After he spoke, his gaze shifted towards the middle-aged man with the goatee, "Do you want to live?"
The middle-aged man with the goatee trembled all over, nodding like a pecking chicken: "Yes."
"Good, then I'll give you a chance right now."
Qin Xiao nodded slightly and then pointed at Dai Mubai, "See him? Cut him three thousand times. If after three thousand cuts he's not dead, you live; if he is dead, you die. And make sure each cut reaches the bone."
Without a doubt, Qin Xiao had no intention of letting Dai Mubai off easily.
Three thousand cuts, without the aid of a healing Soul Master, even a Titled Douluo wouldn't be able to survive.
What!
Can a person even endure that?
The middle-aged man with the goatee was stunned.
He never expected Qin Xiao would make such a proposal...
It was simply...
Perverted.
"Qin Xiao, you can't do this to me, I'd rather die than go through that!"
Dai Mubai's face turned deathly pale in an instant, devoid of any color.
To be flayed alive with three thousand cuts, what kind of sin must one have committed...
He decided, he would rather take his own life than suffer such agony.
Thinking so...
The dagger in his hand, gleaming with a cold light, moved towards his own neck.
But before the dagger could touch his skin, the arm that held the dagger was bound by a long vine and became immobile.
"What, what are you going to do?"
Dai Mubai looked at the middle-aged man with the goatee, shocked beyond belief.
The middle-aged man with the goatee said, "Dai Shao, to be honest, I want to try."
"If you try, I'm freaking going to die!" Dai Mubai shouted angrily.
"You're going to die anyway, might as well let me have a shot," the middle-aged man with the goatee continued to persuade doggedly.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean, can't I have a quick death?"
Dai Mubai was dumbfounded.
"Your time is running out, if you don't make a move, I will," Qin Xiao said to the two who seemed to be performing a comedy sketch, his voice cold: "Ten, nine..."
And he had already begun the countdown.
He believed that both Dai Mubai and the middle-aged man with the goatee were well aware of what it meant when Qin Xiao counted down to one.
"We can't delay any longer; since you're unwilling to cooperate, then I can't blame myself."
The middle-aged man with the goatee steeled his heart, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes.
Immediately after, vines grew from all directions, binding and hoisting Dai Mubai up.
Clang.
The dagger, gleaming coldly, dropped to the ground and was picked up by the middle-aged man with the goatee.
He looked it over and praised, "Very sharp knife, it surely won't be too painful, Dai Shao, you must hold on."
"You, don't come any closer..."
Dai Mubai, hanging upside down, let out shrieks of terror.
But no matter how much he struggled and screamed, it was of no use.
The middle-aged man with the goatee had already plunged the dagger into Dai Mubai's right arm.
"Ah..."
Dai Mubai cried out in pain, beads of sweat the size of soybeans instantly appearing on his forehead.
Swish.
The middle-aged man with the goatee then pulled out the dagger, and blood spurted out.
Dai Mubai let out another agonizing scream.
However, the middle-aged man with the goatee, regardless of the consequences, looked at Qin Xiao with a questioning expression, "Your Highness, is this degree to your satisfaction?"
Qin Xiao frowned, "What you did was stabbing, I said cutting. Was I not clear enough?"
"Qin Xiao, are you the devil?"
Dai Mubai trembled all over, trying to provoke Qin Xiao, "If you dare, just kill me outright! I, Dai Mubai, eighteen..."
But before he could finish speaking, his mouth was gagged by a thick vine.
Muffled.
After doing all this, the middle-aged man with the goatee turned to Qin Xiao again, his tone somewhat wheedling, "Your Highness, please calm your anger, that cut just now doesn't count, I'll start over."
Qin Xiao nodded slightly, "Proceed as you see fit."
It goes without saying, this guy was ruthless too.
This time, his actions were decisive, and with a rip, he cut a long gash on Dai Mubai's thigh.
In contrast, Dai Mubai's body first stiffened, then began twitching like a dehydrated shrimp.
After finishing, he looked again at Qin Xiao, "Your Highness, how about this time?"
Qin Xiao responded indifferently, "Acceptable."
"Good!"
The middle-aged man with the goatee was overjoyed and began cutting Dai Mubai repeatedly with the dagger.
Three slashes, five slashes, eight slashes, ten slashes...
After ten slashes, Dai Mubai's resistance was not as evident as before.
The mustached middle-aged man was panicked and anxious.
"Dai Shao, I'm begging you, please hang in there," he implored.
Of course, while he said this, he didn't forget to slash Dai Mubai's thigh twice more, twisting Dai Mubai's face in pain.
