Chapter 82

"This... what is this thing..."

Zhou Laoguai looked at the strange insect that was as red as fire and had two pairs of mandibles, his eyes full of fear.

It looked a bit like a fire centipede.

But fire centipedes didn't have two pairs of mandibles.

Jiang Ye didn't answer.

He just placed Xiao Huo gently on Zhou Laoguai and said faintly:

"Play slowly, don't play him to death."

Hiss~~~

Xiao Huo twisted excitedly, but its pitch-black compound eyes stared fixedly at the Death-Dealing Scorpion clamped in Jiang Ye's fingers. Its eyes were full of longing, as if looking at some delicious delicacy.

"Oh? You want to eat it?"

Jiang Ye understood its meaning, a different color flashing in his aged eyes.

This little guy didn't eat its own kind, but it was quite interested in other poisonous creatures.

He threw it casually, dropping the Death-Dealing Scorpion, which had a broken tail needle and was on its last breath, onto the ground.

Chirp...

As soon as the Death-Dealing Scorpion landed, it felt something was wrong, its six claws digging into the ground desperately, wanting to escape.

But it only crawled half a foot...

Swish!

A red lightning bolt darted out suddenly.

Xiao Huo opened those two pairs of sickle-like mandibles, bit off the Death-Dealing Scorpion's head fiercely, and then chewed it up in large mouthfuls.

Although its body was small, its eating manner was extremely fierce, and the "crunch, crunch" chewing sound was exceptionally clear in the silent night.

In just a moment, the Death-Dealing Scorpion, which was the size of an adult's palm, was gnawed into pieces, leaving only a pile of broken shells.

"What kind of poisonous creature is this, how can it have such strong bite force..."

Zhou Laoguai's scalp went numb from watching, his eyes twitching constantly.

He had seen many poisonous creatures, but this was the first time he had seen a centipede that could eat a scorpion.

Soon, Xiao Huo turned its attention to him.

Those pitch-black compound eyes stared fixedly at Zhou Laoguai, its long, thin body arching slightly, like a bow and arrow ready to be fired.

Zhou Laoguai tried desperately to shrink back, but his broken right hand and the serious injury in his chest made him unable to move.

He could only watch helplessly as the red strange insect crawled slowly onto his right foot.

Hiss!!!

Xiao Huo bit down.

Those two pairs of mandibles pierced fiercely into the flesh, tearing a bloody hole in Zhou Laoguai's foot, skin and flesh included.

"Ah——!!!"

Zhou Laoguai let out a miserable scream that didn't sound human, the sound echoing in the mountain forest, startling a flock of night birds.

But this scream soon changed its flavor.

A bandit who licked blood from the edge of a blade could withstand flesh wounds, but the pain of the fire poison spreading made him wish he were dead.

In an instant, huge fire sores grew on his right foot, the skin turning red and black, swelling and deforming.

The blood in his body seemed to be ignited, burning all the way up from the soles of his feet, and every inch of flesh and blood it passed was wailing.

"Ah!!! Kill me!!! Kill me!!!"

Zhou Laoguai rolled wildly on the ground, but the more he moved, the faster the fire poison spread.

He stared fixedly at Jiang Ye, his eyes full of pleading, no longer having any of the Big Leader's prestige.

Jiang Ye looked down at him from above, his aged face without a ripple.

He squatted down, his tone still flat: "I gave you a chance before, you weren't cooperative, now you want to die quickly?"

"I... I'll say everything..."

Zhou Laoguai let out a desperate wail: "I only ask you to give me a quick death......"

Jiang Ye sneered, ignoring his pleading at this moment.

Xiao Huo understood its master's intention and excitedly bit another large hole in Zhou Laoguai's foot.

"Ah——!!!"

The miserable scream echoed in the night sky.

About half an incense stick of time later.

"Heh... heh..."

Zhou Laoguai slumped on the ground like a pile of mud.

His mouth was wide open, his chest rising and falling more and more weakly, the sound of his breathing like a leaking bellows, looking like he was dying, with more air going out than coming in.

The fire sores on his body had spread to most of his body, skin and flesh rolling, pus and blood flowing, not even having the strength to scream, only occasionally squeezing out a faint sob from the depths of his throat.

Jiang Ye stood on the spot, looking down at him, his aged face full of playfulness.

The interrogation just now let him know two pieces of news.

Bad news, the silver Zhou Laoguai had robbed over the years had already been spent.

Good news, Zhou Laoguai had used this silver to buy a Water-Element True Qi Qi-Nurturing Method in the black market of Huang Xinfu.

"Not bad, at least you're a mountain king, even a Qi-Nurturing Method could be bought by you."

