12dz Chapter 20 The Frog in the Well
Chapter 20 The Frog in the Well
"boom--!!"
A deafening roar, like thunder exploding in the depths of the alley in the dead of night, made the air feel hot. The ground of the entire Ye family courtyard shook violently, and even the roof tiles of the main hall fell off in a rustling sound, the fragments hitting the blue brick ground with a piercing crackling sound.
Inside the main hall, the fragrance of sandalwood wafted through the air, yet it couldn't suppress Ye Qingcang's arrogance. He held a Yixing purple clay teapot, his fingertips stroking the smooth surface as he slowly sipped a mouthful of pre-Qingming Longjing tea. The tea was clear and refreshing, but it only served to accentuate the arrogance in his eyes.
In the guest seat, a middle-aged man dressed in a black Zhongshan suit sat upright like a mountain, with a silver badge on his chest that gleamed brightly—a five-clawed golden dragon coiled on it, its scales and claws clearly defined. He was Chen Tieshou, the leader of the North China Regional Action Group of the Bureau of Strange Immortals.
"Team Leader Chen," Ye Qingcang put down the purple clay teapot, the bottom of the cup clinking against the tea tray, making a crisp sound. His tone was full of nonchalant contempt. "How does the Bureau of Extraordinary Immortals plan to characterize the Zhao family matter? That old bastard Zhao Wuji, relying on living for over a hundred years, has become increasingly unruly in recent years, stealing my Ye family's business and trampling on my Ye family's reputation. His death at the hands of his enemies is entirely his own fault and not worth making a fuss about."
Chen Tieshou's hand holding the teacup was as steady as a rock, though his fingertips were slightly white. His gaze fell on the upright tea leaves in the cup, and his tone was grave: "Elder Ye, the entire Zhao family has been wiped out, with no one surviving. The higher-ups are furious. That young man named Lu Yuan is ruthless to the core, and his strength is unfathomable. The director personally ordered that his danger level be raised to S-level—in the entire Bureau of Extraordinary Immortals, there are fewer than five people who can be rated S-level."
"S-rank?" Ye Qingcang scoffed as if he'd heard the biggest joke in the world, his fingers tracing the jade thumb ring on his thumb. The ring, a translucent emerald green, reflected the disdain in his eyes. "Your Bureau of Extraordinary Immortals is making a mountain out of a molehill, being far too cautious. A mere kid who just finished his college entrance exams, even if he'd been practicing since birth, would at best be at the entry level of the Divine Realm. Zhao Wuji only fell because he was old and frail, his energy and blood were depleted, and he was careless and underestimated his opponent. Did you really think he was that powerful?"
He slammed his hand on the tea table, his tone suddenly sharp, carrying the confidence of the head of the capital's most powerful family: "If he dares to set foot on the Ye family's gate, I'll make sure he never leaves, never even touching the threshold, just lying dead in the street!"
Before he could finish speaking, an even louder explosion than before rang out, shaking the beams and pillars of the main hall!
"boom--!!"
A violent blast of air, carrying wood chips and broken bricks, slammed into the carved wooden door of the main hall like a runaway beast. The door, crafted from century-old rosewood and inlaid with copper nails, was instantly smashed to pieces, sending wood fragments flying and bricks whistling through the air.
The Ye family servants who were holding tea and waiting at the door didn't even have time to scream before they were hit on the head by flying bricks. Their brains splattered, blood splattered all over the threshold, and their bodies fell straight to the ground, their eyes wide open in death.
The purple clay teapot in Ye Qingcang's hand fell to the ground with a "clatter" and shattered into pieces. The scalding tea splashed onto his trouser leg, burning him so badly that he grimaced, but he didn't care about the pain. The arrogance on his face froze instantly, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his face was full of disbelief.
Chen Tieshou reacted more than twice as fast as him. Almost the instant the explosion rang out, he sprang up from his chair, his right hand flashing to his waist. In an instant, he gripped a black psionic pistol engraved with runes, the muzzle pointed firmly at the door. His knuckles turned white from the force, and his breathing became rapid.
As the dust settled, a slender figure stepped through the ruins and entered the courtyard. Dressed in a snow-white robe, he stood tall and straight, exuding no trace of hostility, yet radiating a suffocating aura, as if he controlled the very essence of heaven and earth.
Behind him followed a disheveled woman covered in blood—it was Ye Hongyu. Like a soulless puppet, her eyes were vacant as she mechanically moved her feet. Her twelve-centimeter high heels twisted her ankle hard on the broken bricks, causing it to swell instantly, but she seemed oblivious, numbly following the young man in front of her. Blood still clung to the corner of her mouth, and she looked utterly wretched.
"Red fish!"
Upon seeing his daughter's horrific state, Ye Qingcang's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, a surge of overwhelming rage rising within him. He slammed his fist on the tea table, splashing tea everywhere, and roared, "How dare you! You dare trespass into my Ye family compound and injure my daughter! Guards! Tear this brat to pieces!"
