Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

Xu Pei led the way, and after Yi Yang changed into the official uniform representing the Director of the Sky Patrol Bureau, he walked into the front yard at a leisurely pace.

At this moment, the five people representing the major forces were already waiting in the courtyard, staring at each other.

They never expected that Yi Yang would dare to make them wait outside like this, which really showed that he didn't take their various forces seriously.

Zhou Tao, the head steward of the Wei family; Leng Sheng of the Green Snake Gang; Xue, the steward of the Mo family; a new face from the Three Lakes Gang; and that young scholar from the White Fish Merchant Guild.

The group had been staring at Yi Yang ever since he entered, but no one spoke first.

At this moment, Yi Yang walked to the desk and sat down. He raised his eyelids, glanced around, and said with a smile, "I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting."

His tone was calm, as if he wasn't deliberately making them wait outside.

This made Zhou Tao's eye twitch.

They waited for almost half a cup of tea before the old man finally appeared leisurely.

Before last night, Zhou Tao would have already left after unleashing a torrent of angry curses. But having witnessed firsthand how Zheng Haitao's head was smashed, and remembering the patriarch's instructions before he arrived, he could only swallow his anger and say with a smile:

"Not at all, adults are busy, we're not in a hurry."

He felt a chill run down his spine as he said those words, but there was nothing he could do; the patriarch had said he had to show respect to the old man.

Zhou Tao's words drew the attention of those representing other factions, who thought to themselves:

"Why is this old dog being so agreeable today?"

Yi Yang didn't reply, but picked up his teacup, took a sip, and waited for all parties to express their opinions.

Seeing this, Zhou Tao sighed. It seemed that he would have to humble himself completely today.

He gave a wink to the servants behind him, and four boxes were brought up one after another.

Zhou Tao opened the first box, which contained twenty low-grade precious pills, neatly arranged.

Next came the second box, containing a set of protective armor that could be worn by those at the Inner Qi Realm. The workmanship was quite good, and the materials alone were worth a lot of money.

As Zhou Tao spoke, his eyes kept glancing at Yi Yang's face, trying to see if he would react.

Unfortunately, Yi Yang just sat there, holding the teacup in his hand, with no expression on his face.

This made Zhou Tao's heart sink; he wasn't sure if the old man was satisfied or not.

He opened the third box, revealing a full three thousand taels of silver, neatly arranged, almost dazzling in the sunlight.

Finally, in the fourth box, there was a scroll of documents inside.

This piqued the curiosity of other factions. The first three gifts from the Wei family were already astonishing, so why was the fourth one just a piece of paper?

At this moment, Zhou Tao personally unfolded the document and handed it to the professor with both hands: "Lord Yi, this is the proof of 30% of the annual revenue from the Wei family's eastern trade route."

After he finished speaking, he straightened his back a little, as if trying to hide some complicated feelings.

This wasn't originally a gift from the Wei family; it was part that should have been handed over to the Sky Patrol Division, but the Wei family had kept it for themselves.

But now, because of Yi Yang, they actually have to spit it out. To put it nicely, it's a return; to put it bluntly, the Wei family has actually lost a piece of their flesh.

The courtyard fell silent for a moment after hearing Zhou Tao's words.

Xu Pei stood behind Yi Yang, calculated for a moment, his Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't make a sound.

Leng Sheng paused, his hand holding the teacup still.

The scholar from the White Fish Merchant Guild maintained a smile, but his eyes seemed to freeze.

They hadn't expected that the last thing the Wei family owned would be this, which made them curse inwardly:

"How can your Wei family be so generous, allowing us to present such presentable items?"

Even after glancing at the document, Yi Yang, who had remained calm, couldn't help but smile and say, "I will accept this generous gift from the Wei family."

With this document, Yi Yang's operation can be considered a great success, after all, he has regained some of the power of the White Fish City Sky Patrol Division.

Zhou Tao paused, swallowed back the pleasantries he had prepared, and stepped aside.

Next up was the Mo family. Steward Xue brought over two thousand taels of silver notes, along with a batch of medicinal herbs, with a market value of around three thousand taels.

The Green Snake Gang's Leng Sheng had a batch of high-quality medicinal raw materials, of good quality, worth about 2,500 taels of silver.

The newcomer to the Sanhu Gang was much more low-key than Iron Pot Jiang. He quietly presented a hunted beast and a thousand taels of silver, said "a small gift," and then withdrew.

A young scholar from the White Fish Merchant Guild presented a pass token, which exempted him from various guild fees when doing business in the city, saving him several thousand taels of silver a year.

With all the gifts from the five families laid out, Yi Yang, holding a teacup, scanned them from one end to the other, making a rough calculation in his mind.

The total value is approximately over 30,000 taels.

But the expression on his face showed that he was handling a routine official business.

Thank you everyone.

He put down the teacup, spoke in a flat tone, and without asking them to leave, asked Xu Pei to step forward and sign the gift list.

After he said that, there was a moment of silence in the courtyard.

Manager Xue and Leng Sheng exchanged a glance out of the corner of their eye, but neither of them moved.

The gift was given, and this is the old man's reaction?

Is saying thank you all you want? You didn't even tell them to leave? What does that mean?!

Zhou Tao felt a cold sweat break out on her back, wondering if this gesture was insufficient or if she was deliberately leaving everyone hanging.

He couldn't figure it out, and this was even more unsettling than last night.

