"I'll tell you the truth, just please don't shoot me again!" Yang Sandao pleaded, his voice trembling with tears.
Both of his hands now had holes, each the size of a thumb. No blood flowed from these wounds; the flesh around them was scorched. This was the terrifying power of a laser gun. It penetrates the body with a high-temperature beam, instantly charring the tissue. Such injuries are nearly impossible to fully heal, even with surgery.
Moreover, the laser gun could adjust its output power. The shots Dong Jian fired at Yang Sandao's hands earlier must have been on a lower setting, resulting in relatively small holes. If the power had been higher, the holes could have been as large as a fist, which would have been catastrophic.
"Go on," Wu Zhiming said calmly.
"I did hear the elders in my family mention that our clan once owned such an earring, said to be incredibly valuable. But later, during my grandfather's generation, times were tough. My grandfather sold the earring," Yang Sandao explained.
"Sold it? To whom?" Zhou Wenwei asked excitedly.
"It was sold to a pawnshop. The shop had no name, but it was quite famous in Haixia about fifty years ago," Yang Sandao replied.
"A pawnshop from fifty years ago..." Wu Zhiming glanced at Zhou Wenwei. "That's going to be hard to track down. Pawnshops were quite common in that era."
"Do you know how much it was sold for?" Zhou Wenwei inquired.
"I think it was a few hundred yuan," Yang Sandao said.
"A few hundred yuan!!" Zhou Wenwei exclaimed, nearly shouting. "That's a crime against such a precious jewel, selling it for so little!"
"Fifty years ago was a time of great hardship. People struggled to eat and stay warm. Even government officials earned just a few yuan a month. Selling it for a few hundred was quite substantial, equivalent to hundreds of thousands now. Not bad at all," Wu Zhiming noted, then turned to Yang Sandao and asked, "With such a significant amount of money, why didn't your family prosper?"
"My father was a gambler," Yang Sandao admitted.
"Got it!" Wu Zhiming nodded in understanding. Once you fall into the trap of gambling, no amount of wealth is enough.
"As you mentioned, a pawnshop willing to spend a few hundred yuan on jewelry back then must have been a major establishment," Zhou Wenwei speculated.
"Right!" Wu Zhiming agreed. "We should look into the major pawnshops in Haixia from fifty years ago and check them out one by one. But don't get your hopes up. Pawnshops are in the business of buying and selling. It's unlikely they would have kept such an item for long; it was probably sold off long ago."
"It's still worth investigating. If the earring is still around and hasn't been sold, we might have a chance!" Zhou Wenwei said earnestly.
Wu Zhiming smiled and added, "Even if we find two of them, it won't help us much. The third one is still without any leads."
"We have to try our best," Zhou Wenwei said firmly. "If it were easy, Luoshen's treasure would have been found long ago."
"Luoshen's treasure? What's that?" Yang Sandao asked, intrigued.
"Do you really want to know?" Wu Zhiming squinted his eyes.
"No, I don't," Yang Sandao quickly shook his head, then asked, "I've told you everything you wanted to know. Can you let me go now?"
"Of course!" Wu Zhiming replied, then turned to Zhou Wenwei. "You should go now."
"Alright," Zhou Wenwei nodded. Wu Zhiming's actions were already on the edge of legality, and Zhou Wenwei didn't want to be involved any longer. If the police showed up, it would be hard to explain his presence.
After Zhou Wenwei left, Wu Zhiming said to Yang Sandao, "Let's go! I'll take you out of here."
"Great! Master Wu, you truly keep your word," Yang Sandao said, getting up to follow Wu Zhiming out of the warehouse.
Wu Zhiming led the way, with Yang Sandao in the middle and Dong Jian bringing up the rear.
The three of them stepped out of the warehouse in succession. As they emerged, Dong Jian quickened his pace and headed towards the nearby car. Just as Dong Jian was about to get in, Yang Sandao, who had been biding his time, suddenly sprang into action. With a swift leap, he covered the short distance to Wu Zhiming, who was less than three meters away.
Dong Jian seemed momentarily caught off guard. By the time he aimed his gun at Yang Sandao, Yang was already behind Wu Zhiming, seizing him in a firm hold. Yang Sandao's right hand clamped tightly around Wu Zhiming's throat from behind.
"Did you really think I was an idiot?" Yang Sandao growled, his face contorted with rage. "You talked about that Luoshen's treasure right in front of me. It's obvious you never planned to let me leave here alive! Wu Zhiming, you may be ruthless, but you're not as clever as you think!"
"It seems you're not as dumb as you look. But are you sure those wounds on your hands are no big deal?" Wu Zhiming asked with a smile.
"What are a few injuries compared to my life? Do you think I survived this long in Haixia City on just my three knives? Hey, you over there, toss me the laser gun, or I'll kill your boss!" Yang Sandao shouted at Dong Jian.
"If I were you, I wouldn't do anything so foolish," Dong Jian sighed.
"Cut the crap! Throw the laser gun over here!" Yang Sandao demanded.
"Do you know why Dong Jian went to the car without worrying about you?" Wu Zhiming suddenly asked.
Yang Sandao paused, feeling a growing sense of unease.
