Chapter 43: Do You Think All He Wanted Was Money?

For a Qi practitioner, the most terrifying thing is not injury, or even death, but the scattering of one's Qi!

The longer one practices Qi, the more they dread this consequence.

Once a practitioner's Qi is scattered, their physical body becomes so weak that they are inferior to an ordinary person.

All the accumulated injuries sustained from years of practicing Qi would then return with a vengeance, relentlessly torturing the body, leaving the victim wishing for death while unable to die!

After Qi is scattered, attempting to practice it again becomes unimaginably difficult, effectively sealing one's permanent departure from the world of Qi practitioners.

This is precisely why these people were so terrified. Without the sustenance of Qi, they were nothing, not even qualified to serve as thugs.

Hearing my warning, Deng Zhiyong also charged toward the man in front and struck him squarely on the shoulder with a punch!

The fellow let out a cry of surprise, staggered backward, and looked as if all the strength had drained from his body. His face instantly turned completely pale.

I shouted at Deng Zhiyong, "Brother Yong, wrong spot, a bit lower! And put some force into it, preferably poking with a stick; a fist isn't forceful enough!"

"Got it!" Deng Zhiyong acknowledged, fixing his eyes on the guy, preparing to follow up with another strike. To his surprise, the fellow let out a howl, spun around, and bolted as if he had encountered a tiger!

The others also looked at Deng Zhiyong and me with utter terror. Whenever we took a step forward, they instinctively retreated.

Those who had initially charged to the very front now wished they could teleport to the very back, fleeing as far away as possible!

"You bunch of trash!" Zhao Xiangbo cursed furiously at the crowd. "They just made a lucky guess! That Yellow-Skin was simply unlucky!

Even that old dying bastard wasn't that divine; how could they possibly scatter someone's Qi with a single blow?

Don't be afraid, just all rush them together and it'll be fine!

Stop backing away, there are only two of them!"

However, no one listened to him. After all, nobody wanted to become the second Yellow-Skin!

As Deng Zhiyong and I closed in step by step, the men blocking our path lost their composure and showed signs of a total rout.

Deng Zhiyong and I exchanged glances, shouted "Kill!" in unison, and charged toward the group!

Those who had still hesitated while retreating completely lost their fighting spirit the moment they saw the two of us rushing forward recklessly, and they turned and ran.

When one ran, everyone ran; a dozen men dissolved into utter chaos.

Deng Zhiyong and I did not pursue them. Our target was singular and clear: Zhao Xiangbo!

Watching the mob flee in complete disarray from the two of us, Zhao Xiangbo was so furious his teeth nearly shattered!

"You useless trash! What the hell did I pay you to come here for?! The two of them scattered all your Qi, why are you even afraid of them?! They were just bluffing..."

Before he could finish his sentence, seeing Deng Zhiyong and me heading straight for him, he turned pale with fright. Fumbling clumsily, he started his motorcycle and screamed at the crowd, "Stop them! All of you, get them, damn it!"

No one paid him any attention; they scattered in all directions like birds and beasts.

I lunged to grab Zhao Xiangbo's clothes, but I was ultimately a fraction of a second too slow. With a fierce twist of the throttle, his motorcycle shot forward.

Deng Zhiyong, lagging a step behind, hurled the steel pipe in his hand. With a sharp clang, it struck Zhao Xiangbo squarely on the head, drawing a miserable shriek from him. The motorcycle wobbled violently for a few moments, yet somehow managed not to crash!

"You two bastards wait for me, this isn't over! I'll finish you sooner or later!"

Yelling curses, Zhao Xiangbo rode his motorcycle in a mad escape, vanishing from sight within moments.

Deng Zhiyong and I came to a halt, panting heavily.

Though we had driven these men away, neither of us felt at ease. We turned around and hurried back to Wang Yang and the Scholar.

Neither of them was lightly injured, but their minds were still clear. Er Kui, however, was not so fortunate; he had already lapsed into unconsciousness.