With his roar, more than twenty martial artists dressed in black martial arts attire rushed out from the side rooms around the courtyard. Each of them was agile, had a steady breath, and their temples were bulging high—they were all masters of internal strength!
This power, if placed in any province, would be enough to sweep through the local underworld and crush all small and medium-sized families. This is the terrifying foundation of the number one aristocratic family in the capital, accumulated over hundreds of years!
More than twenty internal energy masters surrounded Lu Yuan in an instant, their violent internal energy surging in the courtyard, causing fallen leaves and debris to fly everywhere, their killing intent so intense it seemed to tear the air apart.
Lu Yuan, however, didn't even lift an eyelid, as if those surrounding him weren't twenty-odd powerful internal energy masters, but a bunch of insignificant ants. His gaze swept past the crowd and landed directly on Chen Tieshou, who was wearing a Zhongshan suit in the main hall. His tone was flat and without any ripples: "People from the Bureau of Extraordinary Immortals are here too?"
The moment Chen Tieshou saw Lu Yuan's face clearly, the hand holding the psionic pistol suddenly began to tremble violently uncontrollably, the muzzle drooping slightly, making it impossible for him to even aim.
He would never forget how this seemingly ordinary young man, on the monitoring screen at the headquarters of the Bureau of Extraordinary Immortals, managed to grab the neck of the Divine Realm Ancestor Zhao Wuji with one hand, and twist it like a chick, breaking the other's neck with a gentle twist; how he managed to cut off the military satellite flying high in the sky with a flick of his finger, paralyzing the entire monitoring system of the Bureau of Extraordinary Immortals!
That's not human at all! That's a devil in human skin, a living Yama that even the Bureau of Extraordinary Immortals can't afford to offend!
"Team Leader Chen!" Ye Qingcang glared at Lu Yuan in the courtyard, his teeth clenched, burning with rage. He roared at Chen Tieshou, "This brat came to my Ye family and caused trouble, hurting my daughter and killing my servants! Doesn't your Bureau of Extraordinary Immortals care?! Aren't you supposed to be protecting worldly peace? Now's the time to take action!"
Chen Tieshou swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing rhythmically. Cold sweat trickled down his temples, soaking the collar of his Zhongshan suit. Slowly, extremely slowly, he put the psionic pistol back into its holster, his movements as stiff as a marionette.
Immediately afterward, to Ye Qingcang's astonished gaze, Chen Tieshou abruptly took two steps back, standing firmly against the wall, his hands raised high above his head, his head bowed low, his voice trembling with barely concealed fear: "The...the Bureau of Strange Immortals doesn't interfere in personal grudges, Elder Ye, this matter...this matter has nothing to do with me, nothing to do with the Bureau of Strange Immortals!"
What a joke! Control? With what power? With this psionic pistol in his hand? Let alone harming a hair on Lu Yuan's head, he'd probably have his head crushed by a single finger the moment he raised his hand! His only thought now was to quickly distance himself from the situation, hoping this living devil wouldn't kill him too.
Ye Qingcang was completely stunned. The anger on his face froze instantly, replaced by astonishment and disbelief. He never imagined that Chen Tieshou, representing a special national department and wielding the power of life and death, would be so cowardly—not daring to utter a single word in front of a mere brat, directly admitting defeat and backing down, completely disregarding the Ye family!
"Fine! Very well!" Ye Qingcang laughed in fury, his laughter sharp and filled with boundless anger and resentment. "Since the Bureau of Extraordinary Immortals won't intervene, then let's follow the rules of the martial world! Today, my Ye family will personally clean house and make this brat pay the price!"
He suddenly raised his hand, pointed at Lu Yuan, and roared, "Kill! Kill him! Whoever takes his dog's life, I will reward him with ten thousand taels of gold and promote him to a retainer of the Ye family!"
"kill!"
More than twenty internal energy masters simultaneously roared, their voices echoing throughout the courtyard. Their violent internal energy erupted, the air whistling, and the ground trembled slightly. More than twenty dark figures, carrying a sharp killing intent, pounced on Lu Yuan from all directions. Their fists and feet were fierce and deadly, each strike containing earth-shattering power, determined to tear Lu Yuan to pieces.
Lu Yuan remained standing in the same spot, without even raising his hand or showing any emotion in his eyes, as if everything before him had nothing to do with him.
The next second, he simply stomped his right foot lightly.
"Buzz—!"
A visible, transparent ripple, centered on his right foot, spread rapidly outwards from the ground, moving with lightning speed and instantly engulfing the entire courtyard.
The few internal energy masters at the forefront froze instantly upon contact with the ripple, their ferocious expressions freezing on their faces, their eyes filled with unbelievable fear.
Immediately following, a series of muffled, chilling sounds rang out in succession—"Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!"
More than twenty internal energy masters were struck simultaneously in the chest as if by an invisible hammer. Their sternums collapsed instantly, and they vomited blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, staining the blue bricks in front of them red. Their bodies flew backward like kites with broken strings, crashing heavily against the courtyard walls and pillars with dull thuds.
