Chapter 105 - 101: Pulling a Tooth from a Tiger’s Mouth_1

Lu Yan had been brimming with confidence, carrying two hundred pounds of shellfish, feeling assured of placing at least in the top two. Now, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Out of the four Master Level feudal lords, the Zheng Family had already been taken care of. Even if they bought at a high price, it would do them no good.

But the other three Master Level feudal lords had already gained quite a bit. If they were to purchase more at a high price, surpassing two hundred pounds wouldn’t be a challenge.

The Gao family only cared about the end result, regardless of the process.

"Seems like I have to return to the city first, and figure something else out."

Worries clouded Lu Yan’s face.

Emulating them by buying at a high price was unrealistic. If he pushed forward with this plan, he might immediately attract the attention of the four Master Level feudal lords.

While he wasn’t afraid of Martial Marquis Level One, what about Level Two or Level Three?

This strategy was only suitable for Master Level feudal lords and not for anyone else.

"Thank you all."

Lu Yan gave a fist salute, then bypassed the banner of the Qiu Family from a distance, taking a small path to return to the city.

"Hey, fellow, wait up!"

Someone yelled from the side, as several figures approached.

Both men and women, dressed as members of the Qiu Family.

Lu Yan slightly frowned, then turned with a smile, saying, "What can I do for you, folks?"

"Fellow, we’re from the Qiu Family of Da’an. We’re currently buying shellfish at a high price. Our price is 30% higher than the Zheng family, a hundred and thirty silver pieces for a pound. I see you’re carrying bamboo baskets – you must have shellfish, right? Why not sell them to us?"

A chubby middle-aged man grinned, his face full of affluence.

"Sorry guys, but I didn’t find much shellfish. Even if I wanted to sell, there’s hardly any to sell."

Lu Yan sighed in frustration.

His Qi and blood were robust, his strength immense. Carrying two hundred pounds of shellfish, he barely felt any weight.

"Yet you’re carrying two bamboo baskets? Without any shellfish?"

The chubby man squinted his eyes, clearly disbelief.

Lu Yan scratched his head, laughing awkwardly: "I was told that shellfish are worth a hundred silver pieces a pound. I thought that was an opportunity to make a fortune. I was worried one basket wouldn’t be enough, so I brought another one to collect more silver, but as you can see, hahahaha, how embarrassing."

Playing the embarrassed fool, he wished he could hide in a hole.

Believing him to some extent, the chubby man, still hesitant to give up, said, "My nose is very keen. I can smell the faint scent of shellfish. You must have some, right? There’s no use keeping them. Sell it to us."

The Martial Marquis has said, buy as much shellfish as possible. The more you buy, the greater the reward.

"There aren’t many, and it wouldn’t make much money. I was thinking of keeping it as a souvenir."

Said Lu Yan.

"Why not open the bamboo baskets and let us check? If there are only a few, we’ll leave it at that."

Said the chubby man.

"Yeah, open it up. Let me check."

A gorgeous twenty-something woman, almost 1.8 meters tall, walked over, intending to lift the basket’s lid.

"Gee, why are you guys forcing me?"

Lu Yan sighed internally.

Pow!

With one palm, Lu Yan burst the chest of the beautiful woman who was sent flying for tens of meters and collided with a huge stone. She was no longer breathing.

He then landed a punch on the chubby man’s forehead, his head caving in instantly. The round head completely deformated, reminiscent of a ball of dough being hammered.

"You..."

Before the other two could yell out, Lu Yan punched both of them in the gut. Their bodies, divided into four parts, flew tens of meters away.

Without time to dispose of the bodies and with the large force of the Qiu family not far away, Lu Yan hugged the baskets and charged into the area with a howling sea breeze.

A little over one day later, Lu Yan returned to the inn in Nanyi City.

From here, he still had five days before he had to hand in the shellfish.

It wasn’t long after Lu Yan’s return to Nanyi City when all the feudal lords began to return as well.

The Master Level feudal lords didn’t stop purchasing shellfish, continuing to search for those who went to Linchuan Cliff and buying at high price. The price even exceeded Gao family’s by 50%.

