Dual Cultivation God Returns-Chapter 968: An ant

"Heh, it seems Grand Elder Duangan was right... who could the Sect Master of the Drifting Reeds Sect trust with it other than his precious Direct Disciple...", the leader of the pursuers, meanwhile, was savoring the success, "I tell you what, how about you go with us quietly, and we’ll allow you to die quickly and with dignity, because if you don’t, we can make it slow, painful, and very, very humiliating for you"

It almost seemed like he no longer really cared about appearances as much. After all, the audience here were mostly criminals and various unsavory characters.

However, the Elder’s delight disappeared in an instant, and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes as Changsun Yong raised his hand from under his rain cloak with a cube-shaped brocade box held in it, "Evidence huh? ... do you even know what’s in here?"

"Evidence of your crimes of course!", the Elder spoke a bit absentmindedly as his eyes were glued to the box, but for some reason he didn’t rush to snatch it despite it being so close to him in the hands of a mere Disciple.

"Heh, is that so?", Changsun Yong chuckled, raising the box up high, "To be honest, I too, had doubts... despite how much I respect and trust my Master, no one can be completely sure about something without even the slightest doubt. After all, I too, don’t know what’s in here. Maybe it is some kind of evidence as you say, so how about it? Let’s open it and see..."

"Don’t!", the Elder’s hand stretched out but stopped midway as he froze, realizing he made a colossal blunder.

The tension instantly rose to a new level as all eyes were now on the box, as well as on the face of the Elder who was desperately trying to control his emotions.

But before he could add some explanatory words to the tune of it being forbidden or dangerous item, Changsun Yong continued talking, "Why? Wouldn’t it be fair, so that if I am fated to die, I at least know if everything you’re accusing my Sect of is true? Don’t I deserve to know at least that?"

"All you deserve to know is that this is something your Sect is not allowed to possess!", the Elder retorted no longer able to think straight and with reason, answering almost on instinct, his thinking becoming more impaired by the moment along with the rising panic as he saw the eyes of the crowd that were inspecting the box, and realizing how dangerous the situation turned because of that, each of his answers adding a blunder than only solidified the suspicions, and worsened his state of mind in a negative loop.

More than that, he knew that the Elder of the Blood Skull Sect who arranged everything with the Crow King’s Nest for them, was now on the upper floor balcony, second-guessing the contents of the box alongside everyone here, and this made the situation not only dangerous in the short term, but potentially complicated in the long-run even if he managed to get through this safely and somehow return with the box to the Sect.

"Why? Who do you think you are?! Who are you to decide if we could possess something or not?! By what right do you get a say in it?!", meanwhile, Changsun Yong, partly emboldened by the effect of his words on the Elder, partly acting out of anger, grief and indignation that he had to hold in for months until now.

"A lowly ant, demanding answers!", the Elder finally snapped with anger. Everything went so well, he was careless for just a moment, and this lowly Disciple managed to drag him down into this mess. His whole body was trembling with rage.

"Yes, I am!", the young man replied with ever-rising indignation, his voice growing louder and angrier with each word, "I have to know at least that much! Is that too much to ask?! Why?! Why was my sect destroyed?! What is in this small box that made several Sects exterminate one? And if it’s just evidence of our corruption, why would my Master send it with me to the Wei Dynasty’s Imperial Court?"

His words were gradually filled with frustration, deep grief and reckless abandon. It was as if the realization of how inevitable his capture and death was set him free to unleash everything. At the same time, he continued to rouse the crowd’s interest toward the box in his hand, realizing he didn’t have much more time to do it.

At this point, no one could deny that the Elder’s reaction gave away the importance and value of the box. This realization gradually settled in the eyes of the Elder, who expressed very real anger and loss of composure this time, "You little shit... since you failed to protect it, you want to make it so that we don’t have it either... is that it?"

"Even an ant can bite ’those with power’ if it’s determined enough!", Changsun Yong spoke with a light chuckle that had a strange mixture of joy, relief, mocking and melancholy in it, realizing that his last act of rebellion was successful. At the very least, those who destroyed his Sect and killed his Master would not get what they wanted so easily, and if they do manage to get hold of it, a lot of people would know about it. He then sighed and added with a regretful and yet strangely light-hearted tone, "It is a pity that my pincers are enough only for this much, I would’ve loved biting you all to death"

At this moment, someone started clapping, and the sound mysteriously spread throughout the now-crowded covered-market street. It only took a short moment for nearly everyone to locate the origin of the sound, which turned out to be on the second floor where a man in a black wooden mask sat down with two exceptional beauties in silver masks, one sitting on his lap and the other currently standing next to him, along with a somewhat unkempt man in a frozen pose of raising up a drinking gourd to his mouth which already opened to drink, standing not far from them, looking with round eyes at the clapping man with a mixture of disbelief and panic.

"Well said, I do admire the spirit", the masked man said in a slightly amused voice, "How about it? Do you want stronger pincers?"