"Who the hell begs like this?"
"Who the hell stabs someone while asking for a favor?"
"I fuck your damn—"
Dai Mubai had cursed the mustached middle-aged man's ancestors eighteen generations in his mind.
After fifty slashes.
The mustached middle-aged man realized that Dai Mubai seemed to have fainted due to excessive blood loss.
"Dai Shao, wake up, you can't go to sleep."
"If you just pass out like this, what am I supposed to do?"
The mustached middle-aged man grew even more panicked, quickly taking a large amount of cold water from the Spatial Soul Guidance Device and splashing it on Dai Mubai's face.
Dai Mubai's eyes fluttered open groggily, and he saw the mustached middle-aged man's face filled with joy.
The mustached middle-aged man excitedly said, "You're awake, Dai Shao, you're finally awake. If anything happened to you, how am I supposed to live?"
Dai Mubai was speechless.
If it hadn't been for the vines stuffed in his mouth, he would have definitely asked, "Do you think I'm your dad? Why are you smiling so happily?"
However.
The mustached middle-aged man was unhesitant, and swiftly gave Dai Mubai two more slashes.
Dai Mubai: "(ಥ_ಥ)."
I'm fucking resigned to you, old six.
Can't even faint to escape the pain?
Why the hell wake me up for such a cruel act?
Two hundred slashes.
Three hundred slashes.
...
It had to be said, the mustached middle-aged man truly was a Soul Saint level powerhouse, and he had a good grip on human anatomy.
Every cut avoided Dai Mubai's vital parts, and even after three hundred slashes, Dai Mubai still hadn't breathed his last.
Qin Xiao and Zhu Zhuqing were standing not far away, watching everything unfold before their eyes.
"Zhu Qing, do you think I'm cruel?" Qin Xiao asked indifferently.
"Being merciful to an enemy is being cruel to oneself, Zhu Qing will bear this in mind." Zhu Zhuqing responded without much hesitation, "I just think that if I were the one doing this, it would have been better."
In her eyes as she looked at Dai Mubai, there was no sympathy, only a burst of iciness.
She considered, if Qin Xiao hadn't arrived in time, what would Dai Mubai have done to her?
For a woman, the torture she would have faced might not be better than being flensed with three thousand slashes, right?
After a long while.
The mustached middle-aged man had already completed the six hundredth slash.
But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he found that Dai Mubai was already at death's door.
"Ah, this..."
He became flustered.
"Thump."
His knees went weak, and he directly knelt on the ground, "Dai Shao, I'm begging you, please, you can't die. I have the elderly to take care of at home, and the young ones to look after. If you die, how am I supposed to live?"
"Even if you have to die, wait until I've given you three thousand slashes before you die."
He cried.
He really cried.
"I have to fucking be responsible not only for you but for your whole damn family too?"
"The way you speak, it's as if the several hundred slashes on my body weren't done by you."
"To endure three thousand slashes, really? Qin Xiao has the guts to say it, you have the guts to do it, but doesn't anyone give a damn about how I, the person involved, feel?"
Dai Mubai was utterly impassive inside, even feeling a bit like laughing, while furiously ranting in his mind.
Gradually, a cold sensation spread throughout his body.
It turned out, the warm blood inside him had already dried up.
His breath was becoming weaker and weaker...
Sigh...
Was it finally going to end?
Dai Mubai had no dissatisfaction or regret.
There was even a feeling of relief in his heart.
He thought to himself, "Go to hell, what is this miserable human world? Whoever wants to suffer in the next life can go ahead and do so, don't look for me, I'm not coming even if beaten to death."
Dai Mubai died.
It was because of the numerous wounds, big and small, over six hundred in total, that he bled to dry and died.
"Dai Shao, Dai Shao, why did you have to go like this?"
"You're dead, but how am I supposed to live on."
The middle-aged man with a goatee knelt in front of Dai Mubai's body, his tears and snot flowing freely.
He cried so terribly and heartbreakingly.
"Dai Mubai didn't live in vain, after all, there is still someone who grieves for his death."
Zhu Zhuqing said indifferently.
Having witnessed Dai Mubai's death, her heart remained unmoved.
"Miss, that's not right,"
"I'm not crying for Dai Mubai, I'm crying for myself."
The middle-aged man with the goatee said before kneeling before Qin Xiao, "Your Highness, I was blind and failed to see Mount Tai, please spare my life."
Qin Xiao coldly replied, "You had your chance, it's your own incompetence."