Following this, news spread through Nanyi City like a hurricane.

The Master Level Zheng Family had suffered huge losses at Linchuan Cliff. Dozens of their Limit Breaking warriors were killed, even one of their Martial Marquis was murdered, and their shellfish were entirely looted.

Many were shocked. Who could be so audacious to slaughter the Master Level feudal lords?

In the end, all eyes turned to the other three Master Level feudal lords.

After all, only Master Level feudal lords would dare to do such a thing, right?

It soon became clear something was off though. The Zheng family was searching for the murderer citywide, but their aim was not the other three Master Level feudal lords.

This made the situation even more mysterious, with various theories flying around.

However, the protagonist of this incident was considering how to obtain more shellfish and qualify to purchase the Jade Bone Tiger.

But right now, most of the shellfish was in the hands of the Master Level feudal lords. If he wanted more, he would have to snatch it from their grasp.

Lu Yan called for Li Quan.

"Li Quan, can you find out how many Martial Marquis from Qiu, Ouyang, and Li families are here in Nanyi City, and their specific cultivation realms?"

Lu Yan asked.

Li Quan thought for a moment and said, "These three Master Level feudal lords... there are many people here. The more people there are, the more chaotic, and the greater the chance of finding an opening. Should be possible."

"Good, investigate as quickly as possible."

Lu Yan ordered.

Li Quan took his orders and left.

The next day, Li Quan brought Lu Yan the information.

Each of the three Master Level feudal lords had brought three Martial Marquis. The Ouyang family was the strongest in this respect, having a Martial Marquis among them suspected to be at Level Four, deep within the Marquis realm.

The other two were Martial Marquis levels One and Two.

Li and Qiu families were about the same, with one Marquis each of levels One, Two, and Three.

"Let’s start with the Li Family then."

Lu Yan murmured to himself.

Simply because the guesthouse rented by the Li Family was the closest.

As night fell, Lu Yan, in disguise, made his way towards the guesthouse of Li Family.

"Stop, what’s your purpose?"

Lu Yan was stopped at the gate.

"Can you deliver a message to Li Wenjie for me? Tell him I have shellfish to sell, more than one hundred pounds."

He paused then added, "I will only see Li Wenjie. If the message is given to the other two Martial Marquises, I’ll turn around and leave."

"Shellfish over a hundred pounds?"

The gatekeeper was taken aback.

He knew that the Martial Marquises were currently scrambling to buy shellfish. He didn’t dare delay and said, "You wait here. I’ll go inform him."

Lu Yan retreated a hundred meters and waited silently.

Li Wenjie was the lowest-ranking Martial Marquis among those from the Li family, at Level One.

To be on the safe side, he had put some distance between them. If either of the other two Martial Marquis came out, he would turn around and leave immediately.

Soon, Li Wenjie received the message.

"They have over a hundred catties of shellfish? And they asked specifically for me by name?"

Li Wenjie wore a thoughtful look, then immediately sought out the other two Martial Marquises, Li Wenlong and Li Wenyan.

"At present, aside from the three grandmaster-level Feudal Lords, there’s only one other possibility for having such a large amount of shellfish."

Li Wenlong intoned, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.

"You mean, the mysterious person who wiped out the Zheng Family?"

Li Wenjie guessed.

"Correct."

Li Wenlong nodded.

"But why would this person specifially ask to see me by name?"

Li Wenjie queried.

"It’s most likely a precaution, fearing that we would join forces to capture him. You should go. After all, he’s right outside the gate. We can provide support at any time if anything should happen."

Li Wenlong advised.

"Alright, I’ll go check out his strength. If he indeed has more than a hundred catties of shellfish, we’ll buy it all, securing the Jade Bone Tiger."

As Li Wenjie got up and made strides towards the gate, he paused, wondering why Lu Yan had distanced himself so far.

"Sir, are you the one selling shellfish?"

Li Wenjie approached Lu Yan as he posed his question.

Li Quan had previously described the appearance and characteristics of the Martial Marquises from the major Feudal Lords to Lu Yan.

Lu Yan gave a once-over, confirming it was Li Wenjie, and then stood still.

