418: Chapter 418 Extortion

Han Jingyang's words surprised everyone once again.

Shi Xiaoya hurriedly advised, "Hubby, there is no need to be polite with them. You gave them a chance, but they didn't cherish it. If you treat them too well, not only will they not appreciate you, but they will also call you a fool behind your back."

The surrounded crowd hurriedly flattered him, "Mr. Han is truly a man of his word! You said you would leave one for us, and you did!"

"Mr. Han's character is impeccable!"

"So generous!"

"You are truly benevolent!"

"From now on, if anyone dares to say a bad word about you, I will fight them to the death."

"Broad-minded and unparalleled in benevolence."

"Mr. Han always keeps his word; he never goes back on what he says!"

"Thank you, thank you! Thank you for your magnanimity, Mr. Han."

Han Jingyang raised his hand to signal them to stop, and when everyone quieted down, he smiled and said, "Perhaps you misunderstood my meaning. I meant to say that while I did indeed say those words earlier—which you all heard and acknowledged—you rejected my good intentions. Not only did you reject my kindness, but you also heaped insults and even slander upon me. Therefore..."

He paused there for a moment. "Not only will you not be taking my things, but you will also have to leave your own things behind to compensate for my losses and emotional distress."

As soon as these words left his mouth, the expressions of the surrounded crowd became even uglier.

What was this?

They had wanted to take advantage of the situation to loot and grab some benefits, but in the end, they hadn't gained anything and had instead offended Han Jingyang.

Offending him was one thing, but to have to give up their own belongings as well?

Han Jingyang continued, "Of course, I won't make exorbitant demands. My loss is the one dharma instrument used to kill those two people of yours, and for emotional distress, let's call it three dharma instruments. That's a total of four dharma instruments. If all of you pool together and leave behind four dharma instruments, you can leave."

He added, "Of course, they must be quality dharma instruments. You cannot use trash to make up the numbers."

After speaking, he pointed to a middle-aged man who had been laughing the most enthusiastically earlier. "You, it's you. You will collect the items for me. Tell me if anyone refuses to cooperate, and tell me if anyone is hoarding good items."

The middle-aged man was stunned.

This was a thankless job that would offend people; he wouldn't be favored by either side.

However, since Han Jingyang had spoken, he had no way to refuse. He could only bite the bullet, turn around, and look at his former associates.

They were indeed former associates; since being named by Han Jingyang, he had effectively stood on the opposite side of his companions.

What was this called?

This was called divide and conquer.

But there was no help for it; even knowing this was Han Jingyang's tactic to divide them, he couldn't refuse.

How could he refuse?

Who would dare to refuse?

The others were also quite dissatisfied, but facing the murderous Shi Xiaoya and the others, facing the smiling Han Jingyang, and facing the two companions lying motionless on the ground, even if they had immense resentment, they could only hide it in their hearts and obediently cooperate to scrape together four decent dharma instruments.

In order to gather the four dharma instruments, the dozens of people almost started fighting.

No one was willing to give up their own dharma instrument for nothing, even if others promised to compensate them with cash.

dharma instruments, especially good ones, were too precious. Not only were they difficult to obtain, but the time and energy invested in nurturing and refining them after acquisition could not be measured in cash.

However, in this situation, no matter how unwilling they were, it was useless.

If they insisted on not contributing, they would not only offend Han Jingyang, but they would also offend these companions to the point of no return.

So, after a period of chaos, the middle-aged man held the four dharma instruments and walked to Han Jingyang. "Mr. Han, please take a look..."

Han Jingyang touched them one by one, able to appraise them all.

Only then did he nod with satisfaction and wave his hand. "You may go."

The group felt as if they had received a pardon and turned to run.

But Han Jingyang called out again, "Wait!"

The group instantly froze in place, as if collectively immobilized.

Han Jingyang pointed to the middle-aged man and the young man with yellow hair lying on the ground. "Take them with you."

