"And equally bewildered was Old Hu: 'Mr. Ying, what exactly is going on?'"
"Ying Chen snapped the butler back to the ground."
"It's simple. That person has arrived. He's merely being controlled by him."
"What? Where? Our Hu family is willing to pay a substantial reward, begging Mr. Ying to eliminate him at all costs!" Old Hu's face changed as he spoke.
And Hu Quan'an, who had been lying on the ground like a dead man, without a sound, suddenly came back to life.
"Hahahaha..."
Hu Quan'an let out a strange and chilling laugh.
With his tongue severed, the only ways he could express his emotions were laughter or crying.
Clearly, upon hearing that someone with the prefix Ashiya had arrived, Hu Quan'an was immensely pleased, believing his savior had come.
"You still have the strength to laugh? It seems the portion of Zizhu Ming Fire wasn't enough. Let's add some more!"
Ying Chen said coldly.
Then, a flame ignited at his fingertip again, and with a flick of his wrist, he sent it flying.
It flew directly into Hu Quan'an's mouth.
Hu Quan'an immediately looked disgusted and annoyed, as if he had swallowed a fly.
If he could speak, he would have slapped himself and cursed: 'You damn fool, why did you open your mouth so wide when you were laughing? Were you afraid the Netherfire wouldn't land precisely?'
With the Netherfire doubled, Hu Quan'an immediately fell into more intense agony and wailing.
He rolled back and forth on the ground like a maggot.
Just then, a faint, flickering light flashed by.
Immediately, Hu Quan'an on the ground stood up like a puppet!
What followed was an extremely bizarre scene involving Hu Quan'an.
He stood still, his eyes wide open, his gaze vacant.
Just a moment before, he had been howling with his mouth open, but in the next second, his gaping mouth could no longer emit a sound.
It was as if Hu Quan'an had not only lost his tongue but also his vocal cords!
"What's happening, Mr. Ying?" Old Hu asked, filled with dread and unease.
In the past, no matter what happened, he could remain as calm as a mountain collapsing before him.
But now, after experiencing so many strange events and having brushed past death, his confidence had been completely eroded.
He now regarded Ying Chen as his sole pillar of support.
"Heh heh." Ying Chen merely let out a cold chuckle.
Then, Ying Chen flicked his finger towards the air.
Instantly, a long thread appeared in the seemingly empty air!
This thread, without deviation, descended from the roof and entered Hu Quan'an's mouth!
It was this thread that prevented Hu Quan'an from making any sound!
He could only stand rigidly in place, like a controlled puppet.
"You are truly greedy! You even want my Zizhu Ming Fire."
"Since you desire it so much, what's stopping me from giving you a portion!"
Ying Chen spoke to someone unknown.
After speaking, a flame leaped from his fingertip.
This flame was larger and more intense in color than the two previously sent into Hu Quan'an's body!
As soon as the flame appeared, it distorted the surrounding void with its heat!
Such was its terrifying power!
*Swish!*
Ying Chen casually flung the flame towards the thread.
As if sensing danger, the thread suddenly retracted, attempting to escape Hu Quan'an's mouth like a tapeworm.
But before it could, the flame struck the thread, instantly producing a pungent, foul odor, as if the thread were made of something extremely foul.
The thread snapped in two from the middle.
Half of it completely entered Hu Quan'an's mouth, while the other half, as if it had eyes, rapidly ascended, attempting to flee the scene.
"Can you escape?"
Ying Chen snorted coldly.
Ying Chen's flung flame, like a tenacious leech, clung to the end of the thread.
The thread ascended an inch, and the flame burned an inch.
No matter what, the flame always remained at the end of the thread, maintaining a strange, synchronized pace.
"No, Lord Ashiya Douman!"
"Don't abandon me! Save me!"
At this moment, Hu Quan'an suddenly regained his senses, and a sharp, hoarse sound squeezed from the depths of his throat.
If Divine Physician Liao were to witness this, he would likely rush forward to study how Hu Quan'an could speak without a tongue.
Could humans truly speak so clearly and fluently solely by vibrating their vocal cords?
Unfortunately, Divine Physician Liao's doubts were destined to remain unanswered.
For after Hu Quan'an uttered the four words "Ashiya Douman," his head instantly exploded with a bang, as if a timed bomb had been installed!
Red and white matter splattered all over the room!
*Plop!*
Hu Quan'an's headless corpse fell to the ground, dying without even leaving a last word!
Witnessing this scene, Old Hu and the butler's faces turned instantly ashen.
Ying Chen, however, remained indifferent.
Hu Quan'an was a man destined to die anyway. Dying at the hands of another saved Ying Chen some effort.
However, Ying Chen had promised to send Hu Quan'an to the afterlife with the person named Ashiya Douman.
Now, only Hu Quan'an was on his way, which was hardly fair.
Ying Chen strode towards the room's exit, intending to pursue the trajectory of the flame in the air, which resembled a fuse.
"Mr. Ying... please be careful!"
"As far as I know, Ashiya Douman was an extremely famous evil Onmyoji in Japanese history! While the real Ashiya Douman could not possibly be resurrected, anyone daring to reclaim that name and recognized by others is no ordinary individual!"
"If you find the situation unfavorable, do not engage in prolonged combat. Japanese people are inherently insidious, and Japanese evil Onmyoji are even more so!"
Old Hu called out to warn Ying Chen.
Ying Chen glanced back at Old Hu without a word, and in the next second, he vanished into the night.
"Alas. I hope my worries are unfounded," Old Hu sighed.
At this time.
On the lake not far from the Hu family's residence.
The person sitting in a small boat, fishing, suddenly twitched his fishing rod.
With a *swish!*
The Zizhu Ming Fire, which had been continuously burning along the fishing line, instantly extinguished.
"Heh heh, has some skill, but not much. Trying to contend with me, Ashiya Douman, is still a bit too tender!"
This person was none other than Ashiya Douman, whom Hu Quan'an had mentioned!
Just as Ashiya Douman smugly reeled in the remaining fishing line, the Zizhu Ming Fire, which had already extinguished, suddenly reignited from the dead embers!
And it became even more vigorous and intense than before.
In the blink of an eye, it burned through all the fishing line and reached the fishing rod in Ashiya Douman's hand!
Ashiya Douman was startled and horrified.
He quickly threw away the fishing rod.
Before the fishing rod could fall into the water, it had already burned to ashes in mid-air.
One could imagine that if Ashiya Douman had been even a fraction slower, the Zizhu Ming Fire would have reached his body!
Just as Ashiya Douman was congratulating himself on his swift reaction, a voice leisurely echoed in the night:
"Has some skill, but not much."
Ashiya Douman's expression instantly turned grim!