Chapter 1097: Chapter 1097: Being Blocked At The Town Gate

Zhang Zhenyu and the young cultivators halted in their tracks. Zhang Zhenyu immediately grew extremely tense, his heart pounding in his chest as he realised the delicate situation could turn into a bloodbath at any second.

Stepping smoothly to the front of the group, Xie Yanlin took charge as their temporary leader, putting on an easygoing, polite expression.

"Sir, what seems to be the problem? Is there a reason you are preventing us from leaving your town?" Xie Yanlin asked, a pleasant, disarming smile playing on his lips.

The guard leader completely ignored the question, his greedy eyes instead locking directly onto the magnificent, winged Qianlima pulling Zhang Zhenyu’s carriage.

It was truly an extraordinary, legendary mount. His superior, the town leader, had been eyeing the majestic beast from the moment it crossed the threshold and desperately wanted this Qianlima for his own personal stable.

"Look here, kid..." The leader began, gesturing toward Pegasus with his chin. "Our town master is exceptionally interested in acquiring your horse. Are you willing to part with it peacefully for a reasonable price?"

"Sir, you are asking for the absolute impossible." Xie Yanlin stated, his smile remaining unchanged.

"And why is that?" The leader sneered back, crossing his heavy arms.

"Because it happens to be a contracted spiritual beast." Xie Yanlin explained casually.

The guard leader instantly furrowed his brows in a deep frown upon hearing that revelation. He had initially assumed the winged horse was merely a rare, highly tamed creature, not a high-tier beast bound by a permanent soul contract to a master.

"Who is its master?" The leader demanded coldly.

"Why do you ask? Are you planning to murder that person in cold blood just to force the contract to break and steal the beast for yourselves afterwards?" Xie Yanlin asked bluntly, completely bypassing any polite diplomacy.

After all, killing the contractor was the only known method to forcibly sever a soul bond and free a contracted beast. Hearing his dark intentions laid out so bluntly, the leader smirked villainously, no longer bothering to hide his cruelty.

"Since you are smart enough to already know how things work, that makes this negotiation so much easier for all of us. You should hand over the owner’s identity right now. Doing so might just save the rest of your young lives." The leader threatened, his voice dripping with malice. "Sacrificing one single companion is far better than having every last one of you slaughtered right here in the street, am I right?"

The heavy squad of guards standing behind him immediately rested their palms on the pommels of their drawn swords, their muscles tensing as they prepared to execute the order to attack at a moment’s notice.

"Are you truly certain you want to try and force your way into taking this mount?" Xie Yanlin asked, his eyes glinting with a dangerous, quiet light.

"Well, if you brat kids refuse to obey our town’s authority..." The guard leader smirked arrogantly, resting his hand on his sword hilt.

In his eyes, these young travellers were nothing more than soft, inexperienced teenagers from out of town. If they wanted to leave this settlement alive and in one piece, they had no choice but to bow down and obey his commands. Otherwise, they should not even bother dreaming of walking out of this town alive.

The leader’s wicked smirk widened when he saw that the group of teenagers still seemed utterly unwilling to back down. He did not get angry in the slightest. In fact, their stubbornness gave him the perfect excuse to beat them to a pulp. On these streets, he would not face an ounce of punishment even if he accidentally killed a few out-of-town kids.

"Well, if you brat kids don’t want to follow our orders..." The leader let the deadly threat hang ominously in the air.

The guards behind him slowly drew their sharp swords in unison. The cold, metallic screech of steel being pulled from leather sheaths echoed sharply through the quiet street, instantly thick with heavy, suffocating tension.

Zhang Zhenyu’s expression darkened dramatically. He knew very well that they could not afford a chaotic, drawn-out brawl in the middle of the town.

Bai Xifeng and Xie Lanying had deliberately separated from the main group specifically to avoid dragging everyone else into danger. If a loud fight erupted right here near the gates, it would only draw waves of enemy reinforcements. Worse yet, it could compromise Bai Xifeng and Xie Lanying’s safety!

"Young Master Xie..." Zhang Zhenyu whispered frantically, his voice trembling with worry. "Young Lady Bai and Young Lady Xie are still deep inside the town! What if a commotion here endangers them...?"

Xie Yanlin raised a calm hand, smoothly stopping Zhang Zhenyu from uttering another anxious word.

"Sir Zhang, you really don’t need to worry about those two girls. Trust me, they will be more than fine." Xie Yanlin said softly, his voice remaining unbothered. "Right now, you just need to step back and stay safely behind us."

"But..." Zhang Zhenyu hesitated, looking nervously at the armed men advancing on them.

"We can handle a few corrupt thugs easily. Did you already forget how we handled those elite assassins this morning?" Xie Zixin added with a subtle, confident smile.

"That’s right! You don’t need to worry about a single thing, Sir Zhang." Xie Yanlin’s tone was steady, though his eyes narrowed into sharp, dangerous slits as he focused on the enemy line. "You and your guards just need to focus entirely on protecting yourselves and your family inside the carriage."

"Man, I was wondering when these sleazebags were finally going to start something." Xie Jingguo rolled his shoulders, stepping forward as he cracked his knuckles with a series of satisfying pops.

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