156: Chapter 156: Having seized the core resources before killing you, how could a villain possibly have any martial ethics?
The roar of the helicopter propellers was deafening.
Qin Yuan had already stepped one foot onto the boarding ladder.
His leather shoe made a "clanging" sound against the metal step.
He paused for a moment.
He turned his head and looked at the emerald jade pendant in his hand, which was carved with complex formation patterns.
It was a bit cold, and it was slick with Yu Xuzi's blood and mud.
He wiped it with his thumb.
Then he turned around and walked back down.
"Master... Master Qin?"
Yu Xuzi was sprawled in the mud with his butt in the air; having just let out half a breath of relief, he looked up and was scared out of his wits again.
He hurriedly knocked his head against the ground again, his forehead hitting a small pebble, causing him to wince in pain.
"Do... do you have any other instructions?"
Qin Yuan didn't speak.
He walked up to Yu Xuzi, tossed the jade pendant in his hand, and caught it steadily.
"I'll take this item of yours."
Yu Xuzi let out a long sigh of relief, his taut nerves finally relaxing.
The muscles on his face twitched from relief, causing his wounds to throb with pain.
"Thank you, Master Qin! Thank you, Master Qin, for sparing my life!"
He kowtowed frantically in the mud, muddy water splashing all over his face and blurring his vision.
"I will take my disciples and roll down the mountain immediately; we will never step foot into the secular world again!"
"Wait a moment."
Qin Yuan's voice wasn't loud, but it had immense penetrating power, remaining clear even amidst the noise of the helicopter.
Yu Xuzi's kowtowing motion froze.
He raised his head, a trace of unease showing through the mud on his face.
"Master Qin... you..."
Qin Yuan looked at him, the corners of his mouth curling into an arc, his smile somewhat cold.
"When did I ever say I would spare you?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop by a dozen degrees instantly.
Yu Xuzi was stunned for a few seconds, his eyes widening until his eyeballs were almost popping out.
"But... didn't you just accept..."
He pointed at the jade pendant in Qin Yuan's hand, his voice trembling so much he couldn't form a complete sentence.
"I did accept it."
Qin Yuan tucked the jade pendant into his trench coat pocket and patted it.
"Nice item, thanks."
He crouched down and looked at Yu Xuzi's pale face.
"But what does that have to do with me wanting to kill you?"
Yu Xuzi felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet straight to his skull.
"You... you go back on your word!"
He suddenly sprang up from the ground, pointing at Qin Yuan and cursing loudly, spit mixed with bloody foam spraying out.
"You are the dignified Shadow Emperor, yet you renege on your word after taking the goods!"
"What about martial honor?! What about your integrity?!"
Qin Yuan stood up straight and brushed off the hem of his suit that had wrinkled when he crouched.
"Martial honor?"
He chuckled, as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world.
"How much does that stuff cost per pound?"
He looked at Yu Xuzi as if he were looking at an idiot.
"Old man, have you been locked in the mountains for so long that your brain has rusted?"
"I am a villain."
Qin Yuan tapped his own chest with his index finger.
"If you don't pull up the roots, the spring breeze will make the grass grow again. That is the professional etiquette of a villain."
"You've already handed over your foundation to me; if I keep you alive, am I supposed to wait for you to go back and train a few more disciples to come take revenge on me?"
"Do I look like I have nothing better to do?"
Yu Xuzi's face was completely distorted; due to extreme anger and despair, his features were bunched together.
"Qin Yuan! You beast! You devil!"
He lunged at Qin Yuan like a madman, trying to bite him.
"Bang!"
Before he could get close, Ah Fu kicked him in the stomach.
Yu Xuzi flew out like a broken sack, slamming heavily into a dilapidated palace stone pillar before sliding down.
He vomited a large mouthful of black blood with a "wah," which contained pieces of internal organs.
"Ah Fu."
Qin Yuan took out a tissue and wiped the tip of his leather shoe that had been splashed with mud.
"Young Master." Ah Fu walked up, carrying a gun.
"Finish off everyone on the scene who is at the Grandmaster level or above."
Qin Yuan threw the used tissue on the ground.
"Leave none alive."
"Understood."
Ah Fu raised the shotgun expressionlessly.
"No! Don't!"
"Master Qin, spare us! We've already handed over all our cultivation techniques!"
"Devil! You will die a horrible death, ahhh!"
Those ancient martial artists, who had originally held a glimmer of hope, completely collapsed.
They kowtowed frantically; some even tried to stand up and run, but their legs had long since turned to jelly.
Qin Yuan turned around and stopped looking at them.
He stepped onto the ladder and boarded the helicopter.
The cabin door slowly closed.
It shut out the wind outside, but it could not shut out those desperate screams.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Dense gunfire rang out on the peak of the Kunlun Mountains.
Each gunshot was accompanied by the blooming of a blood flower.
"Qin Yuan! I won't let you off even as a ghost!"
Yu Xuzi's shrill curse penetrated the cabin glass and reached Qin Yuan's ears.
Qin Yuan leaned back against the leather seat, closed his eyes, and tapped his fingers on his leg in rhythm.
"Boss, this old man is cursing quite filthily."
Gu Qianqian curled up in the corner seat, biting her fingernails.
"Let him curse."
Qin Yuan didn't open his eyes.
"A dead man's mouth is always the hardest."
The gunfire gradually subsided.
The helicopter slowly lifted off.
Qin Yuan opened his eyes and looked out the window.
The peak of the Kunlun Mountains, that patch of dark grey rock originally covered in white snow, had now turned dark red.
Blood flowed down through the crevices of the rocks, staining half the mountain top red.
The thick smell of blood in the air could not be blown away even by the cold wind at high altitude.
The once high-and-mighty ancient martial arts myth had, at this moment, reached its definitive end.
"Beep, beep, beep!"
Qin Yuan's phone suddenly vibrated.
He picked it up to take a look; it was a call from President Gao Qiqiang.
"Hello."
"Young Master Qin, per your instructions, the excavators from the Jian Gong Group have already entered the mountain."
President Gao Qiqiang's voice was a bit breathless, and the background was filled with the roar of machinery.
"That spiritual vein has been found."
"However..."
President Gao Qiqiang paused, his voice sounding a bit strange.
"However what?"
Qin Yuan frowned.
"Underneath that spiritual vein, we dug up a living person."