Chapter 9 Establishing Authority

  "This Qi Yunhou is indeed a character, with heart and ambition." As soon as he left Qi Yunhou's study, Xiao Yao gave an evaluation of Qi Yunhou.

  Xiao Ling coldly smiled, "He's using me, but isn't it also the case that I'm using him? Right now, I have to rely on him in order to obtain sufficient resources."

  Lying on a stone, scratching his toes, he said casually: "Although you have great power now, but you haven't established prestige yet. Moreover, Xiao Bo and Xiao Zhan are making trouble in the middle, so it may be a bit difficult for you to do things in the future."

  "Establish prestige?" Xiao Ling smiled, "Although Qi Yunhou gave me such great power, the most important military power was not given to me, which means he still doesn't completely trust me. Without it, I'm just an empty commander, and I understand that. So next, I need to win people over and establish my own prestige!"

  "What are you going to do?" Xiang Yao said with a relaxed tone, but also with a hint of watching the show, wondering who would be so unlucky as to become Xiao Ling's stepping stone.

  Xiao Ling seemed to have a plan, smiling: "To establish prestige, we must find the right person, ordinary people are useless, the Qi Yun Hou Fu's family members have more say and higher status, let's use them to establish our prestige!"

  In the Qi Yun Hou Fu, Xiao Ling becoming the adopted son of Qi Yun Hou is still a topic of discussion among the people.

  Becoming a son-in-law of the Qi Yun Hou family, that status and privilege is far higher than being an imperial surname household. Although having an imperial surname is of high status, can it compare to being a grandson?

  Many of the servants without a surname were already thinking about how to curry favor with Xiao Ling, while some servants didn't think much of Xiao Ling after all, there were still Xiao Zhan and Xiao Bo above him.

  Whoever tries to curry favor with Xiao Ling will be going against Xiao Zhan and Xiao Bo. After all, Xiao Bo and Xiao Zhan are biological siblings, no matter what, Xiao Ling can't compare to them.

  So under these circumstances, many servants dare not be the first to speak out. Whoever speaks out is the one who gets beaten, and these servants have been with Qi Yun for a long time, so they are all old hands at this.

  "Xiao Ling is now flying high, becoming the third son, and our days will be difficult from now on!"

  "Hmph! What's the big deal about being a foster son? Now that he has offended both Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master, his future days won't be easy either. As long as we fully support Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master, what can Xiao Ling do to us?"

  "That's right, all of us present have had dealings with Xiao Ling. Given Xiao Ling's personality, he will definitely cause trouble for us. We must find the Second Young Master and Third Young Master to rely on."

  In a courtyard where seven or eight imperial guards with granted surnames lived in the Qi Yun Hou Fu, they gathered together to discuss their next move.

  "Xiao Ya, you and Xiao Ling are almost impossible to reconcile. If you don't rely on the Second Master or Third Master, I think you won't be able to stay in the Qi Yun Hou Fu anymore." Xiang Tianbao said coldly.

  Xiao Ya's face was still somewhat pale, obviously the injury had not fully recovered. Upon hearing Xiao Tianbao's words, Xiao Ya's face turned gloomy, "Hmph! Xiao Tianbao, where can you be good at? When Xiao Ling suffered a setback, you didn't hesitate to kick him while he was down!"

  Xiao Tianbao's innate talent was also extremely strong, and he had currently cultivated to the fifth layer of the Divine Body Secret Realm, God Spirit Realm. In the Xie family, his strength was considered top-notch.

  However, he also has a lot of grievances with Xiao Ling, so he will definitely find Xiao Bo and Xiao Zhan to rely on.

  Xiao Tianbao snorted, "So I'm going to rely on the Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master. I think they must also be in need of talented people now, in order to contend with Xiao Ling. I don't believe that Xiao Ling would dare to lay a hand on us!"

  "Don't forget, Xiao Ling is now in control of everything within Xunyang City. Even if we were to surrender to the Second Young Master or Third Young Master, our future days will probably not be easy."

  "But isn't it better than being suppressed by Xiao Ling to the point of being out of breath? As long as he can survive, there will be opportunities!" Xiao Tianbao had a big ambition, and he didn't believe that he would always be suppressed by Xiao Ling. One day, he would break through, and at that time, Qi Yunhou might also take him in as his adopted son.

  "I said I was sneezing just now, it turns out someone is thinking of me here!" Just as Xiao Tianbao's voice fell, Xiao Ling's voice suddenly sounded in their ears.

  "Xiao Ling!" Everyone in the hall with the surname Xi was stunned, their faces turning extremely ugly.

  "Xiao Ling? Now you also dare to address me directly by my name? I am now the third son of Marquis Qi Yun, and your disrespect towards me is disrespect towards the marquis!" Xiao Ling was immediately slapped with a big hat.

  "Xiao Tianbao suddenly became furious, but what Xiao Ling said was indeed the truth. He couldn't deny it without being disrespectful to Qi Yunhou. Who dared to offend Qi Yunhou would be asking for death."

  Xiao Ling looked at their complex expressions and sneered, "Xiao Tianbao, what do you think I should punish you for your disrespect just now?"

  "What do you want to do?" Xiao Tianbao's heart trembled. Now Xiao Ling's status was high, and he could play with his life at any time!

