Chapter 103: Chapter 102: Humiliate and Torture You to Death
This was followed by boundless rage. ’This man... how dare he find a little brat worse than trash to humiliate me!’
Watermelon chuckled and scampered over. "Martial Uncle, I love this kind of work! Hehehe, this is a... a Celestial Level expert! Heavens, I’ve never seen a Celestial Level expert up close before. Let me see... This is awesome! But he still just has one nose and two eyes, huh? Hmm? You dare glare at me? You old bastard, you dare glare at the great Gang Leader Watermelon! Martial Uncle, can I do whatever I want to him?"
"Mm, do as you please. I wouldn’t mind even if you stripped him naked and hung him outside for everyone to see," Qin Li said casually.
"You little bastard! How dare you insult me like this! A warrior can be killed, but not humiliated... If you have the guts, then kill me!"
"Are you stupid? You old coot, with a mug like yours, you call yourself a Celestial Level master? You’re a disgrace to all Celestial Level masters! I’ve always admired Martial Artists of that level, you know. And you’re still glaring at me..."
SLAP!
"Still glaring?"
SLAP!
"Still glaring?"
SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!
"You old bastard, you glare at me again and I’ll cut your dick off, you believe me?" Watermelon slapped the black-clad man’s old face until it was swollen like a pig’s head. He wasn’t using much force, though; it was mostly for humiliation. Only the last few slaps were vicious.
As he spoke, Watermelon stood up. "Anyone got a dull knife? I’m afraid a sharp one would be too quick, he wouldn’t feel it..."
Bu Yunyan and Leng Yao both spat in disgust and turned away, standing at a distance. Despite the huge commotion, no one came out to watch. The small inn had been booked out by their group, so there were no other guests.
Watermelon walked to the side and picked up half a brick. Hu asked in confusion, "What are you doing with a brick?"
"Couldn’t find a dull knife. I’ll just smash him with the brick!"
PFFT...
Even Qin Li almost couldn’t hold back a laugh. ’I really did pick the right person for the job by sending Watermelon to do this!’ he thought. ’The kid is not only ruthless, but his endless bag of tricks is nasty enough!’
The black-clad old man felt the urge to faint, but he remained painfully conscious. Watching the demonic boy approach with a brick in hand and a wicked grin, he roared in shame and fury, "Kid, if you don’t kill me today, I will slaughter your entire clan! I’ll pay you back tenfold!"
"Fuck you!"
Watermelon swung the brick and slammed it hard onto the black-clad man’s nose. Even a Celestial Level Martial Artist has weak spots. Moreover, his pressure points had been sealed by Qin Li, disrupting his Primordial Power and preventing him from forming his Protective Gang Qi. Relying on physical toughness alone, especially on a fragile nose, how could he possibly withstand the force of a brick?
"Next, the eyes!" Watermelon said, giving the old man no chance to react. He turned the brick on its side and smashed it viciously toward the old man’s eyes. The old man was instantly scared out of his wits. The boy’s methods were so vicious they were terrifying!
For the first time in his life, he felt this kind of fear toward someone far weaker than himself. He hadn’t even felt this much fear toward Qin Li, who had personally defeated him. He felt Qin Li had won with a sneak attack, a dishonorable victory. He didn’t stop to think that he himself had been sneaking around trying to assassinate someone.
People are always lenient with themselves and harsh with others.
"Stop!"
The brick was incredibly fast. By the time Qin Li spoke, it was already pressed against the black-clad man’s closed eyelid, having stopped just in the nick of time.
If Qin Li had shouted a split second later, the old man’s eye would have been ruined.
"Heh, that’s about enough, Watermelon. He’s a Celestial Level Martial Artist, after all. The moves you’re using are straight out of a street thug’s playbook."
At that moment, Qin Li’s voice sounded like a gift from the heavens to the old man. He opened his eyes, a hint of gratitude in his gaze toward Qin Li. Just as he was about to ask Qin Li for a quick death, he heard him say, "You’re using the wrong method. It’s too unsophisticated. It looks violent, sure, but the only consequence is that he looks miserable. You need to learn some more High Level techniques. Want me to teach you?"
"Yes, yes... Martial Uncle, you know I’m not very cultured." Watermelon hung his head in shame, his expression looking as genuine as could be.
Hu, Bu Yunyan, and Leng Yao stared dumbfounded at the two—an uncle and nephew of the same age—as if petrified, their minds almost unable to process what they were seeing. These weren’t two teenagers; they were clearly two demons with horns sprouting from their heads!
The black-clad old man was so enraged that he finally spat out a mouthful of blood and shrieked, "Qin Li, for humiliating a Celestial Level expert like this, you will die a horrible death!"
"So what if I humiliate you? What are you going to do about it?" Qin Li crouched in front of the old man, grabbed the brick Watermelon had tossed aside, and suddenly smashed it viciously into the man’s eye.
A blood-curdling scream pierced the night sky. The black-clad old man fainted from the excruciating pain.
