Chapter 38: All the City’s Cats Gathering for a Party? It’s High Noon
Chapter 38: Chapter 38: All the City’s Cats Gathering for a Party? It’s High Noon
"Where did you run off to? Were you fooling around with those she-cats again? How can a man be so obsessed with romance? You must put your career first!"
Pei Shaoqing, who had just pulled up his pants, now spoke with extreme sternness, chiding General Li with a pained expression.
General Li cried foul. "My lord, your subject was drilling the troops! I haven’t been intimate with my four beloved consorts for a very long time—at least a full day!"
"If the shoe fits, wear it. If not, take it as a warning. You should take my words to heart." Now that his pants were on, Pei Shaoqing sounded almost human. He then explained Xie Qingwu’s idea. "What do you think? Is it feasible?"
"Of course it’s feasible! Your subject is willing to dispatch the elites of the Mao Camp to carry out this mission," General Li agreed at once.
Pei Shaoqing looked skeptical. "Aside from the four cats who took the Spirit Awakening Pills, the others are just ordinary cats. Are you sure they’ll still follow your orders once they’re out from under your supervision?"
"Of course! How can a general who can’t even control his own soldiers be considered a competent commander?" General Li put his paws on his hips, looking like the cat’s meow, and said confidently, "My lord, please entrust this matter to me. I will select the elites tonight and conduct specialized training for them!"
Seeing its puffed-up pride, Pei Shaoqing said, half-convinced, "Well, let’s give it a try then."
It wasn’t like it would cost him anything, anyway.
"I will not let you down, my lord!"
General Li returned to the Mao Camp headquarters to work overtime that very night.
Pei Shaoqing, on the other hand, went back to his room to get ready for bed.
"How did it go? What did General Li say?" Seeing him enter, Xie Qingwu immediately stood up and walked over to ask.
Pei Shaoqing nodded. "He said it’s feasible."
"That’s wonderful!" Xie Qingwu was overjoyed.
Seeing her joyful expression and the bright, radiant smile on her face, Pei Shaoqing was momentarily lost in a daze.
Seeing him staring blankly at her, Xie Qingwu misunderstood his intentions. In a good mood tonight, she blushed and whispered, "At most... you can still only use my feet."
The tips of her white silk-wrapped feet curled inward.
"What kind of person do you take me for? Let’s sleep!" Having just concluded his ’import-export trade,’ Pei Shaoqing staunchly refused.
Xie Qingwu, who had taken the initiative, was left standing there, her face alternating between pale and livid with embarrassment and shame.
’You bastard! Next time, I’ll stomp you to death!’
She clenched her fists in humiliated anger, swearing a silent oath.
「In the dead of night, at the Mao Camp headquarters, General Li stood alone on the steps, his grand army assembled below.」
General Li stood up on his hind legs, meowing nonstop while baring his fangs and claws. No one knew what he said, but the crowd of cats below began to meow with excitement and fervor.
"MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW! MEOW MEOW MEOW! Meeeow~"
......
"Did you hear? Last night, all the cats in the city went into heat and were caterwauling. They had a mass orgy at the abandoned Li Family residence."
"Don’t even talk about it. I live right near there. The noise almost killed me. Those cats are really wild."
"Someone should really get those things neutered. It’s already July and they’re still in heat. What’s it going to be like next March?"
The Mao Camp collectively lost its good reputation. (ʘ̥∧ʘ̥)
During breakfast, Pei Shaoqing said to Liu Yuheng and Zhao Zilan, "Today, I will be presiding over the execution. Lady Gongsun and Miss Zhao will accompany me. If any remnants of the Profound Yellow Sect try to storm the execution grounds, you can protect me."
"Yes, Young Master," the two replied in unison. Immediately after, Liu Yuheng looked at her beloved disciple in surprise and asked with concern, "Lan’Er, why is your voice so hoarse?"
’It’s all because I’m too big.’
Pei Shaoqing answered silently in his heart.
Zhao Zilan glanced at the culprit and answered guiltily, "Maybe I kicked off my blanket last night and caught a cold. My throat felt sore when I woke up this morning."
Not only did her throat hurt, but her jaws were sore too.
Last night, she had been thoroughly convinced, both in mouth and heart. She felt that the sword-swallowers from the Jianghu street performances were no big deal in comparison.
"Honestly, you’re a grown woman and you still kick off your blankets when you sleep," Liu Yuheng said, her tone both doting and helpless.
「At noon, Pei Shaoqing led his people to the execution grounds.」
The execution grounds in Tongzhou were set up at the North City Gate. Before the hour of noon, it was already surrounded by people, all of whom had come to watch the beheadings. Some even held steamed buns they had prepared in advance.
