Chapter 99: The Heaven-Equaling Prefecture Becomes History!

“I am one of the Four Great Elders of the Martial Alliance of Shu City! Let’s see who dares lay a hand on me!”

With a thunderous shout, Song Fenglin pulled a gleaming token from inside his robes.

“Master Li! I have the Martial Alliance Token in my possession! Do you dare touch me?”

Holding the token aloft, Song Fenglin stared arrogantly at Li Zhenhua.

Li Zhenhua was visibly taken aback. “The Martial Alliance Token?”

The soldiers who had been preparing to charge forward also halted in their tracks.

Tang Ying exclaimed under her breath, “That bastard actually has a Martial Alliance Token!”

“What is a Martial Alliance Token?” Ye Tianci asked.

“It’s a special pass issued by the Great Xia Martial Alliance. It’s rather like the Imperial Sword of the ancient imperial envoys.”

“Among all the great powers in the realm—even those from the military districts—anyone who sees a Martial Alliance Token has to show respect to its bearer.”

“Otherwise, it’s tantamount to declaring war on the entire Martial Alliance!”

Tang Ying explained in a low voice.

Ye Tianci understood. The Martial Alliance Token truly carried formidable authority—even Li Zhenhua clearly showed wariness.

The corner of Ye Tianci’s lips lifted. His figure flashed forward like a ghost and appeared directly in front of Song Fenglin.

Song Fenglin’s vision blurred. He hurriedly shouted, “What are you doing?”

“Ah!”

The instant the words left his mouth, he screamed and was sent flying.

Bang!

Song Fenglin crashed heavily onto the edge of the stage.

He struggled to his feet, blood spraying from his mouth. Clutching his chest, he pointed at Ye Tianci in terror. “You… you…”

Thud!

Song Fenglin clutched his chest and dropped to his knees, blood gushing incessantly from his mouth. Several of his ribs were clearly broken.

Ye Tianci glanced at the Martial Alliance Token he had seized, then smiled with chilling wickedness.

“Master Li, this man used the Martial Alliance Token under false pretenses to shield a criminal. Why haven’t you taken him into custody?”

Li Zhenhua stared at Ye Tianci in shock, suspicion rising in his heart.

He had merely come at Shen Guosheng’s request to support Ye Tianci and knew little about him. He had never expected that such a young man could be so ruthless in his methods, or so decisive and merciless in his actions.

This young man was certainly no ordinary person!

Li Zhenhua formed his judgment of Ye Tianci and shouted sharply, “Take them!”

The soldiers under his command no longer hesitated. They stepped forward and subdued the severely injured Song Fenglin and Mu Shihu. They also bound Qi Changhe, the Second Master of the Qi family, who stood there in utter disbelief.

Every security guard at the Heaven’s End Estate, along with all of Mu Shihu’s men, were arrested and taken away.

The entire Heaven’s End Estate had been wiped out in one sweep.

Only afterward did Yuan Zhonghuang arrive with more than a hundred brothers from the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness.

Following Ye Tianci’s orders, the men smashed their way through the estate.

Crash, bang, clatter!

Every floor of the Heaven’s End Estate was reduced to chaos. Everything was smashed, and debris filled the air.

In less than half an hour, the highest-class entertainment capital in all of Shu City—the Heaven’s End Estate—had become a wasteland.

Everyone had been arrested.

The interior of the building lay in complete ruin.

Once the smoke had cleared and the onlookers had dispersed, a sealing notice was pasted across the entrance of the Heaven’s End Estate.

The Qi family’s illustrious enterprise, which had dominated Shu City for twenty years, had been seized.

On this day, its life came to an end.

The Heaven’s End Estate had become a thing of the past.

…

…

The Heaven’s End Estate collapsed with a bang in the dead of night.

When the news spread throughout Shu City, many people simply refused to believe it. They assumed it was a rumor. Some even rose in the middle of the night and hurried to the estate themselves to see what had truly happened.

At that moment, Ye Tianci—the man who had personally brought about the downfall of the Heaven’s End Estate—was not resting. Li Zhenhua had invited him to a secluded residence.

“Mr. Ye, Guosheng mentioned you to me earlier and said that your medical skills are extraordinary. My father’s health hasn’t been very good lately. Would you take a look at him?”

Li Zhenhua was exceedingly courteous.

“Master Li, City Lord Shen mentioned this to me as well.”

Speaking politely, Ye Tianci followed Li Zhenhua into the sitting room, where he saw the elder of the Li family.

