20. What crime is committed by an inferior who offends his superior?

Sister Lan had already prepared the food. Seeing that He Chen had finished his cultivation, she gently asked, "At noon, Jin Wen brought over the leopard meat, which is already cooked. Are you ready to eat now?"

He Chen looked at Lan Jie and said, "Okay, you all eat together. Also, you're not my servant, nor anyone else's servant. You only need to cook for me. Don't worry about the others. Just tell me if anything happens."

"Okay, I understand, Brother Shen." Sister Lan nodded obediently.

He devoured the meat, his cells absorbing the energy rapidly, as if he could never be full. However, He Chen did not use the Three-Leaf Golden Fungus for the time being, and of course, he would not use it as a killing point, as that would be too much of a waste.

Moreover, the Three-Leaf Golden Fungus grants 300 kill points upon absorption, but it costs 600 points to exchange for it. This middleman's markup is painful for He Chen.

That's really shady! No wonder everyone curses middlemen; it's a business with no capital!

He Chen came to the hall and closed his eyes to rest. He wasn't in a hurry. What was in a hurry was the Xie family caravan. His young lady hadn't returned, and they had arranged to meet again that afternoon. He had to go there!

The manager of the Xie family caravan gently stroked his hundred-times-forged sword. This sword had seen countless storms with him, but at this moment, he felt rather aggrieved. He was going, but was it really appropriate to hand over the management of the caravan so easily?

Still! But after all, I am just a servant of the Xie family. Yet, to hand over to this girl so easily, and in such an unwilling way, makes me feel indignant!

The servant looked at Steward Hai, recalling the fiery figure of the beauty before her departure and her soft whispers to him that he had never heard before. He thought that if he could ever have her by his side, his life would not have been in vain.

"Manager Hai, they've gone too far! It's one thing to be so indecent, but to flaunt it like this is a disgrace to the Xie family! If the family head finds out, he'll just beat her to death!"

The sea official remained silent, ultimately unable to make a decision. However, the trip had to be taken. The sun was already setting, and the nights were never peaceful.

He said to the servant, "Tell everyone to go together. The master wants to invite us, so we can't have too few people arrive too late."

The servant immediately replied in a low voice, "Yes, sir, the brothers are all ready."

The group of ten quickly arrived at the gate of He Chen's courtyard. This courtyard was nice for this place, but in the county town, even a small house was better looking. They were just country bumpkins. When the tiger is away, the monkey becomes king. They really didn't know their own limitations!

Jin Wen and Jin Luo were waiting at the gate. Upon seeing the visitors, they were led in directly. "Please come in, everyone. My master is waiting for you in the main hall."

In the main hall, He Chen closed his eyes to rest, while the Gentleman's Blade stood silently beside him, waiting for the moment when the Gentleman would draw his blade.

Jie Huayu was still a little confused about whether it was a dream or reality. She felt weak all over, as if she hadn't woken up properly. It might be because she was too tired, or it might be because her wish to take charge of the caravan had come true today, and she was excited and restless!

Hearing the footsteps, He Chen opened his eyes, his gaze steady. He had just been pondering his inner cultivation method and sword technique, and had gained some insights, but he knew he was not a person of exceptional talent, so he stopped thinking about it.

Looking at the two people in front of him and the ten people outside the door, it seemed that all of Steward Hai's men had arrived. This was even better; they could get straight to the point. After all, neither side believed that verbal sparring could resolve the matter.

"Manager Hai, please have a seat. The reason I invited you here today is to ask you to relinquish your authority as the caravan leader and assist Miss Yu. I wonder what your opinion is?"

The seaman was also a bit surprised. This young man was really impulsive and only wanted to get things done quickly.

He smiled and replied, "Lord He, you're too kind. This caravan originally belonged to the Xie family, and I'm merely a manager within the Xie family; naturally, I must listen to them!"

He Chen smiled, realizing things weren't that simple after all. "Would Manager Hai be willing to assist Miss Yu?"

Steward Hai chuckled and said, "I'll listen to whoever the patriarch tells me to listen to." He thought to himself, "But the patriarch isn't here right now; I only listen to myself!"

He Chen stroked the gentleman's blade and asked softly, "Are you truly unfit to assist Miss Yu? Insubordination is a capital offense, punishable by death!"

Butler Hai chuckled, stood up, and said, "If that's all there is to it, I'll take my leave."

He Chen smiled as well, "Alright, but now Miss Yu is mine. Disrespecting Qi is disrespecting me, and disrespecting me means you'll have to face the knife in my hand. This is your last chance."

The sea official, holding his Hundred-Refined Blade, chuckled and was about to speak!

"Bah! You adulterous couple, you shameless scoundrels, you want to take over the Xie family's caravan? Why don't you take a piss and look at yourselves in the mirror?" the servant interrupted. "You've been blinded by lust, haven't you? You're after the Xie family. In this border region, we've always had to beg the people of this state. Do you dare to kill them?"

As for himself, he had his own agenda.

Manager Hai didn't even glance at the servant, turned and left, thinking to himself, 'This servant is too troublesome; I can't keep him around.'

The servant quickly followed closely behind.

He Chen drew his sword, remaining silent, and followed closely behind, thinking to himself, 'We can't do it in the main hall. It'll get dirty and troublesome. The streets are better; easier to clean!'

On the street, Butler Hai stopped and turned around. The people behind him immediately lined up behind him. 'Heh heh, the village head is indeed powerful, but dealing with ghouls is different from dealing with humans.'

He Chen drew his sword and said, "I gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it. My people can't be bullied. So, have a safe journey."

The Sea Steward, having gathered power in his Hundred-Refined Blade, felt his blood surge throughout his body. The moment he drew his blade was to unleash his strongest killing move, the Crimson Serpent Blade Technique, exceptionally cunning and unpredictable. With swift steps, he uttered, "Attack!"

The accompanying men, brandishing knives, charged forward, shouting, "Charge! Kill!"

Butler Hai gathered power in his Crimson Serpent Blade Technique and launched a surprise attack from the side to behead He Chen. He Chen took a step forward and met the attack in mid-air, ignoring the swords and blades of the crowd. As if he were going to die with them, he slashed out with his blade, and five large heads shot into the sky, spraying all over the ground.

Without even glancing at the sneaky manager, he unleashed a single, powerful strike with his gentleman's blade, slashing out in five swift motions.

"Clang!" Butler Hai watched as his Hundred-Refined Blade struck He Chen's waist. He was overjoyed, but he couldn't advance an inch. "You're a practitioner of external martial arts, how could this be possible?" he shouted.

He Chen didn't even look, and slashed backward with his sword. The Hundred Refined Blade hurriedly blocked for a moment, but it was a five-hit slash. The other four blades struck at the same time, and his head flew off. All four of his heads were severed. He couldn't believe it until the very end, still thinking it was just because the sword was fast. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late!

He Chen searched the steward's body, but didn't bother to search anything else. He found silver and a bottle of pills, including a Qi-Nourishing Pill! It seems he's an ambitious person after all!

The rest were dealt with by Jin Wen, Jin Luo, and the others. Jie Huayu, seeing the bodies scattered on the ground, felt a strange unease. "Thank you, sir. Please rest, sir. I'll be right back."

He Chen nodded and went to the backyard. Sister Lan quickly prepared hot water, and the sound of cooking began to fill the air.

The greatest joy is the favor of a beautiful woman. After washing and rinsing myself, her fragrance filled my arms, and then we had a little commotion! We startled the birds roosting in the trees! Two hours later, I fell into a deep sleep!