Chapter 22: Li Debao Demands Money

The steamed egg custard was ready, but the children were still asleep. At half past six, Li Qingyun had little appetite, so she kept the egg custard warm in the pot, grabbed a hoe, and went out to turn the soil. The plot of land had to be tilled before she could plant winter vegetables, a task requiring strength. Sadly, there were no men at home. Her father-in-law and mother-in-law had to work and lived separately now, so there was no one to rely on. She could only depend on herself, but fortunately, the patch wasn’t large, and it wouldn’t take long to finish. The morning was still cool; if she worked for two hours now, she’d probably be done.

With her resolve held tight, Li Qingyun—

"Fine, three million it shall be. As long as Brother Tong kills this person, Qingyi won’t hesitate and will hand it over directly. Here are five hundred thousand taels, considered a deposit." With that, Qingyi produced another two hundred thousand tael banknotes from his sleeve.

Wen Qianyi thought of the heart of the ocean, the core of the war machine, which for now was not yet ready to be deployed. What he needed was a gradual ‘peaceful evolution’ from top to bottom, not a violent purge.

Firstly, Lu Qi’s surroundings were unsafe—not only the enigmatic forces of the black-robed man, but even Lu Qi’s deeds in Jiangzhou Prefecture had earned him many enemies. With their mid-stage martial prowess, the two were only slightly better than the bandits in Lu Qi’s stronghold.

"But why can I understand this meaning?" Yin Tianyou frowned slightly, gazing at the sea. The rolling waves mirrored the turmoil within him, and the mystery beneath the surface hinted at puzzles he could not resolve.

The one who wielded the chopsticks was none other than Yuyuko of Westward Temple. Her face was frighteningly dark, and her voice seemed to have sunk into the depths of hell.

This creature was even longer than he had first estimated—about five meters—with oval scales that seemed well-suited to the currents.

Such characters, in the great wars and catastrophes of the apocalypse, were fated as cannon fodder almost ninety percent of the time. Only the most elite and powerful warriors would be deployed at crucial places and moments.

These two defiant technologies were even more precious than cloning itself! Sadly, each had its own flaws: DNA modification could only be performed during the embryonic stage; once a child was born, or an adult existed, it could no longer be changed.

Carriages lay scattered, the horses released, leaving only empty compartments behind. The bodies were all stripped, with no trace of gold or silver jewelry, and the offerings for the annual festival had vanished as well.

That verdict, handed down with a slap to the head, was just a word from Gao Fangping after ascending the bench. But if the Ministry of Justice overturned it, the credibility of Jiangzhou’s authorities would be lost. Many citizens who resented Manichaeism and vigilante justice would feel disheartened again, believing the authorities still failed to protect them, and that it remained a system of officials shielding each other.

Xu Wei looked closely and realized it was a viper. After biting Jin Junmei, it quickly slithered away, disappearing into the woods.

That old devil still has tricks up his sleeve? Dr. Li dared not relax, continuing to manipulate the blade while focusing intently.

"Impossible to get in." Jin Yuan believed his defense was flawless, and he had mostly blocked Long Xiang’s vision. Shooting with no sight of the hoop, Jin Yuan was convinced Long Xiang’s chances of scoring were less than ten percent.

Elsewhere, Magneto and Tabbert were still locked in stalemate. Pietro grabbed a heavy iron bar and charged forward.

I wandered the streets, lost and disoriented. What had just happened was entirely unexpected—I felt as if the world had changed in an instant. I watched helplessly as Shaya vanished into the crowd, without a word spoken or any explanation. There was nothing I could do.

Bai Ling and Shen Yiyi, perhaps witnessing such a bloody scene for the first time, were petrified with fear, staring at the corpses on the ground, terror written in their eyes.

Qin Chuan’s troops cleared a path, allowing Dingbei Camp and Han Yumou’s forces to pass through in disgrace, following them all the way to the Black Cloud Stone Realm before turning their horses back.

"Then, Star Chronicle, tell me—do you belong to me as well?" Surnamed Fu Chen, crunching on a crisp golden fruit, blinked at her with a smile.