Kidnapping (2)

"Qianchou, you mustn't be rude. This is the Clan Leader chief's eldest son, named Yue Changping. By seniority, he is your uncle," Yue Changgui reprimanded.

"Oh! So it's Uncle." Yue Qianchou bowed and said, "Qianchou greets Uncle. Please don't blame me for my rudeness. However, I wholeheartedly agree with what you said. Someone must be coveting our family's wealth. I firmly believe there must be a traitor in the Yue Family, colluding with those villains outside. Otherwise, my younger brother, who has several strong attendants, wouldn't have been so easily kidnapped. Uncle, don't you think so?"

His words were outwardly respectful, but the underlying sarcasm in his tone was obvious to everyone, as if Yue Changping were the mole, making the expressions of the people around him extremely strange. Yue Changping twitched, and he said sharply, "What do you mean by that?"

Yue Qianchou glanced at his father, only to see him turn his head away as if he hadn't heard anything, which further confirmed his suspicions. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "Hehe! Uncle, don't misunderstand, it's nothing. I just wanted to tell everyone, as the eldest son of the Yue Family, that now that I'm back, anyone who dares to set their sights on my family should be prepared to be killed, even if it's the Heavenly King himself, hehe! I won't let a single one of them go." By the end, the chill in his voice was unmistakable.

"You..." Yue Changping wanted to say something, but was stopped by his father, the Clan Leader of the Yue Family. He laughed and said, "Brother is right. If they are really family thieves, then we should not let any of them go."

Yue Qianchou bowed to him with a smile and said, "As expected of Clan Leader, you are indeed wise."

"Master, Master!" Fu Qing rushed over and said, "Three people have broken in, saying... saying they are the second young master's ticket collectors."

Upon hearing this, the Yue Family members immediately began to whisper among themselves. Everyone knew that this so-called "ticket holder" was none other than the kidnapper, and that he dared to barge in in broad daylight—his audacity was astounding. Yue Changgui's expression changed, and he hurried towards the courtyard. Yue Qianchou shook his head slightly; his father, anxious to save his son, had lost his composure and his usual calm. He then followed with the others.

In the main courtyard, three burly men stood there with their heads held high as soon as a group of people arrived, truly befitting kidnappers who valued money over life.

Yue Changgui steadied himself, walked over, cupped his hands, and said, "I am Yue Changgui. May I ask which mountain you three heroes belong to?"

A burly-looking man on the left clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Very well said! It seems Master Yue is a man who knows the rules, so I won't waste any more words." He then pointed to the middle-aged man with a gloomy face and said, "This is Wang Er Dangjia, the second leader of our Bajiao Village. Today, he's here to meet Master Yue door-to-door, gong-to-gong, and count the ransom in person." The so-called "counting the ransom" was to let the victim confirm whether the kidnapped person was indeed his, and for the kidnappers to confirm whether the victim was sincere in their intention to ransom the hostage. If there was no sincerity, the hostage was very likely to be killed.

Yue Qianchou narrowed his eyes slightly. "Heh! It's Bajiao Village again. I almost forgot to settle accounts with you guys. You've reminded me today. Very well!"

"Wang Er Dangjia," Yue Changgui said, bowing slightly.

The middle man, Wang Er Dangjia, remained silent, only nodding to the man on his right. The man took out a jade pendant from his pocket and handed it to Yue Changgui. Upon seeing the jade pendant, the latter swayed and almost lost his balance, clearly recognizing it as his son's possession.

The man on the left chuckled and said, "If Master Yue has verified it, please take us to see if the ten thousand taels of gold is ready."

Yue Qianchou gave a cold "humph" and slowly walked over, saying, "A bunch of ignorant fools. Ten thousand taels of gold, they really dare to ask for it." As he spoke, he helped his father and walked straight back, saying, "Fu Qing, find a chair for the master to sit down and rest."

The Yue Family members were somewhat taken aback, but since it didn't concern them, no one spoke up. A cold smile flashed across Yue Changping's face in the crowd.

