"Qin Qing is actually in Guoyang!"

After reading the message, Long Tianhao and the Long Family Head felt a surge of ecstasy, as if they had gained control over Ye Xiu’s very lifeline.

Long Tianhao said, "No wonder Ye Xiu wasn’t at the Long Family Manor. He went to be with his wife."

The Long Family Head said excitedly, "I really don’t know whether to call Ye Xiu arrogant or foolish. He actually brought his wife to Guoyang, which is the same as bringing Qin Qing to Hell."

"Brother, I’ll go and capture Qin Qing myself right now," Long Tianhao said impatiently. "As long as we have Qin Qing in our hands, Ye Xiu will be our puppet on a string. He’ll be forced to do whatever we want; he’d even eat shit if we told him to."

After speaking, he took out his phone, intending to call and gather his men.

"Not so fast!" the Long Family Head quickly intervened. "Wait until Ye Xiu returns. Otherwise, if you run into him, we’ll have no choice but to completely sever ties. Who would heal my injuries then?"

"That makes sense!" Long Tianhao nodded. "Then I’ll ask the person who sent the message about the whereabouts of Ye Xiu’s other subordinates. Once Ye Xiu returns, I’ll take my men and wipe them all out in one go."

As he spoke, he began exchanging messages with Jiao Fuping while simultaneously discussing the plan to capture Qin Qing alive and clip Ye Xiu’s wings with the Long Family Head.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, Tang Bo arrived. "Master, my sworn brother Ye Liangchen has returned."

Lying half-dead on the bed, the Long Family Head’s eyes shot open. As if mustering a final burst of energy, he said urgently, "Quick, bring Ye Liangchen here to heal me, quick..."

"Right away, Master!" Tang Bo immediately went to find Ye Xiu.

After Tang Bo left, Long Tianhao asked, "Should I take my men to capture Qin Qing now and eliminate Ye Xiu’s subordinates?"

"Go ahead!" the Long Family Head nodded. Despite his severe injuries, a smile of impending victory spread across his face.

Shortly after Long Tianhao left, Ye Xiu and Tang Bo arrived. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The Long Family Head was a true thespian of the Ancient Martial Circle. Despite knowing Ye Xiu’s real identity, he pretended to be clueless. With a benevolent expression, he joked, "Ye Liangchen, if you hadn’t returned, the King of Hell might have already taken this old life of mine away."

Not bad acting... Ye Xiu sneered inwardly. Long Tianhao’s phone had belonged to Long Xiaoyun, and it had been under You Ming’s surveillance the entire time. Therefore, Ye Xiu knew the full content of the messages exchanged between Long Tianhao and Jiao Fuping. Of course, Ye Xiu didn’t know the person texting Long Tianhao *was* Jiao Fuping, but he had already tasked You Ming with pinpointing the sender’s location and had dispatched people there.

"Don’t worry," Ye Xiu said with a smile as he walked to the bedside. He sat on the edge of the bed and took the Long Family Head’s hand to check his pulse. "With me here, you won’t die!"

When it came to acting, Ye Xiu had never conceded to anyone.

Seeing that Ye Xiu’s demeanor, expression, and eyes showed no signs of suspicion, the Long Family Head was convinced that Ye Xiu really didn’t know he had been exposed. For a moment, the Long Family Head felt as if he were a god, playing with Ye Xiu in the palm of his hand.

Thus, his smile grew even wider and more kindly. He said, "With your words, I’m reassured."

Seeing Tang Bo still standing nearby, he asked, "What are you doing here? Ye Liangchen is healing me; I don’t need your help."

Tang Bo replied, "Brother said he would teach me the Traveling Dragon Moxibustion Technique."

Oh? The Long Family Head was momentarily stunned, then overjoyed. If Tang Bo learns Ye Xiu’s healing technique, then I won’t need Ye Xiu’s help if Huang Quan injures me again!

Thinking this, the Long Family Head put on the expression of a stern teacher. "The fact that Ye Liangchen is willing to pass on his exclusive Traveling Dragon Moxibustion Technique to you means he acknowledges and respects you. You must not let him down. You must learn well and take it seriously, understand?"

