Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 669 I Want Compensation
As soon as Xiang Lan'er landed after leaving the immortal mountain, she was greeted by Liang Mian and his maids.

Liang Mian was worried about her coming alone, so he accompanied her. If it weren't for the fact that only Xiang Lan'er was allowed to enter the immortal mountain, he would definitely have gone with her too.

Seeing that Xiang Lan'er had changed her clothes after going upstairs, Liang Mian was taken aback and asked suspiciously, "You changed your clothes?"

Xiang Lan'er, already appearing completely unaffected, smiled gently and asked, "It was made by Sister Feng herself. Does it fit?"

Liang Mian immediately realized he had overthought things. If it were really because of something between him and Shi Chun, he wouldn't have dared to change his clothes and come back. So he smiled and said, "It fits perfectly, very well. What, is Sister Feng still unwilling to go with you?"

Lan'er's reason for this trip was to visit an old friend, and her main purpose was to see Feng Chi, with whom she had known for many years, and to persuade Feng Chi to go with her.

She sighed softly upon hearing this, "She has already been forced by Shi Chun to sign up for the amnesty battle, so she can't leave even if she wanted to."

Liang Mian's lips twitched slightly as he thought of how he had asked Lan She to kill someone. If that happened, it might implicate Feng Chi.

But on second thought, he realized it wasn't such a bad thing, because he didn't really like Lan'er continuing to associate with that brothel madam.

He gently comforted her, saying, "Alright, everyone has their own ambitions, and we can't force things. If she needs anything in the future, we'll help her if we can, but don't think too much about anything else. It's a rare trip to Tiandu, so come on, I'll show you around and see if there's anything you like."

He thoughtfully raised his hand to signal her, getting close but not touching her. Although she had agreed to marry him, she was a little sensitive because of her background in a brothel, and was afraid that if she were too casual, people would look down on her. She was like a lotus rising from the mud, remaining pure and virtuous.

It was actually the same rhetoric Lan'er used to deal with Bian Weikang back then, and Liang Mian respected it.

At this moment, Xiang Lan'er appeared to be completely submissive, obediently following Liang Mian and his party.

Although she was only half pretending, she was also half willing in her heart. It was only after meeting Liang Mian that she truly understood what glory, experience, and wealth meant. Whether it was the brothel back then, Wukang Mountain later, or following Shi Chun, none of them could compare to what she was like now. Even as the so-called Holy Maiden of the Demonic Path, the Demonic Path had never shown her such a scene of wealth and luxury.

The people Liang Mian associated with were all either rich or noble.

In addition, twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye, and she had long forgotten the good things about Shi Chun. Looking back at Shi Chun now, she felt nothing but disgust, especially after what had just happened, which almost caused her to give herself away to Liang Mian, making her secretly hate him...

After seeing Xiang Lan'er off, Fengchi hurried back to Shi Chun's residence, only to find that Shi Chun was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he saw a pile of Xiang Lan'er's torn clothes on the ground. He couldn't help but smile wryly and quickly helped clean them up.

Then he went straight to the Spirit Spring Hot Spring to look for him, and sure enough, he found Shi Chun leisurely taking a bath there. After all that messing around, he was now acting like nothing had happened. Feng Chi was quite impressed with him.

She walked to the edge of the pool, squatted down and knelt down next to Shi Chun, and whispered, "Don't worry, Chief, I've calmed her down. She won't say anything, and no one will know."

Shi Chun turned to look at her and asked, "Do you think I'm afraid of people finding out? You need to report this to your superiors truthfully."

"..." Feng Chi paused for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "There's no need. There are plenty of beauties in the world. It's not worth getting angry over a woman. If we want to find someone better, there are plenty of others. We should find someone truly good. Her 'goodness' is all fabricated and fake. It's not worth it."

Shi Chun laughed. "Being angry? Me, being angry for her? You're overthinking it. Twenty years ago, when I was about to be executed, Wu Jinliang almost fell into your hands. You're not saying you didn't know that, are you?"

