"I am Huang Ke. Greetings, Commander Chen."

Inside the North City Military Camp Office, the lean-faced elder from the Huang Family cupped his hands in a deferential salute.

"Elder Huang, there’s no need for such formalities. Please, have a seat."

Chen Sheng gestured casually with his hand, his gaze sweeping over the man. His demeanor carried the aloofness of someone in a superior position.

This attitude was undoubtedly impolite, yet Huang Ke showed no trace of dissatisfaction.

From what he had heard, this young Commander of North City had always been domineering, so Chen Sheng’s behavior was actually what he expected. He was on an important mission and had no intention of getting bogged down in empty pleasantries. After a brief exchange of courtesies, he cut straight to the chase.

"Commander Chen, your methods are truly extraordinary. This time, I must admit, the Huang Family has been bested."

Huang Ke said bluntly, his tone filled with mixed emotions.

"The Huang Family has been bested?"

Chen Sheng raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "I don’t recall making any real move against the Baisha Gang. To what do I owe this sentiment?"

Huang Ke gave Chen Sheng a deep, meaningful look.

"Why play ignorant, Commander Chen? I’m referring to... the matter of the Spirit Marrow Gu. Your Skill of Manipulating People is astonishing. To make a man like Li Huai Sheng pledge his loyalty so quickly... I am truly impressed."

"Spirit Marrow Gu?"

Chen Sheng’s expression didn’t change. He took a light sip of tea, his tone placid. "I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, Elder Huang."

"Commander Chen, please don’t misunderstand."

Huang Ke forced a friendly smile and quickly clarified his position. "I haven’t come here to accuse you of anything. Rather, I’m here representing the Huang Family to show our sincerity in reaching a truce."

He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice.

"You took that item for the Spirit Marrow Liquid inside, hoping to break through to the Marrow Transformation Realm. But perhaps you don’t know, Commander, that it takes twelve years to nurture a single drop of that liquid. The last time any was taken was exactly six years ago.

Forgive my bluntness, but in your hands, the item is practically useless right now."

Watching Chen Sheng’s expression, he continued to lay out his terms. "Why not return it to the Huang Family? In exchange, we are willing to offer three thousand taels of silver to show our sincerity.

Furthermore, you may choose any woman from our Direct Lineage for a marriage alliance. We can bury the hatchet and become kin. Isn’t that far better than becoming enemies and destroying each other?"

Chen Sheng listened to the man’s seemingly sincere plea, intrigued.

’For the Huang Family to drop their pride so decisively, even offering a marriage alliance to show goodwill, just to get the Spirit Marrow Gu back... that’s a bit more than I expected. It just goes to show how much this thing means to them.’

’Too bad for them. They don’t know about the Secret Technique to ’drain the pond to get all the fish.’ And they certainly don’t know that to me, this thing’s value is far greater than a single drop of Spirit Marrow Liquid.’

Though he understood their intentions perfectly, Chen Sheng furrowed his brow at just the right moment, putting on an expression of deep contemplation.

Seeing that Chen Sheng seemed tempted, Huang Ke decided to strike while the iron was hot.

"Besides, there’s no unresolvable blood feud between our Huang Family and you, Commander, or even County Captain Wu. We understand that County Captain Wu intends to bring the region to heel and weaken the powerful families. But forgive me for being blunt. Even if he manages to sweep away all the current Noble Families of Changshan County, new ones will inevitably rise to take their place.

Since someone has to fill that role, why can’t it be the Huang Family? As long as you are willing to return the Spirit Gu, Commander, the Huang Family will do everything in its power to cooperate with you in the future..."

"Well..." Chen Sheng’s fingers tapped lightly on the table, appearing quite hesitant.

"Just give the word, Commander, and I can have someone bring the silver notes immediately," Huang Ke pressed, his tone earnest.

Chen Sheng was silent for a long moment, then, as if having made a decision, he spoke slowly.

"The Huang Family is showing such sincerity. It would be unreasonable of me to refuse," Chen Sheng began, but then his tone shifted. "However... I cannot hand that thing over to the Huang Family just yet."

As Huang Ke’s expression flickered, Chen Sheng continued:

"I need to see the Huang Family’s sincerity first. Once this whole affair is over, after the Gao Clan has been destroyed, I promise I will return the item to you, completely intact."

He never once mentioned the three words "Spirit Marrow Gu," but his statement was a tacit admission.

Hearing this, a trace of hesitation flashed across Huang Ke’s face.

Every extra day the Spirit Marrow Gu was out of their possession meant more risk. He naturally hoped to get it back immediately.

Seeing this, Chen Sheng’s face darkened, and his tone turned cold. "If the Huang Family isn’t even willing to show this little bit of sincerity, then there’s no need to continue this conversation."

"Please, Commander, calm yourself."

Huang Ke hurriedly cupped his hands. "This matter is too important for me to decide alone. Please allow me to return and report to the Patriarch and my grand-uncle. I will then give you a definite answer. How does that sound?"

"Very well."

Chen Sheng thought for a moment, then nodded. "In that case, I will await your good news."

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries, feigning cordiality, before Chen Sheng personally saw Huang Ke out of the North City Military Camp.