Watermelon and the others were stunned into silence. Watermelon muttered, "Martial Uncle, didn’t you say that was unsophisticated? That it was too violent?"
Qin Li tossed the brick aside. His fingers flew as he tapped a few more points on the black-clad man’s body, stopping the bleeding from his lower limbs. He said coolly, "Against a stubbornly idiotic moron like this, this is the only move that works."
With that, he stood up, glanced at the quiet surroundings, and said, "Throw him in a carriage. Let’s go!"
At this point, a worried Bu Yunyan walked over and said softly, "Qin Li, won’t this... expose us?"
A cold smirk touched Qin Li’s lips. "You think we wouldn’t be exposed if we didn’t do this? Since they could send one person, they can send a second, and a third. Don’t worry, I know what to do when we reach the Imperial Capital. Tomorrow, there’s a city a hundred li ahead. I’ll make a mask for each of you there. After you put on your Disguise, we’ll split up. I’ll stay with this Celestial Level master, and the rest of you will scatter. It would be best if you could blend into some merchant caravans. After you get to the Imperial Capital, don’t meet up for a while. Take the silver, buy a residence at the place we Agreed Upon, and if you can secure a storefront, that would be even better. Don’t be in a rush to expand. Once I’ve handled things on my end, we can pursue our development out in the open."
"Will that... work?" Bu Yunyan stared at Qin Li. "Won’t it be too dangerous?"
Qin Li smiled. "Staying together is the real danger. Trust me, my promise to you won’t change."
"Are you sure he was sent by the Crown Prince?" Leng Yao asked softly.
"Ninety percent sure." Qin Li glanced at the black-clad old man, who had been tossed into a carriage by Watermelon, and said, "Some people will never learn their lesson unless you truly make them hurt."
「Three days later.」
On the official road to the Imperial Capital, a lone carriage traveled. The driver kept glancing back at the tightly shut carriage door, his heart filled with regret. ’Why did I get greedy for a bit of silver and take this job? The old man inside is terrifying—blind in one eye, two broken legs, and he spent the entire journey endlessly cursing the young man. But the young man is even more terrifying. Whenever the old man started, he would use some unknown method to make him scream madly, constantly begging to be killed.
’After this trip, I’m quitting this line of work for good! I have to find a place to hide. Anyway, the silver that boy gave me is enough to retire on,’ the driver thought to himself.
In these past few days, aside from constantly using the Celestial Level Martial Artist for experiments, Qin Li hadn’t interrogated him at all.
Qin Li still had many questions about the Innate Purple Qi in his body. Now, with a Celestial Level Martial Artist as his enemy right in front of him, how could he possibly let the opportunity go?
Some might call Qin Li cruel, saying that a quick death is all that’s required, that he should have just killed the man. But Qin Li didn’t care what others thought of him. ’Why is it that you can try to kill me, but I can’t torture you? Can’t humiliate you?
’Why should I have to be some honorable gentleman? I never was one.’
The meridians inside the black-clad old man’s body had long been shattered inch by inch by the Innate Purple Qi. Even if he survived, he was now a complete cripple.
But through his experiments, Qin Li discovered something that pleasantly surprised him: the Innate Purple Qi could actually repair the old man’s shattered meridians!
This was an absolutely heaven-defying ability!
Although he couldn’t completely repair the meridians of a Celestial Level Martial Artist with his current strength, as long as he continued to cultivate, there would come a day when Qin Li would possess a Skill that would drive the entire Celestial Essence Continent into a frenzy and make it Tremble!
Right now, by exhausting all the Innate Purple Qi in his body, Qin Li could barely repair one-third of the black-clad old man’s meridians. After that, he needed three or four days to recover.
And each time he recovered, the Innate Purple Qi in his body would become more abundant and purer than before.
As for the black-clad old man, this dignified Celestial Level Martial Artist had truly drawn the worst luck of eight lifetimes. During the twenty-odd-day journey to the Imperial Capital, his meridians were shattered and repaired, then repaired and shattered again. This torment was repeated three or four times.
By the time the massive, towering walls of the Imperial Capital appeared on the horizon, the black-clad old man had been tortured until his eyes were vacant, with barely a breath left in him.
Qin Li sat across from him with a grin. "Look, we’re almost at the Imperial Capital. You’re about to see your master. Aren’t you excited? I bet you’re thrilled!"
The black-clad old man said nothing, his gaze vacant.
"That spineless Zhao Xinghe really is willing to spend, isn’t he? I bet he doesn’t have many Celestial Level experts under his command. Tell me, if I were to hang you from the tall, ancient, and solemn gates of the Imperial Capital, would he be even more excited than you?"
"You beast!" The black-clad old man’s eyes snapped open. At this point, he no longer denied his identity. His remaining eye shot out a look of venomous hatred. "His Highness will avenge me! Qin Li, you will be torn to a million pieces! You will die without a burial place!"
"Is that so?" Qin Li gave a deceptively simple pout. "Well then, let’s just see about that!"
