Chapter 10

"Let me see the ordinary weapons." Bai Cangdong gave up on the idea of buying a baron-level weapon and decided to buy an ordinary weapon knife to make a show. He planned to use the Lingluo Sword and the pure white knight's greatsword when he truly went out to hunt the undead in the future.

"Why don't you look at the baron-level weapons? You are a baron, after all." The woman did not take out any weapons but instead said something that made Bai Cangdong's scalp tingle.

Bai Cangdong looked at the woman again, increasingly feeling that she was unfathomable. He didn't know how she could tell he was a baron at a glance, as he hadn't revealed the mark of his rank on his forehead.

"I have just been promoted to baron, and I don't have that many life marks yet." Bai Cangdong tried to keep his voice calm.

The woman smiled lightly, and even though her face was covered by a black veil, it still made Bai Cangdong's eyes brighten, as if he had seen a scene of a hundred flowers blooming.

"Do you know why this weapon shop is named 'Knight'?" the woman asked softly.

Bai Cangdong shook his head and said nothing.

"If you are willing to become my knight, you can get a complete set of baron-level weapons without paying a single life mark, not just a knife."

"Thank you, but I don't need those. Please let me see the ordinary weapon knives." Bai Cangdong calmed down completely after hearing her words. He had never thought of becoming anyone's knight.

The woman glanced at Bai Cangdong. "You have plenty of time to think about it. There's no need to refuse me so hastily. If you change your mind one day, you can come find me here."

After saying that, the woman didn't wait for Bai Cangdong's response. She took out more than a dozen knives of different styles from behind the counter, all of which were ordinary weapons.

Bai Cangdong bought a陌刀 (Mòdāo) for over a thousand life marks and left the weapon shop. He always felt that the weapon shop and the woman were very sinister and didn't want to stay there any longer.

"Viscountess, why do you suddenly want to recruit that boy as your knight? A mere newly promoted baron is far from worthy of the honor you bestow upon him."

After Bai Cangdong left the weapon shop, a tall woman almost entirely clad in armor appeared beside the veiled woman.

"It's nothing. I just haven't been out for a long time and wanted to do something interesting. I didn't expect to meet an interesting person who actually refused me," the woman called Viscountess said with a strange smile.

"That's because you didn't reveal your name. If he knew you were Viscountess Honglian, he would certainly beg on his knees to become your knight," the tall woman said excitedly.

"Is that so? Then the next time I meet him, I'll reveal my name and see what happens," Viscountess Honglian said, stepping out of the weapon shop with a graceful gait. She was truly a woman of fairy-like beauty.

The tall woman followed closely behind Viscountess Honglian. Only after they were far away did the two real owners of the weapon shop timidly come out from the inner room.

"I don't know why the Viscountess suddenly came to our weapon shop. Fortunately, she was in a good mood today, or we would have been in big trouble," one of them said.

"Shh, keep your voice down. Don't let the Viscountess hear you. She is very powerful, and you shouldn't say such things casually. I think that boy who refused her personal invitation will definitely be in big trouble," the other one said with a hint of schadenfreude.

"That's for sure. To refuse the invitation of Viscountess Honglian in Daolun City, that boy is definitely in for a rough time."

"Heh, who would have thought he would offend the notorious Poison Widow Honglian of Daolun City!"

Bai Cangdong returned home and tried using the newly bought Mòdāo to practice the Painful Blade Technique. The Mòdāo was much lighter than the knight's greatsword but heavier than the Lingluo Sword, making it very handy to use. Due to its characteristics, it was particularly swift and powerful when slashing.

The next morning, Bai Cangdong heard a knock on the door. When he opened it, he saw people from Baron Daolun's estate collecting the monthly protection fee.

"This month's protection fee is one thousand life marks," the man said coldly, glancing at Bai Cangdong.

"Last month it was only five hundred life marks. Why is it one thousand this month?" Bai Cangdong frowned.

"Tomorrow is Miss Xiangfei's coming-of-age ceremony. Shouldn't you contribute some life marks to celebrate?" the man said impatiently. "Poor guy, don't talk so much. Pay one thousand life marks or get out of Daolun City. Choose for yourself."

"Is there a third option?" Bai Cangdong asked calmly.

"Third option? I think you're asking for it." The man's facial muscles twitched, and he punched at Bai Cangdong's face.

