Xu Ning held the Qinglu Dan in his hand and began to think.

Yu Xinghe looked at Xu Ning, thinking that he was just thinking about how to accept the qinglu dan tactfully.

After all, he had seen this many times before.

'He is a young man after all, the temptation of a Qinglu Dan is too high…'

Just now Xu Ning gave Yu Xinghe a feeling of loss of control that was hard to fathom, but now, this feeling had disappeared.

"Master Xu…"

Seeing how Xu Ning was not speaking, Yu Xinghe prepared to take the initiative to relieve Xu Ning's plight.

"Deputy Manager Yu."

Xu Ning coincidentally spoke at the same time.

"This Qinglu Dan is too precious…"

Xu Ning gently put the dan medicine back into the box. "I will not accept it."

Yu Xinghe was initially smiling, but after seeing the Qinglu Dan being placed back into the box, his smile became a little stiff.

He looked at Xu Ning with puzzled eyes.

On the other side, Xu Ning looked at Yu Xinghe's eyes with a calm gaze.

In fact, Xu Ning was tempted by these three Qinglu Dans.

Although a Qinglu Dan's utilization rate was not high, as long as he accepted them, he could exchange it for silver tael, then use the silver tales to buy spirit medicine.

1500 taels could be exchanged for over a dozen energy units.

This temptation was very strong.

But unfortunately, Xu Ning felt that if he received the gift, he might be in debt forever.

During Xu Ning's interaction with Dayuan Trading Company, he had already learned that in the Maple Lane, Dayuan Trading Company was powerful and almighty; they were only superficially polite to the Black Armored Guards.

Dayuan Trading Company became the overlords of Maple Lane, while the Black Armored Guards were only puppets.

'Does the senior Black Armored Guards accept this behavior?'

Xu Ning refused the Qinglu Dans because he really didn't want to get into trouble.

Because Xu Ning knew well in his heart that even though Maple Lane was owned by Dayuan Trading Company, it was still inside Kangyun County.

The top controller of Kangyun County was still the Black Armored Guards.

The weakness of one Black Armored Guard station did not mean that the entire Black Armored Guards would tolerate the arrogant behavior of Dayuan Trading Company.

Revenge was a dish best served cold, and now was not the time yet.

"Master Xu, you don't need to mind the value of this gift. It's just a gesture from us."

Yu Xinghe felt that this young man was tricky to deal with.

Xu Ning waved his hand as a signal of rejection while still having a polite attitude.

What he had to do now was not to confront, but to keep distance.

Once he understood what the senior Black Armored Guards thought about Dayuan Trading Company, he would make a decision then.

Right now he did not want to get dragged into the deep end just yet.

"Deputy Manager Yu, I appreciate the gesture, but you can keep the gift."

Xu Ning no longer gave Yu Xinghe the opportunity to keep persuading him. He looked at Feng Sigua. "Let's go, Old Feng."

"Um…"

The shopkeeper stood aside. For a moment, he didn't even know whether to send Xu Ning off.

He subconsciously looked at the Deputy Manager Yu Xinghe.

Yu Xinghe paused for a second before smiling again. "If that is the case, we will not force you to accept the gift. When you have the opportunity in the future, make sure to visit us."

"Goodbye."

Xu Ning bowed with his hands and left with Feng Sigua.

Yu Xinghe stood in front of the window on the second floor as he looked at the two leaving.

"Deputy Manager Yu, this Xu Ning guy, can't be bought…"

The shopkeeper stood behind Yu Xinghe.

Yu Xinghe put his hands behind his back, his eyes deep in thought.

"Can't be bought?"

Yu Xinghe sneered. "Even Maple Lane Guard Station Head Chen Ren is under our control, let alone a small guard."

"Yes, yes…"

The shopkeeper said.

"But…"

Yu Xinghe said, "This Xu Ning guy acted beyond my expectations…"

"According to the information from the company, this Xu Ning is actually an outsider of Tao Village. Generally speaking, he has had the experience of being displaced and sent away. This kind of person should be extremely hungry for money and resources. He should be sensitive and have low self-esteem in his blood…"

"However, I can't find these flaws on Xu Ning." Yu Xinghe squinted his eyes. "He looks confident and secure. What makes me the most confused is his apathetic attitude towards resources."

