Xue Qinghe's reputation for loving his people as his own children had long spread throughout the empire from the capital. Huo Rui was confident that if she sent a letter of accusation under her name, he would act on it—whether to maintain his image or to curry favor with her—and deal with these individuals whom she found inconvenient to handle herself.
However, though Huo Rui had already decided to write the letter of accusation, to prevent these men from making desperate moves, she outwardly maintained a calm and composed demeanor, as if waiting for something.
Soon, a Soul Emperor surrounded by perfectly proportioned soul rings entered the scene.
Though he only possessed six soul rings, upon seeing Huo Rui's eight, he immediately wilted like a deflated balloon. He hastily retracted his soul rings, not wanting Huo Rui to mistake him for provoking her.
Approaching closer, the man recognized Huo Rui's appearance and was instantly shocked.
"Isn't this the Countess of Tianxin, who recently caused such a stir after becoming a Soul Douluo? What brings her to my territory?"
The man then glanced at the obvious signs of destruction. When he noticed his son's battered state, far from feeling any pity, he grew increasingly panicked.
He knew his son all too well.
"Damn it! Did this wretched child dare to harass the Countess of Tianxin? How am I supposed to resolve this mess? Will I have to offer him up as compensation? Though this brat is useless, he's the most talented one among my descendants when it comes to cultivation—it's tied to the future of our family! What should I do?!"
At this moment, the local city lord's forehead was drenched in cold sweat. Insulting a powerful individual was a grave taboo in the extraordinary world, and Huo Rui had already shown great restraint by not taking his life outright.
However, it was clear that Huo Rui had no patience for pleasantries with this group of scum. She coldly demanded:
"You must be the city lord here. Tell me, how do you intend to make amends?"
Accustomed to throwing his weight around in this small place, the city lord hesitated, opening his mouth but unable to find the words. Finally, he lowered his head and bowed deeply.
"This incident is entirely our fault, Lady Countess. You may name your terms, and I will fulfill them without question. I only ask that you spare my son's life."
Huo Rui paid no heed to their apologies or offers of compensation. She initially intended to settle for a mere 100,000 gold spirit coins and leave. However, just as she opened her mouth, Ye Wen tugged gently on her sleeve.
Huo Rui -_-?
"What is it, Xiao Wen?"
Ye Wen gestured for Huo Rui to lower her head, then whispered something into her ear.
Instantly, Huo Rui's eyes lit up with excitement. Nodding, she rephrased her demands.
"Since you're offering compensation, I have two conditions.
First, as a Soul Douluo, your wretched son dared to insult me with filthy language. Surely asking for 100,000 gold spirit coins isn't excessive, right?"
"Not excessive, not excessive," the city lord nodded repeatedly.
Though this city was wealthier and more prosperous than Nuoding City, it was still a remote town. 100,000 gold spirit coins amounted to several years' worth of tax revenue for the entire city.
The more he thought about it, the more it felt like a knife twisting in his heart. However, he quickly adjusted his mindset.
It was just a loss of money, and there were plenty of ways to recoup it. After the Countess of Tianxin left, he could simply impose additional taxes elsewhere. After all, as long as the commoners didn't starve to death, they were like leeks—cut one batch, and another would grow back.
But Huo Rui's second condition made the city lord feel as though he had swallowed something foul.
"My second condition is that I'll take two treasures from your family vault.
Money means little to someone of my standing. The true value lies in rare artifacts. Surely, you won't refuse me, will you?"
As she spoke, Huo Rui unleashed the aura she had previously restrained, giving the city lord a taste of what it meant to face a Soul Douluo.
At this point, the once-lofty city lord had no choice but to lower his proud head and accept Huo Rui's terms.
However, inwardly, the city lord smirked. There were indeed treasures in the family vault, but the most precious ones were hidden in his private chamber—completely undiscoverable by outsiders.
Still, losing two valuable items stung deeply!
Because he had mentally prepared himself for such losses, the city lord unhesitatingly led Ye Wen's group back to the family estate.
As for the insolent brat who dared to harass Huo Rui, there were no shortage of healing soul masters present, so the city lord dismissed the matter entirely.
While walking, the city lord stole a glance at Ye Wen. He had figured out that the loss of those two treasures was likely due to this mischievous child's influence.
Ah, how infuriating! If only his worthless son had this much wit instead of indulging in women day and night!
Soon, Ye Wen's group was brought to the city lord's family treasure vault.
Upon entering, the first thing that caught their eye was the dazzling pile of gold spirit coins—a truly blinding sight.
However, gold spirit coins held little value in the hands of high-level soul masters. The real treasures were the advanced soul tools or soul bones, which could fetch tens or even hundreds of thousands of gold spirit coins at auctions.
Clearly, this remote family's vault wouldn't contain soul bones, let alone display them openly. Ye Wen's group had already anticipated this.
But from the start, Ye Wen's target wasn't soul bones—it was various soul tools.
"Grandma, let's take a look inside," Ye Wen said softly.
Though Huo Rui was highly cultivated, the Huo family's resources were weaker than those of this remote city lord's family. Thus, even Huo Rui entered the vault with keen interest.
However, rural nobility remained rural nobility.
Within this vault, only a few storage-type soul tools held any value; the rest weren't worth Huo Rui's attention. She turned to Ye Wen and said:
"There's nothing worthwhile here. Xiao Wen, pick whatever you like—one item each for you and Yu'er."
Ye Wen nodded, but at this moment, Huo Yu'er interjected directly: "Let Xiao Wen choose for himself. I'm not interested in these things."
Laughable. As the reincarnation of a supreme god-king with complete memories of her past life, how could Huo Yu'er possibly care about these scraps of metal? She only accompanied Ye Wen because he was interested.
In Ye Wen's eyes, however, this was Huo Yu'er wholeheartedly expressing her love for him, filling his heart with even more gratitude.
Dammit, I'm sinking deeper into lolicon territory!
But how could he resist such a devoted little loli who had eyes only for him?
"Yu'er, thank you. Once I become stronger in the future, I'll definitely find better treasures for you," Ye Wen said emotionally.
Huo Yu'er's heart fluttered, and a shy blush spread across her face. "Mm, I'll wait for you."
This touching scene, witnessed by the city lord who was busy compensating them, made him feel as though he were being tortured. Damn it! If you're going to claim compensation, hurry up and leave—why are you shoving this dog food down my throat!?
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