Volume Two: The Winds Rise in Anxi Prefecture Chapter 164: Striking Swiftly

When the large black dog returned, it was already late into the night.

Its very first words upon entering were, "Master Jiu, the owner of that [Hundred-Flower Brew] has died."

"Dead?"

Lu Jiuzhang was shocked.

Did the opposition move so quickly?

"How did he die?" Lu Jiuzhang pursued the question.

"Well..." The large black dog paused for a moment. "He checked into an inn, presumably planning to leave Anxi Prefecture tomorrow morning."

"My identity made it inconvenient to enter, so I got onto the roof of the opposite building and watched his every move."

"Until the night grew dark and he closed his windows. Not long after, when the inn's waiter delivered food and drink, he discovered that the man was already dead."

"Then the inn fell into chaos. Before long, yamen runners arrived as well. After checking and finding no traces of foul play, they left. The innkeeper had his corpse hauled away, which looks like it was sent to the pauper's grave outside the city."

This was also what puzzled the large black dog; the man's death was far too suspicious.

"Well, dead is dead, then."

Lu Jiuzhang nodded, forced to temporarily abandon this lead.

"Creeak..."

Just as the two finished speaking, the courtyard gates were pushed open, and the one-armed fierce man walked in.

Upon seeing Lu Jiuzhang, the one-armed fierce man felt a tight squeeze in his chest, but he forced himself to walk over with a feigned composure. "Master Jiu, it was too boring inside the courtyard, so I took a walk outside."

With that, the one-armed fierce man exchanged a glance with the large black dog.

"Your affairs have nothing to do with me, just don't die outside. I'm going to sleep first."

Having said this, Lu Jiuzhang turned around and returned to his room.

By now, the hour was late. Lu Jiuzhang stood by the window, extending his spiritual awareness outward to clearly observe the large black dog and the one-armed fierce man.

"How did the talks go?"

The large black dog asked.

"The negotiations were successful. They agreed to give you fifty thousand taels of silver, but they have one condition: they will give you half first, which is twenty-five thousand taels, and the other half will be given after you leave Anxi Prefecture,"

the one-armed fierce man said. "We have already shown our sincerity, Lord Black, what do you think?"

He produced three banknotes from his sleeve—two with a denomination of ten thousand taels, and another with a denomination of five thousand taels.

Without a word, the large black dog first bit the banknotes from the one-armed fierce man's hand and swallowed them whole into its belly.

There was a specialized storage space inside the large black dog's body.

Keeping these banknotes inside its body gave it the utmost peace of mind.

"Ahem... Hand over the remaining twenty-five thousand taels of silver, and then I'll leave!" the large black dog said. "Who does business like this? Giving only half, and the rest only after I leave?"

"Lord Black, you can't be like this!"

The one-armed fierce man panicked.

This was taking the money and refusing to deliver!

"What? You still want to snatch them back from me?" The large black dog glared at the one-armed fierce man.

Facing that sharp and formidable aura, the one-armed fierce man instantly softened.

"Rest assured, as soon as that remaining twenty-five thousand taels of silver is in my hands, I'll leave immediately," the large black dog added. "You won't even need to urge me; I'll be the first to bolt!"

It seemed this was the only option for now.

"Then please wait a moment, Lord Black. I'll go report back right now!"

The one-armed fierce man nodded and headed toward the exit.

Such an unexpected change of events meant he had to discuss it with the person behind the scenes.

"Hold on!"

The large black dog stopped the one-armed fierce man. "If you go now and Master Jiu discovers it, what then? Leave at dawn tomorrow."

The large black dog wanted to trap the one-armed fierce man here.

If the news leaked out now, the other party would easily use tonight's free time to brainstorm countermeasures.

Releasing the one-armed fierce man tomorrow meant they wouldn't have much time to think even if they wanted to.

Originally intending to fleece the other party of fifty thousand taels of silver, it had only managed to score twenty-five thousand taels, cutting the expected amount right in half. The large black dog felt somewhat disappointed.

After dismissing the one-armed fierce man, the large black dog lay down in the corner of the wall.

"Creeak..."

The door of the room was pushed open, and immediately afterward, a figure walked out.

Grabbing the large black dog by the scruff, the figure dragged it into the room.

"How much silver did you get?"

Lu Jiuzhang asked bluntly.

"Master Jiu, what are you talking about? How come I don't understand?" The large black dog feigned innocence.

"Do you really take me for blind?" Lu Jiuzhang questioned in a low voice.

"Hehe, your eyes are definitely not blind." Smiling sheepishly, the large black dog produced a five-thousand-tael banknote. "They gave a total of ten thousand taels of silver. We'll split it down the middle: I take five thousand, and you take five thousand!"

Handing over five thousand taels of silver caused the large black dog profound heartache.

"Cut the crap, half means half." Lu Jiuzhang continued to demand.

"Nothing can be kept from you. The total was actually twenty-five thousand taels. How about this, I'll give you ten thousand taels first. I don't have any extra silver on me right now; I'll give you the rest when I have it."

The large black dog produced a ten-thousand-tael banknote. "You should return that five-thousand-tael banknote to me."

Lu Jiuzhang accepted the ten-thousand-tael banknote but had no intention of returning the five-thousand-tael one.

Once this money entered Lu Jiuzhang's hands, getting it back out would be an uphill battle.

"And the remaining ten thousand taels, hurry up!"

Lu Jiuzhang pressed.

"Master Jiu, I only got twenty-five thousand taels in total, and you've already taken fifteen thousand taels! I'm left with just this little bit, and we agreed on a fifty-fifty split!"

The large black dog felt deeply aggrieved!

It had just gotten its paws on so much silver, and before it could even warm up, it was gone.

"Stop babbling. Did you think I wouldn't know? A total of fifty thousand taels of silver, and the other party gave half first—twenty-five thousand taels," Lu Jiuzhang said. "Those twenty-five thousand are mine, and the masterminds gave you the remaining twenty-five thousand, which you can keep in full."

That logic certainly held water.

The problem, however, was whether the other party would actually hand over the remaining silver.

What if they refused to pay? Wouldn't that leave it with absolutely nothing?

"Master Jiu, I risked my life pulling this con, you..." The large black dog still wanted to struggle a bit.

"You called it a con yourself. Can't I just rob them outright?" Lu Jiuzhang smiled.

"Damn it, Master Jiu, there's no one like you. You're resorting to highway robbery!" The large black dog felt wronged.

"Why so much nonsense? If not for me, would they have given you silver in the first place?" Lu Jiuzhang said. "Therefore, the primary credit belongs to me."

"I demand a fifty percent split, any problem with that? Besides, I took the greatest risk. What risk did you face?"

That seemed to be correct!

Because of Lu Jiuzhang, it even had the opportunity to pull off the scam in the first place.

The large black dog sank into gloom.

"Master Jiu, I've given you the ten thousand taels, but let's make this clear beforehand: stop threatening me with that broken blade from now on." The large black dog looked ready to cry. "Every time that broken blade is held to my neck, my heart beats like crazy!"

"Easily done, easily done!"

Lu Jiuzhang smiled as he pocketed the remaining ten thousand-tael banknote.

Another twenty-five thousand taels of silver secured!

Getting paid while lying idly at home made for quite a comfortable life.

"Alright, go to sleep early. Tomorrow, we'll figure out a way to fleece them for another haul. The day after tomorrow, we're heading to the Anxi Prefecture Demon Suppression Division to rendezvous with Department Head Chen. Things will get busy then, and there won't be any more avenues for making money."

With money coming in at such a rapid pace, Lu Jiuzhang was already tempted to fleece the behind-the-scenes masterminds one more time.