Urban Martial Saint

Chapter 2228 - 2228: The Hostage Is Yours

However, Ye Qing heard from Wen'er's mother about the matter of the Heavenly Cluster Clouds and had some understanding of Iga-ryu's methods, so he was certainly not fooled by the man's words.To Iga-ryu, the Heavenly Cluster Clouds is the most crucial thing; those few Elders are not. If the Heavenly Cluster Clouds were handed over first, it would be difficult to rescue Huangfu Ziyu later. Who knows if the Sect Master would attempt another hostage exchange? Maybe he might think controlling Ye Qing is more important than those Elders, thus refusing to release Huangfu Ziyu. Therefore, handing over the Heavenly Cluster Clouds first is definitely not viable.

Of course, there is also the most critical reason that the Heavenly Cluster Clouds in Ye Qing's hand is fake. If this fake Heavenly Cluster Clouds were handed over and recognized by the other party, then Huangfu Ziyu would be in danger. So, no matter what, Ye Qing would never hand over the Heavenly Cluster Clouds first.

After hearing the man's words, Ye Qing did not respond immediately but remained silent for a while, as if pondering. After a while, he looked at the man, slowly shook his head, and said, "No way!"

"No way?" The man paused, staring at Ye Qing in amazement, and said, "Mr. Ye, if this doesn't work, then... then I can't explain it to the Sect Master. The Sect Master said that the Heavenly Cluster Clouds must be taken out first, otherwise, there's no need for me to return!"

"Go back and tell your Sect Master that only when I see Zi Yu will I hand over the Heavenly Cluster Clouds. Without seeing Zi Yu, I absolutely will not hand it over. The Heavenly Cluster Clouds is vital to Iga-ryu, and I fully understand its importance!" Ye Qing paused for a moment, then looked at the stunned man and said, "Of course, I won't let you go back empty-handed. Tell your Sect Master that if he wants sincerity, that can be arranged; I can give him back those Elders first. Once he sees these Elders, he can send over Zi Yu, and then I'll return the Heavenly Cluster Clouds to him!"

"Those Elders..." The man scratched his head, his face full of reluctance.

"Hmph, this is the only sincerity. If he doesn't want it, then I won't show any sincerity, and he can just send someone over directly!" Ye Qing said, "I'll give him those Elders and the Heavenly Cluster Clouds when he sends over the person. If he doesn't trust me, then there's no more to discuss; I'll kill those Elders right away, destroy the Heavenly Cluster Clouds, and end this!"

Ye Qing's words were so forceful that the man had no room to rebut. However, the man wasn't too worried because the Sect Master had already instructed him before he came that either the Heavenly Cluster Clouds or those Elders needed to be brought back. Now that Ye Qing was letting him take the Elders back, he could report back satisfactorily.

Actually, the man understood the Sect Master's thoughts well. If they could get the Heavenly Cluster Clouds first, that would be ideal. But even if they could not get it now and just rescue these Elders, that would be fine. Once these Elders returned, Iga-ryu's strength would significantly increase. With Fu Qingping taking Helian Tiehua, Shen Tianjun, the Blood Robe Sect Leader, and others to Mount Tai, there weren't many masters left in Shenchuan City. When the Sect Master led those Elders to attack the Seven Rudders of Hong Alliance to seize the Heavenly Cluster Clouds, no one would be able to stop them, so why bother negotiating a swap?

Therefore, whether Ye Qing handed over the Heavenly Cluster Clouds first, or handed over those Elders, Iga-ryu wouldn't lose out, so why would they refuse?

Of course, though he was elated inside, he showed an awkward expression and said, "Well... I'll need to discuss this with the Sect Master?"

Ye Qinglang said loudly, "If you can't talk to him, then give me the phone, and I'll talk to him personally!"

Ye Qing's words were extremely assertive, even bordering on arrogance, which made the man internally chuckle, thinking Ye Qing was too easy to cheat. Naturally, he didn't show any of this externally and pretended to make a call on the side.

In fact, the man made the call to inform the Sect Master of the situation here so that he could prepare on his end. After finishing the call, he returned and said to Ye Qing, "Mr. Ye, I have discussed it with the Sect Master, and he said this is acceptable. However, the Elders must return in complete condition, and no one from the Seven Rudders of Hong Alliance is allowed to follow us, or the deal is off."

A slight look of surprise appeared on Ye Qing's face as if he hadn't expected the man to say such a thing.

