Chapter 393: Gut Worm

Chapter 393: Gut Worm

“The Intelligence Department really doesn’t think of us as humans. We might as well fight them as save ourselves!” A lot of jianghu warriors grew angry when they saw this[1].

They didn’t want to have anything to do with Sick Scholar, but they had to protect him because he held the key to their survival.

But now, they were pissed off with the Intelligence Department as well. How could they side with an organization who would leave them for dead for their own objective? An organization who, at least on surface, was supposed to protect the people?

“He’s right. You should all be well aware of the Intelligence Department’s behavior and conduct. They never cared about our lives, and they would rather kill an innocent than let a criminal escape. You know they’re going to lock us up and interrogate us even after they killed the trio simply because we happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Could we even leave the place alive?”

“Yeah! I’d rather fight them to the death than go down like this!”

“To the death!”

“To the death!”

As the Hidden Dragon Meet was near, most of the people dining in the inn were warriors. In this jianghu, who hadn’t taken at least one or two lives? If they submitted to the Intelligence Department, they would be guilty even if they weren’t.

If before there was a chance the Intelligence Department would simply leave after capturing the trio, now they no longer had an option. Unless they did as Sick Scholar told, they were all going to suffer agonizing deaths.

The tension in the inn turned razor sharp in an instant. Everyone was staring at Chu Renhe and waiting for him to respond.

“Obstructing the Intelligence Department is akin to rebelling against Chu. Are you planning to rebel?” Chu Renhe’s expression was so dark it painted a stark contrast with his pale skin. A terrible aura quickly encompassed the entire inn.

Earlier, Sick Scholar had purposely baited Chu Renhe into attacking him. As a result, the Intelligence Department suddenly found themselves pitted against the entire inn. Jianghu warriors were notoriously cowardly, so they would never allow Sick Scholar to be killed or captured until their affliction was cured. Add to the fact that some idiots had fanned the flames, and capturing the trio suddenly became a much harder task than before, much less killing them.

If Chu Renhe persisted in his ways, then a river of blood was sure to flow in this inn.

“Rebel?” A jianghu warrior snorted. “So what if we are? Kill us all if you can, boy.”

“Yeah! It’s your duty to eliminate rebels, no? I dare you to kill us all!”

“Hehehe, you don’t dare, do you? Intelligence Department or not, imperial officials are all talk and no bite!”

“Hahahaha!”

For a time, most jianghu warriors laughed scornfully. They didn’t believe that the Intelligence Department had the balls to act considering the situation.

“You want to die?” Chu Renhe’s dark expression slowly spread into a cold, malicious grin. “As you wish!”

“I said this before, and I’ll say it again. No one threatens me or the Intelligence Department.”

“Intelligence Guards! Kill them all!”

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

As soon as the orders were given, wooden clicks could be heard, and crossbow bolts poured in from every direction like the rain.

Tang Chuan, Yu Shi and Luo Changbing also rushed forward and attacked the closest warriors without hesitation.

“Yeah! These officials clearly don’t give a shit about our lives! Don’t listen to him!”

“They’re right, brother. These bastards are planning to kill us all. We should take these three with us and break out of this place.”

“Get ready to fight these dogshit bastards to the death, brothers and sisters!”

“Yeah! They think they can do whatever they want? We’ll show them!”

The jianghu warriors grew restless as soon as Chu Renhe spoke up. Blood and death were their norm after all. To call them short-tempered would be an understatement. Chu Renhe had literally ordered their deaths earlier, so why on earth would they stand around and submit to their fate?

About a dozen jianghu warriors didn’t even bother to waste their breath. They charged straight toward the nearest Intelligence Guards, prompting the latter to draw their crossbows again.

“Seriously, give me a break.”

Ye Qing raised his foot half an inch and stomped the ground, eliciting a terrific boom that sounded like a thunderclap. The jianghu warriors and the Intelligence Guards immediately lost their footing and fell to the floor.

“Stop what you’re doing and listen to me.”

It was like a second thunderclap had erupted beside their ears. The yell had punched through their mental defenses, disoriented them and dispelled their energies.

There were a handful of people in the inn who managed to endure the disabling attack, but even they were looking at Ye Qing with shocked expressions. If they channeled their full strength, they could stomp the floor hard enough to shake the entire inn as well. But Ye Qing before them had done it without hurting the floor and knocked over every combatant in the area. This was unbelievable considering that even the weakest among them were Vessel Augmentors.

Besides that, the yell had dispelled their energies like nothing but did not real harm to them. This was definitely beyond their ability.

“Have you all calmed down?” Ye Qing asked while sweeping his gaze across the crowd. This time, the inn was as silent as a morgue.

“Good. Now listen to me.”

Ye Qing said slowly, “No side is in the wrong in this matter except these three bastards. You don’t really hold a grudge against one another either. Therefore, there is no need to resort to violence.”

“And how are we supposed to solve this conundrum without violence?” Chu Renhe asked coldly.

“The true reason you are butting heads with each other is the Sick Scholar. You want him because you want to live,” Ye Qing looked at the jianghu warriors before glancing at Chu Renhe, “and you want him because of the crimes he and his cohorts committed. However, your needs are not actually in conflict with one another.”

“There is only one Sick Scholar, but we both want him. Why wouldn’t there be conflict between our sides?” Chu Renhe asked ridiculingly. He had returned to his usual arrogant and cruel self.

“The reason they want Sick Scholar is because they were infected by his gu worms. As far as they know, the only way they could be cured is to save him. You want Sick Scholar himself because they broke the laws of Chu.”

Ye Qing smiled. “You don’t actually want the same thing. One side wants the cure, and the other wants the person. Naturally, it’s possible to solve this without conflict.”

Chu Renhe narrowed his eyes. “Really now? And how are we going to solve this, pray tell?”

Ye Qing answered, “Sick Scholar is under my control right now. After I get the cure from him and save my jianghu brethren, you may apprehend Sick Scholar and take him to your headquarters. It’s that simple.”

A clamor of murmurs broke out immediately. Assuming that the situation could be resolved as easily as Ye Qing claimed, then of course they would rather do it his way.

1. Who would’ve thought that inquisitors are loathsome? ?