Chapter 72: Haunted by Greed
Gu Jintang received his reward and left, leaving behind Su Chen, Gu Qingluo, and the other young man.
Su Chen drummed his finger gently against the table for a long while before he finally said, "Since Gu Jintang has bitten our hook, then Shaoyou. Go ahead and execute the second part of the plan."
The young man beside him said, "Yes, sir!"
He was Long Shaoyou.
Even after the ten Bloodline Nobility Clans had fallen, Su Chen had maintained his authority over them. This time, he had brought Long Shaoyou with him from amongst the reinforcements he had requested.
Long Shaoyou's job was quite simple: to propose marriage.
Yes, he was the person who had offered Gu Xuanmian six million Origin Stones for Gu Qingluo's hand.
Su Chen couldn't possibly ask for her hand himself at this moment. That would reveal his true intentions, and the Gu Clan would become suspicious of every move he would make from then onwards.
Just because Su Chen wanted to ruin Zhou Qingkuang's engagement didn't mean that Su Chen himself necessarily had to personally appear.
Finding someone else to try proposing could achieve the same effect that Su Chen was aiming for, and it would also allow him to remain acting as the mastermind behind the scenes. Su Chen was confident that Gu Xuanmian's personality wouldn't allow him to accept Long Shaoyou. Of course, even if he did it wouldn't be a problem; actually, it might be even easier that way. He would find one reason or another to have Long Shaoyou disappear, and then Su Chen himself would appear and offer 10 million Origin Stones. Perhaps this would make things much simpler as well.
Long Shaoyou was from a Bloodline Nobility Clan. His appearance was quite stately as well, so he fit well into this role he was playing.
After Su Chen gave his commands, Long Shaoyou walked out of the courtyard.
A day later, Long Shaoyou once again took a group of people with him to the Gu Palace.
His purpose was still to propose marriage.
However, this time he had raised the dowry to ten million Origin Stones.
Gu Xuanmian was extremely moved, but he still refused — Zhou Qingkuang was still here, and he just couldn't do something like tell Zhou Qingkuang that his daughter was going to instead marry Long Shaoyou. This was because his clan still held considerable influence!
The biggest problem with Long Shaoyou's approach wasn't that he wasn't offering enough money; it was just that he wasn't tactful enough.
Bloodline Nobility Clans also needed face!
As such, Long Shaoyou unsurprisingly returned without succeeding.
Unsurprisingly, news of this also reached Zhou Qingkuang in just half a day.
Bang!
The blue-and-white patterned ceramic cup shattered against the ground.
Zhou Qingkuang's expression was steely. "Who is this Long Shaoyou exactly?"
Miao Changqing replied, "I investigated him a bit. He seems to be from a Bloodline Nobility Clan in the Crow Region who came here for an unknown reason. He brought large amounts of money with him, perhaps because he wanted to establish his roots here. This might also be the reason behind his marriage proposal to the Gu Clan."
"Spending ten million Origin Stones just for that?"
Miao Changqing said, "That guy only has money and nothing else."
"Only has money and nothing else?" Zhou Qingkuang's eyes lit up.
"That's right." Miao Changqing nodded. "That Long Shaoyou looked like he only brought ten or so house guards with him, only one of whom is at the Light Shaking Realm."
Zhou Qingkuang tilted his head back and laughed, "This guy must be a madman! He has so much money but has no muscle to protect it. Changqing, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Miao Changqing replied, "Like taking candy from a baby."
"That's right!" Zhou Qingkuang shot to his feet. "Since this guy only has money and no strength, and he seems to be at odds with us, he's like a lamb to the slaughter. Wouldn't it be a shame if we didn't take advantage of this opportunity?"
Miao Changqing said, "Young Master is absolutely right. However, this isn't our territory."
"So what?" Zhou Qingkuang said shadily. "I'm the Gu Clan's soon-to-be son in law. I'm pretty much a person from Swallow River City already. Also, ten million Origin Stones...... if we get our hands on that, what kind of woman would be out of reach? Even if I had to give up Gu Qingluo, that would be fine. Anyone who wants to accomplish great things cannot stumble over their insignificant feelings!"
