[I beg the Celestial Book, reveal to me if Zhang Chao and Dong Ba of Red Flame Peak bear me ill will!]
[Inquiry: Human Hearts]
[Deduction Time: Two hours]
[Deduction Result: Zhang Chao is jealous of the favor you've received from the Servants and your youthful success... Dong Ba views you as a fat sheep ready for the slaughter and plans to extort you...]
"As expected! These two are courting death!"
Jiang Yi's eyes turned frigid, shimmering with killing intent. In a flash, he burst into the large, tile-roofed house.
...
...
"What was that noise..."
Dong Ba, who was in the middle of drinking and eating, pricked up his ears and looked outside.
Before he could get up, the thick curtain was torn apart. Wind and snow poured into the room like a dragon, making everyone shiver from the cold.
"Who?"
Dong Ba roared.
He was an old hand, a seasoned highwayman, a ruthless mountain bandit. The moment he sensed something was wrong, he snatched the long wooden bench from under him and flung it backward.
CRACK!
Splinters flew everywhere!
The long bench shattered as if it had hit an iron plate!
Using the momentum, Dong Ba twisted his waist, steadied himself, and got a clear look at the intruder.
It was a youthful face, his features still marked by a touch of immaturity.
"You... Jiang..."
A bloody, murderous intent surfaced on Dong Ba's dark face. 'A little whelp who's barely grown any hair dares to come to my door looking for trouble.'
"I thought you were a spineless coward, just like He the Venerable!"
Jiang Yi's True Qi surged, shattering the cloth curtain as he stepped over the threshold and into the room.
He scanned the room, his gaze first landing on Zhang Chao, who sat unmoving at the square table, before returning to Dong Ba.
"If you manage to walk out of here on your own two feet tonight, I'll write my name backward!"
Dong Ba fully displayed his brutish nature. The reason he and Zhang Chao could lord it over everyone on Red Flame Peak was twofold.
First, they had studied martial arts, making them fiercer than the other Mortal Servants and able to keep things under control.
Second, they were vicious and had plenty of dirty tricks; anyone who crossed them was sure to meet a bad end.
"Brother Yi, you're the one who refused a toast, choosing to drink a forfeit instead! We brothers were honoring you by being willing to share a portion of the money.
By not taking it, you disrespected us! By not taking it, you also made things very awkward for us!"
Zhang Chao gripped his porcelain cup. The fine, warm wine within gradually grew cold in the frigid draft.
"Matters of face are often more important than life and death. Younger Brother Dong is indeed quick-tempered; he slapped He the Venerable and made him crawl between his legs... But when it comes down to it, you slapped our faces, so we sullied yours. It's only fair."
Dong Ba's frame was burly, and he stood there like an iron tower.
The Third Layer of Qi Cultivation is Blood Transformation, the renewal of one's entire blood supply. The moment he unleashed his aura, he was as ferocious as a wild tiger!
He stared intently at Jiang Yi, who hadn't said a word since entering, and spoke with a jeer:
"Third Brother Zhang, later we'll make him crawl between our legs too! That'll teach him a lesson! Trying to be a good person and show kindness without the strength to back it up..."
TCH!
Jiang Yi remained expressionless. With a mere lift of his hand to form a seal, a line of fire shot out, as fast as a flash of lightning. It instantly pierced Dong Ba's neck, leaving a scorched black hole.
"Hkk... hkk..."
Dong Ba didn't even have time to react. He only felt a sharp pain in his throat and couldn't force out another word.
Still not speaking, Jiang Yi simply stepped forward.
He spread his five fingers and pressed them onto the head of Dong Ba, who was collapsing to his knees.
The Fire Attribute refined by his True Qi erupted forth like a red-hot branding iron, searing the skin and flesh of that dark face!
But with his throat pierced, Dong Ba couldn't make a single sound. He stiffly endured for seven or eight breaths before finally expiring.
Zhang Chao's eyes widened as if he'd seen a ghost. He stammered in terror:
"A Refining Technique... Where did you get an Entry-Level Technique to create a Daoist Skill!"