Not daring to delay, I reached into my pocket to pull out my phone and call an ambulance, only to find it utterly smashed, reduced to a pocketful of fragments.

I sprinted back to the Yan Hui Company, woke up Sister Yan, and used her phone to dial for an emergency ambulance.

Everyone on the fifth floor had been awakened. I briefly explained the situation to the people, left Youyou to watch the shop, and the rest followed me downstairs.

The three grown men carried the wounded to the roadside one by one, as the alley was too narrow for the ambulance to enter.

The two women administered basic first aid to staunch the bleeding and prevent the injuries from deteriorating further.

The ambulance arrived and successively hauled the wounded away, alongside four injured men left behind from Zhao Xiangbo's side, all sent off to the hospital together.

When Sister Yan came down, she brought the card Third Master had left for Deng Zhiyong. Since he had not betrayed his master, he was entitled to a share of this money.

Deng Zhiyong did not refuse either; saving these brothers required funds.

I asked Sister Yan to take everyone back while I drove to the hospital with Deng Zhiyong. Certain matters required assistance; simply dropping people off at the hospital wasn't the end of it.

Paying fees, getting hospitalized, and undergoing treatments and sutures—handling seven or eight injured people was far too much for one person alone. By the time the two of us had settled everyone in, dawn had already broken.

The two of us slumped onto the chairs outside the ward, utterly exhausted.

I had already retrieved my mirror and found it miraculously intact, a stroke of immense fortune amidst misfortune.

Leaning against the pillar behind me, I closed my eyes to rest for a moment when someone patted my shoulder. Opening my eyes, I saw Deng Zhiyong carrying two plastic bags, handing one to me. Inside were lean pork porridge and fried dough sticks.

I was indeed hungry; opening the bag, I devoured the food ravenously.

Deng Zhiyong patted my shoulder and said with a solemn expression, "Shi Tou, back then when Master praised your Qi-Observing Eyes to the heavens, I simply couldn't listen to it.

Just like that bastard Zhao Xiangbo, I harbored no good feelings toward you or Sister Yan. I felt you had simply used despicable means to win Master's favor and obtained everything because of it.

After following you guys around for this period of time, I realized I was wrong.

You truly treated Master as a close family member.

What shocked me even more were these Qi-Observing Eyes of yours!

Especially after yesterday's battle, I can now fully understand why Master valued you so much!"

I chewed the final bite of the fried dough stick, swallowed it, wiped my mouth, and said to him, "Brother Yong, honestly, yesterday I was just guessing blindly..."

"Shi Tou!" Deng Zhiyong interrupted me, shaking his head as he said, "Whether you guessed blindly or actually saw it, from now on, try your best not to let others know you possess this ability.

Your current strength is too weak to protect yourself. If someone with malicious intent discovers you have this talent, you will be in grave danger!"

I pondered his words and realized Deng Zhiyong's warning was by no means redundant. Nodding, I said, "Brother Yong, I understand!

Since everyone is settled now, why don't you come back to the company with me later and meet Brother Liang and Little Monkey?"

Deng Zhiyong shook his head and replied, "No! It's enough that they are with you; I won't insert myself into that.

There are some things I cannot evade and must bear, otherwise this massive group of brothers will scatter.

Zhao Xiangbo suffered a loss last night, so he definitely won't let the matter rest.

His next step will surely be to target my men, and I need to have my brothers stay on high alert!"

Looking at him with some perplexity, I asked, "Brother Yong, Zhao Xiangbo knows these people are beyond his control, so he shouldn't be pursuing this so relentlessly, right?

The scrap yard crew should be his primary focus, and the money generated from them is much more stable..."

"Shi Tou, you're mistaken!" Deng Zhiyong shook his head, looking at me with a cold smirk as he said:

"What Zhao Xiangbo has ever valued is never the money-making capacity of my brothers.

Did you think Third Master adopted all those children merely to search for Qi practitioners, and let the rest become cripples to earn money for him?

You're wrong. Third Master's true purpose was to build a massive intelligence network, and what Zhao Xiangbo wants to get his hands on is precisely that!"