257: Chapter 257 Speaking Frankly

The old man with the white beard coughed. "We cannot be careless about Han Jingyang, and we must not be the first to stick our necks out. That man, Han Jingyang, is very strange and cannot be judged by conventional logic; his strength is unfathomable. Be careful. As I said before, survival is the priority. However, if others take the lead, we can fan the flames and push from the shadows. Don't let Han Jingyang take the treasure so easily."

The others nodded repeatedly. "Right, we can't let Han Jingyang dig up the treasure so easily."

"With so many of us, we're not afraid of him alone."

"No matter how powerful Han Jingyang is, he won't be a match for so many of us."

"Otherwise, he wouldn't have used such a petty trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain."

"We'll have to settle this account with Han Jingyang later."

"He really is a sinister villain, using rumors."

"Let's go. Even if we don't get the treasure, we must make him explain this clearly. What does he take us for?"

"There are quite a few who were fooled. Let's all make a scene later and see how Han Jingyang handles it."

"Let's go, let's go."

The group led by the old man with the white beard headed back to Xipo Village aggressively.

Only the old man with the white beard turned back to take one last look at the large, leafy elm tree before leaving, his eyes filled with an unreadable expression.

Once the old man's group had left, scattered outsiders emerged from the nearby bushes, crops, and woods, walking toward Xipo Village in twos and threes.

Before long, Dongpo Village returned to its original tranquility.

Xipo Village. Chaotian Temple. Han Jingyang, Liu Jing, Shi Xiaoya, Xu Xin, and Xu Jingyun were standing at the entrance of Chaotian Temple. Beside them was a roaring excavator. However, the excavator was just idling, not having moved a single scoop of earth.

This was because Huang Jianshe was blocking the excavator, staring furiously at Han Jingyang. "Han Jingyang, you tell me clearly, why are you doing this? Huh? Why? This is the house I've lived in for so many years. You say you're going to dig, and you just do it? Do you even treat me as a human being? Do you treat the people of Xipo Village as human beings?"

Han Jingyang smiled. "Huang Jianshe, don't dawdle. If you step aside today, everything is negotiable. If you don't, don't blame me for being impolite."

"Come on, how are you going to be impolite? If you've got the guts, kill me!"

"No, no, no. Killing you would be letting you off too easy. I will dig out your secrets bit by bit, then throw you to the relevant authorities. They will deal with you."

"What do you mean? Are you threatening me? Han Jingyang, I'm telling you, I don't buy that. And I'm telling you again, if you want to dig up Chaotian Temple, you'll have to kill me first. Otherwise, don't even think about touching a single brick or tile of it."

"Are you sure?"

"I'll put it this way: as long as I'm alive for one day, you aren't allowed to touch a single brick or tile of Chaotian Temple for that day."

"Big talk," Han Jingyang laughed. "But the thing you're guarding has long since become mine. The current Chaotian Temple has become two worthless, dilapidated houses. Oh, and there's also the treasure of Huang Jianshe, but I suspect you don't even know the exact location, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about..."

"No, you do. Your eyes betrayed you. Look, you're panicked, your eyes are darting around, you're looking around. What are you looking for? A way to escape? Don't bother looking; this place has long been surrounded tightly. Huang Jianshe, you know the situation here well. If the treasure isn't found, how could you, the person involved, possibly escape?"

"You, you, you..."

"Do you find it unbelievable?"

"You, you..."

"Hehe, I'm not afraid to tell you," Han Jingyang stretched and looked around. "Is everyone here? If you're all here, let's come up with a plan. We are all civilized people; let's not do things like fighting to the death over a mere bit of treasure. Winning is one thing, but what if you die? What if you're crippled? Right? Let's discuss a peaceful method to decide the ownership of the treasure, shall we?"

As his voice faded, people emerged one after another from all sorts of nooks and crannies. Some even appeared directly on the spot, clearly possessing spells or dharma instruments similar to invisibility techniques.

Experts are among the common people. This saying is absolutely true in the world of metaphysics. There are truly many masters among the common folk.

Moreover, there are all kinds of strange and peculiar legacies; even the most learned person wouldn't dare claim to understand all the folk traditions.

In no time, the area in front of Chaotian Temple became lively, with Huang Jianshe in the very center. Surrounding Huang Jianshe was Han Jingyang's group. The rest surrounded Han Jingyang's group in a circle, totaling over thirty people. These thirty-plus individuals, whether in groups of two or three, alone, or in larger parties, clearly weren't pushovers and carried a strong aura.

There wasn't a single villager in sight. The village head and other village officials didn't show up either; they seemed to tacitly accept these people's actions, determined not to get involved.

Interesting. Han Jingyang looked around and smiled. "Is everyone here?"

No one answered. He didn't mind and smiled. "Continuing from the previous topic, this treasure was given to me by Huang Jianyong. Of course, he only gave me an address, but I can be certain that in this world, only I know the specific location and the way to open the treasure. If someone else came, even if they dug this place upside down, they might not be able to find it. And even if they did, they couldn't open the chest; forcing it would only lead to self-destruction. Do you believe me?"

Still, no one made a sound. He continued to smile. "I originally intended to dig up this treasure in three or five years, by which time almost no one would be paying attention to this matter. However, I recently provoked a powerful enemy and am in a rush to improve my strength, so I started ahead of schedule. But as luck would have it, you all received the news and rushed over, even staying here to prepare for a war of attrition. Isn't this just causing trouble for me? What should we do?"

Still, no one spoke. He spread his hands. "So, I won't play mysterious games with you anymore. I'll dig for treasure openly and honestly. Courtesy first, then force. Let's discuss a method to resolve this peacefully, and then we can start digging. What do you think?"

This time, the crowd's expressions fluctuated slightly, but they still didn't speak.

He sighed. "You have to say something. If you don't speak, does that mean there's no room for negotiation? If there's really no room for negotiation, then I won't care anymore. I'll turn around and leave, and you can do whatever you want. If you can dig it up, it's your ability; if you can open the cabinet and get the treasure, it's your luck. How about that?"

At this moment, a young woman in her twenties stepped forward. "Mr. Han, with so many people, will there be enough treasure to go around?"

Han Jingyang shook his head. "No, no, no. It can't be divided equally. Even if there's enough, it can't be divided equally. If divided equally, everyone would get one or two items. Is it worth all this trouble?"

"Then what do you mean?"

"Let's have a competition. First, eliminate some people, and select the three to five strongest to divide it equally."

"Individuals?"

"Of course, individuals. Or are you suggesting we hold a team competition?"

"Compete in what?"

"Anything will do. Rock-paper-scissors is fine. Anyway, my goal is to eliminate a large portion of people and keep three to five people to divide the treasure."

"You're quite generous."

"Well, you have to give to get. It was an unexpected windfall to begin with, so taking a smaller share doesn't affect the joy of it."

"But no one wants to be eliminated, and most people don't want to fight alone. What then?"