Chapter 336: Subdue

Translator: Tim Editor: Fish Creek

The one-eyed man gritted his teeth. This person before him was indeed Ye Mo. He hadn't expected Ye Mo to be so potent. If Ye Mo wanted to kill him and Han Zai, they wouldn't escape, no matter what tricks they played. But he still held onto a sliver of hope—that Ye Mo wouldn't kill them, but negotiate. Otherwise, with Ye Mo's skills, he and Han Zai would already be dead.

“Ye qian bei, I know the gap between us is vast. In your eyes, I'm perhaps not even an ant. If you have any requests, please tell us. But if you want us to betray the Earth Fiend, just kill me.” The one-eyed man gritted his teeth. Either way, it was death; he might as well be straightforward.

Ye Mo said calmly, “You don't dare betray the Earth Fiend only because of your family, or the Gu bug that fuels your fear.”

The one-eyed man looked at Ye Mo in shock. After a long time, he breathed out slowly, “How do you know we have Gu bugs in our bodies?”

Gu bugs were the Earth Fiend's means of controlling subordinates. The one-eyed man had witnessed an Earth Fiend killer being caught after betraying the organization. The Gu bug ate his flesh for three days and three nights. By the end, the killer's flesh was almost entirely consumed, yet he still howled in agony, not dead.

Ever since, he believed he must never betray the organization.

Ye Mo smiled. “Let's not talk about the Gu bugs in your bodies first. What I want to say is: do you know your ultimate fate?”

Han Zai glanced at the one-eyed man and intervened, “As long as we reach Heaven Rank killer, we are free. So, my goal is Heaven Rank.”

Ye Mo laughed, then said coldly, “Let's not discuss whether you'll live to reach Heaven Rank. Even if you do, that will be the end of your life. You know of the Gu King, right? He controls you with the Gu bugs. This kind of Gu bug devours the life force and essence blood of the person you kill, digesting it within your body.”

“So what?” The one-eyed man shivered at Ye Mo's words but refused to back down.

Ye Mo shook his head. “No big deal. It's just that after you reach Heaven Rank killer, the Gu bug in your body will have matured, and its final feast will be the life force and essence blood in your body. Of course, after consuming you, it will have finished its task, and can be taken by your head, that Gu King, to cultivate evil ways.”

“You’re lying…” The one-eyed man trembled in terror, yet couldn't help denying it.

Ye Mo sneered, “I'm not lying. You know it yourself. Tell me, have you ever really seen a Heaven Rank killer? You definitely haven't, because they've been used as cultivation resources. It's that simple.”

“Are you saying the more laurels and honor we get, the closer to death we are?” Han Zai asked shakily. He subconsciously felt Ye Mo was right, very right.

“What do you think?” Ye Mo didn't explain further, asking rhetorically.

After a long time, the one-eyed man sighed, “I've suspected it for a long time. Why hasn't there been a single Heaven Rank killer? If they were truly free, they should let all killers know. After all, we'd have a goal to strive for. But I've never heard of a single freed Heaven Rank killer. Now, hearing qian bei's words, I believe them to be true.”

“Ninth Uncle, this… this…” Han Zai stared at the one-eyed man in shock, speechless.

After a moment of silence, the one-eyed man looked at Ye Mo and said, “Ye qian bei, I know it's easy for you to kill us. I don't know why you haven't killed us and still told us the truth. We're grateful, but we can't betray the organization. So, if you're going to kill us, please do it quickly. I, Yang Jiu, will be grateful.”

Ye Mo said calmly, “If I was going to kill you, you'd be corpses already. Would I waste time talking?”

“But I said we can't betray the organization.” The one-eyed man struggled.

“Is that because of the Gu bugs in your bodies?” Ye Mo looked at him.

The one-eyed man stood, deciding to fight. “Yes, it's because of the Gu bugs. Qian bei, you haven't seen these Gu bugs before and you don't know how terrifying they are. I would rather die immediately than betray the organization.”

“What if I can remove the Gu bugs from your bodies?” Ye Mo said plainly.

“What? Qian bei, you… you really can?” The one-eyed man stared at Ye Mo in astonishment. Then, he immediately added, “Ye Qianbei, if you can truly remove the Gu bugs, my life is yours.”

