Chapter 42 Compromise

  While Cong Ye was spending a somewhat awkward but warm Chinese New Year's Day at Bai Wei's home, Di Rong in Sifang City was being driven to desperation by Zhang Cheng, the master of Xiao Si.

  Helpless, Di Rong had no choice but to meet with Zhang Cheng for negotiations. Under Di Rong's arrangement, the two of them went into a small bar.

  "You've finally decided to come out?"

  "Old man, can't I just stay inside? You're forcing me to have a terrible New Year."

  "You can have a good life, but my apprentice cannot."

  "You said you wouldn't go after the person who beat up your apprentice, so why are you blocking me every day?"

  "Nature has to go find that person to settle the account, but we need to settle accounts between us first. I'll ask you, who arranged for Xiao Si to go to Guanhai City, and who did he do things for in Guanhai City?"

  "Alright, since I've come out to see you, let's not waste any more words. Get straight to the point, what is it that you want?"

  "It's not about what I want, but how you want to deal with Xiao Si. If you want to get rid of my apprentice like that, as long as I still have a breath left in me, I will never let you off easy."

  "Alright, alright, old man, I admit defeat. Let's settle this once and for all, you name the number."

  Zhang Cheng had already thought it through and immediately held up three fingers to Di Rong.

  "Three hundred thousand? Isn't that a bit too much?"

  "No, it's thirty million."

  "You, you, you..."

  Di Ronglian said three "you"s and was suddenly scared off by Zhang Cheng's sentence of 30 million, leaving him speechless.

  "How could Xiaosi be abandoned at such a young age? He still has several decades of life left. Besides, I'm counting on Xiaosi to support me in my old age, do you think 30 million is too much?"

  "Old man, you're also too greedy. Otherwise, I'll support you in your old age, even if it's three of you, it won't cost that much money."

  "You want me to support you? Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't trust you. Xiao Si followed you and put in so much effort, others may not know, but don't I know? Now that Xiao Si is useless, you can just throw him away. I'm still capable of fighting now, but when I get old and can't fight anymore, who knows where I'll be thrown to? Hmph, let you support me?"

  Di Rong is also a person who loves money like his life, even if he was beaten to death, he would not take out so much money.

  "Either you continue to block me and I'll take out 30 million, unless the sky falls."

  Di Rong started making outrageous demands, and Zhang Cheng knew that no matter what, the other party would not take out 3 million. The reason for still asking like this was based on an old saying: "Ask for the sky, pay a small price." Zhang Cheng was very clear that no matter how much he asked for, Di Rong would definitely think it was too much and want to lower the price. So, he came up with a lion-sized opening offer.

  "Alright, let's play hide and seek like before. But I have to warn you ahead of time, this time will be a bit different. From now on, don't let me run into your subordinates, and you'd better watch out for your business too."

  Zhang Cheng is a naked threat, but Di Rong has no way out. Who made his own men unable to beat the opponent? In today's society, it's a rule of law society, although it's a mixed society, they can only play edge ball with the law, if they really provoke a big deal, Di Rong wouldn't dare either.

  "Come on, old man Zhang, just raise your hand and ask for a little less."

  "A little less? Alright, 295 million."

  Zhang Cheng understood that with Di Rong, this kind of person who is deceitful and afraid of the strong, but loves money like his life, he absolutely cannot reveal his bottom line all at once, and can only slowly grind it out.

  In this way, the two people were stuck in a stalemate for over two hours, with one refusing to budge and the other unwilling to spend so much money. Finally, Di Rong felt that he really couldn't outlast the old man who was about to enter his sixties. Suddenly, he slammed his hand on the table and shouted:

  "Alright, I'll back down, 500,000, is that okay? As long as Master Zhang doesn't mind the trouble, just keep blocking me then."

  "Fine, since you're not sincere, I don't want to drag this on with you either."

  Having said that, Zhang Cheng stood up and walked away with a swing of his leg.

  "Master Zhang, wait a minute, just a minute. I'll add some more, 700,000, and not a single cent more will I give."

  Zhang Cheng smiled complacently in his heart, and the little guy was playing tricks on me, an old man.

  "One hundred and fifty thousand. Since you've made concessions, I shouldn't take advantage of the situation either. My concession is much bigger than yours."

  Zhang Cheng was furious when he heard this. If you had asked for 10 million, I would have given more.

  "Master Zhang, don't play around like this."

  "Who wants to play with someone as conscienceless as you? Love or not, I'm out of here."

  Di Rong also understood Zhang Cheng's intention, but now that things have come to this point, if he doesn't put Zhang Cheng in his place, his new year will be ruined.

  "Last sentence, one million, if you still don't agree, I'm leaving."

  Di Rong finished speaking and walked up to Zhang Cheng, gnashing his teeth as he stared at him. His demeanor was such that he seemed to want to swallow Zhang Cheng whole.