"Stop." Before Bai Cangdong could move, someone suddenly rushed over and grabbed the man's fist.

"Red-Haired Baron!" The man, recognizing Chen Xifeng, who had grabbed his fist, was shocked and immediately flattered, "Sir, I didn't know you were here. Please forgive me if I offended you."

"Hmph, why did you hit someone?" Chen Xifeng looked at him coldly.

"This guy refused to pay the protection fee and talked back to me. I just gave him a small lesson," the man said, then added, "If he is related to you, sir, I will waive his protection fee for this month."

"I think you should kneel and apologize to him immediately," Chen Xifeng said.

The man's face changed. "Red-Haired Baron, although you are a baron, I am one of Baron Daolun's people and am doing his work. I have been respectful to you and have not offended you in any way. If you attack me, Baron Daolun will not stand for it."

"That's true. You haven't offended me, so if I kill you, Baron Daolun will hold me responsible. However, you tried to hit a baron. If a baron kills you, even Baron Daolun would not say anything," Chen Xifeng said with a smile.

"You are framing me! Baron Daolun is wise and will not be deceived," the man said fiercely.

"Who has the time to frame you? You are overestimating yourself. Old Bai, quickly deal with him. We have to go. Everyone is waiting for us," Chen Xifeng said, turning to Bai Cangdong.

Bai Cangdong revealed the baron mark on his forehead and was considering whether to teach the man a lesson. However, the moment the man saw the mark, he fell to his knees, banging his head on the ground and cursing himself. After a while, he raised his head and slapped himself hard, quickly turning his face red and swollen.

"Let's go." Bai Cangdong and Chen Xifeng left together. The man only stopped hitting himself when they were out of sight.

"These guys are getting more and more arrogant, using Baron Daolun's name to extort fees. As far as I know, the protection fee set by Baron Daolun has always been one hundred life marks per month and has never been increased. As for Miss Xiangfei's coming-of-age ceremony, those people have no right to attend, and Baron Daolun would not want their gifts. They are definitely taking advantage of the ceremony to benefit themselves. I shouldn't have let him off so easily just now," Chen Xifeng said angrily after hearing Bai Cangdong's account.

Soon, Chen Xifeng brought Bai Cangdong to a small courtyard within the Daolun Society.

"Red-Hair, is this the new recruit you found? How long have you been a baron?" As soon as Bai Cangdong entered, he was surrounded by three men. One of them, a muscular man with arms like horses, sized up Bai Cangdong.

"When did you become a baron, and how many martial techniques do you know?" A well-built man with sharp eyes asked.

"How many baron-level weapons do you have?" The last one, who looked somewhat weak, asked.

"Less than three months as a baron, I know one martial technique, and I have one baron-level greatsword," Bai Cangdong answered the three questions in a row.

"Less than three months as a baron, you probably can't even fully control your life wheel," the muscular man said.

"Knowing only one martial technique is basically useless. Once someone sees it, it's hard to do anything with it," the sharp-eyed man said.

"Only one baron-level weapon, you are quite poor for a baron," the weak-looking man said.

Finally, the three men's eyes, like cold lightning, fell on Chen Xifeng's face, and they said in unison, "Is this the new member you found for us?"

"Cough, listen to me. Most barons already have their own teams, and it's hard to find anyone. Tomorrow is Miss Xiangfei's coming-of-age ceremony, and if we can't gather five people, we won't be able to participate in the tournament. So..." Chen Xifeng said awkwardly.

The three men lost interest in Bai Cangdong and didn't even ask his name. They each went about their own business.

"Old Bai, don't take it to heart. They are just a bit impatient, but they are good people. You'll see once you get to know them. There's a separate room inside. You can rest or practice your martial techniques in the courtyard. We have to participate in the tournament early tomorrow morning," Chen Xifeng arranged for Bai Cangdong and then ran after the three men.

"Red-Hair, you are too unreliable. You were supposed to find us someone, but you brought back this useless person. If Dunshe were still here, we might have a chance to make it to the top five. Now, it's hard to even make it to the top ten," the muscular man complained.

"What can we do? Making it to the top ten at least means we can get a martial technique. If we don't participate, we won't get anything," Chen Xifeng said.

"Alright, let's just do it. We'll put in more effort. If we have good luck, we might still make it to the top five and get two martial techniques," the weak-looking man said.

"That's all we can do now."

The four of them discussed for a long time before parting ways to do their own things.