37: The death of Liu Jinshan served as a warning to others.
Many merchants gathered together in a secluded tavern in the county town, planning to devise another strategy to deal with the Chen Family.
As soon as they sat down, a servant arrived from outside; he was tasked with gathering information. He walked up to the old man Wang Xuan and hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
"Old Wang, is there any news? Tell us so we can all hear it!"
"That's right, has the connection we prepared made a move? Is the Chen Family overwhelmed now?"
Seeing the servant approach, the merchants hurriedly inquired about the situation.
"Little Wang, whatever you found out, just say it in front of everyone!"
Wang Xuan still intended to unite everyone against the Chen Family, so he naturally would not hoard information and offend the group, thus he told the servant to reveal the situation openly.
"Family Head, today I went to observe the situation at the Chen Family's shop. The Captain and the Tax Official have already led men to surround it."
Hearing this, the merchants looked excited. As the saying goes, the commoners should not fight with officials. Since they had hired two high-ranking officials, they would surely make these Chen Family bumpkins submissive this time.
"Is the Chen Family in trouble?"
"Exactly, the Chen Family's shop must be sealed, and they will definitely have to pay fines!"
"Heh, it's more than just paying fines. I instructed the Captain to charge them with colluding with barbarians. I imagine the whole family is already in prison!"
Upon hearing that their connections had acted, the crowd began to speculate. Wang Xuan, sitting to the side, chuckled and proudly revealed the agreement he had made with the Captain.
The servant looked at the excited crowd and could not help but swallow hard. With a trace of terror on his face, he said:
"The two officials did indeed cause trouble for the Chen Family, but..."
"But Chen Chuanwen of the Chen Family actually produced the token of our county's Immortal Official, and it scared the two officials away immediately!"
As soon as the servant finished speaking, the tavern fell into instant silence, with faint gasps of shock echoing through the room.
"Are you sure that was the token of Immortal Official Baili?"
Wang Xuan stood up abruptly, grabbed the servant, and stared at him intently with an expression of disbelief.
"Family Head, it is absolutely true. I saw with my own eyes that the word 'Baili' was written on the token, and both officials saw it too!"
Hearing the servant's words, Wang Xuan instantly slumped like a deflated ball, collapsing back into his seat.
"Damn it, we thought the Chen Family were just bumpkins, but we never expected their backing to be an Immortal Official!"
"How ridiculous. We even tried to find official figures to deal with the Chen Family. Aside from the County Magistrate, who in all of Longwei County has a stronger background than the Chen Family?"
"Perhaps the Black Wind Bandits didn't come because they were secretly dealt with by the Immortal Official!"
For a moment, the merchants in the tavern were all dispirited. None of them had expected that the bumpkins in their eyes would have such a powerful backer.
"Everyone, the Immortal Official is high and mighty; he won't care about these trivial matters between us. Don't give up. Let me contact the Black Wind Bandits again. If the bandits wipe out the Chen Family, I believe the Immortal Official won't bother with us small fry!"
Liu Jinshan saw that everyone had lost the spirit to resist, so he hurriedly stood up to boost morale, but it had little effect. After all, even Liu Jinshan himself was doubting whether the Immortal Official had been the one to wipe out the Black Wind Bandits!
If it weren't for his desire to curry favor with the young master of the Lin Family in the Prefecture City, planning to use the Chen Family's secret recipes for stir-frying tea and brewing wine as a stepping stone, Liu Jinshan would have already run away.
"Clap! Clap! Clap!"
Just then, a sudden burst of applause rang out from the corner of the tavern, appearing particularly striking amidst the dispirited crowd.
"Family Head Liu is right; the Immortal Official indeed won't pay attention to small fry like us."
"However, it is a pity that you will not have another chance to act!"
Accompanied by this chilling voice, Chen Chuanwen slowly walked out from the shadows, holding a steel blade.
"Chen Chuanwen? How are you here? Damn it, which mole told him about this place?"