Feng Chi pondered for a moment, then said awkwardly, "They kept that from me at the time. I didn't even know you were going to be executed. Duan Xiangmei can testify to this. I only found out later from Miss. Apparently, it all went wrong somehow. If I had known that the higher-ups were going to take action against Wu Jinliang, I would definitely have tried to stop it."

"If Wu Jinliang really falls into your hands, you know better than I what will happen to him."

Shi Chun himself couldn't imagine the consequences. If Yu Xuanbing hadn't intervened, all of his wealth would have been lost to the demonic path.

The thought alone filled him with dread and anger. With his current strength, he couldn't possibly swallow this insult. He slowly stirred the water, glancing sideways at the people by the pool with a faint smile, and said, "From the moment she conspired with Lan'er to capture Wu Jinliang, I never intended to make her suffer. As for capturing Wu Hong and the others, without anyone leaking clues, how easily could we find them?"

Ask your superiors what they're really trying to do. My people can arrest people whenever they want; who gave you that right?
"I don't need your help to cover up what just happened. Report it truthfully and tell your superiors that this is my stance on the Lan'er matter. Don't think you can act recklessly just because I'm easy to talk to. Tell them that if they don't give me a satisfactory explanation for what happened before, I will be very unhappy. You are all so unreliable; I can't guarantee what I might do... I want compensation!"

The confidence to say this naturally stems from having the ability to back it up.

Now that he's connected with Mulan Jin, does he think he can be easily manipulated by the demonic path again? Who knows who'll be afraid of whom in the future?

He had already decided that since Mulan Jin cared so much about Mulan Qingqing, he would just need to flatter Mulan Qingqing.

Feng Chi, kneeling by the pool, was stunned and a little numb. It turned out that the key to all that rambling was just those last four words: I want compensation!

How dare you ask for compensation after defiling Xiang Lan'er? How could you even say that?
But for some reason, Feng Chi felt he couldn't quite suppress the corners of his mouth from turning up in a grin.

Why do I feel that the higher-ups might actually agree to compensation?

She smiled and said, "Okay, I understand what the boss means. We'll report it as you said."

Shi Chun asked again, "You didn't touch the tattered clothes that Xiang Lan'er threw in my room, did you?"

Feng Chi was slightly taken aback. "I've tidied up for you. What's wrong?"

Shi Chun said, "I heard Mulan say that Xiang Lan'er has hooked up with a big shot and is now paired with some junior supervisor of the Northern Trade Bureau?"

"How did the topic veer off like this?" Feng Chi asked, puzzled. "What are you trying to do?"

Shi Chun chuckled, “I don’t want to do anything. If that woman dares to come in front of me again and point fingers and give me attitude, or provoke me again, I don’t mind throwing the clothes she took off today to that so-called junior eunuch for him to admire.”

Feng Chi was utterly speechless. Today she had truly witnessed what a member of the demonic path was like. She then took out the Mother-Child Talisman, preparing to report it directly. This was a clear indication that she wouldn't avoid Shi Chun, but she still made it clear upfront, "I can report it as you wish, but I can't guarantee whether the higher-ups will agree to compensation."

As she predicted, the reply was a rejection, and she was even asked to make a counter-threat.

As for the matter of Xiang Lan'er being defiled, it wasn't even mentioned, as if it wasn't a big deal at all.

Feng Chi felt a pang of sadness after reading it. He knew that in the eyes of those above, Lan'er was meant for this kind of work. She used to be one, but she refused and ended up in the same situation she was in when she was in Zhaotian City.

After showing the message to Shi Chun, Shi Chun couldn't help but laugh. "Sister Feng, I find this very strange. Are all of you above a bunch of pigs? I'm someone who's going to die on the battlefield during the amnesty campaign. How dare they let Xiang Lan'er come and threaten a dying man?"

Feng Chi immediately understood his meaning. This was the key to the negotiation; either way, they were doomed, and Shi Chun was about to overturn the table.

I'm preparing to turn myself in again and try to get leniency. Maybe I can even avoid going to the battlefield of the amnesty. I'll make sure all the effort you put into Liang Mian is ruined, and I'll expose the fact that the demonic path is about to take action in the demon realm.

