Chapter 420: Saving Lives

"Who are you?!"

The other thugs stared in terror and shouted loudly.

Before they could react, they realized a cultivator had already drawn near.

This man was not tall, but moved with astonishing speed; golden light coiled around his fist, and with a single punch, he sent one thug spitting blood to the ground.

Another thug panicked and swung his knife at the shadow.

But halfway through the swing, his forearm was caught.

The man twisted hard, snapping the thug's forearm.

The thug screamed in pain, but before he could cry out more, he was kicked hard, his chest churning like a storm, spewing a mouthful of blood.

The last thug, a burly man with deeper cultivation, barely managed a few exchanges, but grew more terrified with each strike.

This unknown cultivator was clearly only at Qi Refinement, yet his aura was immensely thick, his movements swift and sharp, his fist techniques refined, and clearly of high rank.

Every time their fists clashed, he felt his own knuckles numb, as if his hand bones might shatter.

Under the opponent's fierce assault, he could only endure blows, unable to counter at all.

He had never been able to last long anyway; barely enduring these few strikes had already been his limit.

As expected, after a few more exchanges, his knuckles shattered, unbearable pain froze his movements, leaving an opening.

The opponent flashed sideways, struck upward from below, golden light exploding—his fist shattered the thug's arm.

The big man groaned in agony, turned to flee, but the ghostlike cultivator closed in again, kicking his leg clean off.

The big man crashed to the ground with a thud and fainted from pain.

In an instant, among the thugs, only Wang Lai remained.

At this moment, Wang Lai had extinguished the flames on his arm, but his right arm was charred black and hung limp, clearly severely injured, unable to grip his knife.

Wang Lai looked around, his face filled with fear, and hurriedly said:

"Who are you, cultivator?"

In the silent mine shaft, no one answered.

Wang Lai turned and ran, but after only a few steps, a golden sword-light flared, shot past, and pierced his right thigh.

Wang Lai staggered, fell to the ground, clutching his thigh and howling.

His right thigh had been pierced by the sword-light; on the wound, snow-white, flame-like spiritual energy slowly burned, causing him unbearable pain.

In just a few moments, Wang Lai and the other fierce thugs had all been brought down.

Lao Yutou could hardly believe it.

His eyes trembled, and he fell to his knees with a thud, tremblingly said:

"I don't know who you are, great one, please…"

He didn't finish—when he felt a pale, slender hand gently supporting his arm, lifting him up.

Three small figures appeared before him.

In the dim mine tunnel, Lao Yutou barely made out their faces, and was even more stunned.

The ones who had effortlessly subdued Wang Lai and the others were three small cultivators, delicate-featured and remarkably handsome.

"You… you are…"

Mo Hua raised a bronze waist token.

"We are from the Dao Ting Si."

This bronze waist token had been specially applied for him by Zhang Lan and Zhou Zhangsi in Tongxiancheng.

After all, traveling outside, having more identities meant more avenues.

Now, in this situation, the Dao Ting Si identity was perfectly useful.

Lao Yutou still found it hard to believe.

Could the Dao Ting Si really have such young cultivators?

But the token didn't seem fake, and they had no reason to deceive an old man like him.

Lao Yutou bowed his head deeply. "Thank you, three young lords."

Mo Hua stopped him from bowing and handed him a blood-stopping pill.

"Take this first, then meditate for a while."

Then he ran to Wang Er and Tang Wu, giving each of them a pill.

He had already probed them with his spiritual sense; both were merely unconscious, with scalp wounds and slight shock to their dantians, but no life-threatening injuries.

Afterward, Mo Hua strolled slowly toward Wang Lai.

Wang Lai's right arm was burned by Mo Hua's fireball technique, his right thigh pierced by Bai Zi Xi's sword-light; he leaned against the wall, drenched in sweat from pain.

He looked at Mo Hua, equally filled with disbelief.

He never imagined he'd be brought down by a few children.

What exactly were these brats?

How had they discovered him? How had they even appeared in the mine?

What did they truly want?

"You… you're from the Dao Ting Si?" Wang Lai asked through gritted teeth.

Mo Hua nodded.

"Then do you know... Zhao Diansi?" Wang Lai ventured cautiously.

Mo Hua raised an eyebrow. "You're familiar with Zhao Diansi?"

Wang Lai forced a smile. "Not very familiar, just a bit of acquaintance."

