Confronted with the sudden change in atmosphere, Li Yi appeared unfazed. Under the woman's menacing gaze, he lightly tapped the table, and soon, a jade token slanted down onto it. "Although I don't have that much money on me, I'm sure you recognize this item and its worth," Li Yi said with a half-smile.
The tense atmosphere eased slightly as the woman carefully picked up the jade token, inspecting it before hesitantly saying, "If I'm not mistaken, this is a token from one of the four major families in the imperial city, the Ye Family. With this, one can withdraw a million gold coins from any of the Ye Family's businesses."
Li Yi clapped his hands, "Exactly. Knowing its value, I assume there should be no problem in accepting this as a substitute for a million gold coins?"
The woman nodded, "Certainly."
Li Yi smiled faintly, gathering the jade box and several bottles of medicine into his Storage Ring without any hesitation. He then bowed slightly, ready to leave. Just as he turned to go, the woman quickly stepped in front of him, her smile unwavering, "Sir, please wait a moment... Your generous spending today has made you quite unique in Naga Town. Our auction house owner is very interested in meeting you. If you don't mind, why not stay and have a chat with our owner?"
Li Yi shook his head, "I have other matters to attend to, and who knows if I'll ever return to Naga Town. Even if I meet your owner, what would it change? I must take my leave." With that, Li Yi stepped forward and left through the door.
Inside the room, the woman frowned slightly as she watched Li Yi's departing figure. Tapping her fingers on the table, she sighed. "So, Yan'er, did you figure out his identity?" Suddenly, a serene voice echoed in the room. The woman quickly turned to find another woman, dressed in a long gown, standing where Li Yi had been seated. Her appearance was so discreet it would have been easy to overlook her presence. This sudden arrival caused Yan'er to bow respectfully, "Owner... I haven't determined his identity yet, but anyone with the Ye Family's token must have some connection to them."
The owner, an ordinary-looking woman with a remarkably elegant demeanor, took the jade token and examined it. "Ye Family, huh? Have they been active around here lately? Their influence doesn't seem to reach this area, does it?"
Yan'er pondered before replying, "Recently, there was news from Wan Chao City that Ye Qingma, the eldest son of the Ye Family, had fallen there... Owner, could this man's appearance be related to that incident?"
After a moment of contemplation, the owner hummed coldly, "Regardless of his relationship with the Ye Family, anyone who hides their face usually has something to hide. He might cause us trouble at any time... Investigate his background thoroughly. If it's convenient, take him out and retrieve that item. It would have been okay if it ended up with Feng Niangzi or Tie Shi, as we have people placed close to them. But now, in the hands of an unknown, we need to use some means to get it back. Arrange for someone to retrieve the money from the city for security reasons. And make sure it reaches that man safely, otherwise, we'll have our own troubles."
With that, the owner stood up, her gaze lingering on the jade token before disappearing from the room. Once she was gone, Yan'er exhaled and quickly clapped her hands, calling out for her subordinates.
Outside the auction house, Li Yi walked down the street, exuding an aura that kept others at bay. His recent actions had made him quite famous in Naga Town, and now everyone knew that the mysterious man in black not only possessed the Martial Deity Remnant Jade but was also considered a prime target. Li Yi grimly calculated that if it weren't for Naga Town's rule against fighting, he would have been attacked countless times already.
"Bad judgment," Li Yi sighed internally, "Had I known, I would have let Feng Niangzi win it and then robbed her later. Now, everyone's eyeing me, making it harder to blend in with a mercenary group tomorrow."
The Serpent Venerable lightly said, "Such an item is naturally safest on oneself. And those mercenaries following you, are you actually afraid of them?" Li Yi frowned, "To be honest, I'm not really afraid, but having so many people around is troublesome. If this affects my plans going forward, that would be less than ideal..."
As they were speaking, Li Yi's steps suddenly paused, and then he continued walking at a steady pace. A cold smirk crossed his mind, "It seems that skilled individuals are already tailing me... If I'm not mistaken, they must be from the auction house."
"Heh, you guessed that too?" chuckled The Serpent Venerable. "It's normal for them to send people after you. After all, not many are willing to hand over something like the Martial Deity Remnant Jade easily. They are just unsure of your identity, otherwise, you might have already been attacked by now."
"What should we do now?" asked Li Yi.
"Find a place to rest, conserve energy... and then, see how things go tomorrow," The Serpent Venerable advised.
"Tomorrow, huh? If only some people are willing to wait until then!" Li Yi sneered, and then casually questioned a passing mercenary. After getting the information he needed, he headed towards the most luxurious inn in Naga Town. With so many eyes on him, keeping a low profile was impossible.