"Yes, Master!" Tang Bo nodded.

Long Tianhao gathered all the members of the Xing and Wei Families at the Long Family Manor and assigned them the task of killing Ye Xiu’s subordinates.

He then went straight to the abandoned residential project where members of the Shen Family were located. The truth was, Ye Xiu had too many subordinates scattered throughout Guoyang; the members of the Xing and Wei Families at the Long Family Manor were simply not enough for the task. He didn’t want to use anyone from the other thirteen families with different surnames affiliated with the Manor. They weren’t part of his faction, and even if they reluctantly obeyed him, they wouldn’t put their hearts into it. His purpose for going to the abandoned project was to rally other experts from the Xing and Wei Families, as well as the experts from his own faction within the Long Family.

His goal was simple: to eliminate all of Ye Xiu’s subordinates in Guoyang in one fell swoop.

「South Country Bathing and Leisure Club!」

Jiao Fuping was soaking in a large bath, his eyes closed as he enjoyed a massage from two beautiful women.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps approached.

Jiao Fuping was furious. "Didn’t I say that no one is allowed to disturb me without my permission?"

One of the women massaging him said, "They don’t seem to work here."

"Oh?"

Jiao Fuping, startled, opened his eyes and turned to look. When he saw the three old men approaching, he exclaimed in surprise, "You... you all... didn’t you die with the Xu Family in Han Jin City?"

The arrivals were none other than the three big bosses of the Fire Seed Company: Du Long, Du Hu, and Du Hang. You Ming had located the phone of the person who had been texting Long Tianhao and had sent the three Du brothers to capture him.

"Jiao Fuping? You... you’re not dead?"

Seeing Jiao Fuping, the three brothers were even more shocked than he was. The old men’s scalps went numb, as if they had just seen a ghost.

"I see now," Jiao Fuping said, analyzing the situation with the confidence of a Monday-morning quarterback. "The night the Fire Seed Company attacked the Xu Family, the three of you didn’t actually die. And the experimental subjects of the Fire Seed Company weren’t mostly lost, as Ye Xiu claimed to Long Xiaoyun. In fact, your company wasn’t fundamentally damaged at all. But why are you here?"

"Go ask Ye Xiu. He’ll tell you why we’re here. Do it!" The Du brothers were in no mood to chat. Following Du Long’s command, the three of them charged at Jiao Fuping.

Ye Xiu? Jiao Fuping finally understood. Du Long, Du Hu, and Du Hang had already thrown in their lot with Ye Xiu. Because he had sent those messages to Long Tianhao, Ye Xiu had been able to lock onto his location and send these three to capture him. However, Ye Xiu doesn’t know that *I’m* the one who sent the messages. I can tell from the surprised looks on the Du brothers’ faces when they saw me.

"You want to capture me? Dream on!"

Jiao Fuping was well aware of the fate that awaited him in Ye Xiu’s hands, and he knew he was no match for the Du brothers. Even though he had awakened the Medicine King Valley’s Totem and obtained power surpassing that of a War God—reaching the level of a Second Realm War God—the three Du brothers were also at the Second Realm. Moreover, they had been at that level for many years. He had no chance of defeating them and couldn’t even escape.

So his only choice was to feign death to survive this calamity.

And so, Jiao Fuping slapped his own chest, severing his heart meridian and dying instantly.

Once they confirm I’m dead, they certainly won’t take my body. A dead man is useless to Ye Xiu. Once they leave, I’ll resurrect!

"Dammit, he’s committing suicide!"

Seeing Jiao Fuping strike his own chest, the Du brothers panicked, but it was too late to stop him. They could only watch as he severed his own heart meridian.

"He’s dead," Du Hang said, his expression turning grim as he checked for a pulse.

"I can’t believe we failed our very first mission after joining Ye Xiu. How are we going to face him now?" Du Hu said angrily.

"No one expected Jiao Fuping to have such guts," Du Long sighed. "Let’s go. Since we didn’t catch him alive, we’ll take his body back."

If Jiao Fuping could have heard that, he would have coughed up blood in anger. Had he known the Du brothers wouldn’t even leave his corpse behind, he wouldn’t have killed himself for nothing.