Chapter 53 : Chapter 53

Chapter 53: For a Mere Forty Taels of Silver, You’re Going to Fight Us to the Death?

Luo Li still bit her lip and stared fixedly at Chen Guan’s back without saying a word.

Because she knew that, at this point, money could no longer solve her problem.

The fact that these people had managed to hunt her all the way into the depths of the Ten Directions Marsh said enough about just how enormous the power behind them was.

People like that did not lack money at all.

So long as Chen Guan was willing to name a price, let alone one mountain of gold—even ten mountains of gold—they would probably agree without the slightest hesitation.

The reason she had deliberately acted so spoiled, so mischievous, and even occasionally thrown little tantrums in front of Chen Guan these past few days

was because she wanted, in this way, to keep refreshing her presence in his mind.

She wanted him to see a living, breathing person of flesh and blood—not some cold, lifeless “commodity” that could be weighed against money.

What she was gambling on was this: that Chen Guan, this Escort Master who appeared cold-blooded and merciless, might at such a moment allow even the faintest trace of human feeling to stir in his heart.

And that because of that... he would not abandon her for money.

“Young gentleman, I never expected that you would dare wade into these troubled waters for a mere twenty taels of silver.”

The woman in red put away the seductive smile on her face and instead revealed an expression of lofty admiration.

“In this day and age, there truly aren’t many Escort Masters left who keep faith and honor like you do.”

Hearing that, Chen Guan quite solemnly cupped his fists.

“Many thanks for the compliment, Miss.”

“Hehe, how interesting.” Covering her mouth, the woman in red laughed. “How about this? I’ll give you two thousand taels, and you turn around and leave. What do you say?”

Chen Guan’s face darkened.

“Wasn’t it supposed to be a mountain of gold? You’re slashing the price all the way down to the ankle.”

The woman in red froze for a moment, then laughed softly behind her hand.

So long as he cared about money, then this matter would be easy to handle.

“Then ten thousand taels!”

In this world, what people meant by a “mountain of gold or silver” was ten thousand taels.

Ten thousand taels was no small number. Even the most formidable Escort Master might not earn that much in an entire lifetime.

Luo Li’s hands were already soaked with sweat, but she still stared fixedly at Chen Guan, her heart lodged in her throat.

And yet Chen Guan acted as though nothing were happening.

Instead, he slowly took the massive Horse-Cleaving Saber down from his shoulder.

As he lightly ran a finger over the blade, he muttered to himself, “I, Chen Guan, have walked the escort road for ten years. I’ve escorted people, escorted beasts, even escorted demons, fiends, and uncanny things. But the most expensive escort job I’ve ever taken... the deposit was only twenty taels, and that was this very one.”

“Miss, you really are generous. If you truly can hand over a whole mountain of gold, then I probably couldn’t spend it all in a lifetime...”

“Of course.”

The woman in red smiled faintly.

“To those we admire, we are never stingy. And to those with the good sense to know what is best for them, we can be even more generous.”

The two of them chatted back and forth as though they were old friends meeting after many years, the atmosphere strangely harmonious.

“But...”

Chen Guan’s voice suddenly paused.

In those previously calm eyes, a monstrous killing intent surged, and his voice abruptly turned cold.

“Before you came, perhaps you didn’t inquire about my rules...”

“Rules? Hehehe...” The woman in red laughed as though she had just heard the funniest joke in the world, her whole body shaking with mirth.

“Young gentleman, in this world, silver is the greatest rule there is. Don’t tell me you don’t understand that?”

Zheng—A clear, lingering saber-hum cut off her laughter.

The Horse-Cleaving Saber in Chen Guan’s hand slid out inch by inch. Cold light flashed across the blade and reflected in the pupils of the black-clad men around them.

Only then did he continue, nodding as he spoke.

“What Miss says is true. In this world, the one thing that truly has the power to set the rules is indeed silver. After all, money can make even ghosts turn the millstone.”

The black-clad men did not relax in the slightest upon hearing Chen Guan’s apparently agreeable words.

On the contrary, that icy tone made their backs run cold, and they unconsciously tightened their grips on their weapons.