"Oh." Mo Hua's tone was laden with meaning.

Wang Lai couldn't quite see through Mo Hua's background, nor could he guess Mo Hua's thoughts; his divine sense couldn't penetrate him either, as if Mo Hua's entire person were shrouded in fog.

Wang Lai had no confidence, but still asked:

"Three little lords, may I ask what business brings you to this mine shaft?"

Mo Hua smiled a half-smile. "What do you think?"

Wang Lai said awkwardly, "Please enlighten me, my lord."

Mo Hua looked at him and said, "You're killing people!"

Wang Lai's expression changed, and he immediately shouted:

"Wronged, little lord, wronged!"

His right arm was burned and he couldn't move it, so he raised his left hand and pointed at Old Yu:

"It was them, they were trying to steal the Lu family's ore, I caught them, restrained them, and was about to send them to the Dao Ting Si to be dealt with…"

"These mine cultivators look honest, but they're actually treacherous at heart, greedy for small gains, capable of anything."

"Don't be fooled by them…"

Mo Hua was slightly taken aback.

This Wang Lai was truly a talent.

In just a moment, he'd come up with a whole set of arguments to twist the truth, frame and slander others.

No wonder he could get along so swimmingly in Nanyue City, and no wonder everyone called him "Wang Lai Pi."

Old Yu listened and grew furious, his finger trembling as he pointed at Wang Lai:

"You, you shameless bastard!"

There was no grudge between them; clearly it was Wang Lai who wanted to silence them by killing, yet he still tried to turn the tables and blame the victim.

Wang Lai gave a cold laugh and said nothing.

Mo Hua smiled, then said, "Wang Lai Pi."

Wang Lai's face changed drastically upon hearing this. "You know me?"

If he didn't know his background, he couldn't possibly know this nickname of his.

Wang Lai thought it over carefully, and a chill gradually rose in his heart. He narrowed his eyes and said:

"If that's the case, you know everything. You came for me from the start, and everything here, you've seen it all long ago?"

"More or less," Mo Hua said lightly.

Wang Lai said, "How much do you actually know?"

Mo Hua counted on his fingers:

"This month, you went to Yihong Lou seven times, robbed travelers twice, beat people up six times, ate five free meals, and the day before yesterday you gambled and lost ten and three-tenths spirit stones…"

Wang Lai was greatly shocked. "Impossible! How could you possibly know that!"

Mo Hua curled his lip.

I've been watching you every day, of course I know everything.

It's just that you stupid fool's divine sense is too weak to notice.

Naturally, Mo Hua wouldn't say any of this out loud; he merely revealed a profound and unfathomable smile, making Wang Lai even more impossible to read.

Wang Lai felt a tremor of fear in his heart. "What exactly do you want to do?"

Mo Hua said in a clear voice:

"I'll ask you a few questions. Answer honestly."

Wang Lai's gaze sharpened. "If I tell you, will you let me go?"

"You tell me, and I won't kill you—instead I'll drag you to the Dao Ting Si and let them deal with you. You don't tell me, and I'll slaughter you right now!"

Mo Hua threatened.

Wang Lai gave a cold laugh. "Even at the Dao Ting Si, wouldn't I still die?"

Mo Hua said, "Dying early and dying late are still different. Besides, don't you know Gu Diansi? Beg him for mercy, and maybe he'll let you off."

Wang Lai's eyes flickered, and he gave a cold snort:

"Since you know me so well, you should already know whatever you want to know. Why ask me?"

"Since you're asking me now, there must be some things you don't know."

"What you don't know, but I do, means I still have value—so you won't kill me!"

Wang Lai said with certainty.

Bai Zisheng said displeasedly, "He's still being stubborn."

Mo Hua gave him one last chance. "You really won't talk?"

Wang Lai scoffed, "Beat me to death and I still won't talk."

Mo Hua said, "Good! I admire your backbone!"

Then Mo Hua drew out the Yang Qianjun Rod, glanced at Bai Zisheng, and said:

"Beat him up."

Bai Zisheng's eyes lit up with excitement. He'd long wanted to beat the hell out of this Wang Ba, but Mo Hua had questions to ask Wang Lai, so he'd held himself back.

Hearing this now, Bai Zisheng was both delighted and a little hesitant:

"Is that okay?"

"What could happen?"

"What if we beat him to death?"

