108.

It was already late night when Yang Ze slowly made his way towards his destined location. The majority of the city residents were already in their deep sleep. On the streets, other than a few stray dogs and cats, there weren't any other living beings. The dimly lit paper lanterns hung outside the buildings worked as a source of light, illuminating the path ahead of him.

It didn't take him long before Yang Ze found himself in front of a luxurious hall, with the words Beggar Sect written on the golden plaque that was hanging at top of the building. Without any changes in his expression, Yang Ze made his way toward the hall. Just from the outside, he could hear the breathing and heartbeats of more than sixty different people, all clustered together. They seemed to be waiting for his arrival.

"Creek..." As soon as Yang Ze reached the doors, they opened with a loud sound, slowly revealing the scenery inside. The hall didn't have any changes, it was still one giant empty corridor with a reception desk at the front. The open pathways behind it were leading to different locations which he wasn't in the mood to explore.

At the center of all this, was the figure of a man sitting on a chair with a smile.

"Well... I didn't expect you to arrive here. Looks like you have a much higher position in your family than what I expected." Pointing to the empty chair in front of him he smiled "Please take a seat."

Yang Ze didn't speak a word, but just moved forward and sat in front of him.

"Well..." Nodding his head in satisfaction the man looked around. "You came here alone!?" There was a trace of uncertainty in his words. He never expected this young boy to come to this place alone at the night. Even adults would wet their pants just thinking about it. After all, their Beggar Sect wasn't a charity house or something noble. Their entire life was filled with violence and crimes.

Yang Ze didn't bother replying to him. Reaching inside his robe, he pulled out the envelope before taking out the letter inside it and reading it out loud.

"People from Vault Of Heaven, since your business is going so well, it would be an injustice to all the people in the world if you don't 'DONATE' some of your profits to the welfare of the poor people. We, the people of the Beggar sect have always been poor to the extreme and have always lived a life full of hardship."

Taking a short pause, Yang Ze continued reading it in his emotionless voice,

"Thus, we have invited two of your dear members as our guests. In case you people want to talk about this, we will welcome you with open arms tonight.

Sincerely,

Beggar Sect Leader.

Duàn Zhiqiang.

In case you have some doubts, we have something attached to this letter that might help you make up your mind."

After Yang Ze finished reading the letter, he folded it back and put it inside the envelope, before placing it inside his robe. After doing all that, he looked at the man in front silently.

"Well, As the leader of the Beggar Sect, I Duàn Zhiqiang would like to welcome you to our humble adobe."

"Hahahahahaha." As soon as he finished speaking, a loud burst of laughter came along with a group of people from the surrounding. Within a few moments, they all stood around Yang Ze and their leader forming a circle with those two in the middle.

"Well, I hoped that the person that made so many runes might come here, but I guess it was my wishful thinking. So, should we get down to business!?"

"What business?"

"What business you ask!? HAhahahahhaa..... You see, in this city, danger lurks at every corner. Every day there is someone being harassed, robbed, or even murdered. You might not know these things, because they never made it to the public. Imagine this, one day someone blocked off the path to your shop... Or even worse, someone robbed your shop, or worst-case scenario, someone accidentally hurt you resulting in your death...

Now, we don't want that to happen, do we!? So to prevent all these misfortunes, we protect the people of this town at a relatively low cost. That is the business that I am talking about."

Yang Ze looked at him before asking "Don't you know that the Xia Family is sharing this business. So, these matters are left in their hands. Do you really want to make a move against the Xia Family!?"

"No, no, no... I think you misunderstood me. I would never dare to even think about it. But you see, they have their own profits. I am not asking for the protection money from their cut of shares, but yours... Do you understand what I am trying to say!?"

Yang Ze didn't immediately reply but asked again "Well, you still are provoking the Xia Family."

"UGh! This is why I wanted to talk to someone else rather than this brat." Speaking in annoyance, he didn't even try to suppress his voice.

"Listen here you brat, as long as the Xia family is getting their share of the money, they could care less about you or your ambitious business. Why do you think we can still live in this city even after all these years of doing all these acts!? It's because we also pay the three families a hefty sum of money so they can just turn a blind eye to us."

"And no one objects to this!?" Yang Ze furrowed his brows.

"Welcome to the adult world brat. Now, are you going to keep on playing this little game of talking, or should we be getting back to the business?"

"Aren't you afraid that the people behind me might take a shot!?" This was Yang Ze's biggest question. He just couldn't understand why these ruffians moved against him without thinking about what kind of people he might offend.

"He... hehe..... hehehehehe" As Duàn Zhiqiang started to laugh, others joined him too. Soon, the entire hall was filled with wild laughter.

"Well, young master HUA JI..." he especially stretched those two words. "You know what I think?"

Narrowing his eyes, Duàn Zhiqiang looked at Yang Ze before speaking slowly. "I think you don't have any background. Hell, you don't even have a family."

"We know as a matter of fact that you are not from the Hua family of the Ignis city. And since you are not with them, then it could only mean that you are either a person without a background or a really insignificant family. The rune grandmaster that you are so proud of is perhaps the only one behind you.

And how strong do you think rune masters usually are!? They spent their entire life learning about runes, so they don't have very high strength. So, we are talking about a sixteen-year-old brat along with his ninety-year-old grandpa."

"hahahahahahaha." The laughter in the hall never stopped.

Duàn Zhiqiang looked Yang Ze in the eyes and slowly uttered his words "Because if you did have a background, then you wouldn't have accepted that crappy deal from the Xia Family."

"I see." Yang Ze nodded his head. Now everything made sense. His deal with the Xia family made them aware of his lacking background. Because as long as he had something to rely on, he would have haggled over the offer. Possibly refused and then move to another city. The lack of visible experts around him also made them aware of the missing powerhouses supporting him.

A filthy rich boy with no background and no strength... What could be possibly a better target than that in the eyes of these ruffians?

It was no wonder that after carefully planning for a few days, they decided to take action. Even the event where he hired them didn't seem to affect this outcome in the slightest.

"So, Hua Ji, we are making you an offer. You can pay us the protection money every week and won't have to worry about anything in the future. Or...." With a smile, he pulled out a small robe and waved it slightly before putting it on his nose and sniffing it deeply.

"AAAAHHHHH... You understand what I just said right?"

Yang Ze didn't reply but looked at the robe in his hand. Just from the scent, he could already tell who the owner of this robe was.

"Where are that little girl and the boy!?"

"Well, that depends upon your sincerity. We aren't asking for too much... Just five hundred spirit stones a week will do."

Looking at his wretched smiling face, Yang Ze didn't accept or refused but asked him again.

"Is that your offer!?"

"Indeed it is."

"How about I give you all a better offer."

"Oh! And what is it?" With an amused tone, Duàn Zhiqiang looked at him with a playful smile. In his eyes, this entire business was a big fat of meat that was just waiting for him to make move. Due to the involvement of the Xia family, the other two big families might not make a move, but this wasn't the case for him. He just needed to double the number of his tributes to the major families and they will silently support him. As for the matter of the Xia family seeking justice for this brat... Heh, where did he get all this information from?

"The other offer is...." Yang Ze's voice slowly became terrifyingly calm as he uttered the words one by one...

"YOU BRING THOSE TWO BACK HERE AND I WILL LET YOU ALL HAVE A MERCIFUL DEATH."

As soon as he finished speaking, the room plunged into deathly silence before being filled with a burst of loud laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA....."

"Then so be it." Slowly standing up from his seat, Yang Ze uttered those cold murderous words.