Negotiating with the Captives

The thin, tall second brother spoke resolutely. “Say no more. My mind is made up.”

The young woman grew anxious. She quickly turned back, casting a pleading look at the youth and the old man.

The two exchanged a glance. The youth remained silent, but the old man let out a sigh. “Fifth Sister, let Second Brother go. He’s trying to atone for his earlier mistake. Only by doing this will he feel any better.”

“But, Second Brother…” Before the woman could argue further, the man who was her second brother had already walked up to Han Li and said calmly, “Senior, begin. Use me as the test subject.”

His tone was heavy with solemn sacrifice, but what happened next left the four of them frozen, as if doused with ice water.

“Have all of you misunderstood something? When did I ever agree to remove your Blood Curse?”

Han Li’s words were cold as ice, leaving the five Meng Mountain brothers staring at each other in bewilderment.

“If Senior has no intention of removing our curse, then why research it on our eldest brother’s body?” the second brother asked frantically after his initial shock.

“Did I say I was researching the Blood Curse in order to remove it for you? I was merely curious.” Han Li’s face was expressionless.

At the sight of his icy countenance and the sound of his merciless words, the group was stunned speechless.

“But… Senior wanted to know about those people. If you don’t remove the Blood Curse for us, how can we answer your questions?” the youth stammered, his face full of desperation. He clearly did not want to let this glimmer of hope slip away.

Han Li glanced askance at him, let out a cold laugh, and then raised his head to look at the sky without another word.

He had no patience for such an obvious question.

“Fourth Brother, don’t ask,” the dark-faced old man said. Unlike the youth, he had far more experience and could see the heart of the matter immediately. “This Senior feels that the information he can get from us is not enough to trade for our lives. That’s why he is unwilling to act so easily.”

He then turned to Han Li and continued calmly, “Senior, what conditions would you accept to take action? Speak plainly. If you can truly remove the Blood Curse, the Five Brothers of Meng Mountain will not hesitate.”

“Good. If you had said this from the start, we could have saved the circling.” Han Li suddenly clapped his hands and smiled warmly, his demeanor becoming genial.

But to the four of them, this only made Han Li seem more capricious, instilling a deep, unconscious sense of awe.

“The conditions are simple. If I can remove the blight that hangs over your heads, you will not only tell me everything you know, but from today onward, you will temporarily follow my orders and help me deal with the attack from this group. I expect they won’t let me go so easily, and I, too, would like to settle things with them quickly.”

“But don’t worry about us being outnumbered. I am a cultivator of Yellow Maple Valley. I have only come to the capital to handle some sect business. If I can hold out for a while, I will request reinforcements. Then, there will be no need to fear those rats.”

Han Li laid out his conditions in a pleasant tone, unabashedly invoking his sect’s banner. Only this would secure their absolute loyalty.

“Senior, you are a cultivator of Yellow Maple Valley!” Though the old man had already suspected Han Li’s origins were within the Seven Sects’ scope, hearing the admission still brought a smile to his face.

“Excellent. We will do as Senior says. We will not stand idly by. Once the Blood Curse is removed, we will certainly become targets of their pursuit anyway. Staying by Senior’s side might actually be safer,” the dark-faced old man agreed very readily.

The youth and the young woman also showed delight and did not object. They clearly agreed with the old man’s approach.

To them, the Seven Sects were naturally far more powerful than the forces that had used the Blood Curse to control them. It was an easy choice to ally themselves.

The thin, tall second brother, however, looked hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but was unsure.

“Senior, if your method of removing the Blood Curse is truly effective, we have one more request we hope you will grant,” the dark-faced old man said, glancing at the second brother before suddenly speaking solemnly.

Han Li saw this and had a rough idea of what was coming, but still said indifferently, “What matter? As long as it is not too excessive, I will do my best to satisfy it.”

At this moment, Han Li seemed surprisingly accommodating.

“Our Fourth Sister is still hiding in a civilian dwelling in the capital city. Now that we have failed and been captured by Senior, we do not know her current situation. We hope Senior will rescue her when the time comes,” the old man said with great gravity.

