togophonebook Chapter 57 Establishing Authority
Chapter 57 Establishing Authority
Li Qingyi nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping across the long street like a cold blade.
The onlookers felt an invisible pressure sweep over them, and they all took a step back in unison, their breath catching in their throats.
Finally, his gaze fell upon the group of trembling subordinates, and his voice was calm:
Get up.
"Yes, sir!"
The crowd responded in unison, their voices echoing in the silent night air.
They slowly rose, stood at attention with their hands at their sides, and dared not be negligent in the slightest.
Li Qingyi said no more and turned to walk towards the inner courtyard.
"Who is in charge of Wangchun Tower?" His voice, clear and distinct, reached everyone's ears without him stopping.
"It's me." A woman dressed in a maple-red gown walked gracefully out from the crowd.
She was about thirty years old, with her hair styled in a high bun, a golden hairpin swaying gently beside her temple, giving her a unique mature charm.
Li Qingyi glanced at him sideways and asked, "What's your name?"
"You may call me Chunhua, leader." The woman bowed gracefully.
Li Qingyi nodded: "Chunhua, you handle tonight's disturbance."
"Your subordinate obeys." Chunhua replied respectfully.
Li Qingyi looked around the building and saw many guests still looking at each other, unsure whether to leave or stay.
He took a deep breath, his voice suddenly rising in pitch, clearly carrying to every corner:
"I had some household chores to take care of tonight, so I apologize for interrupting your enjoyment. I hope you won't mind and will come again in the future."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a short, greasy middle-aged man immediately chimed in obsequiously:
"What are you saying, Immortal Master? It is our honor to witness your divine might tonight. We are more than grateful and would never mind."
He spoke with a smile revealing a few missing front teeth, which looked particularly comical in the candlelight.
As he took the lead, others followed suit, and for a time, flattery filled the air.
"To express my apologies, all expenses tonight will be covered by Wangchunlou!" Chunhua announced loudly at the opportune moment.
Upon hearing this, the initially dissatisfied visitor's eyes immediately lit up with joy.
Li Qingyi gave Chunhua an approving look, then turned and walked towards the Moon Fiend headquarters.
Passing through the entrance hidden by the array, a six-story pavilion suddenly appeared before our eyes.
With its upturned eaves and carved beams, it looks particularly grand under the moonlight.
Li Qingyi stepped into the pavilion and found that there were still many people inside looking at him with suspicion and uncertainty, each with a wary expression.
The former Moon Fiend core members who had previously submitted to the leader quickly stepped forward to explain, "This is our new leader, why don't you pay your respects?"
The people inside the pavilion looked at each other, but no one made a move.
"The name 'Moon Fiend' is too awful." Li Qingyi looked around; the room was elegantly furnished, with the fragrance of sandalwood wafting through the air. "From now on, we'll rename it Huanzhu Tower. Does anyone have any objections?"
The key member from before, his eyes darting around, immediately ran to Li Qingyi and respectfully bowed deeply.
"Your subordinate Yue Chi greets the Lord!"
Those who had witnessed Li Qingyi's methods all followed suit and bowed in unison.
"Hmph! Yue Chi, I think you all conspired to kill the leader, and now you're just using some greenhorn as a puppet!"
A loud voice came from upstairs.
A tall, middle-aged man slowly walked down, his eyes wide open, exuding an imposing aura.
Upon hearing this, the remaining Moon Fiend troops in the pavilion who had not yet submitted seemed to have found their leader and immediately gravitated towards that person.
Yue Chi turned around and saw that it was his mortal enemy, Pei Hu, and couldn't help but sneer:
"The Master's cultivation at the third level of Qi Refining is unparalleled in the world. Yue Sha dared to provoke the Master, and he has his own way of courting death. Do you not come to pay your respects to the Master, but intend to betray Huanzhu Tower and go to the Yellow Springs to keep Yue Sha company?"
Pei Hu scoffed, his face full of disdain.
He had received an urgent report from his subordinates at home earlier, saying that someone had broken into the Moon Fiend Realm and killed the leader and two deputy leaders who were at the first level of Qi Refining, as well as many experts at the Opening Aperture Realm.
He immediately realized that this was a golden opportunity for him to take the position, and rushed over, just in time to see Yue Chi leading a young man to show off his power.
"If this greenhorn has the cultivation of the third level of Qi Refining, then wouldn't I be the legendary Foundation Establishment Master?" Pei Hu laughed loudly.
