"Father!?"

Ping-Hang, who was sitting next to his father, felt no energy left in him. The idea that he would be punished by the torture instrument knocked him over while sitting in his chair. He had seen people being tortured by the instrument, so he knew that it was chilling and horrendous. One of the victims of the instrument was a merchant who disagreed with him.

He asked his father to use the instrument for the man. What he saw that day with the merchant was still vividly in his mind…

Ping-Hang's attempt to ask for mercy from his father was not successful. Not only did Ping-Yuan-Feng not look at him, but he also shut his eyes to show that he did not see his son. However, what Ping-Yuan-Feng really felt was great anguish that he could not spare his son. He was crying inside…

Ping-Yuan-Feng felt helpless that he could not protect his son even though he was the owner of the front city. Anyone who knew about what happened tonight would mock him. But when Zheng-Fu was so powerful that he could eliminate the whole city, he would have to choose the city over his son…

Whoosh!

As everyone was thinking about the impact of the torture instrument, they heard something like a machine being dragged into the room. It was some kind of invention that needed about tens of soldiers to carry and drag it in. The machine was called the 'Earthy Punishment Machine,' which Ping-Yuan-Feng received from the King who ruled this country…

The machine was made from fine materials. It looked like a huge cross. They would force a person to lie down and have their wrists and ankles secured by locks made from steel. Countless sharp blades were put all over the cross. These sharp blades would be pushed up against a person's flesh according to the signal by the sandglass.

They would pierce into the flesh slowly but so sternly that even a person who was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage could not stand…

The reason the machine worked so painfully for the victim was that it came with a brownish-yellow stone that was at the top of the cross. The stone was called the 'Lower-Level Energy-Suppression Earthy Stone.' The people who made the machine put the spell on the stone, so when a victim's head touched the stone, the stone would start to suppress the victim's energy level by one stage.

The sharp blades were especially brutal because they were made from fine iron ore…

"Guardians! Put my son in the torture machine!" When the Earthy Punishment Machine was set and ready, Ping-Yuan-Feng bit his teeth again before ordering his guardians to torture his son with the machine…

"Yes, sir!"

"Father! Please!" Ping-Hang did not stop trying to plead with his father to spare him the punishment. His face was full of cold sweat because of his utmost fright…

When the guardians heard the order, they carried Ping-Hang to the machine by both of his arms instantly. At this point, Ping-Hang did not have any energy left in him. He just let the guardians take him away while pleading with his father with his hopeless eyes…

Rustle!

Ping-Hang's body was placed on the cross. His wrists and ankles were locked tightly. Then the Lower-Level Energy-Suppression Earthy Stone started to work, which meant that Ping-Hang's energy level was reduced to the mid-level of the Foundation Building stage instantly…

"Is it really going to happen!?"

One of the guests asked in a very quiet voice, but everyone heard it because the room was in utter silence. It was the very question that everyone had on their minds. The reason why they asked this question was that the person who was about to be tortured by the machine was the owner of the city's dearest son. They could not believe that they would see this day right in front of them…

"No! No! Father, please!" As the machine was about to start, Ping-Hang cried for his father to help him with great fear…

……….

However, Ping-Yuan-Feng did not say a word back to his son. He practically shut his eyes out of great agony over not being able to help his son. When Ping-Hang saw his father in great sorrow, he felt even more discouraged. Then he thought of someone who could help him, so he turned to Zheng-Fu's group and shouted…

"Master! Please forgive me! Please!"

Ping-Hang looked at Zheng-Fu while trying to beg for his mercy, but Zheng-Fu did not say anything in return. When he did not receive any feedback from Zheng-Fu, Ping-Hang turned to De-Na-Lan and said…

"My lady! I'm sorry! I don't know what kind of monster possessed me when I was bad to you. Please help me. My lady! Please help me!

I promise I won't do it ever again."

De-Na-Lan did not know how to react to Ping-Hang's plea. She did not get hurt or anything at the market because Zheng-Fu was there to protect her. However, she still thought that Ping-Hang was a bad guy. She knew that someone like him would never change because if he did, he would have changed a long time ago.

But since she could not decide what to do, she turned to look at Zheng-Fu to ask for his opinion…

Whoosh!

Stab!

"Argh!"

The sound of flesh being stabbed by an iron-sharp blade occurred along with the painful cries. It was Ping-Hang under the torture machine when the sandglass sent the signal for the blade to work on him. The first wound from the sharp blade was close to his wrist. Then the next stab sound occurred…

Stab!

"Argh!"

"Father! Help me! Help me, please. I won't do it again. I know now, father!"

Stab! Stab! Stab!

Then the next three stabs occurred at the same time. Ping-Hang was now being stabbed by five sharp iron blades. Blood started to run down his body from those wounds. He showed that he was in utter suffering. His face was full of tears and mucus. Not only that, but he also peed his pants.

