In chaotic times, one can become a martial immortal.

"Why have you come to the county seat?"

Soon, Lu Yuan saw Zheng Shuang and Zhang Yida, who both looked rather solemn.

"Brother Yuan, we didn't want to trouble you, but we really had no other choice!"

Zheng Shuang and Zhang Yida exchanged a glance and then sighed.

"Isn't the government doing anything about it?"

After listening to the two of them finish speaking, Lu Yuan frowned slightly.

Unexpectedly, only half a year after he left, Qinghe County underwent such a dramatic change.

The Iron Palm Gang successively destroyed the Axe Gang and the Giant Kun Gang, and then integrated and swallowed up almost all the smaller gangs, basically unifying the entire Qinghe County.

Logically speaking, although the government turns a blind eye to these gangs, it shouldn't allow a single gang to become dominant.

"Nobody cares!"

Zheng Shuang shook his head helplessly and said, "The one who is on good terms with my Zheng family reminded us to try our best not to make enemies with the Iron Palm Gang, otherwise, only our Zheng family will suffer, and he can't help us."

"The person who is on good terms with my Zhang family also sent a message saying that as long as the Iron Palm Gang does not directly attack my Zhang family, we should not have any conflict with them."

Zhang Yida echoed this sentiment.

Upon hearing their words, Lu Yuan's gaze sharpened slightly.

If that's the case, then there should only be one possibility.

That is, the Iron Palm Clan not only has powerful backers, but those backers are extremely influential, even having connections that reach the heavens.

"What do you want me to do?"

Lu Yuan pondered for a moment, then looked up at Zheng Shuang and Zhang Yida.

"Brother Yuan, you are not only a martial arts scholar of this year's examination, but also a student of the county martial arts academy. Your words carry far more weight than ours."

Zheng Shuang hesitated slightly, then continued, "Therefore, I hope that you, Brother Yuan, can represent our Zheng family and Zhang family to negotiate with the Iron Palm Gang. It would be best if we could sign a non-aggression pact so that they would never again attack our two families' caravans."

"Brother Yuan, rest assured, our two families will never let you waste your efforts. Whether we succeed or not, we will offer you 50,000 taels of silver as a reward."

Zhang Yida quickly added, "Besides that, our two families can also guarantee that we will do our utmost to ensure Aunt Yang and Xiaonan's well-being and safety in the future. We will even fully support Xiaonan's martial arts training when she grows up!"

"Then I'll go back with you!"

Lu Yuan nodded slightly and said directly.

Compared to the reward of 50,000 taels, he actually valued what Zhang Yida said more.

"That's great, thank you so much, Brother Yuan!"

Zhang Yida cheered upon hearing this.

"Brother Yuan, He Qing, the vice leader of the Iron Palm Gang, is currently in the county town. We've also received information that he should be staying at the Tonghai Inn!"

Zheng Shuang's face lit up with joy, and he quickly replied.

"Alright, let's not delay, I'll go see him at Tonghai Inn now!"

Lu Yuan nodded.

Immediately, he followed the two men directly to the Tonghai Inn.

Before long, Lu Yuan, Zheng Shuang, and Zhang Yida sat down in a private room on the second floor of Tonghai Inn with He Qing, the vice leader of the Iron Palm Clan, and several other Iron Palm Clan experts.

"Young Brother Lu Yuan, this should be our second meeting, right?"

He Qing smiled at Lu Yuan and spoke first.

"I guess so!"

Lu Yuan smiled and nodded.

The last time they met, He Qing brought Liu Hu's portrait to ask him about it, and at that time he had indeed never seen Liu Hu.

Unexpectedly, he not only met Liu Hu later, but also took care of him directly.

In a sense, he indirectly avenged Wang Qing, the young leader of the Iron Palm Gang.

"Young Brother Lu Yuan, let's not beat around the bush. I know why you've come, but I can't agree to your request. Although I am the vice leader of the Iron Palm Clan, there are some things that are beyond my control."

He Qing looked at Lu Yuan with a smile on his face and said.

Upon hearing this, both Zheng Shuang and Zhang Yida couldn't help but slightly change their expressions.

After the Iron Palm Gang unified the gangs in Qinghe County, they have attacked the two families' caravans multiple times, causing them enormous losses.

If an agreement cannot be reached today, the losses for both companies may be even greater in the future. If this continues, no matter how strong their foundations are, they will probably gradually decline.

"Brother Yuan..."

The two turned to look at Lu Yuan, wanting to say something, but he directly raised his hand to interrupt them.

"Vice Chief He, may I perhaps meet with your gang's leader?"

Lu Yuan looked up at He Qing and asked.

"Although I'd love to agree, unfortunately, our gang leader is very busy, and you've already asked to see him. This puts me in a difficult position!"

He Qing shook his head again.

"Bang!"

Just then, the door to the private room was suddenly kicked open.

The next moment, a long whip, as sharp as lightning, lashed out.

"boom!"

The entire table was overturned, and food and drinks were scattered all over the floor.

Immediately afterwards, Qian Rou, her face contorted with malice, strode in.

"It's difficult... then let's not do it!"

Qian Rou stared coldly at He Qing and said directly, "If your Iron Palm Gang dares to attack my Qian family's caravan again, I will go back to Qinghe County and wipe out your entire Iron Palm Gang."

She wasn't trying to scare He Qing. With her current eighth-grade copper skin cultivation, wiping out the Iron Palm Clan wouldn't be difficult at all.

"You can give it a try!"

However, even though He Qing hadn't managed to reach the rank of rank, he still dared to face Qian Rou directly, showing no fear whatsoever, and even a hint of disdain in his eyes.

"Qian Rou, who gave you the audacity to speak so arrogantly?"

Before Qian Rou could lash out again, another sneer rang out.

Everyone turned to look and saw a noble young man dressed in a purple robe, wearing a purple-gold crown, and even his shoes were purple, walking in.

"Cui Yunhao!"

Qian Rou looked at the young man in purple, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.

"Greetings, Second Master Cui!"

He Qing and the others hurriedly stood up and bowed respectfully to Cui Yunhao.

"Qian Rou, do you believe that with just one word, I can make your Qian family disappear completely from Qinghe County?"

Cui Yunhao waved his hand, then looked at Qian Rou with a half-smile.

Qian Rou remained silent, not daring to say anything more.

Although the Qian family is a century-old powerful clan with a foundation far beyond that of ordinary wealthy families, they are completely incomparable to the Cui family, a true martial arts family, in terms of both strength and wealth.

She even had to admit that Cui Yunhao's words were not just empty boasting, but something he could actually do.

Zheng Shuang and Zhang Yida both wore long faces and dared not utter a single word.

"As for you... Lu Yuan, if you are willing to come to my Cui family and become a guard leader, perhaps I can consider it and make the Iron Palm Gang stop targeting the caravans of the two families."

Cui Yunhao then looked at Lu Yuan and said with a half-smile.

"What if I don't want to?"

Lu Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he spoke directly.

No wonder the Iron Palm Gang was able to unify all the gangs in Qinghe County in such a short time; it turns out that the person behind it was the second young master of the Cui family right in front of us.

The Great Zhou Dynasty is a martial arts dynasty, and its great power comes from itself. Martial arts families like the Cui family, which have a history of hundreds of years, must have super experts of the third rank in charge. Even the government would not dare to provoke them easily.

Let alone the small Qinghe County government, even in the Anyang prefectural city, the prefectural governor's office probably couldn't do anything to the Cui family.

……