Reasonable Proposal

Chen Wei tries to ignore the lizard with a stupid yet friendly face that is almost cute for a beast over three meters long and nearly a ton in weight.

Sigh

Chen Wei takes a deep breath, but due to his clogged nose, little air enters his lungs and quickly spreads through his body, which is rigidly aching from the exhaustion of battle.

'Ah, the putrid smell of swamp mud and animal dung...' Chen Wei thinks, unsure if the smell comes entirely from the swamp around him or from himself.

This is because, to set up the ambush, he had used animal shit and mud, smearing them on his body to blend his scent perfectly with the surroundings, which would completely neutralize the utility of scent-based tracking Gu.

Not only that, but he also buried himself in the cold, wet mud, lowering his body temperature to match the environment, which, for him, was the most crucial preparation.

Because, according to his deductions based on his experiences, a clan like the Huo Clan, which focuses on cultivating Fire Path Gu, would primarily have Investigation based Gu that rely on body heat or flame emissions—both of which he could avoid by hiding in the cold mud for a long period of time.

Of course, there are other reasons why he chose this swamp as the ideal place for a battle, as it is one of the few flat terrains where he could comfortably move around in a fight.

According to the description he received from the leader of Yu Village and the maps he saw, such flat areas are hard to find in this region.

And even though there are few more flat areas, they have clear and unobstructed terrain that would facilitate the escape of the Huo Clan Gu Masters, which he aimed to prevent throughout the fight.

To the point that he prolonged this fight much more than necessary, given his combat skills, to ensure the Huo Clan Gu Masters were exhausted in both primal essence to use their movement

gu to escape for long and convinced they were close to victory, which would make them launch an all-out attack.

Shifting his thoughts, Chen Wei looks at the Gu Masters gathered side by side, forcefully restrained on the ground.

'Hmm, I had relatively good luck for one of these be a Strength Path Gu Masters that has a support Gu for this path...' Chen Wei focuses his gaze on the young man who had two phantom wolves behind his back for most of the fight.

This fact alone would make anyone familiar with the characteristics of the Strength Path know that the young man didn't make these phantom beasts appear throughout the battle using only the Black and White Wolf Strength Gu; he must have had a Strength path support Gu for the Wolf Strength gu to do so.

A Gu of this type, in Fang Yuan's time, when the Strength Path had fallen to its lowest point, would have been a treasure that would cause endless commotion in the hearts of low-ranking Gu Masters from the Strength Path, as it could amplify their combat power several times over.

But in this era, it is different. Even though the Strength Path is in decline, this is only the beginning, and it mainly affects higher cultivation ranks, making Gu that aids the Strength Path in combat up to Rank 3 scarce and expensive, like the Liquor Worm in Fang Yuan's era.

However, they are not yet rare enough to be considered treasures capable of changing a cultivator's fate.

More importantly for Chen Wei, who has already more or less guessed which Gu the young man is using, is that he believes this Gu would make the Gu Master still have the Wolf Strength Gu with him to be used correctly.

This would prevent Chen Wei from suffering the disappointment in looting that makes Theft Path Gu Masters largely ignore common Gu Masters who follow the Strength Path.

'Well, it's good to take advantage of good luck, but it's not as if I'm going to rely solely on the Gu of these seven to obtain Strength Path Gu and materials...' Chen Wei reasons as he slowly approaches them.

He puts a calm smile on his face while fully releasing his aura as a Rank 4 Gu Master, which he had previously consciously suppressed so that the defeated Gu Masters would attempt to fight him rather than flee with all their might the moment they saw him, which would have been problematic to handle for him, who has no movement Gu at the moment.

At the same instant, he can feel all the Gu Masters' bodies tensing up, making it unnecessary for him to look at their expressions to know the enormous terror that has fallen into their hearts, especially with the help of the Lady's Torment Gu.

'Though it will be less than it could have been, as that young man was very unlucky...' Chen Wei sighs helplessly, looking at Huo Xue's head.

Chen Wei had intended to make a large, deep cut that would sever his arms and deeply slice his chest, but for some reason, the young man moved suddenly, which he attributes solely to bad luck, causing Chen Wei to be left with only a line of a cut that killed him.

'Well, it's not time to cry over spilled milk...' Chen Wei sighs calmly, as he still has six elite Gu Masters alive, allowing him to extort the Huo Clan until his heart is satisfied.

Reaching this line of thought, he quickly finds himself in front of who he imagines is the leader of this group of Gu Masters, based on his actions and those of the others.

But now he is just lying on the ground with an expression of someone trying to control his fear on his face.

"I am Yi Zhan..."

"You are the leader of this mission, I assume?" Chen Wei says to Huo Tie, who is lying pathetically on the ground, restrained by bonds made of black blood. "May I have the courtesy of knowing your name?"

Huo Tie, trying to calm himself after the shock of feeling the aura of a rank 4 Gu Master, suddenly feels the black blood around him lift his body from the ground and set him on his feet at eye level with Chen Wei, who is now face-to-face with him.

"Huo Tie... and you are correct... I am the mission leader," he says with difficulty, due to the black blood tightly gripping his neck.

