Tian Boguang hadn't finished speaking when a streak of white light suddenly burst through the room. By the time Yilin reacted, Wang Jingyuan already had his sword in hand. She hadn't even seen when he'd drawn it.
Tian Boguang, sitting in a chair, was bleeding profusely from both arms and legs. It looked like Wang Jingyuan had severed all the tendons in his hands and feet just moments ago.
He wiped the blade with his hand. Not a trace of blood. Satisfied that his Bixie Swordplay had improved considerably since he'd first begun learning it, Wang Jingyuan sheathed his sword and sat down opposite Tian Boguang. "That's why men should keep their heads clear and not let desire control them. Look at you now—free of desire, your wisdom's back on top, isn't it?"
With death close at hand, Tian Boguang seemed remarkably calm. "Wine, women, wealth, and pride—how many people can truly see through them? I've finally found a little peace. I feel no fear, but I know it's only temporary. If I survive this and recover, I'll soon be just like I was before."
A purple hue flashed across Wang Jingyuan's face. He reached out and pressed a hand against Tian Boguang's dantian. Back when Wang Jingyuan used to read martial arts stories, he'd never quite understood how the internal energy cultivated through the same martial arts could be—
A shot of it into someone's body when saving their life was adrenaline. A shot of it into someone's body when clashing internal energy with an enemy was cyanide.
Now that Wang Jingyuan had cultivated internal energy himself, he finally understood. Internal energy was like water. Flowing gently, it was the source of life, nourishing vitality.
But crank up the pressure and mix in a little emery, and it could become a weapon that cut through anything.
Just like now.
Wang Jingyuan's Internal Energy was meager, but after all he'd been through, Tian Boguang had barely any strength left, let alone Internal Energy. He couldn't offer the slightest resistance as Wang Jingyuan used his Internal Energy to shatter his dantian.
Blood seeped from the corner of Tian Boguang's mouth. He looked weakly at Wang Jingyuan. "You severed the tendons in my hands and feet, then crippled my martial arts. If you didn't mean to spare me, then you must want to torture me.
"At least tell me this much: do we have a grudge?"
Wang Jingyuan shook his head. "We have no grievance between us, but I'm still going to kill you."
Tian Boguang was about to say something else when someone pushed open the private room door. Linghu Chong entered, his hair still damp from the water. It seemed he'd successfully suppressed his desire with a cold bath.
Seeing Tian Boguang with half his body stained red with blood, Linghu Chong hurried over. "Brother Tian, what happened to you?"
Tian Boguang smiled at him. "I'm just about to die."
Linghu Chong examined Tian Boguang's injuries, then turned to Wang Jingyuan. "Junior Disciple Brother, Brother Tian may be a bandit, but he's an honorable man. Besides, he let me go once before. Now that you've crippled his martial arts, could you spare his life?"
Wang Jingyuan looked at Linghu Chong and pondered for a moment. Linghu Chong was the protagonist, after all. He was destined to become a major force in the martial world, and Wang Jingyuan might well benefit from him in the future.
There was every advantage and no harm in earning a little more goodwill from him now. So Wang Jingyuan nodded. "All right. I'll do it for Senior Brother's sake."
As he spoke, Wang Jingyuan placed a hand on Tian Boguang. Purple light rose across his face again. Linghu Chong was startled. He'd seen Yue Buqun use the Purple Haze Divine Skill before.
Of the Nine Great Huashan Arts, Purple Haze came first. The Purple Haze Divine Skill was Mount Hua Sect's prized secret art, taught only to the sect leader. Now that Master had passed it on to Wang Jingyuan, did that mean he'd chosen Wang Jingyuan as his successor?
Linghu Chong had never cared much about becoming sect leader, so he felt no jealousy. He was simply surprised that his junior disciple had joined the sect so recently, yet Master had already chosen him as the next leader.
Before he could think much more about it, the sound of Tian Boguang's body hitting the floor jolted him back to his senses.
[Purple Haze Divine Skill proficiency +20]
Linghu Chong stared at Tian Boguang, lying lifeless on the floor, dumbfounded. Yilin was just as stunned. Even though Tian Boguang had tried to violate her, she was so saintly that she'd never wished for him to die.