The remnants of the Moon Fiend gang behind him, who had not dared to go out before, did not recognize Li Qingyi, and now they all joined in the laughter.
Leng Qiuyi couldn't stand it and was about to make a move, but Li Qingyi gently held her down.
Seeing this, Yue Chi sneered, "You all truly have a way of courting death!"
Before he finished speaking, he had already transformed into a blur and rushed straight for Pei Hu.
Pei Hu's lips curled into a slight smile. "Yue Chi, you're only at the Qi Refining Realm, yet you dare to challenge me?"
Having said that, he finally stopped concealing his aura, revealing that he was actually at the Opening Aperture Realm!
"What! You actually broke through to the Opening Aperture Realm!" Yue Chi was shocked.
The two exchanged no more than one move before Pei Hu kicked him away, sending him crashing heavily back in front of Li Qingyi.
Li Qingyi reached out and caught Yue Chi, only to see him coughing up blood, yet still struggling to kneel on one knee, his face full of remorse:
"My lord, I have failed in my duties and have disgraced you. Please punish me."
Li Qingyi's lips twitched slightly; he had to admit that Yue Chi was a talented person.
"Leave the rest to me."
"Hahaha, Yue Chi, when did you become so adorable?" Pei Hu laughed so hard he almost fell over, but as he laughed, he suddenly realized something was wrong—
Yue Chi and his former colleagues who had surrendered were staring at him as if he were a dead man.
He suddenly remembered Yue Chi's earlier words: "The Master's cultivation at the third level of Qi Refining is unparalleled in the world!"
"Impossible... Absolutely impossible!" Pei Hu forcibly suppressed the terrifying thought in his mind. "How could someone so young reach the third level of Qi Refining?"
Just then, the remnants of the Moon Fiend gang behind him spoke up:
"Chief Pei, quickly kill these traitors and lead us back to the right path!"
"Chief Pei! Please make your move!"
"Chief Pei, we can only count on you now!"
Most of them were just ordinary people, and a few of them had only just entered the Body Tempering Realm, so they were naturally no match for Yue Chi and the others.
This is also why Yue Sha didn't take them out to besiege Li Qingyi earlier.
Pei Hu took a deep breath and charged towards Li Qingyi, shouting, "I want to see what tricks you're playing!"
However, he had only taken a few steps when he felt an overwhelming force coming towards him.
He didn't even see what happened before he was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing through several courtyard walls before dying.
Li Qingyi looked at Leng Qiuyi, who then knowingly took out a healing pill and handed it to Yue Chi.
"Thank you so much for the medicine, Your Excellency! I am deeply grateful!"
Upon seeing this, Yue Chi was overjoyed.
He knew that his performance had earned Li Qingyi's approval.
Li Qingyi said calmly, "Yue Chi, Qiu Yi, from now on you will be the deputy heads of Huanzhulou."
He looked at Yue Chi, "You will assist her in managing Huanzhu Tower, understand?"
Yue Chi was overjoyed, "Understood! Understood!"
"Alright, I'll wait for you upstairs. After you've finished these trivial matters, come see me with a report on Huanzhulou's operations over the years."
The two replied in unison, "We obey!"
Those who had just turned to Pei Hu were immediately thrown into a panic:
"OP, OP, give me a chance!"
"OP, we were also misled by a treacherous person just now!"
Yue Chi sneered, "I warned you earlier, but you didn't believe me. Now it's too late, prepare to die! Hehehe..."
Li Qingyi turned and walked upstairs, nearly stumbling when she heard Yue Chi's villainous laughter.
Why do I feel like I'm becoming more and more like a villain?
He ignored the screams behind him and went straight up to the sixth floor.
The sixth floor is simply and plainly decorated, yet it exudes elegance in every corner.
In the very center sat an ancient, plain zither, its strings gleaming softly in the moonlight.
"This Moon Demon, does it possess such refined taste?"
Li Qingyi sat down in the main seat, quietly waiting for Leng Qiuyi and Yue Chi.
A moment later, Yue Chi and Leng Qiuyi brought a huge stack of account books to Li Qingyi.
"Hey, this is the account book from recent years. Please take a look."
Li Qingyi looked at the mountain of account books and pulled out a piece of dough.
He really hadn't expected there to be so many.
"Since we're already here, let's take a look."
"Let me see the data from the last two months."
Yue Chi quickly searched through the ledgers and soon handed them over.
Li Qingyi opened the book and examined it closely, her brows gradually furrowing.
How could this happen?