Chapitre 117: Completely unreasonable
"Beautiful women really know how to say beautiful words too!" Chen Wei had a wide grin on his face while the restrained bodies of the Huo clan's Gu Masters stood behind him under the watchful eyes of Little Green.
"Truly, that was quite a speech, even I was moved," Chen Wei said in a comical tone, making exaggerated gestures with his hand. "But let me warn you, it would take almost all of you dying before you could take me down!"
The leader and elders of the Huo clan maintained serious expressions as they approached, unfazed by the fact that he had overheard Huo Mei Yan's words, as they had been broadcasted clearly using a Gu.
Even Chen Wei's strange, almost mad behavior did not cause them to blink. It was a common attitude among demonic Gu Masters—either being insane or acting so to deceive their enemies.
"Of course, that's only if I were fighting alone..." Chen Wei spoke, lowering his gaze as if becoming melancholic. "...But ah, such is life, for that is something that would never happen."
Chen Wei then changed his expression to one of certainty and spoke with emphasis, "My dear wives are truly protective and would never let me fall into such a precarious situation."
Huo Mei Yan, who had remained silent as she slowly approached Chen Wei with the elders, frowned as she felt two strong auras belonging to Rank 3 Gu Masters coming from inside the house, along with a weaker one, yet still a Rank 2 Gu Master.
"And as you can sense, the four of us were trained by our father until we reached an exceptional level of cultivation!" Chen Wei now put on an expression of extreme sincerity and gestured quickly. "In truth, the only reason for not killing you all outright is my mercy and kind heart!"
At this moment, Huo Mei Yan gracefully sat down on the bench in front of Chen Wei, positioning herself less than two meters away from him, silently observing him for a few seconds that seemed to stretch much longer than they truly were.
"You do like to talk a lot..." Huo Mei Yan spoke in a low, calm tone with a touch of elegance. "...My father always said that it's a habit of men who have nothing impressive about themselves and who often take refuge in lies."
The other elders, hearing this, only nodded in agreement, keeping quiet and not expressing themselves, as revealing internal conflicts would be a great disadvantage. They left the negotiations entirely in the hands of the clan leader, who was now the clan's absolute voice, while they simply nodded in agreement, maintaining neutral expressions.
Hearing this, Chen Wei let out a dry, raspy laugh. "If I took you to bed, you'd quickly take back your words about me having nothing impressive."
Huo Mei Yan merely wrinkled her nose and glared at him, her expression barely changing, unlike the elders who all displayed looks of indignation.
"Oh my! The youth today are getting bolder... you know, young man, in my time—" Huo Li Li was abruptly interrupted by Chen Wei, who raised his hand without hesitation.
"I'm not interested in an old hag, I hope you keep that in mind from now on" Chen Wei said with a completely serious expression, not even blinking.
"..." Huo Li Li was left speechless, gripping her elegant fan tightly, barely restraining herself from attacking Chen Wei outright and making him pay for his words.
'That vain, stupid old woman...' Huo Pei Ji cursed in his heart, noticing Huo Li Li's obvious anger, as if her emotions were an open book.
Meanwhile, Huo Xin remained quiet, wearing a blank expression, though inwardly he was smiling as he observed Chen Wei's slightly wary glance at Huo Li Li—a look Huo Xin only noticed because he had been expecting it.
"Tell me, if you're so capable of defeating my clan so easily, why haven't you done so already? Why waste time on this conversation?" Huo Mei Yan ignored the earlier exchange entirely, focusing on the important question, though she cast a sidelong glance to scold Huo Li Li.
"Being able to do something doesn't mean wanting to, right?" Chen Wei gestured, calming his voice.
"Well, I am a reasonable man, content with my goals and needs..." Chen Wei said in a more educated and concise tone. "...and honestly, I don't think anyone likes a Gu Master who tries to bite off more than they can chew, right?"
"If your demands are reasonable, there will be no problem with my Huo clan..." Huo Mei Yan kept a calm gaze, though in her heart she sighed, already imagining that what a demonic Gu Master considered reasonable was likely anything but reasonable.
Chen Wei raised seven fingers. "First, before we negotiate for their lives, I want seventy thousand primeval stones as compensation—ten thousand for each of the Gu Masters who dared attack me."
"I only see six here..." Huo Mei Yan focused her gaze on Chen Wei, already knowing the fate of the seventh but still asking.
"I killed him... and before you ask where the body is, the lizard ate it," Chen Wei responded without the slightest hesitation or change in his expression.
Before she could even reply, Chen Wei pulled out a paper with simple handwriting and slid it across the table to Huo Mei Yan.
"500 kg of giant lizard scales, 200 wolf and fox fangs, 1000 liters of blue bear and white wolf blood, 100 units of human chest, arm, and leg muscles, 1000 liters of putrid blood from any wild beast, 10 kg of Immaculate Blue Powder, 10,000 bloody orchid petals, 100 kg of burnt rose stems, ten units of raw burnt gold, 300 spy rabbit eyes, 10 Hollow Hook Thorns, as many honey-making beetles as possible, pollinator cactus, etc..." Huo Mei Yan read the list quickly, pausing only to catch her breath.
"Water Cut Gu, Flowing Water Gu, Water Dress Gu, Wet Eyes Gu, Water Vessel Gu... Cutting Stem Gu, Orchid Bud Gu, Herb Poison Gu, Honey Tree Gu, Shallow Roots Gu... Lethal Wind Gu, Whispering Wind Gu, Continuous Wind Gu, Gentle Wind Gu... Jade Skin Gu, Steel Bones Gu, Copper Joints Gu, Night Tiger Strength Gu, Fire Cracker Gu, Resistant Muscles Gu, Bull Virility Gu, Scaredy Bear Gu, Fire Horns Gu, Bloody Strength Gu... all at Rank 2, and it is expected that there will be one hundred units of food for each."
