"Meng Wu, tell us what happened that day again," Yunshang said lightly.
Meng Wu stepped timidly out of the crowd and carefully told the story of that day in front of so many important people. She started from how she was molested by Junliang, to when Yunxiao came to her rescue, and finally was wounded by the State Guardians and then taken away by Long Hao. She explained every detail very clearly.
Standing in the crowd, Jia Rong was dripping with cold sweat. He could not believe that this incident was actually caused by one of his disciples. Junliang had claimed himself to be his disciple after attending his classes a few times; as time went by, he did not think so much and took him as his in-name disciple. Of course, he wished he could slap himself in the face right now. He did not expect things to turn out like this!
When Meng Wu finished, Zhang Qingfan said coldly, "Lord Long, did you hear what she had said? We will take over the whole mansion temporarily now. If we have really wronged you, I will take full responsibility alone!" At his gesture, the men they brought dispersed at once and began to search.
Everyone in the mansion was terrified, and no one dared to make a move.
Yunshang said softly, "Lord Long, we would not have dared to seal your residence unless we had concrete evidence. Since matters have reached this stage, you'd better cooperate with us."
Long Qing's imposing manner collapsed instantly. 'I'm really in trouble this time.' His heart was bitter.
Staring at him, Zhang Qingfan asked in a cold voice, "I only have one question for you now: is Li Yunxiao dead or alive?"
"I don't know either," Long Qing said gloomily. "Come with me. It was all my wicked son's doing. I've just found out about it, and then you got here."
By this time, he knew it was futile to struggle anymore. The wisest choice in front of him was to cooperate with them and admit his mistake voluntarily. As long as Li Yunxiao was safe, he would have the chance to be forgiven. But, if something happened to Li Yunxiao...
At the thought of this, he felt a chill in his heart. Without hesitation, he quickened his pace and headed for the dungeon!
…
After being locked up in the dungeon for three days and three nights, Yunxiao's broken meridians had finally mended with the help of the Young Girl Style, and his Primordial Qi was able to flow freely within him once again. His face showed a happy look as he quickly stood up straight, then sat on the ground motionlessly like a mountain with both hands locked in an incantation gesture.
Although his meridians had been completely repaired, his body was still very weak, and the Primordial Qi in him was almost indiscernible. He was in a state of just recovering from a serious illness. Strands of Primordial Qi swam out of his dantian and circulated inside his body without any obstruction before returning to his dantian again. With that, he immediately felt that he had regained a small part of his strength.
The others in the cell all stared blankly at him for the past three days. They thought he was very unusual, and what surprised them was his amazing physical strength, because he had stood like a statue for so long without eating anything.
Just then, Yunxiao suddenly flicked open his eyes and sighed softly. "They came several hours early. I'm in trouble this time."
Moments later, a creaking noise came from outside the dungeon, and then the heavy door was flung open with a crash. A group of men walked in with lanterns in hands.
There was no light in the dungeon, so all the prisoners closed their eyes when the lantern light shone on their faces, their eyes tingling. Soon, a dozen large candlesticks were lit; outside the cell was the interrogation room.
With bandages and plaster on his shoulders, Long Hao was sitting in a large chair covered with tiger skin. His face was streaked with blood; he had obviously not fully recovered. Staring straight at the cell, he said fiercely, "Drag that boy out! Today, I will make him regret being born in this world!"
Pa!
The cell door was opened and several armored soldiers came in, dragging Yunxiao out. Meanwhile, he began to quickly calculate in his mind. 'A total of thirty-five men…Twelve of them are warriors, and there is a hunchback old man with dim eyes...He is a Martial Master.'
It was hard for him to get out now as his strength had not yet recovered, and he did not know the situation outside, so he simply played dead. He closed his eyes and allowed the soldiers to drag him out and tie him on the rack, his hands and feet bound with thick soaked cow tendons.
"Wake him up, and be careful not to kill him!"
Several big guys poured bucket after bucket of salted water on Yunxiao, then put on a cold grin on their faces while waiting to see his painful expression. The salted water was added with a special drug which would quickly erode muscles and blood vessels after touching the wound, making the sufferer awash with an intense pain.
But to their surprise, Yunxiao just lightly opened his eyes and smiled at them. The wounds on his body had long been healed. Although he still looked bloody and horrible, there was not a trace of wound on him. So, when the salted water was poured, it was just washing away the bloodstains on his skin.
It was like when a beautiful woman finally stripped naked in front of someone, only to reveal that she was actually a man. As their abnormal mentality of wanting to abuse someone was not satisfied, a trace of anger instantly emerged on the few big guys' faces. They snorted coldly a few times, while Yunxiao could read 'Just you wait!' in their eyes.
Long Hao's cold voice rang out, "Boy, open your eyes and see who I am!"
"Who are you?" Yunxiao spat in his direction with disdain. "Do you really think you're somebody?"
"YOU!"
Long Hao was so angry that he leaped out of the chair and rushed over like a gust of wind before punching Yunxiao in the chest. "I dare you to talk like a tough guy again!"
BAM! A burst of force smashed into Yunxiao's chest.
