章 119: Sudden escalation
"This doesn't seem right..." Chen Wei narrowed his eyes, momentarily diverting his attention from the Fatty Frog Gu. "...the quantities of various resources are reduced, and from what I can see superficially, all of this doesn't even add up to a tenth like it was agreed."
As soon as he finished speaking, a short silence filled the air as his calm and cautious gaze fell on Huo Mei Yan, who stood elegantly and composedly in front of him.
"I understand your concerns, but I assure you that the Huo Clan would not betray its reputation just to deceive you," Huo Mei Yan spoke with a confidence and calmness in her tone that could make anyone believe she was a ruler who could not make mistakes.
"If anything, we are working with the utmost diligence to organize all the resources you requested..." She paused mid-sentence and looked deeply into Chen Wei's eyes. "...but since many of the resources you 'requested' are relatively rare, we cannot acquire them so quickly in such large quantities."
Hearing this, Chen Wei remained silent. He could clearly imagine that this was a fabricated or greatly exaggerated situation, as a medium-to-small clan on the Southern Border would be capable of supplying the resources if they truly dedicated themselves to it.
But of course, the Huo Clan wasn't doing that for obvious reasons—such as their unwillingness to part with benefits that were likely firmly held by the elders, and even worse, handing over those benefits to a demonic Gu Master with clear hostile intentions toward the clan.
In fact, he was quite surprised they delivered the first batch of resources so completely and diligently, without any delay.
But after communications with Huo Xin and understanding that the fact that the Huo Clan was dealing with a high-ranking demonic Gu Master had leaked to other clans in the region, he understood the reason for their promptness. He also knew that withholding the full resources and Gu now was a tactic to prevent him from suspecting their eagerness and cooperation being to much.
In his opinion, this was the correct course of action for Huo Mei Yan to take, as it would probably deceive a demonic Gu Master without political understanding and knowledge of how clans function, like most demonic Gu Masters do not.
"Of course, we do not intend to go back on our word, so we can make a simple arrangement," Huo Mei Yan pulled out a blank sheet of paper from the long, elegant sleeves of her dress. "You can write down here which of the presented resources or Gu are of the highest priority, and we'll try to secure them, even if it's in smaller quantities for now."
Chen Wei could clearly see the scheme behind this. She planned to trap him into three choices, each of which would essentially reduce the benefits he gained and increase the Huo Clan's information about him.
The first choice would be to write down all the resources and Gu he most desired, allowing him to obtain them quickly. However, this would also ensure that the Huo Clan learned valuable information about his fighting style and needs. Moreover, they could then avoid supplying those resources, now aware of their importance.
The second choice would be to mostly select unimportant resources and only choose one or two vital ones that he couldn't do without, using the others as a cover to obtain the resources or Gu he wanted. But this would mean sacrificing most of the resources to maintain caution and security.
The third choice would be a balanced approach based on deception. He would choose half important resources and half irrelevant ones in such a way that it would be difficult for the Huo Clan to determine which were which. But this depended entirely on his skill.
Another factor heavily influencing the outcome was the Huo Clan's ability to identify which choice he supposedly made, which to an outsider of this world might seem nearly impossible. However, to Chen Wei, who was familiar with the many unorthodox and strange investigative methods that could be employed using Gu, he didn't think the Huo Clan was incapable, especially since they suggested this arrangement.
"If that's the case, I'll do so promptly," Chen Wei quickly extended his hand toward Huo Mei Yan, who hesitantly passed the paper to him.
Chen Wei wore a cold smile as he rapidly wrote, his handwriting simple and unrefined, without any concern for its beauty.
"Here it is," Chen Wei said lightly as he handed the paper back to Huo Mei Yan, who immediately began reading its contents.
She seemed a little surprised, as it took him just over ten minutes to write everything. But she read it without hesitation, as Chen Wei had long determined what his choice would be for this negotiation.
And what was that choice, you ask? Well, it was simple: none of the three that she wanted him to make!
