How did beast tamers manage to tame all those animalistic beasts that were difficult to to tame in a short amount of time?
The answer was actually very simple and very cruel — by whipping. Even if a wild beast couldn't speak, it wasn't immune to pain and suffering. As long as you let it know which actions would lead to pain and agony, even the less intellectual and ferocious beasts could be domesticated into obedient cats.
If that was possible for a beast, it was possible for humans too.
This was something Yan Liqiang had known in his previous life back when he attended an upper division management course. The lecturer related the principle of taming a beast to analyze the subtle psychological and sociological effects between human resource management in corporate systems and the Stockholm Syndrome.
It was all still fresh Yan Liqiang's memory.
In such a pressing situation, Yan Liqiang had no choice but to treat the son of the Prefectural Governor like a wild beast. He needed to make this person submit completely to him and instill fear in him. Only with that would he have a chance of surviving today.
Ye Xiao was worse than a beast. However, he wasn't only a hostage to Yan Liqiang right now, he was the key to his survival.
In the shortest amount of time possible, Yan Liqiang left four extremely painful wounds on Ye Xiao's body which were no doubt etched deep into his memory. They had completely crumbled the last trace hope and resistance from him. At the same time, Yan Liqiang let Ye Xiao know that his insignificant life was completely in his hands. If Yan Liqiang wanted to kill him, he definitely would not have any second thoughts just because of his identity.
When he watched his finger detached from his palm, the terror that filled the heart of the Prefectural Governor's young lord far exceeded the physical pain he felt.
Yan Liqiang quickly tied a leather belt around Ye Xiao's neck. The leather belt was barely loose enough to let the young lord of the Prefectural Governor breathe and not suffocate to death. The other end of the belt bounded both of his hands and were twisted behind his body in an unsightly way, thus completely restricting his movements. Yan Liqiang grabbed the middle part of the belt with one hand and pressed the shortsword in the same hand against Ye Xiao's back, maintaining it in a position where he could stab him at any moment. His kukri knife was in his other hand he and placed it on Ye Xiao's shoulder so that the sharp tip of the blade was directly aimed at the main artery in his neck.
Then, with the same position, he effortlessly marched Ye Xiao out from the bathroom with the bow on his back.
The footsteps in the underground tunnel were chaotic and panicked. In just a flash, more than ten guards carrying swords and crossbows rushed out from the tunnel. When they saw Ye Xiao who had been held hostage by Yan Liqiang, each of their expressions became contorted. The few who were holding crossbows instantly crouched down and aimed their weapons at Yan Liqiang.
"Who are you? Release Young Master Ye! If you dare lay a finger on him, the Prefectural Governor will shred you to pieces!!" The person who seemed to be the leader of the group yelled at Yan Liqiang.
"Order them to lower their weapons…" Yan Liqiang gave the order to Ye Xiao. His back against the wall, slightly leaning to the side so that his body was almost completely shielded by Ye Xiao's body in front of him.
"BASTARDS, QUICKLY PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS. DO YOU HEAR ME?" Ye Xiao yelled so loudly that his voice was hoarse.
The guards exchanged looks between themselves before they finally looked at the man who had spoken to Yan Liqiang just now. However, no one put down their weapons.
"Seems like the words of the Prefectural Governor's young lord have fallen on deaf ears. Maybe they want to see you dead?" Yan Liqiang let out a small sigh and then slightly increased the pressure on the kukri knife that he was holding at Ye Xiao's neck, instantly cutting into skin. Blood started to seep out from the wound.
Ye Xiao was terror-stricken. With a flushed face, he bellowed at those guards. Even his voice had turned high-pitched and extremely strident to the ears. "ZHAO SONGMING, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? WILL YOU ONLY BE HAPPY WHEN YOU SEE ME DEAD? IF I DIE HERE TODAY, MY FATHER WILL DEFINITELY SEE TO IT THAT YOU WILL BE BURIED ALONG WITH MY BODY. ALL OF YOU WILL BE MY MURDERERS!!"
