Chapter 008: Lord Hai Xin

But just because Du Fan didn’t want trouble didn’t mean others didn’t.
Lord Hai Xin had always been tyrannical in Moduo. Now that he saw someone daring to ignore him, he waved his hand, signaling his men to stop Du Fan and his group. With rage turning into mockery, he said, “Good! Very good! After all these years in Moduo, I’ve never met anyone more arrogant than you! Kid, you do have some courage—daring to confront my men like this. I haven’t seen such audacity in Moduo for a long time. I already sent those before to feed the wolves outside the city. Today, since I’m in a good mood, I’ll just stop you from being a lackey! Let me tell you, today I want both the pretty girls and the beautiful ones. If you’re sensible, bring them to me by yourself, and maybe I’ll spare you. Otherwise, hmm…”
Du Fan frowned and couldn’t help but cast a cold glance at Lord Hai Xin. Over the past few days, he had only dealt with the most powerful figures on the continent and had long lost interest in playing such games with petty clowns like this. But since the other party was so reckless, Du Fan couldn’t help but feel murderous intent. In such a situation, even if he accidentally killed someone, no one would dare criticize him. Moreover, judging from Lord Hai Xin’s arrogant and domineering attitude, he must be a despised figure—killing him would be acting on behalf of justice.
Lord Hai Xin felt a chill run down his spine at Du Fan’s gaze, almost making him pee himself. But after all, he was a man of some insight. Noticing Du Fan’s unfamiliar appearance, he guessed he was some minor noble from another city, with few guards around. After killing him, he could just make everyone who saw it shut up. How many nobles had he killed over the years? When had he ever faced trouble? The last city lord who came here had even let him behead him and take his wife and daughter. Besides, he had more than a dozen men at his disposal, far more than the other party. How could he possibly lose? Even if he lost, wouldn’t the entire city belong to him? With just a shout, the imperial city’s defense forces could drown those guys with spit alone! With this thought, Lord Hai Xin’s courage grew even more.
As the two sides were about to fight, the short, fat man shouted bitterly, “My lords, aren’t they just a few slaves? I have plenty of them. How about I send them to you right away? It’s just a few slaves… Is it really necessary to fight so fiercely?”

This short, fat man had sharp eyes and had already realized that both parties were definitely people he couldn’t afford to offend. The current situation was caused by him, and it would be fine if they just played some tricks, but if a real fight broke out, no matter which side sought revenge later, he, as the cause of the trouble, would surely suffer greatly!
But in this situation, how could a mere slave trader like him possibly make a difference?
Hai Xin scanned Ling Yin from head to toe, his gaze growing hotter. Such a stunning beauty was extremely rare in the North, and even if encountered occasionally, she was a woman he, in his position, couldn’t approach. Seeing such an exquisite woman now, if he let her go, his name, Hai Xin, would be completely discredited.
With murderous intent, he casually waved his hand, and his dozen or so subordinates immediately scattered, blocking Du Fan’s group’s path.
The people around them let out gasps and mostly scattered, but out of curiosity, they stopped a little farther away and watched from afar. After all, it was rare to see someone dare defy Lord Hai Xin.
Seeing the opponent’s attitude, Du Fan couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, thinking, “He’s bringing disaster upon himself.” Yet he didn’t rush to act. He simply gave Hai Xin a casual glance and said, “What do you mean?”
“What do I mean?” Hai Xin laughed heartily. Seeing that the other party had asked, he thought he was scared and felt even more proud that the beautiful woman was almost in his grasp. He said, “If you obediently leave these two beauties here and scurry away, I, Lord Hai Xin, will show mercy and let you off. Otherwise, hmm, I won’t repeat the consequences.”
Du Fan sighed slightly and glanced at Ling Yin. He could tell she was on the verge of exploding. If she really acted, things would get troublesome!
He waved at Ling Yin and said, “You’re quite bold. It seems this Moduo also belongs to your family?”
Hai Xin laughed and said, “Even if it doesn’t belong to my family, it’s almost the same. If you don’t believe it, you can go ask around. Otherwise, shall I give you some time? So as not to let outsiders say that I, Hai Xin, am bullying the weak.”
Du Fan sighed and said, “No need… You want this woman, right? I also want to give her to you, but unfortunately, there’s someone who doesn’t agree!”
“Who doesn’t agree? I’ll cut off his head!”

