13: Chapter 13 The Second Elder of the Wu Family

"Keep a portion?" Steward Wu raised an eyebrow, his voice turning colder. "Shopkeeper Liang, you're new here and don't understand the rules. To do mountain goods business in Heishan Town without notifying our Wu Family means your shop won't last long. I'm being kind, pointing out a clear path for you. Don't be ungrateful!"

The air in the shop instantly grew tense. Liang Chengye put down the item in his hand and slowly stepped to stand behind and to the side of his father.

Liang Shoushan looked at Steward Wu, the last trace of polite smile vanishing from his face.

He had lived nearly eighty years; there were times he had to lower his head and be humble, and times he had to fight for his life. Now, behind him was the new path his entire family had forged.

"Steward Wu's kindness, this old man appreciates it."

Liang Shoushan's voice was not loud, but it was clear, each word enunciated deliberately. "This shop is the foundation for the Liang Family's survival and livelihood. The goods, we will sell ourselves. The path, we will walk ourselves. There's no need for you to trouble yourself with pointing the way."

Steward Wu's face darkened; he seemed not to have expected this country bumpkin of an old man to dare to be so bold.

He stared at Liang Shoushan, the imposing aura of the sixth layer of Qi Refinement faintly pressing forward: "Liang Shoushan, have you thought this through clearly? Offend our Wu Family, and in Heishan Town, you won't be able to take a single step."

"I've thought it through clearly," Liang Shoushan did not retreat half a step. "The shop is about to close. Steward Wu, please leave."

Steward Wu's face flushed and paled alternately, clearly furious. But he looked at Liang Shoushan, then glanced at the silent but unfriendly-looking Liang Chengye behind him, making an assessment.

The other side had one at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement and one at the sixth layer. If a real fight broke out, he wouldn't gain any advantage.

"Good, good! Liang Shoushan, you've got guts!" He flung down the words, turned, and strode away, the door slamming shut with a loud crash behind him.

The shop fell quiet.

Liang Chengye walked to the door, bolted the door plank, and looked back at his father. Liang Shoushan stood behind the counter, his back turned, his shoulders rising and falling slightly.

After quite a while, he slowly turned around. His face showed no particular expression, only his eyes were very deep.

"Rest early today," he said to his son. "Open as usual tomorrow. Chengye, those 'tools,' keep them loaded at all times, understand?"

"Yes, Father."

-

A week passed, and the shop in Heishan Town was peaceful and uneventful.

No one from the Wu Family came to cause trouble again. Business also slowly picked up. Although the profits weren't large, they finally stabilized their footing. Every day, there was spirit stone income, and capital began to circulate.

Liang Chengye and the rotating Liang Qizhi could handle things.

Liang Shoushan breathed a slight sigh of relief and returned from the town to the Green Mist Valley.

His taut nerves needed to relax a bit, and many family matters at home also required his decisions.

That afternoon, he was in the open space of the backyard, watching his grandson Liang Qiming practice a set of basic sword techniques.

Liang Qiming practiced very earnestly, sweat beading on his temples. His sword aura was still unrefined, but each move and stance was proper and precise.

Liang Shoushan occasionally offered a word or two of guidance.

A mortal servant guarding the valley entrance came scrambling in, his face deathly pale.

"Master! Master! Outside the valley... there's someone outside the valley! It's an unfamiliar old man, asking for you by name!"

Liang Shoushan's heart sank. He raised a hand to stop Liang Qiming's movements, his gaze instantly turning sharp.

"Did you see how many people?"

"Just... just one, just that old man, standing by the stone tablet at the valley entrance."

Just one? Liang Shoushan dared not be careless. He quickly ordered: "Qiming, go call your Second Granduncle and your father. Bring the tools, to the front courtyard. Everyone else, stay in the rooms, don't come out!"

Liang Qiming acknowledged and turned and ran.

Liang Shoushan himself hurried back to the front room and retrieved the metal square box from deep inside a cabinet — the bird divination instrument.

He walked to the window, aimed the eyepiece towards the valley entrance direction, and adjusted the focus.

In the monocular field of view, a thermal imaging outline appeared. A clear human-shaped heat source stood at the valley entrance, all alone.

In the surrounding mountain forest, there were no other obvious heat signals or signs of movement.

It was indeed just one person.

