Silencing Witnesses

"Illusory Moth Sword Tribulation!"

Swords clashed, black flames exploded, Sword Qi spread everywhere, the ground was cut by the force of the energy, and crisscrossing cracks appeared. After the cold light shattered, it turned into moths and disappeared.

Both figures were forced back. One was naturally Huyan Lie, and the other was Lin Qingxiang. The latter retreated fewer steps than the former, but his spirit seemed unusually weak, as if it had all been consumed by the One Sword just now.

Huyan Lie glared at Lin Qingxiang with resentment and said, "Everyone says that the Illusory Moth Sword Art only has one move, but the power of this move rivals that of a Nascent Spirit Transformation. I thought it was just boasting and exaggeration, but seeing it today, I realize it's a humble way of showing weakness to the enemy."

Lin Qingxiang's Swordsmanship is derived from the "Illusory Moth Killing Art," which was originally an assassination technique that aimed to kill the enemy with a single strike. Therefore, his Swordsmanship also carries the same style. Apart from the usual variations in moves, there is only one true ultimate move, which requires the gathering of all one's essence, energy, and spirit. After the One Sword is thrust out, it is either the enemy who dies or I who perish—if the One Sword fails to kill the enemy, one's own Primal Qi will be greatly depleted, one's cultivation will plummet, and one will fall into the weakest state.

"Luckily, my disciple, you arrived in time, otherwise this old guy would have turned the tables on us," Zhu Hao forced out the remaining sword energy within his body, stepped forward to protect Yu Shuying, and no longer gave Huyan Lie a chance to Huyan Lie attack. "As expected of someone who studies military strategy, you were caught off guard by the slightest carelessness."

Yu Shuying belatedly realized what was happening, her face paling slightly, but she quickly regained her composure, then took out a dagger and stabbed it into Huyan He's abdomen.

"Ugh!"

Huyan He let out a painful groan, clenching his teeth, and didn't utter a sound.

Huyan Lie's eyes widened in fury, his hand gripping the knife trembling uncontrollably. "Girl, you're courting death! Do you know what the consequences are for offending a Nascent Spirit Transformation?"

"Senior, please don't scare me anymore. I'm a girl, I'm easily frightened, and my hands startle when I'm scared."

As Yu Shuying spoke, she twirled the dagger, causing Huyan He to tremble and his face to twitch in pain.

The wound had only bled a little. After all, for a martial artist, controlling muscles is a very simple matter. As long as he held the dagger, he could stop the bleeding. But now, after being twisted by the dagger, the wound has widened, and fresh blood is gushing out.

"Stop!"

Huyan Lie realized that the other party was not someone who could be intimidated; the more he threatened, the more aggressive they became. He could only suppress his murderous intent and asked, "What do you want?"

Yu Shuying knew when to stop and did not continue torturing Huyan He, because it would be unwise to kill him and incur the wrath of a Spirit Transformation expert for killing her son, and it would also be detrimental to her future plans.

"It's not about what I want, but what you want. In the end, you are the ones who started this. We were just forced to take action. If you hadn't kept the plan a secret, not even telling your two sons, I wouldn't have been able to take advantage of the weakened defenses to kidnap them."

Huyan Lie took a deep breath and said, "Since we both have hostages, let's make an exchange. You release my two sons, and I'll release all these people."

Yu Shuying sneered, "These people are not related to me. You can kill them if you want. I will erect a monument for them afterward. But your son is a very important bargaining chip in my hands. How can I easily give him up?"

Zhu Hao frowned and said, "Yu girl, this is not something to joke about."

"Alright, since you've put it that way, senior, then I'll use one of them as a bargaining chip," Yu Shuying said reluctantly.

Huyan Lie said, "Impossible, it must be two people! Don't forget, I have far more hostages on my side than you do." There are nearly twenty hostages kidnapped by the Thousand Ren Society.

Yu Shuying shook her head and said, "The value of hostages isn't about quantity, but about who cares more. Otherwise, I could easily surpass you in numbers by kidnapping a few people on the street, but what's the point? I might not care about the lives of those old people and children, but could you not care about the life of your own son, senior?"

"Numbers certainly have meaning, for example—"

Huyan Lie swung his sword and beheaded an old man, blood gushing from the severed wound.

"I can kill people at will, but you can't! Release my son right now, or I'll kill one person every minute until only two of us are left."

Zhu Hao roared in fury, "You old devil Huyan, have you gone mad! How could you lay a hand on a group of innocent old people and children!"

Huyan Lie voice, "That was because you forced me to!"

However, Yu Shuying remained unmoved. Instead, she revealed a disdainful smirk, took out another dagger, and stabbed Huyan Lü motion.

"For every person you kill, I stab your son. In a way, I'm at a disadvantage, but so what? You can kill as many hostages as you want without feeling any pain. Can you be as indifferent as I am?"

Huyan Lie his hand and swung his blade at a child who was not yet six years old, but the blade stopped just before it touched the child's neck.

He could tell that the girl on the other side truly didn't care about the hostages' lives; her eyes held no sympathy whatsoever. But he couldn't help but care about his son's safety. After all, to him, the lives of those hostages were nothing compared to a wound on his son's head.

"I can compromise and release the hostages first, but you must release both of my sons."

"I told you, you can only choose one! Since I've offended you, of course I need to keep a protective charm on my side to avoid retaliation later. As for whether you're willing to release the hostages first, I don't care. Come on, quickly choose one, who do you want me to release?"

"I won't choose; you can't expect me to give up anyone!"

"Then I'll make the choice for you."

Yu Shuying took out a sword, placed it on one of the men's shoulders, and while chanting, moved the sword around. "Soldiers are counting, whoever's name is chosen..."

Finally, the sword stopped at Huyan He's neck, and his face turned pale instantly, whether from bleeding or from fear, it was hard to tell.

"Since this is the will of Heaven, then we must obey. If you want to blame someone, blame your father for not choosing you."

Yu Shuying her sword, as if to strike.

"Wait a moment!"

Huyan Lie tried to stop him, but after a moment's hesitation, he said through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with murderous intent, "Let He'er go, and I'll agree."

"Too late."

Under the incredulous gazes of the crowd, Yu Shuying brought down her One Sword —but just as the blade touched Huyan He's neck, it actually retracted!

"Haha, just kidding. Of course, you have to be sincere when making a deal. I don't want to become the son-killer of a Spirit Transformation expert, at least not now."

Yu Shuying casually tossed away the magic sword, then loosened the whip binding Huyan Lü, letting him go, and said, "As an apology for the prank, I can release one hostage first."

Huyan Lie was momentarily confused about what the other party meant. Was it really just a prank? Or had they tampered with Huyan Lü's body?

"Father, you really do favor my eldest brother more..."

Upon seeing the flash of resentment in his youngest son's eyes, Huyan Lie suddenly understood the other party's intention.

Chapter 237 Silencing