Chapter 143: The Emperor's Blessing

Why would anyone stage such a foolish play?

Ye Tian looked at the young girl before him, speechless. Had she watched too many romance dramas, believing that she could strike a deal with villains just by offering up her body? In reality, gangsters would devour everything she had, leaving nothing behind. As for a deal? What right does the weak have to negotiate?

It was much like the Dragon Kingdom during the war-torn years, when any stray dog could come and take a bite; but look at it now. The once-arrogant Japan is, in the eyes of the modern Dragon Kingdom, nothing more than a slightly larger island. Dignity exists only at the edge of a blade—that is the truth.

Sachiko was still too naive. If a regular young man had been standing there, those thugs would have broken his limbs, thrown him into the sea, and continued to force Sachiko to work at the brothel. Unfortunately for them, the person standing before them was Ye Tian, a late-stage Beidou-realm cultivator and a Golden Core master.

Forget it. Let her see something cruel, so she might recognize reality sooner.

Though he had intended to strike immediately and wipe them all out, Ye Tian ultimately suppressed the urge.

"Heh, you want to trade your body with me? Impossible!"

"Working at the brothel is the price you pay for failing to pay the protection fee. As for this boy, he must also pay the price for his insolence!"

Nakano wiped the seawater from his face in a disheveled manner, then looked at Ye Tian with a sinister grin and howled, "Go! Cut off his limbs and throw him into the ocean to feed the fish!"

At his command, the thugs swarmed forward with glee, grabbing Ye Tian’s limbs and pinning him hard against the rocky shore. Then, a gleaming katana was drawn!

"Ah, stop it!"

Seeing Ye Tian offer no resistance, Sachiko let out a desperate shriek. Kind-hearted as she was, she could not bear to see the boy she had saved destroyed like this.

"I beg you, Mr. Nakano, I'll do anything you want!" Sachiko pleaded.

However, the thugs couldn't care less. Nakano even reached out and delivered a heavy slap to Sachiko, knocking her to the ground. He sneered, "Heh, Miss Sachiko, don't be in such a rush. Your turn will come soon enough."

With that, he brought the katana down in a clean stroke.

Blood sprayed as Ye Tian’s ankle was severed, exposing the white bone beneath.

"Ye-kun!"

Sachiko let out a despairing scream and fainted as her vision went black.

"Hmm, quite nostalgic. It’s been a while since I was injured." Looking at his severed leg, Ye Tian mused with a touch of reminiscence.

He hadn't felt pain in a long time; taking this opportunity to experience it again wasn't half bad. Besides, he could reattach the severed foot later.

Good, Sachiko had passed out, so he could act.

Just as Nakano was laughing and raising his katana to swing it down again, a sharp snap of fingers echoed through the crowd.

The next second—

Bang, bang, bang!

A series of continuous explosions erupted above the heads of the thugs, sounding like firecrackers going off. More than a dozen headless corpses slumped to the ground in a tangled heap!

"He-heads, they exploded!"

Jonosuke was stunned by the sight. He collapsed to the ground, his aged face turning deathly pale. Even at his advanced age, and despite his reputation for having weathered many storms, he had never witnessed such a gruesome scene. A dozen heads had simply exploded into thin air, like crushed watermelons...

"Blegh!"

The seventy-year-old Jonosuke began retching on the ground. Heavens above, could someone please tell him what had just happened!

At this moment, Ye Tian emerged from the pile of blood-soaked corpses. The ankle that had been severed was already fully restored, without a single scar left behind. He squatted down in front of Jonosuke.

"Old man, shall we keep fishing?"

"Fishing? What fishing? We must flee at once!"

"Regardless of whether it was some evil spirit that killed them, so many members of the Black Tiger Society have died here. Their leader will definitely bring his men to massacre the eastern fishing village!"

"If we wait any longer, we won't be able to escape."

Jonosuke stood up shakily. He didn't even care about his fishing nets; without another word, he moved to hoist Sachiko up, clearly intending to flee with her into the night. It was no joke—that was the Black Tiger Society. A massive organization with ten powerful Chunin-level experts; any one of them could easily slaughter the entire village. To ordinary fishermen without backing, the Black Tiger Society was the absolute ruler here, capable of easily deciding anyone's fate.

"In any case, we must part ways here. May fortune be with you, young man!"

This...

Ye Tian paused. Could it be that because he killed a group of villains, he had forced Sachiko and her grandfather into exile? This was clearly not what he wanted to see.

Seeing this, Ye Tian had an idea. He picked up the unconscious Sachiko and said to Jonosuke:

"Old man, you don't need to worry. Actually, that was... that was a blessing from the Emperor, who saved us."

"Just now, the Emperor told me that the Black Tiger Society had committed too many evils, so he decided to mete out punishment and eradicate all its members."

"Even the leader of the Black Tiger Society will die tonight."

"Really?"

Jonosuke looked at Ye Tian in shock. From the boy's sincere gaze, he couldn't detect any trace of deception.

"Really, really. Otherwise, how could they have all died suddenly? It couldn't possibly have been me, could it?"

That was true...

He stretched his neck to look at the corpses with their heads blown open on the ground; it didn't look like anything an ordinary person could do. Moreover, there were only the three of them present. Sachiko, himself, and Ye Tian—this boy couldn't even beat Nakano, so how could he have killed so many people?

It must have been a blessing from the Emperor!

The Emperor was the god of nature in Japan and its nominal ruler, said to possess supreme power. This concept was deeply ingrained in the heart of every Japanese person.

Jonosuke was overjoyed. "Long live the Emperor! He has rid us of this plague. When I return, I will be sure to pay my respects to him!" With that, he quickly signaled Ye Tian: "Boy, hurry up and carry Sachiko on your back. We’re going home to worship the Emperor!"

"Right."

Ye Tian grinned, placed the girl on his back, picked up the tools and fishing nets with both hands, and headed home.

Halfway there, the unconscious Sachiko slowly came to. Feeling the solid back beneath her, she blushed instantly. Ye-kun could still walk; he was unharmed—thank goodness!

Could it be that everything just now was just a dream?

"Ye-kun, what happened just now? Was I dreaming?" Sachiko asked, her face flushed.

"No, you weren't dreaming. Those people really did cut off my foot," Ye Tian explained, his expression indifferent as he carried her along. "The Black Tiger Society are all demons, and demons do not negotiate with good people."

"In the future, don't be so naive."

"That's right, Sachiko. You're grown up now; stop having such childish thoughts. It was the Emperor's blessing that saved us this time," Jonosuke added from the side, backing up Ye Tian's story.