Stranger Danger

Chapter 72: Godspeed!

“Well met, Tieyi. Did something urgent happen for you to seek me out at this hour?” Zheng Feng asked.

Zheng Feng was a tall, muscular man with graceful features and a dignified bearing that naturally came with being in a position of power for decades. Right now though, he just looked like a tired fifty year old man who was saddened by something. It was clear that Zheng Tianyuan and Zheng Tianqi’s death had dealt a huge blow to the man. Objectively speaking, it was never a happy thing for the young to pass away before the old.

“Please take a seat, brother!” Ye Qing waved Zheng Feng to a chair and poured him a cup of wine. He purposely revealed the Blue Demon Hand in the process so that the patriarch would not suspect his identity. And he didn’t. The Blue Demon Hand was Yan Tieyi’s most cherished Strange Artifact, and he never allowed it to leave his sight even when he was taking a bath. Naturally, there was no reason for Zheng Feng to suspect that the familiar man before him was an imposter. He accepted the drink and downed it in one gulp.

Ye Qing sat opposite Zheng Feng and said with a smile, “I invited you today because I want to share some good news with you, brother.”

“Since you’ve invited me all the way to your headquarters, I’m assuming it must be very good news.” Zheng Feng replied wearily while nursing a headache. “You know I’ve been out of sorts ever since Tianyuan and Tianqi are… gone. The fact that I don’t even know who the killer is troubles me even more. I can really use some great news.”

Ye Qing’s lips curled into a mysterious smile. “That is exactly why I invited you here, brother. I’ve found the answers you seek.”

“Y-You found out who the killer is?” Zheng Feng was so delighted he reached over the table and grabbed Ye Qing’s arm. “Who is it? What did you know? Tell me everything!”

“Calm down, brother. There is no rush!” Ye Qing grinned as he gently clasped Zheng Feng’s left arm with his left hand. “I have two pieces of good news to share with you. Listen well.”

“One, it is as you guessed. I know exactly who your killer is. In fact, that person might be closer than you think!”

“Two, you’re going to be reunited with your sons very soon. Aren’t you glad?”

At first, Zheng Feng thought that Yan Tieyi was making a tasteless joke and felt furious at him. But when he listened until the end, he realized that something was terribly wrong.

“You’re not Tieyi!”

The patriarch subconsciously tried to pull away, but Ye Qing’s grip on his left arm abruptly tightened into a death grip. The next moment, he felt a blinding pain and saw a dark flame slowly creeping up his left arm.

“Argh!” Zheng let out a bloodcurdling scream. His right hand abruptly turned as white as jade, and purple lightning crawled all over his skin. There was even a furious thunderclap as he raised his hand. However, the second he thrust his palm toward Ye Qing’s chest, the tendrils of lightning abruptly condensed into purple, watery beads and gathered at the center of his palm. It looked like he was holding a tiny pool of water in his right hand.

“Boundless Lightning Palm”

As they were literally face to face with each other, Ye Qing felt as if a lightning bolt was detonating right in front of him. It was vast, unbounded, and powerful.

Still keeping Zheng Feng’s left arm in a death grip, the young man narrowed his eyes and clenched his right fist. His abdomen swelled and depressed repeatedly as he met the palm strike with a silent punch.

Crack!

Palm met fist, and both men shuddered. There was no sound, and yet the entire Flowing Cloud Hall suddenly collapsed into a ruin without warning. The ground beneath the duo shuddered violently and split into fissures like it was the site of a terrible earthquake.

Right now, Zheng Feng’s left arm resembled the arm of a charred corpse; blackened and completely devoid of flesh. Even his right arm had been twisted round and round until it resembled a fleshy rope.

That said, Ye Qing wasn’t doing so hot either. His complexion kept alternating between purple and red, and tiny tendrils of lightning could be seen slithering in and out of every pore of his body.

].

“They say that no martial art could match the Boundless Lightning Palm in terms of brute force because it is a martial art that is meant to smite the heavens’ enemies. It definitely deserves its reputation!”

