Chapter 461: Reaching a Consensus

Two surging streams of spiritual energy flowed continuously through his meridians. Then, driven by one of them, both surged violently toward his dantian.
When these two streams of energy rushed in simultaneously, his dantian swelled abruptly, with faint cracks appearing and flickering on its surface. Lacking strength, both streams retreated back into the meridians. The one belonging to Lin Dong suffered little damage during the attack on his dantian—less even than the increase in energy from one full cycle of its circulation. In contrast, the energy from Yun Lan, being incompatible with Lin Dong’s dantian, was almost entirely forced out by Lin Dong’s dantian and then spilled out of his body out of control. Even Lin Dong couldn’t control this. The dantian is a crucial part for a warrior; no matter how close the relationship, one wouldn’t give up resistance and allow another’s energy to enter the meridians. But if someone tries to enter the dantian, it will resist on its own.
As Lin Dong’s energy was about to complete one full cycle, another surge of powerful energy passed through Yun Lan’s palms and clashed with his meridians. Then, once again guided by Lin Dong’s energy, both surged toward his dantian.
Once, twice, three times… Under the continuous assault of energy, the cracks on the outer wall of his dantian gradually deepened and widened.
Outside, the arguments continued.
For the warriors and herbal merchants in the shop, the suggestion to simply leave had indeed earned them a moment of agreement. But soon, they rejected it without hesitation.
They weren’t those masked men in black. They were just trapped inside the shop—they couldn’t leave, but their lives weren’t in great danger. Once the situation became clear, they would find a way out eventually; it was just a matter of time—maybe one or two days, or three or four days, or even one or two months. The loss was indeed significant for them, but it was far from enough to force them to give up all their possessions.
Most of the warriors who came to Tianfeng Street were not those loyal to the Great Han Nation or disciples of major sects. Otherwise, they wouldn’t lack low-grade spiritual materials, as Tianwei Pavilion and the sects would provide sufficient amounts. Undoubtedly, they were all without sects or affiliations—at most, they were warriors who had registered to accept the rule of the Great Han Nation or were family members. Compared to those loyal to the Great Han Nation or major sects, they all belonged to the poor class.

Adding to this, when buying spiritual materials and artifacts from the shop, although bulk purchases are cheaper, they’re not averse to buying small quantities as well. And as long as there’s a profit, bartering is also an option. Therefore, warriors who come to Tianfeng Street always bring their belongings with them. If they come across useful spiritual materials or artifacts, they can buy them on the spot.

For them, throwing away their storage rings would be equivalent to losing everything they have. The cost is far greater than giving up on seizing the Snow Red Grass and staying in the shop for a few days, or even dozens of days.

As for the herbal merchants, they would be even less hesitant. They never had any intention of seizing the Snow Red Grass; they just wanted to go out because they were hungry, bored, or idle. Having traveled all the way to Tianfeng Street, each of them carried a large sum of money. Not to mention choosing between leaving early and keeping that money—even if forced to choose between their lives and the money, they might not necessarily choose death over wealth.

As for hunger, it was simply because no one had mentioned it before, and the shop’s employees looked down on them as ordinary people. But after all, they were inside the shop. If they asked for food, not only did they have the status of customers, but even without that, the shop still had to provide food. After all, if no one spoke up, dying of hunger was their own fault—blame could only be placed on the harshness of those outside who forced them to this situation. But if the shop refused, then the shop would be held accountable. In fact, it would seem as though they weren’t dying at the hands of outsiders but were starved to death by the shop itself.

Compared to spending a large sum of money to leave early, these herbal merchants undoubtedly chose to stay in the shop until everything was over. In that case, the only loss was wasted time.

Soon, someone spoke up and asked the employees for food.

“Go to the kitchen and get what you want!” The shop’s employees, including the elder in charge of transporting the Snow Red Grass this time, all had unfriendly expressions. There was no choice—since outsiders were blocking the entrance for a day, the shop had to close for a day. The loss of money was secondary; after all, their sect wasn’t short of silver, especially since they had received nearly ninety million taels in silver notes the previous day, a sum even large sects found enormous. What mattered to them was their reputation. Being surrounded and unable to even leave the shop, with an elder inside as well, was a huge loss of face.

The herbal merchants were overjoyed and prepared to rush to the kitchen together, but they all stopped at the counter.

Outside the backyard, it was also completely surrounded. If they rushed over recklessly, who knew whether the attackers there would be as civilized as those at the main gate? After all, the staff of the herbal shop were inside, and they represented their sect better than any walls.

“I’ll go with you!” A burly warrior stepped forward; he was also a bit hungry.

