Chapter – 78
Why Don’t You Just Go Rob Someone?
Dan Xiong was a well-known lone wanderer in the area. With seventy-two opened apertures and a strength of seven thousand five hundred jin, ordinary people couldn’t even get close to him. In particular, his eight-hundred-jin steel axe — once he swung it — could force even those far above his realm to retreat in fear.
Yet this time, when Dan Xiong reached out to grab something, not only did he fail, but the young man before him flicked his hand lightly and slapped his arm aside.
What was laughable was that this seemingly light, clean slap looked like the shy retaliation of a proper young lady fending off a lecher’s sneak attack.
But no one laughed. Not just because of Dan Xiong’s strength, but because of that simple one slap.
Dan Xiong’s expression was extremely ugly. It wasn’t because the movement made him look like a lecher — he was in real pain but too embarrassed to cry out. He could only endure it and pretend to be angry.
“Yell if it hurts. Holding it in must feel awful,” Qin Mo said with a smile.
“You’re asking for death!” Dan Xiong raised his axe and chopped toward Qin Mo.
“If you chop him to death, who am I supposed to get the hide from?” Li Xuanfeng suddenly drew the sword at his waist, intercepting the blow, a mocking smile on his face.
Clang!
Sword and axe collided. Li Xuanfeng’s face changed slightly, but before he could react, the terrifying power within the axe suddenly vanished — Dan Xiong had already withdrawn it.
Dan Xiong grinned. “Brat, this hide is yours.”
With that, he hefted the giant axe across his shoulders, turned around, and left — as if he truly no longer cared about the hide. Everyone watching was stunned.
The normally overbearing Dan Xiong… just left?
Not only the crowd — even Li Xuanfeng stared in disbelief. Only Qin Mo remained calm. He knew Dan Xiong had realized he’d hit a steel plate and decided to retreat without hesitation.
No one knew that at this moment, in a small alley, the usually rough Dan Xiong was clutching his reddened right hand, his face twisted with pain, nearly in tears.
“Damn it… did I step in dog shit today? How can my luck be this bad?” he muttered, aching as he looked at his hand. Others hadn’t sensed anything unusual about that slap, but he had.
That slap carried at least nine thousand jin of force. If not for his body-refining technique, an ordinary person’s hand would’ve been smashed to pulp.
Even so, his right hand was numb; bones and meridians had been shattered.
In that split second, he hadn’t thought of leaving — he’d thought of escaping. Getting as far from that kid as possible. He already predicted Li Xuanfeng would intervene after he attacked, so he deliberately swung lightly, letting Li Xuanfeng block it, then used the opening to slip away.
“Heh… Li Xuanfeng, let’s see how you clean up this mess,” Dan Xiong thought as he grinned bitterly.
Li Xuanfeng, of course, wasn’t injured — at least not yet. Dan Xiong’s retreat didn’t humble him; instead, he became even more arrogant.
“Dan Xiong is gone. You have no one to rely on now. Since you took what belongs to me and insulted me, cut off your own arm, hand over the goods, and get out.”
“You really were raised on shit.” Qin Mo shook his head. I don’t offend people, but if someone insists on provoking me, I won’t be polite.
Before he finished speaking, Li Xuanfeng turned green with fury. He had never seen someone so ungrateful. Ignoring the fact that they were in Qingyun Village, he thrust his sword straight at Qin Mo’s throat.
The warriors around him only cheered, not bothering to intervene. To them, their young clan leader — with nearly five thousand jin of strength — was more than enough to deal with a youth who had only opened thirty apertures.
As for breaking the rules of Qingyun Village? They weren’t worried. He was the young clan leader — the village chief wouldn’t punish him over something so small.
Yet no one expected this — the unstoppable sword froze inches from Qin Mo’s throat, pinched between two fingers.
The warriors turned pale. Li Xuanfeng even more so. His sword felt lodged in a boulder weighing tens of thousands of jin — immovable.
With a light ding, Qin Mo flicked his fingers. The sword snapped. Agony tore through Li Xuanfeng’s hand, and a tremendous force lifted him off his feet. He flipped once in the air and slammed hard onto the ground.
Pff!
Blood spurted from his mouth. His face turned paper-white. He finally realized the webbing of his sword hand had split open and was bleeding.
Everything had happened in an instant. As the bystanders finally recovered, Li Xuanfeng was already defeated. Their eyes widened as they looked at Qin Mo, stunned into silence. Even their breathing halted. The area was deathly still.
“So that’s how it is…” someone finally murmured. They now understood why Dan Xiong had run so strangely.
