You See, In A Hurry Again

"How is that possible?"

The old woman's face contorted in ferocity.

Shen Qing looked at her twisted, enraged face with undisguised disgust.

"You old hag, has anyone ever told you that you resemble a rotten chrysanthemum?"

The scholar and the others couldn't help but glance back.

Boss, boss, is your mouth poisoned? I never noticed that before.

These barbed words continued to echo in the old woman's ears.

Old hag! Rotten chrysanthemum!?

Soon, her ears turned red at a visible speed.

She slapped her chest violently, and three more streams of blood shot out.

"Audacious brat, die by my hand!"

However, these three blood arrows were just a feint; the real killing blow was yet to come.

The old woman moved swiftly, following the blood arrows, and sent a punch imbued with bloody Internal Energy towards Shen Qing.

Shen Qing chuckled, "See? Impatient again."

The next moment, his figure vanished from his original spot. When he reappeared, he was already beside the old woman, and a whip kick shot towards her side.

"Old hag, your mind is in chaos, and your punch is slow."

The old woman's expression changed. She hastily retracted her fist and used her forearm to block Shen Qing's whip kick.

Crack.

Her forearm was instantly shattered by Shen Qing's kick, and her side caved in.

Already weakened from expending vital essence, the old woman couldn't withstand such an injury. Blood poured from her mouth uncontrollably, and she collapsed to the ground.

Still, living for a long time does grant some… capabilities.

The old woman suddenly looked up and opened her mouth, spitting out a flying needle from under her tongue, aiming straight for Shen Qing's throat.

Shen Qing tilted his head slightly and reached out, firmly grasping the flying needle. With a slight squeeze, the needle was crushed into powder.

He slowly approached and looked down at the old woman from above.

"Being old isn't much use either..."

Lin Zikai jogged up behind Shen Qing.

Shen Qing glanced back.

"Almost forgot about you. Come here, you can hack at this old thing a couple of times to vent your anger."

Lin Zikai quickly waved his hands. "My lord, do you remember I mentioned earlier that I saw a purple-robed old man?"

"He's not here."

Shen Qing scanned the surroundings and indeed didn't see the purple-robed man.

He lifted the old woman from the ground. "Come, I'll give you a chance for a quick death. Speak, where is that man?"

The old woman laughed ferociously, revealing a mouth full of bloody teeth.

"Do you think I'll tell you?"

"They are far stronger than you lot. You'll live in fear!"

"Death? I've never feared it! Kill me."

Shen Qing raised an eyebrow and casually tossed the old woman to the Imperial Guards behind him.

"Did you hear that? A tough bone."

These Imperial Guards were suppressing their laughter as they approached the old woman.

In the Imperial Guard prison, these tough bones turned soft faster than anyone.

The Imperial Guards loved hearing about tough bones the most.

Lin Zikai was the first to act, hanging the old woman up. He drew the long whip he carried, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"Old hag, you like drinking human blood. Let's see if yours is red."

He then proceeded to whip her repeatedly.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

With each lash, the old woman let out a muffled groan, but she gritted her teeth and endured. Fifty lashes later, she hadn't uttered a single word.

At this point, the scholar snorted, "It's not that I'm saying this, Lieutenant Lin, but your interrogation skills aren't great. Let me handle it."

He walked out holding an iron basin filled with flames. Faintly visible within the basin were ten red-hot steel needles.

He then used iron tongs to grip a needle and plunged it directly into the old woman's fingernail beds.

"Ah!!!" The old woman screamed, her cries growing louder and louder.

As ten red-hot steel needles were inserted, the old woman weakly opened her eyes and sneered.

"The methods of the Imperial Guards... are nothing more than this."

As soon as she said this, all the Imperial Guards became excited, showing no sign of defeat.

What a tough bone.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way, let me do it, I found some salt, I'll sprinkle it directly on the whip marks."

"Sprinkling salt, are you trying to be cute? In my opinion, slow slicing is better, a thousand cuts, let's see how long a Houtian Realm expert can last."

"Everyone, get out of the way..."

The old woman trembled uncontrollably as she looked at the discussing Imperial Guards before her.

Just then, a simple and honest voice rang out. It was Old Li.

"Why don't you let me try? I just found some small hot peppers in the house. I can peel her skin, sprinkle the peppers on, and then sew her up."

As soon as he said this, the courtyard fell silent. The only sound was the wind blowing through the brazier.

Everyone turned to look at Old Li.

Shen Qing also glanced at Old Li, confirming one thing in his heart.

Old Li's apparent honesty was a facade. His methods were good enough to secure a high position in the Ministry of Punishment in the capital.

But the next moment, shouts erupted from the courtyard: "I'll talk, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything!"

The old woman, seeing Old Li walking closer and closer, screamed like a madwoman, afraid she would be too late.

The Imperial Guards all laughed.

So much for a tough bone.

Shen Qing walked towards the old woman.

"Who is the purple-robed man, and where did he go?"

The old woman dared not keep her head down, she didn't dare to look up at all.

"His name is Zhang He, he is my husband."

The old woman's voice grew fainter, perhaps betraying her husband made her feel a trace of guilt.

"He is on Black Tiger Mountain."

The scholar beside him whispered, "My lord, Black Tiger Mountain is outside Chaoyang County."

Chaoyang County wasn't too far, just next to Baiyun County.

"What is this Sacred Tree you speak of?"

If his guess was correct, this Sacred Tree was the reason for their rapid cultivation advancement.

The old woman fell silent, not answering immediately.

But the next moment, Shen Qing's foot kicked directly into the old woman's face, sending her tumbling several somersaults.

"Old Li, bring the chili powder. This old hag is still not lucid."

The old woman, ignoring the pain in her face, immediately struggled to get up and roared.

"I'll say it, I'll say it."

"Four years ago..."

This household belonged to the Zhang family. The purple-robed old man was the master of the Zhang family, Zhang He, and this old woman was his wife, He Lian.

Four years ago, Zhang He was a caravan bodyguard in Chaoyang County. During a mission, he arrived at Black Tiger Mountain and accidentally discovered the Sacred Tree they spoke of.

The Sacred Tree bore four fruits. After eating them, Zhang He, who was old and frail, felt his cultivation realm begin to loosen.

To keep it a secret, Zhang He killed all his companions.

Zhang He then discovered that the Sacred Tree was absorbing the blood of his companions.

From then on, Zhang He stayed guarding Black Tiger Mountain.

"This tree absorbs blood to bear fruit, so where did your blood come from?"

"Originally, we used animal blood and stole some corpses."

"It wasn't until this year that we used living people."

As she spoke, the old woman's emotions became increasingly agitated.

"We only used living people this year, how did you Imperial Guards find us?"

"Aren't they just some villagers? Aren't they just some ants? You bunch of..."

Before she could finish, Shen Qing stepped directly on the old woman's mouth. A sharp cracking sound rang out, and the old woman's teeth were instantly crushed into pieces.

"Well said, you see them as ants."

"Then what difference are you from ants in my eyes?"

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