The one-eyed man knelt on one knee, his expression genuine and determined. Han Zai looked at him. Though bulky, he wasn't stupid. He knew if he didn't show his allegiance now, he would die. And he never felt any loyalty to the Earth Fiend. Thinking this, Han Zai knelt beside the one-eyed man without hesitation.

“Who was the person you killed before?” Ye Mo asked the one-eyed man.

“He's a merchant from Macau in Ning Hai…” The one-eyed man was cut short by Ye Mo, who was no longer interested.

Ye Mo grabbed Han Zai's arm. With a swipe of his hand, a yellow Gu bug appeared. He was now middle-stage Chi Gathering, and removing a Gu bug was easy.

The one-eyed man and Han Zai stared at the Gu bug in Ye Mo's hand in shock. They hadn't expected such a terrifying thing to be removed so quickly. The organization dared to kill someone like him! But immediately, the one-eyed man rejoiced. The stronger Ye Mo was, the happier he was.

Ye Mo squeezed the bug. “I took this bug from Chen Qing and released it. It's still marked by me. Where do you think you can go?”

Hearing Ye Mo's words, cold sweat broke out on the one-eyed man's back. Ye Mo had been waiting for the Earth Fiend to fall into his trap—how funny that they dared to kill Ye Mo!

Although the Gu bug in the one-eyed man was slightly more troublesome, Ye Mo removed it in under thirty seconds.

Seeing Ye Mo remove the two bugs, placing them in jade boxes, and putting them away, the one-eyed man felt goosebumps. His only feeling was that Ye Mo was terrifying.

“How many of you came to Ning Hai?” Ye Mo asked, having removed the Gu bugs.

The one-eyed man replied respectfully, “Ye qianbei, there are three of us in total. Besides me and Han Zai, there's one more. But he's waiting for our news. After we finish our mission, we will go to Beijing together.”

Ye Mo nodded. “You two, swear an oath that you will not betray me.” Although the one-eyed man and Han Zai had pledged loyalty, it was under threat. Ye Mo couldn't fully trust them, so an oath was necessary.

Others might see oaths as jokes, but Ye Mo could make them real.

After the two swore oaths, Ye Mo quickly took a drop of essence blood from between their eyebrows, creating restrictions before sending them back. Cultivators could remove these restrictions quickly, but the one-eyed man and Han Zai were ordinary people, unable to dispel them.

Despite seeing Ye Mo's actions, they dared not move.

After the oaths and restrictions, Ye Mo said, “Now, find your companion immediately.”

“Qian bei, are we bringing him here for you to remove the Gu bug?” Han Zai asked.

Ye Mo sneered, “Remove the Gu bug? Do you think I'm a philanthropist? I only need you two to lead the way. As for the other person, kill him immediately, the faster the better. I don't want to wait, but you must use this charm. When you see him, throw it and say 'Lin.'”

Ye Mo gave them a fireball charm because he knew if they didn't use it to kill, the Gu bug would escape. If that happened, the Gu King would know instantly. Of course, it was also to intimidate them.

Han Zai wanted to speak, but the one-eyed man replied, “Yes, qian bei, we'll go immediately.”

The one-eyed man felt shock and fear. If Ye Mo had chosen the other person, they would be dead. He now realized Ye Mo's decisiveness and understood why he told them to kill. It was a test of loyalty.

Ye Mo closed his eyes. After the one-eyed man and Han Zai left, his spirit sense scanned Xie Weizheng. He’d been kicked and slapped by Ye Mo, but was still in his room, repeatedly calling for backup. Ye Mo sneered. If Xie Weizheng left, he'd let it go. But if he continued to provoke him…

Xie Weizheng was furious. Since youth, he'd been a genius. When had he ever been insulted like this?

Though Su Jingwen had always rejected his advances, in his eyes, no one else could touch her. But now, not only had another man slept with his dream woman, he'd been slapped in front of her and lost teeth.

If he could swallow the insult, he wouldn't be Xie Weizheng. He would get revenge on Ye Mo. As for Su Jingwen, she was nothing but a slut, but he wouldn't let her go for daring to betray him.