Chapter 596: Abandonment
Gu Kaiyuan had never thought much of this race. They were subpar in both height and appearance, and their brain capacity didn’t seem too impressive either, considering the remarkably stupid question he had just been asked. He had answered it, yet the man was not only dissatisfied but also had the audacity to scowl at him. It was quite rude.
He raised his sword, pointing it at Tianxia Jun. “Well? Do you want to give it a try too?”
“You’re despicable.” Tianxia Jun had already scanned their surroundings. More than twenty armed men had them surrounded; breaking out in one piece would be exceedingly difficult.
“Compared to you, this is nothing.” Gu Kaiyuan took another step forward. He didn’t have time to waste on them.
As he moved, Nanny Pang, who had been standing behind him, was exposed to the enemies.
Tianxia Jun’s eyes darted around. This middle-aged woman had been shielded behind Gu Kaiyuan, which meant her identity must be extraordinary. If he could capture her, he might just live to see another day. Making a split-second decision, he grabbed one of his subordinates from behind and hurled the man directly at Gu Kaiyuan.
Gu Kaiyuan sidestepped and kicked the flying man away, only to see Tianxia Jun lunging recklessly toward Nanny Pang.
Just as Gu Kaiyuan was thinking that the man was throwing himself into a trap, Nanny Pang’s fingers twitched slightly. The aggressive Tianxia Jun suddenly dropped his wokou sword. An instant later, he collapsed to the ground, entirely paralyzed and incapable of resisting, let alone attacking. As for the other enemies who tried to make a run for it, they immediately found themselves with blades pressed against their necks.
“Should I call you smart, or should I call you stupid?” Gu Kaiyuan shook his head, looking down at Tianxia Jun in sheer contempt. “Why must you target women? Do you think they’re easy prey?”
Everyone else wore mocking expressions. With so many men present, targeting the nanny was nothing short of suicidal.
Nanny Pang walked over, crouched down to examine his complexion carefully, and asked, “How does your body feel right now?”
“You witch! What did you do to me?”
“I gave you something good. At the very least, you’re luckier than your brothers,” she replied. “If you answer me honestly, I might just let you live a little longer.”
Nanny Pang wasn’t trying to scare him. She genuinely felt that some of her concoctions still needed refinement. Sometimes, having an overly potent drug wasn’t a good thing; the test subjects would meet their maker before they could provide proper feedback on the experience.
“I have no strength left in my body.” Tianxia Jun couldn’t even twitch a finger, but at least his mouth still worked. Knowing this was the only leverage he had left, he said straightforwardly, “Just give me a quick death.”
Since he had fallen into their hands, walking away alive was impossible. He figured he might as well show some backbone.
Nanny Pang looked at him. “What’s the rush? I developed this specifically for your people. If you cooperate, maybe I’ll give them a quick death too. Otherwise, if I don’t get the dosage right, who knows how much torment they’ll have to endure.”
“I don’t have a family…”
“You can fool an idiot with that, but don’t try to lie to us.
“Family doesn’t just mean your wife and children. Do you know what punishment in our land is most fitting for people like you?”
Terrified, Tianxia Jun shook his head frantically, all his previous arrogance completely vanishing.
“It seems you aren’t dedicated enough to your craft. Since you dared to cause trouble in the Rong Dynasty, why didn’t you bother reading our laws? Truly a nation of barbarians, beyond the reach of civilization.”
If Tianxia Jun had known this woman had such a venomous tongue and formidable skills, he never would have targeted her. He had only wanted to use her as a bargaining chip, but instead, he had walked right into a trap. Realizing that anything he said would be thrown back in his face, he decided it was better to keep his mouth shut.
Gu Kaiyuan walked over and crouched in front of him. “Do you know what the nine-clan eradication game is?”
Tianxia Jun shook his head. “That’s your business. What does it have to do with us?” Sensing that it was nothing good, he tried to change the subject. “This is all a misunderstanding. Release me first, and we can have a proper talk. I promise I won’t mistreat you.”
“Stop dreaming. Let me educate you. The so-called nine clans…”
Tianxia Jun listened in stunned silence, a chill soon creeping down his spine. Why were these people bringing this up? Were they planning to bring this catastrophic doom upon him and the clan behind him?
He tried to struggle but remained slumped on the ground like a pile of mud. “Let me go, and I’ll give you all my wealth.”
“It doesn’t matter whether we let you go or not. Your things should be somewhere on this mountain anyway. As for what you’ve already transported back, we’ll get it all back with interest.” Gu Kaiyuan turned to Nanny Pang. “Nanny Pang, what do you think? Should we keep these people alive?”
The captives in the back mountain had been tormented nearly to their limits. It wouldn’t be long before there were no test subjects left. These men were strong and sturdy, and since they possessed a territory like this, they might be able to spit out more secrets.
“Forget it.” Nanny Pang looked slightly disgusted. “We aren’t heading back immediately, and bringing them along would be a burden.
“However, keep them alive for tonight. I’ll hand them over to you to deal with tomorrow.”
Gu Kaiyuan naturally had no objections. “Nanny Pang, do as you please. Shall I send two men to assist you?” Seeing that Nanny Pang would likely be working overtime tonight, he asked the question considerately.
“No need. I can handle such a trivial matter alone. But tie the others up for me, and could you please bring Madam over?”
“It’s already late in the night…” Gu Kaiyuan trailed off.
Of course Nanny Pang knew that. However, live experimental subjects like this were hard to come by. With so many men available, Bai Suihe could toy with them however she pleased.
Helpless, Gu Kaiyuan could only have Lin Hua and the others make the trip. He figured that if it came down to it, he would find time for Bai Suihe to secretly rest in her pocket dimension so her sleep schedule wouldn’t be completely reversed.
***
Bai Jiannan was utterly depressed. Yesterday, he had thought that he and his sister would be the only ones guarding the ship. Who would have guessed that she would slip away the moment he fell asleep, even dumping the little girl, Gu Xingyang, onto him?
Uncle and niece stared at each other. Gu Xingyang was sniffling and crying, while Bai Jiannan said mercilessly, “Stop crying. Your uncle wants to cry too. Your mother is really something else. I’m her biological brother, yet she played me like this.”
Gu Xingyang was speechless. She thought, “I’m her biological daughter, and she still abandoned me here! I’m such a pitiful child—unloved by my father and unwanted by my mother…”
She burst out crying with a loud WAAAH. Bai Jiannan had no choice but to hug her. “If you keep crying, your uncle is going to cry too…”
Gu Xingyang stopped her dry wailing and blinked up at him. He could surprisingly read the expression in her eyes, which seemed to say: “Uncle, hurry up and cry for me to see…”
Once the sun came up, Gu Kaiyuan and his men had pretty much thoroughly scouted the island. The area was decent—roughly the size of Tian Village. There was fresh water, and the spring was quite large. With some proper clearing, they could likely cultivate dozens of acres of fertile farmland.
As for the wealth the enemies had hidden away, there was no need for Gu Xingyang to act as a little treasure hunter this time. After just a few rounds of Nanny Pang’s drugs, Tianxia Jun spilled everything.
Watching his old nemesis from his past life be eliminated so easily, Gu Kaiyuan felt as if he were in a dream.