Chapter 628 - 628 Falling into the Abyss
Just as Xu Cunzhi fell silent, a car suddenly drove up from a distance.
Everyone turned their heads to look, and Xu Cunzhi was somewhat surprised as he watched the person who got out of the car and exclaimed, "Big brother, why are you here?"
The man who stepped out of the car was Xu Cunxiao, with a smile on his face, he said, "I came to check things out!"
Xu Cunzhi was even more surprised; interacting with the Beggar King was something he always handled. Due to his special status, Xu Cunxiao generally didn't show up in person; what prompted him to suddenly appear today?
The Beggar King also recognized Xu Cunxiao and certainly knew that Xu Cunxiao's status was even higher than Xu Cunzhi's. Seeing him come over, he quickly bent over and greeted, "Big brother!"
"Hehe..." Xu Cunxiao chuckled softly, walked up to the Beggar King, and without a word, suddenly extended his hand to grab the Beggar King's neck.
The Beggar King was utterly powerless to resist and was picked up by the scruff of the neck by Xu Cunxiao. His hands flailed helplessly but were unable to break free from Xu Cunxiao's grip.
"Big brother, what are you doing?" Xu Cunzhi asked in shock: "He's one of ours!"
Without saying a word, Xu Cunxiao pulled out a dagger and plunged it directly into the Beggar King's heart. The Beggar King's resistance faltered, and he collapsed on the ground, his life of misdeeds finally at an end.
The Beggar King's few subordinates were dumbstruck, none of them had expected that accompanying the Beggar King here would result in such an outcome.
Xu Cunxiao took a towel from his body and meticulously wiped the bloodstains off his hands.
"Big brother!" Xu Cunzhi approached him and anxiously asked, "What in the world happened?"
Xu Cunxiao ignored him and simply waved his hand, saying, "It's taken care of!"
The several men standing behind Xu Cunxiao immediately rushed forward and killed all of the Beggar King's subordinates, leaving none behind, much to Xu Cunzhi's utter astonishment.
"Big brother, what exactly happened?" Xu Cunzhi grabbed Xu Cunxiao's shoulder and asked loudly.
"Tianhui City's territory is gone, there's no point in keeping these people around any longer!" Xu Cunxiao looked at the several corpses on the ground and said, "They knew too much, they had to die. Otherwise, someone might follow the trail back to us, and then our plans would be ruined!"
"I was already preparing to pull them back, no one would find them, how could anyone trace it back to us?" Xu Cunzhi said.
Xu Cunxiao glanced at him and replied, "You're still too soft-hearted. Remember what I've said? He who seeks great power must step over bones. I'd rather be blamed by everyone than let everyone down. Killing him removes the problem once and for all, and no one will know anything about it. Not killing him leaves a huge risk, and we might be found out at any moment. For me, even a one in ten thousand chance of error is not permissible!"
Xu Cunzhi opened his mouth but after a long time, he still couldn't utter a single word. He was acutely aware of just how much Xu Cunxiao had sacrificed for the plan.
"Besides, how can you be sure that no one will track this down?" Xu Cunxiao glanced at the Beggar King's two cars and waved his hand, "Go check them!"
Several men behind Xu Cunxiao immediately went to examine the two cars, while Xu Cunzhi stood there with a look of astonishment, saying, "What's going on? Big brother, what are you doing?"
Xu Cunxiao gave a cold laugh and said, "That remaining scion of the Huangfu Household has been following you all along, an affair she didn't need to meddle in. If she's been on your tail, that only points to one thing—the Ye's are also following."
"What?" Xu Cunzhi was greatly shocked, turning his head to stare in amazement at the two cars.
Under one of the cars, Ye Qing too was startled by Xu Cunxiao's words. He didn't know the identity of this man, but seeing him arrive and swiftly kill the Beggar King and his subordinates, it was clear this man was ruthless. Now, he was even beginning to inspect the two vehicles, and it seemed Ye Qing couldn't escape detection either.
Watching several men searching the trunk and such, Ye Qing knew they would eventually check under the car for him. Instead of waiting to be caught, he decided to take the initiative and look for a chance to escape. He had witnessed Xu Cunxiao's method of slaying the Beggar King and knew this man was not to be trifled with. That's why he had no intention of taking these men head-on.
As one man stopped by the car and slowly squatted down, Ye Qing suddenly reached out, grabbed his ankle, and with one fierce pull, dragged the man under the car.
"Ah!" The man screamed, immediately drawing the attention of the others who turned their heads in astonishment.
And at that very moment, Ye Qing burst out from underneath the car and bolted straight for the slopes behind them. The road in front had been blocked by Xu Cunxiao and Xu Changzhi, so he had no choice but to run towards the mountains. Having served in the military in mountainous terrain, climbing was actually easier for him.
Seeing Ye Qing emerge, Xu Cunzhi's expression changed drastically. He hadn't expected Xu Cunxiao to be right—Ye Qing was really hiding here!
"Don't let him get away!" Xu Cunzhi bellowed, charging after him.
"Heh heh heh..." Xu Cunxiao sneered a few times, following Xu Cunzhi as they chased after.
