Chapter 18 Cooperation

Chen Yuan looked at Tie Qinghua, his tone slightly rising as if he had already seen through her thoughts.

"Since you understand everything, why not take action immediately instead of explaining so much?" Tie Qinghua didn't show the annoyance of being seen through but instead forced herself to remain calm.

Being able to control such a large enterprise and force Old Sixth Song to resort to such lowly tactics, how could Tie Qinghua be the jealous woman Old Sixth Song described?

Although she had her brother Tie Xuan backing her, Tie Qinghua's intelligence was certainly not less than an ordinary person's. She quickly picked up on something from Chen Yuan's words.

"Lady Tie is indeed clever, heh, yes, Yuan here has no intention of killing Lady Tie, and I can guess some of Old Sixth Song's plans."

"To use me as a knife, and after killing Lady Tie, he would probably immediately jump out and kill me, to give an explanation to your brother Tie Xuan."

"Yuan has been in Jianghu for quite some years now, how could I not guess his plans?" Chen Yuan said calmly, without a trace of arrogance.

"Then... does your plan involve sparing me?" A glimmer of hope flashed in Tie Qinghua's eyes.

Who would choose death if they could live?

"That depends on what terms Lady Tie can offer..." Chen Yuan's mouth curved slightly.

"If Old Sixth Song is paying a hundred taels for my life, then Qinghua will offer two hundred taels to buy my life, what do you think?" Tie Qinghua said in a deep voice.

Chen Yuan shook his head:

"Not acceptable..."

Tie Qinghua frowned and said in a low voice:

"That's all the silver Qinghua can offer. Gambling dens and brothels might seem like gold mines, but the real profits all go to my brother to manage the officials of Ping'an County big and small."

"And some must be retained for cultivation, moreover, South City is not like North City, dominated by the Beihai Gang, there are several powers at odds with each other..."

Chen Yuan gestured with his hand, stopping Tie Qinghua's lament:

"Twenty Tiger Bone Pills in exchange for your life!"

"Tiger Bone Pills..." Tie Qinghua looked into Chen Yuan's eyes which showed no hesitation, and as if he was impatient with further bargaining, she quickly nodded:

"Agreed!"

"But... I need time; Tiger Bone Pills are not like ordinary elixirs, no one in Ping'an County can refine them."

"How long do you need?"

"One month."

"Twenty days."

"Fine!"

Tie Qinghua didn't hesitate for an instant.

"To ensure our cooperation goes a little smoother, you don't need Yuan here to say more, do you?" Chen Yuan produced a black porcelain bottle from his chest.

On it were no patterns, appearing like an exceedingly ordinary bottle.

But Tie Qinghua dared not underestimate it.

Chen Yuan tossed the porcelain bottle to Tie Qinghua. She opened the bottle, poured out a dark, shiny elixir that emitted a faint, fishy odor.

After a moment of silence, Tie Qinghua swallowed the elixir and then stared at Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan removed the long knife from Tie Qinghua's neck and spoke softly:

"Lady Tie should not think about finding someone to detoxify the poison. This is a Highly Toxic Pill Yuan happened upon by chance, rare in this world, hiding in the organs and cannot be expelled from the body. If the antidote is not found within a month, it will invade the meridians and blood."

"Of course, if Lady Tie finds some Detoxification Elixir, there might still be a chance."

"Thank you for the warning, Brother Yuan, Qinghua understands." Tie Qinghua took a deep breath.

"Very good, Yuan does this also to give us both peace of mind."

Tie Qinghua stood up from the ground, ignoring Chen Yuan's gaze, tightly bound her slit-open robe with a ribbon, her voluptuous chest now apparent.

"I want to know, why did Song Laoliu want to kill me?"

"Brother Song merely said that Lady Tie is a jealous woman, unable to bear heirs, yet not allowing him to take a concubine. The several mistresses he kept were killed by the Lady."

"He does not want to endure this kind of stifling life any longer, haha, of course... As for the specific circumstances, Yuan does not know!"

Tie Qinghua's eyes filled with rage:

"Why can't I bear heirs, isn't it because once..."

Tie Qinghua stopped speaking halfway, evidently realizing that Chen Yuan, an outsider, was still present.

Chen Yuan watched the scene with great interest; family ethics and such, he loved to see the most.

"Where is Song Laoliu at this moment?" Tie Qinghua said, her presence enveloped by murderous intent and a trace of desolation.

Even a day as husband and wife earns one a hundred days of grace, a hundred days as a couple feels as deep as the sea.

Not to mention the bond of over ten years of marriage they shared.

Song Laoliu actually didn't care at all and wanted to kill her.

Without her help, Song Laoliu would still be that small-time thug roaming the criminal underworld; how could he possess his current status and power?

In the South City territory, mentioning Song Laoliu's name would strike a chord, a character of note!

"If nothing unexpected happens, he should be nearby, just waiting for my success here, and he will likely kill his way out immediately!"

Chen Yuan said.

"I want to confront him face to face, and I ask for Brother Yuan's assistance," Tie Qinghua said softly.

Chen Yuan nodded:

"Sure, Yuan has always been happy to help others."

Stopping at the door, Chen Yuan gathered his strength and struck the door with his palm, making a huge noise that seemed to serve as a signal.

In just an instant, Song Laoliu's voice emerged from nearby, shouting:

"Thieves have forced their way in, hurry to protect the Lady!"

Immediately after, three figures moved towards Tie Qinghua's small courtyard with incredible speed, while the Protectors of the Song residence were also alarmed.

Torches were lit, cries filled the air.

Hearing such sounds, Tie Qinghua's face turned even more ashen, the man surnamed Yuan was right, Song Laoliu indeed wanted her dead.

Otherwise, he couldn't have responded so quickly.

When the man surnamed Yuan mentioned it earlier, Tie Qinghua still harbored a sliver of hope, hoping Song Laoliu was not such a heartless man.

But now...

Chen Yuan did not leave, slowly entering the room, stood behind the screen with a knife in hand, ready to watch the drama unfold.

Now that the Song residence was on high alert, it would be difficult for Chen Yuan to leave without making a sound, of course, he was not afraid of Tie Qinghua having second thoughts.

With his current strength, as long as it wasn't someone from the Bone Refining Realm or a particularly strong presence within the Blood Refining Level, nobody could stop him.

The Vajra Glaze Body divine skill he learned, the boost it provided to Chen Yuan was not just talk.

At the Skin Refining Realm, he could match someone at the Blood Refining Level. Although he had only undergone Blood Refining once and had not succeeded a second time, he already belonged to the ranks of the strong within the Blood Refining Level.

When it comes to strength alone, Chen Yuan even felt he could contend with Tie Shou.

As for Martial Artists at the Bone Refining Level, Chen Yuan had not yet crossed hands with any, but he supposed he was not a match for them at present.

However, it didn't matter. It was improbable for the Song residence to have a Martial Artist of the Bone Refining Level stationed there. A master of such caliber wouldn't stoop to serve as a mere household Protector.

And it was even less likely for the prison head Tie Xuan to be living at the Song residence.

Chen Yuan valued his own safety highly and wouldn't put himself at risk.