266: Chapter 266 Forming Alliances

Upon hearing Lin Yuelan's words, Li Laojiu waved his hand violently: "Finish them off!"

However, neither the middle-aged man holding the compass nor the burly man with the dagger moved.

Li Laojiu whipped his head around: "Li Xiaoming, Zhang Hu, what is the meaning of this? Are you trying to betray me? Who brought you into this trade? Who taught you cultivation? Who gave you money you couldn't earn in a lifetime? And who allowed your families to enjoy wealth that ordinary people could never dream of? It was me!"

The middle-aged man, Li Xiaoming, gave an awkward laugh: "Old Li, how could we betray you? You are our great benefactor. It's just that there's really no need to be so ruthless in this matter. We can just give them two items; why fight to the death? You also said that they are not weak, and I just finished controlling so many people; I can't recover for a while."

The burly man also nodded while wiping off blood: "Even if we split half with them, the haul far exceeds our expectations. Besides, long nights bring many dreams; we should pack up and head back to Dao City sooner rather than later. Doing this kind of thing on someone else's turf is still a bit dangerous."

Li Laojiu's face flushed; he was clearly furious, but he quickly suppressed it and nodded calmly: "You two have your own ideas. That's very good, very good indeed."

Saying this, he glanced at Lin Yuelan and her sister: "Split five ways, how about it?"

Lin Yuelan looked at her sister and nodded: "Fine, split five ways."

Li Laojiu made a gesture of invitation: "Then let's open the chest."

"Please."

Lin Yuelan and her sister approached the large chest, one after the other, remaining on guard.

Lin Yuelan looked at Li Laojiu and the two others standing opposite them, then swung her blade down.

"Clang—"

Sparks flew everywhere.

The hinges on the chest snapped in response.

The five people's breathing quickened.

As long as they opened the chest, they would be able to see the treasure inside.

Was it a chest full of useless junk?

Or a chest of treasures that would make them rich overnight?

Li Laojiu made another gesture of invitation.

Lin Yuelan took a deep breath, stepped back twice, reached out with her single-edged blade, and slowly inserted the tip into the gap of the chest lid. With a gentle flick, the lid popped open.

The five of them retreated rapidly.

There was nothing unusual.

The five of them simultaneously craned their necks to peer into the chest, their breathing instantly quickening, like bulls with bloodshot eyes.

However, just as Lin Yuelan had said, the five people from the two factions were wary of each other, and no one dared to act rashly.

Li Laojiu, in particular, showed a ruthless expression several times, but each time he suppressed it, nodding to Lin Yuelan and her sister: "One item each, from top to bottom, no picking, leave it to fate."

"Fine!"

"I am the oldest, I will go first."

"Please."

Li Laojiu took a deep breath and slowly reached his hand into the chest.

Just then, a cough came from outside the woods: "Ahem, you guys are quite good at running."

The five people were shocked and quickly retreated, each on guard.

Then, two figures strode into the woods; one was wearing camouflage, the other was dressed in ragged blue coarse cloth.

Li Laojiu narrowed his eyes: "Xipo Village Militia Captain Liu Cheng?"

Liu Cheng, wearing the camouflage, chuckled: "Thank you. If it weren't for you, I would have been worried; so many people are hard to deal with. Now it's fine, you've already handled it for me. I just need to take care of you five, and my workload is more than halved."

Li Laojiu snorted: "There are two of you, and we have five."

As he spoke, he turned to Lin Yuelan and her sister: "You two, this guy surnamed Liu is hiding very deep and probably has a trump card. We must join forces to have a chance to take this chest of treasure away."

Lin Yuelan suddenly smiled: "Sorry, I only listen to my boss."

Li Laojiu's expression changed drastically: "Boss? Han Jingyang?"

Liu Cheng and Huang Jianshe also changed expressions: "Han Jingyang is here too?"

At this moment, Han Jingyang's voice came from outside the woods: "I am here. I have always been here. I originally intended to wait until you killed each other off to the last person before making a move, but I thought about it and decided to come out early. Too many people have died today; it wouldn't be appropriate for more people to die."

Liu Cheng and Huang Jianshe also slowly retreated and stood on the other side: "Han Jingyang, you are indeed the most cunning."

Li Laojiu also said hatefully: "So you saying you were withdrawing was a lie. Your goal was to make us kill each other? What a ruthless method! So many people died in your schemes; it's too tragic."

Han Jingyang shook his finger: "No, no, no. This isn't cunning; this is strategy and tactics. Besides, those people didn't die at my hands; they died at yours. I didn't say anything or do anything. I voluntarily withdrew to accommodate you. It was you who couldn't resist the temptation and started killing each other. It has nothing to do with me. Furthermore, you setting up an ambush here beforehand to slaughter your companions has even less to do with me. After all, this ambush was set up more than half a day in advance, right?"

"Hmph," Li Laojiu let out a muffled grunt: "You're the same kind of person as me, don't try to judge me."

"I wouldn't dare. In terms of ruthlessness, I'm still a bit lacking compared to you, daring to scheme even against your own companions. Hehe, I never scheme against my teammates and companions."

"What do you mean?"

Han Jingyang smiled: "You know what I mean in your heart. However, your method is truly ingenious. Is this a Gu worm or a curse? Hehe, going straight to the heart—is this the legendary Heart-Devouring Curse or the Heart-Punishing Gu?"

Li Xiaoming and Zhang Hu's expressions changed drastically, and they jumped away from Li Laojiu simultaneously.

Li Xiaoming even pointed at Li Laojiu, trembling: "You surnamed Li, you are so cruel! No wonder I've felt discomfort in my heart for some time, yet nothing could be found. It turns out it was you playing tricks. Remove it, or I will kill your whole family!"

Zhang Hu also stared at Li Laojiu with a fierce gaze, like a beast ready to devour someone.

Li Laojiu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He ignored Li Xiaoming and turned to face Han Jingyang, cupping his hands: "Mr. Han is indeed as famous as they say. Not to mention anything else, this insight of yours is quite extraordinary. It seems this treasure will belong to you today."

Han Jingyang smiled: "You don't need to sow discord at this time; it's useless. I am not you, and the people around me are not the people around you. Besides, these things were mine to begin with. Hmm, you said it yourself, these are my spoils of war. I just had you help dig them out; their ownership hasn't changed. If Li Mingjian and those people were here, I might have shared a few items with them, after all, they were the victims back then. But now? They were all killed by you, so even if I take everything back, no one would dare to say a word."

Saying this, he shouted outside the woods: "Don't hide and watch the show anymore, come in. It's the finale."

A few seconds later, a rustling sound was heard, and two more groups of people entered.

The first group was a monk, none other than the monk Kongyun.

The monk Kongyun pressed his palms together in a salute, and then casually sheathed his sharp precept knife.

The second group was led by a young woman with three people following her; it was Miss Tan from the Bureau of Religious Affairs.

Miss Tan smiled and cupped her hands towards Han Jingyang: "Mr. Han, we meet again. What a great show, it was so satisfying! There was bloody and cruel hand-to-hand combat, as well as bizarre and ever-changing Feng Shui secret arts and Yin-Yang secret methods. There were also strategies, tactics, and schemes that went straight to the heart of human nature, and even vertical and horizontal alliances comparable to the Warring States period. It was more exciting than all the old Jianghu stories I've ever heard. However, the state has its laws and families have their rules. You all need to be held accountable for doing things this way."