'This...' Huo Mei Yan frowned as her gaze trembled with rage while reading the paper. '...is completely unreasonable! Shameless! No sense of reason!'
She quickly shifted her gaze toward Chen Wei, who appeared completely unfazed by her indignant expression, as if it were nothing worth paying attention to.
"I assume there's something wrong with this list..." she spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, trying to contain herself. "...these new demands can't be correct according to common sense!"
Chen Wei maintained his simple smile and quickly replied, "There's nothing wrong with the new list... if anything, I'd consider it a fine example of common sense and honesty!"
"But no need to praise me too much. I like to stay humble, so just a bit of praise will do!" He finished his words, dramatically spreading his arms wide.
"..." Huo Mei Yan remained silent, clenching her teeth as she felt as though her eyes were burning with fury, and the veins in her head were about to burst from anger.
In fact, she had to exercise all the emotional control she had developed over the last few days, more than in her entire life, just to prevent herself from lashing out at him in a foolish, rage-fueled action.
The reason was simple: he had the audacity to speak of common sense and honesty when the list contained none of the Gu he had requested previously. Instead, it included several Rank 3 Gu, either in her possession or in the clan's vaults.
And it didn't stop there. He also meticulously listed various highly valuable resources that even the deepest levels of the clan's treasury might not be able to supply in the quantities he was extorting at this moment.
As if that weren't enough, he also demanded the entire amount of primeval stones the Huo Clan "owed" him, amounting to 210,000 to be increased threefold as moral damage payments to him!
Huo Mei Yan took a deep breath before speaking in a voice that exuded seriousness, "Do not think that just because we are choosing to act diplomatically and reasonably now, my Huo Clan are cowards who can be extorted and disrespected in this way..."
"...to accept this would not only bring financial ruin to the Huo Clan but, worse yet, it would insult the honor of all our ancestors who built this clan with sweat and tears!" Chen Wei listened to Huo Mei Yan's words, feeling the palpable anger that had finally surfaced after much accumulation, all because of him.
"I guarantee you that our Huo Clan members are willing to face the cruelest death rather than fail in upholding the dignity of the clan!"
Huo Mei Yan concluded her fiery speech, her words burning with the flames of hatred, leaving a tense silence in the air that seemed to tremble in the situation, as Chen Wei lowered his posture and shook his head, looking at her with no surprise at all.
'Ah, dealing with smart people is always more difficult...' He sighed softly, noticing that even though Huo Mei Yan was nearly fuming with rage, she still hadn't made a move to attack him.
Which, for him, would have been the best outcome. That's why he tried to provoke her into a state of fury that would cause her to attack him foolishly, putting her at both a tactical and emotional disadvantage right at the start of the fight.
And with Chen Wei's experience, he was sure he could turn this advantage into a complete victory. But since this wasn't the case, he now had to put himself at a tactical disadvantage by making the first move against an opponent who was on edge and ready to strike.
'Well, so be it... not everything goes perfectly,' Chen Wei had his last fleeting thought disappear from his mind.
In the next moment, his body moved, advancing with a newly formed blood blade in hand, without the slightest hesitation, as if the action were more natural than even breathing.
With a fluid motion, he slashed towards Huo Mei Yan with such force and precision, making an attack as if it were the most obvious decision in the world.
But unsurprisingly, he didn't hit Huo Mei Yan's body. A large gown of flames, burning like hellfire, appeared out of nowhere and decisively blocked his attack, creating a crown of flames that burned everything at its height.
'Rank 3 Gu...' Chen Wei quickly repositioned himself, placing his palm on the ground while lowering his body to avoid the flames. He also noticed the elders of the Huo clan attacking him in a pincer movement.
On one side, he saw Huo Xi advancing with his fists burning in green flames, his hair and beard aflame as well.
On the other side was Huo Pei Ji, charging towards him with three large fire dragons roaring by his side.
He didn't hesitate for even a moment and moved toward Huo Pei Ji, who was caught off guard by Chen Wei going on the offensive against him instead of defending or retreating from the pincer attack.
