Chapter 4056 — Video Evidence

"Lin Er, you've led this lord on quite a chase. Third Brother died unjustly so long ago—today at last he can rest in peace!" An indescribable killing intent radiated from every inch of Nantian Ba, so fierce that even the birds and beasts within a hundred zhang fled in panic.

Nantian Guan, his face twisted with malice, said: "Be sensible and hand over the Star Ink Stone of your own accord. I have the authority to grant you an intact corpse. But it doesn't matter if you refuse—at most it will cost me a little effort to cast a soul-search. Only then you'll be truly miserable. Have you heard of the human swine? I'll hack off your arms and legs, gouge out your eyes, cut out your tongue, and leave you unable to live and unable to die!"

One more overbearing than the next. Wei Zhao felt a chill in his heart and raced through his mind for a response, yet his face betrayed nothing; the corner of his mouth curled as he said lightly, "So it seems I have no choice but to die today?"

"Haha, don't tell me you're still dreaming of living past today? Asking such a stupid question—don't you think you sound like a fool?" Yu Jiang laughed wildly. After stifling his temper under Nantian Ba and Nantian Guan for so long, he had finally found someone to vent it on.

At once Yu Jiang turned to Nantian Ba and Nantian Guan and asked, "Martial Uncles, though this man is certainly Lin Er beyond doubt, this disciple believes it's still necessary to ascertain his other identity. If he really is Wei Zhao, we'll be prepared when we face Hong Zhong and the others in the future."

Kang Jingming had long since made it clear that Wei Zhao was Lin Er, but seeing is believing—it was worth confirming with their own eyes.

Nantian Ba had intended to kill this Lin Er outright to avenge Third Brother, but after hearing this he thought it over and nodded. "Very well. The whereabouts of the Star Ink Stone and his other identity—Second Brother, just cast the soul-search on him directly. No need to waste time jabbering with him."

"Will do." Nantian Guan agreed readily. Casting a soul-search would damage his own divine sense, but weighed against the rich reward of the Star Ink Stone, that small price was negligible.

"Hold on—there's no need for you to act. I can tell you myself: I am Wei Zhao!" As he spoke, Wei Zhao reached up and removed the Thousand-Silk Mask, revealing his true face.

Speculation became fact; the eyes of all three—Nantian Ba, Nantian Guan, and Yu Jiang—sharpened. Yu Jiang was overjoyed and, seeking credit and airing his grievances before the two, cried: "Didn't I say so? This brat is Lin Er beyond doubt! But you put on a fine act—got me punished by both Martial Uncles. Today I'll make you repay it a hundredfold, a thousandfold!"

Recalling their last encounter on the Far North Island, Nantian Ba and Nantian Guan both looked rather put out. Lin Er and Wei Zhao both—that made for a double grudge against them.

"Perfect. New grudges and old scores settled together. Hong Zhong has already gone far off to the Middle Island—now this lord would like to see who can still save you! Second Brother, what are you waiting for? Get on with it!" Nantian Ba ground out, his face hideous.

Nantian Guan nodded, stepped forward at once, and reached out to grab Wei Zhao. Even if Wei Zhao was now a peak mid-Foundation Establishment expert, given the vast gulf in cultivation between them, unless he resorted to a top-tier trump card like the pill-fire true-qi bomb, his odds against Nantian Guan were slim.

But at that moment Wei Zhao suddenly smiled. Calm and unhurried, he said, "You think that just because Elder Hong isn't here, there really is no one who can save me?"

"What do you mean? Who else could save you? Speak up, let's hear it. Playing mysterious with us at a time like this is hardly wise—it will only make your death all the more wretched!" Nantian Guan paused, then smiled with a dark, savage grin.

"Playing mysterious? Do I look like such a frivolous person? I'll be blunt: the one who can save me is right here on the scene—and right among you!" Wei Zhao's gaze burned as he fixed it on one man: Yu Jiang himself.

Under that pointed stare from Wei Zhao, Yu Jiang's skin crawled. He didn't know what the problem was, but a sudden, extremely ominous premonition rose in his heart.

"You mean Yu Jiang?" Nantian Ba and Nantian Guan were both taken aback, and the looks they turned on Yu Jiang now carried a note of scrutiny.

He was their martial nephew, true, but they had had little contact with Yu Jiang before; he had only attached himself to their faction after Nantian Guan's death. They could hardly claim to know him through and through.

"How could that be? I wish I could hack him to pieces to avenge my master—why would I ever save him? Martial Uncles, don't fall for this brat's scheme to sow discord!" Yu Jiang denied it in a fluster.

Nantian Guan quickly caught on as well. "Brat, don't underestimate us. Saying Yu Jiang would save you—such a clumsy bit of sowing discord, do you really think we'd believe you? Do you take us for pigs?"

"Exactly. Even if Yu Jiang had such a notion, with his piddling strength, trying to save you right under this lord's nose is sheer fantasy!" Nantian Ba sneered in agreement.

"Martial Uncles are wise. This brat, with doom upon him, still won't give up his wicked schemes, trying to poison the bond between your martial nephew and his two Martial Uncles—he deserves to be hacked to pieces!" Yu Jiang breathed a sigh of relief and hastily added his own kick.

Seeing the three grow ever more hostile, Wei Zhao remained unruffled. "You misunderstand, gentlemen. I never said Yu Jiang would step in to save me. What I meant is that he will die in my place."

"What? Me die in your place? Are you out of your mind?" Yu Jiang was stunned, then burst out laughing. Yet that lingering ominous feeling in his heart, for some reason, only grew stronger.

At the same time, Nantian Ba and Nantian Guan were looking at Wei Zhao as though he were an idiot, convinced he had been frightened out of his wits and had begun spouting nonsense.

"It sounds absurd, doesn't it? But once you've seen this, I think you'll change your minds..." Wei Zhao smiled, reached into his robes, and drew out a phone, pulling up a video he had recorded earlier.

"What the hell is this thing?" Nantian Ba and the other two were dumbfounded. However worldly they might be, there was no way they had ever seen a smartphone, a device that had only emerged in the mortal world in recent years. They exchanged bewildered glances.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared on the phone screen. Though the camera was somewhat distant, that build and those features were all too familiar to them... R1152