N-A-A 355. Cliff Gang Leader
355. Cliff Gang Leader
Xiao Yan ignored the hostility from the man behind him. His actions had directly interrupted the woman's seductive spell. Although the men around her had clearly sobered up, they remained Hua Li's loyal lackeys, truly incorrigible. Xiao Yan had no intention of paying any attention to those destined to be subservient to women and yet content with it.
Xiao Yan's silence only made the latter think that Xiao Yan had been frightened. He stepped forward to pull Xiao Yan away, but suddenly felt a pressure as heavy as a mountain collapsing onto his body.
"Esteemed guest, these people are all sons of powerful and influential families in Lushan City, and Miss Hua Li is even a disciple of the Hua Sect. What do you think, should we just let it go?" The middle-aged man suggested to Xiao Yan.
The middle-aged man's implication was clear: these people were not easy to offend, and their only request was to cut in line. From his perspective, it was naturally not worth it for Xiao Yan to cause trouble and create unpleasantness for such a small matter. Those who were originally behind Xiao Yan's group were also looking at him with some dissatisfaction. After all, compared to Hua Li's delicate image, Xiao Yan seemed too unreasonable.
The middle-aged man immediately added in a friendly tone, "This was the Cliff Gang's fault. The Cliff Gang is willing to offer our guests some extra discounts later."
The Cliff Gang's attitude towards this was remarkably humble. It was clearly Hua Li and her group who caused the trouble with their arrogance, yet the Cliff Gang was taking the blame upon themselves. The three women beside Xiao Yan displayed different expressions. Mu Qingluan's eyes held undisguised disgust for Hua Li; Qing Lin looked at Xiao Yan, seemingly awaiting his opinion; and Little Fairy Doctor appeared the calmest and most composed, though a hint of coldness lingered in the depths of her eyes as she looked at Hua Li.
Just as Xiao Yan was about to make a decision, a graceful figure walked out from the inner gate. The person was handsome, dressed in a blue robe, and looked to be around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old. At this age, most people have begun to shed their youthful arrogance, and he was just like that. His smiling face was extremely endearing. Dressed in a blue robe, he was calm and composed, possessing a remarkable charm.
The middle-aged man bowed respectfully upon seeing the newcomer and said, "Chief!"
Xiao Yan also curiously looked at Lin Xiuya, the leader of the Cliff Gang, who smiled handsomely and said, "You are all honored guests of my Cliff Gang. This verification of qualifications is unnecessary. It is the Cliff Gang that has not done things properly. Please come in now."
Lin Xiuya quelled the tension among the crowd with a simple move, and Hua Li smiled sweetly at him, her eyes full of affection. Lin Xiuya simply gestured for her to enter and escorted her into the medicine shop.
"Master..." The middle-aged man was about to explain something when Lin Xiuya stopped him, saying, "You did very well."
The middle-aged man's initial anxiety subsided under Lin Xiuya's reassurance, and he became even more focused on his post. Xiao Yan watched Lin Xiuya's actions with a hint of appreciation in his eyes, then led the three women into the medicine manor.
Unexpectedly, Lin Xiuya followed Xiao Yan and his group in directly, and smiled at Xiao Yan, saying, "It is a great honor for Young Master Xiao Yan of Xingyun Pavilion to personally visit the Cliff Gang."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan stopped in his tracks. He hadn't revealed his identity at all, yet Lin Xiuyai seemed to know everything about him. Sensing the apprehension in Xiao Yan's eyes, Lin Xiuyai generously extended his hand: "Canaan Academy, Lin Xiuyai."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow and extended his hand to shake hands with Lin Xiuya. He hadn't expected that after only a few months in the inner courtyard, so many people would recognize him.
Lin Xiuya shrugged helplessly and said, "Back then, I saw you fight with Senior Sister Ziyan and felt that the gap between us was too big, so I didn't dare to challenge you. I didn't expect the gap to be even bigger now."
Xiao Yan could tell that Lin Xiuya's strength had reached the peak of Dou Huang level, and was not much different from the direct disciples of Sifang Pavilion like Mu Qingluan. He could definitely be considered a leader among the younger generation in Zhongzhou. However, compared with Xiao Yan, who had killed a Dou Zun powerhouse, the gap was truly enormous.
Lin Xiuyai was extremely shrewd in his dealings with people, and he played the role of host to Xiao Yan and his party. Communicating with Lin Xiuyai was remarkably easy and effortless. The Cliff Clan's collection of high-grade medicinal herbs was also extremely comprehensive; they possessed almost all the herbs Xiao Yan needed. At the final settlement, Xiao Yan had practically emptied his own coffers, or rather, emptied the coffers of Huang Quan Venerable and Lei Venerable. Although the two were the leaders of their respective forces, they didn't carry most of their wealth with them; what Xiao Yan obtained from his storage ring was ultimately only a small portion. In the end, Xiao Yan had no choice but to use pills to offset the price, and with Lin Xiuyai present, the price of the herbs was still almost one cent lower than the normal fair price.
These high-grade medicinal herbs were quite valuable, and Xiao Yan wanted to buy a large quantity, so Lin Xiuya did indeed offer considerable discounts throughout the transaction. Xiao Yan felt a little embarrassed, but Lin Xiuya insisted on doing so. From his eyes, Xiao Yan sensed a kind of enthusiasm for the students of Canaan Academy. However, Xiao Yan's time at Canaan Academy was too short, and he hadn't truly integrated into the atmosphere.
As Xiao Yan stored a large quantity of medicinal herbs into his storage ring, feeling the abundance within, he felt incredibly fulfilled. As an alchemist, these herbs were his true source of confidence.
After showing Xiao Yan around the entire Cliff Clan's medicine shop, Lin Xiuya asked before seeing Xiao Yan off, "Was this trip satisfactory?"
Xiao Yan returned a grateful look: "I'm sorry you suffered a loss."
Lin Xiuya laughed heartily: "It's all a small matter, but are you planning to buy some more high-end items?"
Xiao Yan's interest was piqued by Lin Xiuya's words: "What, you still have something good to show?"
Xiao Yan had a vague feeling before that while the Cliff Gang's herbs were of high quality, top-tier herbs were nowhere to be seen. Since the Cliff Gang controlled the herb market in three cities, top-tier herbs naturally wouldn't be so scarce. Now that Lin Xiuya had said it, Xiao Yan was certain: truly top-tier herbs did exist, but they weren't openly traded, and without sufficient strength and background, one simply couldn't access them!
"Of course," Lin Xiuya replied in a low voice, "You don't think the people from the Flower Sect traveled all the way to this mountain city just for the things in my medicine shop, do you?"