  Xiao Ling smiled, a smile that sent chills down one's spine. "Nothing much, I know what you're thinking in your hearts. You just want to curry favor with the Second Young Master and join forces with me against him. When I was at a disadvantage, you all kicked me when I was down. Now that I'm on top, are you going to return everything you owe?"

  It had come to this point, and even if Xiao Tianbao and the others were stupid, they could still hear that Xiao Ling was going to use them as knives.

  Xiao Ling's choice of target for his demonstration of power was deliberate. Xiao Tianbao had a history with him, and among the imperial guards, he was one of the top two in terms of strength. Only by using someone like him as an example could Xiao Ling achieve the desired effect of killing one to warn a hundred.

  "Xiao Ling, we are now going to rely on the Second Master and Third Master. If you dare to move us, it's equivalent to opposing the Second Master and Third Master. You'd better think carefully!" Xiao Tianbao suddenly sneered, using Xiao Bo and Xiao Zhan as human shields.

  "Bang!"

  As soon as Xiao Tianbao's voice fell, Xiao Ling slapped him with a slap, and Xiao Tianbao was slapped out. His face suddenly swelled up, leaving five scarlet finger prints.

  "This slap is the punishment for your disrespect, remember to call me Third Master from now on!" Xiao Ling walked towards Xiao Tianbao, and the other servants also retreated in fear after seeing what had just happened.

  Xiao Ling stepped on Xiao Tianbao's chest, Xiao Tianbao covered his face, his eyes furious, in the imperial family he was also a respectable person, had once been on an equal footing with Xiao Ling, now Xiao Ling insulted him at will, how could he accept it.

  "Unhappy about it?" Xiao Ling looked at Xiao Tianbao with a cold smile, "I see you still haven't figured out the situation! Well, I'll make you wake up!"

  "Ah!"

  As he spoke, Xiao Ling hesitated for a moment before viciously stomping his foot onto Xiao Tianbao's chest. Xiao Tianbao let out a pained howl and spat out a large mouthful of blood.

  Others saw Xiao Ling's ruthless move and their mouths twitched in fear, afraid that they would end up like Xiao Tianbao.

  "Are you awake now?" Xiao Ling let go of his foot, while at this time Xiao Tianbao was already speechless, only with a hint of fear in his eyes, but still furious in his heart, sooner or later he would get revenge.

  Xiao Ling's gaze swept across all the Xie family servants present, and those people trembled in their hearts when they saw Xiao Ling's gaze, involuntarily retreating a few steps, fearing that Xiao Ling would settle accounts with them.

  "Don't be afraid, although you have had conflicts with me in the past, I am now in a situation where I need people like you. As long as you surrender to me, I guarantee that I won't make things difficult for you and will give you sufficient benefits."

  Xiao Ling knew that although these people had a past with him, they wouldn't go so far as to be petty and calculative. The purpose of establishing his authority earlier was basically achieved, which was enough.

  Look at those people not making a sound, Xiao Ling smiled casually and then threw out 100 Pei Yuan Dan. "I'll give you one day to consider, these 100 Pei Yuan Dan can be considered as a reward. If you follow me, there will be many more benefits like this in the future. You think carefully."

  Xiao Ling is now using both kindness and authority, he is now a rich man, one hundred yuan for him is simply a drop in the bucket.

  At the family gathering, the congratulatory gifts that Xiao Ling received added up to nearly 100,000 Pei Yuan Dan, enough for him to squander.

  Watching Xiao Ling leave, all the Ding family members present let out a sigh of relief, then looked at the 100 Pei Yuan Dan and stared at each other in dismay.

  One hundred Yuan Dan pills were bestowed upon Xiao Ling just like that, truly a generous move. To put it into perspective, even the surname-bestowed family servants only receive five Yuan Dan pills per month.

  This hundred taels of silver, they divided it among themselves, each person can get more than ten pieces, equivalent to the monthly allowance of the Qi Yun Hou Mansion for three months.

  Now they looked at these Pei Yuan Dan, and in their hearts there was only one thought: that Xiao Ling is now very rich.

  "What to do? Should we take it or not?" Xiao Ming's heart was moved, a reward of over ten Pei Yuan Dan, if he followed Xiao Ling, he would definitely not be short on money in the future.

  What's important is that Xiao Ling is now in charge of Xunyang City, and those top-notch families will definitely be scrambling to give gifts to Xiao Ling. If they follow Xiao Ling, not to mention how much Xiao Ling rewards them, they can completely gain a large sum from it.

  In their current state, they need elixirs; without elixirs, it's really too difficult to increase their strength.

  "Xiao Ling can make a glorious comeback, he must have great luck. I don't care what you all think, anyway I'm with him." Xiao Wen picked up over ten Pei Yuan Dan and then walked out of the courtyard.

  Now that someone has taken the lead, those who were somewhat moved are even more so. Following Xiao Bo and Xiao Zhan is certainly good, but how much benefit can Xiao Bo and Xiao Zhan bring to them?

  It's good enough if they can protect themselves. In this world, the key is that you must have your own strength; relying on others is useless.

  What can enhance one's power? Dan medicine!

  Xiao Ling is now a wealthy person and can provide them with enough elixirs, why don't they follow him?

  "I also choose Xiao Ling..." Another member of the Shi family walked out holding a pill and left.

  Then, several others who had also been tempted took the elixir and left, leaving only Xiao Ye and Xiao Tianbao behind.