Sure enough, once they really showed their willingness to overturn the table, the demonic path immediately backed down. Feng Chi couldn't help but sneer while holding the Mother-Child Talisman; it was a laugh of utter despair.

Another 5 billion yuan, Shi Chun is once again asking for an exorbitant sum.

There was no way around it; over the past twenty years, Wu Jinliang had consumed a great deal of cultivation resources. If it weren't for Young Master Nan supporting the Mingshan Sect, the situation would have been even worse. And the resources consumed by the next group of people with even higher cultivation levels would become increasingly enormous.

Of course, the Demonic Path side wasn't quick to give it either, saying they would give it to them later.

Shi Chun had only one explanation: once you go in, you don't know if you'll come out alive, so you have to get your hands on it before entering the battlefield.

How to hand over the money? Shi Chunrang deposited the money with Young Master Nan in his name.

The result was completely one-sided, with the demonic path being utterly defeated and unable to retaliate.

After the deal was settled, Feng Chi stared blankly at the mother-child talisman in his hand, muttering to himself, "How could I have risked my life for them for so many years..."

She couldn't understand why it was so easy to manipulate.

Shi Chun, who had changed his clothes behind the screen, couldn't help but laugh. "It just shows that their actions in the Demon Realm this time are really important."

Feng Chi looked up at him, puzzled, and asked, "Boss, you don't seem nervous at all. Are you really not worried about this battle at all?"

Shi Chun tugged at his clothes and scoffed, "I'm going in... others should be worried."

What he meant was that I would go inside and hide, and that others should be the ones to worry.

However, Feng Chi, who had just been deflated, suddenly perked up upon hearing this. He bit his lip, his eyes sparkling. He immediately put away the mother-child talisman and quickly stepped forward to help Shi Chun stretch out the clothes he had just put on. He even flattered him, saying, "Hmm, the chief looks good in anything."

Shi Chun nodded and said, "I think so too."

He genuinely believes that.

Feng Chi also understood, and burst into laughter, overjoyed. The gloom in his heart was completely swept away. He loved the Boss's shameless confidence and domineering aura!

A few days later, just before the participants were about to enter their respective teams, Young Master Nan eagerly came to their door. With Shi Chun's help and persuasion, Young Master Nan was able to enter the sacred mountain, which was heavily guarded by the people of the Star Gazing Pavilion.

Upon meeting, Young Master Nan immediately asked him if he had transferred some money to him.

Shi Chun gestured for him to sit down and then asked, "Fifty billion is correct, right?"

Young Master Nan's eyes widened. "Did you really deliver this?"

Shi Chun nodded, "Keep it with you. In case anything changes, it can be your backup plan."

Wu Jin, standing to the side, stared wide-eyed and hurriedly asked, "What fifty billion? Where did fifty billion come from?"

Shi Chun gave him a look that said he'd talk about it later. No matter how good his relationship with Young Master Nan was, he couldn't possibly reveal the source of the money to him.

Afterwards, Young Master Nan naturally apologized for what happened back then, but Shi Chun immediately stopped him, saying, "There was a reason for it. You even helped me take care of the Mingshan Sect's people. Let bygones be bygones. If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have kept this money with you."

Well, let's just leave it at that. Young Master Nan was filled with emotion, for he had never met such a person before.

Wu Jinliang suddenly asked, "Brother Nan, are the betting odds open this time?"

His intention was to help the other side avoid some losses. They were going to hide and avoid fighting this time, so he had to give a hint to prevent the other side from betting on them again.

To everyone's surprise, Young Master Nan waved his hands repeatedly, "Don't be ridiculous. Who would dare to place bets on that game that five families pooled together? I wouldn't dare to organize such a game either. The outcome inside, how humiliating the losers are, how glorious the winners are—even if there were a mirror image, it wouldn't be shown to outsiders. But you, Wu Jinliang, I almost didn't recognize you. What happened? How did you get so fat..."

(End of this chapter)