Chapter 143: The Price of a Gift
"A disciple of the Upper Three Sects?" The black-clothed man, Mo Ya, tilted his head, his voice a low, gravelly rasp that was clearly faked. "The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's inherited Spirit is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. The Clear Sky Sect's inherited Spirit is the Clear Sky Hammer. And the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's inherited Spirit is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."
"You say you are from the Upper Three Sects. What proof do you have?" Mo Ya's visible eye crinkled in amusement. "I've never heard of an Upper Three Sects disciple whose Spirit is a pig."
Mo Ya intended to tease Yu Xiaogang, enjoying the desperation wafting off him. He slowly loosened the knife in his hand, letting the blade dip just a fraction. But Bai Feng's knife remained, its cold edge held steady against Yu Xiaogang's throat.
"This is my identity token; it can prove my identity." Yu Xiaogang, his mind racing, feigned reaching into his sleeve. His hand actually slipped into his Spirit Tool, retrieving the token. He pulled it out, his hand trembling just enough to look convincing. A thunder dragon was engraved on its front.
This was a direct disciple token of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Although Yu Yuanzhen had announced his expulsion from the clan, he had not recalled the token. It was an oversight, or perhaps a final, lingering bit of sentiment.
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang could only secretly pray in his heart that the news of his expulsion had not fully spread and that these two masked bandits in front of him did not know.
At the same time, he secretly, desperately, memorized the figures, expressions, and gestures of Mo Ya and Bai Feng. 'From their conversation just now, the one in white is Bai Feng, and the one in black is Mo Ya.'
His heart was filled with a chilling, impotent rage. 'Mo Ya. Bai Feng. Just you wait. The humiliation of today, one day, I will reclaim it from your hands. I will make you beg for death.'
Taking in all of Yu Xiaogang's subtle, hateful glances and his trembling hands, Mo Ya's handsome face beneath his mask curved into an evil smile. This was progressing perfectly.
He took the token, didn't even glance at it, and casually tossed it to his companion. "Bai Feng, check its authenticity. You're better at spotting fakes."
Bai Feng knew Mo Ya's thoughts and rolled his eyes at him, a silent, exasperated sigh. He still took the token, his movements sharp and precise.
He looked at it. Then he looked at Yu Xiaogang. Then back at the token. He feigned an extremely shocked expression, so startled that his knife, the one held at Yu Xiaogang's throat, dropped to the ground.
Bai Feng staggered back a step, exclaiming, "Mo Ya! He... He really is a disciple of the Upper Three Sects! And even from the strongest of the Upper Three Sects, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!"
"How is this possible? His Spirit is clearly a pig!" Mo Ya 'feigned great surprise,' snatching the token from Bai Feng's hand. He looked at it, turning it over and over. "It... it really is a token from the Upper Three Sects!"
Yu Xiaogang secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. It seemed he had finally fooled them. They were just ignorant thugs, after all.
However, before he could rejoice for long, Mo Ya's words once again plunged his heart into an icy abyss.
"And he's even a direct disciple..." Mo Ya traced the carving with his finger. "I wondered why his Spirit would be a pig... Oh. Oh! It turns out he's that Yu Xiaogang! The one who published '"The Ten Core Competencies of Spirits"' a while ago, caused the deaths of over a dozen Spirit Masters, and was finally expelled from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
Mo Ya laughed, a harsh, grating sound. He pointed to the three large characters, Yu Xiao Gang, engraved on the back of the token.
"You! Yu Xiaogang! How dare you deceive me! I, Bai Feng, hate nothing more in my life than charlatans like you!" As Bai Feng spoke, his "righteous indignation" was palpable. Before Yu Xiaogang could even react, Bai Feng lunged forward and kicked him squarely in the chest, sending him flying a dozen meters away.
Yu Xiaogang crashed into a tree, the air exploding from his lungs as he slid to the ground.
Bai Feng then picked up the steel knife from the ground, took a single long stride, and swiftly arrived in front of the gasping Yu Xiaogang. He raised the knife high and chopped directly towards his forehead.
"No, don't!" Yu Xiaogang had never seen such a scene. This was no longer a robbery; it was an execution. He was instantly scared out of his wits, his face pale, his mind blank with terror. He squeezed his eyes shut, a pathetic whimper escaping his lips.
Clang—!
At the critical moment, the steel knife was blocked by Mo Ya's own blade. Only then did Yu Xiaogang, trembling, narrowly escape disaster. He opened his eyes to see the two blades locked inches from his face.
"Mo Ya, what? Don't you also hate charlatans like him the most?" Bai Feng said, feigning 'righteous indignation,' his voice sharp.
"It's not that I want to save him," Mo Ya pushed Bai Feng's blade back, "but he is, after all, the biological son of Thunder Douluo. We cannot kill him. If we kill him and this matter is exposed later, Thunder Douluo will not let us go, even if he was expelled."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Bai Feng sheathed his knife with a disgruntled shing. "Are we just going to give up on a deal that's already in our hands? We've wasted all this time!"
"Yes, why not?" Mo Ya's voice turned cold and greedy. "Not killing him doesn't mean we can't rob him. Anyway, he has already been expelled from the clan. His father disowned him in front of everyone. Even if we rob him clean, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan won't avenge him. He's trash."
