Chapter 110: See Through

For the first time since his birth, Banruo felt that the antidote was much more important than the poison. As soon as the toxin, three times more concentrated than usual, entered his body, it made Banruo feel as if death would be preferable to life.

It was the sensation of a person accustomed to a strong body suddenly feeling paralyzed all over. All the strength in his body was rapidly dissipating, and the antidote ingested into his body was as ineffective as a drop in the bucket.

"Have you learned our ninjutsu?" Banruo asked with great effort, almost groaning.

Yang Chen, while leisurely admiring the figure of the female ninja lying on the ground, shook his head at Banruo's question. "Your ninjutsu belongs to different sects. Although I could learn it through some means, I'm not interested."

"Why then can you see through our ninjutsu every time?" Banruo asked, unwilling to accept it.

Yang Chen couldn't help but laugh. "Miss Banruo, there's an old saying in Yanxia: 'All martial arts in the world can be broken through, only speed cannot be.' The ancient warriors of your Sakura Clan obtained the seeds of martial arts from Yanxia. Even though you've created your own Eastern martial arts and ninjutsu, you still arrogantly believe that you stand out. But the truth is, your skills cannot escape the scope of this saying."

"In this world, true strength is only measured by two things: speed and power—techniques are just fleeting clouds."

Banruo seemed to ponder for a moment, as if she understood something. When she looked at Yang Chen again, there was a hint of awe. "Lord Mingwang, you are a respected strong individual. It's a pity you have to stand against us, the Yaqi Society."

"No, no," Yang Chen refuted, "It's not that I want to oppose you; it's that you're causing trouble for me. I've said it before, I retired to this land to live a quiet life. The Yanhuang Iron Brigade has left me alone. Why does the Yaqi Society bother me?"

Banruo confidently retorted, "Please believe me, Lord Mingwang, with your wisdom, it's impossible for you to not understand. Please don't deceive yourself. The reason why the Yanhuang Iron Brigade hasn't acted yet is simply because they haven't found the most suitable opportunity. No organization, no country will allow the 'God Stone' to fall into others' hands... even you. They would challenge the authority of the gods sooner or later."

Yang Chen smiled bitterly, "With your words, it's like tearing apart the facade of my happiness, forcing me to have a headache..."

"So, do you admit that you have the God Stone?" Banruo asked opportunistically.

Yang Chen quickly shook his head, "What are you saying? What I mean is, they, like you, mistakenly believe I have that God Stone, but I really don't."

"But..."

"That's enough!"

Yang Chen shouted, "Miss Banruo, you're poisoned. Why bother talking so much? Although I know your toxins will gradually be neutralized because of the antidote, before that happens, I still need you to exchange for my superior, Miss Mo..."

Banruo showed a hint of helplessness. Another failure in the mission plan made her feel frustrated. In the eyes of this young genius ninja, the man in front of her was like an insurmountable wall, no matter how hard she tried to climb, even if she forcefully collided, it was like hitting an impenetrable iron plate.

Seeing Banruo's silence, Yang Chen continued, "What, do you still want me to specially find your two companions?"

Banruo was startled, lifting her head abruptly. "You know there are two of them?"

"It seems you didn't quite catch what I said earlier. Mr. Tanuki's stealth technique is indeed impressive, but I mentioned earlier that they couldn't be found all at once. It's been some time now, and when you were shot by me just now, one of them revealed a trace of presence..." Yang Chen smirked.

Banruo's mouth gaped open, but she couldn't utter a word. The strength of this man was truly unimaginable!

"Is this the power of the gods?" Banruo asked almost to herself.

Yang Chen stood with his hands on his hips, looking around as if recognizing a familiar face. "I'm not sure about that. After all, we don't often meet."

Banruo nodded slightly, seeming to regain some strength. She raised her hand and made a strange gesture, similar to an ancient seal.

Almost simultaneously, two figures wrapped in dark ninja attire appeared seemingly out of nowhere, standing behind Yang Chen.

Turning around, Yang Chen smiled as he appraised the two. One of them had an exceptionally robust physique, with eyes like a fierce tiger and a scar across his eye; the other man was relatively slender, but the taut muscles all over his body indicated explosive power. Perhaps due to some ninjutsu, even standing in the sunlight, he emitted a black mist from head to toe.

"Tengu, Tanuki?"

The slender Tanuki chuckled a few times and spoke in heavily accented Yanxia dialect, "Truly worthy of being the pinnacle of the pyramid, Lord Mingwang. Since I officially debuted, this is the first time someone has been able to see through my whereabouts."

Yang Chen modestly replied, "Oh, you're too kind. But your Yanxia dialect is really poor compared to Miss Banruo's."

"That's because I only need to kill, not to talk," Tanuki's eyes flashed with malice. "May I ask, Lord Mingwang, how did you discover our whereabouts?"

