Chapter 43: Subjugation

Five lives, coupled with five calling cards—Li Kuan’s frantic and audacious act inevitably sent a chill through the hearts of the five men present. Exchanging glances, they all knew that escape was no longer an option today.

If this business deal failed to materialize, the enmity forged between the two parties would run deeper than the ocean.

"My lord, what spirit! What methods!" After a prolonged silence, Wang Tong broke the ice with a hearty laugh. "The Taiyuan Wang clan yields. My family is willing to conduct this business with you."

"The Boling Cui clan is likewise willing to do business with you. Furthermore, I hold deep admiration for your mastery over your subordinates," Cui Mo, being the junior among them, immediately followed suit, expressing his recognition of Li Kuan.

Following closely, the representatives of the other three clans also voiced their consent, all expressing a desire to cooperate with Li Kuan.

Yet, this time, the tables turned, and it was Li Kuan’s turn to put on airs.

"You gentlemen seem to have misunderstood something," Li Kuan said as he walked toward the edge of Eagle Beak Cliff, gazing down at the cool river beneath the waterfall. His tone remained flat. "Before my five retainers leaped into the abyss, the transaction between us was indeed nothing more than me selling you glassware and you selling me some grain, with no other intersections whatsoever. But now, I have paid the price of five lives, and all I got in return was your shift from a vague attitude to a mere willingness to cooperate... Do you..."

At this point, Li Kuan slowly turned around, his voice brimming with suffocating pressure. "...think too little of me?!"

As his words fell, the expressions of all five men shifted instantly.

"What do you mean by that, my lord?" Lu Jing of the Fanyang Lu clan forced his composure, continuing to play dumb. "Isn't the business we are discussing with you precisely this one?"

"Ha!" Instead of getting angry, Li Kuan laughed. Shaking his head with a sigh as he chuckled, he said, "Where have I fallen short to have offended you all? 'My~ lord~'? What kind of title is that? I have extended such immense sincerity to befriend you, yet you are unwilling to even address me as 'Young Master.' It seems the threshold of the Seven Clans and Five Surnames is indeed rather high..."

As expected, Li Kuan’s words, dripping with mockery and warning, deeply provoked the others.

"So what if it is?" The voice came from Cui鲤 of the Qinghe Cui clan.

Young noblemen of powerful aristocratic houses were naturally at the peak of their youthful vigor, utterly incapable of enduring verbal provocation.

"So what?" Hearing this, Li Kuan cast a profound look at Cui鲤 before speaking slowly. "I have treated you all with utmost sincerity and courtesy, yet I received no equivalent response. Since that is how it is, let me show you what I *can* do!"

With that, Li Kuan pointed to the black-robed figures standing not far away. "I have over twelve hundred loyal and fanatical retainers like these under my command. If you wish to witness their methods firsthand, you are most welcome to try.

After all, my return from the Arabian Nights is driven by a blood-feud against the Li family, with the empire coming second!

Yet, if you gentlemen refuse to grant me this courtesy and reach a cooperation with me, I shall inevitably find myself standing alone, unable to accomplish such a grand undertaking. If it comes to that, I wouldn't mind dragging you all down with me into mutual destruction!"

At this moment, Li Kuan projected the image of a gambler who had staked his entire fortune. "Besides, is there anyone in this world who dares to treat me like a fool? Do they have no fear of death?!"

The mountain wind blew fiercely, and Li Kuan’s words drove into the hearts of the other five men like sharp blades, causing their bodies to tremble involuntarily.

Looking at the furious and ferocious young man before them, the representatives of the Seven Clans and Five Surnames felt, for the very first time, a profound wave of regret stirring in their hearts.

Such a madman...

Why on earth did they ever provoke him in the first place?

Cui鲤, who had previously been brimming with arrogance, felt his eyelids twitching wildly.

Was this lunatic planning to wipe out his entire family...?

Well, it didn't even have to be his whole family; if this madman merely intended to kill *him* alone, it would be enough to rob him of all peace and sleep.

"Young Master Shan..." Zheng Yuanlong of the Xingyang Zheng clan, seeing the atmosphere freeze into an awkward silence and casting a glance at the tight-lipped Wang Tong, had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward to smooth things over. "Please temporarily restrain your thunderous wrath! Aside from the previous two items, if you have any other demands, feel free to put them on the table. We can discuss them properly—everything is negotiable!"

