563: Chapter 563 But he didn't say what would happen if Qingshan were gone?

Ye Chen withdrew his thoughts, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings.

Hakata Port was much larger than he had imagined; rows of containers crouched in the night like steel behemoths, with forklifts and container trucks occasionally weaving between them.

Occasionally, patrolling members of the Yamaguchi-gumi would walk past him, some even brushing shoulders with him, yet not a single person spared him a second glance.

The corners of Ye Chen's mouth curled up slightly as he quickened his pace, heading toward the container yard in Area D.

He had just memorized the last known positions of those three people from the surveillance footage; although they had likely moved, that location was at least a starting point.

After walking about two hundred meters, Ye Chen suddenly came to a halt.

His brow furrowed slightly as he cast his gaze toward a fork in the road to his right.

At the end of the fork was a row of old warehouses that looked completely out of place next to the brand-new container yards surrounding them.

The walls of those warehouses were peeling and mottled, and the iron doors were covered in rust, looking as though they had been abandoned for a long time.

But Ye Chen clearly sensed the presence of living people inside.

Not just one person, but three.

Furthermore, the aura of one of them was weak and unstable, as if they were heavily injured.

Most importantly...

It actually bore a slight resemblance to the energy of the [Houtu Inheritance] cultivation technique!

"Interesting."

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and turned to walk toward that warehouse.

...

Deep inside the warehouse, three figures were hidden in the shadows of abandoned crates.

Dim yellow light leaked through holes in the corrugated iron roof, barely illuminating this small space.

A Middle-aged Man sat leaning against the wall, his empty left sleeve hanging limply at his side.

His face, however, was as pale as paper.

An old man sat cross-legged opposite him, his grey hair a disheveled mess, as he channeled energy to heal the man's injuries.

Only a young girl curled up in the corner, sitting with her knees pulled to her chest.

After a long while.

The old man finally slowly finished his work.

The Middle-aged Man opened his eyes. "The vengeance for Master and the others... must be taken."

The old man exhaled a breath of turbid air, his cloudy eyes filled with exhaustion.

"How?"

Those single word, like a blade, stabbed into the Middle-aged Man's heart.

Indeed, how?

The Ancient Tomb Sect had over five hundred members, and almost all were wiped out overnight; only the three of them had managed to escape under the desperate protection of their fellow disciples.

By now, the sect's gates had likely been razed to the ground, and the foundation passed down by generations of ancestors had vanished in an instant.

One Clan, Three Sects, Five Gates.

What kind of terrifying power was that?

Pick any one of them at random, and the Ancient Tomb Sect might not even be their match!

Let alone nine major forces joining hands?

Forget revenge; even staying alive was a stroke of luck for them now.

And furthermore.

They still had to face an endless pursuit...

That group of people were like hyenas; they would never give up until they got what they wanted.

The old man's gaze fell on his empty left sleeve, and he sighed. "Your injury..."

"It's no matter."

The Middle-aged Man shook his head. "As long as I'm not dead, it's fine."

"That arm of yours was lost while protecting me."

The girl suddenly spoke, her voice muffled. "Second Senior Uncle, you shouldn't have blocked that sword strike for me."

The Middle-aged Man looked at her, his gaze softening slightly.

"What nonsense are you saying?"

"Your father entrusted you to us before he passed. I can give up my life, but you..."

"But I don't want you to die." The girl looked up, her eyes rimmed with red. "I don't want anyone else to die."

Her name was Shen Qingyi, the only granddaughter of the Ancient Tomb Sect's leader, and the only daughter of the First Senior Brother of the Ancient Tomb Sect.

Three days ago, she still lived a life of luxury, laughing and playing with her senior brothers and sisters before the gates of the Ancient Tomb Sect.

Three days later, her home was destroyed and her family gone, leaving her stranded in a foreign land, unable to even collect the bodies of her loved ones.

And now, even the uncle who doted on her most, Shu Yuan, had lost an arm!

How much despair was this?

The old man's eyes also reddened; he turned his head away and blinked hard, forcing back the moisture.

"The Sect Leader treated me with kindness as heavy as a mountain. If this debt is not repaid, I, Jiang Daoxuan, am not fit to be a man!"

He spoke each word deliberately; his voice wasn't loud, but every word carried immense weight.

Shu Yuan looked at him, hesitating to speak.

The elder Jiang Daoxuan was the Great Elder of the Ancient Tomb Sect, a powerhouse at the early stage of the Tianyi Realm, and a man of some repute even in the Kunlun Ruins.

But in front of the One Clan, Three Sects, Five Gates, the early stage of the Tianyi Realm...

Was like an ant, simply not enough.

He couldn't help but close his eyes as scenes from three days ago surfaced in his mind.

Flames reached the sky, the sounds of battle were deafening, and the blood of his fellow disciples stained the blue stone steps before the sect gates red.

His master Shen Wanshan and senior brother Shen Lian had held back seven elders from the Three Sects and Five Gates by themselves to win a sliver of hope for him and Jiang Daoxuan.

"Take Qingyi and go!"

Those were the last words his master had said to him.

He had run with all his might, out of the Kunlun Ruins, across the sea, all the way to this foreign land.

But what then?

Shu Yuan opened his eyes and stared at the hole in the corrugated iron roof above, his gaze hollow.

Then, he realized he had no idea where to go.

The enemies were too strong.

There were no allies.

The centuries-old foundation of the Ancient Tomb Sect had vanished overnight.

