kept escaping his lips.
Sensing trouble from his expression, the old man pulled the young woman behind him, bowed deeply, and clasped his fists. "My lord, please be magnanimous and let us go."
"Let you go..." The burly man stroked his chin, pretending to deliberate. After a moment, he nodded. "Fine. I'm not an unreasonable man — I'm actually quite easy to talk to. Considering this is your first offense, I suppose I could let you off this once."
The old man was overjoyed. "Thank you, my lord!"
"Not so fast — I haven't finished speaking." The burly man let out a low, insidious laugh and pointed at the green-clothed young woman behind the old man. "No Saint Crystals? Handing over a person works too. The little girl stays, and the rest of you can scram!"
The moment these words left his lips, the young woman's pretty face turned sheet-white, and the old man looked utterly panicked. "My lord, Fei'er is still so young—"
"Young? She doesn't look young to me!" The burly man let out a lewd laugh, his meaning unmistakable. His expression then shifted to something savage as he snarled, "One last chance — the girl stays, the rest of you get lost. If you say one more word, I'll kill every last one of you."
The old man and his companions fell silent as cicadas in winter. Their hearts burned with fury, but they didn't dare show it. They could only cast pleading glances around, hoping someone among the gathered onlookers might speak a fair word or step in to help.
But whenever their eyes met someone's, that person simply looked away.
The old man's heart sank to ashes. He had never imagined things would deteriorate to this extent.
Despair surfaced in the young woman's eyes as well.
"Now what's all the commotion about? Let me take a look too!"
A sudden voice rang out from behind the crowd.
Everyone turned to look. A young man in fitted martial attire was striding toward them — tall and broad-shouldered, a jug of wine dangling from one hand, a strange smile playing on his lips.
His eyes radiated arrogance, his bearing wild and unrestrained, as if no one in the world was worth his regard. He strode forward, gulping down strong wine, and chuckled, "Heard someone was talking about killing people."
"Brother Yang!" the young woman cried out, her voice sharp with hope — like a drowning person grasping a lifeline. An extraordinary light blazed in her beautiful eyes.
The old man and the others also wore peculiar expressions.
The crowd parted of its own accord. Yang Kai walked straight up to the old man's group, swept his divine sense over them, and gave a slight nod.
The old man's injuries weren't too severe. Otherwise, with his Saint King, second-stage cultivation facing the burly man — a Return Void Realm, first-stage warrior — he would likely have been killed in a single move.
After all, the other man was a Return Void Realm cultivator.
"Young brother..." The old man opened his mouth, looking at Yang Kai with gratitude, but still said, "Why bother wading into these murky waters?"
He sighed faintly, his face full of guilt.
He knew Yang Kai had appeared precisely because of the bond formed from traveling together, wanting to draw his sword for justice. He also knew Yang Kai's strength ran deep.
But this was Bibo City. Two fists couldn't beat four hands — if Yang Kai truly intervened, he feared the young man himself might not escape unscathed.
"Don't worry about me, old sir," Yang Kai said with a faint smile.
Hearing this, the old man could only smile bitterly over and over, unable to say anything more.