"That’s correct."

Lu Yan nodded.

"How much do you have?"

"One hundred and fifty catties."

Upon hearing this, Li Wenjie’s pupils contracted. Such a large quantity could give them an absolute advantage.

"It appears that it was you who plundered the Zheng Family."

Li Wenjie claimed.

Lu Yan remained silent.

This fellow isn’t too bright. Doesn’t he understand the concept of ’don’t expose what you see’?

"How do I know if you’re telling the truth?" Li Wenjie queried.

"Do you want to test me?" Lu Yan proposed.

Li Wenjie’s Qi-blood stirred throughout his body, with the Bone strength permeating his entire body, as he retorted, "Could I be granted a few moves?"

"Of course, be my guest."

Lu Yan gestured with his hand.

Whoosh!

Li Wenjie darted towards Lu Yan like a cheetah, striking with five successive palms, each faster than the last.

Lu Yan responded with calm assurance, parrying the blows. In an instant, the two had each landed five palms and were driven back.

"Your skill is commendable, sir, your strength is truly unfathomable."

Li Wenjie complimented, his face solemn.

From their initial exchange, he could not determine the depth of Lu Yan’s prowess. He couldn’t even sense the Bone strength in Lu Yan.

"I have two catties of shellfish on me right now. I’ll give it to you first."

Lu Yan extracted a small package from his pocket and gave it to Li Wenjie.

Li Wenjie examined its contents. Indeed, it was filled with shellfish.

Lu Yan had done this, naturally, to earn more trust and increase the success rate of his plan.

"I don’t have the rest of the shellfish on me. Meet me at Huanlang Alley at the third quarter of the hour of Chou (1-3 a.m.). One hundred thirty liang of Silver for each catty of shellfish, how does that sound?"

Lu Yan proposed.

"It’s agreeable. Should I come by?"

Li Wenjie asked.

"Whichever you prefer."

Having said that, Lu Yan turned around and bounded off, disappearing into the night.

Li Wenjie returned to consult with Li Wenlong and Li Wenyan.

"You’re saying he lacks Bone strength and has only Qi-blood? Could this man be a Limit Breaking Warrior?"

Li Wenyan exclaimed in astonishment.

"Impossible. A Limit Breaking Warrior could not have such formidable strength. This person must have cultivated some special Martial Arts to conceal his Bone strength, hence we could not feel it during the exchange."

Li Wenjie reasoned.

Li Wenlong nodded along, agreeing with Li Wenjie’s analysis.

It was simply impossible for a Limit Breaking Warrior to rival a Martial Marquis.

Even an Innate Martial Body with five or even six times the Qi-blood couldn’t manage that.

Could someone actually cultivate any top-rated Martial Arts technique to reach the Unity of Man and Martial Arts upon limit breaking for the fifth time?

What a joke.

"Who will go for the deal at the third quarter of the hour of Chou?" Li Wenjie asked.

"Given what you’ve said about the incalculable strength of the other party, it wouldn’t be safe for you, at only Martial Marquis Level One, to go. It would be safer for me to go."

Li Wenlong suggested.

...

Not long after Lu Yan had left, he returned, hidden in the shadows, observing the Li Family’s sencond residence.

Sometime later, it was nearly the hour of Chou.

A figure emerged from the residence and headed toward Huanlang Alley.

"There’s only one person, Li Wenlong. The plan has failed."

Lu Yan murmured to himself, shaking his head.

His plan had been to lure both Li Wenlong and Li Wenyan away and then enter the Li Family’s compound to seize the shellfish.

According to the plan, he would show off his profound strength, compelling them to send their strongest person to deal with him, for fear of being tricked.

But luring both of them away was uncertain in itself, and the failure was within expectations.

"I’ll have to approach the Qiu Family tomorrow."

Lu Yan muttered under his breath. He waited a bit longer but saw no sign of Li Wenyan leaving, so he quietly withdrew and returned to the inn.

Li Wenlong waited in Huanlang Alley until almost dawn, but no one ever showed. Realizing he had been fooled, he returned to the residence with an expression of utter chagrin.