With Master Mo Nan's surrender and Yan Qitian's death, the Yan family had completely collapsed.
In such a large mansion, the atmosphere was tense and fearful; the remaining members of the Yan family were all hiding in various rooms, trembling in fear.
"The Yan family is finished, but that young master is still alive. The Seven Kill Team is to find Yan Guifu, alive or dead!" Tian Long said coldly.
In this operation, only ten out of the thirteen members of the Seven Kill Team remained, two had perished at the hands of Yan Xu, and another had died at the hands of Mo Nan.
The remaining ten each had deep-seated grudges against the Yan family, and exterminating the Yan family was their most fervent desire.
Li Qing opened his mouth, wanting to plead for the lives of the Yan family's women, but looking at the bloodshot eyes of the Seven Kill Team members, he ultimately held back his words.
It was Master Mo Nan who, feeling a twinge of compassion, spoke up: "Let those women go; after all, they are innocent. Just drive them out of Obsidian City."
Upon hearing this, Tian Long sneered. "Master Mo, which of my Seven Kill Team members hasn't suffered from the Yan family's actions? When you were serving the Yan family, did you ever say a word about their innocence?"
The aged Mo Nan was momentarily at a loss for words, finally just sighing and saying nothing more.
Before long, terrified and piercing screams echoed from the side rooms in the Yan family's backyard.
In response, Li Qing simply closed his eyes and softly said, "Without experiencing others' suffering, one should not advise others to be kind. If anyone from the Yan family survives and comes to seek revenge, I will accept it."
Hearing this, Tian Long laughed heartily. "Hahaha, Brother Li sees things clearly! Old Mo, you’re old yet still can’t see as clearly as he does!"
"That's right. If anyone from the Yan family is still alive and wants to seek revenge, let them come to me first, as long as they have the ability!"
As Tian Long shouted this, he used his external strength, his loud voice echoing far and wide, reaching both inside and outside the mansion.
"Brothers, take whatever you want, eat whatever you want, just don’t overstuff yourselves!"
With this command, all the righteous helpers present lit up with excitement.
It was time to share the spoils, and everyone was eager, even after just experiencing a fierce battle, they quickly became invigorated.
Li Qing, however, had no intention of plundering the Yan family. He walked over to Jing Tai.
This former servant of the Yan family was now barely holding on to life, gasping weakly.
Li Qing looked down at him, supporting the Wushuang Hammer with one hand.
"I didn’t expect you to actually achieve something," Jing Tai said weakly, his voice intermittent.
Li Qing asked calmly, "The three martial arts techniques the Yan family gave me, were they chosen by you?"
"Yes. I thought you wouldn’t be able to master any of them; it truly surprised me."
In an era where even having enough to eat was a challenge, and eating meat was a luxury, Li Qing's ability to reach the external strength level in such a short time exceeded Jing Tai's expectations.
He looked at Li Qing as if he were a martial arts genius.
His gaze was complex, filled with envy, regret, and a hint of pity.
In the end, his eyes dimmed completely, and the last breath he was holding also ceased.
Next, Li Qing walked over to the corpse of the Yan family patriarch.
Or rather, it could no longer be called a corpse, as it was unrecognizable as a human.
In the hatred and fury of the Seven Kill Team members, this patriarch of the Yan family had turned into a puddle of blood mixed with torn rags.
Li Qing crouched down, frowning slightly, and picked up a small piece of yellow talisman paper from the ground. "Tian Long, Master Mo Nan, do you know what kind of technique enveloped Yan Qitian in golden light?"
Tian Long disdainfully replied, "How would I know? It’s probably some wandering Taoist fooling him. It looks quite scary, but unfortunately, it’s useless."
Could a wandering Taoist produce such a thing? Did he have the ability to specifically fool the Yan family patriarch?
Li Qing didn’t believe it at all, and then he looked at Mo Nan, who had served the Yan family for many years and might know something.
"I’ve been with the Yan family for so many years, and I don’t know what this technique is, nor do I know where this Yan patriarch got it from. Perhaps he obtained it while the sun was still shining."
"However..."
Mo Nan hesitated, wanting to say more.
"But what?" Tian Long and Li Qing both pressed for an answer.
"But a few years ago, the Yan family often sent people to a place called Tianliang Mountain, and every so often they would send a lot of grain there, but in recent years, they’ve been going less and less." Mo Nan said, narrowing his eyes.
Tianliang Mountain.
Li Qing silently noted this name in his heart, marking it as something unfathomable.
"Master Mo, Tian Long, how much do you know about Tianliang Mountain?" Li Qing inquired.
However, both of them just shook their heads, indicating they had never heard of this name and didn’t even know if there was a mountain nearby called Tianliang Mountain.
Seeing that neither of them was clear, Li Qing decided not to pursue the matter further.
"Hahaha, who cares about that Tianliang Mountain? Today, we’ll hold a celebration banquet right here in the Yan mansion. Let’s bring out those Blood Jade Mushrooms and White Meat Mushrooms and have a feast!"
Tian Long was rather thick-skinned and didn’t want to think too much about it.
Now that the Yan family had fallen, the righteous helpers were the largest force in the city, and all the land and grain outside the city were now under their control.
Under Tian Long's orders, Zhao Kou and Wei Tian were the first to tear down the plaque at the entrance of the Yan mansion, smashing it to pieces, and then they brought over their own righteous helpers' plaque to hang it up.
From then on, the Yan family was completely finished.
That night, a roaring bonfire was lit in the courtyard of the Yan mansion, the bright flames illuminating the entire mansion.
Tables filled with food were set up one after another, and notably, the Yan family's granary surprisingly contained a lot of meat, even fresh meat was discovered!
In addition, there were also some rice and flour, which were things that were rarely seen in this era.
Both Mo Nan and Tian Long, having lived through the era of abundance, trembled with excitement upon discovering this food, even tears flowed from their eyes.
Unfortunately, the quantity of rice, flour, and meat was very limited, enough at most for three to five people to eat for two to three months; for warriors like Tian Long and Li Qing with large appetites, it would last at most a month.
At a table filled with fragrant food, Tian Long, Li Qing, and Mo Nan sat together.
"Brother Li, I am not a man of untrustworthy words. From today on, you will be the second-in-command of the righteous helpers. After I die, the righteous helpers will be handed over to you. How about that?" Tian Long said while devouring the meat.
To everyone's surprise, Li Qing simply shook his head, rejecting the offer: "Thank you for the compliment, but I prefer a quieter life. Being the second-in-command is too much; let me just serve as a helper in the righteous helpers."
Becoming the second-in-command of the righteous helpers?
It wouldn’t be accurate to say he had no interest at all; it was more that Li Qing wanted to avoid it.
Until he figured out what Tianliang Mountain was all about, he didn’t plan to get too deeply involved in this murky water. Being a helper allowed him to withdraw at any time, which was the best option.
"Hahaha, Brother Li, since you’re unwilling, I won’t force you. Wei Tian!" Tian Long slapped the table and shouted towards the backyard.
(End of Chapter)