Chapter 411 - 412: Coercion
With a sharp rebuke from Zheng Ke, the tavern patrons scrambled out the door in a panic.
Given Zheng Ke’s tyranny, anyone who dared to defy him would face swift retaliation. At best, they’d be paralyzed; at worst, they’d be killed on the spot.
So, within moments, all the patrons had left the tavern, gathering in a crowd outside.
"Xinyu!"
Zheng Ke walked forward with a smile, his hand reaching for Lan Xinyu’s shoulder.
Lan Xinyu dodged back in a flash, deftly avoiding his touch.
Lan Xinyu was at the Spiritual Spring Third Layer, while Zheng Ke was only at the First Layer. How could he possibly catch her?
As Lan Xinyu dodged, Zheng Ke lost his balance and nearly stumbled to the ground.
His anger flared. ’Damn bitch! I’ll put up with you for now, but once I get you into my bed, I’ll humiliate you mercilessly.’
Though he seethed internally, Zheng Ke’s expression quickly smoothed back into a smile as he looked at Lan Xinyu.
"Young Master Zheng, if you want the Fire Orchid Spirit, please wait a moment. I’ll go get it for you right away."
Lan Xinyu was disgusted by Zheng Ke; she knew exactly what he was after.
She turned at once, ready to fetch the Fire Orchid Spirit.
WHOOSH!
With a wicked smile, Zheng Ke zipped in front of Lan Xinyu, blocking her path. "Xinyu, you should understand by now. I don’t want the spirit—I want you. Marry me. I’ll give you a life of wealth and luxury, and no one will ever dare to bully you again."
"Young Master Zheng, please show some self-respect!"
Flustered and angry, Lan Xinyu retreated several steps to put some distance between them. "Young Master Zheng, I don’t seek wealth and luxury. I only wish to stay and manage this tavern. I appreciate the sentiment, but I must decline your offer."
"Xinyu, don’t be so quick to refuse. You know that in Black Stone City, my City Lord’s Mansion is the most powerful. The City Lord’s Mansion has everything. We can find the life-saving Treasure Medicine for your father. Aren’t you going to think about him?"
Seeing Lan Xinyu refuse him yet again, Zheng Ke’s smile vanished as he reminded her.
At his words, Lan Xinyu’s body trembled violently.
The crowd outside sighed, cursing Zheng Ke for his shamelessness.
Lan Xinyu’s father had been the owner of this tavern. But ever since Zheng Ke laid eyes on Lan Xinyu, he had been using the power of the City Lord’s Mansion to force her to marry him.
Her father, of course, refused. He never expected that Zheng Ke would send men to beat him so severely, and then use the pretense of providing a cure to blackmail Lan Xinyu into marriage.
"COUGH, COUGH... Xinyu, even if I die, you must not agree to this."
Just as Zheng Ke finished speaking, a weak, middle-aged figure made his way down from the second floor. His face was pale and his breathing was ragged—he was clearly gravely injured.
"Father!"
Seeing him, Lan Xinyu rushed forward to support him.
"Father-in-law, are you alright?" Zheng Ke said, turning with a smile to look at the middle-aged man.
"Who’s your father-in-law? COUGH, COUGH!" The middle-aged man, Lan Zheng, coughed up blood as he glared at Zheng Ke. ’To beat me this badly just to threaten my daughter... Shameless!’
Zheng Ke didn’t get angry. He just smiled. "Father-in-law, as long as Xinyu marries me, the City Lord’s Mansion can find a precious Treasure Medicine to save your life. I hope you’ll think it over carefully."
"Don’t even dream of it. My daughter will never marry you."
Lan Zheng coughed, his refusal blunt and absolute.
"Is that so?"
Zheng Ke sneered. Having been rejected repeatedly, he dropped the act. "You old fossil," he said coldly, "I am going to marry your daughter one way or another. And I’m not afraid to tell you this: three days ago, the Demon King from outside the city also took an interest in her. You’d better think carefully. No one can stand against the Demon King’s power. Only I can protect her."