In the best room of the inn, Li Yi wasted no time and sat cross-legged on the bed, ready to meditate. He ignored everything else as if nothing had happened. Time flew by during his meditation, and when Li Yi finally exhaled a long breath, he found it was already deep into the night. The silence outside was profound, and not even a sliver of light was visible. However, it felt as though countless eyes were still watching his room.
This feeling made Li Yi quite uncomfortable. He stopped meditating and stood up. After a moment of observation at the window, he sighed, "These guys don't tire of watching all night, huh?" The Serpent Venerable floated nearby, "You can rest easy, but they are afraid you might suddenly run away... You are like a piece of rotten flesh to those flies, how can they not hover around you?"
Li Yi smirked at the apt, if unflattering, metaphor and shook his head, "Then let's take a look at that thing and see what's inside. If it's useless, we might as well hand it over to these guys."
"That won't work," The Serpent Venerable advised. "If the Martial Deity Remnant Jade is useless, it's fine. But if it's something good, it will definitely cause some phenomena and will only strengthen their resolve to rob us."
"So what do you suggest?"
The Serpent Venerable smiled, "You have two choices now."
"Which are?"
"The first is to find a chance to escape. With your skills, those fools outside probably can't catch up with you. The second is to go out and kill all those people. That way, the mercenary groups will learn to be smarter. Which path will you choose?"
Li Yi smiled lightly, "If I wanted to run, I would have done so already. Why would I openly stay in this inn? Since my cultivation has been a bit dull lately, let these clueless people give me some practice tonight..."
With a swift movement, Li Yi opened the window and leaped out onto the roof. His appearance immediately stirred the atmosphere. As he chose a direction and dashed towards it, various shouts erupted, "The fat sheep is trying to run!"
Li Yi glanced back, his heart cold. "A mob, thinking they can accomplish something?" Suddenly, he felt an intense chill, and The Serpent Venerable's alarmed voice rang out, "Careful! The newcomer is at least at the Warrior level!"
Li Yi didn't have time to retort. He twisted his body in mid-air, impossibly sidestepping an attack while simultaneously releasing a thin layer of fighting energy from his palms, enveloping his rear. Thanks to his recent training with The Serpent Venerable, his strength had grown significantly. Even though his Bone Shattering Palm met a substance harder than metal, Li Yi's body vibrated with the impact. The rebound sent him flying forward, tumbling through the air before gracefully landing on the ground. He turned to face his attacker, laughing boldly, "Impressive skills! Well played!"
Just as he was catching his breath from the nearly fatal attack, he sensed another wave of killing intent. With no time to dodge, he braced himself. The moment he sensed the attack, he unleashed his Bone Shattering Palm with all his might.
"Clang!" The sound of metal striking rang out, and Li Yi felt his palm hit an incredibly tough object. His body shook once more, but he managed to redirect the force and plummet towards the ground.
"Boom!" Li Yi hit the ground hard, narrowly surviving the attack. Before he could relax, the chilling sensation returned. This time, Li Yi couldn't avoid it. Sensing the deadly intent from behind, he released his fighting energy in a desperate defense, shouting, "Bone Shattering Palm!"
With a metallic clink, Li Yi felt his palm strike something even more solid than before. His body vibrated from the blow, and he managed to use the counterforce to fall towards the ground.
"Thud!" Li Yi's body crashed onto the ground, barely handling this life-threatening assault. He had just started to breathe a sigh of relief when the icy feeling surged again. Unable to dodge this time, Li Yi sensed the murderous intent behind him and quickly unleashed his fighting energy: "Bone Crushing Palm!"
"Clang!" The sharp sound echoed as Li Yi's palm met an exceptionally hard object. His body shook again from the impact, and the rebound force propelled him forward. After several flips in the air, he gracefully landed, laughing heartily at his attacker: "Great skill! Impressive moves!"
As Li Yi prepared to face another attack, he felt an overwhelming chill. The Serpent Venerable's alarmed voice rang out, "Be careful! The attacker is at least a Warrior level!"
In the midst of danger, Li Yi's instincts took over. He twisted mid-air, narrowly avoiding an attack. His fighting energy burst forth, forming a thin shield behind him. This training from The Serpent Venerable had significantly enhanced his strength. When the attack hit his shield, Li Yi's body jolted. He used the force to dive downwards, crashing into the ground with a loud thud.
Surviving the near-fatal attack, Li Yi was about to relax when he felt the chilling sensation again. This time, he had no chance to dodge. Sensing the lethal intent, he released his fighting energy at full force: "Bone Crushing Palm!"
The loud clang resounded as Li Yi's palm collided with something harder than metal. His body vibrated from the impact, but he managed to use the rebound to fly forward, somersaulting in the air before landing gracefully. He turned back to his attacker, laughing loudly, "Excellent skills! Well played!"