Meanwhile, on a rooftop hundreds of meters away from Ye Ming and the others, a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses was crouching, one hand clutching his right shoulder. Blood seeped out from between his fingers, and his face was contorted with pain.
It seemed the scream earlier had come from him.
"How... how is this possible?"
Cold sweat beaded on the man's forehead as he desperately tried to mobilize the strength within his body to stop the bleeding. But despite all his efforts, the blood flowed like a raging torrent, utterly unstoppable.
If this continued, he would bleed to death within half an hour.
"Damn... damn it!"
The man's face contorted as he repeatedly pounded the ground with his free hand, venting his rage.
He hadn't expected his opponent to be this powerful.
He had been exceptionally cautious, observing the situation from such a distance. Yet, he had still been severely wounded by an opponent at such a range.
He had only intended to probe, but now his life was on the line. How ironic!
"No! I refuse to accept this!"
Seeing that the bleeding could not be stopped, the man suddenly looked up towards the restaurant where Ye Ming and the others were. With a flash, he vanished from his spot.
...
Inside the restaurant.
"Ye Ming, aren't you going to pursue that person lurking in the shadows?"
Upon hearing the scream, Nangong Qianyu, seeing Ye Ming's lack of action, couldn't help but feel curious.
"No need!" Ye Ming smiled. "He'll come to me voluntarily!"
He was confident of this.
As expected, just as Ye Ming finished speaking, a man, dragging his severely wounded body, his face pale as frost, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, appeared outside the restaurant.
*Bang!*
In his haste to get here, the strength within him had rapidly depleted due to his severe injuries. Upon reaching the restaurant, he no longer had the strength to stand upright.
He collapsed onto the ground, a picture of patheticness.
The bloody gash on his shoulder continued to ooze bright red liquid, steadily draining his life force.
"What's wrong with that person? He looks severely injured."
"I don't know! The steward from the Nogawa family was here earlier. I wonder if it's related to him?"
"Everyone, stop looking! We don't want to get into trouble!"
"Right, right!"
"..."
The sudden appearance of this man naturally drew the attention of the passersby, who murmured amongst themselves.
"Mr. Ye! Spare me!"
The man, using all his remaining strength, knelt outside the restaurant door, his forehead striking the ground repeatedly, abandoning all dignity.
Even though he was a divine-level expert, in the face of death, he lowered his proud head.
However, after bowing his head, he received no response.
But to survive, he had no choice but to repeatedly strike his forehead against the ground, desperately clinging to a sliver of hope.
Inside the restaurant, Ye Ming sat comfortably in a chair, holding a cup of fragrant tea, seemingly unconcerned by the events outside.
Behind him, Nangong Qianyu gently massaged his shoulders, her movements delicate and attentive.
"How long do you plan to keep him waiting?" Nangong Qianyu finally couldn't help but ask.
Beside him, Kimura Ken'o also cast his gaze. He still had no idea who was plotting all of this.
As for Nogawa Hiroichi, he was still lying in the large pit from before, on the verge of death, moaning in pain.
"No hurry! After all, he's a divine-level expert. He won't die that easily!"
Ye Ming looked towards the direction of the restaurant's entrance. Even through several walls, the man's every move was clear to him.
"Divine... divine-level expert?"
Upon hearing these words, Kimura Ken'o's back stiffened, and he nearly leaped out of his chair.
He had never imagined that a divine-level expert would be involved in this matter, and furthermore, targeting Ye Ming, who had just arrived in Tōjima.
What was their objective?
Five minutes later.
"That's about enough!"
Ye Ming observed carefully. Seeing that the man outside the restaurant was on the verge of losing consciousness, and that the ground beneath him was already soaked in blood, all of which had drained from his body.
"Come!"
Ye Ming clenched his five fingers, and a terrifying suction force acted upon the man out of thin air. Then, to the astonishment of many, the man was pulled towards Ye Ming and the others by the suction.
*Bang!*
He was thrown to the ground once more.
"Mr. Ye... Mr. Ye! Spare..."
By now, the man could no longer form a complete sentence.
His face was completely devoid of color, looking ghastly.
*Swish!*
Ye Ming sent a beam of white energy into his wound, temporarily stopping the bleeding and preserving his last spark of life.
"You should know what needs to be explained, I presume I don't need to ask one by one?" Ye Ming put down his teacup and said calmly.
