Chapter 6: The Blood Oath

Chen Ze originally intended to let Yang Hong get a few hits in to vent his frustration, but when he heard Yang Hong curse his mother, his rage flared. He quickly sprang to his feet, summoning all his strength to land a punch on Yang Hong's chin, and the two grappled fiercely.

"You curse me again?"

Yang Hong didn’t expect Chen Ze to fight back. Stunned for a moment, he quickly sidestepped and kicked Chen Ze away.

"Fuck your mother, yeah, I’ll keep cursing you! What are you gonna do about it?"

"Son of a bitch, I’ll kill you!" Chen Ze seemed to have lost control, swinging his fists wildly, as though ready to fight Yang Hong to the death.

Unfortunately, Chen Ze had never been good at fighting, and Yang Hong was naturally stronger. He had been in countless brawls since childhood. In no time, Yang Hong had him pinned to the ground, unable to move.

Yang Hong straddled Chen Ze, raising his fists to rain down blow after blow on Chen Ze, as though trying to vent all the anger and frustration of the night.

"That’s what you get for messing with me!"

"Thinking too much, huh?"

"Li San is dead because of you!"

Chen Ze raised his arm to block the punches and let out a cold laugh. "You know who really killed him, don’t you? You don’t fear his ghost coming for you?"

Yang Hong froze, his raised fists pausing in midair. He remembered the gruesome image of Li San's death and nervously glanced around.

"The immortal said that anyone who kills in private must pay the price. Come on, kill me. Let’s exchange our lives!" Chen Ze stared fiercely at Yang Hong, his eyes filled with a viciousness never seen before. "If you dare close your eyes, I’ll kill you right here!"

Yang Hong turned and glanced at Hu Zi, who was standing not far off with clenched fists, ready to charge at any moment. He then looked at Chen Ze, whose gaze was equally fierce, and understood that Chen Ze wasn’t making idle threats.

If Li San were still alive, Yang Hong wouldn’t have to worry, but because of his words, Li San was dead.

Hu Zi and Chen Ze had a deep bond, and whatever Chen Ze said, Hu Zi would follow.

They lived under the same roof, and if Chen Ze really wanted to kill him, Yang Hong knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully.

Realizing this, Yang Hong forced a smile, his voice laced with flattery. "Brother, don’t be angry. I’m sorry, I take back what I said earlier."

"Fuck your mother!" Chen Ze cursed viciously, flipping over and pinning Yang Hong down. He swung his fists mercilessly, aiming for Yang Hong’s face. "Did you curse my mother? Try it again!"

Yang Hong, recalling Chen Ze’s earlier threat, dared not fight back. He could only raise his arms to block.

Their positions reversed. Where Yang Hong had once beaten Chen Ze, now Chen Ze was landing blow after blow, making it clear how painful this was for him.

"Ow, brother, take it easy! Calm down, don’t be so mad!"

"Calm down, stop, stop!"

"Ow, that hurts!"

Stolen story; please report.

Yang Hong begged, but Chen Ze ignored him, continuing to pound Yang Hong’s face until it was bruised and swollen. Finally, he stopped, grabbing Yang Hong by the collar, and growled, "You curse my mother again, I’ll kill you. Do you believe me?"

"I believe you, I believe you! Just get off me, let’s talk it over," Yang Hong pleaded, sounding completely submissive. He struggled to sit up, forcing a grotesque smile on his battered face, looking like a pig. "Brother, are you calm now? I was wrong, I apologize. Please, don’t take it to heart."

Chen Ze snorted coldly, noncommittal.

"I knew you were generous, brother, so this matter’s over, right?" Yang Hong flashed another smile, picked up the bedding from the bed, and began to walk away. "I’ll sleep outside tonight, don’t worry about me."

Chen Ze watched Yang Hong leave, his chest heaving with lingering rage.

"Chen Ze, you look so fierce tonight. You’ve never been like this before," Hu Zi whispered.

Chen Ze froze for a moment, then chuckled bitterly.

Indeed, he hadn’t been like this before.