The old man was in his sixties. He appeared to be in fairly good spirits, though his complexion was faintly blue.

Ye Tianci recognized his ailment at a glance.

The old man had been poisoned.

Ye Tianci noticed that something was wrong with Elder Li, but the old man also stared at him in astonishment.

“Hm? You… who are you?”

From the expression on his face, it seemed as though he had seen Ye Tianci before.

“Dad, this is Mr. Ye. I’m helping Guosheng with something, and Guosheng introduced him to examine your health,” Li Zhenhua explained.

The old man glared at his son. “You don’t need to shout. I’m not deaf.”

His eyes remained fixed on Ye Tianci, scrutinizing him closely.

“Old Master, do we know each other?” Ye Tianci asked curiously.

A trace of bewilderment appeared in Elder Li’s eyes. His voice was hoarse.

“You look like him, but your voice isn’t the same.”

Li Zhenhua hurriedly explained in a low voice, “Mr. Ye, ever since my father’s health deteriorated, his mind seems to have been affected somewhat. He often talks to himself.”

Ye Tianci smiled faintly. “Master Li, you’re overthinking it. The old master’s mind appears perfectly clear. By the way, does he usually enjoy growing flowers and plants?”

“How did you know that?” Li Zhenhua asked in astonishment.

“There are traces of vegetation energy all over your father.”

“Generally speaking, elderly people who carry the aura of vegetation tend to be relatively healthy. But the vegetative energy within your father is being suppressed by a sinister, poisonous force.”

“If my deduction is correct, your father must have planted quite a number of flowers and plants, and among them is something that is affecting his health.”

Ye Tianci stated his conclusion.

Li Zhenhua’s face was filled with astonishment. “You can even tell that? Mr. Ye, you truly are a miracle worker!”

“My father has indeed planted many flowers and plants in the rear courtyard. I’ll take you there right now!”

Just as they were about to head to the rear courtyard, a young woman suddenly emerged from the back hall.

“Brother, what’s going on?”

“Xiaoying, this is Mr. Ye. I invited him to treat Dad,” Li Zhenhua said.

Unexpectedly, the young woman furrowed her delicate brows and immediately began to complain.

“Why did you go and hire another doctor?”

“Dad just finished a checkup at our hospital a few days ago, and there was nothing wrong with him. He simply can’t sit still. He must have exhausted himself planting all those flowers and plants.”

“He’ll be fine after getting some rest.”

Ye Tianci could not help speaking up. “Your father has been poisoned.”

“What?”

The woman arched her brows and snapped irritably, “My father never leaves the house and never comes into contact with outsiders. How could he have been poisoned? I think you’re talking complete nonsense!”

“If I’m not mistaken, you must be some unlicensed quack wandering the countryside!”

Li Zhenhua hurriedly rebuked her. “Xiaoying, what nonsense are you talking about? Even City Lord Shen holds Mr. Ye’s medical skills in the highest regard!”

“Apologize to Mr. Ye at once!”

The woman gave an indignant snort, wearing the haughty air of a spoiled young heiress.

Ye Tianci waved his hand lightly. “Master Li, there’s no need to say more. We’ll know once we inspect the rear courtyard.”

Li Zhenhua led the way. The group passed through pavilions and covered corridors before arriving at the rear courtyard.

Before them lay a flowerbed of roughly one-third of an acre, planted with azaleas, begonias, chrysanthemums, and other flowers.

As they approached, Li Zhenhua was just about to speak when he noticed Ye Tianci’s brows suddenly draw tightly together.

“Mr. Ye, is there a problem?” Li Zhenhua asked anxiously.

Ye Tianci walked once around the flowerbed, his expression growing solemn.

He sensed an unusual aura.

It was neither a baleful force nor the aura of death, but spiritual energy.

It was extremely faint, yet Ye Tianci could determine with certainty that it was spiritual energy.

How could spiritual energy be emanating from beneath the Li family’s flowerbed?

Could there be some treasure buried underground, such as a spirit stone or an enchanted herb?

But that made no sense. If there truly were a treasure containing spiritual energy, these flowers should be flourishing, vibrant, and brilliantly blooming. They should not look as listless as they did now, drooping like eggplants struck by frost.

There had to be something else strange beneath the ground.

Whoosh!

At that very moment, a faint sound suddenly came from underground. Though exceedingly weak, it was still caught by Ye Tianci’s keen ears.

There was something beneath the ground!