That “light slap” earlier must have cost him dearly. Otherwise, he’d never leave without a fight.
The warriors finally snapped back to themselves and were about to attack when Li Xuanfeng stopped them.
“Stop.”
He wasn’t a fool. Even Dan Xiong feared this youth — how could he win? His subordinates wouldn’t stand a chance either.
“We’re leaving.” Li Xuanfeng shot Qin Mo a heavy glare, then decisively turned away.
“You think you can rob someone and walk away? Am I that easy to bully?” Qin Mo’s voice was calm, but icy.
“What do you want?” Li Xuanfeng froze. He admitted defeat, but he wasn’t one to be bullied. “I don’t know who you are, but crossing me won’t end well for you. Today I acted rashly. I apologize — please forgive me.”
“And if I don’t?” Qin Mo replied coldly. If he wasn’t strong enough today, he’d already be stripped clean by this man.
“Don’t push me too far. My Xuanxing Tribe isn’t easy to provoke,” Li Xuanfeng growled.
“Too far? Who exactly pushed who first?” Qin Mo’s gaze was icy.
“What do you want?” Li Xuanfeng demanded.
“Simple. I’m buying all the spirit stones on you.” Qin Mo plucked a single hair from the animal hide in his bag and blew it onto Li Xuanfeng. “You took something from me. So give me my spirit stones.”
The crowd was speechless. Buying all of Li Xuanfeng’s spirit stones with one hair? It was absurd — that wasn’t phoenix plume or dragon scale.
But then again… wasn’t Li Xuanfeng that absurd earlier? If the youth weren’t strong, even his hide — along with his backpack — would have been taken.
The crowd began to feel schadenfreude. Retribution indeed. Only a villain can deal with a villain.
Knowing he had kicked a steel plate today, Li Xuanfeng immediately took out a pouch and threw it hard at Qin Mo.
“Hope you enjoy it.”
He turned to leave — but Qin Mo said coldly:
“Are you deaf? I said I want all your spirit stones.”
Li Xuanfeng nearly vomited blood. He spun around, roaring, “I’m not giving them to you! What can you do to me?”
“Oh?” Qin Mo sneered. “I don’t believe you’ll stay in the village forever.”
Li Xuanfeng’s face went ashen. He knew exactly what that meant. Private fighting was forbidden inside Qingyun Village — but outside, it wasn’t.
And he had important matters that required leaving immediately. But with only these few guards, he couldn’t beat Qin Mo. Once he left the village, survival was questionable.
Thinking about Qin Mo pinching his sword with two fingers, he felt a chill down his spine. Gritting his teeth, he handed over all the spirit stones on him.
“Are you satisfied?” Li Xuanfeng’s eyes were cold with murderous intent.
“Very satisfied. Doing business with a young clan leader is so straightforward. Maybe we can do it again sometime.” Qin Mo smiled.
Li Xuanfeng was about to explode but couldn’t say anything. Remembering Qin Mo’s terrifying power, he left with his men silently.
Qin Mo didn’t bully him further. Nor did he check the spirit stones — he simply stuffed all of Li Xuanfeng’s bags into his own and headed toward the inner city.
This was his first time in Qingyun Village. He’d come because his father once told him that the leather armor crafted by the Hammerstone Tribe was often sold here at fair prices.
Besides, he needed a fine blade.
His appearance was indeed odd for the city, but Qin Mo had no intention of changing clothes. In fact, he hoped another “young clan leader” would come looking for trouble — he might just make some more money.
Unfortunately, no such luck. After wandering the city, no one approached him.
Until suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder. Qin Mo smiled strangely and turned around — only to see a familiar face.
“What, you want the cowhide on me too?” Qin Mo grinned brightly, which made the burly man holding an axe look extremely uncomfortable.
It was Dan Xiong.
Seeing Qin Mo’s bright smile, Dan Xiong felt a bad premonition. He hurried to explain:
“I really did want the cowhide — no, no, don’t misunderstand! I’m not trying to take it! I want to buy it… no, not at the earlier price… I mean—”
He fumbled anxiously, sweating, then finally blurted:
“My meaning is — name your price. I won’t bargain. I’ll buy it.”
“Ten mid-grade spirit stones,” Qin Mo said directly.
“You— why don’t you just go—”
Dan Xiong’s eyes bulged. He almost shouted, Why don’t you just go rob someone? But remembering he’d promised not to negotiate, he swallowed the words and looked miserably at Qin Mo.
“Little brother, that’s not very fair… Even though this Greenwind cowhide is intact, it’s worth at most five mid-grade stones. If it weren’t for people like me, you probably wouldn’t even get that price…”