  Zhang Chengyi listened and his purpose had been achieved, he didn't want to say another word to Di Rong.

  "Why didn't you just do it this way from the start?"

  He casually pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Di Rong:

  "If one million is not transferred to the card before sunset, all the talks today will be invalid."

  After finishing speaking, he turned his head and left.

  It wasn't until Zhang Cheng's figure disappeared at the entrance of the bar that Di Rong viciously cursed.

  "You old coffin maker, let you be proud for a few more days, but don't fall into my hands later, or else you'll suffer."

  Zhang Cheng returned home and did not tell his apprentice Ren Yusi about the true situation of his negotiation with Di Rong.

  "Master, have you seen Di Rong?"

  Ren Yusi returned from Guanhaicheng with a cane.

  "He's seen it, but he only recognizes money, and at most will give 1 million yuan."

  "What can 100,000 yuan do? The master didn't respond to him?"

  Zhang Cheng shook his head and didn't say anything else.

  Ren Yusi was born in a remote mountain village, and from the third grade of elementary school, he ran away and wandered until he met Zhang Cheng and became his apprentice. For 15 or 16 years, he followed Zhang Cheng to travel everywhere, and this city is one of the places where he stayed for the longest time. Unexpectedly, he ended up crippling a leg here.

  Thinking back, I've been following Master for over a decade, starting from when I was 14 or 15 years old. We'd go to casinos and saunas together, looking for women. Although I also learned some martial arts skills from Master, the bad habits on my body were also picked up from him.

  As for the identity of this master, Ren Yusi was completely unaware. He had also tried to ask tentatively before, but was always scolded by the master and returned.

  Since leaving home, Ren Yusi never went back, except for the year he handled his ID card and sent a photo and 2,000 yuan to his family. He didn't send any news back home until after being beaten by Cong Ye in Guanhai City and returning home to lie in bed, when Ren Yusi started having thoughts of going home. Knowing that Master was pressuring Di Rong for money, Ren Yusi also began secretly calculating.

  Now I'm almost a useless person, and it's impossible to rely on social connections in the future. But apart from this, there is no special skill. What to do in the future? Ren Yu thought back and forth, finally decided that after Master and Di Rong come to ask for money, no matter how much they get, temporarily return home for a few days. At the same time, also hiding from those who have offended in recent years.

  Ren Yusi was well aware that over the years, relying on his master's protection and coming to Four Sides City with Di Rong's backing, while also relying on his own martial arts skills, he had indeed offended many people. If news of him being crippled in one leg got out, it was likely that as soon as he left his master's line of sight, someone would come looking for him to settle scores.

  "Fourth-grader."

  "Master."

  "Last time you said, was it that cluster of leaves?"

  "Yes, Master, it's Cong Ye."

  "You mean he's got internal kung fu?"

  "It's absolutely not wrong. The master also knows that the kung fu on my head is not weak, but I was knocked unconscious by him in one go. If I hadn't practiced internal martial arts like qigong, how could I have achieved this?"

  "Hmm, if that's really the case, then Konoha isn't easy to deal with."

  "Master, he's even more formidable, how could he be a match for your hometown?"

  "Last time you and Shi Dajun suffered from underestimating the enemy. If you had joined forces from the start, would it have ended up like this today? Why haven't you learned your lesson yet?"

  "Yes, I know I was wrong."

  Ren Yusi also had regrets about that day. He was indeed too careless and underestimated the opponent. Otherwise, as Master said, how could he have been crippled by the other party?

  "It's good that you know your mistake, remember it for next time."

  "Yes, Master."

  "In that case, Master will go to Guanhai City tomorrow to find Cong Ye and get justice for you. Originally, Master wanted to bring you along, but after careful consideration, it's better for you to stay here and wait for Master to return. Just in case, if Master has a confrontation with Cong Ye and something happens, you won't be able to move easily and it will be hard to escape."

  Ren Yusi listened to the master's words, which were reasonable, although he was eager to follow the master and see with his own eyes the scene of Cong Ye being defeated by the master, to vent his anger, but could only nod in agreement and stay behind in Sifang City.

  Ren Yusi had no idea what Zhang Cheng was thinking in his heart.

  Zhang Cheng is already nearly sixty years old, and he originally took Yu Si as his apprentice with the intention of relying on him to support his old age. Now, however, he has been disabled by someone and not only can't support himself but also needs to take care of him. How could Zhang Cheng be willing? As long as Di Rong transfers one million before sunset today, using the excuse of finding Cong Ye to avenge Yu Si, they will make a trip to Guanhai City. If Cong Ye is easy to bully, they can take advantage of the opportunity to get some more money from there; if not, they will just slip away quietly. Why would they come back to Sifang City to take care of this useless apprentice again?