Linghu Chong stared at Wang Jingyuan in disbelief. When Wang Jingyuan had agreed to spare Tian Boguang, Linghu Chong had believed him. Even after seeing Wang Jingyuan use Purple Haze True Qi, he'd assumed he was using it to heal Tian Boguang.
And because he'd been so shocked to learn that Wang Jingyuan had mastered the Purple Haze Divine Skill, he hadn't noticed that Wang Jingyuan meant to kill Tian Boguang with his martial arts. By the time he realized, Tian Boguang was already dead.
"Junior Disciple Brother, didn't you promise to spare Brother Tian?!"
Wang Jingyuan nodded. "I did, didn't I? I really did spare him. I spent some Internal Energy to shatter his heart meridians. He died peacefully, without suffering at all. Senior Brother, remember that you owe me a favor."
Linghu Chong couldn't make sense of it. "You call killing him outright sparing him?!"
"Of course," Wang Jingyuan said as if it were obvious. "Do you know how valuable a target Tian Boguang is? I'd planned to keep him alive first, and then..."
At this, Wang Jingyuan glanced at Yilin. "You, cover your ears and go into the inner room. You're a little nun famous for keeping your mouth shut, and you have a good memory. I can't let you hear my business plan."
Yilin was a pushover. Whatever Wang Jingyuan told her to do, she did. Only after she'd gone into the inner room did Wang Jingyuan continue:
"Then I'd rent a storefront here in Hengyang City. After that, I'd hire a few burly rent boys. Anyone willing to pay could come in and watch Tian Boguang get violated.
"We could even offer different packages at different prices: one-on-one, group sessions, one after another, or all at once. If someone paid enough, we could even consider involving animals.
"After what he's been through today, he's already on his last legs. But before he dies, he could still earn me a tidy sum. And if he became too weak to perform, we could auction off the right to decide his punishment. We could auction off the right to dispose of his body, too.
"After all, quite a few of the young women he's victimized came from wealthy, well-known merchant families."
As Wang Jingyuan counted off the details on his fingers, Linghu Chong staggered back two steps and stared blankly at him. He'd never imagined anyone in the world could be so vicious.
"Junior Brother Wang... you... you're a disciple of Mount Hua!"
Wang Jingyuan nodded. "Yes, I know. Our Mount Hua Sect's flagship product at the moment is still Master's title: 'Gentleman Sword.'
"So we'd have to launch this under a different label. We absolutely couldn't let Master's title take any reputational damage. That's why this would have to be done under the name of the Fuwei Escort Agency."
Wang Jingyuan pointed down. From the private room, they could just barely hear Lin Pingzhi hawking his wares below. "The drug Tian Boguang took came from the Fuwei Escort Agency. The bank drafts paid to Qunyu Garden were issued to the Fuwei Escort Agency, too. Even this private room was booked in advance by Little Lin.
"This whole operation to capture Tian Boguang by trickery was handled by the Fuwei Escort Agency, top to bottom. We're just a couple of bystanders who happened to step in and do the right thing. How the Fuwei Escort Agency deals with Tian Boguang is entirely up to them."
The look of terror in Linghu Chong's eyes deepened. He pointed at Wang Jingyuan, unable to get a single coherent word out.
Wang Jingyuan understood. "I get it. You think I'm trying to frame the Fuwei Escort Agency, right? How could you think that of me? Little Lin is our junior disciple now, and the Fuwei Escort Agency is a key strategic partner.
"The only reason I'd have them take the lead is that they've never built their image or company culture around being 'gentlemen.' They're just an ordinary escort agency.
"Even if people heard about it or saw it, they'd only say that Young Escort Chief Lin was brilliant, Chief Escort Lin hated evil, and the Fuwei Escort Agency had rid the people of a menace. It would only improve their reputation, with no other negative effects. It's a win-win."
Having said that, Wang Jingyuan even winked at Linghu Chong. "I gave up such a promising business proposal for your sake, Senior Brother. How are you going to thank me?"
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