"He refused three Qinglu Dans decisively. Xu Ning either has cards up his sleeves, or he is very smart…"

The shopkeeper stood by the side. This was the first time he had heard Deputy Manager Yu praise a young man.

"So you mean, this Xu Ning guy is hard to deal with?"

The shopkeeper leaned closer.

"Hard to deal with?" Yu Xinghe's tone changed again, "No matter how secure he is, we can penetrate his bottomline. No matter how clever, he has to consider the overall situation. He will succumb…"

"He has to accept these three Qinglu Dans, whether he likes it or not."

Yu Xinghe's tone was confident. "Today he did not accept it in public, but he will have to accept it in private the next day. Even if he does not want to, he has no choice…"

"After all, he is just a tiny… Black Armored Guard."

…

"Shame, what a pity…"

After leaving the door of the medicinal materials shop, Xu Ning shook his head gently and muttered to himself.

Feng Sigua followed him without talking.

He had just gotten to know Xu Ning, so it was better not to ask anything about Master Xu's personal finances.

However, from the bottom of his heart, Feng Sigua admired Xu Ning very much.

That was three Qinglu Dans, worth a total of 1500 taels of silver!

His monthly salary was ten taels, which was not bad in Kangyun County. But even if he didn't spend any taels for 10 years, he wouldn't be able to save 1500 taels.

"Old Feng."

Xu Ning said casually, "Is there a close relationship between Dayuan Trading Company and us Maple Lane Guard Station?"

Feng Sigua realized the intention behind Xu Ning's words. He hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. "Very close…"

After a pause, he clenched his teeth. "Lieutenant Chen and the Chief Manager of Dayuan Trading Company have a very good relationship, and because of this, the others in the guard station have also been controlled by Dayuan Trading Company."

Xu Ning glanced at Feng Sigua.

This was quite explicit.

Xu Ning understood Feng Sigua's intentions—this old city guard wanted to be on his good side.

Although he was a city guard, he was just an ordinary person with little knowledge of martial arts. If he wanted to have a better future, or even go further in life, he had to kiss the asses of the Black Armored Guards.

In fact, this was exactly Feng Sigua's intentions.

It's just that the other Black Armored Guards at the station didn't value him at all, and he happened to run into Xu Ning. This was a rare opportunity for Feng Sigua, hence the reason why he answered Xu Ning's questions truthfully.

"I heard that after coming to the guard station, I have the right to pick a few deputies from the city guards to do some chores for me?"

As Xu Ning spoke, Feng Sigua's heart was beating fast.

"Sir, there is such an arrangement…"

Feng Sigua felt his heart jump to his throat.

"I'm a newcomer and don't know anyone else. How about I take you under me?"

Xu Ning's words hit Feng Sigua like a tidal wave.

Feng Sigua's face flushed red, and he began to show his loyalty. "I am willing to go through fire and hell for you, sir!"

Xu Ning smiled, this loyal rhetoric was a bit old-fashioned.

"Let's go back to the guard station, and tell me some stories about the Maple Lane Black Armored Guards Post."

Xu Ning waved his hand and started their return journey.

Feng Sigua quickly followed.

…

Over the next few days, Xu Ning found Tao Qingyuan and the others. He asked them to inquire about the relationship between the other Black Armored Guards and Dayuan Trading Company.

During this time, Xu Ning also strolled around Maple Lane. He had learned a lot about Maple Lane from Feng Sigua.

In addition, Xu Ning also met a few other colleagues.

But they only came to the guard station as a formality, not to do any real work.

Everyone's performance was exactly the same as that of Lieutenant Chen—they were all slacking off.

On this day, Xu Ning went around Maple Lane with Feng Sigua as usual.

When he returned to his study in the guard station, he heard someone asking to see him at the door.

"Come on in."

Xu Ning said.

A city guard walked in, he lowered his head and said respectfully, "Sir, Lieutenant Chen asked you to come over."

"Lieutenant Chen?"

Xu Ning began to think.

He replied, "I'll head over right now."

"Thank you sir."

The city guard left.

Xu Ning stood up. He had a feeling that the reason why Chen Ren wanted to see him had something to do with Dayuan Trading Company.

'What does he want to say to me…'

Xu Ning left the room and walked towards Chen Ren's study.