It was a shameful sight for everyone…

Rustle!

"That's enough!"

All of a sudden, a voice halted the guardians to stop the torture machine. Everyone turned to the origin of the voice and found that it was Zheng-Fu who stopped the punishment…

"I think that's enough. I hope he took it as an unforgettable lesson. If he doesn't quit harassing others, then the punishment wouldn't be just five wounds, but it would be his life!" Zheng-Fu said with a firm and horrifying voice, which could stop everyone in the room from breathing…

"Ouch!"

Ping-Hang's moan called everyone back to themselves instantly. And Ping-Yuan-Feng did not wait to order the guardians to stop the Earthy Punishment Machine…

"Come on! Stop the machine and take him to the infirmary!"

"No need to take him there. Just take this pill!" As Ping-Yuan-Feng ordered his men to take Ping-Hang away to the infirmary, Zheng-Fu stopped him and handed a pill to the guardian on Ping-Hang's left-hand side. Zheng-Fu told the guardian to give Ping-Hang the pill, but the guardian was curious about the pill in his hand…

"What are you waiting for? You don't want him to die, do you?" Zheng-Fu tried to call back the mind of the guardian…

"Yes, sir!"

Gulp!

The pill was put into Ping-Hang's mouth immediately. When the pill was down into his stomach, everyone in the room was waiting to see the result of the pill. There were only five wounds on him, which was not that much. But if he did not receive the treatment in time, he could die. The person who anticipated seeing the result of the pill the most was none other than Ping-Yuan-Feng, Ping-Hang's father…

"Ah!"

All of a sudden, the five wounds disappeared from Ping-Hang's body, which automatically stopped the bleeding. What was left on him was merely the blood that bled when he was on the machine. Not only did the wounds close themselves in a snap of time, but it looked like Ping-Hang had never had any wounds before…

"What a magic pill! What kind of pill is it?" One of the merchants exclaimed the question out of shock. The rest of the guests thought so but did not make it out in words…

"Alright! Since the party is over, we have to excuse ourselves." Zheng-Fu did not want to explain his pill, so he told everyone that he wished to leave. Then he turned to De-Tong and De-Na-Lan, who were still in awe like everybody else…

"Ahem! Let's go, guys!"

Zheng-Fu gave a light cough to call back De-Tong and De-Na-Lan. When they got back to themselves, they turned to smile at him peculiarly and nodded to agree to leave the grand hall with him. The three left the merchants and Elders further in awe…

……….

After Zheng-Fu left the grand hall for a minute, the merchants started to chat about the mysterious martial artist. They wanted to know where Zheng-Fu was from and what kind of pill he gave Ping-Hang. All kinds of questions were aimed at Ping-Yuan-Feng, who was sitting in the chair at the top of the table in great confusion…

"Who was that martial artist, the owner of the city?"

"Where is he from?"

"What kind of pill was that?"

"What is his name?"

"And does he…?"

"Stop!"

The questions were fired by the curious merchants in the room, which crinkled Ping-Yuan-Feng's eyebrows instantly. That was because he could not answer any of those questions. How could he? He thought…

"I don't know anything about him either. He came and went quietly, like a ghost. I don't even know his name. I also don't know where he came from. And that pill? It was the first time that I had ever seen something like that, like you guys.

I can't give you any answers about him now, and I have to see my son. The party is over now. I hope you guys go home safely."

Ping-Yuan-Feng got up and left the grand hall without listening to anyone further. He already had a headache from what happened in that room, so he avoided answering the questions from the merchants and the Elders that he invited…

At the entrance of the building of the owner of the city, Zheng-Fu, De-Tong, and De-Na-Lan continued to walk without speaking to one another. They all kept silent. Zheng-Fu knew that De-Tong and De-Na-Lan had so many questions for him, and he had all the answers for them. So, he stopped and turned back to them to make sure that he would tell them everything they wanted to know. He said…

"I'll tell you everything you want to know when we leave this city." Zheng-Fu turned back to his walk when he finished the sentence. De-Tong and De-Na-Lan nodded in agreement. They knew that they would not get any answers from Zheng-Fu at this time anyway…

After the exciting incident finished, the three of them started to leave the city for the next destination, which was the front city of Birdy Holy Fiery Heaven country. As for the punishment party, Ping-Yuan-Feng ordered everyone not to talk about it. Anyone who did not act accordingly would be punished harshly. So, no one talked about it, which made the incident die eventually…

De-Tong's caravan had left the city for many hundred lis. The front city of Birdy Holy Fiery Heaven country was only about two thousand lis away from the front city of Wild Land. It was not a long journey, but the road was full of many kinds of monsters. So, it would be a tough journey without a protector.

However, De-Tong's caravan would do just fine, even without Zheng-Fu, because most of the monsters were not that strong…

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