"If we beat him to death, so be it. He was never a good person anyway."

"No, I mean, if we beat him to death, won't you be unable to get your answers?"

"It's fine, let fate decide; besides, there are three more over there..."

"That makes sense..."

So, after speaking, Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng walked toward Wang Lai with amiable smiles, step by step.

Wang Lai's heart turned cold; he couldn't help but push himself up with his hands, sliding along the icy stone wall backward until he had nowhere left to retreat, then trembled:

"You... don't..."

Mo Hua raised the Thousand-Jun Club high. "Let's see if your mouth is harder than my iron club!"

Then he brought the club down with all his might.

Bai Zisheng didn't hold back either, kicking and punching him.

Bai Zi Xi remembered Wang Lai's deeds and grew angry; he condensed his golden sword qi into needle-thin strands, one by one, piercing Wang Lai's body.

Wang Lai gritted his teeth and held on tightly. "You little bastards—I'll remember this..."

"Still daring to threaten us?"

Mo Hua raised an eyebrow and hit him even harder.

After beating him some more, Mo Hua remembered something, pulled out a pill, and fed it to Wang Lai.

Bai Zisheng asked curiously, "What kind of pill is this?"

Mo Hua said, "Xiao Huan Pill. It keeps him alive—I'm afraid I'll kill him."

Bai Zisheng couldn't help saying, "You're... surprisingly thoughtful."

Mo Hua nodded. "It's only right."

After beating him a while longer, seeing Wang Lai could only exhale and barely inhale, Bai Zisheng frowned:

"Your Xiao Huan Pill isn't working..."

Mo Hua scratched his head, puzzled.

This was the pill Master Feng gave me—it should be good. Did I hit him too hard?

Bai Zisheng pulled out a vial of pills. "Try this—Bai Family's secret formula, Ten-Perfect Great Tonifying Pill. First replenish his blood, then keep beating him..."

Mo Hua sniffed it near his nose, eyes lighting up. "This one's good."

He took one pill and gave it to the half-dead Wang Lai.

Wang Lai's complexion improved quickly; his blood and qi began to surge again.

Bai Zisheng rolled up his sleeves. "Continue!"

Mo Hua wasn't a body cultivator and was already tired, but after thinking, he gritted his teeth and said:

"Fine!"

Thus, they beat Wang Lai again.

Even Old Yu's eyes twitched as he watched.

And Wang Lai finally couldn't hold on any longer.

Fists were heavy, the club was hard, the golden needles hurt.

The key was, these brats truly didn't care if he lived or died.

If this kept up, he'd really be beaten to death.

Wang Lai's bravado vanished; he gasped out a plea:

"I... I was wrong... spare my life..."

Bai Zisheng felt unsatisfied; Mo Hua was also disappointed, saying:

"You only become obedient after a beating. You shouldn't be called 'Wang Lai Pi'—change it to 'Wang Jian Pi'."

Wang Lai spat out a mouthful of old blood.

After being beaten, Wang Lai stopped being stubborn.

Whatever Mo Hua asked, he answered honestly.

Wang Lai was indeed a repeat offender.

He'd lure mining cultivators into the mine under some pretext, kill them silently, then contact their families to demand compensation from the Lu family.

After killing them, he'd even profit from their deaths.

He'd done this many times, but since mines were inherently dangerous and mining cultivators often vanished, Dao Ting Si neglected its duties and couldn't be bothered to investigate, so he'd always escaped punishment.

But this case had one puzzling point.

Because the Lu family's rule: no corpse, no compensation in spirit stones.

So often, they couldn't get any compensation at all.

Wang Lai was greedy, but unlikely to risk murder for spirit stones he might never receive.

Moreover, Mo Hua remembered Wang Lai saying earlier:

"Cut open the heart meridian, kill them—don't damage limbs or break the skin..."

Why such precision in killing mining cultivators and faking disappearances?

Clearly, something was wrong—Wang Lai was hiding something.

Wang Lai refused to speak.

Mo Hua's gaze grew cold; he pressed him repeatedly.

Wang Lai realized this young cultivator interrogating him had seven clever hearts—shrewd as a ghost.

Any lie he told would be detected; he couldn't deceive him at all—so he finally spoke the truth:

"Someone is paying spirit stones for mining cultivators' corpses..."

"We make our spirit stones by killing people and selling corpses…"

(End of chapter)