Chapter 595: Opportunity
Tianxia wanted to draw the katana at his waist but quickly stopped. He turned to the man beside him and said, “Wu Qianjin, go down there and bring them up.”
The men standing around him were no fools; they had long realized that something was wrong. They wondered if those in the water had been attacked by some animal or encountered something bizarre, and no one dared to take a step forward.
Wu Qianjin, having been called out, was so frightened that he hastily backed up two steps. “Mr. Tianxia, look, they’ve stopped thrashing! They’re gone. It must be divine retribution! I want to go home…”
“Bastard!” Tianxia drew his katana and pointed it straight at him. “If you don’t go down there yourself, I’ll send you down with this.”
Wu Qianjin looked around, only to find that the men originally standing next to him had long since backed far away. He was being used as the sacrificial lamb.
“I’ll go.” Left with no choice, he forced his trembling legs toward the sea. As soon as he entered the water, without even taking a closer look, he grabbed the person nearest to him and scrambled back toward the shore. Relying on his last ounce of courage, he dragged the man onto the shore, then immediately threw the hand off and backed far away.
As soon as he had grabbed him, he realized that the man’s weight didn’t match his size at all. He felt incredibly light, as if Wu Qianjin were dragging a dead branch. What kind of bizarre disease was this? He didn’t want to catch it.
The others shared the same thought. Before he even got close, they backed away from him even further.
“The flesh on his body is gone, and it’s still disappearing!” Tianxia grabbed a torch from nearby, illuminating the man lying on the shore so that nothing could be hidden. The sight made him gasp in horror.
What kind of strange illness was this? Or was there something in the sea they didn’t know about? But why had all these people run over here?
Seeing the exposed heart still beating, even the notoriously ruthless Tianxia felt a pang of fear. He swallowed hard before asking, “Are you still alive? Can you speak?”
The man struggled to open his eyes. Seeing Tianxia, he looked agitated. “Boss, put me out of my misery.”
“What happened to you all? You need to explain this to me.
“You were resting outside. What on earth did you provoke?”
Everyone was desperate for an answer, but the man had used his very last ounce of strength to speak those words. His head slumped to the side, and he went straight to meet his maker.
“You should be asking us that,” Gu Kaiyuan said, leading his guards to surround them. He recognized the man before him as Tianxia, a villain who committed every evil imaginable, relying on the sheer number of his subordinates.
Ever since Ishishita Saburō and his men had massacred a village, this man had become even more deranged. He had even led his men to attack the county town, murdering, looting, and committing unspeakable atrocities. However, he was extremely cunning and elusive. As soon as he got the loot he wanted, he would vanish, making it incredibly difficult to track him down.
They could be considered old acquaintances. After playing a game of cat and mouse with him for months, Gu Kaiyuan’s forces had accidentally caught one of his straggling subordinates. Through severe interrogation, they finally discovered their hideout. Wiping these men out today wouldn’t just vent his own anger; it would also indirectly save countless more lives.
“How did you get up here?” Tianxia and his remaining dozen men instantly gathered together, raising their katanas and pointing them at Gu Kaiyuan and his group. Tianxia was furious. Hadn’t he posted guards? What were those useless fools doing?
“We just sailed up here on boats,” Gu Kaiyuan said with a smile. “Do you have any other questions before you die?”
“Damn you! What did you do to them?” Tianxia was now like a toothless tiger; he wanted to pounce and bite, but he no longer had his sharp fangs.
Just looking at their attire, he could tell they were from the Rong Dynasty. Seeing that they were all armed with swords, he guessed they were government officials. But why weren’t they wearing official uniforms? Probably to conceal their identities.
He gritted his teeth in hatred. When he had previously ordered his men to patrol the nearby waters, they had always claimed that the Rong Dynasty soldiers were poor swimmers and there was no need to fear even if they came. Now their hideout had been completely overrun. This was their so-called “nothing to fear.”
“It was nothing much. We just gave them some good stuff. Who knew they wouldn’t have the fortune to enjoy it?” As Gu Kaiyuan took a step forward, Tianxia took a step back.
“You’re despicable! Using such dirty tricks—aren’t you afraid we’ll spread the word? Doesn’t the Rong Dynasty care about its reputation?”
Gu Kaiyuan curled his lips. The Rong family ruled the empire—what did that have to do with him? All he wanted was peace for the common people of this region, to stop these demons from committing further atrocities.
“If we leave you all here permanently, who’s going to know what we did?” If Bai Suihe had been here, she would have probably screamed that this was a classic villain’s catchphrase.
“It seems you aren’t going to let us live.” Tianxia darted his eyes around, searching for a way to break through. Of course, he couldn’t do it without the help of the men beside him. His eyes shifted as he whispered to them, “We’ll charge out in a moment. Otherwise, we’ll end up just like them.”
“Mr. Tianxia, can’t we surrender? Doesn’t the Rong Dynasty have a policy of not executing prisoners?”
“Can’t you see how arrogant they are? If you think they won’t chop your head off, then stay.”
Seeing them whispering right in front of him, Gu Kaiyuan didn’t mind and even gave them a little time. “Are you done saying your goodbyes? Make your choice: will you end it yourselves, or should we help you?”
“We have no grudges against each other, so why must you wipe us out?” Tianxia started playing the emotional card. “If we’ve somehow offended you without knowing, please tell us plainly. We are willing to compensate you.”
“Can you even afford the compensation?” Gu Kaiyuan retorted. “The lives of so many innocent Rong Dynasty citizens were lost.
“The best solution is a life for a life. Calculating it like that, you’re actually getting off cheap.
“But don’t worry. When I get a chance to locate your homeland, I’ll send your families down to reunite with you.”
Tianxia and his men glared furiously at Gu Kaiyuan, knowing full well that this man was the leader. “If you really want to make enemies of us, I’m afraid that when our main army descends upon you…”
“Do you still not know what you’re capable of?” Gu Kaiyuan laughed mockingly. “If you really had that much power, your army would have come a long time ago. Why would you need to scurry around and hide like a bunch of rats?
“Rest assured, since we could find your hideout here, we’ll eventually dig out all your other rat holes too.”
“May I ask what happened to my brothers?” Tianxia changed the subject, wanting to find an opening while his opponent was feeling smug.
Gu Kaiyuan glanced back at the now-calm sea; not a single person who had gone into the water had resurfaced. “You mean them? We were just testing out a new poison, and it seems the results are quite good.
“What? Are you guys interested too? I have enhanced versions and other variations right here. I can satisfy all your needs, and rest assured, it’s completely free of charge.”
After wiping them out, everything on this island would belong to him anyway, and this island was by no means small…