Starting with Xingyi Quan, it swept across the chaotic world.

Chapter 46 Undercurrents

People who look up at the night sky will have different feelings.

Lu Li, who has just broken through, is surrounded by dazzling starlight, and his future is both long and bright.

But the Wang family members felt that the night was dark and the clouds were thick, as if a storm was about to break.

The Wang Mansion was brightly lit. Wang Xing, the current head of the Wang family and the eldest of the three Wang brothers, was sitting in the main seat of the hall, his brows furrowed in worry.

The rest of the Wang family members also looked grim.

Wang Hong and Wang Kui exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat helpless.

For some reason this month, two caravans went missing halfway through their journeys. Not only were the goods gone, but the caravan leaders also disappeared.

This also caused the Wang family to lose a lot of money.

If it were just a loss of money, that would be fine; it was only twice, and the Wang family could still manage.

But somehow, after these two shipments were robbed, their counterparts in the city took the opportunity to make trouble and cut the freight fees in half.

This caused many merchants in the city to deliver goods to other companies, and the once bustling Yongxing Escort Agency became deserted.

"Our Yongxing Escort Agency treated them well, and our prices were the fairest among all the escort agencies. How can they turn their backs on us today for such a small amount of money!"

Wang Kui couldn't sit still any longer and slammed his fist on the table, saying, "The merchants are saying that our goods were robbed and they don't trust us."

"Could it be that only my Yongxing Escort Agency will be robbed?"

Upon hearing this, everyone clenched their fists.

Wang Xing was somewhat helpless upon seeing this scene:

"Now that we've been robbed twice, our镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) have suffered heavy losses. Aren't our fellow镖师 in the city just taking advantage of our weakness to kill us?"

Everyone knows this principle, but they just can't stand the humiliation of others taking advantage of them.

Moreover, Yongxing Escort Agency is the lifeblood of the Wang family. With so many people in the agency, the monthly expenses are also a huge burden. If there are no more escorts, Yongxing Escort Agency may have to disband.

"If all else fails, how about we have a 'fist fight'?"

Wang Kui couldn't sit still any longer; he simply couldn't bear to see his hard work go to waste.

Fighting is the rule of the trade.

This is to prevent some escort agencies from taking advantage of the chaos to lower their prices and then outlast other agencies.

Of course, the purpose of the fistfights was not mainly for fairness, but rather to prevent trouble caused by the martial artists from different families.

"A fistfight?"

Wang Xing sighed:

"They had already guessed that we wanted to have a boxing match, so they invited Shi Qingyang, a master of Baguazhang, early on."

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone in Tangxia gasped in shock, including Wang Hong and Wang Kui.

They knew Shi Qingyang all too well; he was the top Dark Strength expert at the Bagua Martial Arts School and also the personal disciple of that old man at the school.

His strength had already reached the late stage of Dark Force, and he could have passed the imperial examination for martial arts last year. However, he was ambitious and insisted on winning first place, so he chose to spend another year honing his skills...

Wang Kui's face looked grim.

As the strongest of the three Wang brothers, he also wanted to be chosen as the opponent in this fight to avenge the humiliation he had suffered.

However... if the opponent is Shi Qingyang... he won't have a single chance.

"That won't do... How about we offer a high price to hire other renowned internal strength practitioners?" Wang Hong suddenly spoke up, clinging to a sliver of hope: "I know a few..."

"Ah Hong..." Wang Xing's expression was complicated. He opened his mouth, but finally said the cruel result: "I visited those people yesterday... and they refused."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Hong collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.

Soon, someone suggested asking the few hidden fighters who were sponsored by the Wang family to help.

But all of them yielded negative results.

We can't win, and the other side might not be willing either.

"Sigh... let's wait another month and see. If no merchants contact us again, we'll try to make peace with them," Wang Xing said wearily.

Is it humiliating? Yes, but it's the only option left.

As the head of the Wang family, he had to consider the needs of his clansmen and the many brothers in the escort agency.

A young man's impetuous spirit, a fit of rage?

That's unrealistic.

The reality is that every day when he opens his eyes, he has to feed countless hungry mouths.

Upon hearing this, everyone clenched their fists even tighter.

This is so damn frustrating!

But there was nothing they could do but endure it.

"Ah Hong, stay for a moment." After the meeting ended, Wang Xing called out to Wang Hong.

"Brother, what is it?" Wang Hong asked.

Wang Xing glanced at his second brother:

"I heard you've been sponsoring a few children, right?"

Wang Hong's heart skipped a beat; he had already guessed what his elder brother wanted to say, and quickly spoke:

"Yes, brother. One of them is named Duan Kang, who has internal strength, and the other is Lu Li. Although he has external strength, he may become internal strength in the future."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xing nodded and then said:

"I do know Duan Kang, but as for that Lu Li... although you and Third Brother often mention him, the current situation is truly exceptional..."

"His funding should be cancelled."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Hong opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

"Could we pay as usual this month and then cancel it next month?" Wang Hong tentatively suggested.

Upon hearing this, Wang Xing hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.

……

The next day.

After his leave ended, Lu Li went to the city defense office to receive his patrol assignment and also to report the good news to his superior.

But when he saw Commander Wang, he was dumbfounded.

Commander Wang, who used to be dashing and loved to tease others, had red eyes and a scruffy beard today.

"Boss?" Lu Li asked tentatively.

"Ah...it's Xiao Li..." Wang Hong realized his lapse in composure and quickly cleared his throat: "Ahem, what brings you here, kid?"

"I should go to work today," Lu Li replied.

"Oh, I see..." Wang Hong coughed twice more. "It's perfect that you're here, which saves me the trouble of making a trip."

After Wang Hong finished speaking, he took out ten taels of somewhat broken snowflake silver from the drawer, along with silver snake meat and blood-nourishing pills.

"Here's your allowance for this month, take it."

"Boss, why is the payout coming up so early this month?" Lu Li felt increasingly uneasy.

Where can you find a boss who not only doesn't exploit you, but also eagerly pays you a salary?

"Damn it, stop talking nonsense!"

Wang Hong slapped the table:

"If you don't want it, plenty of others will!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Li accepted it with a forced smile.

In any case, getting paid is a good thing.

Seeing that Lu Li accepted it, Wang Hong's expression softened considerably. He became somewhat hesitant, and his voice carried a hint of apology.

"Xiao Li... um..."

"Something happened at home recently..."

"There won't be any more Silver Serpent Meat or Blood-Replenishing Pills for future funding..." Wang Hong added, "But we still have silver, we still have silver..."

There was no silver, of course.

Given the family's situation, all expenses had to be cut back.

However, Xiao Li could afford the ten taels he had here in a short period of time.

"I thought it was something serious. Just this?" Lu Li said with a smile, then quickly asked, "Did something happen at your home, boss? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"As long as there is no danger to my life, I, Lu, will do my utmost!" Lu Li suddenly smiled slyly.

"You brat, you're making fun of your boss!" Wang Hong's distressed and apologetic expression eased considerably.

"There's nothing you can help with; we'll handle it ourselves, so don't worry about it."

As Wang Hong was speaking, seeing that Lu Li wanted to ask further questions, he quickly interrupted and asked again:

"By the way, what brings you here?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Li spoke up:

"I've secretly put in the effort."

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