Chapter 709 - 709: 709
Shen San clenched his fist as he spoke and charged at Ye Qing with a swift arrow step, reaching him before Ye Qing could react. Just as Ye Qing tried to block, it was already too late; Shen San threw a punch directly at his chest, sending Ye Qing flying five or six meters backward, where he heavily fell at the doorway.
"Ye Zi!" Du Tianyi exclaimed in alarm, quickly turning around to help Ye Qing up.
Ye Qing's face turned crimson as he vomited two mouthfuls of fresh blood, finally managing to suppress the turmoil of blood and Qi in his chest. Shen San's strength was far superior to that of people like Xu Cunzhi. Just one punch had already inflicted severe injuries on Ye Qing!
"I thought you were some kind of expert, but it turns out this is all the strength you have!" Shen San looked at Ye Qing arrogantly and said coldly, "With such little ability, you dared to sneak attack the people of the Shen family? Hmph, it seems the Northern Li Family truly has no one left!"
"Senior Shen, can't you be reasonable!" Du Tianyi turned around, glaring angrily at Shen San, "We came all the way to Xi Hang with good intentions, just to deliver a message and for the benefit of your Shen Family. Yet, you didn't listen to a word we said, and instead insisted we were harming your Shen Family. How does that make sense?"
"Du Tianyi, I am giving you some face because you are Old Tie's disciple, but don't push it too far!" Shen San responded coldly, "The grievances between this Ye Qing and our Shen Family must be resolved today. If you keep defending him, don't blame me for being impolite to you too!"
"How exactly will you be impolite?" Du Tianyi stood up aggressively, speaking loudly, "At worst, kill me too. Today I've seen it clearly; the so-called Martial Arts Holy Land of the Xihang Shen Family is worth nothing. Unable to distinguish right from wrong, black from white, no wonder you face such a disaster. Well, let it be, as if we never came. I want to see how much longer the Xihang Shen Family can keep laughing!"
"Ignorant boy, so presumptuous!" Shen San said angrily, "Du Tianyi, you dare to insult my Shen Family so blatantly. Today, I won't tolerate you!"
As he said that, Shen San suddenly ran over, raising his fist and punching towards Du Tianyi.
Du Tianyi quickly assumed a defensive stance, extending his hands to block Shen San's fist. However, his strength was nowhere near Shen San's level. Despite hitting Shen San's arm, he couldn't disturb Shen San in the slightest. Shen San's punch still hit his chest, sending him flying as well.
Seeing this, Ye Qing couldn't contain his anger and forcefully grabbed Shen San's ankle, pressing down to trip him. But Shen San's strength was too great, his feet rooted to the ground like two pillars, immovable. On the contrary, Shen San kicked his chest, sending Ye Qing flying out to crash beside Du Tianyi.
Ye Qing vomited several more mouthfuls of fresh blood, and together with Du Tianyi, they supported each other to stand up. Both their injuries were severe, making them wobble as they stood.
The people of the Shen Family, however, had cold smiles on their faces. To them, Ye Qing was a major enemy of the Shen Family, a man who must be killed. And since Du Tianyi kept helping Ye Qing, he might very well be Ye Qing's accomplice, so they had no intention of showing leniency toward Du Tianyi either.
"Remember in your next life, our Xihang Shen Family is not a place you can insult at will!" Shen San walked slowly towards Ye Qing, sneering, "Also, if you are reincarnated, make sure you have nothing to do with the Northern Li Family. Otherwise, you may well die at the hands of our Xihang Shen Family again!"
Ye Qing clenched his teeth, glaring at the ferocious Shen San, suddenly spitting a mouthful of fresh blood on his face.
Shen San didn't expect Ye Qing to spit at him and was caught off guard by the blood splattering on his face. He paused in shock, then roared in rage, kicking Ye Qing's chest and sending him flying several meters back to the ground, gasping for breath.
"Seeking death!" Shen San, furious, ran over and raised his foot to kick at Ye Qing's head.
Just then, someone from behind suddenly said, "Third Brother, don't kill him yet!"
Shen San turned around. A man was slowly approaching, and Shen San, surprised, asked, "Why not kill him? Fifth Brother, you don't believe his nonsense, do you?"
"Of course not!" Fifth Brother laughed and said, "Third Brother, just killing such a weakling directly, when word gets out, wouldn't it seem like our Shen Family is oppressing the weak? Moreover, killing him directly serves no purpose and only satisfies our anger without intimidating those who dare challenge our Shen Family!"
"So what do you suggest?" Shen San asked curiously.
"Sha Men's people are about to enter Xi Hang, and since Cui Yulong could give the Seven-Star Ancient Sword to this Mr. Ye, their relationship must be quite good," Fifth Brother smiled, "With that in mind, let's set a trap for Cui Yulong."
"Set a trap?" Shen San was greatly surprised, and the other members of the Shen Family were also puzzled, not comprehending what Fifth Brother was proposing.
