150 Demanding money (1/2)

The Southwall Tavern was the most famous tavern in the South City of Daiyu. Manager Lyu Qiying had been overseeing the place for many years. He used the profits earned from selling liquor to launch a money lending business. And after earning even more, he started to save money for others, and established his own underground bank.

People who save money only believe in people who have more money. Shopkeeper Lyu was impeccable in this respect. The rare and precious wines in his taven were the best guarantee of this.

Wealth begets power. Shopkeeper Lyu obtained the favor of both Golden Roc Fort and the Meng family. He kept scores of first-rate machetemen, many of whom were carefully selected by Cripple Tie before his death. Each of these men was excellent value for money.

So, for many years, this was the first time, someone had brought a sword into the tavern.

At the entrance, two fatsos, one tall and short, sought to disarm the intruder's weapons. However, with just a shake of the young man's blade, the two gave up, and immediately ran to find the manager upstairs.

To the watchmen, kung fu skills were not as important as the keenness of the eyes. The two fat men saw the killing intent and resolve in the young man's eyes. ”This person needs to be taken seriously,” they told Shopkeeper Lyu.

Hence, for the moment, Shopkeeper Lyu put up with the young man's offensive behavior. He invited him to a table at the corner. Where there were no special guests, this was Shopkeeper Lyu's old seat, which was not far from where Tie Hanfeng usually sat.

Shopkeeper Lyu looked up and saw Xu Xiaoyi standing behind Slave Huan. ”What are you doing here?”

Xu Xiaoyi wished that he was invisible, or that he could dive into the seams in the bricks. ”Hey hey, I... err...”

”He's my servant. I think Tie Hanfeng should have told you.” Gu Shenwei spoke. His hand still didn't leave the hilt of his sword, and this made him look a little nervous.

Shopkeeper Lyu laughed coldly. So this lackey came to wrest the brothel away. ”Or let's say, I didn't have any impression at all. In the past, it used to be the cripple who put his money here. Now that he is dead, I will take it over from him.”

”From now on, I'll collect the money myself. The money handed down by the sister and brother of the Xu family must also be taken away.”

Shopkeeper Lyu sized up the youngsters. After a while, he said: ”It's a total of 7,900 taels. You can take them away. We'll call it even after this.”

”There's still the money Tie Hanfeng had saved here over the years, and the ten cartload of goods.”

Shopkeeper Lyu blinked, finger rapping on the table's surface. ”You killed Cripple Tie?”

The young man did not speak.

”So you're an official killer?”

Gu Shenwei flashed his killer waist token.

Shopkeeper Lyu's eyes widened. This young man had actually become a killer in just a few days. He still remembered Slave Huan staring at the red wine, Tie Hanfeng's cold expression when he introduced him, and could not however, link these memories with this aggressive teen standing before him.

”Under which master?”

”The Tenth Young Master.”

”Ha.” Shopkeeper Lyu laughed uncontrollably. His heart calmed down. He thought that this kid was putting on a fake show. He probably killed his master while the master was drunk. Alternatively, it would not be a surprise if the cripple had died from an overdose of liquor.

”I still haven't seen the silver.” Gu Shenwei did not think it was funny, and pressed for the money.

Shopkeeper Lyu inched his body forwards and tried to persuade the teen in a tone of earnestness. ”You can't start with such a big appetite. Hasn't Tie Hanfeng taught you this? You killed him in Stone Castle. This could mean that you could inherit all of the cripple's possessions. However, here, in South City, in the entire Western Region, the rules are different. You cannot simply take away the possessions of the person that you've killed. The brothel is yours, but the rest aren't. Listen to my advice, kid. Killers aren't as powerful in Stone Castle as you think. You still have a long way to go.”

An unsheathed sword. A swift downward stroke. A sheathing of the blade.

Shopkeeper Lyu knew a little kung fu. He wasn't skilled, but was not a simpleton either. Even so, he looked at the severed finger on the table and for a long while, he did not understand what had just happened.

A terrible blood-curdling scream. Seven or eight machetemen jumped out at the same time, drawing their swords to attack the two teens.

Xu Xiaoyi immediately kneeled on the ground, cradling his head. He did not see anything. He only heard the sounds of people falling down. There was no clash of weapons nor any screaming and shouting.

Very soon, the surroundings resumed their peacefulness. Xu Xiaoyi relaxed his hands and raised his head. Three machetemen lay dead with wounds on their neck. The flowing blood was not even enough to feed ants, but they were dead for sure. Their dim eyes proved everything.

Xu Xiaoyi was so shocked dumb that he forgot to stand up.

The remaining machetemen stayed put. They worked for money, but they did not want to lose their lives.

Shopkeeper Lyu clutched his missing stump, a face full of disbelief. Who did this kid actually have as a backer. He had actually dared to kill so brazenly and unscrupulously.