“Eldest Brother!” The thin, tall second brother’s face was full of gratitude.

“Fine. Since you are temporarily following me, I will naturally rescue your companion. But for now, we must urgently remove the poison within you. Otherwise, in less than an hour, you will all be dead. What point will there be in talking about a cure?”

Han Li agreed readily, but then his tone turned sharp, delivering a chilling statement.

“What poison? We only have the Blood Curse on us!” The youth’s face changed color, his voice a mix of panic and suspicion.

Seeing the youth doubt his words, Han Li did not get angry. He simply put on a stern expression and said, “When I examined the Blood Curse just now, I discovered that besides the spoken curse on your eldest brother, he was also afflicted with a potent toxin. This poison is extremely virulent and very unstable. I estimate it is about to flare up. Fortunately, I have some knowledge of antidotes. Removing it is a trivial matter, so there is no need to worry. Of course, if you do not believe me, you can wait an hour and see if he dies of poison.”

Hearing this, the four of them were mostly convinced.

“I see. So that’s why the man who gave us our orders suddenly insisted on sharing a cup of wine before we left. The wine must have been poisoned. We thought that since we already had the Blood Curse, they wouldn’t try anything else, so no one paid it any mind. Their methods are truly vicious.” The thin, tall second brother’s expression was very dark.

The youth and the young woman finally showed a look of understanding, while the old man’s face was gloomy, suggesting he had already suspected as much.

Since Han Li had decided to recruit the Meng Mountain brothers as his helpers, he naturally did not want to dawdle and let the poison take its course. He reached into his storage pouch and pulled out two porcelain bottles, one white and one green, tossing them to the dark-faced old man.

“Take one pill from each bottle. This will disperse most of the poison. Later, you can slowly use your energy to expel the remaining residue.” Han Li’s explanation was very simple. The dark-faced old man immediately followed his instructions, distributing the pills to the other three and taking his own without the slightest hesitation.

The old man clearly understood that if Han Li wanted to harm them, he would have no need to tamper with the antidote. So he swallowed the pills with confidence.

Not long after taking the pills, a sharp pain churned in their abdomens.

The young woman’s face flushed. She stomped her foot, barely managed to rise on her artifact, and flew behind a nearby hillock. With the restrictions Han Li had placed on her, her flight was painfully slow.

The three men, showing some embarrassment, each found a secluded spot to relieve themselves of the poison.

After a while, the three men returned to stand before Han Li, looking awkward. A moment later, the woman also flew back, a lingering blush still on her face.

“Good. Now, let’s begin the removal of the Blood Curse. Who goes first?” Han Li did not waste time.

“Of course, I…” The second brother stepped forward, but a dry, gnarled hand grasped his arm.

“Second Brother, you still have Third Sister. I am an old man with no hope of Foundation Establishment. I won’t live much longer. Let me go first. After all, Third Sister’s unborn child still needs you to care for it,” the old man said calmly.

“Eldest Brother! No, how can I let you…” The second brother shook his head frantically, refusing to agree.

The youth and the young woman also began to argue, insisting on taking the risk themselves.

“Stop fighting. Let your eldest brother go first. I have already examined his body, so I have a better chance of success.”

Though the camaraderie they displayed was deeply moving, it had nothing to do with Han Li. He had no interest in dwelling on it. He was now anxious to see if he could truly remove the Blood Curse. If he failed, everything he had done so far would be wasted, and he would have to make other plans.

Since Han Li had spoken, there was nothing left to argue about. The old man walked forward with a solemn expression.

The other three exchanged glances, their gazes full of worry as they watched his movements.

Bang! Bang! A series of six or seven sounds rang out.

With a wave of his hand, several life-sized soldier puppets materialized behind Han Li in a flash of white light, brandishing their weapons.

“I cannot divert my attention to deal with enemies while I am removing the Blood Curse. These puppets are a precaution. They will automatically attack anyone who comes within ten zhang of me. You’d best keep your distance!” Han Li’s words bluntly indicated that he still did not trust them. The three had no choice but to retreat a few steps.