Once Huang Ke’s figure had disappeared, the smile on Chen Sheng’s face vanished instantly, his gaze growing deep. It remained to be seen whether this delaying tactic would work, but it would at least buy him some time to achieve his breakthrough.

’It would be best if it works out. But if not, it won’t affect the grand scheme of things.’

Right now, crossing the threshold into the Marrow Transformation Realm was the absolute priority!

...

The atmosphere inside the Huang Mansion was heavy.

Upon his return, Huang Ke immediately gave a full report of his meeting with Chen Sheng, including the conditions he had proposed, to Huang Dongchun and the clan’s grand-uncle.

"Hmph! At least he knows his place!" Hearing that Chen Sheng hadn’t refused outright but had instead made a counteroffer, Huang Dongchun let out a cold snort, his expression relaxing slightly.

"Knows his place? You call *that* knowing his place?!" The Fourth Grand-Uncle, seated at the head of the hall, slammed his cane on the floor with a dull THUD. His face darkened as he snapped, "This is clearly a stalling tactic on Chen Sheng’s part!

If our Huang Family really does as he says and just watches the Gao Clan fall, we’ll be the fish on his chopping block, and he’ll be the one holding the knife! Do you really think he’ll keep his promise then? Will we have any power left to make him? His words may sound like a compromise, but they’re hiding daggers. If you ask me, he has no intention of ever giving back the Spirit Marrow Gu!"

"But even if he keeps the Spirit Marrow Gu, it’s useless to him in the short term, right? Why would he do something so foolish? Could there be some grudge between our family and him that we don’t know about?" another elder at the side voiced his confusion.

The grand-uncle’s eyes were dark and profound as he spoke slowly.

"I have heard that in the Jianghu, there is a certain Secret Technique. It allows one to use the body of the Spirit Marrow Gu itself to force a breakthrough, even without any Spirit Marrow Liquid. But this method is like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs; the cost is immense. No sane person would use it lightly.

This Chen Sheng either knows this Secret Technique, or... Wu Kuang is so determined to eradicate us that Chen Sheng doesn’t dare—and cannot—accept our family’s terms."

"So, you’re saying... we can’t get the Spirit Marrow Gu back?" Huang Dongchun’s expression turned hideous. A wave of intense indignation washed over him. "If I go myself right now and storm the North City Military Camp, could there still be a chance..."

"Foolish!" The grand-uncle cut him off with a cold voice. "Putting aside whether you’d even succeed, it’s clear now that killing Chen Sheng would solve nothing. This time, the Huang Family was outmaneuvered. We have to accept our defeat.

But we absolutely cannot let this account be settled. If you act personally, you’ll be too big of a target. You’d just be drawing fire, giving Wu Kuang the perfect excuse to turn his full attention to our family. The best course of action is to use the Qinglin Water Bandits for this."

He paused briefly, a shrewd, calculating glint in his eyes. "However, on the surface, we still need to placate him. Huang Ke, you will go to the North City Military Camp again tomorrow and tell him that the Huang Family... agrees to his demands."

"Yes, Grand-uncle," Huang Ke replied with a bow.

...

「The next morning.」

A large group of merchants, secretly incited and organized by the three great families, had arrived together in front of the Changshan County Government Office. The crowd was furious, loudly pleading their case and begging the Government Office to immediately dispatch troops to annihilate the bandits plaguing the Qinglin Waterway and restore peace to the people of Changshan.

Everyone in the Government Office, from top to bottom, was well aware of how fierce and difficult the Qinglin Water Bandits were to deal with.

Faced with the merchants’ petition, the county office could only offer placating words for the time being, not giving an immediate, definitive answer. Shortly after, County Magistrate Lin Shou urgently summoned County Captain Wu Kuang to discuss a strategy.

Eliminating bandits was the County Captain’s duty, so Wu Kuang could not shirk it.

However, the situation on the Qinglin Waterway was complex, and his predecessor had met with disaster there. He had to be cautious. The two men deliberated for a long time but still found the matter thorny, so they decided to adopt a delaying strategy and wait to see how things developed.

However, the three great families had long anticipated this.

That afternoon, they used their vast influence to spread news throughout the county town and beyond, exaggerating the harm caused by the water bandits and stirring up public opinion.

In just half a day, the calls for the Government Office to send troops to eliminate the bandits grew louder and louder, creating considerable public pressure and putting the county office in a reactive and difficult position.

After careful consideration, Wu Kuang still found it difficult to make a decision.

He suddenly thought of Chen Sheng. The young man always seemed to have an unexpected plan up his sleeve and might offer a different perspective. He immediately sent a messenger to the North City Military Camp to summon Chen Sheng for a meeting.

Unfortunately, after seeing Huang Ke off the previous night, Chen Sheng had already ordered his doors closed to all visitors. He had entered deep seclusion and was not seeing anyone.

His resources were gathered, and the opportunity was fleeting. Why would Chen Sheng waste precious time on other matters?

Breaking through to the Marrow Transformation Realm was the only thing that mattered.

Although Wu Kuang was a little disappointed when he heard this, he didn’t insist. He simply gave solemn instructions to Chen Sheng’s confidant, Yan Ming, telling him to have Chen Sheng come to the county office immediately upon exiting his seclusion.