50: In Chapter 50, if I were to say that he was also a blasphemer, would you believe me?

Receiving the Bounty Hunters' response, Tang Long readily threw all his weapons out, then walked out of the wooden hut with the arrow still in his shoulder, his expression pained.

At this moment, the other two groups of Bounty Hunters also approached; seeing that Tang Long had already been struck by an arrow, their moods visibly lightened.

However, having worked together for many years, they were well-coordinated. Old Qi stepped forward to frisk him, Old Qu went into the hut to investigate, and the other four kept their crossbows aimed at Tang Long.

"My lords, everything I've said is the truth."

"I know I'm on the wanted list, but those are just suspicions. Once it's investigated and cleared up, it'll be fine. Killing a Bounty Hunter is a capital offense. I had no grudges against those two lords, so I had absolutely no reason to commit murder."

"I've handed over all my weapons and equipment; I really don't have any more."

Old Qi quickly finished frisking him, stood up, and sneered, "Whether it can be cleared up isn't for you to decide. You say you were framed by Blasphemers, where are they?"

"They ran away."

"How do you know they were Blasphemers? How many of them were there, and how did they lure you here?"

"At first, it was a woman who wanted to rob me and hunted me down, but I killed her in self-defense. Last night, an old man caught up, and we fought. Initially, I couldn't beat him, but the old guy lacked stamina, and eventually, I ended up chasing him. Later, he lured me here..."

"Then why didn't you run?"

"I came to this camp yesterday during the day and even did... a bit of business with those two inside. With such a heavy snowstorm last night, and since I was injured, I didn't continue chasing him. Besides, if I had run, wouldn't it have been even harder to explain?"

"Answer my previous question: how do you know they were Blasphemers?"

"The woman told me before; she even wanted to recruit me. That old guy—during our fight, a strange black mark appeared on his forehead, and his aura was incredibly terrifying and evil. Also... my lords, you might want to go inside and take a look. The way he killed people is something a normal person simply couldn't do; it was too cruel."

Hearing this, the few Bounty Hunters exchanged glances, unable to help feeling a bit curious about the state of Hou Qiang and Mu Dayong's corpses.

At this moment, Old Qu walked out of the hut with a gloomy expression.

He approached Tang Long, first gripping Tang Long's chin to examine him closely, then signaled to the others and called Old Qi aside to talk.

"This kid really doesn't look like the killer."

Old Qi couldn't help but be startled. "How is it inside?"

Old Qu continued, "Gruesome. Mu Dayong had his throat bitten out, and Hou Qiang had it even worse; he was almost torn to pieces. It looks like the work of a beast. This kid's teeth couldn't have caused those wounds."

"Besides the three of them, there are footprints of at least two other people in the room. One seems to be an old person; white hair was also found on the floor. The other was barefoot, with footprints like a child's, or perhaps someone very small."

"Also... there are some valuables, worth about three to four hundred thousand, which this kid sold to Hou Qiang and Mu Dayong at half price. It's already on the transaction record."

Old Qi felt deflated upon hearing this and couldn't help but tighten his face.

What had they been trekking through this hellish weather all night for?

Money!

But now, not only did Tang Long not have the rumored spirit stones and treasures, but he was also mixed up with Blasphemers.

Of course, it was also possible that Tang Long was lying.

They could take him elsewhere for interrogation and might be able to pry out what they wanted. But that would take time, and they might still end up with nothing in the end.

The problem was that since Blasphemers were involved, according to The Sect's laws, they had to report it immediately and would likely have to undergo questioning by the priests later.

To tell the truth, they didn't want to deal with priests; that usually meant harassment and exploitation. Don't let the fact that Bounty Hunters could run rampant outside the city fool you; once they entered Song City, they were just part of the cattle and horse class.

They had worked hard all night for nothing and ended up in trouble instead.

Old Qi and Old Qu were naturally very dissatisfied, and the other hunters also felt it was pointless, unable to come up with an idea for a moment.

If they really had to find someone to demand an explanation from, it should be their captain, Yellow Beard.

"Why isn't Boss Yellow coming over yet? What is he stalling for?"

A hunter pointed behind him. "He's coming. Huh? Why is there an extra person next to Boss Yellow?"