The countenance of the leader of the guards who had yelled at Yan Liqiang earlier instantly became distorted. "Everyone, lower your weapons, lower your weapons!"
Those who were holding swords or powerful crossbows hurriedly placed the weapons in their hands on the floor.
"I don't care who you all are, but you better listen carefully. Starting from now, stay five zhang [1] away from me. If anyone comes closer than that without my permission, I will chop one of Ye Xiao's fingers off. If two people come five zhang near me, I will chop one of Ye Xiao's hands off. Also, if I notice anyone holding a crossbow or a hidden weapon within a hundred meters, I will poke a hole through Ye Xiao's body. If you want to kill me, I will definitely use Ye Xiao as a meat shield. So to those who want to perform in front of your master, I will advise you to reconsider. If anything happens to Ye Xiao because of you, or if he has any missing fingers or holes in his body, you will bear the consequences. Don't risk your little life just because you want to do well. I can't kill you, but there's definitely someone who can!" Yan Liqiang revealed his face from behind Ye Xiao and spoke to those guards in an icy tone. "Alright, that's all. Step back now and keep yourselves five zhang away from me…"
"DID YOU HEAR THAT? FALL BACK AND QUICKLY SPREAD THE WORD!" Ye Xiao shouted at those guards on his own accord without Yan Liqiang's instructions. The blue, bulging veins on his forehead were clearly visible.
This time, all the guards hurriedly moved backwards without Zhao Songming saying anything. All of them feared that any sort of delay would turn them into scapegoats. Yan Liqiang was totally playing a mind game with them just now and his words hit the guards right in their weak spots. Under these circumstances, it would naturally be a good thing if one could rescue Young Master Ye — a high position and great wealth in the future would be waiting for them. However, if anything happened to Young Master Ye because of someone, even if he sustained a scratch on him, it would spell doom for that person...
Yan Liqiang watched in satisfaction as each guard retreated five zhang away from him.
"I'll give you five minutes to bring me the two girls that were kidnapped just now…" Yan Liqiang told Ye Xiao.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? CALL YE AN TO SEND THOSE TWO GIRLS HERE!" Ye Xiao shouted again at the guards.
In just a flash, the two girls that Yan Liqiang had seen just now were brought over.
They were already awake, but they were gagged, blindfolded, and also restrained by the ropes. When they were brought around five zhang away from Yan Liqiang, Yan Liqiang ordered the guards to undo the ropes and take off the blindfolds and the gags so that he could take another good look at the two ladies. Upon confirming that these two were the very same ladies he saw earlier, he let the frightened girls escape from the tunnel behind him and towards the exit at the back. At the same time, he also brought up the rear and slowly retreated into the tunnel that he used earlier when he came here with Ye Xiao.
Those guards were stuck in a difficult situation. They were only allowed to stay five zhang away from Yan Liqiang, and so they could only blindly follow him to the other end of the tunnel.
When Yan Liqiang arrived at the metal door of the tunnel along with Ye Xiao, he suddenly heard screams from the two ladies who were running in front of him. The scene he saw when he turned around made his eyes bulge and burn with anger. Just twenty meters away from him, the two young ladies had collapsed to the floor with crimson, bloody wounds on their fair necks. Their wounds were still wholly open. In just a flash, both young and beautiful ladies had withered away like roses, dying before Yan Liqiang's eyes.
Unbeknownst to him, a man was already standing at the exit of the tunnel, fully dressed in black with gray hair, wearing a sinister face.
That man stared at Yan Liqiang with a malevolent smile. The expression on his face was then replaced by a solemn look in just a flash before he made a loud announcement to everyone. "Everyone, listen carefully here. This person who abducted Young Master Ye kidnapped two young girls in Pingxi City today and did some monstrous things to them. Fortunately, the Young Master discovered his strange act when he was out today and had the guards rescue the two girls, taking the three of them to the manor. He was about to report this to the authorities but he didn't expect this man to be so cunning and evil to come up with such a trick. While waiting for an opportunity to flee, he killed these two girls, abducted the Young Master, and also killed a few guards in the manor while attempting to escape…"