"N-no need!" the man quickly replied.
Then, he recounted the entire sequence of events.
The man's name was Yamamoto Kawa.
The reason he had lured Nogawa Hiroichi out to provoke Ye Ming was to create conflict between Ye Ming and the Nogawa family, ultimately causing Ye Ming and Nogawa Shaku to fight each other.
He, in turn, would reap the benefits.
Simultaneously, Yamamoto Kawa also explained why Nogawa Hiroichi had been willing to cooperate with him.
In fact, after Nogawa Shaku returned from China, although her strength had improved significantly, elevating the Nogawa family's status to the forefront of Tōjima, her subsequent actions had caused unease among the core members of the Nogawa family.
This was because, since Nogawa Shaku's return, her actions had almost exclusively revolved around one person. And that person was none other than Ye Ming.
Upon realizing this, the older generation of the Nogawa family panicked. In Nogawa Shaku, they saw a reflection of Nogawa Kyoko from years ago.
Back then, Nogawa Kyoko had betrayed the Nogawa family for Kōtaichi. Now, if Nogawa Shaku were to follow the same path, it would be a devastating blow to them.
Furthermore, the entire Nogawa family would become a laughingstock in Tōjima.
First, the mother ran off with someone else.
Now, the daughter was doing the same.
This was an outcome the Nogawa family absolutely did not want to see.
However, there were differences between Nogawa Kyoko and Nogawa Shaku.
Indeed, both were once-in-a-century geniuses and rising stars in Tōjima. But Nogawa Shaku was even more terrifying than her mother.
Nogawa Kyoko had only been invincible among the younger generation back then. But Nogawa Shaku was now the undisputed number one in Tōjima.
Her strength had surpassed that of a divine-level expert.
Under these circumstances, even if the Nogawa family wanted to prevent the situation from escalating, they were powerless to do so.
Moreover, Ye Ming was different from Kōtaichi.
The former's terrifying nature was also beyond what the original Kōtaichi could compare to.
If he and Nogawa Shaku were to end up together, no one would be able to stop them.
This was the source of the Nogawa family's unease.
...
"So, you devised a plan to sow discord, instigating me to attack the Nogawa family first, which led Nogawa Hiroichi to deliberately provoke me?"
After listening, Ye Ming coldly chuckled at Yamamoto Kawa's self-serving scheme.
"Y-yes!" Yamamoto Kawa stammered. "The people in the Nogawa family are all worried that Miss Shaku will follow in her mother's footsteps. Therefore, after I proposed this plan, they readily cooperated with me without a second thought!"
With the situation as it was, Yamamoto Kawa dared not conceal anything.
"Oh! Is that so?"
Ye Ming smiled and glanced at Nogawa Hiroichi, who was still lying in the large pit, a hint of pity in his eyes. "I'm afraid Mr. Hiroichi here still doesn't realize that the moment he stepped into this restaurant, he was already considered a pawn by the Nogawa family?"
A pawn?
Upon hearing this, Nogawa Hiroichi, who had been on his last breath, suddenly widened his eyes. A flood of information rushed through his mind, and his breathing visibly quickened.
He was not stupid; in an instant, he understood many things.
"Hahaha! So that's how it is! Hahaha!"
Having grasped everything, Nogawa Hiroichi let out a crazed, hollow laugh. "Hahaha! So, from the very beginning, I was sent here to die! Hahaha!"
At that moment, his heart turned to dust.
Yes!
As Ye Ming had said, from the start of this plan, Nogawa Hiroichi had been a discarded pawn.
Even if he had succeeded in provoking Ye Ming according to the plan, leading Ye Ming to target the Nogawa family, Nogawa Hiroichi would still have died upon his return.
This was because the conflict between Ye Ming and the Nogawa family wasn't severe enough.
The death of a true core member of the Nogawa family was needed to ignite the flame. Only then would the animosity between Ye Ming and the Nogawa family become irreconcilable.
And then, there would be no room for maneuver.
Nogawa Hiroichi, as the younger brother of the current head of the Nogawa family, held a high position. At the same time, his actual influence within the Nogawa family was not that significant.
He was the perfect pawn and catalyst for conflict.
Furthermore, there was another crucial point.
