By the time the footsteps outside arrived at the door, Yan Liqiang had already retreated to the other side of the pool...

With a loud bang, the screen at the door was instantly pushed over by someone. Two guards barged in with weapons in their hands.

To Yan Liqiang, he could pretty much make an accurate shot with his eyes closed over a distance of less than twenty meters.

Swoooosh… A sharp noise resounded. The moment the screen toppled over, the bow in Yan Liqiang's hands had already released an arrow. It penetrated one of the guard's throats, shocking the other guard. With a snarl, he charged towards Yan Liqiang. Although he was fast, Yan Liqiang wasn't slow either. He had already released the second arrow when the guard had just barely charged ten meters towards Yan Liqiang, almost piercing his throat instantaneously.

Both guards fell to the ground in just the blink of an eye, shot to death in close proximity by the Horned Python Bow in Yan Liqiang's hands.

The noises outside of the door ceased. Yan Liqiang heard a woman's scream before she fled in the direction she came from.

There was no way his bow and arrows could shoot through the walls so he spared the woman who had escaped. However, these two guards who barged in were on the side of the evildoer, so he had no choice but to kill them.

Young Master Ye was just a few meters away from Yan Liqiang. One of his hands was still nailed to the rack. When he heard the two guards rushed in, he thought he saw a ray of hope. He broke off the arrow shaft that had nailed his hand to the rack and he slid his injured hand from it. Before he could even try to run away, Yan Liqiang released another arrow. The second arrow nailed his uninjured left palm onto that rack again.

It only took a brief moment for Yan Liqiang to almost cripple both of his hands. Immobilizing both meant that Yan Liqiang had eliminated half of the possible threats that could come from his hands.

Young Master Ye's blood-curdling scream was ear-splitting. Yan Liqiang walked towards him with a cold sneer.

"You're going to be dead meat… How dare you kill my people here... despite knowing who I am…"

Young Master Ye seemed to be a profligate son who was used to being bossy and acting all high and mighty. Never was he bullied in his life. Even though he was in such a situation, he was still barking at Yan Liqiang like a stray dog even while he was in immense pain. His barking continued until he saw Yan Liqiang resolutely walking to his side emotionlessly before he started to panic. "W-What do you want?"

SLAP!! Yan Liqiang took two big strides forward and ruthlessly smacked Young Master Ye's face.

The strength from Yan Liqiang's arm was so powerful that one slap instantly knocked a tooth out of Young Master Ye. One side of his face instantly swelled up.

"YOU…"

Another hard slap rang out. The other side of Young Master Ye's face was also swollen now and another one of his teeth was knocked out.

Yan Liqiang flicked his wrist after delivering the two slaps. At least Young Master Ye was finally more well-behaved and he shut himself up right away. His head was ringing and he felt as if all the tears and snot in his body had been flung out by Yan Liqiang's two hard slaps.

"Do not open your mouth unless I tell you to do so. Do not shut your mouth when I ask you to speak. Consider those just now a friendly reminder. As for the rest, I will use my knife to make you learn from your mistakes…" Yan Liqiang put the bow on his back while spoke. He unsheathed the shortsword hanging at his waist and held the sword underneath Young Master Ye's chin. The tip of the sword pierced Young Master Ye's skin, drawing blood. Fresh blood ran alongside the blade of the shortsword before it dripped on the floor. Young Master Ye's face was drained of color. He raised his head, trying to get away from that sharp, icy blade under his chin as his entire body trembled in fear. Yan Liqiang's hand remained motionless and firm like steel. His gaze was extremely cold.

In reality, Yan Liqiang's heart wasn't as icy as his exterior appeared to be. In fact, his thoughts were all jumbled up right now and he was deeply worried, hoping for a slim chance of survival. He knew he definitely had stirred up a huge commotion today. Since he was already involved in this mess, there was no getting out of it now even if he wanted to. Even if he didn't run into that Shatu man tonight, either he or this man in front of him would ultimately fall in the end. Regardless, it was simply an inexcusable act for them to lay a finger on his father. Yan Dechang was in their hands at this very moment and they were probably planning to use him in a few days time to force Yan Liqiang into submission. This was totally crossing the line for him, and thus it was impossible for him to take a step back at this point.

Tonight, Yan Liqiang had barged into an unexpectedly wrong place by mistake.

As for whether he and his father could leave Pingxi City alive this time, it would all depend on this Young Master Ye that was in his hands. He heard that he was the only son of the Pingxi Prefectural Governor. Hopefully this b.a.s.t.a.r.d could prove to be a little useful.

"Nod if you understand. If you don't understand, I will teach you properly again…"

Young Master Ye nodded his head lightly. A young lord like him who had been treated like a prince every day was able to learn extremely fast under a death threat.

"Alright. I have no interest in your a.s.s. Go put some clothes on first!"

"B-But my hands…"

Yan Liqiang didn't say anything. His shortsword left Young Master Ye's throat. With a light swing, he cut the shaft of the arrow which impaled Young Master Ye's hand, freeing him from it. "On the count of ten, wear whatever you can. If you are still b.u.t.t-naked when time's up, then that will be your problem…"

Hearing Yan Liqiang words, Young Master Ye clenched his teeth and used his wrists to retrieve a loose bathrobe on the rack. He draped it on his body although his hands were bleeding profusely and he couldn't even move a single finger.

"I-Is there any Jinchuang ointment…? I need to treat my wounds…" After putting some clothes on, Young Master Ye told Yan Liqiang this. His forehead was beaded with sweat.

Yan Liqiang wordlessly swung the shortsword in his hand, directly piercing Young Master Ye's thigh. The tip of the sword sunk exactly two inches into his thigh, avoiding the main vein.

When Yan Liqiang pulled out the shortsword, Young Master Ye let out another miserable shriek once again. The fresh bathrobe he had just changed into was stained red again. His legs almost gave away with the wound on his thigh and he nearly fell down.

"You spoke when I didn't give you the permission to. That was for you to keep it in your head. Whether I can leave this place in one piece today still depends on my luck. Similarly, your chance of survival today will depend on me. Therefore, there's no need for you to treat your wounds since you might get more. If you dare to fall down right now, I will stab one of your eyes out next." Yan Liqiang smiled.

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang's warning, Young Master Ye could only clench his teeth and endure the pain. He tiptoed in front of Yan Liqiang, facing this person who wouldn't hesitate to poke a hole in his body with a sword whenever he spoke. For the very first time, Young Master Ye stared at Yan Liqiang, his gaze filled with fear.

"What's your name?"

"Ye Xiao…"

"Your father is the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture?"

"Yes!"

"Do you hate me right now, and are you secretly thinking about how to kill me?"

"N-Not at all…" Ye Xiao let out another blood-curdling scream while his body trembled like a leaf and the beads of sweat on his forehead rolled down. The shortsword in Yan Liqiang's hand had severed the pinkie on his left hand.

Yan Liqiang was still looking at Ye Xiao with a smile. "The second rule when speaking to me is honesty. If I feel that you are lying, you will instantly know the price you'll have to pay…"

...