Suddenly, the sound of urgent hoofbeats rang out.
"Lord Pei has arrived—"
"Make way! Make way! Everyone, make way!"
Four Jing’an Guards with long sabers at their waists rode at the forefront, brutally clearing a path by cracking their whips at the crowd.
Soon, the path to the execution grounds was clear.
Pei Shaoqing took the lead on his horse, followed by Liu Yuheng, Ye Hanshuang, and Zhao Zilan. All three women were expert riders. Even as their horses galloped, their full posteriors seemed welded to the saddles, moving not an inch, while the round, ripe fruits on their chests quivered and bounced with the motion.
A single glance revealed a scene of one wave rising as another fell.
"Whoa!"
After arriving, Pei Shaoqing dismounted and strode to the only table on the execution grounds, taking a seat behind it.
The three women stood behind him.
"Bring out the prisoners!" Song Youcai shouted.
The prisoners were all brought to the execution platform. A kick to the back of their knees sent them all kneeling to the ground.
"I’ve been wronged, my lord! I’m just the steward of the Zheng Family! I knew nothing about Zheng Xuancheng’s affairs!"
"My lord, I beg you, spare me! I’m just a servant in the Zheng Mansion, I’m really not a traitor from the Profound Sect!"
The servants of the Zheng Mansion wailed and begged for mercy.
Pei Shaoqing remained expressionless, turning a deaf ear to their pleas.
’Let you go now?’
’Wouldn’t that be admitting I arrested the wrong people?’
’And wouldn’t my merits shrink as a result?’
’These bastards used the Zheng Mansion’s backing to lord it over others and bully the weak in Tongzhou. Their deaths are no great loss.’
By borrowing their heads, he could consider it enacting justice on behalf of heaven.
"What kind of men are you, crying like that? In eighteen years, we’ll be heroes again! You corrupt officials! The disciples of our Holy Sect can never be fully killed, nor do we fear death! Bring it on!"
"That’s right! Chop me first! I’ll go on ahead and wait for you dog officials to join me in death!"
The few true traitors of the Profound Yellow Sect who were willing to sacrifice themselves showed no fear on their faces as they marched valiantly to their deaths.
This scene still had a small impact on a faithless layman like Pei Shaoqing.
Time passed, second by second. Song Youcai looked up at the sky, then walked to Pei Shaoqing’s side and whispered, "My lord, it’s about time."
"Mm," Pei Shaoqing nodded. He picked up a Command Arrow from the table and tossed it down lightly. His cold words landed along with the arrow. "The time has come. Execute!"
"Execute!" Song Youcai turned and roared.
"I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!"
"Don’t kill me! I’m not a rebel! I’m not a traitor from the Profound Yellow Sect! My lord, please see the truth!"
The people from the Zheng Mansion lost control of their bowels and bladders, struggling hysterically and falling over, only to be pulled up and forced to kneel properly again.
A dozen or so executioners with red cloths wrapped around their heads picked up nearby wine jars and took two big gulps. Then, they sprayed the wine onto their Ghost Head Sabers, gripped the hilts with both hands, and viciously swung down.
This was a skilled trade.
And they were experienced experts in their line of work.
The sabers rose and fell. In an instant, blood sprayed wildly. All the screams and pleas for mercy stopped abruptly. A dozen or so bloody heads, their expressions twisted and their eyes wide with rage, rolled one after another off the execution platform and onto the dirt ground.
After a moment of silence, the watching crowd erupted in thunderous cheers. Some of the people with steamed buns scrambled forward to dip them in the blood on the ground, eating them right on the spot. Their mouths were stained red, but their faces were wreathed in smiles.
Zhou Shunqing, disguised as an old woman, stood stunned in the chaotic crowd. Watching the ignorant commoners joyfully feast on the blood of his comrades, he felt as if a knife were twisting in his heart.
"Found him!"
On the city wall diagonally across from the execution grounds, the Kaiyang Saint Heir locked his gaze onto Zhou Shunqing, who stood out from the crowd. "That person looks like an eighty-year-old woman, but they’re standing stock-still and haven’t been knocked over by the chaotic crowd at all. At that age, you can barely hold your bladder, so how could you have such a steady stance? It must be Zhou Shunqing in disguise!"
"Have someone follow him for now. We’ll make our move when the time is right," County Magistrate Wang said in a low voice, glancing at Pei Shaoqing, who was just getting up to leave the execution platform.
What the two of them didn’t know was that on the other side of the city wall, an orange tabby cat was watching them silently.