Among the many Mortal Servants on Red Flame Peak, forget about a Refining Technique.
Most couldn't even properly cultivate the common-as-dirt "True Meridian Qi Flowing Technique."
That's why there's the saying: Magic is worth thousands of gold, and a single Spell is hard to come by!
In the face of a Technique and Daoist Skill cultivated to Small Success, the body of a Cultivator at the Third or Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation was practically made of paper!
"Brother Yi! I submit! From now on, you're the boss on Red Flame Peak! Whatever you say, goes..."
Zhang Chao no longer had his dignified appearance; he was truly scared out of his wits.
He had been on Red Flame Peak with Dong Ba for nearly ten years, and never once had he seen a Mortal Servant use a Daoist Skill!
Jiang Yi finally spoke, pointing at Dong Ba's cold corpse:
"He was at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer. His skin, flesh, and bones should be worth twenty thousand Talisman Coins. Same for you.
I borrowed from everyone I could to scrape together the money to buy your lives."
Zhang Chao was even more horrified, as if he had plunged into an icy cavern.
"Master Jiang! Just treat me like a dog, be merciful and spare my life! I... How about I be your dog from now on? WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF!
Why waste another twenty thousand Talisman Coins on a worthless life like mine!"
Zhang Chao was truly someone who could bend and yield. As he spoke, he got down on all fours and started barking like a dog.
"Sigh, you're right. Why not save a little money if I can."
Jiang Yi looked toward the two Mortal Servants cowering at the base of the wall and said softly:
"Take good care of Inspector Zhang. He's lost both his legs, so he won't be able to work anymore. You two will have to wait on him."
With that, he activated his True Qi. A line of fire shot out like a hot knife slicing sideways through everything.
KRAK!
Zhang Chao's legs were severed at the hip!
Jiang Yi turned away without a second glance at the now-crippled Zhang Chao, leaving him to his agonized screams.
A flicker in his eyes, and the golden paper appeared.
[I beg the Celestial Book, show me where Zhang Chao and Dong Ba of Red Flame Peak have hidden their money!]
Then, under Zhang Chao's hateful gaze, Jiang Yi ransacked the place, smoothly pulling out two stacks of Talisman Coins.
"You animal! You beast! That's my hard-earned money..."
Zhang Chao was so enraged his vision went dark. As he gasped for breath, he saw the two Mortal Servants he usually treated like cattle and horses slowly approaching.
"Let's go, Brother He."
From the moment he entered to the moment he left, Jiang Yi had been inside for barely ten minutes.
"I told you. From now on, no one on this Red Flame Peak will be able to cause us trouble."
He the Venerable was stunned stiff as a wooden chicken. He peeked into the large, tile-roofed house. Dong Ba's corpse lay at the entrance, scorched beyond recognition. Zhang Chao was wailing like a ghost, clearly suffering some unspeakable torment.
"This... Brother Yi, wait for me!"
...
...
「Atop Red Flame Peak, in the Yang Residence.」
Yang Xun was still mulling over the day's events, thinking about Jiang Yi's response. He muttered to himself:
"He's only had the technique for a few days? How could he have already reached Small Success! It makes no sense! Back in my day, I..."
The Little Daoist Child suddenly appeared and said respectfully:
"Master, Marshal Jiang is here again!"
Yang Xun said irritably:
"It's the middle of the night, doesn't he sleep? Don't I need to sleep? He just borrowed Talisman Coins, what does he want now?!"
The Little Daoist Child shrank back and said timidly:
"Marshal Jiang said that he... accidentally killed Dong Ba from the Forging Room and injured Zhang Chao from the Grinding and Carving Room.
He's come specifically to deliver money as compensation, to show his remorse!"
Hearing this, Yang Xun froze, as if he had misheard.
'Zhang Chao and Dong Ba? Weren't those two vicious dogs at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer?
And Jiang Yi took care of them both?'
A moment later, Yang Xun's long, old face with its bald brows began to twitch uncontrollably, and he burst out laughing:
"Hahahaha, so that's how it is! Borrowing money to buy lives... What a fine specimen of the Demon Dao!"