That expression was all seen by the man. Seeing Ye Qing somewhat shocked, the man couldn't help but laugh to himself: Hmph, Ye, do you think your little tricks can fool us? Don't think I don't know what you're planning, wanting to track us to find the Sect Master? Dream on!

Actually, Ye Qing's expression was deliberately put on to fool him. All of this was within Ye Qing's expectations. He never relied on tracking the man to find the Sect Master; as Wen'er's mother had said, the Sect Master was well-hidden and the man himself likely didn't even know where the Sect Master was.

After a while, Ye Qing seemed to make up his mind, nodded slowly, and said, "Very well, it's settled then. I can hand the people over to you, but I'm not sure what you mean by 'complete'!"

Upon hearing this, the man's expression changed. Did Ye Qing mean those Elders had been harmed?

"What do you mean?" the man hastily asked.

"Their bodies are undamaged, you can rest assured about that. But, I can't just hand them over directly." Ye Qing said, "These six Elders are top aces among the peak masters, incredibly powerful. If they were to return to Iga-ryu, its power would increase drastically. Hmph, to put it bluntly, if Iga-ryu went back on their word and sent them over to seize the Bone Stick, we wouldn't be able to stop them. So, I had to prepare a contingency!"

"What kind of contingency?" The man frowned, feeling uneasy about Ye Qing's scheme. If Ye Qing made contingencies, then even if the Elders were brought back, they might not be able to act, leading to flaws in the Sect Master's plan?

"Simple," Ye Qing said, "I had Mr. Bai Li Xi use drugs to temporarily suppress their inner strength, making them unable to use it for a while. Once Zi Yu returns, I'll hand over the Bone Stick and the antidote. But until Zi Yu is seen, these Elders won't be able to use their inner strength!"

Upon hearing this, a faint, unreadable cold smile flashed across the man's eyes. Although it quickly disappeared, Ye Qing caught it, causing his heart to skip a beat.

The matter of using drugs to suppress these people's inner strength was indeed a strategy thought up by Wen'er's mother. Since in truth, the tiancong yun of Iga-ryu also had detoxifying effects. The Yamata no Orochi contained poison, so the resulting Heavenly Cluster Clouds had a strong detoxifying ability.

If Ye Qing directly sent these Elders back, the Sect Master might not meet them and instead directly send them to the Seven Rudders of the Hong Alliance to seize the Heavenly Cluster Clouds. But by poisoning them, it was different. The Sect Master would have to first detoxify them before using them to seize the Heavenly Cluster Clouds. Meaning, with them poisoned, the Sect Master would need to use the Heavenly Cluster Clouds to detoxify them. And the Sect Master would never give the Heavenly Cluster Clouds to anyone, so with them poisoned, he would have to meet them—a key to Wen'er's mother's plan. Meeting the Sect Master provides a chance to rescue Huangfu Ziyu!

The man also knew the Sect Master's tiancong yun could detoxify, which was why that cold smile appeared in his eyes. To him, it seemed Ye Qing did not know the powers of tiancong yun, thus using this method against Iga-ryu. Little did he know, this was precisely the outcome Ye Qing wanted!

Of course, the man continued to inwardly scoff while keeping a straight face. Like Ye Qing earlier, he pondered for a while, then slowly nodded and said, "Very well, since Mr. Ye shows such sincerity by sending them back, if we fail to reciprocate, that would be disrespectful to Mr. Ye. Mr. Ye, it is settled; I'll first take these six Elders back. May I trouble you to send them out!"

"No problem!" Ye Qing turned and gave a signal, and shortly after, six Elders emerged one after another. Leading them was the former Great Elder, and at the back was the Seventh Elder.

The Elders of Iga-ryu had always appeared masked in the past, but this time, they didn't have masks, allowing the man to recognize them at a glance without any error.

Seeing these six Elders, the man was overwhelmed with excitement. His mission was simple: just take these six Elders back, and he could report completion. Things went far more smoothly than he imagined, and it seemed he would certainly be credited this time.

The man hurried over, paying respects to the six Elders, then turned and cupped his hands to Ye Qing, saying, "Mr. Ye, I'll first take the six Elders back. Rest assured, in no more than an hour, you'll see Miss Huangfu!"

"That's best!" Ye Qing patted the box in front of him and said, "The antidote and Bone Stick are in this box; when I see Zi Yu, the box is yours."

The man cast a greedy glance at the box, his eyes flashing a glint of eagerness. If he could take the box back too, it would be a monumental achievement. However, he was not foolish and knew better than to act rashly at this time. After all, this was the Seven Rudders of the Hong Alliance; who knew what masters might still be around?