Jiang Ye looked at Zhou Laoguai, who looked like he was about to die, and couldn't help but praise, his tone actually carrying a bit of appreciation.

"The... the location of the Qi-Nurturing Method I've already told you... please... please give me a quick death......"

Zhou Laoguai now had fire sores all over half his body, and every word he said seemed to use up all his strength.

His voice was intermittent, weak enough to be almost inaudible, but the pleading was thick and unresolvable.

Tortured by the fire poison until he wished he were dead, he was now truly only asking for death; living one more second was unimaginable torture.

Jiang Ye lowered his eyes to look at him, his tone flat:

"What's the rush, wait until I get the Qi-Nurturing Method."

He grabbed Zhou Laoguai's body, which was as limp as mud, and dragged him toward the summit like dragging a dead dog.

According to Zhou Laoguai, that Qi-Nurturing Method was hidden under a pine tree at the summit.

About a cup of tea's time later.

Jiang Ye dragged the half-dead Zhou Laoguai to the summit.

The wind at the summit was strong, blowing the pine waves.

The moonlight shone down, making the gnarled old pines look shadowy.

"It's... it's under that tree..."

Zhou Laoguai used up the little strength left in his body, barely raising a finger, pointing tremblingly at an old pine with dense branches not far away.

Jiang Ye walked forward in the direction he pointed and dug a few times at the tree roots with his blood-colored curved blade.

As the soil turned, an oilcloth package was soon revealed.

He bent down to pick it up, patted off the soil on it, and opened it—

In the package, a simple, ancient booklet lay quietly, with seven words written on the cover: "Canglan True Water Qi-Nurturing Method."

Beside it were several silver notes, totaling about sixty thousand taels.

"Canglan True Water Qi-Nurturing Method?!"

Jiang Ye's eyes lit up, and he quickly opened it to take a look.

The water qi nurtured by this Qi-Nurturing Method had a very wide range; at the entry level, it could be the water qi of ponds and streams, or the water qi of mountains and great marshes; when practiced to a deep level, it could also nurture the water qi of vast rivers, making the true qi in the body long and endless.

"Not bad, not bad, this Qi-Nurturing Method is suitable for protracted warfare."

Jiang Ye nodded secretly, a look of satisfaction flashing in his aged eyes.

He remembered that on the Profound Water Peak of the Profound Heaven Sect, there were many cold pools for disciples to nurture water qi.

After returning, he could find a quiet opportunity in the middle of the night to sneak into the Profound Water Peak to practice this Qi-Nurturing Method.

In a moment, Jiang Ye already had a cultivation plan in his mind.

"You.. you've already gotten the Qi-Nurturing Method..."

Zhou Laoguai begged tremblingly, his voice full of despair and anticipation: "Please... please give me a quick death......"

Jiang Ye put away the Qi-Nurturing Method and silver notes unhurriedly, looked at the dying Zhou Laoguai, and sneered, "I suspect you have something else you haven't said."

Hearing this, the pupils in Zhou Laoguai's eyes suddenly contracted, staring at Jiang Ye with red eyes.

This old thing... is truly a beast!

He was truly out of tricks, and now he didn't even have the strength to curse.

Another cup of tea's time later.

"......"

Zhou Laoguai was completely silent.

His fat face, mouth wide open, blood foam mixed with saliva flowing from the corners of his mouth, dripping all over the ground.

The sound coming from his mouth was already vague, only "heh heh" air sounds, and the life in his eyes began to dissipate gradually, his pupils dilated, looking like he was about to die.

"The Sun family's second young master wants to marry the Su family's young owner Su Yan, and asked you to help rob the goods......"

Jiang Ye couldn't help but lift a cold arc at the corner of his mouth.

At the last moment, he interrogated him again, and unexpectedly got a quite "interesting" piece of information from Zhou Laoguai.

He had thought that Zhao Gang, Shi Lei, and those few Su family guards were robbed by chance.

It turned out there was a hidden story.

"Wanting to marry Su Yan, huh......"

Jiang Ye couldn't help but be angered into laughter.

The scorching hot breath like the blazing sun around his body shook, and the nearby pine trees burned without warning.

"Heh......"

Zhou Laoguai, whose consciousness was blurred, actually showed a smile uglier than crying on his face.

He understood.

This old thing seemed to have some connection with the Su family.

The Sun family offended such a fierce person......

It must be finished.

Being able to drag the Sun family into the water before dying, he felt a twisted pleasure.

The next instant.

Whoosh!!!

A Blood Moon blade light swept past.

The last trace of life on Zhou Laoguai's face was finally cut off.