Of course, besides this difficulty, there is also apprehension, since, he is talking to a rank 4 gu master and depending on what he says from here on, it could be considered an act of betrayal against the clan—a matter that is not taken lightly.

Unfortunately, even though he has these thoughts and isn't entirely willing to say everything the demonic Gu Master wants to know, he is forced to do so against his will, as the threat not only to his life but to the lives of the other clan members is his priority to minimize as much as possible.

However, if he were forced to take an action that would lead directly to betrayal or harm to the clan, he wouldn't hesitate to die with dignity without saying a word.

"Don't feel too nervous. I'm a reasonable man, all things considered," Chen Wei says, sensing the tension in Huo Tie's body, as well as his facial expressions, which are easy to read due to his desperate situation.

Huo Tie quickly glances around at the swamp scene filled with blood, cuts, and craters left from the battle, as well as his companions still beside him, mutilated to the point of near death, restrained on the ground.

'Reasonable?! If this is reasonable, then what isn't?' he complains silently, his heart pounding as he sees Chen Wei's deep gaze falling directly into his eyes, making him unable to say those words of discontent against the rank 4 gu master out loud.

"I understand... I also consider myself a reasonable man, able to forget past disagreements..." Huo Tie hesitates before speaking in a heavy, hoarse voice, "especially if the safety of my life and my companions is assured."

Chen Wei nods with a calm look.

"Well, I suppose you must have guessed that I am the demonic Gu Master responsible for the bloodbath in Yu Village," Chen Wei says while gesturing fluidly with his hand, as if it were a habit. "Honestly, I am not a bloodthirsty person who loves massacres and seeing people dead..."

He gives a faint, disheartened smile before continuing to speak. "But my hand was forced in the face of the disrespect directed at my wife by the village leader..."

"You seem to be a married man; you must know how it is, right? A man having to protect the honor of his woman," Chen Wei says with a disheartened smile, as if speaking to a friend about the difficulties of married life.

"Right, that's reasonable..." Huo Tie says slowly, trying to appear calm while his heart beats faster and faster, as Chen Wei's words do anything but give him the impression of someone reasonable.

"Especially when those who offended her were mere mortal servants..." Huo Tie says this honestly because, of course, he cared little for the death of mortals.

The same goes for the Huo Clan, which was only concerned about a demonic Gu Master wandering through their lands, as it would be a direct stain on the clan's prestige.

Even worse, it posed a tremendous risk that the same demonic Gu Master might try to steal a valuable Gu or resource from the clan, which is a common occurrence among demonic Gu Masters, who usually have methods from the Theft Path.

"Well, I see from your expression that you don't fully believe me..." Chen Wei says, quickly raising his hand to prevent Huo Tie from explaining. "It's fine; I would also be suspicious of my words in your position."

"To be fair, I am a reasonable man, but my father was not, and before he left this world, he ordered me always to care for and protect my beautiful sisters."

"And if anyone ever offended their dignity, they should all suffer a cruel death..." Chen Wei still maintains his disheartened smile while speaking these words.

"You understand that I cannot be unfilial to the point of disobeying my late father's wishes, right?" Chen Wei asks Huo Tie, who quickly agrees in a low voice.

"I do not question the values of honoring filial wishes, which I suppose someone of your status holds..." Huo Tie says, feeling the pain in his body growing more intense.

"But if it's not disrespectful of me to ask, could you clarify where the honorable Gu Master is going with this?" Huo Tie asks, after considerable hesitation, seeing no choice, as Chen Wei seems to be leading the conversation nowhere.

"Well... what I want to say is that I am not a cold-blooded killer who wishes to see all of you dead," Chen Wei says while gesturing, pointing his hand toward himself.

"...."

Huo Tie remains silent, his gaze shifting to the decapitated head of Huo Xue lying in the mud within his field of vision.

"Of course, you all came after me with violent intentions, so I had to defend myself!" Chen Wei says, seeing where Huo Tie's gaze is and seemingly guessing what's going through his mind. "Unfortunately, that young man was the most injured victim, even losing his life due to my intent to kill, and I do not deny that..."

"But you don't have to follow his path, as long as you apologize properly for your actions of tracking me down and trying to kill me, I am open to accepting your apologies!" Chen Wei says, a big smile forming on his face as if he were performing a great act of benevolence.

"How should we apologize properly..." Huo Tie says after thinking for a moment, "I suppose you don't just want a 'sorry' coming from our mouths."

Chen Wei's smile widens even more, and his eyes seem to show enthusiasm.

"Of course, I would expect direct compensation in the form of all the Gu you possess..."

"...In addition, I also expect a significant compensation from the Tie Clan to feel the sincerity of your apologies!"

Huo Tie listens silently to these words that do nothing to alleviate the enormous despair in his heart, as these were terms he had long feared.

Moreover, looking at it from all possible angles, it could even be considered a extortion, still within the realm of what is reasonable, making him and the clan more willing to accept it.

And even if they aren't at this moment, with their lives now at the mercy of a single gesture from Chen Wei, it is clear that they have no choice but to take an equal position to reject these demands.

"So, do you accept my honest, reasonable proposal?" Chen Wei has a smile on his face that says he already knows the next steps of the Gu Master in front of him, and without surprises.

"...Yes," Huo Tie says weakly.