“I’m afraid you’re still reluctant to agree.” Du Fan said with a faint smile, “Although I want to agree, if she herself refuses, there’s nothing I can do!”
Hai Xin glanced at Ringtone, his mouth watering again, but he said with a look of solemn righteousness, “Beauty, is this guy forcing you? Don’t be afraid. Just speak up, and I’ll stand by you!”
Before Du Fan could speak, Ringtone smiled and said, “Though I don’t want to agree now, as long as you give me something, I’ll agree right away!”
Seeing the icy beauty smiling charmingly, Hai Xin felt his bones turn to mush. Wiping the corner of his mouth, he said, “What do you want? Even if it’s the moon in the sky, I’ll send someone to get it for you. As long as you keep me satisfied, you can have anything you want!”
Ringtone chuckled lightly again and said, “Are you serious right now, sir?”
“Serious! Seriously! Not even pearls are this sincere!” Seeing that Ringtone was about to agree, Hai Xin felt weak all over, almost losing his soul.
Ringtone put away her smile and said calmly, “Alright, since you say so, I’ll believe you. I find that head on your neck really annoying. Help me cut it off and throw it outside the city to feed the dogs. Then, you can demand anything from me!”
Du Fan glanced at Ringtone faintly but said nothing more.
Hai Xin, on the other hand, became furious. Glancing at Du Fan and the others, he gritted his teeth and said, “Stop talking nonsense. Give it all to me. I’ll reward each of you generously when we go back tonight. Remember, that girl must stay alive. Girl, I’ll show you tonight what it means to have anything you want!”
More than a dozen of his subordinates received the order and immediately rushed forward.
Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “Lord Taylor, you don’t need to hold back. No matter who they are, if anything goes wrong after killing them, I’ll take responsibility. The Green family can’t let themselves be treated like this!”
Taylor was slightly stunned but quickly understood Du Fan’s meaning. Although he didn’t want trouble either, he had to obey Du Fan’s orders. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Go! Don’t show mercy!”
A few Temple Knights responded and charged forward, wielding their Holy Cross swords. But to deal with such weak opponents, they didn’t even need to use their combat energy. With the clashing of swords, two screams were heard soon after, as Taylor, gritting his teeth, severed both heads in one swing each.

The other Templars had initially intended to hold back, but seeing their leader strike first, they too lost all restraint. A few more blows later, several more of the opponents fell in pools of blood. This was still due to the Templars’ innate kindness; even when they wanted to kill, they couldn’t help but be somewhat hesitant. If it were the Northern Legion, those thugs would likely all be lying dead on the ground by now.

Hai Xin’s men still showed some ferocity. Though nearly half of them were dead, none of the remaining ones retreated. They kept charging forward gritting their teeth, and in the blink of an eye, two more fell.

The more Hai Xin watched from the sidelines, the angrier he became. Seeing his men fall one after another, he wasn’t overly frightened but felt humiliated for having been defeated in his own territory. If he didn’t teach them a lesson, he could never regain his face. He shouted a few commands, and his men redoubled their efforts at hearing him.

Du Fan frowned, shielding Ringtone. He was afraid that if Ringtone lost control and attacked, he wouldn’t be able to hide it, so he stayed put. But the two thugs, seeing that Du Fan had no weapons, thought they had an advantage and sneaked up to attack.

Du Fan didn’t even bother using his combat energy. With just one kick each, he sent them flying. Soon, the two thugs were chopped into pieces by the Templars.

Amidst the screams, in less than a moment, all of Hai Xin’s men were laid dead on the ground, their severed limbs scattered everywhere. Most of the square turned blood-red, yet Du Fan and the others weren’t even stained with a single drop of blood.

In the pool of blood, Du Fan simply stared coldly at Hai Xin without saying a word. Ringtone’s expression was icy, as if nothing that was happening had anything to do with her.

When the last of his men was knocked down, Hai Xin finally felt fear. He screamed and tried to run away, but Taylor snorted, lifted a head with his toe, and flung it at Hai Xin’s back. He immediately spat out a mouthful of blood and nearly collapsed.

Taylor walked over, grabbed him by the hair, and dragged him in front of Du Fan, then threw him into the pool of blood. Hai Xin trembled all over, lying on the ground unable to utter a word.

But Du Fan didn’t even glance at him. He looked at Ringtone’s expression, smiled, and said, “If we cut off this guy’s head, today’s matter will be settled. What do you say?”