At this moment in Zhongzhou City, Yuan Hong ordered some men to remain at the tournament grounds to deal with the corpses, while he and his two disciples went inside to heal their injuries.
At this time, Xiao Ji walked over, holding a bottle of pills in his hand, and signaled that they could take them. Yuan Hong first thanked Xiao Ji, then swallowed the pill, and circulated his spiritual energy.
He immediately felt much of the pain ease.
He quickly gave pills to his two disciples as well, and their injuries also improved at once.
Xiao Ji then took out several more bottles of the same pills and said to Zhang Shun and Zhang Jie, "Distribute these pills to the other wounded."
The two accepted the pills, bowed, and went off to carry out Xiao Ji's order.
Xiao Ji sighed. "City Lord Yuan, I have wronged you, causing you to lose two beloved disciples."
Yuan Hong clenched his fist and said in a deep voice, "This is not Lord Xiao's fault, but that brat is truly formidable. In the end, he still escaped."
"Yes," Xiao Ji agreed. "The plan was flawless, but we never expected such a variable to appear. If he is allowed to grow, he will surely become a future calamity."
Yuan Hong naturally knew who Xiao Ji was referring to. He said viciously, "Rest assured, my lord. I share an irreconcilable hatred with him. I will spare no effort to hunt him down and tear him into pieces."
Xiao Ji shook his head. "I believe that even if you do not seek him, he will come to you. And I am certain, the next time he meets you, he will already have the confidence to defeat the man you are now."
Yuan Hong found Xiao Ji's words reasonable. His heart grew uneasy, and he felt a surge of tension.
Seeing his unsettled expression, Xiao Ji decided to soothe him.
"It is only a pity that the Xuantian Pill can be taken only once in a lifetime. Your cultivation is at the mid-stage of the Sixth Realm. I had hoped that once you broke through to the late stage, this pill could help you push directly to perfection.
But under the current circumstances, you cannot calmly enter seclusion to break through. Here, I have a Frenzy Pill.
It can temporarily raise the user's cultivation by one minor realm for one hour. Afterward, however, the body will be extremely weak, and for three days you will be unable to circulate spiritual energy. Keep it with you, in case of emergency."
Then he took out three more bottles of pills and added, "Here are some healing pills and some that accelerate cultivation. I hope they will aid you."
These pills were all extremely valuable. Seeing Xiao Ji's generosity, Yuan Hong felt deeply grateful.
He bowed and said, "Many thanks, my lord. But I am already old. These pills may not benefit me much, so I will give them to my two disciples instead. I thank Lord Xiao on their behalf."
"There is no need for courtesy. By the way, have you considered what to do with that man who surrendered?"
Yuan Hong stroked his beard, momentarily unsure what use such a servant might be.
Xiao Ji interrupted his thoughts.
"Lie Feng had a teleportation jade token. As his fellow disciple, would Qin Fen not also have one?"
Yuan Hong, reminded by Xiao Ji, suddenly realized. He exclaimed, "Yes, he should have one as well! I believe the two tokens lead to the same place. If I obtain it, I can immediately teleport over and kill that brat. Men, bring Qin Fen here at once!"
Before long, Qin Fen was dragged before Yuan Hong.
Yuan Hong said nothing, only glared at him. Seeing Qin Fen's eyes darting, Yuan Hong suddenly roared, "Wretch, how dare you lie to me!"
Qin Fen was stunned, then hurriedly knelt and pleaded, "My lord, every word I spoke earlier was true. I would not dare lie. I beg my lord to see clearly!"
"You still dare to deceive me! Hand over your teleportation jade token at once!"
"My lord, I am innocent! I have no such token."
"Still trying to deny it? You two, search him!"
The two men at his side immediately searched Qin Fen, but found nothing.
This result surprised them. Xiao Ji and Yuan Hong exchanged looks.
Qin Fen cried out again, "My lord, I truly have none! That teleportation jade token was given to him by Elder Changqing.
If there really were another one, Elder Changqing would surely have kept it to save his own life. He would not have died otherwise."
These words made sense. Could it be he had wrongly accused him? Yuan Hong could not help but think so.
Now that the truth was clear, he no longer wanted to see Qin Fen's face. He shouted, "Get out of my sight!"
Qin Fen quickly scrambled up and left. His heart pounded from the ordeal.
He was simply glad he had been clever: after Yuan Hong left earlier, he secretly hid the teleportation jade token beneath a potted plant while no one was watching.
Otherwise, he would have lost his only means of escape. Now he only needed to find a chance to steal back the contract, tear it apart, and then flee with the jade token.
Yuan Hong sighed. "So, he truly did not have one."
Xiao Ji said thoughtfully, "Lord Yuan, I apologize. My misjudgment has given you false hope."
"You are too serious, Lord Xiao. I should have realized it myself. Teleportation jade tokens are extremely rare. The chance that Elder Changqing had two was indeed very low."
After a moment of silence, Xiao Ji said, "Since matters here are settled, I must go deal with the other rebels. Lord Yuan, the safety of Zhongzhou now rests with you."
Yuan Hong cupped his fists. "I will do all I can to protect Zhongzhou. Please set your mind at ease."
And with that, they parted ways.
Meanwhile, in a Zhongzhou inn, the hall was crowded with guests.
These guests surrounded several storytellers, listening to their account of what had happened at the Zhongzhou tournament that day.
Many people, hearing how Lie Feng killed Yuan Hong's subordinates and even injured the City Lord, could not help applauding and cheering.
They praised Lie Feng as a true man of backbone. To them, the City Lord and his men had long oppressed the common folk. Now that they had been slain, it was only justice.
Amid the clamor, Ji Wushi and Zheng Jian sat quietly in a corner, sipping tea and eating peanuts.
When Ji Wushi suddenly smiled, Zheng Jian asked curiously, "What is it? Have you finally gone mad?"
Ji Wushi shook his head and chuckled. "I was just thinking, Great Qian is finished. Look at these commoners—when they hear that the City Lord's men were slain and the City Lord himself was injured, they cheer with joy. This shows how deeply hated Yuan Hong is."
He then lowered his voice. "I believe this city is worth scheming for."
Zheng Jian's tone was calm. "Don't dream. Our strength is insufficient. We cannot take it."
But Ji Wushi waved his folding fan and said, "If Lie Feng joins us, then we can absolutely seize this city."
"You are confident you can persuade him to join?"
"Yes."
"How much chance of success?"
Ji Wushi opened his fan and replied with full confidence, "One hundred percent."