If it had been the old him, would he have dared to go to such lengths with Yang Hong?

Maybe it was because these days, he had grown accustomed to the danger of life and death, knowing his life could end at any moment. So, he no longer acted as cautiously as he once did.

In this dark, oppressive place, anyone who was weak would eventually go mad. Weakness didn’t survive here.

But what truly drove his anger tonight was Yang Hong’s insult to his mother.

He could endure being bullied, but he would never accept anyone insulting his mother!

Chen Ze slammed the door shut, grabbed the bedding, and laid it out on the bed before pulling Hu Zi over to lie down.

"You can sleep on the bed now. Feels good, huh?" Hu Zi said with an innocent smile. "I’ve been watching you and Yang Hong get along, and I was worried you might actually trust him. But you don’t trust him, right?"

Chen Ze was surprised. "You don’t trust him either?"

"Of course not," Hu Zi nodded seriously. "My mother always said, never trust someone who has bullied you, and he’s done that plenty. I’m not trusting him."

Chen Ze said softly, "Your mom is wise. I’ll remember that. Yang Hong won’t be back tonight. Sleep now."

He knew that Yang Hong had backed down tonight because of his threat.

Yang Hong feared he might strike in secret, so he had no choice but to leave, and he wouldn’t be living with them anymore. Where he stayed was none of Chen Ze’s concern.

Hu Zi was puzzled. Though he couldn’t understand why Yang Hong wasn’t coming back to sleep, he didn’t ask further. He just turned over and quickly fell asleep, snoring softly.

Chen Ze looked at Hu Zi, who fell asleep so easily, and smiled helplessly. He touched the copper coin on his wrist, his earlier agitation slowly fading.

It had been a close call; he had almost let Hu Zi help him kill Yang Hong.

Had it not been for Qin Shan’s warning—"Killer must pay with his life"—he would have done it.

But unless absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to fight to the death with Yang Hong, nor did he want to stain his hands with blood alongside Hu Zi.

Originally, his plan was to endure, to wait and scheme, but when his mother was insulted, he couldn’t hold back.

But it was fine. Yang Hong was gone, and now he and Hu Zi could sleep soundly.

Though the incident was over, when he recalled Li San’s brutal death tonight, he still felt a lingering fear.

Had he not pulled Hu Zi back at the critical moment, it could have been his head rolling like Li San’s.

At first, he hadn’t known what Yang Hong was plotting. When Yang Hong suggested escaping, Chen Ze had only found it suspicious.

With the power of these immortals, they would have been caught soon enough. Even if they had escaped from Mo Ji Sect, after flying with Li Changqing for so long, they wouldn’t even know the way home. What good would escaping do?

Such an obvious problem, Chen Ze couldn’t believe Yang Hong hadn’t thought of it.

It wasn’t until Li San died that he realized Yang Hong’s real intention: he wanted to use their heads as a blood oath to gain Qin Shan’s trust.

Unfortunately for Yang Hong, Chen Ze wasn’t fooled, and he had no choice but to sell out Li San.

Li San had always been loyal to Yang Hong, despite bullying others, but when it came down to it, Yang Hong didn’t hesitate to sell him out.

Yang Hong was like a venomous snake, choosing his prey carefully. No matter how friendly he seemed, Chen Ze wouldn’t trust him.

He had been guarding against Yang Hong the whole time, and that was how he managed to escape when it mattered.

But the timing of Qin Shan’s appearance was too suspicious. Just after Li San crossed the red line, his head was struck off. This made Chen Ze wonder if Qin Shan had been hiding nearby, watching all along, but they couldn’t detect him.

If that were the case, Qin Shan must have overheard his conversation with Yang Hong, which made him realize that was why he didn’t report Yang Hong.

Yet, Qin Shan seemed to know everything, so why act like nothing happened?

And when he left, Qin Shan had specifically warned them not to fight in secret. It seemed he didn’t care about their lives, so why was he so concerned today?

Chen Ze couldn’t make sense of it all. Exhausted, his mind was too tired to ponder further.

All he knew was that from tonight on, he could finally sleep peacefully.