"The Demon King is after Lan Xinyu?"
The faces of the patrons outside changed.
"In three days, I will take Lan Xinyu as my bride. If she is not brought to me, I will slaughter a thousand people in Black Stone City."
At that very moment, an imperious voice boomed abruptly from the sky.
"It’s the Demon King!"
"The Demon King is here!"
Hearing that familiar voice, the patrons turned deathly pale and stared up at the sky in terror.
The color drained from the faces of Lan Xinyu and her father. Their eyes filled with the ashen look of utter despair.
"Xinyu, you need to think this through. If you fall into the Demon King’s hands... well, I shudder to think. But if you marry me, I, as your husband, will protect you. Even the Demon King wouldn’t dare to act so brazenly."
Zheng Ke said with a smug look. Only the City Lord’s Mansion could stand against the Demon King.
Ye Wushuang, who had been listening all this time, finally tilted his head back and downed the cup of wine Lan Xinyu had poured for him.
CLINK...
He lifted the wine jug and poured himself another cup.
However,
the simple sound of wine being poured suddenly drew everyone’s attention.
The eyes of the guests outside went wide.
They had been so focused on Lan Xinyu and Zheng Ke that they had completely forgotten: there was still one person left in the tavern.
"Is that guy trying to get himself killed? Didn’t Zheng Ke tell everyone to get the hell out? How can he be sitting there drinking so calmly?"
Looking at Ye Wushuang’s perfectly calm and unruffled expression, they thought they were seeing things.
Zheng Ke was furious at being interrupted.
Seeing some guy who dared to ignore his command, he unleashed all the anger he had been bottling up from his exchange with Lan Xinyu and her father.
"You damned bastard! I told you to get out! Are you deaf?!"
Zheng Ke’s roar was a physical force, a powerful shockwave of sound.
But Ye Wushuang acted as if he hadn’t noticed. He slowly raised the freshly poured cup to his lips.
However,
Zheng Ke snatched it from his hand.
"I’ve bought out this entire tavern! What gives you the right to drink here? Get out!" Zheng Ke lifted the cup and drained it in one gulp, as if to vent his fury.
SPIT!
But as the spirit went down, he instantly sprayed a mouthful of blood and stumbled back four or five steps.
The cup in his hand fell with a CLATTER, shattering on the floor.
"What is this spirit?!"
Zheng Ke’s face contorted, his muscles twitching.
The crowd saw Zheng Ke’s reaction and gasped in surprise.
"Fire Orchid Spirit is brewed from Purple Fire Orchid and other Fire Attribute Spiritual Medicines," Lan Zheng explained. "When you drink it, the Fiery Fire Burning Essence takes effect. It feels as if your very True Essence is being set ablaze."
"’Fiery Fire Burning Essence!’" At the words, the onlookers paled. They, too, had ordered the spirit and had come close to drinking it. ’If we hadn’t been careful,’ they thought in horror, ’we could have been burned alive from the inside out!’
’It’s a good thing Zheng Ke kicked us out!’
The crowd felt a wave of relief. But then, as if remembering something, their heads whipped around to look at table fourteen.
There, they saw Ye Wushuang turn over another cup, pour himself a drink, and down it in one go. His expression didn’t change in the slightest.
"You can’t even handle a single cup of spirit, and you call yourself a man? You talk about protecting her? Do you have the right? Are you even worthy?"
Ye Wushuang said with a mocking laugh.
Ordinarily, this affair would have been none of his business. But Zheng Ke, that bastard, had screamed at him to ’get out’.
Worse, he had rudely snatched the spirit right out of his hand. How could Ye Wushuang not be angry?
"Bastard! You’re courting death!"
It took a long moment for Zheng Ke to recover. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a wretched sight. Suddenly, killing intent flared in his eyes. To be toyed with by Ye Wushuang like this... if he didn’t kill him, he’d never be able to vent his rage.