God-Slaying Blade

Sima Xiang's face stiffened.

Qin had always been quite polite to him.

But now, Qin Jue didn't give him any face at all.

Huang Qiuyun, standing to the side, subtly twitched her face, inwardly chuckling, "That smiling tiger Sima Xiang, he can't be smiling now, can he?"

He only learned why Ling Tianxiao had made him, an alchemist, lead the team alongside Sima Xiang after leaving the city. It was all so that he and Sima Xiang could curry favor with Qin Jue.

After all, in the current City Lord's Mansion, only the grandfather and grandson are close to Qin Jue.

Unfortunately, Qin Jue seemed oblivious to worldly affairs and didn't give them any face at all.

The members of Suyun Sect looked at each other in bewilderment.

Elder Qin is indeed strong, but his way of dealing with people is likely to offend others easily.

Although the strength of the four major sects is in no way inferior to that of the City Lord's Mansion, they still have to be polite to the people of the City Lord's Mansion.

Sima Xiang recovered his senses and forced a smile, saying, "Ahem, I was being presumptuous."

Qin Jue nodded and said, "It is a bit presumptuous, but if Mr. Sima can afford the price, then it is not an unreasonable request. In all these years of wandering, I have supported myself by taking people's spirit stones and solving their problems."

Sima Xiang's eyes lit up with joy, and he quickly said, "As long as Young Master Qin is willing to help, the reward is negotiable!"

"Let's talk as we go. Let's get to the point first, then discuss the specific compensation!" Qin Jue said with a faint smile.

Sima Xiang's influence wasn't enough to make him Qin Bailao, but if the City Lord's Mansion was willing to spend money, Qin Jue wouldn't mind taking advantage of the situation.

"Haha, okay."

"Get on your horses quickly!"

Sima Xiang burst into laughter.

After everyone set off together, Sima Xiang spoke up: "In recent years, a band of not-so-weak thieves has been running rampant in the northwest of Fengzhou, and their headquarters happens to be near Duanlong Valley, a place we must pass through on our journey. The city lord instructed us to eliminate these villains as we pass by. As far as we know, there are two Grandmaster-level experts among them, and they have several hundred men under their command. However, we know nothing about their origins, but they should not be from Fengzhou."

Qin Jue smiled faintly: "Grandmasters running off to become bandits? These two have a more direct approach to making money than I do."

Sima Xiangqian laughed and said, "Young Master Qin is joking. Young Master Qin is different from these people. These bandits have no bottom line. No one who falls into their hands is spared, not even children. There are even rumors that in several villages, all the women between the ages of fifteen and forty, regardless of their beauty or ugliness, have been kidnapped. I suspect that it was these people who did it, and that they kidnapped these women not simply to satisfy their lust, but probably for some other purpose."

Zhao Qingmeng's eyes darkened, and she said coldly, "Since the City Lord's Mansion knew about such vicious bandits long ago, why did they wait until today to wipe them out?"

Sima Xiang said awkwardly, "Although this gang of bandits has been around for over a year, the city lord's mansion only recently received the news. The several small cities under its jurisdiction originally wanted to join forces to wipe them out and gain merit, but not only did they fail, they also suffered heavy losses, so they had no choice but to report it."

Zhao Qingmeng glanced at Sima Xiang, Huang Qiuyun, and the thirteen people behind them, and couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

With such a small force, even if they find the bandits' lair, can they wipe them out?

Ling Tianxiao said he didn't want to trouble Qin Jue, but he forced Sima Xiang to ask Qin Jue for help! Or rather, asking Qin Jue for help was Ling Tianxiao's idea, but Ling Tianxiao didn't want to owe Qin Jue a favor, so he asked Sima Xiang to step forward and save face.

Waiting outside the city was also to prevent Qin Jue from having a chance to refuse.

Unlike others, Qin Jue did not agree to lend a hand just because Sima Xiang asked.

Qin Jue didn't seem to care much and asked with a faint smile, "I'll take this job. How much will Mr. Sima offer?"

Sima Xiang's eyes flickered slightly, and he smiled, "Young Master Qin, what do you think is a suitable amount?"

Qin Jue said, "Since these people are so vicious, you'd better not get involved to avoid losses. Leave it to me alone. One million spirit stones, and I'll take them all down."

Sima Xiang exclaimed in surprise, "One million spirit stones? This... isn't that a bit too much?"

Qin Jue said with a faint smile, "Mr. Sima, do you think the heads of two Grandmasters aren't even worth a million spirit stones? Even if they aren't, I should at least charge that price for each of my attacks."

Sima Xiang's lips twitched, and he couldn't help but look at Huang Qiuyun for help.

He was now in a dilemma. If he refused Qin Jue's help because he thought it was too expensive, wouldn't that offend Qin Jue? If he agreed, even though he had Ling Tianxiao's deep trust, he couldn't make a decision on his own when it involved one million spirit stones.

Huang Qiuyun coughed lightly but did not speak.

Zhao Qingmeng chuckled to herself, guessing that after this, neither the City Lord's Mansion nor Sima Xiang would dare to trouble Qin Jue again...

"It's a great thing that Young Master Qin is willing to help suppress the bandits. My city lord's mansion will cover the one million spirit stones. However, we can only pay the full amount after we return." Ling Heng, who was following behind Sima Xiang, said with a smile.

Qin Jue turned and glanced at Ling Heng, then laughed, "The young city lord is truly generous."

Ling Heng smiled and said, "It's not that I'm being generous, but I mainly want to do something for the people of Fengzhou. Unfortunately, we may not be able to do it ourselves, so we can only rely on Young Master Qin."

"Heh, as expected of the young city lord, those are some beautiful words." Qin Jue smiled faintly.

Ling Heng's eyes darkened slightly; he could naturally hear the sarcasm in Qin Jue's words.

But now he dared not offend Qin Jue, so he could only pretend not to understand.

Qin Juejue's position as the city lord's mansion ultimately harbored resentment.

On the night the Qin family was wiped out, other families could choose not to help, but as the city lord's mansion, how could we stand idly by and watch the fire burn?

Although Ling Tianxiao later went to the Qin family, it was clearly just for show.

The two groups of people traveled together, stopping and starting along the way.

Two days later, Sima Xiang's expression turned solemn, and he reined in his horse to a stop.

"Young Master Qin, the Broken Dragon Valley is just thirty miles ahead. On both sides of the Broken Dragon Valley, there are large mountain ranges stretching for thousands of miles. According to the reports we've received, bandits have been active on both sides of these mountain ranges, so it's really hard to say which side their stronghold is on," Sima Xiang said.

Qin Jue smiled faintly and said, "It's alright, we'll just use bait to catch them. As long as they show themselves, I'll have my own way of getting them to lead me to their lair."

"Sister-in-law, take two female disciples from the Suyun Sect with you and come with me. The rest of you can camp here and wait for my return."

Zhao Qingmeng laughed and said, "It seems we've become the bait you're looking for."

"With you three as bait, why worry about those bandits not taking the bait?" Qin Jue laughed heartily.

"Alright, with you here, there won't be any danger." Zhao Qingmeng smiled, turned to the four women in the Suyun Sect group, and asked with a smile, "Senior sisters and junior sisters, who among you is willing to go with me as bait?"

"Wow!"

"Wow!"

"Don't try to take it! I'm the senior sister; I have to do this dangerous thing!"

"Yes, you two kids can rest now!"

To Zhao Qingmeng's astonishment, all four of her fellow disciples were eager to sign up.