"AH! This is so painful!"
To everyone's surprise, it was Long Hao who let out the scream! He almost dislocated his arm again because he had exerted too much force. A great pain was coming from his shoulder that was wrapped in bandages, making him sweat profusely and fly into a rage!
Puke!
Yunxiao felt a mouthful of warm blood rushing up into his throat. He took a breath and opened his mouth, then spat everything on Long Hao's face. The distance between them was so close that by the time Long Hao found out, it was too late for him to dodge. As a result, he was sprayed with blood and phlegm all over his face, and a pungent smell went straight into his nostrils.
"DAMNIT!"
Long Hao cried out in anger and quickly took off his shirt while his men hurriedly handed him towels. He wiped his face with a towel desperately, but the faint foul smell could not be removed.
Yunxiao burst into laughter and said, "Haha! Now I can see who you are! So, it is you, the loser! Oh, by the way, where is your precious Bluemoon?"
"Argh! Bast*rd! Kill him! Kill him for me!" Long Hao roared frantically. Losing his precious broadsword was the greatest pain in his heart, even more painful than when his arms were broken! That was the mystic weapon he had spent all his money on!
With the broadsword in hand, his strength was doubled! But now, he had nothing! He was completely angered!
"No, brother Hao!" Junliang hurried up and said. "This boy knows he is going to die today, so he has deliberately angered you. He wants to be killed quickly! How could we let him die so easily when the feast we have prepared for him has not yet been served?"
Hearing that, Long Hao instantly calmed down. While staring at Yunxiao, he said ferociously, "What a clever boy, I almost fell for your trick! Now, I'll let you enjoy the feast. Long De, serve him the snack before the main course, a hundred lashes! Don't kill him!"
Yunxiao's eyes were full of puzzles, and he did not seem to have heard their conversation. Just now when Long Hao punched him in the chest, although his internal organs were bleeding from the impact, the force that rushed into his body was absorbed by his flesh, then converted into a faint Primordial Qi that finally returned into his dantian.
The discovery surprised him, and his mind instantly flashed back to when he and Tyrant Martial Sovereign fought each other. In order to compete for the rank on the Heaven and Earth Power Chart, the two of them had fought for several days and nights, shattering the heaven and earth, and even causing the entire Holy City to nearly collapse. In the end, because Tyrant's physique was so strong that he could resist his Primordial Qi, and Tyrant's advantage grew greater as the battle approached the end, Yunxiao was forced to admit defeat.
Looking back now, he instantly understood why he had lost! Tyrant's body could not only resist Primordial Qi, but also absorb the opponent's forces and turn it to his own!
Heavens! How could there be such a freakish cultivation technique in this world!
Traces of cold sweat broke out of his forehead. Judging by this, the awesomeness of the Tyrant Body Tempering Technique was not inferior to that of the Great Expansion Divine Technique!
However, when he went further into thinking, he found a weakness in this technique. Although it could absorb the opponent's force, its practitioner must first bear the opponent's attack and let the force enter the body, before it could be digested and absorbed.
There was a huge risk in this. A few punches of an ordinary warrior were easy to bear, but after stepping into the Nine Heavens realm, no one would dare to stand still and let a Martial Sovereign punch them. Even Tyrant did not dare to let his opponent strike at his body, unless he had no other choice.
'Phew! I thought this technique was invincible. It turns out it also has a flaw.' Yunxiao breathed a slight sigh of relief. All of a sudden, a loud crackle came to him, and he felt a stab of pain on his skin while a faint wisp of force entered his body, quickly absorbed by his flesh.
The same few big guys, bare-chested by now, were looking at him excitedly, each holding a whip in hand. Their eyes seemed to be saying: 'Aren't you very strong? See what I can do with you now!' The surfaces of the whips were covered with small sharp points that took away a large piece of skin and flesh when they struck Yunxiao, washing him with intense pain!
Pa!
Pa!
Pa!
...
They took turns and started whipping Yunxiao; blood spilled from him and spattered everywhere. A great pain was erupting all over his body. The whips were also stained with the drug that could corrode the wounds, so not only did he feel the pain, but his skin was festering rapidly at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Yunxiao clenched his jaw and simply closed his eyes. Wisps of force came from the whips, weak but continuous, and were soon absorbed into his dantian. Like that, he began to recover his strength in silence.
"This boy's bones are really tough! After being whipped for so many times, he didn't even utter a cry." The hunchback old man's eyes suddenly glowed with surprise. He knew the pain brought by these whips. Even a Martial Master would cry for his mother if he were whipped a few times.
Junliang sneered, "His bones have to be tough so we can have fun! If he begged for mercy or simply died after being whipped a few times, the fun would be spoiled, and all our preparation would have gone to waste!"
The old man nodded slightly and remained silent.
As soon as the few big guys heard the conversation, their eyes flashed with anger. In their minds, Yunxiao was laughing at them for not exerting enough force by not uttering a single cry. Immediately, they put all their strength into the whips and lashed them out desperately, taking away a large piece of skin and flesh with every strike! After more than a hundred lashes, Yunxiao was completely bloody, and did not have a piece of intact skin on his body.