His arrogant attitude immediately angered the two bandits, who reached for the swords at their waists, wanting to teach Yue Qianchou lesson. However, the Wang Er Dangjia the gang quickly restrained them. His pupils had contracted sharply when he saw Yue Qianchou carrying a long sword and a bag at his waist.

Fu Qing brought over a chair as instructed, Yue Qianchou helped his father sit down, saying softly, "Father, don't worry for now, leave this to me." Yue Changgui grabbed his wrist, Yue Qianchou gently pushed him away, shaking his head to indicate that he didn't need to worry. He turned back to stare at the three bandits and said coldly, "Ten thousand taels of gold, what can you do if I don't give it to you?"

Upon hearing this, the Yue Family members immediately began whispering among themselves. Wasn't this forcing the kidnappers to kill the hostage? The two men who were about to draw their knives were about to do so again when Wang Er Dangjia held them down once more. He took a deep breath. He hadn't been sure before, but now that he heard the other party say such things, he was almost convinced.

Wang Er Dangjia stepped forward and bowed deeply to Yue Qianchou, saying respectfully, "Senior is a master in the Cultivation World. It was our fault for offending you today. We dare not ask you for the ten thousand taels of gold. We will definitely return the kidnapped person safely and will not be negligent in the slightest. Please let us go."

The two bandits were immediately stunned. They couldn't believe their usually arrogant Second Boss would speak so humbly. The Yue Family members were also dumbfounded; how had the kidnappers, who had come to collect their ransom, suddenly become apologies? Yue Changping, however, stood in the crowd, his face contorted with anger.

Yue Qianchou sneered, "I didn't expect you to have some sense, actually knowing about the Cultivation World. I'll let you go if you answer one question. If you answer it to my satisfaction, I'll let you go back. Otherwise, if you displease me, I will raze your Bajiao Village to the ground."

Everyone gasped. Even with repeated government raids, Bajiao Village hadn't been razed to the ground. Yue Qianchou's words were far too arrogant. But what was this Cultivation World they were talking about? Everyone was puzzled. Yue Changgui, sitting in his chair, re-examined his son's proudly standing back.

"Please ask, senior?" Wang Er Dangjia said respectfully.

"Name the people the Yue Family has colluded with. Don't tell me you haven't, or the consequences will be dire," Yue Qianchou said casually. Yue Changping, standing in the crowd, trembled and glanced at his father, the Clan Leader.

"This..." Wang Er Dangjia looked troubled. His burly subordinate stepped forward, clasped his hands in a salute, and said casually, "Young senior, you don't need to make things difficult for our Second Boss. This is something we can't discuss. We have our own rules. If we tell you who the tray's employer was, what credibility will Bajiao Village have left? How will we survive in this world?"

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp clang of a sword rang out. Everyone saw a flash of light, and the bandit fell silent. His head flew high into the air, severed from his shoulder, and a torrent of blood gushed from his severed head. He swayed and collapsed with a thud. The light transformed into a flying sword, circling Yue Qianchou a few times before sheathing itself with a clang.

"Murder!" the crowd cried out. Yue Qianchou glanced back at them and said coldly, "Those who want to die, go ahead and scream." With those words, the crowd fell silent. They had just witnessed the flying sword kill someone; who would dare to defy him? A father and son, however, trembled with fear.

"Brothers!" the remaining two bandits cried out in anguish. One of them held the body of the dead man, while the Wang Er Dangjia held his head and roared at Yue Qianchou, "There are rules in the Cultivation World that forbid people from interfering in worldly affairs. Why did you kill us mortals?"

Yue Qianchou sneered, "Hmph! You know quite a lot! How strange! You kidnapped my own brother and now you're trying to reason with me? What kind of reason is that? Forget it, I won't get anything out of you. I suppose you have a big boss? I'll go to Bajiao Village myself!"

As soon as he finished speaking, nearly a hundred cold glints of light surged out from the Storage Bag. Two shrill screams rang out briefly before abruptly ceasing. The cold glints disappeared into the red light, and a heavy stench of blood spread with the mist of blood. The Yue Family's relatives and servants had never seen such killing before. The braver ones had only ever witnessed beheadings at the execution ground. They could no longer bear to watch and turned their heads away to gag...

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