Deep into the night.
Suzhou City, the affluent district.
...
A passenger rotor heavy-lift helicopter slowly landed in front of a villa. A man in a Zhongshan suit walked out of the villa, followed by two young women in qipaos. The women were slender, their curves alluring, catching the eye. As the man reached the front of the helicopter, he smiled faintly and nodded.
This person was the Ghost King, whose real name was Jiang Chong. In reality, he was a young man with billions in assets, with various investments in Suzhou City, and was considered a prominent figure.
As the cabin door of the helicopter, painted with "Cangnan Transportation," opened, a man in a black suit stepped out. Around 30 years old, he had a capable demeanor and a confident smile on his lips. It was none other than Li Canghai, the Grand Commander of the Knights of Cang, and concurrently, the chairman of the "Cangnan Transportation" group, which was well-known in the southeastern coastal region of China.
"It's quite something!"
The Ghost King smiled faintly. "Just an hour ago, the guild leaders of two major guilds were fighting tooth and nail in the game, and now they're meeting in reality. Life is truly wondrous, full of infinite possibilities."
"Isn't that so?"
Li Canghai chuckled and said, "Didn't my lord say he wanted to treat me to Suzhou's most famous lamb pot? Where shall we eat?"
"At home. Suzhou's best chef is right here in my house."
"Excellent!"
Li Canghai was equally forthright. He stepped into the Ghost King's residence with his two bodyguards. The residence was guarded both inside and out. The current times were not peaceful, and people like Jiang Chong valued their lives immensely. Having offended many people, he was bound to face retaliation, so having sufficient bodyguards at his residence was a necessity. He had even, at great expense, installed a Zhurong-class close-in weapon system on his villa's rooftop – a formidable piece of military hardware usually found only with China's border defense forces!
Li Canghai merely glanced around, already comprehending the Ghost King's considerable wealth. He was undeniably rich, but his taste was another matter. The villa was a mishmash of styles: the front hall was decorated in a Nordic style, the backyard was Italian, and the courtyard even had a Japanese theme, adorned with numerous lanterns. It was quite a chaotic arrangement.
Within the courtyard, rock gardens, bamboo groves, and flowing water were intertwined, creating a somewhat elegant scene.
The Ghost King had already ordered the dining table to be set. A pot of lamb stew was simmering on a charcoal stove, emitting a tantalizing aroma. Beside it sat several bottles of fine wine. The Ghost King smiled faintly and said to the two women, "Yaqi, Mi'er, will you two join me and Manager Li for a meal? Yaqi, you'll be responsible for pouring wine and serving dishes to Manager Li."
"Yes."
The slightly plump young woman nodded with a smile and knelt gracefully beside Li Canghai, pouring his wine and serving him dishes with extreme gentleness.
"Ahem..."
Li Canghai was instantly a bit overwhelmed and chuckled, "They say the Ghost King lives a life of leisure, like an immortal. I didn't believe it before, but seeing it now, it's truly enviable. Such beauties... you must have quite a few kept hidden away, right?"
"It's not too many."
The Ghost King smiled faintly. "Youthful impulsiveness, you know. Besides, when life is good, one should enjoy it to the fullest. They all like me, so why shouldn't they be together? Manager Li, look at me – handsome, talented, and virtuous. Wouldn't it be selfish not to let more girls have access to such an excellent man?"
Instantly, the two qipao-clad young women revealed smiles.
Li Canghai pinched his nose and said, "Yes, yes, yes..."
"Come, let's down this glass!"
"Alright."
The two men downed a glass of baijiu in one gulp, the taste lingering. After tasting the lamb stew, Li Canghai found it truly fragrant. Meat just scooped from the boiling pot was indeed delicious, and it was no easy feat to eat such a dish in this era.
After a few glasses of wine, the Ghost King narrowed his eyes and said with a smile, "Let's get down to business. Manager Li, you don't visit without a reason, so you must be here for a collaboration with our Splendid Peony."
"Naturally."
Li Canghai smiled faintly. "You know about what happened on the ninth floor of the Chaos Temple?"
"I know a little."
The Ghost King grinned and said, "Grand Commander Li Canghai played a clever game, but alas, it miscalculated. He didn't expect Baiyi, Xue Qiancheng, and the others to be so daring. Ten people alone managed to throw your hundreds into disarray, and they even took the first Golden-grade Boss kill reward in the entire server. In fact, in my opinion, if your Knights of Cang hadn't been greedy, without your power, the ten people from the Scarlet Moon Knights wouldn't have had the ability to conquer that level 60 Golden-grade boss."
"Indeed."
Li Canghai sighed. "But it's too late for regrets. There's nothing to be done."
"It's already not bad."
The Ghost King raised an eyebrow and said, "You wiped out the entire Scarlet Moon Knights, and even got a Golden-grade chestplate from Baiyi. What more dissatisfaction does Grand Commander Li have? You should be content."
"Content with what..."
Li Canghai downed another glass of wine, this one tasting bitter. He frowned and said, "To be honest, it's a humiliation... Over a hundred people hunting down ten from the Scarlet Moon Knights, and I was sure of victory. In the end, we lost the boss kill to them, letting the Scarlet Moon Knights steal all the spotlight. I was even instantly killed by Baiyi at close range. His stats and skills are truly terrifying."
"That's right."
The Ghost King nodded. "I've experienced it too."
As he spoke, the Ghost King frowned. "To be honest, the Scarlet Moon Knights only have ten people in total, they can't cause much trouble and won't affect the situation in Yunshang County. But these people are like persistent gnats, they don't bite but they're disgusting. If they're allowed to stay in Yunshang County, it will be difficult for both our Splendid Peony and your Knights of Cang."
