Chapter 971: Blood Guard

Even a powerful dragon struggles to subdue a local snake; this is still the imperial capital!

Old Mu, who could maintain such a significant presence outside Daye City, making moves worth hundreds of thousands of silver notes, clearly possessed both personal strength and backing powerful enough to control external forces.

Wang Chen was neither the first nor would he be the last to stir up trouble in the Medicine King Manor.

Even if Wang Chen could crush a fourth-level martial general, Old Mu remained unfazed.

As soon as Old Mu finished speaking, a gray-clad servant, who had been standing inconspicuously in the corner of the hall, suddenly darted to Wang Chen’s side. His right hand formed talons, striking toward Wang Chen’s throat with lightning speed, leaving no room for defense.

This gray-clad servant, though unremarkable in appearance and barely noticeable in the hall, unleashed a storm-like force as he moved. The tips of his fingers glowed with a sinister black light, the power concentrated to its peak.

A flicker of disdain crossed Old Mu’s eyes.

The gray-clad servant attacking Wang Chen was the strongest in the Medicine King Manor, a half-step martial sect master. His mastery of the black talon technique was ruthless, designed to shatter protective energy barriers.

Even the slightest scratch from his talons would inject toxins no fourth-level martial general could withstand.

Simultaneously, another fourth-level martial general blocking the doorway drew his curved blade, channeling all his strength into a slash aimed at the back of Wang Chen’s neck.

In an instant, Wang Chen found himself caught between two martial artists closing in on him.

But in the next moment, the gray-clad servant’s talons, poised to strike Wang Chen’s throat, suddenly froze mid-air, and the servant found himself immobilized.

Wang Chen had seized his wrist at the critical moment.

With a subtle shift, Wang Chen stepped half a pace to the side, narrowly evading the curved blade’s slash from behind.

The gray-clad servant felt his wrist clamped in an iron grip. Panicking, he instinctively struggled to break free, only to hear the sickening crack of his wrist bone shattering.

As the half-step martial sect master reeled from the intense pain in his wrist, Wang Chen effortlessly lifted him and hurled him like a heavy hammer into the martial artist stationed at the door.

Crash!

The doorframe of the Medicine King Manor’s hall splintered as the fourth-level martial general was sent flying like a broken kite. Blood and shattered organs spewed from his mouth.

His body, twisted and mangled, crashed to the ground, barely recognizable.

The gray-clad servant, now a battered and bloodied wreck, lay unconscious, his clothes in tatters.

Even if he survived, he would be nothing but a cripple.

Thud!

Wang Chen tossed the servant at Old Mu’s feet and smiled. “Old Mu, let’s settle this account now.”

Old Mu’s face paled, but he stood his ground. “How do you propose we settle it?”

“Let’s start with your terms.”

Wang Chen calmly pulled out a thick stack of silver notes from his pocket. “This nearly six-hundred-year-old old mountain ginseng is worth four hundred thousand; this five-hundred-twenty-seven-year-old one is worth two hundred fifty thousand; and this one…”

He gestured to the unpriced ginseng. “How about a total of one million silver notes?”

Old Mu’s eye twitched. “What are you implying?”

The strongest figure in the Medicine King Manor now lay at his feet, convulsing and bleeding from every orifice, barely clinging to life.

With Wang Chen clearly holding the upper hand, he was offering to buy Old Mu’s counterfeit ginseng for a million silver notes.

Was this even reasonable?

Old Mu was no fool!

But now he had no choice but to stall for time: “Young Master Wang, I must apologize for my earlier rudeness. Please take these three boxes of old mountain ginseng, and let’s consider the money as a token of my apology.”

Though the three ginseng roots, supposedly over five hundred years old, were fake, the materials used to craft them were genuine and aged, easily worth tens of thousands of silver notes.

“That won’t do.”

Wang Chen shook his head: “That would make me no better than a shameless extortionist.”

He reached for the three sandalwood boxes, then slid the stack of silver notes back toward Old Mu: “Consider our debt settled.”

Wang Chen locked eyes with him: “Any objections?”

Despite the million silver notes laid out before him, Old Mu felt a deep unease, a creeping fear taking hold.

If he were in Wang Chen’s shoes, he would never act so generously!

Yet, Old Mu couldn’t fathom what Wang Chen was scheming and instinctively replied, “None.”

Wang Chen clapped his hands and chuckled: “Good.”

At that moment, a group of armored soldiers, swords at their sides, appeared at the entrance.

Leading them was a towering military official, who stormed into the hall with a grave expression and barked in a deep voice: “The Blood Guard is here! Who dares to commit violence? Surrender at once!”

The Blood Guard?

Wang Chen raised an eyebrow.

The Blood Guard served as the emperor’s personal guard, tasked with maintaining order in the imperial capital. They were akin to local county enforcers but wielded far greater authority, blending military and law enforcement roles.

Like the Yiluan Directorate, the Blood Guard was divided into inner and outer guards; the inner guards protected the palace, while the outer guards patrolled the city.

Whether civil and military officials, noble families, or martial experts, anyone who dared to break the law within Daye City fell under the Blood Guard’s jurisdiction.

The problem was, though the Blood Guard patrolled day and night, they were still ten miles from Daye City, in a private manor. Their arrival was suspiciously swift!

“Lord Shangguan!”

Old Mu seized the opportunity like a drowning man clutching at straws: “You’ve arrived just in time! Please arrest this criminal; he just murdered two of my men and tried to steal my herbs!”

What a blatant distortion of the truth!

“How bold!”

The Blood Guard leader glared at Wang Chen and roared: “Kneel immediately, or face death!”

Wang Chen smiled.

This leader was undoubtedly part of Old Mu’s contingency plan. With millions of silver notes at stake, it was only natural for Old Mu to have prepared thoroughly.

Wang Chen was certain these men were no strangers to such schemes; their coordination was seamless!

“Is the esteemed Lord Shangguan of the Blood Guard present?”

Wang Chen produced his identity token: “You’ve arrived at the perfect moment. I am Wang Chen, Qiandu of the Blood Guard and Grand General of Demon Suppression. I came to Medicine King Manor to purchase herbs but was sold fakes, and the seller even attempted to kill me for them. I ask you, Lord Shangguan, to uphold justice.”

Qiandu of the Blood Guard!

Everyone froze in shock; no one expected someone as young and noble-looking as Wang Chen to hold such a high-ranking position in the Blood Guard.

The Blood Guard leader frowned, snatching the identity token from Wang Chen and scrutinizing it carefully.

His heart sank.

The token was genuine!