Ye Qing commented in a casual tone even as the deadly lightning force ravaged his insides. Every time he opened his mouth, lightning literally shot out of his throat, and blood trickled down the corner of his lips. The Zheng Clan’s “Boundless Lightning Palm” was a martial art where a warrior tempered themselves with true lightning to create Lightning true qi within their body. They should aim to, “Smite your enemies with seemingly boundless strength, and annihilate all life beneath your lightning.” Naturally, a martial art like this was violent to the extreme. “Boundless Lightning Palm” was even said to be unparalleled in terms of brute force, and considering the state he was in, Ye Qing had to admit that it wasn’t an exaggeration.

“Toad Force? Who on earth are you?” Zheng Feng roared and spat out a purple sword from his mouth, literally. It flew toward Ye Qing’s forehead as swiftly as the wind!

Ye Qing finally let go of Zheng Feng’s left arm and caught the sword with his left hand, but his body shook, and the blood drained away from his face as if he was struck by a huge rock. It was because a tremendous strength and an unbelievably refined lightning force had poured into his body as soon as he touched the blade. His left hand shifted back an inch uncontrollably, and a trickle of blood spurted from his forehead. Then, he flew backward uncontrollably as if he had been struck by a giant hammer.

Crash crash crash!

Like a cannonball, Ye Qing crashed through the wall, a fake mountain, a building and more until finally, the ground. He was embedded so deep within the earth that it was impossible to tell if he was alive or dead.

“Hahaha! No one can survive my Lightning Bolt!” Zheng Feng laughed like a madman. Despite his weakened state, his excitement and joy was bare for all to see.

The lightning sword was called Lightning Bolt. It was a Red-class Strange Artifact and not nearly as magical as the Blue Demon Hand was. However, its explosive power and speed were unmatched.

Moreover, Lightning Bolt was an offensive Strange Artifact he nurtured inside his body most of the time unless he needed it. After spending decades tempering its shape with his true qi and nurturing its mind with his blood essence, it had long since gained a hint of sentience and become even more powerful than it already was. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Zheng Feng could literally spit any enemy within a hundred steps of him to their death.

In fact, Lightning Bolt was what made Zheng Feng who he was today. It was thanks to Lightning Bolt that he was able to entrench himself in Anyang. It was thanks to Lightning Bolt that he was able to turn several crises around and transformed his family into a massive, powerful clan. So far, no one had ever been able to survive his lightning sword, and he did not think that Ye Qing would be an exception.

“Hehe, heh… Pwack!”

Unfortunately, he wasn’t out of the woods yet. Zheng Feng’s laughter abruptly devolved into a hacking cough, and when he spat out a glob of bluish black blood that was mixed with bits and pieces of innards, he knew he was in deep trouble.

“Poison?!” He blanched as a wave of dizziness assaulted his head. His innards were also twisting like someone was pressing them against a grinder.

“The Blue Demon Hand! Dammit!” Zheng Feng bit his tongue as hard as he could in order to keep himself awake. He had clearly been poisoned by the Blue Poison Hand, and as Yan Tieyi’s sworn brother he knew full well just how deadly Hundred Poison was. If he was healthy, he could have held back the poison for a short time with his true qi, but obviously he was anything but healthy right now. The bastard had burned his left arm to a crisp and even punched him with the Toad Force, shattering his internal organs in the process. As a result, he was so seriously injured it would not be surprising if he died within a couple of hours, not to mention that Lightning Bolt had used up most of his true qi. There was practically nothing he could do to suppress the poison right now.

“There’s no time! I need to leave immediately!” he muttered. The fact that the men he brought hadn’t come to his aid despite the commotion could only mean that they were occupied. The bastard must have taken control of the entire Iron Shirt Gang after killing Yan Tieyi. Considering his condition, even a Reforged would stand a good chance at killing him, much less a Qi Invoker.

Right now, his only option was to escape this place and cure the poison. Only after he had recovered his strength could he deal with these traitors.

