Seeing the formation, Peter Brown didn’t take it to heart. With a wave of his hand, he broke the formation.
However, as soon as Peter had broken through the formation and entered, an alarm suddenly sounded. That’s when Peter realized he had tripped some sort of infrared detection and had been discovered.
Since they had detected him, Peter didn’t bother hiding anymore and simply stood there, staring inside the house.
Peter quickly figured out their intentions. They hadn’t used the formation to stop him, but to hide the infrared detection and thus reveal his presence.
Two figures appeared before Peter in the flash of an eye.
At first glance, both individuals were dressed in traditional Zhongshan suits, appearing rather old-fashioned.
"Peter, I presume? Well then, please come in," one of the men said.
As the head figure looked at Peter, he gestured towards the inside of the house encouragingly.
When Peter looked at the two men, he realized they were both at the Qi refining fourth level.
Upon assessing their cultivation level, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. If this was the extent of their power, he didn’t have much to worry about and walked inside without hesitation.
"Please, have a seat," the man gestured to a chair, inviting Peter to sit.
Once seated, the man introduced himself and his companion, "I am Cain Martin and this is Jared Martin."
Peter laughed lightly and replied, "Thank you both for coming such a long way."
Cain took a look at Peter and said, "It seems our intelligence was incorrect. You’ve already reached the Qi refining third level."
"There’s no mistake. I’ve just entered the Qi refining third level. And it seems that both of you are already at the Qi refining fourth level."
Jared commented, "Peter, your expertise in formations is impressive. I could barely break the formation I laid down. If I hadn’t added an infrared alert, we wouldn’t have known you were approaching."
Peter chuckled and said, "You both traveled all this way. Are you here to investigate?"
Cain sighed, "Given that you’re here today, we’re assuming you’re responsible for the car accident."
Peter didn’t admit anything and shook his head, "I don’t know anything about any car accident. I just heard some Thompson Family members were coming and wanted to see what was happening."
"Regardless of whether or not you confess, the damage has already been done. We, the Thompson family, have come with good intentions hoping to settle this matter." Cain remained calm with no hint of hostility.
Seeing Cain’s demeanor took Peter by surprise.
"You think this can be settled? I have not provoked any of you. I was merely running a business. Yet, here you are wanting everything, right down to the bone!"
Once the matter was laid out in the open, Peter had no reason to fear them. Aside from using a talisman bullet, Peter felt he could still hold his own against them.
With a bitter smile, Cain admitted, "That was due to our subordinates misleading us. It’s true, the Thompson family saw the immense potential in this business. We admit we were wrong on our part and we’re willing to offer compensation."
Jared chimed in, "Areas of profit are scarce on Earth. Every family strives for such opportunities. You must understand this. Initially, we were under the impression that an individual with some medical knowledge owned this wine business. It would be beneficial for the family to take ownership. We didn’t expect you to have such a high level of cultivation. Powerful cultivators naturally have the right to possess valuable resources. We, the Thompson family, have no desire to offend someone like you. We’ve come with a sincere intention to resolve this."
His words seemed sincere. Peter considered his options - resolving the issue peacefully was a much-preferred outcome.
"There’s no need for compensation. After all, I haven’t lost anything. The Thompson family, on the other hand, has lost two members."
When Peter said this, he looked towards Cain, curious about their response.
Upon hearing Peter’s words, Cain responded, "If Peter is willing to let this go, that would be for the best. The deaths in the Thompson family are not related to you. As for Phoenix Taylor, it would seem she’s now aligned with you, Peter. We aren’t going to do anything to her."
Peter was awed by their acute observation, their ability to infer so much about him from mere surface-level encounters. Cain was indeed out of the ordinary.
Peter surveyed the pair again and asked, "Is this the stance of the Thompson family?"
"Indeed, this is the standpoint of the Thompson Family. We hope to maintain friendly relations with Peter."
"Fine! Then let’s leave it at that!"
Peter stood up and exited.
Watching Peter’s departure, the two men sat in silence for a while.
After a moment, Jared asked, "Have we truly reached an agreement?"
"What else can we do? The Harrison and Cooper families are pressuring us, along with several others. We’ve also analyzed Peter’s foreign combat record in Eastern Kingdom. Our patriarch is worried that Peter has powerful forces backing him."
Jared sighed, "Those three died for nothing."
"Let there be death. They were not of our lineage. Their demise has not caused us any loss," responded Cain.
"That woman is under his control now. Their deaths are probably related to her."
"Let it go. According to the patriarch, if Phoenix Taylor still wants to join our Thompson family, we can still accommodate her. Talent is indeed rare."
"Yes, that woman is cunning but resourceful."
"It’s a shame we don’t know how he controls her. It seems to involve drug manipulation."
"Don’t bother. It ends here. We will not interfere with the wine business anymore. Let’s get Phoenix Taylor to give it back to him!"
After discussing Peter for a bit, Cain asked, "Do you have any idea about his true cultivation level?"
"I couldn’t tell. Even though it appears he’s at the Qi refining third level, I felt like it wouldn’t have been a challenge for him to kill us. He has other tricks up his sleeve," Jared replied.
"I have the same feeling. When he walked in, he seemed relaxed and didn’t seem to be on guard. This more than anything suggests the extent of his confidence."
"Let’s not mention this to Henry Martin, to avoid any trouble."
"Fortunately, our Thompson family knows a soul condensation technique. Within seven days of someone’s death, we can still collect their soul and resurrects it in another body. Edward and the others can be reborn from the dead. This way, we’ll be able to provide an explanation to Henry."
"Indeed, that’s the only option we have. Edward can also turn misfortune into a blessing by having a cultivator’s body to use. He’ll be able to follow the soul cultivation path."
After discussing for a while, Cain made a phone call to the Thompson family to inform them of the discussion with Peter. This put the Thompson family at ease.
Recently, the Thompson family has been worried. The matter with Peter led to pressure from the large Harrison and Cooper families. Now that they can settle the matter, the death of a few members doesn’t seem to be a big deal anymore.