She focused her gaze as she finally neared the end of the paper. "Additionally, there will be two more payments of seventy thousand primeval stones, information on neighboring clans and caravan routes, and unrestricted passage through Huo clan lands until your departure..."
Huo Mei Yan stopped again, causing the elders to exchange knowing glances. All of them, except for Huo Xin, thought the same thing—this was extortion! How could anyone be so shameless to suggest all of this?
But to their surprise, the clan leader, now with a look of disgust, clenched the papers in anger and continued while gritting her teeth.
"Lastly, the Huo clan will deliver ten beautiful women as promised to Yi Zhan, and the clan leader herself will lie in his bed, offering her body to him for three nights..." Huo Mei Yan finished reading the paper, an ugly, irritated expression crossing her face despite her efforts to calm her emotions.
"You've dared to offend Leader Yan's dignity for the last time!!" Huo Xin, seizing his chance to act, exploded in rage as his fists were engulfed in flames. "I'll burn you alive to teach you to respect the Leader of the Huo clan!!"
Saying this, he advanced, stepping on the table between them, using it as a base to propel himself face to face with Chen Wei, who was right in front of him, and began landing flaming punches, with lines of fire shooting from his nose.
"Try all you want, you old fart," Chen Wei easily dodged his punches as if he knew exactly where they would land, retreating skillfully.
But amidst his steps backward, he deliberately took a misstep, leaving an opening for Huo Xin to slam his palm into Chen Wei's stomach, creating a strong impact bathed in flames that sent him flying a few meters back.
In mid-air, Chen Wei somersaulted and, without any effort, waved his hand, causing the six restrained Gu Masters, controlled by his blood, to retreat with him, not giving the clan Huo elders, who reacted quickly, time to catch them.
At that very moment, countless lines of putrid black blood shot towards Huo Xin, forcing him to retreat swiftly. The precision of the sudden barrage of attacks put him under immense pressure.
Throughout all of this, Little Green, standing in the middle of the fight, hadn't moved an inch, looking around in confusion, as if not understanding why everyone was fighting.
"Hahaha, truly impressive!" Chen Wei said with a wide smile on his face as he glanced at his aperture and saw something he expected—a new Rank 2 Gu!
In fact, one of the reasons, aside from his own skill, that Chen Wei dodged Huo Xin's attacks so easily was because he knew that when the clan leader finished reading his demands, one of the clan's elders would attack him as a ruse to transfer this Gu.
And how did he know this? Well, a fire had flared up from the embers in the stove early in the morning to inform him of the Huo clan's approach, as well as to reveal that one of the elders wished to make this deal, orchestrating a scheme where Chen Wei would repeatedly offend the clan leader's dignity so that this elder could transfer a communication Gu to him directly, without arousing suspicion, using the attack in the midst of anger to cover his actions.
In reality, the information about the approaching Gu Masters from the Huo clan wasn't that useful, as Chen Wei could clearly see their arrival with his newly refined Blood Eyes Gu.
But the news that an elder was willing to scheme with him truly excited him because it was one of his goals from the start—to gain various parallel benefits and ensure that he always had a backup escape plan if necessary. So, he decided to take the risk that this could be a Huo clan ploy against him and acted accordingly based on the elder's instructions.
Now, he stared at Huo Xin with narrowed eyes, gleaming with a cold and calculating light, knowing that this was the elder who had decided to be the most loyal to himself among the others present.
"...If no man had taken the initiative to defend the face and dignity of not just the clan's women but even the clan leader, I would never negotiate with such a pathetic clan!" Chen Wei said, expanding his smile even further, his eyes wide like those of an insane person. "...Oh, how many clans I've massacred for failing this simple test of character and courage!"
"...Only clans that do not forget the dignity of a man can negotiate with me face to face, and your elder has shown that the Huo clan still maintains such honor! Hahahaha!!"
"..." Huo Mei Yan was speechless as she looked at Chen Wei, who not only didn't escalate the inevitable into a life-and-death fight, for which she had been prepared, but was now actually praising the Huo clan.
'Was this all a test? How could anyone be so reckless and unreasonable? And why is this the person I have to deal with?!' She cursed her horrible luck in her heart, full of dismay.
'Demonic Gu Masters are truly a bunch of disgraceful lunatics...' she thought as she halted her movements toward the fight, signaling the other elders to do the same. 'Even the most reasonable among them is harder to deal with than the craziest of righteous cultivators...'
Huo Mei Yan finished reciting in her heart a classic line that all righteous forces of the world use to ostracize and condemn those they deem demonic.
"You can forget the last part of my demands, as it was merely a test, but everything before that still stands..." Chen Wei calmed his expression and placed his hands behind his back in a magnanimous manner. "...I expect the first batch of 70,000 primeval stones to be delivered to me by tomorrow afternoon, along with at least one-tenth of all my other demands."
"Additionally, I order that no Gu Master from your clan be seen within a kilometer of my house..."
"If any of these conditions are broken, you will see the end of this fight, which I assure you, is something you don't want to witness!" Finishing his words, so arrogant that he felt like an arrogant young master from some Xianxia story, he waved his hand.
"You may leave now..." Ending his words, his expression became empty again, his eyes fixed on the Huo clan elders without blinking.
"...." The elders, in turn, were in absolute silence, exchanging glances for a few seconds before nodding and slowly retreating, while not taking their eyes off Chen Wei for a single moment.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone