"Patriarch has been shutting himself in the dark more often recently, i hope his mental health is ok." The servant gave one last glance to Liu Hao before leaving the hall.
"Fang Jishen what have you come here for at this hour?" Liu Hao asked doubtful. The Liu clan didn't have any relations with the Fang family.
Fang Jishen suddenly coming here in the middle of the night wasn't any less than strange.
"This is for you." Fang Jishen approached and handed a letter wrapped by a red ribbon to Liu Hao then moved back.
"What's the meaning of this." Liu Hao asked his gaze shifting from the letter to Fang Jishen.
"Don't misunderstand sir, im just a messenger. Now that my task is done i won't bother you any longer." Fang Jishen explained politely. His speech was clear and his manners impecable.
In front of the Liu clan patriarch, a powerful foundation establishment cultivator, Fang Jishen didn't dare outstep his boundaries.
His Fang family was just a small family of cultivators, even against a weakened Liu clan they would barely be able to contend.
Fang Jishen knew his own strenght, although he would take pleasure bullying the weak, in front of the strong he would be as meek as a kitten.
He hurriedly left the hall leaving Liu Hao in a state of incomprehension. After an instant he removed the ribbon and swiftly unwrapped the paper.
As he read the letter his face slowly took a mad rictus.
"heheHaHaaAAAH!" Liu Hao broke into an incontrolable laugh which quickly turned into a shrill scream resonating in the surroundings.
"I must calm down before the poison goes out of control again." Liu Hao's eyes were bloodshot and his hands holding the letter trembled continously when he heard footsteps quickly approaching from outside.
"Brother what's going on, did the poison emerge again?" Liu Han abruptly barged in the hall, the servant from before in his toes as he questioned Liu Hao.
"Look." Liu Hao throwed the letter towards his brother.
The paper slowly drifted in the air until it was caught by Liu Han who read it.
"This little bastard, he wants to exchange the Moon Pacifying herb and Soaring Leaf for our legacy battle skill and 2000 gold coins. This kid is out of his mind!" Liu Han flew into a rage.
Stolen novel; please report.
The letter was burned to cinders dancing like petals in the wind and evaporating before it could touch the ground.
Never before has he been this angered.
The legacy battle skill was a martial art passed down from generation to generation since the founding of the clan by their ancestor. It was usually the best battle skill of a clan and one of the reason for their strenght.
Allowing someone unrelated to the clan to learn it was simply heresy.
As for the gold, 2000 was an astronomical sum for the Liu clan in their current state. Paying would render them bankrupt and they wouldn't be able to qualify as a clan for much longer.
"Not only did he kill nephew Huan and Hualing but he also wants to extort us with our own belongings. His guts knows no bounds, he can keep dreaming we will never pay." Liu Han asserted firmly as he left the hall with big steps, still fuming.
"What's this punk relationship with Fang Jishen that he would go as far as deliver messages for him, is he secretly backed up by the Fang family?" Liu Hao who regained his calm tried to make sense of what happened but no matter how hard he thought he couldn't understand why would the Fang Family help Ye Mo and he didn't like this.
"He's more clever than i thought, he has been hiding his game too well. There's too many things we're unaware of." Liu Hao massaged his forehead as he felt this matter was more complicated than he thought.
In the meantime, Fang Jishen was quickly distancing himself from the Liu Clan.
The few pedestrians still outside at this hour recognized his attire and would quickly make way for him.
"Ye Mo you scum, what am i your henchman?" Unbeknownst to the Liu Clan, Fang Jishen was furious towards Ye Mo as well.
During nightfall Fang Jishen was taking a stroll around his residence when Ye Mo suddenly showed up.
Fang Jishen was so frightened he tryed to jump over the fence and escape but halfway through, his clothes were grabbed by Ye Mo and he was thrown to the floor.
Ye Mo gave him instructions and handed the letter to him. He left only when Fang Jishen accepted to carry this task.
"Humph, don't underestimate me. I heard you're only a rank 2 talent while im rank 3, if i work hard and try my best you will never catch up to me until i can just crush you with one finger. Just wait till i breakthrough the 7th layer and you're done for." Fang Jishen gritted his teeth.
His last attempt to intimidate Ye Mo solded by a tragic outcome and he lacked the courage to face him head on however he refused to become someone's lackey as well, a newcomer at that.
In one night, the deep wrath of multiple persons flew towards a juvenile sitting on the red mat of his house.
"By now Fang Jishen should have delivered the message, the Liu clan must be pretty mad at me." Ye Mo thought with a vague smile on his face.
He knew they would never agree with such preposterous demands.
However they couldn't completely refuse either.
The Liu clan was in dire straits. With their heir dead and the clans vying their assets they were at the brink of destruction.
The only thing preventing this right now was Liu Hao. With his 8th layer Foundation Establishment cultivation he was the strongest expert of the clan and their enemies were afraid of his retaliation if he was pushed at death's door.
Since he was poisoned they could just patiently wait for him to die as it was only a question of time for the poison to take his life, then they would rush at the Liu clan like starving wolfs, scavenging everything they could and destroying the rest.
The only way to delay this was the Moon Pacifying Herb, a rare plant that could temporarily neutralize the poison, thus they would definitely compromise.
Ye Mo's shameless demands were just a mean for negociation. By asking for the moon at first, they would feel more inclined in giving something precious later.
"The Liu clan has been around for centuries, although they are declining right now they should have many things useful for me. With how desperate they are to retrieve their goods, i will gain much more than if i just sold Liu Huan's sword and the Moon Pacifying herb to the institute medicinal stores or some merchant."
"But this comes later, each year the Tiger Martial Institute would send the disciples who reached the 8th layer of the Qi Gathering realm before being sixteen to the Raging Saber Sect. The last time was a month ago, just before the institute recruitment so i have less than 11 months to reach this level and leave this place."
Joining an institute.
Using the ressources and facilities at disposal to cultivate and gain new martial arts until he was strong enough to protect himself.
Then leaving for a sect with the institute delegation.
This was Ye Mo's plan for the near future.
"Beside the sky blue one i have filled all my pouches to the brim with water and food. I also have plenty of low and mid-tier Spirit Qi pills of the Yellow Class from people i killed and the tournament rewards. I can start my seclusion."
Thanks to his stay at the library he learned the use of every pills in his possesion.
Ye Mo closed his eyes and activated the Black Vortex as he began cultivating.