Chapter 573 Bad News
The middle-aged man was trembling with anger. He pointed at the young man and didn’t know what to say.
“Ma Liang, don’t go too far. You were just a beggar who was about to starve to death back then. My husband pitied you, so he took you in. Later, he took you as an adopted son and treated you like his own child. He also helped you to get married. Ask yourself how he treated you before. Have you lost your conscience?”
The middle-aged woman couldn’t help cursing.
“Haha, mother, you really are naive. What’s the point of talking about the old days?” Ma Liang crossed his arms over his chest and said sarcastically, “In this world, the survival of the fittest is the law and the winners’ rule. You are broke, so I naturally have to find a new patron. Should I just wait and die with you? Haha, Senior Brother Mo from the Falling Star Sect said that as long as you are killed, I would be fully in charge of the w.a.n.g family caravans…”
“You… b.a.s.t.a.r.d, I’m going to fight to the death with you…” The middle-aged man was so angry that he rushed forward and was about to risk his life.
Seeing this, the only guard by his side hurriedly stopped the middle-aged man.
Ma Liang snorted and said, “Old man, don’t be so shameless. Give me all the contracts and the money of the caravan, and I’ll let you die decently, otherwise… hey.” His cold eyes swept over the middle-aged woman, then he smiled and said, “Mother is a little old, but she is still charming. My men are desperate and I don’t think they would mind playing with such a fine woman…”
“You… little rat… don’t bully my mother…” The young child scolded timidly.
He was only three or four years old, but he opened his arms and stood in front of his mother. Although he was trembling with fear, he acted like a little man with steely-eyed determination.
“You beast…” The middle-aged man was so angry that he s.h.i.+vered. “When my eldest son, Da Jun, comes back, he will not let you off…”
“Hahaha, old man, I used to be afraid when you said this, but your eldest son is probably rotting by now. Haha, even the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect was destroyed. Would I be afraid of him?” Ma Liang laughed disdainfully.
That was the inn’s backyard, and the noise had already drawn attention in the vicinity.
Many people gathered around to watch the spectacle.
After hearing the conversation, most of them had figured out the whole story. They looked at Ma Liang with disdainful eyes. An ungrateful person was the most despised kind.
Right at this moment…
A voice suddenly rose from the side, “What did you say? What happened to the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect?”
The crowd was dazzled for a moment. A handsome young man in cyan clothes appeared in the field with a fat cat on his shoulder. He instantly moved in front of Ma Liang and stared at him with sharp eyes.
“Who… who are you?” Ma Liang was shocked by the intervention; he hastily stepped back.
“What did you say? What happened to the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect?” The handsome young man in cyan asked, word for word. Everyone present could feel that he was trying hard to control his emotions.
Ma Liang moved closer to his warriors and regained some composure. That embarra.s.sing gaffe infuriated him. He sneered and said, “Who are you, loser? Do you want to be killed for scaring me like that? How dare you use that kind of tone to talk to me? Get lost!”
The young man frowned.
The next minute, Ma Liang felt an uncontrollable force tying him up. He was suspended in the air and was pulled to the front of the young man. His face turned pale out of shock, for he knew he had struck an iron plate. He struggled desperately, but could not move at all.
“Let… Let me go. Do you have a death wish or what? Guys, what are you waiting for? Kill him, kill this kid…!” Ma Liang roared.
The hatchet men finally realized what was happening. Waving their swords, they pounced on the young man.
The fat cat on the young man’s shoulder suddenly spoke in human language, “Meow. You death-seeking thugs. How pathetically weak. You don’t even know who you are dealing with… I really admire your courage.”
The next moment.
The young man in cyan did not move, but before the hatchet men were within three meters of him, they were all thrown backward, screaming loudly.
Gasps could be heard from the backyard.
“If you don’t want to die, tell me honestly, what happened to the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect?” The young man in cyan stared at Ma Liang with sharp eyes.
Ma Liang was scared silly. He finally knew that he had met a super master. He said in a trembling voice, “The Swords… Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect has been… destroyed…”
“What? The Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect was destroyed? What are you talking about?” Another furious voice rose. A little fat man rushed out from the diner in front of the building, holding a chicken leg in his hand. His fat face was full of anger. He shouted, “The Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect is the number one sect in Snow Province. Who can destroy it?”
“It… it was the Tranquility Academy in collaboration with other sects. It’s said that even the Demon Clan was involved. Everyone in Snow Province now knows about this…” Ma Liang stammered.
“Impossible!” he roared, completely losing control of himself.
“If you dare to lie to me, I will kill you.” The young man in cyan trembled like a volcano that was about to erupt. Those present in the backyard felt the depressive atmosphere; none of them dared to breathe.
“Little buddies, this is true,” the middle-aged man said, cupping one hand in the other before his chest.
