50: Double act, making a clever trick catch everything (Part 2)

The two looked at each other. The old servant behind Wu Tianqi was originally overjoyed, thinking that the Wu Family had a sure victory and gained a great advantage, so it was a good time to quickly return to the city.

Unexpectedly, it was his oversight, and he was tracked. A wave of panic immediately rose in his heart.

Wu Tianqi showed no signs of blaming the old servant, and he remained calm and handled the situation well even after discovering Yuan Biao's arrival.

"Treasures belong to the virtuous. Since I killed that little thief, and the Mountain Spirit fell into my hands, isn't that normal? Does the Martial Alliance want to forcibly seize it?"

Yuan Biao sneered twice upon hearing this, and said mockingly, "The Martial Alliance disdains to do such a shameless thing. It's just that my Young Master greatly needs the treasure Mountain Spirit. How can you part with it, Second Master?"

However, there was one thing he didn't explicitly say: if this Mountain Spirit had fallen into the hands of an unknown person, he wouldn't have bothered arguing; he would have simply seized it by force.

"Let Young Master Han Lin come and talk to me. If the conditions suit me, I am willing to give up the Mountain Spirit." After saying this, Wu Tianqi closed his eyes to rest and began to meditate, no longer paying attention to Yuan Biao.

Wu Tianqi's actions clearly showed he didn't take Yuan Biao seriously, which somewhat angered him. However, the matter of the Mountain Spirit was important at the moment, so he angrily lit the signal to summon Han Lin.

In less than half an hour, Han Lin arrived with Yuan Long, Yuan Hu, and the elite Martial Artists of the Martial Alliance. Behind Wu Tianqi, many Wu Family members, mostly Vajra Sect members, also arrived one after another.

After Yuan Biao roughly explained what happened, Han Lin's expression instantly became uncertain, but his gaze towards Wu Tianqi held some hope.

After a moment, he frowned and said, "Second Master Wu, what are your conditions? As long as you are willing to hand over the Mountain Spirit to me, my Martial Alliance and I, Han Lin, will do our best to satisfy them."

Wu Tianqi sighed, feigning sorrow, his face deep and clearly in a bad mood. His fist clenched and loosened repeatedly, showing great internal struggle.

"My Wu Family's power has suffered heavy losses. Wu Duo is dead, Wu Xing is missing, and I am also severely injured. All thanks to the Chang Family! Even this little thief who stole the Mountain Spirit is from the Chang Family. That Chang Shi even pretended to search for the Mountain Spirit, utterly despicable!"

As he spoke, Wu Tianqi pointed to a headless corpse dressed in black nearby. Yuan Biao recognized the figure as the person who was supposed to meet the Mountain Spirit and the white fox.

The more Wu Tianqi spoke, the more agitated his words became, and veins popped on his forehead: "If Young Master Han Lin is willing to capture Chang Shi and hand him over to me, my Wu Family will launch a full-scale war against the Chang Family within the year. If the Martial Alliance agrees to provide some convenience, I will offer the Mountain Spirit to the Martial Alliance."

Upon hearing this, the three Yuan brothers were greatly surprised, evidently not expecting Wu Tianqi's condition to be this.

Han Lin, however, looked thoughtfully at Wu Tianqi, clearly somewhat moved.

But he still said, "Impossible. The reason the Martial Alliance can be the Martial Alliance is that it will not favor any single force. Even if my father is an Innate Grandmaster, he cannot disregard the rules."

He completely avoided mentioning Chang Shi, and Wu Tianqi was instantly overjoyed, cautiously saying, "Young Master Han Lin, the Wu Family doesn't want the Martial Alliance to openly stand on our side. We only need some secret convenience and for them not to assist the Chang Family. Once we eliminate the Chang Family, you will have half of the wealth we acquire. How about it?"

Upon hearing this, Han Lin's eyes lit up, his face slightly flushed, and his gaze fervent.

The other party's conditions were too tempting. The Martial Alliance was already happy to see the Wu Family and the Chang Family fight. The various forces within Wuya Prefecture State City had already divided most of the prefecture's territory. To develop, they had to encroach on others' shares.

If he could get a portion of the Chang Family's territory, it would be a substantial asset for the Martial Alliance, and his father might even look at him with higher regard.

He turned to look at the three Yuan Long brothers. Their teeth seemed to be clenched tightly, making grinding sounds, clearly very tempted.

The three were Han Lin's confidants. Although not blood brothers, they were taught by an old Martial Master in the Martial Alliance. The old Martial Master's surname was Yuan, and he was an old servant beside Han Lin's father, Han Nao. The three Yuan Long brothers were orphans he adopted and taught martial arts.

At the same time, the old Martial Master was also Han Lin's Martial Dao Master. They grew up together. Han Lin, as a superior, occasionally displayed a Young Master's temper, but he treated the three of them as his trusted aides.

Knowing what Wu Tianqi said, they were clearly very tempted by this enormous wealth.

Seeing this, Han Lin understood everyone's intentions and immediately said to Wu Tianqi, "I can agree to your conditions, but I want to see the Mountain Spirit first, to prevent you from deceiving me."

Wu Tianqi nodded, immediately took out a root from his bosom, and handed it to Yuan Biao.

"You, you... you actually pulled off a Mountain Spirit's root? Don't you know that the Mountain Spirit is a whole, and if it's damaged, its medicinal properties will be lost?"

The ginseng root was shriveled, but everyone could easily recognize it as the Mountain Spirit they had been searching for, given its age and the strong medicinal scent it exuded. However, it was only a single root, and Yuan Biao immediately became furious.

This is outrageous! It's simply a waste of natural resources!

At this, even Han Lin couldn't maintain his calm expression, becoming somewhat cold, wishing he could slap Wu Tianqi a few times across the face.

Wu Tianqi looked helpless: "If not for this, how could I appear so calmly before everyone? But don't worry, the Mountain Spirit is hidden in a secret location, well-preserved, and there will definitely be no accidents!"

"You old ghost, you're truly shameless."

"Say what you will, I don't have many years left to live anyway."

"You!"

"Everyone shut up!" Han Lin glared at Wu Tianqi resentfully twice, then took the ginseng root Yuan Biao handed him and immediately pondered, "Yuan Long, Yuan Hu, Yuan Biao, go and capture Chang Shi for me!"

The three glared furiously at Wu Tianqi, then took a portion of their subordinates and went off to search for Chang Shi.

...

"Damn it! Where did they all go? White Chen and Black Yuan, those two old dogs, when I return, I will surely make you two suffer torture! And those good-for-nothing Vajra Sect members, not a single one is in sight!"

On a small hill to the west of the Cold Pond Waterfall, a young Young Master was holding a compass with both hands, searching for something.

Looking at his figure and appearance, he was indeed the Young Master of the Chang Family, Young Master Chang Shi.

"No, I can't use it anymore. Using this item will damage one's potential and consume energy. If I continue, I will never have the chance to Breakthrough to Acquired level."

"And I've been searching for so many days, but I still haven't found the Mountain Spirit. I don't know what to do. The Heavenly Dragon Relic can last for two more days. As a last resort, I can only go home first."

Chang Shi held the compass, sighing and muttering to himself, his brows often tightly furrowed in pain.

He found a shaded spot on the hill and immediately sat down to meditate, adjusting his Internal Energy. Then he put the compass into his bosom, touched a small cloth bag on his chest, and immediately calmed down.

However, Chang Shi did not know that not far from him, the three Yuan Long brothers were standing in a tree, looking down at Chang Shi with intense killing intent in their eyes.