"That is the purpose of my visit today."
Li Canghai smiled faintly. "Let's form an alliance. Our two major guilds don't need to keep draining each other. Let's join forces to completely crush the Scarlet Moon Knights first. As for map resources, we'll divide them. Let the east-west division line of Yunshang County City be our boundary. The north will belong to our Knights of Cang, and the south to Splendid Peony."
The Ghost King's eyes lit up. "Agreed!"
Li Canghai continued, "From today onwards, the east and west gates of Yunshang County will be guarded by the Knights of Cang, and the north and south gates by Splendid Peony. Each gate will have 200 elites deployed. We'll go all out to ensure the Scarlet Moon Knights have no opportunity to develop. We'll keep them out of Yunshang County until they're gone!"
"Agreed!"
The Ghost King said, "That's not enough. I will also issue a Peony Imperial Decree, ordering the sub-teams under the Splendid Peony guild to divide into ten groups and constantly patrol the entire map of Yunshang County. As soon as the Scarlet Moon Knights appear, they will be notified. We will each send a hundred-man squad to eliminate them. This way, the main forces of our two major guilds can continue to level up and develop smoothly, but the Scarlet Moon Knights will have no chance to thrive in Yunshang County."
"It's a deal!"
Li Canghai stood up and extended his hand.
Jiang Chong also stood up and clasped Li Canghai's hand. "To be honest, I almost want to emulate the ancients and swear brotherhood with Manager Li through grass-burning and incense!"
"Why not?"
Li Canghai raised an eyebrow. "We hit it off immediately. Why don't we really do the grass-burning and incense ceremony? I'm a few years older, so I'll be the elder brother. Jiang Chong, you're younger, so you'll have to be the younger brother, alright?"
"Alright!"
And so, the two men performed the grass-burning and incense ceremony in the courtyard, a sworn brotherhood!
On the side, the two women named Yaqi and Mi'er watched with indifferent expressions. These men were all acting like they were sick, incredibly chuunibyou. But it didn't matter to them. As long as Jiang Chong doted on them and gave them plenty of money, they were fine with whatever he did.
...
The next day, early in the morning.
Lin Zhao, Chen Xue, and the others woke up early, washed, ate breakfast, and logged in. They had to continue to strive for their livelihood.
"Swish!"
After logging in, Lin Zhao glanced at his stats. It was okay; he had lost 1 level, but the kill reward had given him a full 3 levels, and the generous experience from killing the Boss had also granted another level. In fact, his level 55 still led the level rankings in Yunshang County. He and Chen Xue went to repair equipment and buy potions. When everyone had gathered, they headed to the east gate, only to find it blocked again. This time, it was the Knights of Cang who were blocking the gate, a massive crowd of 200 people, led by the Vice Commander, Jiu You Huang Quan.
"Damn, what the hell?"
Ding Chi stood within the safe zone, looking at the large group outside the city bridge, and frowned. "Are you people from the Knights of Cang so bored that you're blocking the gate? Can't handle a loss?"
"We can't handle a loss, that's right..."
Jiu You Huang Quan leaned against a wooden post with a lantern hanging from the gate, smiling lazily. "Since your Scarlet Moon Knights have fallen out with our Knights of Cang, don't blame us for being impolite. The Grand Commander has issued an order: we'll block the gate for a month. From now on, your Scarlet Moon Knights won't be able to level up in Yunshang County. You should leave and move to another county city as soon as possible, or, you can quit the Scarlet Moon Knights. As long as you don't have the Scarlet Moon Knights squad emblem above your heads, we won't touch you."
Chen Xue narrowed her beautiful eyes. "You're serious?"
"Yes!"
Jiu You Huang Quan smiled. "Beautiful Xue, if you were to abandon the darkness and embrace the light now, would our Knights of Cang welcome you?"
"Are you even worthy of that?"
Chen Xue smiled faintly. "Li Canghai is no good, and as the saying goes, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be askew. I presume the people under the Knights of Cang are not of good character either. Associating with you would be embarrassing."
"Hmph!"
Jiu You Huang Quan sneered. "Suit yourself, but don't harbor any false hopes. All four city gates of Yunshang County have been sealed. You won't have any opportunities. I might as well tell you, the Knights of Cang and Splendid Peony have already formed an alliance. We're jointly hunting down your group. If you're smart, get lost quickly and stop being an eyesore in Yunshang County!"
"Let's go. We'll think of a plan back in the city." Lin Zhao said.
"Mmm."
Everyone nodded in unison.
...
The group returned to the city and stood under a tree in the backyard of the Grand Cathedral, at a loss.
"It seems they're determined."
Chen Xue sighed. "There's no way we can force our way through this time. Our combat strength isn't that high. How about... we switch to another county city and level up for now? We can't let our leveling progress be delayed."
Rong Xing frowned. "Are we not coming back in the future?"
"We will!"
Lin Zhao raised his eyebrows. "If we don't come back, our Scarlet Moon Knights will be looked down upon forever!"
"That's right!"
Ding Chi gritted his teeth. "We'll get revenge for this sooner or later!"
"Let's go to Fufeng County."
Chen Xue said faintly. "There are more guilds in Fufeng County, with intertwined powers, and no single guild dominates. We'll temporarily level up in Fufeng County for the next few days. We won't touch our bound main city; it's still Yunshang County. Changing the main city will cause a loss of reputation and require a huge sum of money. There's no need for a full relocation."
"Alright, Fufeng County it is."
Lin Zhao drew his sword and led the group towards the county city's teleportation array.