Even the woman in red gradually lost the playful smile on her face, and the hand that had been twining her hair came to a halt.

“Young gentleman, this humble one is doing this for your own good.”

Though the woman in red’s voice remained seductive, a warning now rang through it.

“These murky waters run far deeper than a mere Escort Master like you could ever bear.”

“But...” Chen Guan spoke that single word, and at that exact moment, the two-meter-long Horse-Cleaving Saber in his hand slid fully free of its sheath.

“Every business has to respect the order of who came first and who came later.”

Whoosh!

Chen Guan suddenly spun around, eyes flashing coldly, and dropped the Horse-Cleaving Saber across Luo Li’s slender neck!

Luo Li’s whole body froze under the icy glare of the blade pressing against her face.

The woman in red and the others felt a surge of delight in their hearts.

“So you do know how to choose what’s best for you. Very good—”

Chen Guan ignored them. Face cold, he said sharply to Luo Li, “That woman talks too much... we’ll need more money?”

“Uh—!”

Frightened half out of her wits, Luo Li’s delicate body jolted violently. Then she came to herself, stared blankly at the ruthless profile so close beside her, and nodded frantically.

“Y-yes... yes! Raise the price! H-how much do you want to add?”

“One fold.”

Chen Guan’s reply was curt and clean.

“Ah?! O-only double?” Luo Li froze again, but the instinct to survive made her nod without thinking. “All right, all right! No problem!”

【Ding! On-the-Spot Price Hike Successful】

【Escort Mission: Escort Luo Li to the Grand Preceptor’s Manor in Shangjing City of Great Zhou.】

【Current Mission Reward: Escort Points +265】

The moment the system notification rang out in his mind, Chen Guan grinned broadly, his face instantly blooming with delight.

But the woman in red opposite him and the black-clad men behind her were utterly dumbfounded by what had just happened.

Double?

Twenty taels doubled only made forty taels, did it not?

For a mere forty taels of silver, he was willing to fight people to the death?

Was this brat insane?!

And Luo Li’s eyes reddened at once. It was true that this man cared for money like he cared for his life.

But she had never imagined that, at such a moment, he would reject the greater sum and once again choose to protect her for no more than a mere twenty extra taels.

Looking at that broad back before her, tears slipped down her face before she could stop them.

“Young gentleman, this humble one can raise the price too.”

The woman in red recovered, gave a soft laugh, and once more dangled her offer.

“I’ll double it as well. Twenty thousand taels. In exchange, you pretend you saw nothing just now. How does that sound?”

Chen Guan spun around sharply, murderous intent bursting from his eyes.

“Originally, it could have been negotiated.”

“But your hands were too restless. You touched something you should not have touched.”

“Now you don’t get another chance!”

The instant that last word fell, the Horse-Cleaving Saber in his hand turned into a streak of cold light and slashed out in a sweeping arc!

【Path-Cleaving Slash: Activated. Saber attack power increases by 100%.】

【Mountain-Severing Slash: Activated. Ignores 50% of the enemy’s defense.】

“Protector, be careful!”

The leading middle-aged man in black shouted as he raised the steel longsword in his hands, stepped forward, and threw himself in front of the woman in red.

Yet the anticipated clash of metal against metal with the Horse-Cleaving Saber never came.

What came instead was only an extremely heavy slicing sound, followed by the crisp ring of half a broken sword striking the ground.

When they looked closely, they saw that the black-clad middle-aged man who had stepped forward to shield her had been neatly cleaved straight down the middle!

His organs and blood came spilling out in a rush, splattering the earth!

Just one slash.

A warrior whose strength had at least reached the mid-stage Profound Passage Realm had been split cleanly in half by Chen Guan, the two halves hitting the ground with a dull thud.

“What a domineering saber art...”

Only now did they truly realize that this Escort Master, who looked so young, was not merely unfathomable in cultivation. Even the somewhat crude-looking Horse-Cleaving Saber in his hand was no ordinary weapon.

A blade capable of cutting iron like mud was worth far more than any mountain of gold.