"Little Yue, these dishes were sent by the class leader for you. Do you find them fresh?"
At that moment, Rao Mingyue really thought the earlier fright was just a false alarm.
But just as he breathed a sigh of relief and was about to reach out for the dishes, a figure appeared at the door.
Bai Zonglin glanced down at Rao Mingyue coldly, then looked up into the courtyard, and said lightly, "Restrain him, don’t let him move!"
Before Rao Mingyue could react, the vegetable vendor drew a knife from the pile of vegetables and held it to his throat.
Unexpectedly, Rao Mingyue did not give up and instead shouted, "Mr. Mo, run!"
Bang.
The Four Seas Gang member disguised as a vegetable vendor was so incensed that he whacked Rao Mingyue on the mouth with the knife handle.
Immediately, broken teeth and blood fell out together.
Rao Mingyue could no longer shout.
Bai Zonglin didn’t even look back, striding straight through the front yard to the woodshed at the back.
Looking at the slightly ajar door, Bai Zonglin did not step forward to push it but stopped and smiled.
"Mr. Mo Qi, if you don’t want that opera performer in the front yard to die, you’d better not make any unnecessary struggles."
Inside the room, it was unusually quiet. After a moment, a few subtle whistling sounds came from behind the door, followed by Mo Xu’s low voice.
"There is no ambush, and I won’t struggle, but please don’t make things difficult for that child; he was forced."
"Alright, as long as you behave, I can spare his life."
Before arriving, Bai Zonglin had done thorough research, knowing that Mr. Mo Qi came from Beyond the World.
Although Medicine Saint Shrine is not as well-known as the Thirteen Sects, it is still not to be underestimated. Its disciples are exceptional in both music and medicine, especially their Piano Control Technique, which is simply unimaginably brilliant.
Though eager to succeed, Bai Zonglin did not want to risk his life needlessly.
So he decided to proceed step by step, first controlling Rao Mingyue and then using his life to coerce Mo Qi into submission.
In retrospect, it seems this plan was quite effective.
Despite this, Bai Zonglin did not personally take the risk but had his subordinates open the door.
On the bed in the woodshed lay a person, half-sitting and half-lying. Although his face was pale, his eyes were very bright.
Bai Zonglin had seen Mo Qi’s portrait before, so he recognized him at once as the target he was searching for.
"Very well, it seems Mr. Mo is indeed trustworthy. Then please come with us."
Mo Qi didn’t move but lightly flicked his finger, and a few subtle glimmers began to hover in the room.
"I want to see Rao Mingyue first. Only if I confirm he’s alright will I go with you."
Bai Zonglin frowned, but intimidated by the piano strings controlled by Mo Qi, he nodded.
"Fine!"
Soon, someone brought a blood-mouthed Rao Mingyue to the backyard.
When Mo Qi saw the blood in Rao Mingyue’s mouth, he was initially stunned but then grew furious.
"Who did this?"
"Mr. Mo, I only said I would spare his life; I didn’t say not to harm him at all. He was shouting just now, so my men naturally had to punish him a little."
"He’s an opera actor reliant on his voice for a living. You’ve ruined his future!" Mo Qi was furious.
"Stop talking nonsense. Here he is. If you refuse to give up resisting, I’ll kill him now!" Bai Zonglin finally lost patience and said coldly.
In his view, he already had a hold over the situation, and Mo Qi had no choice but to surrender willingly.
Mo Qi’s eyes were filled with anger and sadness.
By now, he no longer cared about his life or death; his heart only ached for the young man who had saved him.
But for his life, he had no choice but to abandon resistance.
Just as he sighed and was about to put down the piano strings in his hand.
Suddenly.
The members of the Four Seas Gang on guard in the courtyard began to fall one after another.