Long Shaoyou lived on the outskirts of Swallow River region in a secluded residence. His closest neighbors were all quite far away, making this the perfect place to try and kill someone.
Zhou Qingkuang and his subordinates marched there all together, full of vim and vigor. By the time they arrived, it was already dusk, and few people were out and about.
Zhou Qingkuang swept his arm forward as he stood at the doorway of the Long Residence. "Attack!"
The Zhou Clan's house guards charged forward.
The Zhou Clan was a Demonic Emperor Bloodline clan, so his subordinates were by no means weaklings.
As the doors were knocked down, he heard a few panicked cries of "Who dares!?" followed by sounds of yelling and fighting.
Zhou Qingkuang chuckled coldly as he stood in front of the door, waiting for the good news.
A few moments later, the commotion died down. Zhou Qingkuang sauntered in through the front door with his hands behind his back, followed closely by Miao Changqing.
However, as soon as he stepped into the main courtyard, Zhou Qingkuang was stunned by the scene before his eyes.
He never would have expected that the clan members who he believed would easily sweep aside the enemy were all lying dead on the ground.
Most shockingly, all of the corpses belonged to the Zhou Clan members that had just charged in through the front door.
These corpses wore fearsome expressions and had clearly died in a tragic way, as if they had seen something unspeakable before they died. Terror was written all over their faces.
How could this be?
Zhou Qingkuang was badly startled.
He turned around and was about to leave when the door behind him suddenly slammed shut.
A person had suddenly appeared before him. It was Long Shaoyou.
There were a few people standing beside him. Nothing seemed too extraordinary about them, but they were all exuding bloody auras. It was quite obvious that they were the ones who had slaughtered his subordinates.
Long Shaoyou stopped not too far away from Zhou Qingkuang and laughed, "Oh? If it isn't the Zhou Clan's Young Master?"
Zhou Qingkuang's expression was dark. "You recognize me?"
Long Shaoyou tilted his head. "Crane City's Zhou Clan, Zhou Qingkuang. Your name has long since echoed like thunder in my ears."
"So do you know then that I'm still Gu Qingluo's fiancé?"
Long Shaoyou's eyebrows jumped. "I heard a little bit, but from what I could gather you haven't officially become her fiancé yet."
"I will be soon. The reason I came this time was to complete the wedding arrangements!"
"If you die, then there won't be any wedding arrangements to complete," Long Shaoyou replied carelessly. He unsheathed his blade and pointed it at Zhou Qingkuang.
Zhou Qingkuang's expression hardened. "How bold!"
"I should be the one saying that. Do you think a Demonic Emperor Bloodline is that impressive? You think you can run into someone else's home, kill their subordinates, and steal their property as you please? Is there no justice in this world?" Long Shaoyou said as he swung his blade. "Kill him! The Long Clan is just acting in self-defense and meting out the justice of the Heavens!"
A group of people charged out from behind Long Shaoyou.
"Changqing, kill them!" Zhou Qingkuang yelled.
No one in this group had a cultivation base higher than the Blood Boiling Realm, while Miao Changqing was at the peak of the Yang Opening Realm. He alone could easily wipe out all of them, and Zhou Qingkuang had absolute faith in him.
Even so, an instant later, a scene he couldn't believe appeared before his eyes. Those people began to glow with a strange light, and their combat ability suddenly surged, allowing them to forcefully resist Miao Changqing's attacks.
The Demonic Emperor Bloodline had also been planted into Miao Changqing's body. He was stronger than many of his peers within the same cultivation tier.
Even so, these six or so Blood Boiling Realm cultivators and seven or eight Qi Drawing Realm cultivators were enough to stop him from advancing when they teamed up. Not only that, but they even had enough spare energy to mount an attack. They advanced and retreated in tandem with such extremely precise coordination it was as if all their moves were choreographed. Miao Changqing gradually fell deeper and deeper into a disadvantaged position.
Only at that moment did Zhou Qingkuang finally understand why the subordinates he had sent in earlier had been chopped up like they were nothing but vegetables.