Urban Martial Saint

These six people had been scorched by fire until their mouths were dry and their tongues parched, nearly dehydrated. Just now, when Ye Qing mentioned giving them water, every single one of them perked up a little. Now that the water was brought before them, all six tilted their heads back as far as possible, desperately gulping down the water. The way they drank looked just like someone who had been running in the desert for several days without a drop of water.

With a bowl of light salt water downed, the spirits of these six men improved somewhat. Including the two who were gasping for breath just earlier, a bit more vigor could now be seen in their eyes—it was evident they had really been severely dehydrated just now.

”Alright!” Ghost King Li Ruoyuan clapped his hands and declared, ”Come on, Little Leaf, ask whatever you want, and be quick about it. If they dare not to answer, I’ll toss them back into the sauna room for a few more hours to let them experience the feeling of dehydration again!”

Hearing Ghost King Li Ruoyuan’s words, the six men’s complexions changed, with fear flickering in their eyes as they anxiously looked at Ye Qing. After having experienced that sensation of dehydration, they were dead set against enduring it for a second time. The sensation of dying from thirst was one nobody would ever want to taste again.

Ye Qing went over to the six men and began to inquire in detail about Wang Tian’an’s affairs. Scared stiff by Ghost King Li Ruoyuan, the six men didn’t dare to play any tricks. As long as Ye Qing asked a question, they would not dare skirt around an answer they knew, providing Ye Qing with a fresh understanding of the situation on Wang Tian’an’s side.

In fact, these six people were not the same as Xu Cunxiao and the others. Those with Xu Cunxiao were household slaves collaborating with Wang Tian’an while at the Chen Family and addressed Wang Tian’an as brothers. However, these men were all subordinates under Wang Tian’an, with very low status in his entourage. Before following Wang Tian’an, either they were disciples of orthodox sects, or individuals of unsullied origin—all were recruited by Wang Tian’an.

Over the past twenty years in the Western Province, Wang Tian’an had been anything but idle. During this time, he spent hefty sums to recruit many skilled fighters. Thereafter, he passed on some martial arts techniques, further enhancing these people’s abilities, turning them into first-rank masters. Thus, Wang Tian’an’s power grew stronger and stronger, and the reason he dared to boast about taking control of the Southern Six Provinces was indeed due to his formidable strength.

Tonight, although all thirty or so men brought by Wang Tian’an were left behind, this did not damage the core strength of Wang Tian’an in the slightest. These thirty plus people did not even make up one-tenth of the number of masters at Wang Tian’an’s side.

This information was shocking to Ye Qing; he had not anticipated that Wang Tian’an would have so many masters by his side. It seemed that cooperating with Chen San was indeed a very correct decision. If he hadn’t joined hands with Chen San, with Ye Qing’s own strength alone, Wang Tian’an truly needed but a single finger to crush the forces of Shenchuan City entirely. The gap between Ye Qing and Wang Tian’an was indeed staggering!

The members of Sha Men beside him were also astounded; Wang Tian’an had so many masters under his command, which was far more than the number of masters in Sha Men at its pinnacle. How did Wang Tian’an enlist so many skilled fighters over these twenty years? No wonder he dared to challenge Helian Tiehua. Even if Helian Tiehua were a Northeastern tiger, it stood no chance against several hundred jackals!

”Dammit, what’s the big deal with having over three hundred masters?” Ghost King Li Ruoyuan suddenly exclaimed angrily, fuming: ”It’s only just over three hundred people. If I kill one each day, I’ll have you all finished off within a year. Someday, I will personally take the life of that beast Wang Tian’an!”

”If you want to kill him with your own hands, then you’ll have to wait in line!” Black Asura said coldly, ”Today, he got away quickly; otherwise, I would have made sure to meet him personally!”

The members of Sha Men harbored a deep grudge against Wang Tian’an. After all, the near annihilation of Sha Men ten years ago was orchestrated by Wang Tian’an from behind the scenes. One could say that it was Wang Tian’an who caused the death of so many members of Sha Men. The resentment they held against the Xihang Shen Family was analogous to the hatred they now felt toward Wang Tian’an—or perhaps, they harbored even greater animosity towards Wang Tian’an, considering he almost exterminated them last time!

”Enough talk, let’s kill these few first, and recoup some interest!” Demon Queen He Qinghua commanded coldly, raising her hand to strike down upon the six subordinates of Wang Tian’an.

”Wait a moment!” Ye Qing hastily stopped her.

”What is it?” He Qinghua glared at Ye Qing and asked, ”Do you still have something you haven’t asked?”

”No,” Ye Qing shook his head, looked at the six helpless men and said solemnly, ”If I give you another chance, provide you with some money, and let you leave the Southern Six Provinces, would you still be willing to risk your lives for Wang Tian’an?”

The six looked at each other. One of them hesitated before replying softly, ”Mr. Ye, you are a good man, and I don’t want to deceive you. If you let us go... we can’t guarantee what might happen in the future!”