The group didn't say another word, picked up the middle-aged man and the young man with yellow hair, and vanished in a flash.

Once those people disappeared, Han Jingyang let out a sigh of relief. "Come, come, load up the car, let's go home."

Shi Xiaoya was still a bit worried. "Hubby, are you sure there's no problem doing this?"

"What problem could there be?"

"It might affect your reputation."

"Reputation?" Han Jingyang chuckled. "What meaning does a good or bad reputation have for me? If my reputation is good, I am still me; if my reputation is bad, I am still me."

He said this, looking up at the sky. "Besides, my reputation hasn't been that good ever since I uprooted Zhang Dahai. At the very least, the label of 'slaughtering the innocent' is definitely unavoidable; it's just that no one dares to say it to my face. In comparison, is what I did today worth a damn?"

Shi Xiaoya and the others were silent.

They hadn't paid attention before, but thinking about it now, it was indeed the case.

Perhaps Han Jingyang's reputation hadn't been very good from the very beginning; he had wiped out He Dingkun's entire family just as he was starting out.

It was just that Han Jingyang's rise was too fast, and the strength he displayed grew stronger day by day, so much so that there was simply no time for the things Han Jingyang had done to ferment.

But the things Han Jingyang had done were right there; everyone knew about them, they just needed time to spread.

Once they spread, labels like 'demon,' 'great villain,' 'slaughterer of the innocent,' and 'ruthless' would certainly be stuck onto Han Jingyang.

This was an indisputable fact.

In comparison, 'extorting' a few dharma instruments from fellow martial artists really didn't amount to much.

The ins and outs of the matter?

No one cared about these.

Even if someone did, they wouldn't speak up for Han Jingyang.

Because Han Jingyang's strength was too great, his rise was too fast, and his cultivation and combat methods were unique. In the eyes of many martial artists, he was an anomaly. That he wasn't attacked by everyone together was something to be thankful for, given the more inclusive social environment of today.

Jiguang Zhai.

Han Jingyang and the others ordered takeout and had a big meal to celebrate the victory of the two battles.

Then, they divided the spoils.

It was still the old routine.

First, they divided the ordinary antiques, gold, silver, jewelry, jade, and other valuables. This time, the quantity of such goods wasn't too large; there was only the little bit that Liu Cheng had hidden in the tomb pit, plus some gold and silver jewelry taken from the bodies of the Japanese invaders.

Han Jingyang took a bamboo ruler, made a stroke, then another, dividing it evenly into five portions. "Come, everyone take one portion. Whether you keep them or sell them directly is up to you."

Shi Xiaoya, Liu Jing, and Yang Jinyuan didn't stand on ceremony.

Xu Xin and the brothers Zhou Changzhu were a bit embarrassed. "Brother, this, this doesn't seem right..."

Zhou Changzhu even smiled sheepishly, scratching his head, embarrassed to look at that pile of gleaming gold and silver.

Han Jingyang tapped on the coffee table. "What's not right about it? This is what you deserve. I don't care if other places have such rules; here, this is the rule. You and I have known each other for such a long time, you should know my style. Same for you, Old Zhou. Get a bag and pack it up. If you don't accept it, how would I dare to ask you to work for me in the future?"

Only then did Xu Xin accept it, while also helping Zhou Changzhu pack his up.

These ordinary gold and silver items were divided up.

The rest was the main event.

However, while gold and treasures could be divided equally, the dharma instruments could not. Han Jingyang didn't even intend to divide them; instead, he directly gave Xu Xin and Zhou Changzhu one each.

The two refused very decisively this time. "Brother, before the battle started, you already gifted us suitable dharma instruments, and now you're gifting more? What is this about? You're generous, that's no problem, but we can't be shameless. Moreover, in this battle, the two of us barely contributed any effort; we didn't even get a single scratch, we just strolled around and coasted the whole time. How could we be embarrassed to accept more dharma instruments from you? If you insist on giving them, then we can only return the dharma instruments that were divided to us earlier."