"In fact, if your companion hadn't suddenly emitted killing intent, I would have had a hard time finding you so quickly," Yang Chen admitted truthfully.

"Tengu, you messed up, really ruined the mood," Tanuki said displeased.

Tengu, the tall one, shot Tanuki a cold glance. "You're the one who messed up, don't make excuses."

"What did you say?" Tanuki's voice raised eight degrees.

"I said you messed up!"

"That's enough!" Banruo, lying on the ground, cursed angrily, "What are you arguing about? You're both useless!"

With this, neither of them said anything more. In the blink of an eye, they reappeared by Banruo's side. Tengu helped her up, one hand supporting her waist.

Banruo furrowed her brows, glanced at Tengu, then turned to Yang Chen. "Lord Mingwang, we won't give up. Today we lost, but next time we won't give you the chance to exchange hostages."

"You're not going to attack?" Yang Chen asked curiously.

"Hehe, striking after losing the initiative is one of the things ninjas fear the most, and besides, we're not confident," Tanuki, with a voice akin to a drake, said, "If Lord Mingwang wants to see your beautiful superior safely, let us leave 200 meters first."

Yang Chen scratched his nose. "Actually, 100 meters is enough. You don't have to be so nervous. I do admire your ninja 'Shunbu,' it's really fast."

"It's a deal."

As soon as they agreed, the two of them, along with the weakened Banruo, disappeared from the spot in an instant.

Yang Chen looked at the rooftops in the distance, silently counting, "One hundred, one hundred fifty, two hundred..."

After counting to two hundred, a faint mosquito-like voice came to his ear. Yang Chen relaxed his tense muscles, revealing a faint smile. He wouldn't chase after them, not because he couldn't catch up—it was only a matter of time—but because he didn't intend to completely turn against them unless absolutely necessary. After all, they hadn't gained any real advantage, and there were other matters at hand.

Turning away from the third-floor parking lot, Yang Chen planned to go to the second floor to find Mo Qianyi's red Audi. Tanuki had informed him that this poor woman was now lying in his car...

Meanwhile, Banruo and her companions had jumped to a secluded spot behind a high-rise billboard, where they all stopped.

Banruo regained some strength and gave Tengu, who had been holding her waist tightly, a sidelong glare. She spoke in Japanese, "Let go."

Tengu's expression remained wooden, but his grip on Banruo's slender waist tightened even more.

Watching this scene with a lecherous expression, Tanuki remained silent, hiding on the side.

"Tengu, when I recover, I'll make you wish you were dead," Banruo's face flushed with anger.

"Why, Banruo, why won't you be my woman?" Tengu's emotions were intense, but his tone remained low.

Banruo responded coldly, "What gives you the right to demand that I become your woman?"

"I'm the strongest man in the organization. You can only belong to me!" Tengu asserted firmly.

"Humph, don't forget, there's still the Chief." Banruo weakly smirked, her natural allure still evident.

A flash of malice appeared in Tengu's eyes. "The Chief is already old. Those women he took are just for dancing, accompanying him with wine. The Chief has lost the pride and dignity a man should have! If I were him, I would have stepped down long ago!"

"Shut up! You're not allowed to insult my father!" Banruo exclaimed.

"He's just your stepfather, and he's only yours, not mine..." Tengu pulled down his mask, his square, sharp features contorting slightly. "Banruo, wake up. He never saw you as his daughter. In his eyes, you're just the beast he raised! He deserves to die! He's greedy for your beauty, he wants to possess his stepdaughter, that old fool wants to have you! But unfortunately, he's no longer capable. He deserves it!"

"Smack!" Banruo summoned all her strength and slapped Tengu.

"I told you, no insulting my father," Banruo's eyes misted over, her voice firm.

Tengu covered his slapped face, his chest heaving. Then he burst into laughter. "Haha! You hit me! Banruo, you hit me?"

"You brought it upon yourself," Banruo stared at him coldly.

"You'll regret this. When I overthrow that old man and become the new Chief, I'll make you my slave! You'll have to obey all my orders!" Tengu exclaimed fervently, his lips puckered in fanaticism.

Banruo looked disdainfully at the man who seemed to be going mad and mocked, "Talk to me when you can achieve that."

"I will, once I get the God Stone from that guy, I'll become a god too! By then, an old earth ninja like him won't even be worth considering!" Tengu declared with conviction.

A glint of fierceness flashed in Banruo's eyes. "You're not allowed to mess around. You know the power of the Lord of the Underworld!"

"You're not qualified to order me. I'll make you realize that I'm much more powerful than that old man, hundreds of times more powerful!" Tengu declared passionately.

In the corner, Tanuki, who had been silent all along, watched everything with an eerie smile playing on his lips...