Fifth Brother smiled faintly and said, "Let's tie up this Ye and hang him above the doorway in the Eight Trigrams Array. First, it will serve as a warning to those who dare to challenge the Shen Family, showing them the consequences of challenging us. Second, when Cui Yulong arrives and sees this situation, he will definitely try to save Ye Qing. Once he enters our Eight Trigrams Array, will he be able to get out?"
The people of the Shen Family suddenly realized and praised Fifth Brother for his ingenious strategy, even Shen San couldn't help but sneer continuously.
Ye Qing, however, was furious and roared, "Despicable, shameless, is this the way the people of the Shen Family behave?"
"Compared to those demon-like murderers who don't even blink when they kill, what's so despicable and shameless? Killing them is the best method!" Shen San said with a wave of his hand, "Tie them both up and hang them above the Eight Trigrams Array. Oh, and gag him; don't let him bite his tongue to commit suicide. I want to properly kill the prestige of the Northern Li Family!"
Immediately, several people rushed over and lifted Ye Qing and Du Tianyi. Just as they were about to take Du Tianyi away, Fifth Brother hurriedly said, "Third Brother, Ye Qing can be hung there, but Du Tianyi cannot!"
"Why?" Shen San asked curiously.
"Du Tianyi, after all, is the closed-door disciple of Tie Yongwen of Old Master Tie, he's not an ordinary person!" Fifth Brother said, "Although Old Mr. Tie is no longer with us, our Shen Family has always had a good relationship with him. Even if this Du Tianyi helped outsiders against our Shen Family, we cannot treat him like this. Otherwise, if it gets out, won't people say that our Shen Family is ungrateful?"
Hearing this, Shen San quickly nodded and said, "Exactly, exactly, you're right, you're right, we almost gave people something to talk about. But if we can't hang this young man out there, how should we deal with him, are we supposed to find someone to bandage and treat him?"
"Of course not!" Fifth Brother said with a laugh, "Perhaps, we could temporarily lock him in the dungeon. Once this issue is resolved, we'll settle his matter slowly!"
After pondering for a moment, Shen San nodded and said, "Fine, let's first lock Du Tianyi in the dungeon and hang Ye Qing in the Eight Bagua Formations!"
Several servants of the Shen Family immediately came over and tightly bound Ye Qing and Du Tianyi, taking them away respectively.
Du Tianyi was taken to the dungeon, and fortunately, to keep him alive, someone from the Shen Family administered some medicine to him, temporarily alleviating his injuries. However, for Ye Qing, the people of the Shen Family did not give him any medicine but instead tied his hands and hung him directly above the stone pile outside.
Ye Qing's internal injuries inflicted by Xu Cunzhi had not yet healed, and now he was further injured by Shen San, causing his True Qi to become chaotic. Now, without proper care and being hung by his hands, he couldn't channel his energy to heal, and his True Qi became more and more chaotic. Ye Qing felt completely devoid of strength throughout his body, utterly at the mercy of others.
Now he truly understood why the Martial Arts Holy Land of the Southern Six Provinces was so hated by many people. Lin Zhen Nan was right; coming to the Shen Family was indeed not a correct decision. These people of the Shen Family wouldn't reason with anyone!
Ye Qing had thought that a prominent family like this would be more reasonable, but he never expected that his arrival here would result in such treatment. Watching the people of the Shen Family standing below sneering, Ye Qing felt his anger boiling, but he had absolutely no strength to change the situation; his chest was tumultuous, draining even his ability to speak.
Having been hung there for an entire afternoon, Ye Qing was completely drained of strength, and was already at death's door. Besides mocking and cursing him, those who passed by from the Shen Family mostly ignored him, let alone offered him water or medicine.
As dusk approached, just as Ye Qing neared unconsciousness, suddenly, a crisp voice came from afar, revitalizing Ye Qing's spirit. Because, the voice sounded very familiar.
"This one is called a sunflower; it only blooms when there is sunlight. Now that the sun has set, the blossoms will close, and they will bloom again when the sun rises tomorrow!"
A girl's voice, crisp and soft, melodious and sweet. As she spoke, her tone was filled with sweetness and tenderness.
Struggling to open his eyes, Ye Qing saw two girls approaching from afar. One of them was holding a pot containing a sunflower, a plant commonly seen everywhere. However, she was handling it with utmost care, as if fearing the pot might fall.
The girl's features were stunningly beautiful, even more beautiful by a notch than Huangfu Ziyu. Her entire presence was like an exquisitely crafted piece of art, breathtakingly beautiful, making any beholder's heart skip a beat at first sight. Her beauty was not the enchanting allure of Huangfu Ziyu, but it was equally thrilling and awe-inspiring.
This girl was none other than Shen Qingyi, the only beloved daughter of the Shen Family that Ye Qing had met in Shenchuan City, and the favorite of Old Madame Shen!