Martial Peak

Chapter 778, I Refuse

Yang Kai had previously heard about the four Demon Generals, the top masters of the Demon Race, each of them possessing tyrannical strength and influence.

These four masters each governed territories in the north, east, west, and south corners of the Demon Land, guarding its borders and preserving order. Normally there was very little exchange between them, but apparently, the only woman among them, Xue Li, did not have a very harmonious relationship with the other three Demon Generals.

It was for that reason that the territory she governed was relatively desolate. Whether it was in terms of ambient World Energy density or the richness of the land’s resources, Xue Li’s territory was incomparable to the other three Demon Generals’.

Even the relatively uninformed Yang Kai had heard such rumors before, but upon seeing the situation for himself, he realized these rumors weren’t groundless.

Xue Li’s capital was Sand City, which was situated near the vast, uninhabitable dessert, and her relationship with Gou Qiong was obviously bad.

However, since she sat in the position of a Demon General, there was no doubt she had her own unique skills and means. Such a woman couldn’t be treated lightly, so Yang Kai doesn’t dare take any rash actions.

As such, Yang Kai spent his days in the palace quietly, without trying to stir up any kind of trouble.

Gou Che on the other hand apparently tried numerous times to escape, but each time his attempts were foiled by the masters serving under Xue Li and then beaten mercilessly as punishment.

After suffering like this for a month or so, Gou Che finally became resigned to his fate.

Learning from Gou Che’s mistakes, Yang Kai became even more cautious about his actions.

More than a month later, Yang Kai, who was meditating in his room, suddenly heard footsteps outside and opened his eyes, staring towards the door calmly.

After a while, the door was opened, and the Demon Race master who had sent the letter to Gou Qiong walked inside and said to Yang Kai, “Get out, Mistress wants to see you!”

Yang Kai stood up silently and followed after him.

The man turned and looked at Yang Kai a few times as they walked forward, each time snickering faintly, as if he was seeing something quite amusing, a taunting look in his eyes.

Yang Kai frowned and instinctively noticed something was wrong, but he did not ask anything because he knew this man wouldn’t reveal anything to him.

After walking for some time, the man led Yang Kai to a grand hall.

There was a grand and spacious chair at the front of this hall, covered in luxurious furs and blankets dyed a dark red colour, giving it a majestic appearance. Xue Li lay there silently, her shapely body with all its exquisite curves on full display, her eyes closed and hands folded as if she was in a meditative state.

In the center of the hall, a large incense burner released a pleasant scent which filled the room.

An Ling’er, dressed up as a maidservant, stood next to Xue Li with a somewhat tense posture.

Seeing Yang Kai arrive, An Ling’er’s beautiful eyes lit up briefly as she threw him a look of concern. In response, Yang Kai just slowly shook his head, signaling to her that he was fine.

After being captured and brought here, the two of them had not seen one another. Yang Kai had been confined in his own room while An Ling’er had been accompanying Xue Li. In this Sand City palace, the only humans were Yang Kai and her, so An Ling’er naturally placed all her hopes on him and was obviously concerned about his well being.

Seeing him safe and sound now, An Ling’er couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief, smiling to Yang Kai slightly but not daring to make any unnecessary noise.

Yang Kai looked around and soon found that Gou Che and the other Demon Race man were also standing here, the expressions of both of them full of panic and fear, like a pair of mice that had seen a cat.

“Mistress, we’ve brought them,” Xue Li’s subordinate quietly reported.

Xue Li nodded lightly, slowly opening her pair of enchanting eyes and glanced down, slowly straightening herself up while stretching her waist lazily.

Her movements allowed the blouse she wore to rise up and reveal her flat white belly and delicate navel, filling the air with an intoxicating air.

No one dared to stare at her though; no one but Yang Kai that is.

Xue Li’s eyes immediately became sharp as she glanced towards Yang Kai. As if he had just been burned, Yang Kai felt a slight pain on the skin of his face, but he did not avert his gaze, remaining indifferent as always.

Xue Li didn’t seem to care about such trifles and instead got down to business, “Gou Qiong replied.”

Gou Che’s body trembled, wringing his hands nervously as he stared up at Xu li and asked in a half whisper, “What was his response?”

“Hehe… you are his son. After falling into my hands, what do you think his response was? En, your father paid enough ransom to redeem you.”

Hearing this, Gou Che’s expression changed to one that was an odd mix of happiness and depression.

Happiness because he could finally escape from Xue Li’s grasp, but depression over what kind of punishment he would suffer once he returned home. This contradictory mood was openly expressed on his face, making it particularly entertaining to see.

“What about me?” The other Demon Race man asked anxiously.

“You were also redeemed!” Xue Li nodded lightly, a teasing smile creeping onto her face as she next said to Yang Kai meaningfully, “You and this little human girl as well, Gou Qiong redeemed all of you.”

An Ling’er was first stunned, then happy, her furrowed brow relaxing somewhat.

On the other hand, Gou Che and the Demon Race man both wore strange looks upon hearing this, the two of them shooting a glance over towards Yang Kai before both of them lowered their heads, their expressions somewhat complicated.