The moment Liu Jinshan saw Chen Chuanwen, his pupils constricted instantly. He knew he could only operate in the shadows; once exposed, the outcome awaiting the Liu Family would surely be miserable!
Liu Jinshan shouted hysterically, but the surroundings remained silent. No one answered, only the sound of Chen Chuanwen's footsteps as he walked toward Liu Jinshan.
"Liu Jinshan, I warned you before to behave yourself and stop causing trouble, otherwise, watch out for the heads of your entire family!"
"It seems you treated my words as wind passing by your ears. If I don't wipe out your entire family today, wouldn't I be a man who goes back on his word?"
Chen Chuanwen's expression was grim, and a murderous intent locked onto Liu Jinshan. Liu Jinshan was merely an ordinary person; how could he withstand the pressure brought by a Martial Artist's murderous intent?
In a panic, he only thought of fleeing.
But before he could take two steps, Chen Chuanwen had already caught up to him, and a steel blade was fiercely plunged into Liu Jinshan's chest.
"Cough... cough... Chen Chuanwen, I tell you, you have already been targeted by big shots in the Prefecture City. Even if you kill me, your family will definitely be destroyed!"
Blood flowed continuously from Liu Jinshan's mouth, but the corners of his lips curled up instead. He spoke intermittently in a faint voice that only the two of them could hear.
"Rest assured... no matter who it is, if they dare to touch my Chen Family... it will be a fight to the death... our Chen Family will never fall!"
As Chen Chuanwen's words fell, Liu Jinshan completely stopped breathing and collapsed to the ground, becoming a corpse.
This person, who had been the greatest threat when the Chen Family was weak and who had once bullied the Chen Family so much that they dared not stand up for themselves, was now so easily killed by Chen Chuanwen with a single blade strike.
Recalling the past experiences, Chen Chuanwen could not help but feel a tinge of emotion.
"Someone is dead..."
"Liu Jinshan is dead!"
The merchants in the tavern watched Chen Chuanwen kill Liu Jinshan with such ease, and they could not help but feel a chill down their spines. They had to remember that they were all members of the Anti-Chen Alliance!
With Chen Chuanwen's strength in the Bone Refining Realm, killing merchants like them would be as easy as chopping melons and vegetables!
For a moment, everyone fell silent, watching Chen Chuanwen cautiously. They dared not speak carelessly, for fear of receiving a blade to the head!
"Heh, killing the chicken to warn the monkey; the effect is indeed quite good!"
Chen Chuanwen thought to himself. He then carried the blood-stained steel blade, walked in front of the crowd, sat down at a table, poured a cup of wine, and said leisurely.
"I heard you formed an Anti-Chen Alliance. Heh, the name sounds quite imposing!"
Hearing Chen Chuanwen's words, everyone hurriedly lowered their heads. Chen Chuanwen's gaze swept over them, and they could not help but tremble.
"Rest assured, I, Chen Chuanwen, am not a homicidal maniac. However, whoever led this, step forward yourself!"
"One must be brave enough to take responsibility for their actions. Don't implicate others, otherwise, I will have no choice but to start a massacre!"
Chen Chuanwen said with a smile, his words light but striking the hearts of the crowd like a heavy hammer.
Liu Jinshan had been killed; standing out now meant certain death. Who would dare to step forward?
But Chen Chuanwen was not in a hurry. He counted to three, and seeing no one step forward, he pointed his blade casually at a merchant.
"Brother, you tell me who led this. If you don't say it, your head will roll!"
Chen Chuanwen said with a smile, but his murderous intent pressed down on the man like a great mountain. The man shuddered instantly, and with a mournful face, he hurriedly said:
"I'll say it, I'll say it! The leader was Old Master Wang Xuan. He was the one who found the connection with the Captain, and the connection with the Tax Official was found by the tea merchant, Second Master Liu!"
"I was just blinded by greed and only contributed some silver. Second Young Master, please don't kill me!"