Chapter 253: Why Would We Do That?

“To think you’re so ruthless at your age, Ye Qing! You must die to secure peace for the wulin!”

A man appeared in front of Ye Qing like a ghost and unleashed a palm strike.

“Smite!”

The man’s palm turned as white as jade. It was translucent, warm, and perfectly flawless.

Boom!

But right before his hand would hit Ye Qing’s skull, a long saber descended toward the man’s head. He was forced to cancel his attack and block the sudden attack with his palm.

His palm should be made of flesh and blood, and yet there was a metallic clang when it clashed against the saber. There was a shockwave as the two men backed a step away from each other.

“Who are you? Why are you stopping me?” The man withdrew his palm and stared at Pang Kun with a deep frown.

Of course, no one recognized Pang Kun because he was wearing a mask right now.

“Ye Qing killed my nephew, so I must take his life with my own hands,” Pang Kun made up a random excuse. “I would advise you to stay out of this, Fang Baiyu.”

Pang Kun was accompanied by eighteen armored soldiers. As if on cue, they took a step forward and assumed what looked like a formation.

The eighteen soldiers were Black Feather Guard soldiers, of course. In fact, they were his personal guards. Although they were only Half-Step Astral Refiners, their formation was powerful enough to keep Fang Baiyu occupied. And if he were to join the battle, then he could even kill Fang Baiyu.

Of course, Pang Kun didn’t want to clash against Fang Baiyu unless he had no other choice. White Jade Hand Fang Baiyu was a Spirit Purifier just like him, but unlike him the warrior was famous throughout the jianghu. It would be folly to underestimate him.

“Kakaka! Your nephew, you say? What a joke! I can say that Ye Qing killed my son too in that case!”

Pang Kun had just finished speaking when a man wearing black robes stepped out into the open. He was surrounded by countless black crows that were cawing with inauspiciousness and death.

“Just say that you want his valuables. Lying about your intentions is only going to make you a hypocrite.”

“I completely agree, Crow Superior. There is nothing more I loathe than two-faced bastards.”

A woman wearing bright-colored clothes and gold and silver jewelry walked out as well. Her head was covered in flowers. You would think that someone like this would be incredibly beautiful, but in reality she was as fat as a pig and as ugly as a mud fence.

“Lady FLower?” Crow Superior exclaimed in surprise.

“Why are you here, Lady Flower?” Fang Baiyu frowned.

“The fuck do you mean by that? If you can target Ye Qing, then why not me?” Lady Flower retorted while side-eying Fang Baiyu.

Fang Baiyu kept silent. Lady Flower might be ugly and foul-mouthed, but she was very, very strong.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

“Hmph! Coward!” Lady Flower spat on the ground before sneering at all three men standing in her way. “Now get the fuck out of my sight. The boy’s head and his items are mine.”

“You can stand to be a little less overbearing, Lady Flower!” Pang Kun said in an unfriendly tone.

“Overbearing?” Lady Flower sneered before closing the distance between them faster than Pang Kun could blink. Then, she unleashed a palm strike.

Pang Kun raised his saber to block the attack, but the blood drained away from his face when the palm strike connected. He felt as if a mountain had crashed into his body as he flew backward like a rag doll. Even his eighteen personal guards were no exception.

“Trash. So what if I’m overbearing? What can you possibly do to stop me?”

“You—Pwack!” Pang Kun spat out a mouthful of blood before he could say more than a single word.

“You may be strong, Lady Flower, but you’re only one person. If we work together, not even you will be able to walk away from this unscathed.”

Crow Superior threatened in a gloomy voice, “You wouldn’t want us to walk away with your spoils, would you?”

“Are you threatening me, Crow Superior?” Lady Flower’s cheeks shook violently as she huffed.

“It’s not a threat. It’s just a fact.”

It wasn’t Black Superior who answered her. A group of three men and one woman slowly stepped out of the darkness. One man looked as white as a sheet and was covered from head to toe in paper dolls. The rustling of the paper dolls sounded like whisperings.

One man looked like an old farmer wearing a flag that was sewn from dog skin. He was also carrying a puppy in his arms. He was followed by a ferocious-looking, four-headed mastiff that was as big as a calf.

The last man and woman were the most eye-catching of the four. The man’s face was covered in scars, and he looked ugly as sin. On the other hand, the woman was gentle, demure, and extremely beautiful.

Right now, the couple were holding each other and staring into each other’s eyes with eyes full of love and sweetness. They seemed unwilling to part for a moment.

“Paper Celestial, Dog King, Husband and Wife? What are you doing here?” Lady Flower asked in an unfriendly tone.

The four warriors were none other than the Twelve Fiends of Taiping. Paper Celestial and Dog King were only late-stage Astral Refiners, so Lady Flower could afford to ignore them. Husband and Wife were bonafide Spirit Purifiers, however. Although they were only in the early stage, they were godlike in terms of cooperation and joint attacks, so much so that they could go up against a late-stage Spirit Purifier.

“What do you think? This brat is the reason our boss, Actor, Matchmaker, Dancer 1 and Dancer 2 are killed. He also ruined the grand plan our holy faith has been plotting for years,” Paper Celestial answered. “He is our sworn enemy, and we must have our revenge.”

“Revenge?” Lady Flower scoffed in disdain. “I think you just want his items. You guys are seriously hypocritical, you know that?”

