"Wei Tian!"
With a loud shout from Tian Long, Wei Tian emerged from the side room of the residence, holding two beast skin scrolls in his hands.
These two beast skin scrolls did not record any martial arts secrets, but rather two recipes for medicinal wine. Li Qing had long coveted these recipes, which was also the reason he cooperated with Tian Long to attack the Yan family.
Tian Long took the two wine recipes and sighed, "Ah, speaking of which, it has been a long time since I last drank wine. I really want to indulge once more."
As he spoke, Tian Long handed the two wine recipes to Li Qing.
"Brother Li, take these. Originally, the Yan family had three wine recipes, but one was improperly preserved and has been destroyed over the years."
"If this were in the era of sunlight, these wine recipes would be invaluable, comparable to some superior internal martial arts."
Li Qing's heart raced slightly, but his expression remained calm. He immediately began to read the brewing steps and required materials for the wine.
"Five Poisons Blood-Activating Wine, main ingredients: venomous snake, black scorpion, centipede, blister beetle, and chù chicken; auxiliary materials: old camphor tree roots, and huangjing."
As the name suggests, this wine recipe is used to activate one's qi and blood. The materials used are quite terrifying; each main ingredient is a deadly poison that could easily kill an adult.
To brew wine with these deadly substances is unheard of. Besides the difficulty in finding the materials, the brewing method in this current era is also extremely harsh, making it nearly impossible to achieve.
After reading this wine recipe, Li Qing's expression turned difficult.
"No wonder the Yan family, despite their great power, cannot brew this medicinal wine. Nowadays, these materials are nearly impossible to find, and some I have never even heard of."
Tian Long sighed as well, "Indeed, this Five Poisons Wine actually needs to be buried in the soil during the scorching summer, using the seasonal weather changes to refine it for three years before it can be unearthed. Now, with the cold weather, where can we find such an environment?"
Master Mo Nan, who was beside them and devouring meat, couldn't help but exclaim, "The martial way has reached its end."
The second wine recipe is called Tiger Bone Nourishing Wine. This recipe is somewhat simpler to brew, not requiring the harsh conditions of the Five Poisons Wine, but its main and auxiliary materials are still difficult to gather.
The main ingredients include the spine bone, tail bone, and whip of a fierce tiger, supplemented with various precious medicinal materials such as angelica, ginseng, he shou wu, and ganoderma.
Let alone the Eternal Night World, even if he returned to the Maple Kingdom, collecting these materials would still cost a significant price; it would take at least several hundred taels of silver to acquire them.
Seeing the difficult expression on Li Qing's face, Tian Long laughed heartily, "Hahaha, Brother Li, I know your heart is steadfast in martial arts. In the future, I will find a way to have the people of the Yi Gang help you gather these wine materials. Also, the martial arts secrets hidden in the Yan family's armory, you can browse through them freely. Learn whichever you wish, don’t be disheartened!"
Having successfully teamed up to defeat the Yan family, the smoothness of this endeavor was largely due to Li Qing's contributions; otherwise, Tian Long would merely be the leader of a gang.
Now, the relationship between Tian Long and Li Qing had grown much closer, and there was a considerable amount of trust between them.
Li Qing understood Tian Long's intentions. His expression seemed regretful, but inside, he couldn't help but feel overjoyed.
These two wine recipes were invaluable to him. Although the materials were difficult to collect, once he returned to the Maple Kingdom, everything would be manageable.
Thus, Li Qing suppressed his inner excitement and said gratefully, "Thank you, Gang Leader!"
After the great battle, the Yan residence was brightly lit, and the aroma of food wafted throughout the entire estate.
Following this victory banquet, the regulations of Obsidian City were nearly finalized. The Yi Gang had replaced the Yan family, promoting many trusted individuals who participated in the battle and played important roles, such as Zhao Kou and Wei Tian, who received considerable rewards.
As for Li Qing, he had no interest in power and repeatedly declined Tian Long's offer of the second-in-command position, insisting on only being a venerator in the Yi Gang, content with forging iron and browsing through the martial arts secrets in the armory.
Seeing Li Qing's resolute attitude, Tian Long had no choice but to refrain from saying more.
Master Mo Nan, who practiced internal martial arts, also took a position as a venerator in the Yi Gang, basically not participating in the daily management of the gang, serving as a mascot and a strong arm for the gang.
With this, the Yi Gang gathered a large number of people again, now possessing three external strength experts, solidifying their position.
After the banquet ended, news of the Yan family's extermination and the Yi Gang's takeover quickly spread throughout Obsidian City, causing waves of astonishment.
"The Yan family was actually exterminated, how unbelievable!"
"What a ruthless Yi Gang! I thought they were just making small troubles, but I didn't expect them to dare do such a thing."
"I heard the Yan residence was stained red with blood, with no one left alive!"
"Hiss~"
"What about the land outside the city? Since the Yan family was exterminated, does that mean..."
"Hehe, you think too much. The people of the Yi Gang are not kind either; that land has merely transferred from the Yan family to the Yi Gang."
"That's true."
"Sigh, I wonder how much of the black mushroom harvest the Yi Gang will take; I hope it won't be too high."
"..."
On Zhengming Street, at the home of Old Man An, who lived across from Li Qing's former residence.
Old Man An, who had been anxious for some time, was overjoyed upon hearing the news of the Yan family's downfall!
The extermination of the Yan family meant that he could continue his previous livelihood to make a living, and he no longer had to worry about his granddaughter being coveted by the Yan family's second young master.
However, just thinking about the possibility that Li Qing might have fallen victim to the Yi Gang's schemes made him unable to feel happy.
For common folk like them, the extermination of the Yan family did not significantly impact their lives; things remained the same as before.
It was merely that the Yan family had been replaced by the Yi Gang, and this Yi Gang might not necessarily be good people.
After successfully seizing power, Tian Long was well aware of the thoughts of most commoners in Obsidian City.
To stabilize the people's hearts, he immediately issued his first command.
"From now on, the harvest from the land outside the city used for growing black mushrooms will only need to pay a sixty percent tax!"
As soon as this command was issued, the citizens of the city began to cheer and celebrate, now feeling the benefits brought by the extermination of the Yan family.
In an instant, the Yi Gang became the people's choice, and everyone in the city forgot their previously notorious reputation.
The benefit was merely a reduction of ten percent in the black mushroom tax.
(End of Chapter)