The leaders who tried to persuade Li Qiye with sweet offers have finally shown their fangs, seemingly on the verge of eating him alive.
They have resorted to an inferior strategy. It would have been great for him to accept an offer since this would make things simpler. There was only one egg so whoever got it from Li Qiye would be the winner.
Now, it became a headache since no one had a clear claim to the egg. How could they divide it?
âAnd if I donât obey?â Li Qiye was amused by the greedy eyes of these lords.
âDonât worry, weâll make you obey.â Sir Shang had a frightening gaze due to the glint, causing people to uncontrollably shiver: âYou will experience our militaryâs 389 types of torture. Hahaha, Iâm sure youâll be begging for death soon enough but I wonât let it end so soon.â
His nefarious laughter and bloodthirsty expression indicated a penchant for sadism.
âI see.â Li Qiye responded with a smile.
âFeel free to smile, no, laugh even.â Sir Shang said: âIâm afraid you wonât be able to keep that face once I start. You wonât be able to cry eitherâ¦â
His nefarious grin became wider as if he truly enjoyed torturing someone.
The leaders here who knew him werenât surprised to see his twisted hobby.
âEven if you donât care for yourself, think about those close to you.â A sect master persuaded: âI heard you have a servant and a young girl. Trouble will come to them too if you pick the wrong choice.â
âThey wonât have a good end if you donât obey. We wonât do something like that but what about the more villainous souls? Thereâs no guessing what theyâll do and they donât hold back.â Another royal lord added.
âPlus, if itâs not us, others wonât spare you and your friends after finding out your ability to access that valley.â He continued: âYour servant will die and that young miss will suffer extraordinary agony and itâll be your fault.â
âCooperate with us and we guarantee with our reputation that nothing will happen to you, provided that you take out the egg. Next, you can continue being a woodchopper and no one will bother you, yes?â A big shot kept the persuasive attempt going.
âThese are reasonable assessments of the situation so you must reconsider. This chance will only be there once, donât blame us when you fail to grasp it.â Sir Shang uttered: âJust think about the little girl when she falls into the clutch of evil men. Theyâll torture her and sheâll no longer bear any semblance to a human. That will be all your fault.â
This was no longer an implication. He clearly threatened that perhaps he himself would torture Li Qiyeâs friends in order to make him submit.
Plus, they were actually right about one thing. If they didnât do it, someone else would anyway. In a sense, Li Qiye forced them into doing this by not obeying.
âHmm, this does make sense.â Deep in Li Qiyeâs eyes was a flash of amus.e.m.e.nt as he seemingly pondered.
Unfortunately, they didnât understand his expression and thought that their threats have proven effective. The guy was changing his mind now out of fear.
They exchanged glances and Sir Shang spoke first: âIn order to avoid pain of the flesh and unimaginable consequences, obediently cooperate with us.â
âYoung Friend, itâs not too late to change your mind or we wonât be able to stop Sir Shang from his punishment. He is known to carry his responsibilities above all else without showing mercy.â Another sect master said.
Everyone labeled Sir Shang as the bad guy here since he was the first to reveal his nefarious intent. From now on, all the blame could be placed on him regardless of what happens next.
âBut⦠this egg is ominous, nothing good will come from bringing it out of the valley. Anyone who touches it will suffer a disasterâ¦â Li Qiye hesitated.
âDonât worry, thatâs nothing. We have so many experts here, more than enough to suppress one egg. You just need to bring the egg out to us, thatâs all.â One royal lord interrupted Li Qiye.
âBut I canât take it out.â Li Qiye waved his hands, acting helplessly.
âCanât take it out? Why not?!â A sect master shouted.
âBecause there is a power binding it there, I canât move it.â Li Qiye said.
âReally? Donât think about lying to us, the consequences are grave!â Sir Sheng immediately shouted.
âWhy should I? I might have already taken it out if I could.â Li Qiye replied.
The group exchanged glances, still skeptical. If Li Qiye really couldnât bring it out, then they would have wasted their time.
âDonât try to bullshit us!â One royal lord bellowed.
âIâm telling the truth.â Li Qiye sincerely said with innocent eyes.
They saw his appearance and were slightly convinced. Unfortunately, this meant that all of this was for nothing.
âMaybe heâs telling the truth.â One person said. After all, this might be the reason why Li Qiye refused all the tempting offers. He couldnât bring the egg out in the first place.
Everyoneâs mood sank to the abyss right away. The golden egg was right thereâ¦
âHoweverâ¦â Li Qiye said before pausing.
âWhat? Just spill it!â The easily-agitated Sir Shang shouted.
âI canât bring the egg out but I can take you inside. Itâll be up to your own abilities whether you can move the egg or not.â Li Qiye smiled.
âReally?â Everyone became excited and stared intensely at him.
âAbsolutely.â Li Qiye nodded earnestly and said: âIâll bring your group into the valley.â
âThis is possible?â They exchanged glances, still skeptical.
âYes, Iâve brought my old servant there before, itâs perfectly fine.â Li Qiye smiled.
Hope surfaced again for the group.
âWe can give it a shot.â They eventually reached a unanimous agreement.
âBrat, donât try anything stupid or your friends will get it.â Sir Shang coldly threatened.
âI know, itâll be perfectly safe.â Li Qiye seemed to have given up on struggling.
âItâs decided then.â The group made up its mind.
âPoof!â Suddenly, several figures appeared.