The herbal merchants nodded eagerly. Led by the burly warrior, they passed through the counters and entered through the back door.

When they came out, each was holding a tray. Although the smell of burnt food was everywhere, it was clear they hadn’t forgotten the other warriors. Undoubtedly, through the burly warrior, they realized they were the weakest group, with their only reliance being other warriors who were trapped just like them.

Of course, the herbal merchants didn’t forget the herbal shop either. Entrusted by them, the burly warrior handed over the 100,000 taels of silver that the merchants had pooled together to one of the shop’s staff members as payment for food and lodging. With this decision, and the fact that the person handing over the money was also a powerful warrior, the staff members’ attitude softened considerably. One of them even pointed out the room where unused bedding was kept.

This time, it was the warriors outside who felt uneasy. The situation inside reminded them of their own plight of sleeping outdoors. Though this wasn’t much of a problem for them, it still made them feel uncomfortable.

If they were upset, they had to find a solution. Just as the herbal merchants had brought out beds of bedding and, through the burly warrior, given the staff members 100,000 taels of silver, and they were planning to get some tea, a voice came from outside.

“People inside, if you want to come out, throw away your clothes and hand them over to the people at the herbal shop. I believe that if you don’t have Snow Red Grass, the herbal shop won’t risk its reputation for your silver and low-grade spiritual materials or weapons.”

“That’s a good idea. Remember to shave your heads when you come out.”

“Right, right. Whoever doesn’t come out must have Snow Red Grass. Later, we’ll have the people from the herbal shop throw out your belongings. After checking them, I guarantee everything will be returned to you.”

As soon as the new suggestion came out, the herbal merchants and warriors in the shop became agitated again. This idea was nothing but shameful; after all, someone had already demonstrated it yesterday, including a strong warrior who was still outside, his head covered by a black cloth. That was far better than staying hidden in the herbal shop. In this way, the warriors could successfully join the attackers and have a chance to seize the Snow Red Grass. As for the herbal merchants, they could buy the herbs early and return to their respective regions to make a fortune.

Instantly, the herbal merchants and warriors split into two groups and gathered together, whispering and discussing among themselves.

Ling Chenyue grew anxious, but under Zi Han’s restraint, he had no choice but to wait and see.

Puh!

Suddenly, Lin Dong’s body trembled, his eyes snapping open with a fierce glint and intense pressure.

Yun Lan let out a long sigh. Just in time before the opportunity arose, she helped Lin Dong break through to the sixth level of the Heart Reversal stage.

Without hesitation, Yun Lan took out a Spirit Restoring Pill and focused on restoring his spiritual energy.

On the other side, the herbal merchants and warriors quickly reached an agreement. The burly warrior became the spokesperson for all parties. First, he went to meet with the herbal merchants to reach an understanding, and then, on behalf of both the warriors and merchants, he went to meet with Lin Dong. When they learned that only Ling Chenyue was going with them, everyone inside and outside the shop was confused.

If that was the case, did it mean the Snow Red Grass wasn’t on anyone? After all, those who left with empty hands and those hiding the Snow Red Grass would never agree to go. And it was also hard to explain why not everyone from Lin Dong’s group agreed to go together. After all, it was Lin Dong who claimed the Snow Red Grass was still in the herbal shop—there was no reason it would be on them. Moreover, there were women and a person who clearly wanted to keep their identity hidden, fully covered up. These two would never leave with empty hands. It was more likely that Lin Dong would stay and move in with his companions.

This situation was clearly strange. Could it be that someone deliberately swallowed the storage spirit ring containing the Snow Red Grass, and then, after going outside, tried to regurgitate it using laxatives or spiritual energy to stir up their stomachs?

The factions who thought of this started to smirk secretly. Anyway, Lin Dong and his two companions were definitely the most suspicious, as only they hadn’t gone outside. No matter how hard it was to believe that someone could swallow it, they had to focus most of their attention on the three of them.

Later, once everyone’s attention is focused on Lin Dong and the other two, and after the others leave with their belongings or blend into the surrounding crowd, they need to find a way to control each of them one by one, then use spiritual energy to check them; if they detect foreign objects in their stomachs, they should take them away quietly. Who knows, the Snow Red Grass might fall into their hands effortlessly. Some warriors who also thought of this began to pay closer attention. They were all working alone, without the same binding interests as the others to collaborate with, so they could only target one of them. No one spoke up about it; everyone believed that while there might be those who could guess this so quickly, there certainly wouldn’t be many, and there was no need to share the credit. Moreover, if it were revealed, the person holding the Snow Red Grass surely wouldn’t come out.