Ye Qing didn't look back and headed straight for the mountain top. The mountain path was rugged, but for him, it wasn't much different from flat ground; he ran up at an extremely fast pace.
However, Xu Cunzhi and Xu Cunxiao who were behind him were no less formidable. Both of them were very strong, climbing the mountain as if walking on level ground, and they were closing the distance on Ye Qing increasingly quickly.
Sensing the footsteps of the two men behind him, Ye Qing knew his speed was no match for them. As he ran up the mountain, he observed the surrounding terrain. The mountain path was cluttered with rocks, which were hindrances to climbing, but at this moment these were very useful for Ye Qing.
Ye Qing hurriedly ran a few steps, lifted his foot, and kicked a basketball-sized rock down the slope. The rock rolled down the path, crashing towards Xu Cunxiao and Xu Cunzhi who were behind him.
The two of them hurriedly dodged, but this caused them to pause slightly. On the mountain, as Ye Qing ran, he kept kicking these rocks. The two men had to dodge, which greatly slowed their pace, thus widening the gap with Ye Qing. However, while they managed to dodge, their underlings weren't so lucky, as several who were following behind got struck by the rocks and tumbled down.
Seeing this, Xu Cunzhi couldn't help but yell furiously, "Ye, if you're so brave, don't run! Dare you fight me? Today, I must kill you!"
Ye Qing ignored him and kicked down two more rocks as his response.
Xu Cunzhi had no choice but to avoid them, almost bursting with rage, he continued to curse loudly as he sprinted up the path.
It didn't take long for Ye Qing to reach the top of the mountain. But there was no way to continue running ahead, as it was a steep cliff with no path to take, so he could only descend from the other mountain path.
Ye Qing didn't hesitate and turned towards that direction to run. However, after taking only a few steps, he saw two figures running one after another up the mountain path. Both were moving extremely fast, clearly not ordinary weaklings.
It was dark, Ye Qing couldn't make out their faces at all, but he knew the situation wasn't good. He didn't dare to descend this way and turned to find another route down the mountain. By this time, Xu Cunxiao and Xu Cunzhi had already reached the top, blocking his way directly.
As soon as Xu Cunzhi saw Ye Qing, he immediately charged at him, throwing punches without a word.
Ye Qing couldn't escape and had to fight Xu Cunzhi. Just as they clashed, Ye Qing was forced several steps back by a punch, his right arm in so much pain that he couldn't lift it!
After exchanging a blow with Ye Qing, Xu Cunzhi sneered, "Hmph, some successor of the Northern Fist King, can't even manage an Internal Energy Release, you're just trash after all!"
Ye Qing's expression changed. Internal Energy Release was something Du Tianyi had done before, and Ye Qing had seen it. However, when Du Tianyi fought with him, Du Tianyi was more restrained in his attacks. Moreover, due to his young age, Du Tianyi's Inner Strength wasn't very strong, so Ye Qing hadn't felt much. But just now, in the exchange with Xu Cunzhi, Ye Qing fully realized the terror of Internal Energy Release.
When Ye Qing and Xu Cunzhi exchanged punches, the disparity in strength between them wasn't significant. However, when their fists collided, Ye Qing felt a surge of Vigor Power rush out from Xu Cunzhi's fist, blasting right onto his own arm, almost breaking it.
Could this be the real power of Internal Energy Release?
Ye Qing looked at Xu Cunzhi shocked, clearly understanding the situation. Unable to execute Internal Energy Release, he was no match for Xu Cunzhi in any way. This fight was likely to cause him a great loss.
Xu Cunxiao saw the other two rushing up the path and felt anxious, saying, "Second brother, stop wasting words with him, kill him!"
Without saying another word, Xu Cunzhi immediately lunged at Ye Qing.
As the two engaged again, Xu Cunzhi's moves were simple, but he could release his Inner Strength through his fists. The force of the punches mostly landed on Ye Qing, and in just a few hits, Ye Qing was spitting blood, his situation becoming very critical.
At this moment, the other two were nearly there as well. The person in front was none other than Huangfu Ziyu. From afar, she saw Ye Qing fighting Xu Cunzhi and her face also changed dramatically, shouting anxiously, "Ye Qing! Ye Qing!"
"Miss Huangfu?" Ye Qing turned his head in surprise. He hadn't seen clearly who was approaching and didn't know it was Huangfu Ziyu. Otherwise, he would have certainly descended from there and wouldn't have been caught up by Xu Cunzhi and Xu Cunxiao.
"Kill him!" Xu Cunxiao bellowed and charged forward to join Xu Cunzhi in confronting Ye Qing. He was well aware that once Huangfu Ziyu arrived, she would definitely protect Ye Qing.
Xu Cunzhi and Xu Cunxiao attacked together, making Ye Qing even less able to defend himself. He received several punches from the pair, retreating step by step until he was right next to the cliff.
"Ye Qing, be careful!" Huangfu Ziyu had run up and seeing the situation, she couldn't help but cry out in alarm.
But it was already too late when she spoke. Xu Cunxiao kicked out, hitting Ye Qing in the chest, sending him tumbling down the cliff due to his inability to steady himself.
"Ye Qing!" Huangfu Ziyu exclaimed, leaping down after him.