“Return, Lightning Bolt!” Zheng Feng commanded and made a hand gesture. He was commanding his Strange Artifact to return to him with his energy.

Lightning Bolt had long since gained a hint of sentience after decades of nurturing. It would automatically return to his side after he channeled his energy. However…

“Hmm? What’s going on?” Lightning Bolt did not return to him despite his command. When he tried again, the energy he had imbued onto Lightning Bolt actually vanished into nothing!

“What’s going on?” Every hair on Zheng Feng’s body stood on end as a terrible premonition gripped him.

“This sword is pretty good! I’m taking it!” A voice suddenly called out from the distant ruins. Then, a young man slowly stepped out of the dust clouds and into the open. He was, of course, Ye Qing.

Right now, the young man was covered in dust, and his clothes were mostly torn up. His aura was fluctuating erratically, and the bloody hole on his forehead was particularly conspicuous.

Zheng Feng wasn’t staring at his wounds, however. He was staring at his left hand. Ye Qing was holding a small sword with a blade as thin as a leaf. It was covered in purple lightning and vibrating incessantly as if it had a mind of its own, but it was unable to break free no matter how hard it struggled.

“You… you’re still alive? But how?” Zheng Feng actually staggered away from Ye Qing in disbelief. He just could not believe that the bastard had actually survived his greatest trump card!

“Sorry to disappoint you. It was pretty close though!” Ye Qing smirked. He was telling the truth. Qiao Six had told him that Zheng Feng owned a lightning sword that could, theoretically, annihilate any foe within a hundred steps from him, so he was prepared for it from the beginning. Despite this, the lightning sword’s power still exceeded his expectations and nearly penetrated his brain.

While speaking, Ye Qing sucked in a very, very deep breath, as his stomach had grown until he resembled a woman who was ten months pregnant. When he finally exhaled, the air boomed like a thunderclap, and a purple dragon that looked like it was made of pure lightning shot out of his mouth and into the sky. It roared and circled the sky for a bit before finally disappearing.

Ye Qing’s erratic aura immediately started stabilizing after he spat out the purple dragon. Even the bloody hole on his forehead started closing little by little.

“This is impossible…” Zheng Feng looked even more lost and shaken than he already was after witnessing that scene. Just now, the young man had inhaled new energy from his surroundings until he had enough to force out all the lightning force in his body in one go. Now that lightning was no longer ripping his innards to shreds, it was only a matter of time before he fully recovered.

He, on the other hand, had lost both arms and broken most of his internal organs. Even if he somehow recovered from this, he would be much weaker than he used to be. It was highly unlikely that his cultivation would grow either.

But how did he cultivate so much true qi at his age?

Just how?

I need to run!

Finally, Zheng Feng snapped out of reverie and wheeled around. He did not try to snatch Lightning Bolt back from Ye Qing because the effort could only end in failure. He immediately channeled his last vestiges of true qi and made a run for the walls.

But it was futile. The second he made a move, Ye Qing abruptly vanished from his location and reappeared beside him. Then, a Blood Shadow severed Zheng Feng’s legs right through the knees.

“Argh!” Zheng Feng let out another bloodcurdling scream and collapsed to the floor. He broke down completely and screamed on top of his lungs, “Who are you? Why are you trying to kill me? I don’t even know you! Just why?!”

“You don’t know me?” Ye Qing slowly crouched beside the broken man with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “That may be true, but what about August Hill Village?”

“August Hill Village?” Zheng Feng was caught off guard for a second before his eyes bulged with shock. “You’re from August Hill Village? Then Tianyuan…”

“I told you, didn’t I? That’s right. I’m the one who killed Zheng Tianyuan and Zheng Tianqi!” Ye Qing let out a mirthless chuckle. “As for why I killed them and why I’m going to kill you now, you can ask them after you see them in hell!”

“No!” A horrified Zheng Feng struggled with all his might, but it was futile. The next moment, his entire body exploded in a shower of blood and gore.

“Godspeed! I won’t be seeing you off!”