Chapter 155: Strength Is the Ultimate Foundation

Seeing the door open, Bashan Hong paid no attention to Yang Fan standing in the threshold and walked straight past him into the room!

Yang Fan let out a helpless, slight sigh. So much for human rights. Whatever happened to that promised VIP treatment?

Which VIP guest has people just bursting into their room like this?

Helpless as he was, he still had to play his part! After all, he was dealing with a ninth-rank powerhouse.

Yang Fan turned and entered the room. Bashan Hong was already seated, looking him up and down.

Yang Fan walked over briskly and asked, "Elder Hong, what brings you to my humble room?"

Bashan Hong reined in his gaze and said, "Nothing particularly special, I just need a favor from you! Originally, I planned to come see you in a few days, but due to some circumstances, I need your answer today!" With that, his sharp gaze fixed upon Yang Fan.

Hearing this, Yang Fan felt his heart skip a beat.

He had a premonition that whatever Bashan Hong was going to ask, it would spell nothing but trouble for him.

It was already the middle of the night. Bashan Mo had just left shortly before Bashan Hong arrived. To say these two visits had nothing to do with each other was impossible; the timing was simply too tight!

And the reality was precisely as Yang Fan suspected. Originally, Bashan Hong and the others had intended to wait a few days until Yang Fan had used up more of his medicinal pills before approaching him. However, someone had just reported that Bashan Mo had spent a long time in Yang Fan's room, seemingly discussing something.

That news left the four of them unable to sit still anymore. What could they possibly be discussing? A tenth-rank and a fourth-rank discussing matters? What on earth did they have to talk about?

Was Bashan Mo inquiring about what Yang Fan and Bashan Hong had said to Bashan Hua in the underground tunnel?

All sorts of doubts plagued the minds of the four men, leading them to decide to test Yang Fan tonight. Long delays bred trouble; the four of them were currently suffering from an extreme lack of a sense of security and could not tolerate even the slightest element of uncertainty.
...

After a moment of contemplation, Yang Fan said, "Elder Hong, how may this junior be of service?"

Bashan Hong spoke up, "It is nothing too significant. There is an item in the underground treasury that I need, but it is not convenient for me to apply for it directly from the Patriarch. Since you are currently the Patriarch's favorite, and I heard just now that the Patriarch stayed here with you for a good half of the day... My idea is that you go and tell the Patriarch you wish to obtain some items, and then I will accompany you into the treasury... That is the gist of it. I wonder if young friend Yang Fan is willing to help me out?"

Though Bashan Hong's words sounded soft, his attitude was anything but gentle!

His sharp gaze stared fixedly at Yang Fan, making the younger man feel as though refusing would result in immediate death. His back was now soaked in cold sweat. "Elder Hong, I wonder what kind of item this might be? Even if I go to the Patriarch to make a request, I need to provide some sort of explanation, don't I?"

As soon as Yang Fan finished speaking, he sensed that Bashan Hong's gaze was no longer quite as sharp, slowly softening somewhat!

Bashan Hong said, "You can just say that when you entered the treasury earlier, you took a fancy to a soft armor piece, but because you hadn't requested it from the Patriarch beforehand, I stopped you in the treasury and told you that you needed the Patriarch's approval before taking anything from there. Something along those lines—figure out the details yourself!" Bashan Hong was currently in no mood to instruct Yang Fan on how to handle Bashan Mo.

Truth be told, despite how harshly Bashan Hong had spoken during their earlier discussion, his heart was still hammering against his ribs. Bashan Mo's prestige had weighed heavily upon them for far too long—so long that Bashan Hong had not even entertained the thought of rebellion in ages.

Now that Yang Fan had agreed to help, it should have aligned with his own intentions, but a part of Bashan Hong actually wished Yang Fan would refuse!

The mere thought of coming face-to-face with Bashan Mo in the near future made Bashan Hong's mind churn in chaos! The excuses he had originally planned to spell out for Yang Fan suddenly felt too troublesome to detail thoroughly.

In fact, Bashan Hong even found himself hoping that Bashan Mo would turn down Yang Fan's request.

It was a very bizarre state of mind, leaving Bashan Hong full of internal conflict. When the four of them had gathered earlier, their heads filled with hot-blooded passion; but now, sitting alone and cooling down, he had begun to feel regret and fear!
...

Yang Fan wore an expression resembling chronic indigestion. Figure it out himself? Was this really a good idea? You come strutting in here acting as though this is a matter of life and death, only to tell me to figure out the cover story myself? Weren't you just trying to get me killed?

If he couldn't get the story right and Bashan Mo refused, what was he supposed to do? Yang Fan did not for a second believe that Bashan Hong would let him off the hook if Bashan Mo turned him down!

Recalling that murderous glare from earlier sent a chill straight down his spine.

Strength. This was Yang Fan's most profound realization. Without strength, one was merely manipulated at the whims of others.

If Li Tian were here—hell, Li Tian wasn't even necessary, if Zhang Daoyi were here right now—just look at how the entire Bashan tribe wouldn't dare utter a single threatening word. That was the proper treatment a distinguished guest deserved!

And what about himself? Lacking strength, anyone could threaten him. When Bashan Mo had come to question him earlier, every single line had oozed a sense of condescending superiority. Though Bashan Mo kept smiling throughout, Yang Fan could tell the man had never taken him seriously for a second!

Bashan Hong was no different. The moment he stepped through the door, he made it abundantly clear that Yang Fan's life was in his hands, and that threatening gaze earlier had made it explicitly clear: refuse and die.

Strength is the ultimate foundation. Yang Fan reinforced this realization in his mind once more.

Nothing mattered more than absolute power.

Shortly after, Bashan Hong exchanged a few more words with Yang Fan before departing. Before leaving, he warned Yang Fan not to go looking for Bashan Mo over the next couple of days, telling him to wait a bit longer. Before finally going to see the Patriarch, Yang Fan was required to report his exact pitch to Bashan Hong first. At the same time, Bashan Hong made Yang Fan promise that either he or Bashan Gui must accompany him into the treasury.

With that, Bashan Hong took his leave.

In truth, his primary goal in coming today was simply to gauge Yang Fan's stance and secure peace of mind. Now that the task was done and his own emotions were fluctuating wildly, he just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible!

After sending Bashan Hong off, Yang Fan lost all desire to cultivate. He clutched his head and sat in silence.

His mind raced with thoughts of how on earth he was supposed to approach Bashan Mo for another trip to the treasury, while managing to smuggle Bashan Hong and the others in with him.

The crucial part was that he had to come up with the plan entirely on his own! According to all logic, shouldn't the conspirators brainstorm every possible contingency ahead of time, craft the most foolproof cover story, and simply hand it over for him to memorize and recite?

How did it end up with him having to invent this elaborate lie out of thin air? Yang Fan felt like his head was about to explode. There was a limit to how much one could bully a person!

After pondering for a long time without coming up with a single cohesive plan, Yang Fan simply collapsed onto the bed.

Screw it. Let whatever happens happen. He refused to think about it anymore tonight. With neither a head nor a tail to this mess, expecting him to conjure a foolproof scheme from nothing was simply asking the impossible!