'I just need to distract their focus...' Chen Wei ran, leaving scorched footprints on the ground, using his rich combat skills and the versatility of the Putrid Blood Gu to evade the furious fire dragon attacks.
In an instant, he redirected one of the fire dragons to hit Huo Xi, who was right behind him at this point. Now, face to face with Huo Pei Ji, he made a swift, clean slash toward his chest at a strange angle.
"Damn it!" Huo Pei Ji cursed, skillfully blocking the slash.
But in a split second, he found himself in shock as Chen Wei completely changed his movement, making a full spin as if it were nothing, while driving his elbow, now covered with a thick layer of charcoal, toward Huo Pei Ji's face with astonishing force and speed.
*Howl* *Howl*
Two large astral forms of wolves, one white and the other black, appeared above Chen Wei's head as he landed the blow, sending Huo Pei Ji flying several meters away. But he remained relatively unharmed, having managed to defend himself at the last second.
Seeing this, Chen Wei didn't even consider advancing. He quickly turned his body at an awkward angle, lifting himself off the ground and using a continuous jet of fire from his hands to propel himself backward.
Not even a second later, he saw a large whirlwind of hot air mixed with fire, growing stronger by the second, fall where he had just been.
'Killer move...' Chen Wei glanced at Huo Li Li, who looked both surprised and irritated.
But he didn't have a moment to dwell on this, as he found himself under the relentless attack of small fire stars, coming at him at terrifying speed, each one burning hotter than the last.
'11... 25... 38... 52...' Chen Wei constantly shifted direction, defending himself from Huo Mei Yan's attacks. As she stood elegantly in the same spot as before. '67... 72... 86... 99!!'
At that at the moment the hundredth attack was going to come, he saw Huo Mei Yan with a confident expression, while a fire star several times larger than the others rapidly formed in her hands, but then...
*Boom!*
The ground beneath her exploded into a small pit of mud, the result of the Mud Pit Gu's destruction in the soil. Though weak enough that it wouldn't even harm a rank 1 Gu Master using a defensive Gu, let alone a rank 3 Gu Master with a renowned defensive Gu.
But at that moment, Huo Mei Yan spat a mouthful of blood, her face filled with deep terror as her flame-gown armor collapsed completely, leaving her in a vulnerable state.
"Quick, protect the clan leader!!!" Huo Zhing shouted desperately, seeing the severe backlash from the failed killer move that had befallen on Huo Mei Yan.
But to his horror, in that same instant, Chen Wei was already face to face with Huo Mei Yan, his gaze cold, like a predator finally catching its prey.
Chen Wei wasted no time. With great force, he grabbed her abdomen, tearing the front of her dress while leaving a horrendous burn mark in the shape of a hand on her stomach.
"Don't you dare continue!!!" Huo Ji had a desperate expression as he quickly pulled Huo Mei Yan away from Chen Wei using tentacles made of flames.
Chen Wei didn't bother pursuing Huo Mei Yan, calmly watching her escape as all the elders regrouped to defend her with worried expressions, though they clearly relaxing when they saw that Chen Wei wasn't continuing his pursuit.
This was simply because he didn't believe he could kill Huo Mei Yan, who likely had plenty of trump cards to save her life, especially now that she was under the defense of all the elders. But more than that, he didn't pursue her because he didn't need to or wanted to kill her.
"You can feel it clearly, so you know you were hit directly by the Aperture-Breaking Fire Gu..." Chen Wei said, looking at Huo Mei Yan, who struggled to stand. "...Do you still remember all the demands from the list? I have a way to prevent permanent damage to your aperture, so consider the resources on that list as my payment."
"It won't be long before the Cai, Xiu, and Ne clans find out what happened here, so I don't recommend taking too long."
Huo Mei Yan, retreating quickly with the help of the elders, tried to maintain a composed and strong expression despite her trembling eyes as she listened to Chen Wei's words, unable to do anything but continue to retreat helplessly.
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