At this time, Shang Jingchuan had gradually regained his clarity and smiled wryly at the words.
"I understand now, before this, it was indeed somewhat naive of me."
As he spoke, he sat up straight, looking solemnly at Zhao Ya.
"The government can fully support you, but relying solely on the two of us is not enough."
Zhao Ya nodded, "Of course, those noble clans cannot stand by either, I’m going to find them next."
Shang Jingchuan sighed, "Then you better be prepared for failure, after all, those noble clans are different from me, they all have escape routes, at worst they’ll abandon the city and leave, so they might not be willing to intervene."
"How do you know if you don’t try? Besides, do you think they can really leave the city at this time?" Zhao Ya sneered.
"You mean...?"
"I didn’t mean anything, it’s just that this Beast Tide has polluted the mountains and forests, presumably the roads are also filled with ambushes, leaving now won’t be so easy."
Having said that, Zhao Ya turned to leave.
Shang Luoluo suddenly called him, "Wait a moment."
"What else does Miss Shang have?" Zhao Ya paused to ask.
"Let me go with you, after all, I know the noble clans in the city, if I go, they’ll at least show some courtesy," Shang Luoluo swept the hair by her ear and smiled charmingly.
Zhao Ya pondered for a moment, then nodded, "Alright, then I’ll trouble you."
After leaving the government office, Zhao Ya first asked, "Where does the Zhu family live?"
Shang Luoluo seemed surprised, "Young Master Zhao intends to start with the Zhu family?"
"Mm! Is that not alright?"
"It’s alright, it’s just that the Zhu family is quite powerful, I hear they have connections even in the Capital City, it would be a tough nut to crack."
"No matter how tough, it has to be cracked!"
The reason Zhao Ya chose to start with the Zhu family is because not long ago, the batch of cloth armor materials stolen from Yongsheng Cloth Shop was sold to the Zhu family.
Presumably, they must have ready-made cloth armor hidden in their home by now.
This stuff is somewhat weak against swords and spears, but it’s perfect for dealing with the venomous wasps in the forests today.
Shang Luoluo led Zhao Ya to the Zhu family, and they smoothly met the family patriarch Zhu Zihao.
He was a portly middle-aged man with a very wealthy and kindly appearance.
Upon seeing Zhao Ya and Shang Luoluo, he greeted them warmly.
"Luoluo, is this the renowned Young Hero Zhao?"
"Yes, Mr. Zhu, this is Zhao Ya, Young Master Zhao," Shang Luoluo introduced.
"Ah, I’m already aware of what’s happening outside the city today. Your efforts for the city’s people are truly admirable. My Zhu family is willing to contribute three thousand taels of gold as help, how about that?"
Before Zhao Ya could speak, Zhu Zihao had already voiced his offer, and starting with three thousand taels of gold was no small measure.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Ya shook his head.
Zhu Zihao laughed heartily, "Is it too little? Then five thousand taels of gold, plus a batch of jerky, this is the greatest sincerity my Zhu family can offer."
He also subtly reminded Zhao Ya not to be too greedy.
Zhao Ya said, "Patriarch Zhu misunderstands, I didn’t come here for money."
"Oh? Then what do you want?"
"Cloth armor," Zhao Ya calmly stated these two words.
Zhu Zihao fell silent, his toad-like eyes fixed on Zhao Ya.
After a long pause, Zhu Zihao suddenly laughed.
"My fault, my fault, I didn’t think of it, the batch of materials stolen from the Ning Family earlier was recovered by Young Hero Zhao."
"Such a pity, Young Hero Zhao, you’ve come too late. That batch of cloth armor materials has already been sent to the Capital City, they’re not here in Yunxiao County."
Zhao Ya remained silent, only looking coldly at Zhu Zihao.
Zhu Zihao stood there smiling, but gradually, his smile stiffened, and a bead of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
He had Second Realm cultivation, purely for strengthening his body, with no actual combat experience, how could he compare to Zhao Ya, who advanced to the Fourth Realm through life-and-death battles?
His guards sensed the tension and were about to step forward.
Suddenly, Zhao Ya spoke, "Does Patriarch Zhu know that this Beast Tide has already polluted the mountains and forests? Even if you wish to leave, it would be difficult."
Zhu Zihao’s complexion changed drastically, "Are you threatening me?"
"Whether it’s a threat or not, Patriarch Zhu can send some people to try it," Zhao Ya said coldly.
Cold sweat broke out on Zhu Zihao’s face at once.
The reason he was so confident earlier was because he thought at worst he could abandon the city and leave, why bother staying to share in the Commandery’s fate?
But now Zhao Ya’s words had ruthlessly shattered his illusion.
"Of course, if Patriarch Zhu insists on leaving, I wouldn’t stop you, it’s just that traveling thousands of miles to the Capital City, some unexpected incidents on the way are hard to foresee."
Having said this, Zhao Ya got up to leave.
At this moment, Zhu Zihao suddenly called out to him.
"Wait a moment!"
"What else does Patriarch Zhu need?"
"I just remembered there’s a batch of leftover cloth armor in the warehouse, about three hundred sets, would that be enough?"
Zhao Ya smiled slightly, "Five hundred sets."
Zhu Zihao gritted his teeth, "Alright! I’ll search again, it should be possible to gather enough."
"Then thank you, Patriarch Zhu."
With that, Zhao Ya left with Shang Luoluo.
Just after they exited Zhu’s mansion, Shang Luoluo scrutinized Zhao Ya with two glances and suddenly burst into laughter.
"Why are you laughing?" Zhao Ya seemed puzzled.
"The way you bargained just now, you really seemed like a sly merchant."
"Heh, could anyone be more cunning than these noble clans?"
"Seriously, I didn’t think Zhu Zihao would give you such face, five hundred sets of cloth armor, his family really made a huge concession," Shang Luoluo said with a laugh.
"It’s not me they’re giving face to, but all the Martial Arts Halls in the city."
"Now, almost all the Martial Arts Halls have united, this force is so strong, not just the Zhu family, even if all the noble clans band together, they would have to bow. And this time, I represent all the martial artists in the city, do you think he dares not to yield?" Zhao Ya said calmly.
Looking at this young man who commanded such authority and overshadowed all the noble clans in the city, Shang Luoluo was momentarily dazed.
"Are you listening?" Zhao Ya asked curiously when he saw Shang Luoluo remaining silent.
"Ah... Yes, I’m listening, let’s go, let’s visit the next family, let’s make all the noble clans in the city bleed before nightfall."