The three of them were the last sparks of the Ancient Tomb Sect.

But could these sparks...

Ever start a fire again?

Seeing the two elders' silence, Shen Qingyi suddenly spoke.

"Grandpa Jiang, Senior Uncle."

Her voice was very soft.

"Before he died, Father often said that being alive is more important than anything."

"He said, as long as the green hills remain, there is no fear of lacking firewood."

"He said, for a gentleman to take revenge, ten years is not too late."

She spoke word by word, as if reciting her father's teachings, and as if trying to convince herself.

"But he didn't say what to do if the green hills were gone."

Shu Yuan's eyes reddened.

Jiang Daoxuan turned his head away, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Shen Qingyi looked at them and suddenly smiled, a smile tinged with sorrow.

"I won't seek revenge anymore."

"I just want you to live."

"Just living is enough."

Shu Yuan jerked his head up, wanting to say something.

Shen Qingyi had already buried her face back in her knees, her voice muffled: "Let me be alone for a bit, just for a moment."

Shu Yuan's mouth opened and closed, but in the end, he remained silent.

Silence fell over the warehouse once more.

Only the night wind blew in through the hole in the roof, making the iron sheets rattle.

Suddenly.

*Bang!*

The iron door of the warehouse was kicked open from the outside.

Shu Yuan and Jiang Daoxuan sprang up almost simultaneously, guarding Shen Qingyi from either side.

Outside the door.

A crowd of people stood in the darkness.

At the head were several men in black suits, with typical Japanese features—short, stout, and with fierce gazes.

And standing behind them were several people from Longguo wearing long robes.

The Middle-aged Man's pupils suddenly constricted.

He recognized those robed men; they were precisely the people from the One Clan, Three Sects, Five Gates!

They had caught up.

They had caught up after all.

Jiang Daoxuan and Shu Yuan's hearts sank to the bottom.

The leading Japanese man stepped into the warehouse, his gaze sweeping over the three of them as a cruel smile curled on his lips.

"You three Shina pigs from the Ancient Tomb Sect, you certainly made us search for you."

"Coming ashore at Fukuoka, intentionally showing your faces in Area D to try and lure people to the east, while you doubled back to hide in the west."

"That was a clever move; we were almost fooled by you."

He clapped his hands, as if applauding, yet also as if mocking them.

"What a pity, what a pity. You can't fool the great Japanese people."

Shu Yuan didn't speak, but stared deathly at the robed men.

One of the grey-robed men stepped forward, looking down at him and speaking indifferently: "Hand over the Key, and I can give you a quick death."

Hearing this, Jiang Daoxuan's eyes widened in rage.

"You hypocritical sect forces!"

"You slaughtered my entire Ancient Tomb Sect, from the elderly elders to the young disciples—over five hundred lives!"

"And now you still want us to hand things over?"

"You are simply going too far!!!"

Fire almost spewed from Jiang Daoxuan's eyes; his grey hair moved without wind, and the aura around him surged violently.

Upon hearing this, the grey-robed man didn't show the slightest bit of shame; instead, he threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"So what if we killed you?"

"Because in our eyes, everyone in your Ancient Tomb Sect is no different from livestock in a pen."

"Slaughtering you is just slaughtering you; do we even need a reason?"

"Besides, you brought this on yourselves by being obstinate."

"The One Clan, Three Sects, Five Gates jointly demanded that you hand over that Key. If you had just obediently handed it over, how would you have ended up like this?"

"You chose your own destruction; who else can you blame?"

Shu Yuan's teeth ground together audibly at these words.

"The item has already been thrown into the sea."

"If you have the ability, go down and fish for it yourselves."

The grey-robed man's face suddenly turned cold, and a sharp killing intent flashed in his eyes.

"It seems you've chosen to do this the hard way?"

As his voice fell, the aura around him suddenly exploded, and an invisible pressure like a mountain bore down on the three of them.

Late stage of the Tianyi Realm!

The faces of Jiang Daoxuan and Shu Yuan both changed simultaneously.

The atmosphere was tense, on the verge of breaking.

Just then.

The Japanese man who had been standing by watching the show suddenly spoke.

"Qin Shou-kun, don't be so hasty."

The grey-robed man, Qin Shou, turned his head, his brow slightly furrowed: "Yamaguchi-kyodai, what brilliant idea do you have?"

Yamaguchi Ichiro grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"I wouldn't call it brilliant, but we Japanese are the best at interrogation."

His gaze moved past Jiang Daoxuan and Shu Yuan, landing on Shen Qingyi.

"With tough nuts like these, the more you pressure them, the less they'll talk."

"You have to change your approach."

"For example, later we'll grab that woman and, right in front of them, take turns performing a 'four-wheel alignment'."

"I don't believe they can keep their mouths shut then."

After he finished, his gaze fell back on Shen Qingyi, and he licked his lips; his eyes looked like those of a predator watching a lamb for slaughter.

Hearing this, the smile on Qin Shou's face deepened.

"Yamaguchi-kyodai certainly has his methods."

"When it comes to extracting confessions through torture, one must look to you Japanese."

Yamaguchi Ichiro waved his hand smugly and turned around, gesturing to the group of black-clad Japanese men behind him.

"What are you still standing there for?"

"Seize that woman for me."

"Be careful not to hurt her; it won't be fun if she's injured."

The group of black-clad Japanese men bowed in unison: "Hai!"

Immediately following that.

Seven or eight burly men stepped out from the crowd and began to surround the three of them.