Kill Them

Ye Qiang was feeling extremely embarrassed at this moment.

Not only had he exposed himself naked in front of a beautiful woman, but now he was also standing there completely bare in front of a group of people who absolutely despised him.

Where was a man like him supposed to save face?

Ye Qiang gripped his red sword tightly, his deep eyes fixed on the scar-faced youth and the tall Gao Feng, not once looking away, even though he was still naked.

Ye Qiang was always vigilant when it came to his enemies. He couldn't afford to lower his guard, not even for a second. He didn't want to be ambushed and killed by Gao Feng or the others while distracted, especially in such a vulnerable state.

After hearing Gao Feng's words, Ye Qiang paused for a moment, then responded, "Brother Gao, if you want the Beast Heart, I am willing to hand it over. But there's one condition. If you can fulfill this condition, I will gladly give you the Savage Wolf King's Beast Heart."

Gao Feng, who had already experienced Ye Qiang's cunning tricks twice before, began to suspect that Ye Qiang might be trying to set him up again. Was he trying to get Gao Feng to release the members of the Blood Sword Sect? If that was the case, he would never agree.

So Gao Feng asked, "What is it you want?"

Ye Qiang's request, however, surprised everyone present.

"Kill those four!" Ye Qiang said seriously and firmly.

At those words, Li Zhi's face turned ashen. He never expected that Ye Qiang would ask for such a thing.

"Kill those four!" These words echoed in Li Zhi's mind over and over again.

"Kill those four!" These nine words could very well cost them their lives.

The power of language was truly terrifying. These words, invisible yet deadly, would leave a deep scar on their minds.

Li Zhi, seeing his three disciples shouting angrily at Ye Qiang in despair, could only stand frozen in disbelief.

One of his closest disciples asked, "Big Brother, what should we do now?"

Li Zhi was at a complete loss. He didn't know what to do.

Gao Feng and the scar-faced youth were equally confused, trying to figure out what Ye Qiang was up to. Why would he make such a request? Did they have some kind of personal grudge? What was his angle?

After a long moment of deep thought, Gao Feng, unable to figure it out, directly asked Ye Qiang, "They're all members of your Blood Sword Sect. Why are you doing this? Don't you fear the truth being exposed? Or do you have some other trick up your sleeve?"

Ye Qiang, with a faint smile, appeared lost in thought and said, "Brother Gao, don't misunderstand. You've seen me in action before. I'm sure you understand my skills quite well by now."

Gao Feng still felt that something was wrong but couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. He couldn't make sense of Ye Qiang's words, so he asked again, "Then why? What is it you want by having me kill them?"

Seeing Gao Feng's persistence, Ye Qiang finally sighed and said, "Since you're so insistent on knowing, let me tell you. I know that you are far more powerful than I am, and I'm not your match. After thinking about what you said earlier, I'm afraid that after I hand over the Beast Heart from the Savage Wolf King, you might not keep your promise and might take me captive as well."

"You mentioned that if you capture five Blood Sword Sect outer disciples, you'll get a mid-tier Earth-grade weapon. Now, look, there are four of them, plus me—five in total. So, for my own safety, I had to resort to this plan."

Gao Feng's expression froze for a moment, and the realization hit him hard.

After hearing Ye Qiang's reasoning, everyone present felt that his argument made perfect sense.

Even the usually silent and composed scar-faced youth didn't see any flaw in Ye Qiang's words.

As a result, the crowd's opinion of Ye Qiang shifted from seeing him as a cunning trickster to someone with a "ruthless and merciless" nature.

"Alright, I'll fulfill your request!" Gao Feng, the disciple of the Wujian Sword Sect, said swiftly, as he spoke directly to Ye Qiang. Then, holding his long sword, he turned and strode toward Li Zhi and the others.

Seeing Gao Feng approaching with the sword in hand, the mood of Li Zhi and his disciples became extremely unstable, but none of them begged for mercy. Their resolve was still somewhat admirable.

When Gao Feng, holding his long sword, was within five steps of Li Zhi and the others, he seemed like a merciless executioner. At that moment, Li Zhi suddenly signaled for his three disciples to stay silent and not make a sound. He himself then began to walk toward Gao Feng, the executioner-like figure, with heavy steps.

Li Zhi and his disciples had their hands bound by enchanted chains, which were tied into tight knots. Without any outside help, no matter how hard they struggled, it was useless.

When Li Zhi finally reached Gao Feng, he kneeled down in front of the imposing figure.

Gao Feng looked down at Li Zhi, sneering, and said forcefully, "Poor fool. It's useless to beg me. I'm doing this because your good brothers instructed me to."

At the edge of death, Li Zhi seemed to have gained some clarity. In a tone that was completely that of a weak man, he spoke to the tall Gao Feng, saying, "My brother didn't say he was afraid that you would keep us four alive to trade for the five of us, and get the Earth-grade mid-tier weapon. Would that be acceptable?"

After a pause, Li Zhi continued, "If you kill me, you can spare my brothers' lives. That way, you'll still have three captives to bring back to the sect and earn some rewards. Meanwhile, my fellow disciples won't have to worry about you keeping us alive to make a deal for a sword. Isn't this a win-win situation?"

After hearing Li Zhi's proposal, Gao Feng felt it made sense. He turned and looked at Ye Qiang, asking if he agreed to this plan.

Ye Qiang was surprised. He hadn't expected that Li Zhi, who was usually so petty and who would bully those weaker than him with the power his brother had in the Blood Sword Sect, would humble himself like this today. Despite being a narrow-minded, vengeful person, Li Zhi had now set aside his pride and kneeled before the loathsome Gao Feng to save his comrades.

There was a certain nobility in his actions, even though Ye Qiang didn't particularly care about it. No wonder so many were willing to follow him.

But what did this have to do with Ye Qiang?

In Ye Qiang's eyes, Li Zhi was inconsequential.

He wouldn't let someone who had been a constant troublemaker ruin his perfect plan.

So, Ye Qiang nodded to Gao Feng, signaling that he was willing to accept the proposal.

And thus, under the bright moonlight, in an open field…