“What is the meaning of this, Husband and Wife? You’re the one who set up the bounty to hunt down Ye Qing, and now you’re going to claim it yourself? Is this a game to you?” Fang Baiyu rebuked them with an ugly expression.

The gentleness on Husband and Wife’s faces was replaced by cold ruthlessness when they looked up. “You don’t get to tell us what to do. If you’re smart, you’ll get out of our way and stop us from taking revenge. Otherwise, you’ll have to answer to the Way of Taiping.”

“You will be the laughingstock of the jianghu if you do this!” Crow Superior voiced his dissatisfaction.

Wife simply cracked a gentle smile and said, “And why would we care about the opinions of the secular world? What I do know, is that the Yellow God would punish you if you dare to offend us!”

She was now threatening them outright. Everyone blanched and cursed under their breaths when they heard this, but there was nothing they could do. Everyone knew that the Way of Taiping were a bunch of maniacs, and to argue jianghu morality with them was like trying to bring the dead back to life—impossible. If they attacked Husband and Wife today, the Way of Taiping would attack them tomorrow. Heck, they might even put their bounties right next to Ye Qing’s.

There was one way to stop this, and that was to kill Husband and Wife, Paper Celestial and Dog King. But could they really?

Of course, they weren’t willing to give up either. Despite their earlier display of hostility, Lady Flower, Crow Superior and Fang Baiyu moved closer to each other.

“Oh? Is that a threat I sense?” Paper Celestial sneered. “Well, you can certainly try.”

That was what he said, but of course they would rather not fight the Spirit Purifiers if possible. Why fight if they could be convinced to back down?

The two groups were locked in a stalemate when suddenly, they all sensed something and looked to the distance. It was at this moment they saw a masked man wearing a black robe stepping out of the darkness.

Every time the black-robed man took a step, their bodies would shake a little. It felt like the sun was descending from the sky and squeezing their lungs bit by bit.

“Half-Step Divine Master?”

Everyone blanched when they saw this.

Technically, a Half-Step Spirit Master was a late-stage Spirit Purifier who was very close to entering the Spirit Master Realm. In reality, all of them combined still might not be enough to defeat a Half-Step Spirit Master.

“Who are you?” Husband and Wife stopped flirting with each other and glared at the black-robed man.

“You don’t need to know who I am. You only need to know that I am taking Ye Qing with me!” The black-robed man said slowly.

“And why would we let you do that?” Lady Flower asked coldly.

She had thrown a similar line at Fang Baiyu, Crow Superior and Pang Kun earlier, and it had certainly felt very good. But it didn’t feel good at all to be on the receiving end.

The black-robed man answered, “Because I’m stronger than all of you combined.”

As soon as he said this, he abruptly appeared in front of Lady Flower like he had teleported. Shocked but not paralyzed, Lady Flower tried to defend herself only to sense an unimaginable power pressing down on her from above. At the same time, nine suns appeared inside her mental space.

The world inside Lady Flower’s head was torn asunder, and flames ravaged every corner of her mind. It wasn’t long before her spirit was depleted, and her mind was extinguished.

Thud!

The black-robed man casually dropped Lady Flower’s body on the ground and looked at the rest of them. “I don’t want to be enemies with you. I only want Ye Qing.”

“Now consider carefully if some riches you will never get are worth your life.”

Everyone: “...” He said he doesn’t want to be enemies with us after killing one of our strongest? Is he joking right now?

No one said a word for a time.

Then, a cheery voice shattered the gloomy atmosphere. “Hahaha, even a Half-Step Spirit Master wants me dead. I didn’t think I’m this valuable!”

They looked. Ye Qing was leaning against a tree and watching them with a face full of scorn. “Well, don’t mind me. Feel free to discuss among yourself until you’ve decided on the pecking order.”

“You’re going to die. Aren’t you afraid at all?” The black-robed man couldn’t help but voice his doubt when he saw Ye Qing’s fearless smile. He had killed many people in his life and seen just as many dying faces. Some people wept like no tomorrow, some people looked like they had lost their soul, and some wouldn’t stop wailing and begging for mercy. However, he had never seen someone who was so calm.

“Oh, I’m scared. I’m so scared I could die!” Ye Qing shrugged. “And it’s all thanks to you, Hill Lord Wang!”

“Hill Lord Wang?” “Wang Luori?”

His words stunned the others for a second. Then, they all looked at the black-robed man in realization.

“How did you find out?” The black-robed man a.k.a Wang Luori asked curiously. He did not deny the accusation.

“What? It’s obvious, isn’t it? You’re the only Half-Step Spirit Master who holds a grudge against me in Luo Shui. Who else could it be if not you?” Ye Qing smiled a smile that didn’t reach the eyes. “Only an idiot would fail to figure that out.”

Everyone: “...” Who are you calling an idiot?

Ye Qing then looked at Crow Superior, Fang Baiyu, Husband and Wife with a disdainful smile on his face. “Well, what are you waiting for? Do you think Hill Lord Wang would let you go now that you know his identity? I may have left Luo Shui, but I’m still a Patrolman of the Pacification Bureau, you know? Hehe…”

Everyone’s hearts sank because it was the truth. It was one thing if they didn’t know who Wang Luori was, but now that they did, the only way Wang Luori could stop them from telling everyone that he killed Ye Qing was to silence them.

After all, the only person who could be trusted to keep a secret in this world was a dead person, and Wang Luori most definitely possessed the strength to see it through.