At this moment, Tang Long's eyes were also staring straight at Yellow Beard and his companion.

After a few breaths, he lowered his voice and asked again, "My lords, is that Yellow Beard your leader? Does anyone recognize the old man next to him?"

Seeing his strange expression, Old Qi couldn't help but ask, "Yellow Beard is our captain. As for the one next to him, he looks very unfamiliar. What do you mean?"

Tang Long's throat bobbed. "That old guy is the Blasphemer who lured me here last night. As for your captain, if I said he was also a Blasphemer, would you believe me?"

The few Bounty Hunters were all greatly shocked, feeling a chill run down their spines.

The problem was that the old man's appearance was indeed very suspicious.

If he really was a Blasphemer, then Boss Yellow suddenly bringing him over was indeed somewhat suspicious.

Old Qu asked in a low, stern voice, "Kid, do you know what you're saying? Do you have any evidence?"

Tang Long gritted his teeth. "He has the same black blasphemy mark on his forehead as that old man. You probably can't see it, but I can see it very clearly. That's the reason I was hunted down by them, all the way from Linshan Market past Blue Ridge."

"I can't produce any other evidence right now. But as long as we start fighting, I'm confident I can force them to use their Blasphemy Power. Once you see that evil aura, you'll understand everything."

"At worst, we don't identify your captain first. Once that old guy reveals his true colors, we can capture him together, which would also be a great meritorious deed!"

The Bounty Hunters fell into a silence.

Setting aside Yellow Beard for a moment, if they could really capture a Blasphemer, it would indeed be a great meritorious deed. When The Sect questioned them later, not only would they not be harassed, but they would also receive a heavy reward.

Besides, why couldn't they talk about Yellow Beard?

Although he was the captain and the strongest among them, this person had always been overbearing. He not only took more than his fair share of the spoils but also didn't really care about the hard work and lives of his team members.

Hou Qiang and Mu Dayong's corpses had only just gone cold.

If Yellow Beard was truly a Blasphemer, then the cause of these two men's deaths certainly had something to do with him.

Even if he wasn't... as long as The Sect verified he had connections with Blasphemers, even if he didn't die, he would have to spend the rest of his life in the Black Prison. Wouldn't that mean the captain position would have to change?

People like Old Qi and Old Qu both felt that they might be able to become the next captain.

The other younger ones had even more radical thoughts. They actually hoped Yellow Beard was also a Blasphemer, so they could kill him and claim the credit.

The hunters had different thoughts, but they couldn't discuss it further.

But the fact that they didn't speak already explained a lot.

Tang Long didn't expect them to cooperate immediately; as long as these people didn't become his enemies, his plan was half successful.

And Lv Yang, who was constantly monitoring them, was even more pleasantly surprised.

From the conversation between Yellow Beard and Elder Ming just now, it was basically confirmed that Elder Ming really was a Blasphemer. At that moment, he felt that Tang Long's luck was simply too heaven-defying; to be able to guess correctly while lying so randomly.

But now, hearing Tang Long actually say... that he could see the blasphemy mark?

Lv Yang instinctively refused to believe it.

Blasphemers were organized, mysterious, and adept at bewitching people's hearts, and their influence had grown increasingly stronger in recent years. Not only in Song City, but likely all sects across the world found them very troublesome.

The blasphemy mark on their foreheads was condensed with extremely special spirit energy and was impossible for ordinary people to see with the naked eye. Even someone as powerful as him couldn't identify it through sensing when the other party hadn't activated their Blasphemy Power.

Although The Sect had methods of identification, they were costly. With a population of over 40 million in Song City, it was impossible to check everyone one by one, so they could only use them on suspected targets.

Therefore, they were quite passive in terms of suppressing and curbing Blasphemers.

And this Tang Long actually claimed he could see the blasphemy mark...

Disbelief aside, Lv Yang still had a glimmer of hope in his heart that what he said was true.

After all, he was an inheritor of the Saint lineage; perhaps he possessed some unknown secret technique?

If it were true... the significance of this person would be completely different.

He really wanted to go over right now and personally confirm whether both Yellow Beard and Elder Ming had blasphemy marks on their foreheads.

But he had already been intrigued by Tang Long, and he wanted to see how Tang Long intended to escape without his help.