Chapter 251: Beat the Younger, and the Older Comes

Chapter 251: When the Younger is Beaten, the Elder Comes

“What’s there to be ashamed of? Companionship doesn’t extend to these wicked souls, and killing more won’t disrupt the rites.”

The cold, clear female voice in his ear continued.

Zhao Qingxia’s anger grew more evident, and he couldn’t help but shout, “Wu Ya Duo Duo, don’t forget you’re now part of the Tian Zhi Hui!”

“Are you angry out of shame?”

The voice on the other end of the communicator clearly burned with fury, coldly replying, “Since you find it unbearable, you’d better not hold back when the time comes to act!”

“Last time in Laizhou Prefecture, if it weren’t for your mercy, our identities wouldn’t have been exposed. Now you’ve been expelled by the ‘Mo Gong Bu Dui,’ and I’ve been swept out by the ‘Fei Gong Yan Fa Suo’!”

Hearing the resentful words, Zhao Qingxia’s face flushed with embarrassment. He scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly, “This time, I swear it won’t happen again.”

“You’d better not, or else forget about revenge—we’ll both be left as strays, unplugged and wandering, fleeing for our lives! Hmph!”

After the final cold snort, no more sound came from the communicator.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Zhao Qingxia dared not speak further, his gaze darkening as he fixed it on a squat, warehouse-like building not far away.

The thugs who had just collected their ‘head money’ had all returned to this outpost belonging to Mo Zhou Hai Yun Company.

“Achoo!”

Inside the outpost, the thug suddenly sneezed inexplicably.

“Damn it, I’ve already modified half my body—why am I still sneezing? Did that doctor cut corners?”

Grumbling, the thug paced toward an incense-wreathed shrine.

The shrine housed no ordinary Buddhist or Taoist deities, but a heavy sword, edgeless and unadorned, as plain as a ruler, its arm length oddly disproportionate.

The incense burner before it was stuffed to the brim with ash, nearly overflowing, showing how devoutly the Mo Zhou Hai Yun people revered this blade.

“Ancestor Mo Zhai, bless me to become a follower of Mo Xu soon, or else I’ll have to switch to the military path.”

Muttering thanks to the ancestor, the thug reverently offered incense.

“Brother, why do we worship a sword? Is Ancestor Mo Zhai not human?”

The thug whirled around, kicking the questioner far away.

“Do you even know what symbolism means? Do you understand the concept of low-key? The Mo Xu lineage has been the executor of chivalry for millennia, emphasizing… uh…”

The thug’s words faltered, suddenly forgetting the rest of the phrase. Too lazy to delve into a yellow millet dream to recall it, he shrugged and said, “Anyway, it’s about leaving without looking back, killing without burying, and being effortlessly cool!”

“Well said!”

“No wonder you stabbed Sanjing with such flair earlier—you’ve learned from the ancestor!”

The underlings rushed to flatter him, leaving the thug feeling smug.

“Of course. I’ll tell you, half of Shandong’s six prefectures are Mo Xu’s foundation. If I become a follower of Mo Xu, who knows—I might even claim the eastern lordship of Mo Zhou Hai Yun someday!”

“Brother’s amazing! If you become the eastern lord, won’t we brothers live in luxury?”

Someone asked humbly, “What’s a foundation?”

“Don’t even know that? Do you even have brain implants? Stop wandering those trashy desire realms and study some culture, will you?”

After scolding them, the thug finally explained aloud.

“A foundation means if you lose this territory, you won’t even have the face to be a chicken!”

“That serious?” The underlings gaped in shock.

The thug sneered, “Worse than serious—it’s tragic! So hurry up and pay respects to the ancestor, beg him to grant you a chance to break the locks and ascend to Mo Xu!”

They scrambled to the shrine, bowing and offering incense.

Suddenly, a thunderous crash echoed!

The outpost’s gate exploded open, and amid the swirling smoke, a figure flickered into view.

“No one moves! No one prays!”

The roar startled the thug, who had been fantasizing about rising in Mo Xu.

But he was a battle-hardened veteran, and quickly regained composure, snarling, “Who’s the thug from which company? Blind fool, daring to cause trouble here—kill him!”

Until now, the thug thought the intruder was from a rival company.

The underlings, who had just been bowing like rolling gourds, sprang up and surged toward Zhao Qingxia.

Pfft!

The thug at the front saw a blur before his eyes—the figure at the gate had already passed him. He turned to draw his blade, but a strange, hissing sound rang in his ears.

He gaped in disbelief, noticing a thin wound splitting his throat, from which blood spurted under the pressure.

Zhao Qingxia’s face was expressionless, but his heart raged. He struck without mercy, and the micro-sword between his fingers—no longer than a palm—flashed like lightning, stabbing and withdrawing from the thugs’ chests in one seamless motion.

The entire process was fluid and silent.

In an instant, the outpost was strewn with corpses, blood flowing like rivers.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Panicked, the thug fired all his bullets.

Even after the empty clicks of the trigger, he kept pulling it.

But in his sight, the ghostly figure stepping through the blood pool remained upright, advancing step by step toward him.

“I’m telling you, this is the territory of the Mo Jia Tian Zhi Hui. If you want to cause trouble here, you’d better think twice.”

Before the thug could finish, a micro-sword pierced his chest, brutally shattering his sternum and impaling his heart.

Zhao Qingxia grabbed the thug’s hair, lifting his twitching body and shoving a capsule-like device into his nostrils.

The thug’s eyes rolled back, veins bulging on his forehead, emitting guttural sounds.

“Not bad, Zhao Qingxia. This time, you finally skipped the useless moral lectures.”

“Enough, hurry and scan. If he dies, we’ll have wasted our effort again.”

Zhao Qingxia grumbled back at Wu Ya Duo Duo, then turned to gaze at the shrine housing the Mo symbol, muttering to himself.

“The military depot in Weihai Wei, the workshop in Andong Wei, and the shipping company in Lingshan Wei—what the hell is Mo Ke planning?”

“What else could this Mo Gong Bu Dui officer do? This brat must be selling weapons to the Japanese to make money!”

Through the communicator, Wu Ya Duo Duo sneered, “Scan complete. This Mo Zhou Hai Yun company is indeed connected to those two in Weihai Wei and Andong Wei.”

“But this thug’s rank is too low—he has no transaction details or accounts. To get solid evidence, we’d better capture the company’s eastern lord.”

Wu Ya Duo Duo’s voice cut off abruptly, leaving only static crackling in the communicator.

Zhao Qingxia watched fully armed figures emerging from the outpost’s depths, their familiar gear and tactical movements tugging at his lips into a bitter smile.

“A full Mo Gong squad, plus a Mo Qi deputy officer. Mo Ke, you really think highly of me!”

“Zhao Qingxia, stop resisting now. Surrender while you still can, or else…”

“Or else what? Do you even have enough people for that?!”

At the familiar voice, Zhao Qingxia, who had been preparing for a desperate fight, spun around.

His face was agitated, his brows and eyes twitching with barely contained emotion.

The opened garrison gate revealed two figures, not particularly tall, standing against the darkness beyond.

"Look, these people are going to make your eldest nephew weep—how can you, as his uncle, endure it?"

Master Ma, swathed in a black robe, placed a hand on Li Jun's shoulder.

"Go on, kill them all."