"Negotiable?" Li Kuan seized the moral high ground and pressed onward relentlessly. "Negotiate what? 'Sincerity' is the word I have uttered most frequently with you today. What sincerity have I shown? Have you seen it?

Treasures, and even human lives—I, Shan Ling, have handed them all over!" Spreading his hands, Li Kuan looked toward the five men. "And what about you? What have you given me? Forget sincerity; you haven't even offered a single promise!"

"What kind of promise do you want?" Lu Jing narrowed his eyes, staring at the indignant Li Kuan.

"What did you say?" Li Kuan’s voice rose by an octave, his arrogant gaze fixed entirely on Lu Jing. "I have heard that Lord Lu’s cousin, Lu Shou, is a great Confucian scholar in Guanzhong, renowned above all for his profound understanding of propriety!"

"..." Lu Jing was struck speechless for a moment, having no idea how to react.

This brat is taking a direct shot at me...

Pierced into silence for a long time by Li Kuan’s velvet knife, Lu Jing finally spoke slowly after a protracted pause: "May I ask... Young Master... Shan, what kind of promise do you desire?"

Just moments ago, he really should have taken advantage of the moment when this brat was gazing down into the cliff to kick him right over the edge!

"My glassware can be sold to you at a seventy percent discount." Upon extracting actual concessions from the Seven Clans and Five Surnames, Li Kuan did not press his advantage further; instead, he took a major step back.

"Are your words true, my lord?!" Not only did Wang Tong voice his joyful astonishment, but the faces of the others were likewise painted with disbelief.

"Naturally true," Li Kuan replied in a very casual tone. "My journey back from the Arabian Nights has been long, and naturally, I carried only the most valuable glassware. Rest assured, the glassware in my possession is more than sufficient to meet everyone's demands—perhaps even far exceeding them."

"That is wonderful!" Cui Mo chimed in immediately from the side. But soon realizing something, he glanced at the silent Cui鲤 beside him, and suddenly cupped his hands toward Li Kuan. "Young Master Shan, my brother's words were somewhat rash earlier; please forgive him."

"Young Master Cui, there is no need for that." Li Kuan smiled upon hearing this, though his subsequent attitude made his stance crystal clear.

Pointing a finger directly at Cui鲤, he stated candidly, "He has a mouth of his own."

Apologies do not require a proxy.

"..." Driven to this absolute corner, Cui鲤 closed his eyes.

The twelve-hundred-odd death-defying retainers the man spoke of, coupled with the powerful crossbows displayed during the intimidation at the Silver Moon Tower...

Cui鲤 continuously reminded himself in his heart that he must endure everything for now.

After a very long time, having finally figured out the underlying logic, Cui鲤 let out a deep, heavy sigh. When he opened his eyes once more, his face wore a mild and amiable expression.

"Young Master Shan," Cui鲤 said, bowing slightly and cupping his fists toward Li Kuan. "It was my arrogance earlier that showed a lack of respect in my words toward you. I hereby offer you my sincere apology; I trust you will forgive me."

"Easily done, easily done!" Li Kuan waved a hand after receiving the apology, acting as though their prior conflict had been nothing more than a childish dispute driven by pride.

"My father once told me," Li Kuan looked at Cui鲤, his attitude turning surprisingly courteous, "—'turning hostility into friendship' is the finest tale of the jianghu. I don't have any jade and silk to offer here, but..." As he spoke, Li Kuan feigned a search inside his robes, actually retrieving a hairpin made of multi-colored colored glaze from his spatial storage.

Holding the glazed hairpin under the watchful eyes of the others, Li Kuan walked right up to Cui鲤 and extended his hand. "Shall we instead 'turn hostility into a glazed hairpin'?"

One had to admit that when Li Kuan was willing to make friends with someone, there was simply no one in this world capable of refusing him.

When the stunned Cui鲤 subconsciously accepted the glazed hairpin from Li Kuan's hand, his mind was still in a complete fog.

Yet this did not prevent him from casting a look of profound gratitude toward Shan Ling once he finally regained his senses.

"Young Master Shan possesses such grand spirit and boundless magnanimity!" Employing his familiar manner of speaking, the old fox Wang Tong was undoubtedly the happiest man present. Despite the earlier twists and turns, the business deal that had tempted them all was now, before their very eyes, finally coming to fruition!