In that instant, Wu Zhiming raised his right hand and grasped Yang Sandao's hand that was clutching his throat.
"Because Dong Jian knows… you pose no threat to me. He went to the car on purpose to give me a valid reason to kill you. But honestly, just the fact that your men tried to kidnap my wife is enough to get you killed," Wu Zhiming said, prying Yang Sandao's hand away from his neck.
Yang Sandao's expression changed drastically.
A powerful force emanated from Wu Zhiming's hand. It was so overwhelming and destructive that it crushed the strength in Yang Sandao's right hand. Slowly, Wu Zhiming pulled Yang Sandao's hand away from his neck.
"How… how is this possible?" Yang Sandao cried out in shock.
Effortlessly, Wu Zhiming pried Yang Sandao's hand away, then turned to face him, grabbing Yang's throat with his own hand.
"A Tier 6 Martial Artist might be invincible in the city, but on the battlefield beyond our world, you're barely more than a high-level grunt. I've killed more Tier 6 Martial Artists than you've ever met in your life. Even Martial Lords have fallen to my hands. So tell me… what makes you think a mere Tier 6 like you can show off in front of me?" Wu Zhiming asked, squinting at Yang Sandao.
Yang Sandao looked at Wu Zhiming in utter horror.
The battlefield beyond—the mere mention of it conjured images of a place of unimaginable terror in the real world. Hearing Wu Zhiming speak of it, Yang realized that Wu Zhiming had been there. But how was that possible? Wasn't Wu Zhiming supposed to be just a useless second young master in Haixia City?
"Who… who exactly are you?" Yang Sandao's voice trembled as he asked.
"Who am I? Dong Jian, tell him who I am," Wu Zhiming said.
"You are the Master of the Wu Family, a man of immense wealth and influence, and a ruler on the battlefield beyond," Dong Jian said with a bow.
"Just like you, I also have a nickname," Wu Zhiming said, smiling at the terrified Yang Sandao. "In the battlefield beyond, they like to call me… the Tyrant."
With that, Wu Zhiming squeezed his hand.
There was a crack, and Yang Sandao's neck snapped.
"Master, doesn't it feel satisfying to share secrets with someone else?" Dong Jian asked, stepping forward with a smile.
"It really does… no wonder so many people can't keep secrets!" Wu Zhiming remarked as he casually dropped Yang Sandao's lifeless body to the ground.
Dong Jian handed a wet wipe to Wu Zhiming.
Wu Zhiming wiped his hands and then said, "Send him to Shen Hongyue as a farewell gift."
"Alright!" Dong Jian nodded with a smile. The night deepened as Wu Zhiming returned home alone.
As he opened the door, the faint sound of the television came from inside. Wu Zhiming walked into the living room and found Yao Jing asleep on the sofa.
Yao Jing was a light sleeper, so she woke up as soon as Wu Zhiming entered the room.
"You're back," Yao Jing said.
"Yes," Wu Zhiming nodded and started towards his room.
"Wait a moment," Yao Jing called out.
Wu Zhiming stopped and turned to look at her.
"I was wrong," Yao Jing said.
"Wrong about what?" Wu Zhiming asked.
"Everything," Yao Jing replied.
"Go back to sleep," Wu Zhiming said as he turned and entered his room, shutting the door behind him.
Yao Jing sat cross-legged on the sofa, frowning slightly as she murmured to herself, "Such a petty man."
At seven in the morning, Shen Hongyue had already woken up. She had suffered a crushing defeat in Haixia City and had no intention of staying any longer, so she decided to return to the provincial capital early today.
"How's your hand?" Shen Hongyue asked her brother, Shen Tingbai.
"It's just a minor injury," Shen Tingbai replied flatly, shaking his head. His hand had been hurt by Tanlang, but after applying some medicine, it wasn't a big deal.
"Wu Zhiming is very cautious now, surrounded by several bodyguards. It's hard to kill him," Shen Hongyue said.
"Hard, but not impossible..." Shen Tingbai sneered. "If he dares step into Rongjin City, I have a hundred ways to make sure he dies."
"From what he said before, it seems he will go to Rongjin City. He's already suspecting that I'm involved in Wu Zhennan's death. With his personality, if he finds any evidence, he'll definitely come to the provincial capital to find me," Shen Hongyue said.
"Good!" Shen Tingbai's face lit up with murderous intent.
"Zhixing, let's go!" Shen Hongyue called out.
Wu Zhixing emerged from his room, dragging a suitcase behind him. Currently, he was out on bail, which meant he wasn't supposed to leave his residence. However, thanks to Shen Hongyue's influential connections, no one would question his departure.
After the group finished preparing, they headed to the door. Wu Zhixing opened it.
As soon as the door swung open, a foul stench wafted in from outside. At the entrance, several animal carcasses were neatly arranged.
Beside these animal carcasses lay a human corpse, its head twisted in a grotesque manner.
Upon seeing this, Wu Zhixing and Shen Hongyue's faces changed. The human corpse with the twisted head was Yang Sandao.
But that wasn't the most horrifying part—the animal carcasses. Weren't those the same animals Yang Sandao had delivered to Wu Zhiming just yesterday?