Yang Kai simply frowned, not only not showing the slightest joy but instead looking quite gloomy as he asked boldly, “Are all you Demon Race people so generous?”

“Hm?” Xue Li’s brow rose as she looked at Yang Kai, smiling lightly as she replied, “Gou Qiong is not the generous type, this time was simply an exception!”

“Is the ransom you demanded a large amount?” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Xue Li. Even facing one of the four Demon Generals, he didn’t show any signs of fear or cowardice, his expression always calm and composed.

“It wasn’t a lot, but it also wasn’t a small amount. It was just enough for Gou Qiong to be annoyed for a while!” Xue Li smiled as she stared at Yang Kai with interest and even some appreciation. In front of her, few people could remain as calm as Yang Kai. Even the son of Gou Qiong was acting like a timid rat, and contrasting the two, Xue Li suddenly felt that this human boy was more worthy of her attention.

At the very least, he had more backbone than many of the Demon Race men she had seen.

Yang Kai nodded gently before suddenly turning to look at Gou Che and asking, “Brother Gou Che, Senior Gou Qiong spending so much money this time, do you have any thoughts on the matter?”

“Ah?” Gou Che was startled and for some reason didn’t dare to return Yang Kai’s stare, his eyes darting about randomly as he somehow muttered, “I have no thoughts…”

As he spoke, his expression was incredibly awkward.

“Does Brother Gou Che really have nothing to say?” Yang Kai’s mouth curled into a sneer as he pressed the issue.

Gou Che slowly shook his head.

The other Demon Race man next to him also stared at the floor and held his tongue.

[So… it’s like that huh?] Yang Kai thought, aware that he was most likely jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

At the front of the hall, An Ling’er stared at this exchange suspiciously, unable to understand why Yang Kai’s attitude towards Gou Che had suddenly changed so much, becoming cold and aggressive.

Xue Li and her subordinate both made no attempt to interrupt this exchange, each of them just grinning, seemingly enjoying the show.

“Good!” Yang Kai grinned, “Then I suppose this is goodbye, Brother Gou Che. Heh, our friendship really was quite short…”

When Gou Che heard these words, his face became somewhat red with embarrassment.

Yang Kai ignored him and turned to look at Xue Li, asking her seriously, “Senior, if I said I want to refuse the ransom that Gou Qiong paid for me, will you immediately kill me?”

“Oh?” Hearing this, Xue Li’s beautiful eyes couldn’t help flickering with a touch of praise, asking lightly “Do you actually wish to refuse?”

“Yes, I refuse!”

“Hehe…” Xue Li suddenly wore an amused smile, giggling happily, her proud peaks trembling noticeably.

Her subordinate also wore an interested expression as he stared at Yang Kai, a touch of praise flashing across his eyes.

After taking a moment to calm herself, Xue Li softly spoke, “If you refuse Gou Qiong, that means I will lose a certain amount of benefits, so naturally I’d want to kill you. I have been holding on to you for so long, feeding and housing you, am I just supposed to accept such a loss? However… the ransom has already been delivered to my hands so I won’t be letting go of it so easily, I can also use this as a way to slap Gou Qiong’s face… Good, I can spare your life.”

Yang Kai’s face immediately went black as his mood became gloomy.

He realized that Xue Li’s insidious words were pushing the responsibility onto him and placing him in direct opposition to Gou Qiong. Although this was a trivial matter, how could a man of Gou Qiong’s status possibly bare being insulted so? He had kindly paid enough ransom to buy Yang Kai’s freedom yet the prisoner in question had actually rejected his offer. If word of this were to spread out, the world would no doubt treat Gou Qiong as a joke for being despised by Yang Kai.

A solemn Demon General being despised by a mere human boy would no doubt anger Gou Qiong.

Although all of that was nothing but a farce!

“I accept your request!” Xue Li smiled brilliantly, quickly waving to Gou Che and the Demon Race man, “Get out, if I can still find you with my Divine Sense within half an incense worth of time, don’t blame me for being impolite to you!”

As soon as she spoke these words, Gou Che and the Demon Race man immediately transformed into streaks of light, flying out of the palace without so much as a glance back, in the blink of an eye already flying several thousand meters away, obviously using their full strength to flee as fast as possible.

Xue Li wasn’t kidding, her Divine Sense had been locked onto Gou Che and the other Demon Race man. If they didn’t flee far enough fast enough, she really would kill them.

This woman was simply a vicious viper!

“You humans really are quite astute,” Xue Li said cynically, “But since you refused the ransom that Gou Qiong paid for you, you have to prove that you have enough value to me. My Sand City does not support wastes!”

“So you won’t just let me go?” Yang Kai asked mockingly.

“Let you go?” Xue Li sneered, “Humans who enter my Sand City can only leave one way: Death! But since you seem to be somewhat out of the ordinary, I don’t plan on killing you right away. En, don’t disappoint me, otherwise I’ll let you experience a life far worse than death.”

Saying so, she stood up and moved to leave the room.

“Senior…” An Ling’er hurriedly shouted, a look of desperation flashing across her beautiful eyes, “Can you give us a moment to talk?”

Xue Li frowned slightly but didn’t object, simply turning around and leaving, silently acquiescing.