Last night, Yi Yang committed murder, so at least he knew what that meant. But now, this silent indifference only made him feel uneasy and lost.

Just as the representatives were about to take their leave, the courtyard gate was pushed open from the outside.

The person who came was not walking fast, but walking very steadily.

Song Liangcheng, the leader of the Shallow Water Gang, walked in. He was probably in his forties, not very tall, but with a straight back. As soon as he entered, he cupped his hands to Yi Yang and said:

"Lord Yi, I am late. Please forgive me."

Upon seeing this visitor, the reactions of the people in the courtyard were all different.

Leng Sheng's eyebrows twitched, Steward Xue shut his mouth, Zhou Tao turned to look at Song Liangcheng, then turned back to look at Yi Yang.

The leader of the Shallow Water Gang actually came in person?

Moreover, upon entering, they immediately bowed and apologized, showing no intention of pursuing the matter of Zheng Haitao's death.

Without saying a word, Song Liangcheng had two men carry in an ironwood box.

He lifted the cloth himself, and there lay a thumb-sized blade of grass on the deep red velvet cloth. It was entirely green, with a single golden droplet of liquid clinging to its tip, so full it was about to fall off.

"Twenty-year-old Jade Blood Grass, obtained from White Dragon Marsh."

Song Liangcheng pushed the box onto the table and said, "This is a special gift to congratulate you on your promotion to Director of White Fish City!"

Upon seeing this object, the courtyard of the Sky Patrol Bureau fell silent for three breaths.

It wasn't the kind of quiet that was just feigned politeness; it was the kind where there was genuine silence.

For the first time, Zhou Tao's expression faltered, and her usually shrewd demeanor softened slightly.

He really hadn't expected the Shallow Water Gang to make such a big move, which diminished the Wei family's prominence somewhat.

At this moment, Yi Yang stared at Song Liangcheng for two breaths.

He sensed that the man's heartbeat was abnormally steady; it wasn't the genuine calm that appeared on the surface, but rather a composure that concealed something beneath.

The other party gave this gift and said these words; it was all calculated.

But Yi Yang took the box and said, "Okay, I'll accept it."

Song Liangcheng's lips relaxed slightly, but Yi Yang didn't give him a chance to continue.

Just as everyone was about to see that all the gifts from Yi Yang's subordinates could be distributed, Yi Yang spoke up.

"etc."

Upon hearing this, the five people who were about to leave stopped in their tracks, and Song Liangcheng also stood still.

Yi Yang placed the teacup on the table and said calmly, "The gifts are very nice; thank you all for your thoughtfulness."

He paused for a moment.

"However, I have two top priorities in coming to White Fish City this time."

"First, we need to find out the truth behind the death of the previous Director Su; second, we need to eliminate the nine heretical cult members in the city."

"If anyone has any news, please feel free to share it."

These words immediately lowered the temperature in the courtyard.

Xue Guan reacted in advance, his expression changed, he took half a step forward, and asked in a firm tone:

"What do you mean by that, Lord Yi? The Mo family is completely innocent. Does this mean you suspect we are involved in Director Su's death? Or is it that the Mo family has some connection with the heretics of the Nine Evils Cult?"

He clearly believed that Yi Yang was dissatisfied with the amount of gifts and was looking for an excuse to make more money.

This idea also came to Zhou Tao and Leng Sheng's minds.

The new director just accepted a bribe of 30,000 taels of silver, and then immediately brought up the death investigation and the Nine Evil Cult. Anyone would think twice about that.

Yi Yang glanced at Steward Xue, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said in a rather cold tone:

"Steward Xue is overthinking it."

"I didn't say that any of you are involved in these two matters. I'm just saying that if any of you have any leads, please remember to let me know."

He leaned back in his chair, his tone becoming more relaxed:

"A generous reward will be given to anyone who provides valuable clues. We all do business in White Fish City; chaos in the city benefits no one. Once this matter is clarified, everyone can rest assured, right?"

Upon hearing this, Steward Xue opened his mouth, but swallowed the next sentence he had prepared.

He couldn't pinpoint what was wrong, but he felt the other person's answer was too smooth, as if they knew he would ask that question.

Leng Sheng kept his head down, fiddling with his teacup, without making a sound.

Song Liangcheng stood still, his expression remaining largely unchanged, except that his gaze lingered on Yi Yang for a moment before shifting away.

Yi Yang didn't say anything more, and raised his hand to gesture for Yi Yang to go.

Only then were they able to take their leave.

The pace of footsteps varied, but no one lingered for even a second longer.

The courtyard fell silent again.

Yi Yang sat down and drank tea.

There are two things I need to do in White Fish City this time, one is public and the other is private.

On the surface is the Nine Evil Sects, and beneath the surface is the hidden leader of the sect.

Saying this in public puts a hook on everyone present.

Yi Yang did not believe that all the forces in the city were harmonious and that they were all related to the Nine Evil Cult.

As long as there is discord between forces and they are unwilling to see the Nine Evil Sect develop here, then whether it is to frame their opponents or for something else, it will not be a loss for Yi Yang.

"grown ups."

At this moment, Xu Pei came in from outside, holding an unsigned envelope in his hand. He handed it over and said, "This is from the leader of the Shallow Water Gang. He said it's for you."

Yi Yang held the teacup, his fingers hovering over the rim, not immediately taking it, thinking to himself:

"So someone just delivered the item to me, didn't they?"