As Mo Ya spoke, he pressed his own steel knife against Yu Xiaogang's neck, the cold metal biting into his skin. "If you know what's good for you, hand over all your valuables. Otherwise, don't blame us brothers for being ruthless."
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaogang's heart sank. He remembered the Immortal Herb in his storage Spirit Tool. If that were stolen, he would rather be killed. That was his future! His revenge! His chance to become a Titled Douluo!
He had to protect it.
So he once again feigned reaching into his sleeve, his hand shaking. He pulled out a fist-sized money pouch from his Spirit Tool, one containing about dozens of gold coins. It was all the "pocket money" he had.
"Gentlemen... brave heroes... you also know that I have been expelled from the clan. This... this is my entire fortune." He tremblingly handed over the money pouch, feigning an extremely pained expression, his heart pounding in his throat.
Mo Ya took the money pouch. He didn't open it. He just lightly weighed it in his palm.
"Bastard."
SLAP!
Mo Ya slapped Yu Xiaogang hard across the face. "Are you trying to give a beggar alms?"
Yu Xiaogang felt his head buzz, his ear ringing. The right side of his face swelled up at a visible rate, a bright red handprint appearing instantly.
"Children of big families like you all carry Spirit Tools. Don't think I didn't see it; your Spirit Tool is hidden in your sleeve!" Mo Ya's voice turned stern and menacing. "If you don't hand it over, I'll kill you. I'll take my chances with Thunder Douluo."
"You... you're going too far!" Facing Mo Ya, who had repeatedly humiliated him, Yu Xiaogang finally stood firm for once. This concerned the Immortal Herb. It concerned his lifeblood. How could he be willing to give it up?
But what greeted his defiance was a cold, efficient, severe beating from Bai Feng.
Bai Feng's technique was undoubtedly superb. As a professional killer, his movements were precise and brutal. He stepped forward, his fist striking Yu Xiaogang's solar plexus, driving the air from his lungs again. As Yu Xiaogang doubled over, Bai Feng's knee came up, smashing into his nose with a sickening crunch.
He didn't just punch. He used joint locks, chops to the nerves, and heavy kicks to the thighs and shoulders. He always avoided Yu Xiaogang's vital points, yet he caused him immense, excruciating pain. He kept him conscious, preventing him from fainting or dying, but systematically breaking him.
With hands and feet, Yu Xiaogang howled like a ghost.
In no time, he was a broken, whimpering mess on the forest floor, beaten beyond recognition. His left eye was squinted to a slit, his right eye was completely swollen and unable to open, and his nose and mouth bled incessantly. He was certain he had suffered severe internal injuries.
After beating him, Bai Feng still felt unsatisfied. He tore off his own mask, revealing a pale, handsome, and utterly cold face. He placed his right foot on Yu Xiaogang's chest, pressing down, and coldly snorted, "What about bullying you? If you have the guts, fight back."
"Cough..." Mo Ya, still in his mask, lightly coughed and pulled Bai Feng away. "Alright, Bai Feng, if you keep hitting him, you'll actually kill him. Yu Xiaogang, for your father's sake, I think you should hand it over. Otherwise, my brother won't let you go."
"I... I'll hand it over... cough..." Yu Xiaogang struggled to get up, spitting out a large mouthful of saliva mixed with blood and a broken tooth. At this point, he had been beaten senseless. His pride was gone, his bones ached, and his only thought was survival.
But he still wanted to put up one last, dying struggle. He had to try.
He took off the Spirit Tool bracelet from his left sleeve, his hand shaking violently. Then, he took out the jade box containing the Immortal Herb. He held both items out.
He pleaded bitterly, "Two brave men... I'll give you both the Spirit Tool... and this valuable jade box. Can you... can you just leave this plant for me? This... this was my mother's favorite plant when she was alive. It's not worth much money, but it means a lot to me. Please..."
As he spoke, he slowly, agonizingly, opened the jade box, revealing the Immortal Herb, the Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma, its mystical light glowing in the dim forest.
At this point, he could only pray. He prayed that these two scoundrels in front of him wouldn't recognize its value. For this, Yu Xiaogang even brought up his mother, who had been buried for over a decade.
Unfortunately, how could Bai Feng and Mo Ya possibly agree?
Not to mention they were specifically ordered by Qin Xuan to retrieve the Immortal Herb; even if they weren't, they were not ignorant thugs. As top-tier agents, they wouldn't fail to see the extraordinary nature of the Immortal Herb. The sheer density of its energy was staggering.
The two exchanged a glance over Yu Xiaogang's pathetic, pleading face. It was a smile of pure, cruel mockery.
In one smooth motion, Bai Feng snatched the jade box, and Mo Ya snatched the Spirit Tool.
Then, they simultaneously raised their legs and kicked Yu Xiaogang in the chest, sending him crashing back to the ground.
Mo Ya lightly tossed the storage Spirit Tool in his hand, then slowly, deliberately, put it on his own wrist. He smiled down at the wheezing "Grandmaster."
"Yu Xiaogang, do you take us for fools? This is no ordinary plant. It's clearly a Spirit Ganoderma worth at least ten thousand gold coins."
"Originally," Mo Ya lied smoothly, "I wanted to let you off, just take your coins. But since you're so dishonest... since you even dared to lie about your mother..."
He sneered, "Don't blame my brother and me for being ruthless."
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