From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

"Chief Zhang, we meet again."

Looking at Zhang Xiaotian, who was pinned to the ground, Chen Shi said calmly.

"It was you..."

Zhang Xiaotian finally came to his senses, and when he looked at Chen Shi again, his eyes were filled with resentment and malice.

But then, he put on a big smile and pleaded loudly.

"I was rude before, please forgive me! Oh, by the way, I'm willing to give you the blood-staining abalone, for free! I can even give you money, lots and lots of money!"

It must be said that although Zhang Xiaotian may not be considered a hero, he is certainly pragmatic.

Chen Shi smiled contemptuously, turned to Zhao Qiancheng, cupped his hands in greeting, and said...

"Your Excellency, may I speak with him alone?"

"That's certainly possible."

Zhao Qiancheng smiled and nodded directly.

"No!"

Du Mingyue's expression changed, but she quickly recovered and smiled.

"This beast is fierce; what if it hurts Brother Chen?"

"That's easy."

Before Chen Shi could speak, Wu Dutou pulled out a yellow talisman from his pocket and slapped it onto Zhang Xiaotian's navel.

"This is a blood-sealing talisman, sealing off his vital energy. He's not even as strong as a woman now."

"Ha, Chief Wu has such good stuff."

Du Yueming chuckled twice and said nothing more.

To prevent any accidents, they then put shackles on Zhang Xiaotian.

After driving the woman out of the house, everyone rested in the courtyard for a while, while Chen Shi and Zhang Xiaotian talked alone in the house.

"Zhang Xiaotian, do you want to live or die?"

Sitting down in the chair, Chen Shi coldly looked at Zhang Xiaotian in front of him and asked a question directly without any preamble.

"I want to live! Of course I want to live!"

Zhang Xiaotian's eyes widened, his face filled with excitement. Since Chen Shi had asked this question, it meant there was still a glimmer of hope.

He knelt down on the ground with a thud and kept kowtowing.

"I was blind to your greatness before. Please forgive my mistake and spare my life."

"It's not difficult to spare you, but there are two conditions."

"Don't even mention two, I'd agree to twenty or two hundred."

"Firstly, your Wolf Poison Gang shall henceforth obey the orders of Second Madam Ze of the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion."

"Fine! I agree! This isn't a condition, it's practically a favor to a lowly person! From now on, whenever Second Madam Ze commands us, the entire Wolf Poison Gang will fight to the death!"

Zhang Xiaotian nodded without hesitation, his face beaming with excitement.

What he said wasn't wrong. With the Jing'an Marquis's mansion as a backer, they were far more reliable than Zhao Qiancheng. From now on, wouldn't the Wolf Poison Gang be able to do whatever they wanted in Yongqiu City?

"Secondly, you need to take out ten thousand taels of silver and give it to Zhao Qiancheng to buy your life. After all, Zhao Qiancheng won't have gone to all this trouble for nothing."

"Ten thousand taels!"

Zhang Xiaotian, who had just been all smiles, thinking he had turned misfortune into good fortune, suddenly froze on the spot, his face turning extremely ugly.

Ten thousand taels is no small sum.

Even as the leader of the Wolf Poison Gang, this was a huge financial loss.

"You don't want to? Then forget it."

Chen Shi didn't say much and immediately got up to leave.

"Yes! Yes!"

Zhang Xiaotian was startled and quickly shouted to stop Chen Shi.

Money is good, but life is more important.

If I pay this ten thousand taels and survive, I can earn it back later.

If they don't pay up, not only will they lose their lives, but all their property will still be taken away by others.

Zhang Xiaotian would still be able to answer this multiple-choice question.

"If that's the case, then I can spare your life."

Chen Shi nodded, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

Zhang Xiaotian smiled ingratiatingly and breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed his life was saved.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Shi brought out paper and pen and asked Zhang Xiaotian to write a document pledging allegiance to Xiao Fengxiao.

