No one knew that just as Shang Wen Dong was certain that Ye Guichen was about to die, the ferocious smile on Shang Wen Dong’s face suddenly froze.
"This, this is impossible!"
Shang Wen Dong looked at Ye Guichen in horror.
He discovered that the golden fragment seemed to have struck something, producing a sharp screeching sound before abruptly stopping.
What stunned Shang Wen Dong even more was that Ye Guichen not only stopped the golden fragment but also pinched it with his fingers.
"This thing is indeed peculiar, but it can’t do much to me!" As Ye Guichen spoke, he had already pinched the golden fragment with two fingers.
Only then did Shang Wen Dong notice that Ye Guichen was holding two pieces of jade.
It was those jades that seemed to have blocked the golden fragment earlier.
The golden fragment was incredibly sharp, and naturally, Ye Guichen could not block its attack with mere physical strength.
However, after trying with Rashamon’s skull prayer beads, Ye Guichen had made up his mind.
Without waiting for Shang Wen Dong to react, Ye Guichen had already taken out two pieces of Seven-colored Lotus Jade.
This kind of Seven-colored Lotus Jade was extremely hard, and for some reason, Ye Guichen always felt there was a certain similarity between the golden fragment and the Seven-colored Lotus Jade.
Indeed, after holding two pieces of Seven-colored Lotus Jade, Ye Guichen easily blocked the golden fragment.
It was fortunate that Ye Guichen always carried two pieces of Seven-colored Lotus Jade with him; otherwise, it would have been difficult to block such a golden fragment today.
"What is that?" Shang Wen Dong’s face turned ashen when he saw the Seven-colored Lotus Jade in Ye Guichen’s hand.
He could not even stand and slumped to the ground, utterly exhausted.
Ye Guichen walked up to Shang Wen Dong and reached out to grab the judge’s pen.
Only then did he discover that the judge’s pen seemed to have a mechanism capable of launching such golden fragments.
"Truly a fine item!" Ye Guichen looked down at the despairing Shang Wen Dong, "Do you have any last words?"
"If you’re capable, kill us all!"
"That’s right, the judge is not wrong; he only wanted revenge!"
"Boy, you can’t kill the judge!"
Those Ghost Hiders cried out one after another upon seeing that Ye Guichen was about to kill Shang Wen Dong.
"Boy, if our lives can save the judge’s, then take them!" One of the Ghost Hiders spoke and then pulled the crossbow arrow lodged in his chest, stabbing it into his heart.
With a squelch, the sound of flesh being pierced filled the air, and the Ghost Hider died instantly.
"We only beg that you spare the judge’s life!"
The remaining Ghost Hiders seemed to be awakened, realizing they no longer had any chance of fighting back. Following the first Ghost Hider’s example, they stabbed crossbow arrows into their own hearts, committing suicide.
In less than a minute, all thirteen Ghost Hiders were dead.
Shang Wen Dong’s old eyes filled with tears.
"Brothers, I am powerless, I am powerless!"
Ye Guichen’s mouth twitched.
He had neither said nor done anything, and these people just committed suicide?
Previously, he had only heard that these Ghost Hiders did not fear death and valued the life of King Yan more than their own.
Now Ye Guichen believed it to be true.
"Boy, I admit defeat, kill me!" Shang Wen Dong raised his head and closed his eyes, ready to face death.
Even the remnants of the Book of Life and Death were useless now; Shang Wen Dong knew he had no chance to fight back today.
Ye Guichen shook his head, "Don’t you have anything to say?"
"Hehe, what can I say?" Shang Wen Dong laughed bitterly, "Old Yama treated me like his own child, but that new King Yan plotted against him to obtain the Book of Life and Death, forcing Old Yama to hand it over. In the end, Old Yama sacrificed his life so the Ghost Hiders could escort me out with the Book of Life and Death."
"Unexpectedly, out of thirty-three Ghost Hiders, only thirteen were left, and I was on the brink of death, being pursued by his men. After narrowly escaping death, I thought heaven had given me a chance to rise again and take revenge, but I was wrong, wrong to provoke you."
Shang Wen Dong opened his eyes and looked at Ye Guichen, "You are more than just Li Fengxian’s disciple, but since you’re unwilling to tell, I won’t inquire further. I only hope you can treat my son well; he knows nothing of this."
"Dad..." Shang Shufang’s tears flowed like rain.
The sight of those thirteen fearless Ghost Hiders deeply moved Shang Shufang.
He never imagined that there were people in this world unafraid of death.
And he never imagined that his own father was a prominent figure in the martial world.
At that moment, Shang Shufang’s worldview was completely turned upside down.
Using all his strength, he crawled off the couch, kneeling before Ye Guichen from afar, "Big brother, I don’t understand the grudges of the martial world, nor do I want to understand. But I know the grace of a father is as great as a mountain. Though I’ve been unruly since I was young, I have only one father."
"Big brother, since the moment I recognized you as my big brother, I’ve never had any other intentions. Your courage in drinking alone made me admire you deeply and recognize you as my big brother for life. For the sake of our acquaintance, big brother, I’m begging you, please spare my father’s life."
Though Shang Shufang’s bones were still weak, he continued to knock his head on the ground, tears flowing like a fountain.
Ye Guichen did not expect the spoiled Shang Shufang to be so loyal and emotional.
"Enough, stop your sniveling, it’s really disgraceful!" Watching the Ghost Hiders willing to die for Shang Wen Dong, Ye Guichen’s killing intent had vanished.
Although Shang Wen Dong wanted to kill him, it now seemed like it wasn’t personal.
Such a person was worthy of respect.
"When did I say I had to kill him?" Ye Guichen walked to Shang Shufang’s side, pulled him up, and tapped twice on his stomach.
Shang Shufang immediately felt a churn in his stomach and a violent urge to vomit.
Shang Shufang spewed a couchful of filth.
The next second, he felt much lighter, and the weakness disappeared.
He looked at Ye Guichen in disbelief, "Big brother, what did you do?"
"Just a little trick." Ye Guichen waved dismissively, glanced at the filth, and then at Shang Wen Dong, "Bandage his injured arm first. I won’t kill him, but I don’t want him hiding anything."
With that, he walked to a place a bit farther from the couch and sat down, studying the judge’s pen and golden fragment in his hand.
"Really?" Shang Shufang was overjoyed and repeatedly nodded, "Yes, yes, big brother, I understand."
Staggering, he ran to Shang Wen Dong, helping him up, "Dad, wait here. I’ll get the medicine box and bandage you up first."
Shang Wen Dong also looked at Ye Guichen in disbelief.
In his mind, since Ye Guichen had the upper hand, he would certainly kill him without any room for negotiation.
This was the martial world.
But now, Ye Guichen wasn’t going to kill him?
It felt like a dream!