Hearing the gasps coming from the manor and seeing Yang Qingshi and his pet beast blocking the entrance, Lord Zhou felt a chill run down his spine.
How could he not know that things were about to go south?
He didn't expect Yang Qingshi to turn his back on him and attack him without even giving him a heads up.
Even so, he had to keep up the act because Lord Zhou knew that it was best not to fall out with Yang Qingshi. At least at this critical juncture, if a fight were to break out, his side might not be able to gain the upper hand.
"Appraiser Yang, what are you doing?" As expected of a government official. Even at a time like this, Lord Zhou was still able to keep up his act. It wasn't easy at all.
Behind him, the faces of the people were ashen. The timid ones were trembling in fear.
Among them were experts with Rank 3 pet beasts. But the problem was, the aura exuding from Yang Qingshi and his pet beast was far stronger than theirs.
Even that tiger with its mouth full of blood had bloodshot eyes and was exuding a murderous aura. Its strength was far beyond Rank 3.
It even gave off the illusion that it was a Rank 4 pet beast.
Yang Qingshi smiled, but there was an eerie glint in his smile.
"Lord Zhou, let's not beat around the bush. I'm sure you already know what's going on. The entire Royal City is searching for me, Yang Qingshi. I thought that since I'm on good terms with Lord Zhou, Lord Zhou would lend me a hand. I didn't expect to hear that Lord Zhou was planning to send a message.
As he spoke, Yang Qingshi slowly walked down the stairs. The tiger that was larger than a bull followed beside him. With every step he took, Lord Zhou and the others instinctively took a step back.
"Lord Zhou, are you afraid?" Yang Qingshi asked with a smile.
Lord Zhou gulped. This time, he had made up his mind. Taking a deep breath, he straightened his face and said, "Yang Qingshi, I took you in previously because of our friendship. However, if you were to commit any atrocities or violate the law, I will never forgive you. I advise you to rein in your horse before it's too late. Otherwise, you will only be seeking your own death …"
Before he could finish, Yang Qingshi let out an eerie chuckle. The tiger beside him immediately pounced on Lord Zhou. Lord Zhou also had a Rank 3 pet beast.
However, in terms of strength, he was clearly much weaker than Yang Qingshi's ferocious tiger. His throat was crushed in an instant. Frightened, Lord Zhou stumbled backward. However, the ferocious tiger was even faster. With a single bite, it tore Lord Zhou's head off.
Puchi!
The headless corpse emitted a bloody light, and then fell to the ground, twitching.
As soon as Lord Zhou died, the rest of the group fell into chaos. Some tried to escape while others tried to attack Yang Qingshi, but none of them were a match for him.
"Fool. I'm a Rank 3 beast appraiser after all. How can I not have some tricks up my sleeve? Using a secret art, I can temporarily raise my pet beast to a pseudo Rank 4. Let me ask you, who in your humble Zhou Manor can stop a Rank 4 pet beast? "Yang Qingshi laughed maniacally.
Amidst the laughter, he single-handedly directed a feast of slaughter.
Be it those who resisted or tried to escape, they all ended up dead under the claws and fangs of the ferocious tiger. Yang Qingshi had planned to kill everyone here right from the start. Only by doing so would he be able to keep the situation under wraps, and he would have time to carry out the next step of his plan.
Come to think of it, Yang Qingshi didn't expect Lin Jin to react so quickly.
All this while, he had been working with that demonic appraiser to control everything from the shadows. He had been extremely careful, able to detect even the slightest movement.
When Lin Jin went to investigate the Du Manor during the day, Yang Qingshi was the first to find out.
Yang Qingshi immediately knew something was amiss.
Others might have looked down on Lin Jin, thinking that he had gotten to where he was because of his connections, but Yang Qingshi didn't think so. He had seen Lin Jin's evaluation reports at Tan Xun's place.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that in the entire royal capital, even including Tan Xun, Yang Qingshi was the one who understood Lin Jin the most.
Only Yang Qingshi knew that Lin Jin was the real deal. He was a true expert.
Because of this, when Yang Qingshi found out that Lin Jin had suddenly gone to the Du Manor, he knew something was wrong. He had already planned to escape.
However, Yang Qingshi was overconfident. He assumed that Lin Jin had no idea what was going on. When he found out that Lin Jin had gone to the dark prison, Yang Qingshi immediately snuck into the Du Manor and dug out the eight-headed viper's fetus from Du Lianxi's stomach. Then, he planned to make his escape.
Of course, due to the urgency of the situation, he had to bring some items with him. To his surprise, the slightest delay gave Lin Jin the perfect opportunity.
By then, Yang Qingshi was already at the city gates. However, the gates were sealed and there were at least two hundred soldiers guarding the area.
Yang Qingshi didn't dare to force his way in. After all, he had a backup plan.
Hence, he fled back to the Zhou Manor.
Given the current situation, it would be extremely difficult to leave the city. Moreover, Yang Qingshi didn't expect Lin Jin's influence to be so great that he could mobilize thousands of city guards to hunt him down.
Yang Qingshi hadn't expected this at first.
Now that he had killed them, one, to inform them of his arrival, and two, to prepare for the next step of his plan.
Yang Qingshi understood that he wouldn't be able to break out of the encirclement with his own strength. Even if he used a secret technique and sacrificed his pet beast's lifespan to forcefully raise its strength to Rank 4, he still wouldn't be able to do it.
In that case, he could only look for help.
By now, the entire Zhou family was dead. Corpses littered the ground and the stench of blood permeated the air.
Yang Qingshi stood in the middle of the courtyard filled with corpses, looking up at the moon.
"I, Yang Qingshi, could have toyed with the entire royal capital in the palm of my hand. Everyone here is but an ant in my eyes. But because of one person, I ended up in such a sorry state. Haha, so what? How could a mere Beast Appraisal Association of an intermediate country stop me? "
Yang Qingshi's face was still as proud as ever, as if victory was still within his grasp even at this stage.
Next, he controlled his pet beast to toss all the Zhou family members' corpses into the pond in the backyard. Every single one of them was bitten and some even had severed limbs. The entire Zhou family, including the servants and servants, totaled up to thirty-seven people. All of them were tossed into the pond.
The originally green water was now dyed crimson.
"The moonlight is beautiful tonight. There was no need for this, but since you've forced my hand, don't blame me for bathing the royal capital in blood." Yang Qingshi let out a hearty laugh as he turned to look at his pet beast, the Rank 4 tiger.
"You go down as well. You've been with me for so long. Help me one last time today." Having said that, Yang Qingshi performed a spell. The tiger let out a deafening roar before leaping into the pond. Soon, it sank into the water, drowning itself.
It was a bizarre and terrifying scene.
Yang Qingshi took out a porcelain bottle. The seal on the bottle was yellow, and it looked old. Clearly, it had been around for a long time.
"Master, it's not that this disciple is incompetent. It's just that the plan can't keep up with the changes. This time, only you can save me." Having said that, Yang Qingshi opened the bottle and poured out a drop of viscous blood into the pond.
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