It's just a piece of paper; it has no legal effect whatsoever.

However, this was written by Zhang Xiaotian himself. If he were to go back on his word one day, it would be tantamount to humiliating Xiao Fengxiao, and he wouldn't have enough lives to spare!

"From now on, we will all serve Grandma Ze together, and we will be one family."

Looking at the document in his hand, Chen Shi said something.

"Yes, yes, I will need your help a lot in the future."

Zhang Xiaotian, his face full of flattery, continued.

"You need abalone gelatin, right? How much do you need? I'll prepare it for you right away."

"Not too much, just a few coins will suffice."

When this matter was mentioned, Chen Shi couldn't help but recall it.

"By the way, I wanted to buy some blood clots from you that day, and I meant no harm. Why were you so resistant and even verbally abusive?"

"Well... hey, isn't that because you're Master Ze's man?"

"You knew all along that I was one of Master Ze's men?"

"We're people who hang out on the streets, so first of all, we have to be familiar with people's faces. Before meeting you, I naturally made sure to find out more about you."

"Since you knew that, why did you still dare to do this? Could it be... that you and Master Ze have some kind of grudge?"

"How could that be! Who do you think I am? How could I possibly have a grudge against Second Master Ze!"

Zhang Xiaotian quickly waved his hand and continued.

"Actually, it's because of Master Lie."

"Third Master Lie!"

Chen Shi's eyes widened. What did Third Master Lie have to do with this?

Third Master Lie, also known as Gu Chenglie, is the second son of the eldest master and the half-brother of Gu Chengze.

The master's first wife died shortly after giving birth to Gu Chengze. The master then remarried, and his wife, Li, is now known as Madam Li.

Madam Li was fortunate enough to give birth to Gu Chenglie soon after.

As a stepmother, how could she not favor her own son? Moreover, this matter also involves the inheritance of the marquisate!

It is also said that with a stepmother comes a stepfather, and consequently, the master of the house does not love Gu Chengze.

It was common knowledge throughout the Marquis's mansion that Second Master Ze was not favored.

It wasn't until he married Xiao Fengxiao, and relied on Xiao Fengxiao's background and skills, that his situation in the Marquis's mansion gradually improved.

"You don't know this, but I had already pulled some strings and was just one step away from meeting Master Lie."

Seeing Chen Shi's confusion, Zhang Xiaotian offered an explanation.

"So that's how it is."

Chen Shi's eyes widened, surprised but also instantly understanding.

As half-brothers and vying for the title of marquis, Gu Chenglie and Gu Chengze were essentially competitors, even adversaries. Since Zhang Xiaotian wanted to pledge allegiance to Gu Chenglie, how could he possibly make a deal with Chen Shi?

"What a coincidence!"

After figuring out the reason, Chen Shi smiled and shook his head.

So it's his bad luck.

"Isn't it a coincidence? After all this, I've ended up working for Second Madam Ze."

Zhang Xiaotian smiled, but also sighed.

Although it was different from what I originally intended, I still managed to get close to the Marquis's mansion.

Furthermore, unlike Gu Chengze, Xiao Fengxiao's background is no less impressive than Gu Chenglie's.

Moreover, with Chen Shi acting as a go-between, the relationship became even more secure, truly turning misfortune into blessing.

"You've finished telling your story, now it's his turn."

Chen Shi nodded, then walked to the door, opened it, and said something to Du Mingyue in the courtyard.

"Chief Du, please come in and say a few words."

"Me? Okay."

Du Mingyue was taken aback, then got up and came over.

Seeing Du Mingyue enter the house, Zhao Qiancheng, who was drinking tea in the courtyard, couldn't help but smile. This was interesting.

"Brother Chen, what can I do for you?"

Glancing at Zhang Xiaotian, who was standing beside her glaring at her, Du Mingyue turned to Chen Shi with a friendly smile.

"Will you say it yourself, or should I say it?"

Chen Shi's gaze was cold, and he said something indifferently.