"Your Highness, it's really not my fault, nobody expected Dai Mubai to not make it after six hundred cuts, let alone three thousand."
The middle-aged man with the goatee still refused to give up, "How about I take the remaining two thousand four hundred cuts for myself?"
As he spoke, he picked up a dagger and plunged it fiercely into his thigh.
Rip.
The sharp dagger instantly sliced through his clothing, and blood had already soaked through the fabric.
Ugh...
The pain caused the middle-aged man with the goatee to grimace and clench his teeth, veins popping on his forehead as large beads of sweat fell.
"He's a tough one."
Qin Xiao nodded.
"Your Highness, does this mean you're giving me a chance?"
The middle-aged man with the goatee was overjoyed.
"No."
Qin Xiao shook his head, "I was planning to make it quick for you. Zhu Qing, do it!"
As his voice fell, Zhu Zhuqing appeared in front of the middle-aged man with the goatee like a ghost.
Her fingertips, sharp as blades, were poised to sever the man's throat.
"Since you're not leaving me a way out, don't blame me for a desperate fight to the death."
A fierce light gleamed in the middle-aged man's eyes as he considered taking Zhu Zhuqing down with him.
But then.
Just as he began to muster his Soul Power, before he could even burst forth, a terrifying Soul Force Pressure descended upon him, pinning him in place, unable to move.
"Swoosh."
The next moment, the middle-aged man felt a chill at his neck and then saw a headless corpse fall powerlessly to the ground.
"I..."
"am dead."
Thud.
The head hit the ground, his last thought.
Neither Zhu Zhuqing nor Qin Xiao gave them another glance.
"Your Highness, previously, Yiran and I were being pursued and, having no choice, we split up. Do you know of Yiran's whereabouts?"
"Also, Teacher Zhao, he saved me numerous times, and in the end, he was badly injured and is now missing."
Worry was etched between Zhu Zhuqing's brows.
However.
As Zhu Zhuqing's voice fell, a rustling sound suddenly came from within the forest.
Something was approaching.
Zhu Zhuqing frowned and looked towards Qin Xiao.
But noticed that Qin Xiao's face bore no signs of tension, and he too relaxed somewhat.
With Your Highness here, what was there to fear?
A moment later.
A figure emerged from the dense forest.
It was Zhao Wuji.
"Zhao Wuji pays respect to Your Highness."
Upon seeing Qin Xiao clearly, Zhao Wuji's face immediately showed excitement.
Qin Xiao looked at Zhao Wuji, furrowing his brow, "You are wounded, don't worry about those cumbersome formalities."
Zhao Wuji was in rough shape, his complexion pale as paper, his body bearing several deep wounds exposing bone, signaling grave injuries.
It seemed Old Zhao had truly fought with his life on the line to hold out until now.
Seeing several wounds on Zhao Wuji's body that had nearly claimed his life, it was a wonder that Zhao Wuji had lived until now, he must have been very lucky.
But if it weren't for divine objects that could unblock his vitality channels and heal his injuries, Zhao Wuji's future prospects would be dim.
Qin Xiao felt somewhat moved.
He wasn't heartless, just a bit colder in nature.
But now, Zhao Wuji had earned Qin Xiao's recognition.
"This is..."
Zhao Wuji suddenly saw Dai Mubai, who looked like a blood gourd, and the middle-aged man with the goatee, now headless, his pupils suddenly constricted.
"You should recognize him, right?" Qin Xiao casually asked.
"Dai Mubai."
Zhao Wuji spoke with mixed emotions, "Having personally orchestrated such an event, he deserved his fate."
"Teacher Zhao, have you seen Yiran?"
At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing asked.
Zhao Wuji shook his head, "I was far away when I saw the sky filled with lightning as if divine punishment had descended, and I knew Your Highness had arrived, so I rushed here. However, if Yiran sees this too, we should wait here. It won't be long before she comes as well."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded her head and fell silent.
At this time, Qin Xiao approached Zhao Wuji and took out something from the System Space and handed it to Zhao Wuji. "Take this directly, it will aid your recovery and won't leave any after-effects."
Undoubtedly, the only thing that could heal Zhao Wuji and restore him to his peak condition was Immortal Herbs.
The Immortal Herb that Qin Xiao took out was the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng.
"This, this is..."
When Qin Xiao passed the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng to Zhao Wuji, his face showed a blank expression.
Without saying anything else, just the smell of the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng made him feel like he could live several more years.
A treasure!
An exceedingly rare treasure!
Zhao Wuji quickly tried to decline, "Your Highness, such a precious object, I, Old Zhao, cannot accept."
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