Nogawa Hiroichi had doted on Nogawa Shaku since she was young. Therefore, even though Nogawa Shaku had grown up with a cold demeanor, she still maintained a degree of respect for him, her uncle.
With this added factor, Nogawa Hiroichi's death was guaranteed to stir Nogawa Shaku's hatred, thereby accelerating her estrangement from Ye Ming.
Sacrificing Nogawa Hiroichi to gain Nogawa Shaku's animosity was undoubtedly a profitable trade for the Nogawa family.
And this plan was indeed perfect.
However, the only thing they had miscalculated was their opponent.
Ye Ming's intelligence and strength were both sufficient to break this deadlock, and he had seen through the underlying scheme.
"I must say, the people of the Nogawa family are truly ruthless. To discard someone of Nogawa Hiroichi's status so readily!"
After understanding the Nogawa family's actions, Ye Ming's expression suddenly became somewhat melancholic.
At a certain moment, he thought of himself.
From a certain perspective, he was the same as Nogawa Hiroichi, having been abandoned.
"The Nogawa family has its reasons for doing this. What were the reasons for them abandoning me?" This question surfaced in Ye Ming's mind.
"Ye... Ming!"
As Nangong Qianyu had cultivated the Yin-Yang dual cultivation technique with Ye Ming, she immediately sensed the complex emotions within him.
Unconsciously, her jade hand resting on his shoulder stopped its movements, and a sense of serenity filled her heart.
Feeling the pressure on his shoulder disappear, Ye Ming turned his head slightly and gently patted Nangong Qianyu's hand, smiling and shaking his head.
He signaled that he was fine and she didn't need to worry.
Only then did Nangong Qianyu's hands resume their movements, noticeably gentler than before.
"Mr. Ye... Mr. Ye! I... I've told you everything I should. Can you..."
At this moment, Yamamoto Kawa's pleading voice was heard.
"Everything you should tell?"
Hearing this, Ye Ming narrowed his eyes, looking directly into his pupils, and smiled somewhat devilishly. "Are you sure you've told me everything you should?"
Seeing that smile, Yamamoto Kawa's body stiffened. It was as if he were being stared at by death itself, and his heart sank to the bottom, feeling utterly chilled.
"Mr. Ye, is there anything else you wish to know? I would absolutely... absolutely not dare to hide anything!" Yamamoto Kawa said fearfully.
"Heh! Dare not hide?"
Ye Ming sneered and extended an index finger, beckoning lightly.
*Poof!*
"Ah!"
Yamamoto Kawa's body stiffened, and a sorrowful scream escaped his lips. From the bloody gash on his left shoulder, which he had been covering with his hand, a crimson light flew out.
Within the light was the bloody dagger from before.
"Shadow Stream?"
Ye Ming controlled the dagger, moving it at high speed in the air, finally pressing it against Yamamoto Kawa's forehead with a detached expression. "Are you going to offer an explanation?"
"Ah! I..."
As the dagger was suddenly removed from Yamamoto Kawa's body, the blood that had been blocked within him once again gushed out like a spring. An overwhelming sense of dizziness pervaded his every nerve.
*Bang!*
The next second, Yamamoto Kawa's vision went black, and he fainted.
He had truly lost too much blood this time.
"This..."
Seeing this, Kimura Ken'o's eyelids twitched. He was so frightened that he dared not utter a word.
"Lord Kimura, I wish to interrogate this person privately!" Ye Ming said with a light smile, seeing that he had fainted.
"Ah... yes!"
Despite being startled, Kimura Ken'o was not completely disoriented.
He then ordered his subordinates to carry Nogawa Hiroichi and the fallen henchmen out.
"Mr. Ye! I shall take my leave now!"
After completing this, Kimura Ken'o also departed.
"Ye Ming, how do you plan to deal with him?"
Seeing that Ye Ming had deliberately sent everyone else away, clearly intending to handle something important.
"No rush!"
Ye Ming walked to Yamamoto Kawa's side, a wisp of black energy coiling around his index finger. "Before that, let me see what he's been hiding?"
That's right!
He was using the Mind Soul Technique.
Some things were better investigated personally.
However, as Ye Ming prepared to delve into Yamamoto Kawa's deepest memories, his brow suddenly furrowed.
"What's wrong?"
Nangong Qianyu, standing beside him, noticed his change in expression.
"I didn't expect there to be a restriction."