After landing, no one could twitch again; their breathing stopped completely, and they fell silent instantly.
One kick.
With just one kick, he instantly killed more than twenty masters of internal energy, destroying the Ye family's proud foundation!
The entire courtyard fell into a deathly silence in an instant, with only the crisp, piercing sound of blood dripping through the cracks in the blue bricks, like the tolling of a death knell striking everyone's heart.
Ye Qingcang's fury froze into utter terror. His pupils dilated to their maximum, his blood seemed to freeze instantly, and even breathing became difficult. His stomach churned unexpectedly, and a metallic sweetness surged into his throat. He instinctively clenched his teeth to keep from vomiting, and a hallucinatory taste of blood filled his mouth.
What the hell is that monster?!
Zhao Wuji was a god-level expert, so it was one thing for him to fall, but he actually killed more than twenty internal energy masters with a single kick? This is something no human could do!
"You...you stay away!" Ye Qingcang watched Lu Yuan walk steadily towards the main hall, each step feeling like it was pounding on his heart. Terrified, he stumbled backward, his back slamming hard against the armchair. Losing his balance, he sat down with a thud, his legs shaking like leaves. His voice was filled with desperate pleading, "My Ye family has a protective formation! If you dare touch a single hair on my head, the formation will activate immediately, turning you into mincemeat! Tear you to pieces!"
The clan-protecting formation was his last lifeline. It was set up for the Ye family by a celestial master decades ago. The celestial master said that the formation could withstand the peak of the Divine Realm. Even if a terrestrial immortal came, he would die on the spot!
Ye Qingcang, as if grasping at a lifeline, bit his index finger hard, smearing the scalding blood onto the jade ring on his thumb, and roared, "May the protective formation left by our ancestor unleash its power—!!"
As he moved, the ground of the entire courtyard suddenly lit up with blinding red light. The red light quickly moved along the texture of the blue bricks, like blood-red venomous snakes, intertwining and coiling on the ground. Finally, in mid-air, it intertwined into a huge blood-red light shield, firmly enveloping the entire Ye family compound.
A chilling, bloodthirsty aura surged from the depths of the earth, instantly filling the entire courtyard and sending shivers down one's spine, as if one were in hell.
Looking at the crimson light shield above his head, Ye Qingcang finally revealed a wildly joyful smile, a maniacal, twisted laugh: "Boy! Do you see that? This is my Ye family's protective formation! It was personally set up by a Celestial Master. Even a peak Divine Realm expert would die inside! Today, I will use your blood to appease the souls of my Ye family's dead, to wash away the shame you brought upon my Ye family!"
Lu Yuan stopped, slowly raised his head, and his gaze fell on the extremely rough, chaotically patterned blood-red light shield in mid-air. A cold and mocking smile appeared on his lips, and his tone was full of disdain. Every word clearly reached everyone's ears: "Fool."
"Take a closer look. Whose blood is this formation drawing from?"
Ye Qingcang's smile froze instantly, his heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition surged into his mind. He suddenly felt dizzy, his limbs went weak, and all his strength was rapidly draining away, as if something had been drawn away from him.
He suddenly looked down, his pupils contracted sharply, and his face was filled with terror—he saw that the blood he had just smeared on the ring had not dried, but instead seemed to be alive, flowing along the patterns of the jade ring and being continuously absorbed into the underground formation. With each breath, he felt his vital energy weaken a little.
Not just him!
The Ye family bodyguards in the courtyard who were not quite dead yet, on the verge of death, including Ye Hongyu who was standing at the door looking completely lost, all of them began to have their skin wither at a visible speed, their hair turned gray rapidly, and their eyes became more and more vacant. The blood and vitality in their bodies were being frantically drained and devoured by this so-called "Clan Protector Array"!
"No! How could this be?! Stop! Stop now!" Ye Qingcang desperately tried to pull the ring off, his fingers digging into it so hard that his nails were torn and blood flowed freely. But the ring seemed to be etched into his bone, unmoving, and instead sucking at his blood more and more fiercely. His voice grew weaker and weaker, filled with desperate wails, "Isn't this the clan's protective formation? How could it be sucking our own blood?! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Lu Yuan stood with his hands in his pockets, looking down at him with a cold gaze and a flat tone, yet with the most biting sarcasm: "You raise a bunch of pigs in a pen, giving them a little treat every day, so they think they have something to rely on, and become arrogant and conceited."
"Once the pigs are fattened up, we'll slaughter them all at once, draining your life force to nourish the formation."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the despairing Ye family members in the courtyard, his sneer deepening: "This is the foundation that your Ye family is so proud of and relies on for survival."
Ye Qingcang's body went limp, and he collapsed completely into the armchair. His eyes were empty, and his face was devoid of any rage or elation, only extreme despair and regret remained. He never imagined that the clan-protecting formation that the Ye family had guarded for decades was actually a trap that devoured his own people, and that he had personally pushed himself and the entire Ye family into hell!