64: Poisonous Dragon Gang

He turned his head to look.

In the direction from which the commotion came, several Cultivators were arguing heatedly with a stall owner, seemingly on the verge of a physical altercation.

Listening to the discussions around, it seemed these people had damaged the stall owner's items, and now he was demanding compensation.

Lu Ming, who had just squeezed into the crowd, saw the scene of them bickering.

"Stop right there! You broke my treasure, and you think you can just walk away?"

"Don't talk nonsense! It broke without me even using any force; clearly, there's something wrong with your item!"

"How dare you argue! Everyone, come and judge! These people broke my ancestral treasure vase and are now trying to shift the blame! Isn't this bullying an honest person!"

"You... you, you're simply unreasonable! This is extortion!"

Lu Ming looked over; the stall owner was a scrawny middle-aged man, looking quite shifty, with a playful and cunning look in his eyes. He didn't seem like a good person at all.

The several Cultivators, on the other hand, looked travel-worn, with various scars on their bodies, as if they had just fled from danger.

Lu Ming hadn't paid much attention initially, merely coming to watch the drama unfold.

But he took a closer look.

Oh, there were familiar faces.

These people, three men and one woman, seemed to be a family of four.

However, among them was an Old Man whom Lu Ming recognized.

It was Old Zhou, who sold Spirit Medicine at Green Bamboo Market. Lu Ming had interacted with him a few times, and their relationship was decent.

He hadn't expected him to escape the beast tide and trek so far to the Immortal City.

His strength was one thing, but his luck was also quite good.

However, looking at them, they seemed to be in trouble.

At this moment, Li Yue looked at the several people opposite him, whose faces were flushed with anger, and felt extremely pleased.

"Hmph, you still want to contend with me? You won't leave today until I've emptied your Spirit Stone!"

He was an experienced actor; while calculating in his heart, his face showed an expression as if he had suffered a great injustice.

With snot and tears, he tearfully complained to the people gathered around.

"Fellow Daoists, please judge! I've been setting up a stall outside the Market for decades. Although my reputation isn't prominent, my character is evident to all. How could I do such a despicable thing!"

"That's right, Brother Li wouldn't do anything to extort people."

"You're not trying to avoid paying, are you? Brother Li is a member of the Poisonous Dragon Gang from the outer city; these Fellow Daoists should not make a mistake!"

Immediately, voices of support and encouragement came from the crowd.

Li Yue became even more smug, but he solemnly cupped his hands to the surrounding Cultivators.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoists, for speaking up for justice. Fairness resides in the hearts of the people."

Then he looked at Old Zhou and the others, shaking his head and sighing.

"Seeing your disheveled appearance, I kindly introduced my healing treasure vase to you.

I didn't expect your character to be so poor. Not only did you break my ancestral treasure vase, but you also slandered me for extortion.

If you continue to be so unreasonable, I will invite the brothers from the Poisonous Dragon Gang to preside over justice for me!"

Old Zhou and the others felt the pointing fingers around them and heard some vulgar language, their faces turning a liver-like red.

He couldn't help but curse, "What Poisonous Dragon Gang? Stop using others' power to bully here! This is no reason for you to extort people!"

Lu Ming now understood. He had seen many such 'porcelain-touching' extortion incidents online before his Transmigration.

He hadn't expected to witness a live broadcast of it even after Transmigration.

Although he didn't know the full details, he was certain that Old Zhou and the others were being wronged.

Old Zhou didn't know about the Poisonous Dragon Gang, but Lu Ming did.

Dong Pingan had mentioned it when introducing the distribution of forces in the city.

It was a Loose Cultivator organization similar to the Talisman Cultivator Alliance in Green Bamboo Market, operating in the outer city, specifically bullying these foreign Cultivators.

They earned profits through extortion, coercion, and even moneylending, doing nothing but unsavory deeds.

It was rumored that their gang leader was a Qi Refining Great Perfection Cultivator. Although he was nothing special in the Immortal City, he was more than sufficient to establish himself in the outer city.

However, Lu Ming had no intention of stepping out to uphold justice; he just wanted to be an honest bystander.

His relationship with Old Zhou wasn't strong enough for him to abandon a meticulously crafted Puppet and provoke the Poisonous Dragon Gang.

Many Cultivators shared his sentiment.

After all, not all the Cultivators gathered were fools; they knew perfectly well whether the stall owner was extorting people.

But none would be the first to speak out; there was no benefit in helping, only trouble.

The Cultivation World was full of deception; such incidents occurred everywhere daily. Those who fell victim could only blame their bad luck.

"Quick, make way! The Poisonous Dragon Gang's people are here!"

Just then, the crowd stirred, and then everyone made way, forming a path.

Lu Ming looked and saw a corpulent middle-aged man with a potbelly and large ears, leading several burly men with special patterns on their faces, walking over menacingly.

"Tattoos, huh? Gangsters?"

Lu Ming muttered inwardly. This thuggish appearance looked strange no matter how he saw it.

Especially the leader; he had a huge belly, and judging by his waistline, it would take two people to embrace it.

What a walking slab of pork belly!

Seeing these Loose Cultivators fear him like a tiger, Cao Da's smugness was undisguised.

However, his face had too much fat, squeezed into a ball, making his smile awkward. Only in his narrowed, slit-like eyes could his smugness be seen.

"What's going on, what's going on? Why are you all gathered here? Are you rebelling?"

He spoke with a booming voice, swaying with each step as he walked to Li Yue's stall.

His fleshy face, with its small, squinted eyes, scanned the scene.

"Who's causing trouble on my Poisonous Dragon Gang's territory!"

At this moment, Li Yue, seeing the middle-aged man approach, a flash of joy crossed his face.

He hurriedly ran to him, knelt down with a thud, and then tearfully accused the middle-aged man.

He also presented the half-shattered 'treasure vase' as evidence.

"Hall Master Cao, you must uphold justice for me! This person broke my ancestral treasure vase, not only refusing to pay Spirit Stone but also slandering me for extorting him."

"I've been operating here for decades, always valuing integrity, and have never engaged in any deceitful behavior. Hall Master Cao, you know this!"

"I just want justice, and he even said I was using others' power to bully, which means he doesn't respect you at all!"

This huge accusation made Old Zhou tremble with anger, almost causing him to faint.

"You... you..."

He pointed at Li Yue, but couldn't speak for a long time.

Cao Da's face also darkened upon hearing this. The Aura of a Qi Refining eighth-layer Cultivator pressed down, and he stared at Old Zhou and the others, saying,

"I, Cao Da, hate nothing more than people who swindle and cheat. You are so arrogant; it seems you don't take me seriously!"

Old Zhou and the others were flushed red under the oppressive Aura, but they still quickly explained.

"This Fellow Daoist... Hall Master Cao, don't listen to his nonsense. This person is simply twisting facts.

The bottle broke in half as soon as I touched it; it was clearly already broken, placed here to extort people!"

Cao Da turned to Li Yue, saying with a righteous expression, "Is what he says true? You must tell the truth, and I will handle it impartially!"

"Hall Master Cao, this person is still arguing! My treasure vase has always been fine, and many people wanted to buy it!"

"You can ask the nearby stall owners; they can all testify for me!"

Li Yue cried even harder, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

"That's right, I can testify. This treasure vase was fine this morning. How could it break with a touch? He clearly broke it!"

"Exactly, he looks so righteous, but I didn't expect him to be unwilling to take responsibility."

"..."