”Damn it, did you hear that, did you hear that! This is what you get for kindness!” Ghost King Li Ruoyuan instantly started shouting out loud, ”Look, if you let them go, they would run back and serve that bastard Wang Tian’an. Little Leaf, your tactic simply doesn’t work. I’ve told you, if you want to uproot the grass, make sure no root remains; when doing something, make sure there are no lingering threats. Being wishy-wishy like a woman, you’ll never achieve anything great. Stop the nonsense, just kill them!”

Ye Qing furrowed his brows tightly and said solemnly, ”Do you really want to follow Wang Tian’an in committing such heinous acts against the heavens and reason?”

”We don’t want to either!” One of them said with a mournful face, ”When we first sought out Wang Tian’an, he only asked us to be his bodyguards, and we never thought about killing people. Plus, the salary Wang Tian’an offered was high, and he taught us a lot of other martial skills, which greatly improved our strength, so we started working for him. However, later he asked us to kill, and when we refused, he poisoned our food to control us. We were forced into this. Over the years, we have committed too many atrocities under Wang Tian’an’s command. It’s not just you; even we feel guilty in our hearts. But we are also helpless, even if you let us go, we still have to obediently return to Wang Tian’an. The pain when the poison acts up is more unbearable than death itself.”

”Mr. Ye, perhaps... perhaps you should just kill us...” Another person shivered and said, ”A prolonged pain is worse than a short one, living like this, it’s... it’s better to just die!”

”Yes, better to just die!” Yet another person added.

All six of Wang Tian’an’s subordinates looked at Ye Qing with the same gaze, each wearing an expression that begged for death. It was clear that they truly didn’t want to be controlled by Wang Tian’an anymore.

”What poison is it, that it can be so powerful?” Cui Yu couldn’t help asking.

”Indeed, if it’s poison, why aren’t you dead?” Ghost King Li Ruoyuan said, ”I warn you, don’t try to deceive us with lies. Otherwise, I will make sure you die an ugly death!”

The six men looked at each other, and one of them said with a trembling voice, ”It’s… it’s… the Heart-devouring Bug...”

”Heart-devouring Bug!” Members of the Sha Men all took in a breath of cold air and their complexions greatly changed, even Black Asura couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

”What’s going on?” Ye Qing turned his head in surprise and asked, ”What about this Heart-devouring Bug?”

”Wang Tian’an actually used the Heart-devouring Bug on you?” Cui Yu’s face turned icy as he spoke to Ye Qing in a heavy tone, ”The Heart-devouring Bug, it is said to have been cultivated by Ning Qianshu, a kind of Gu insect that can live inside the body. This type of Gu insect normally resides within the body just like any ordinary parasite. As long as you feed it regularly, it won’t cause any trouble. However, if you stop feeding it, or for some other reason you agitate the Heart-devouring Bug, they will begin to consume the person’s internal organs. The process of consumption is the most excruciating and unbearable. No matter how brave or valorous you are, once your internal organs are being consumed by this bug, you’ll be no different from a beggar, desperately wishing for someone to kill you. Therefore, this Gu insect is the most vicious and best at controlling people among all poisons created by Ning Qianshu.”

After hearing about the Heart-devouring Bug, Ye Qing’s expression also changed. He hadn’t expected the Heart-devouring Bug to be so terrifying. According to Cui Yu, the reason that Wang Tian’an could control so many people was entirely due to this Heart-devouring Bug!

”Wang Tian’an, that bastard, is truly despicable in his tactics!” Ghost King Li Ruoyuan said indignantly: ”Last time he used the Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder, this time it’s the Heart-devouring Bug. Damn, he really hasn’t wasted any of the things Ning Qianshu taught him!”

Cui Yu frowned deeply, Wang Tian’an’s personal strength wasn’t actually that impressive, and Cui Yulong could easily kill him with a flip of his hand. However, the key issue was that he was a disciple of Ning Qianshu, and it seemed he truly acquired Ning Qianshu’s genuine techniques. The Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder and the Heart-devouring Bug both appeared in his hands, which was the most worrying thing. If you’re not careful and get poisoned by him, then you’re really finished. The most troublesome part is, if you don’t die and end up being controlled by him, that’s even worse than death!

”Is there really no way to cure this Heart-devouring Bug?” Ye Qing asked.

The members of Sha Men looked at each other and shook their heads in unison. Cui Yu said in a deep voice, ”I think, aside from Sai Hua Tuo Baili Xi and King Yan Ning Qianshu, nobody else could possibly cure this Gu insect.”

”Impossible, right?” Ye Qing widened his eyes and said, ”If it really is so, then why did Ning Qianshu go to such lengths to fight back then? Couldn’t he have just slipped Heart-devouring Bugs into the food of those peak masters and controlled them? If people like the King of North-South Boxing and Helian Tiehua were controlled by him, then who could stand against him?”

”That...” Cui Yu scratched his head and said, ”If it were really possible to do so, Ning Qianshu certainly wouldn’t have failed to act. However, I’ve heard from the Sect Leader before that when someone’s strength reaches a certain level, they become immune to all poisons. I think those people must be immune to all poisons, that’s why Ning Qianshu couldn’t control them with poison!”