Liang Shoushan felt slightly relieved, but his vigilance did not diminish in the slightest.

Someone who dares to come alone is either a fool or has sufficient confidence.

He straightened his robes, took a deep breath, and walked out of the Manor alone, arriving at the valley entrance.

An old man wearing brown hemp clothes, with grayish-white hair and beard, stood there, hands behind his back, surveying the valley.

His face was ordinary, his build lean and dry, but standing there, he was like an old stake driven into the ground, utterly motionless.

Liang Shoushan stopped about a dozen steps away and cupped his hands in greeting: "Esteemed fellow Daoist, what brings you to our humble estate?"

The old man turned around, his gaze falling on Liang Shoushan. Without any overt movement, an invisible pressure slowly spread out, enveloping Liang Shoushan.

The ninth layer of Qi Refinement!

Liang Shoushan's heart tightened, his entire body's spiritual power naturally circulating to resist this imposing pressure.

Both were in the later stages of Qi Refinement, but the pressure this old man gave him was far more substantial and dense than that of the likes of Hou San and Zhu Wu, whom he had killed before.

This was the manifestation of a comprehensive gap in cultivation techniques, resources, and even combat experience. A later-stage Qi Refinement cultivator with a family backing and a later-stage one struggling for survival as a rogue cultivator were two entirely different matters.

"Liang Shoushan?" the old man spoke, his voice hoarse.

"That is this old man."

"My surname is Wu, second in line in the Wu Family," the old man said indifferently, stating his family.

The Wu Family's Second Elder. He had come personally.

Liang Shoushan's heart sank further. The other party was not here for empty bluster.

"So it's Second Elder Wu, my apologies for the disrespect. May I ask why the Elder has come in person..." Liang Shoushan's tone remained polite, but his body maintained a posture ready to strike at any moment.

Second Elder Wu didn't answer. Instead, he took a step forward, his gaze sweeping over the spirit fields and buildings in the valley. "You've managed this place quite well. I hear your family's shop business is also passable?"

"A small-scale operation, barely making ends meet."

"Making ends meet?" The corner of Second Elder Wu's mouth twitched, as if smiling yet not. "It doesn't look like it to me. The back mountain cleared so cleanly, the goods in the shop so fresh, doesn't seem like just making ends meet."

He paused, his gaze fixing back on Liang Shoushan: "Let's speak frankly. My Wu Family needs a large sum of spirit stones in the near future. We've taken a liking to your family's modest business and the output from the back mountain. From now on, you will hand over seventy percent of your hunting gains and shop income. The remainder will be enough for your family to live on."

Seventy percent! This was outright robbery, an attempt to completely reduce the Liang Family to a dependent and blood bag of the Wu Family.

Liang Shoushan's fingers curled slightly, then relaxed. He did not erupt immediately.

"Elder Wu, that amount is truly unbearable for the Liang Family. The shop has just opened, we haven't even recouped the initial investment. The back mountain doesn't yield harvests all the time either." He attempted to negotiate.

"That is your problem," Second Elder Wu's tone was flat but brooked no argument. "Either pay up, or, this Manor of yours, and that shop in town, don't expect peace." His gaze seemed to glance intentionally or unintentionally towards the Manor.

A threat, a naked threat.

Liang Shoushan felt blood rushing to his head, but he suppressed it fiercely.

Fight? The opponent was at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement, he was at the seventh. Adding Shouye and Chengye in hiding, perhaps they could put up a fight, but the outcome was uncertain. Once a fight started, it could become a fight to the death.

He needed time, needed more bargaining chips.

"Elder Wu," Liang Shoushan's voice was somewhat dry, "this matter is of great importance. Could you allow this old man a few days to discuss it with his family? Seventy percent is truly too much, could it possibly..."

"Three days," Second Elder Wu interrupted him, holding up three fingers. "Three days from now, I'll come for your answer. Whether to pay, or..."

He didn't finish. He turned and left. After a few steps, he stopped again, looked back at Liang Shoushan.

"Liang Shoushan, don't think about running, and don't think about finding anyone to back you up. What little reliance you have isn't enough."

Having said that, his figure flickered, and after a few leaps, he disappeared into the mountain forest outside the valley.

The imposing pressure dissipated.

Liang Shoushan stood in place, motionless.