"My lord, I'll have a drink with you."
Liya raised his wine glass, a fawning smile plastered across his face.
"A toast?" Chen Yu lightly lifted his glass and smiled. "Tell me, why are you toasting me? If you can't give a reason..."
"Then I'll drink it all."
Before Chen Yu could finish, Liya tilted his head back and drained his glass.
Perhaps feeling that wasn't enough,
He directly grabbed the wine jar with both hands and gulped down several large mouthfuls. The twenty-jin jar of strong liquor was emptied by Liya.
"My lord, you see..."
Liya grinned, holding the empty jar. Chen Yu watched him with a smile. He had to admit, if Liya was truly acting like a degenerate, his disguise was flawless. Chen Yu had observed him at close range for so long, yet he couldn't find any flaws.
Such forbearance was truly admirable.
The little demon and Nuo Yi paid no mind, the sisters happily savoring the delicacies of the restaurant. Even though this was food from outside the city, they were still very satisfied.
"Why did Bellor leave?" Chen Yu slowly put down his wine glass and looked at Liya, whose smile remained unchanged. "He told me he was a scholar from the academy. There's nothing about this underground world that the academy doesn't know. His departure was because of you, wasn't it?"
"Huh?"
Liya immediately widened his eyes and waved his hands in panic.
"My lord, you can't blame me for this. Bellor and I do have some old acquaintances. I was just making small talk with him. Who knew this kid would get so agitated? He grabbed my collar, and as you saw, he only let go when you arrived. I didn't even touch him."
Liya explained the situation with a worried expression, doing his best.
Seeing Chen Yu reach for his wine glass, Liya quickly went to his side to pour more wine for him, talking as he did so.
"I admit, what I said to Bellor at the time did hit a nerve. But if people are arguing, they naturally have to target each other's sore spots. Otherwise, what's the point? Besides, what he said was much more offensive than mine. I didn't break down, yet he lost his temper. In the end, it's his own poor psychological resilience. If you don't have the ability, you shouldn't provoke trouble first. Those who instigate are the ones to blame."
"Hmph, you say he was provoking you?" Chen Yu took a sip of wine.
"Otherwise, do you think I would bother with him?" Liya scoffed, putting down the wine pot. "I detest those pedantic scholars most in my life. They always drone on endlessly, gossiping about someone. Moreover, he kept trying to eavesdrop on your conversations, so I taught him a few lessons. And then he became unhappy about it."
"I can vouch for that."
Little Nuo Yi, who was enjoying her meal, raised her small hand.
"Bellor does indeed always hang around the entrance of private rooms. I've seen him several times."
"My lord, you heard that, right?" Liya spread his hands. "This little brat is very devious. Who knows what evil intentions he harbors while following you? You need to be careful of him. He's not as sincere as I am."
"You're sincere?"
Suddenly, Chen Yu looked up with interest.
Liya, who had been patting his chest confidently, paused for a moment as he saw Chen Yu's eyes gleaming. However, after that brief pause, he quickly composed himself, grinned, and shrugged with an expression of sincerity.
"I'm definitely more sincere than him."
His words were artfully crafted. By comparing himself to Bellor, he knew he couldn't be faulted even if his sincerity was later exposed.
"Alright, you're sincere. Then what were you doing with the Elton family's land deeds?" Chen Yu put down his wine glass. Liya, who was seated at the table, froze. It took him more than half a minute before he dryly scratched his head. "My lord, how... how did you know?"
"Did you think you had done a perfect job, threatening and intimidating the Elton family a few times, and then they would be too afraid to say anything to me?"
"I absolutely did not have that thought."
Liya's expression changed drastically. He took out a golden land deed from his bracelet.
"My lord, please be clear. I never intended to pocket these for myself. At most..." Liya, holding the golden land deed, lowered his voice considerably. "At most, I was thinking of using this to curry favor with you later, to pretend it was my own accomplishment. As for coveting these, I would never dare."
"I know you wouldn't do that. If you had, do you think you would still be standing here?"
Chen Yu smiled meaningfully, and Liya echoed his grin.
"Yes, yes, yes. My lord sees all. My little schemes are certainly no secret from you. As for that Elton family, they are truly detestable!" Liya suddenly gritted his teeth in anger and snorted. "They clearly promised me they wouldn't tell you anything, but as soon as you entered, they spilled everything. My lord, those few boys must have kowtowed to you, right? Is there any footage? Can you show me, so I can feel some satisfaction?"
"You still want satisfaction."
Chen Yu looked at him with a smile and said in a low voice.
"How about this? I see you've handled things well. I don't mind giving you a way to vent your anger."
Without a hint of hesitation, Liya assumed a posture of eager listening.
"These are all the Elton family's assets." Chen Yu suddenly took out a thick stack of golden paper from his ring. Seeing this pile of golden paper, Liya was completely stunned. "You... you got them all?"
After speaking, Liya muttered to himself.
"No wonder those two elders of the Elton family had faces like they had eaten flies' droppings when they left. You actually extorted... you actually got all their family assets. Doesn't that mean the Elton family is completely finished in the Tatu Kingdom?"
"Is it expensive to trade these assets for the family's lives?" Chen Yu snorted coldly.
Liya dared not respond. Chen Yu directly slapped the land deeds onto the table.
"I want you to convert these land deeds into cash as quickly as possible, preferably in the form of resource-based items. I'm not very interested in money; I have too much of it. I prefer resources. As for what kind of resources to acquire, focus on cultivation and combat resources, with living resources as a secondary priority. No equipment or food resources needed. Can you do this?"
"This..."
Looking at the pile of land deeds before him, Liya's eyes showed hesitation.
Converting the entire assets of the Elton family into resources.
It was difficult!
It wasn't that difficult to purchase resources, but the Elton family's sheer scale was too immense. If they were converted into resources in a short period, the entire Tatu Kingdom's operations would instantly collapse.
"I know this is quite difficult. I'm not asking you to convert it all into resources, just as much as possible," Chen Yu whispered with a stern tone. "Others might find it difficult to sell these assets and purchase resources, but if you do it, it shouldn't be impossible, right?"
"My lord, I..."
"You don't need to hesitate. Just answer me if you can do it." Chen Yu placed his hand on the land deeds. "You should know, if you can't do it, I have others who can, or perhaps you need some time to consider?"
"Yes!"
The moment Chen Yu finished speaking, Liya suddenly bit his lip, his gaze firm.
"Please rest assured, my lord, I can do it!"