“Shut up! Who are you?” the little fatty roared angrily as he completely sank into a berserk state.
“I…” the middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and said, “I am w.a.n.g Youyu, from the w.a.n.g caravans. In a sense, I have been closely connected with the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect. I would never lie to you about this matter.”
w.a.n.g Youyu?
The young man was dumbfounded. He immediately thought of something and said in surprise, “Uncle, are you… Junior Brother w.a.n.g Xiaoqi’s father?”
The middle-aged man nodded and said, “Yes, I am. Who are you?”
The young man in cyan hurriedly saluted the elder, as a nephew to his uncle, and said respectfully, “My name is Ding Hao, a disciple of the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect. Junior Brother w.a.n.g Xiaoqi and I are from the same sect and we are also roommates. I am sorry for being disrespectful. Uncle w.a.n.g, please forgive me.” He pointed to the little fat boy beside him and introduced him, “This is Junior Brother Ren Xiaoyao. He is also a friend of Junior Brother w.a.n.g.”
The little fatty’s face suddenly turned dark red, just like the color of pork liver. He had just shouted at the elder to shut up. He hurried to salute and say, “It’s Uncle w.a.n.g. Sorry for being rude, please don’t blame me.”
The middle-aged man was overjoyed. He said, “So you are Ding Hao. Are you… all right?”
When he finished speaking, the middle-aged man’s face changed. He seemed to have remembered something. “Dear Ding, this isn’t a good place to talk. Come with me.”
Ding Hao nodded and whispered something to Ren Xiaoyao’s ear. The little fat boy turned and walked to the lobby of the diner in front.
“What should we do with this person?” Ding Hao’s eyes fell on Ma Liang who was still suspended in the air.
Ma Liang was almost scared out of his wits.
He had only realized who he had met when he heard this conversation. He regretted not having consulted the Fengshui Almanac for auspicious days before leaving home. Although the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect had been destroyed, Ding Hao, the “Saber and Sword Addict,” was still a powerful name in Snow Province. There was no one who had not heard of him, the man who had fought with the Demon King and created the Seven Black Cut.
Beyond that, it was said that Ding Hao and w.a.n.g Xiaoqi were close friends. Having been caught by Ding Hao, he might not be able to survive another day.
“Father, save me. It’s my fault. I won’t do it again…” Ma Liang pleaded with tears.
w.a.n.g Youyu thought for a moment and said, “You can’t let the news leak out. This man can’t be kept alive.”
By this time, Ding Hao already had the general idea about what happened. He controlled Qi with his mind and Ma Liang instantly exploded into a blood fog, vaporizing in the air. He then erased the memories of Ma Liang’s followers and destroyed their Qi cultivation using his Divine Sense.
The group soon left the inn.
On the way, w.a.n.g Youyu intermittently told him what he knew.
“What? Head Li Jianyi and Master Qi Qingshan are both dead? How is it possible?” Ding Hao clenched his fists tightly, and he didn’t believe what he had heard. “Who in the whole Snow Province can kill them? Unless…”
Ding Hao thought of the mysterious Deity Phoenix.
Only this powerful demon might be able to kill Li Jianyi and Qi Qingshan, the top masters in Snow Province.
“I heard that there was a traitor inside the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect…” w.a.n.g Youyu sighed and said, “I don’t know the details. I had planned to spend some money to redeem Xiaoqi from the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect. Unfortunately, before I had time to figure out what had happened to the sect, my unfilial son, Ma Liang, somehow colluded with the Falling Star Sect and suddenly turned against me. Most of the estates of our family’s caravan changed hands in an instant. We were completely unprepared and almost all of my loyal warriors were killed. I could only escape to Ice Province with my wife and my most trusted subordinates. Who knew that this b.a.s.t.a.r.d would hunt us down to this place?”
Ding Hao clenched his fists.
“How could this happen?”
“Why did this happen?”
“How could it be?”
“The Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect was destroyed? This is impossible. It must be a rumor. It has to be fake.”
Suddenly, Ding Hao felt there was a dark cloud hanging over him.
Although he also understood that w.a.n.g Youyu’s words were likely to be true, he was still unwilling to believe what he had heard. It had only been half a year. How could there be such a drastic change? What caused all this?
“Senior Brother Ding!” Ren Xiaoyao looked at Ding Hao with blank stare.
The pride and joy of returning alive from the Sage Battlefield were instantly washed away by this terrible piece of bad news.
Ding Hao patted the little fat boy on the shoulder and said word for word, “Let’s head back to Snow Province at the fastest speed. No matter who betrayed the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect, I must make them pay a thousand times over…” After a pause, he added, “Maybe everything is just a rumor, and it’s not that bad. The Head and Master Qingshan are unbeatable. They won’t die so easily.”