Finn Yu took a deep breath and stared warily at Ian Song. "If you leave now, the Thousand-Mechanism Guard can let bygones be bygones!"
Ian Song bared his teeth and growled, "Looks like you still don't get it. This young master is here to rob you—robbery, understand? Hand over anything valuable, now!"
Hearing this, Finn Yu felt like they were speaking different languages. Suddenly, he had an idea. "With your cultivation, getting rich should be easy. If you're willing to join the Thousand-Mechanism Guard, money and beauties will be yours for the taking."
Ian Song scoffed, "Pah! You want me to give up my glorious career as a robber just to become the emperor's lapdog? Dream on!"
Seeing that the carrot didn't work, Finn Yu's face grew cold. "So you really intend to go against the Thousand-Mechanism Guard?"
"Damn it! I told you, this is a robbery—robbery! If you keep yapping, I'll have to get rough!" As soon as he finished, Ian Song's sword slashed out, sending a one-zhang-long streak of green sword qi straight at Finn Yu.
A one-zhang-long sword qi?
Finn Yu nearly had a heart attack—how much true qi did you need to unleash a sword qi that long?
Faced with such a massive sword qi, Finn Yu didn't dare take it head-on and quickly dodged to the side.
But what shocked him even more was that just as he thought he'd dodged it, the sword qi suddenly curved—slamming hard into his chest.
"Pfft!"
When his old man was still around, Clearwind Stronghold only had sixty or seventy people.
Now, though, Clearwind Stronghold had nearly a hundred people—there weren't enough houses for everyone.
"Thank you for saving me, senior! I, Eve Autumn, am deeply grateful!"
Sunrise Peak, Blue Dragon Stronghold.
Eve Autumn could only stare in shock.
This senior was really... unique. With cultivation so high, he actually acted like a petty thief.
After stripping Finn Yu and his men, Ian turned to Eve Autumn. "Do you have any money? Hand it over!"
Recalling how Ian had left Finn Yu in just his underpants, Eve Autumn instinctively clutched her clothes tighter and quickly pulled out her purse with both hands. "Senior, this is all the money I have. Oh, and I have a jade hairpin too—if you like, you can take it!"
"Smart girl!" Ian snatched the purse and hairpin without hesitation, giving Eve Autumn an approving look.
"Alright, come with me!"
"Senior, where are you taking me?" Eve Autumn asked, sounding a bit worried.
"Didn't I just tell you? My stronghold still needs a fire-tending maid. Of course you're coming back with me!" Ian Song said with a grin.
"Senior... this—"
"What, you don't want to?" Ian Song's face suddenly darkened.
Terry Zuo smirked. "We could poison him. That brat may be strong, but he's still wet behind the ears. Didn't he just take Valerie Loneblade back to Clearwind Stronghold? We could sneak her the poison and have her slip it to him. Once he's paralyzed, he'll be ours!"
"Cut the nonsense. You don't want to be my fire-tending maid, huh? Believe it or not, I'll strip you too!" Ian threatened.
"Fine, since you're so insistent, I'll go with you." Eve Autumn huffed. She was only thinking of his safety, but if he didn't appreciate it, whatever.
"Chief, I know a poison that's completely colorless and tasteless. Anyone who takes it won't be able to move a muscle for two whole hours," said Fifth Chief Hank Huo.
Seeing how shabby Clearwind Stronghold was, Eve Autumn was stunned. She'd imagined Ian's stronghold would be huge, given his power, but it was actually so rundown.
Ian called Old Stick over to arrange a room for Eve Autumn, then went back to his own quarters.
Hank Huo said, "Back when I was running around the jianghu, I befriended a notorious 'flower-thief.' This poison is his secret recipe—he once used it to take down a top-tier martial artist, and he claimed even most Innate experts would be left weak and powerless if they got dosed!"
Now, though, Clearwind Stronghold had nearly a hundred people—there weren't enough houses for everyone.
Who knows when Lone-Blade Gideon will come looking for trouble. When he does, I'll have a perfect excuse to seize his Sunrise Peak for myself.
"No time to waste—head out tomorrow and track down your friend. Otherwise, Ian Song is going to be the biggest thorn in Blue Dragon Stronghold's side!" As he spoke, Lone-Blade Gideon's eyes flashed with a cold glint.
Lone-Blade Gideon was gathering his six other chiefs for a meeting.
At tonight's banquet, he'd been sent flying by Ian Song—utterly humiliated. Worse, that brat robbed him and the other chiefs, and even took his foster daughter Valerie Loneblade as a fire-tending maid.
"Brothers, what do you think we should do about that Ian Song?" Lone-Blade Gideon's face was as dark as water.
"Chief, his cultivation is probably Innate-level already. Even if we all join forces, we're no match for him!" said Second Chief Harold Gao.
"Hmph! Blue Dragon Stronghold has so many men. I refuse to believe we can't handle one guy!" Gavin Loneblade grumbled, full of resentment.
Madam Shaw batted her eyelashes at Gavin Loneblade. "Gavin, you're right—even an Innate expert can't fight thousands. But have you thought about this? If he can't win, he can run. If we really piss him off, he could sneak into our stronghold and assassinate all of us!"
Everyone agreed with Madam Shaw's words.
"So we're just going to let him go?" Gavin Loneblade protested.
"If we can't beat him head-on, we can use dirty tricks!" said Terry Zuo, Blue Dragon Stronghold's Third Chief, with a sly grin.
All eyes turned to him at once.
Terry Zuo smirked. "We could poison him. That brat may be strong, but he's still young. Didn't he just take Valerie Loneblade to Clearwind Stronghold? We could secretly give her the poison and have her find a chance to use it on him. Once he's poisoned, he'll be at our mercy!"
Everyone's eyes lit up at the idea.
But Lone-Blade Gideon quickly shook his head. "That won't be so easy. Once a martial artist reaches Innate-level, their sense of smell is dozens of times sharper than normal. Ordinary poison wouldn't fool his nose!"
"Chief, I know a poison that's colorless and tasteless. If someone takes it, they won't be able to move for two hours." said Fifth Chief Hank Huo.
"Really? Where can we get this stuff?"
The others looked on with curiosity.
Hank Huo said, "Back when I was wandering the jianghu, I met a friend who specialized in stealing valuables. This poison is his own secret recipe. He once used it to ambush a first-rate martial artist, and I heard him say even most Innate experts would be left weak and helpless if they took it!"
"That's perfect, Hank! Can you still contact your friend?" asked Lone-Blade Gideon.
Hank Huo replied, "Hard to say. But he usually hangs around Westchuan Province. I could go look for him—maybe I'll find him!"
"No time to waste—leave tomorrow and track down your friend. If not, Ian Song will become Blue Dragon Stronghold's worst headache!" As he spoke, Lone-Blade Gideon's eyes flashed coldly.