Chapter 40: We Only Follow the Court’s Laws, Not the Jianghu’s Morality
Chapter 40: Chapter 40: We Only Follow the Court’s Laws, Not the Jianghu’s Morality
"You are insolent!" The Kaiyang Saint Heir, an arrogant man by nature, turned livid with rage.
Pei Shaoqing gave a light wave of his hand. "Spare the masked one. Kill the other two without question."
’It was essential to keep County Magistrate Wang alive.’
’They had a foundation for cooperation. If he died here and the Profound Yellow Sect sent another Sub-Squad Leader, there was no guarantee the new one would be as agreeable.’
County Magistrate Wang froze. ’You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m wearing a mask! How could you still recognize me?!’
"You’re the one who led the guards here, aren’t you? So you’re the one who’s been hiding in the shadows! Well done! You treacherous Court lapdog, betraying the Holy Sect!" The Kaiyang Saint Heir and Zhou Shunqing glared at County Magistrate Wang, their faces a mixture of shock and fury as they cursed him.
County Magistrate Wang: "..."
He chose to quietly retreat to one side.
To avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
’He wanted to save Zhou Shunqing, but there was nothing he could do. To guarantee the Holy Sect’s long-term interests in Tongzhou, he had to preserve his own life.’
Chen Zhongyi swept his hand forward. "Fire!"
"SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH!"
In an instant, dozens of crossbow arrows tore through the air.
"Argh!" Already grievously wounded and unable to move, Zhou Shunqing was instantly turned into a human pincushion, dying full of resentment.
The Kaiyang Saint Heir weaved and dodged, his folding fan a blur as he deflected and evaded the bolts. Seeing the seemingly endless rain of crossbow arrows, he gritted his teeth and charged straight for Pei Shaoqing.
’To fell a band of thieves, first take down their leader!’
Pei Shaoqing sat atop his horse, perfectly composed. A sneer touched his lips as he watched the Kaiyang Saint Heir charge toward him.
Seeing this, Liu Yuheng, Ye Hanshuang, and Zhao Zilan, who were perched in the treetops, simultaneously swooped down. They charged the Kaiyang Saint Heir with swords drawn, attacking from three different directions.
They forced the Kaiyang Saint Heir to retreat, sending him flying backward.
The four of them clashed in a chaotic melee.
Sword-light flashed, and the clang of steel rang out incessantly.
Women fighting was quite a sight, especially when they had large chests, shapely rear ends, and long legs. With their black hair and skirts swirling, every movement revealed their graceful and enchanting figures.
The Kaiyang Saint Heir was at the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm, but he had already expended some of his Inner Strength. He was no match for Liu Yuheng alone, who was at the Early Stage of the Wandering Dragon Realm.
With Zhao Zilan (mid-stage Qi Condensation Realm) and Ye Hanshuang (early-stage Qi Condensation Realm) added to the mix, all he could do was endure a constant beating.
His coronet had been knocked off, and his black hair whipped about wildly. His once-spotless white robes were now covered in blood.
"You’ve gone too far! This is outrageous!" the Kaiyang Saint Heir roared hysterically. A bloody aura erupted from his body, shredding his clothes to tatters. His frame seemed to be forcibly stretched and expanded, suddenly growing by five feet.
Cracks webbed across his skin, revealing a network of blood vessels beneath. The thick stench of blood filled the air as he roared with crimson eyes, "This Saint Heir will take you all down with me!"
In that moment, he looked like a savage demon.
"Wh-what is this Evil Skill?!"
"How did he suddenly turn into that... monstrous thing?"
The surrounding Jing’an Guard were all taken aback.
"The Blood Refining Demon Skill!" County Magistrate Wang cried out, shouting to Ye Hanshuang and the others, "It’s an Evil Skill that harms the user eight hundred to injure the enemy a thousand! He hasn’t mastered it. His power has surged, but he can’t last more than a quarter of an hour. Heroines, please be careful! Just stall for time and wear him down until he dies!"
"Wear me down? In your dreams! Let’s see who dies first!"
Now a small, blood-red giant, the Kaiyang Saint Heir’s charge seemed to make the very ground tremble. He grabbed a nearby tree, tore it out by the roots, and swung it as he rushed Liu Yuheng.
The three women raised their longswords and charged forward to meet him.
"Everyone, halt!" Pei Shaoqing suddenly bellowed.
In an instant, everyone—including the Kaiyang Saint Heir—stopped and stared at him, bewildered.
’Dude, we’re in a fight to the death here.’
Pei Shaoqing looked at the Kaiyang Saint Heir and spoke with a detached, superior air. "The power you’ve displayed has earned you another option. This official asks you: are you willing to renounce the darkness, embrace the light, and pledge your loyalty to the Court?"
The Kaiyang Saint Heir was fucking floored. ’If you were going to try and recruit me, why didn’t you do it sooner? I’ve already popped my ultimate skill, and *now* you want to talk surrender?’
’Don’t you know I’ll suffer a backlash from using this Demon Skill?!’
"Think about it. The Jing’an Guard needs a man of your talents." Pei Shaoqing gestured toward County Magistrate Wang with his riding crop. "Just like him. In fact, your value is even greater than his. As long as you nod your head, high office and great wealth will be yours for the taking."
The Kaiyang Saint Heir hesitated. ’If I surrender now, I’ll have activated my ultimate for nothing and still suffer the backlash.’
’But if I don’t surrender, I’m not confident I can take everyone down within a quarter of an hour. I might be able to drag a few of them down with me, but I’ll still die in the end.’
"If you can live, why choose to die?" Pei Shaoqing said calmly. "After all, a miserable life is better than a noble death."
"But how can you guarantee you won’t go back on your word?" the Kaiyang Saint Heir asked, his voice hoarse.
This was a man who could secretly murder people and drain their blood to cultivate an Evil Skill, a man who would slaughter his own sect members to steal a Pill. Betraying the Profound Yellow Sect and surrendering to the Court was, naturally, something he felt no qualms about.
Pei Shaoqing laughed. "You’ve asked a very foolish question. You’re a Saint Heir. How many secrets of the Profound Sect do you know? Capturing you alive is a far greater achievement for me than killing you. Wouldn’t you agree?"
County Magistrate Wang’s expression was grim. ’I have to find a chance to kill the Kaiyang Saint Heir,’ he secretly resolved. ’If he surrenders to the Court, he’ll be too great a threat to the Holy Sect.’
’Pei Shaoqing has a point,’ the Kaiyang Saint Heir thought.
’Surrendering alive, I would be far more useful to the Great Zhou Court, and thus a greater credit to Pei Shaoqing.’
’There’s no need to worry about him going back on his word.’
’Still, he hesitated. He had already activated his ultimate skill, after all. To just surrender now felt incredibly anticlimactic.’
"You’d better hurry. It’s your intrinsic value and your current power that have earned you the right to negotiate. Once that quarter of an hour is up, you won’t have this chance anymore," Pei Shaoqing said coldly, applying pressure.
In the end, the rational desire to live won out.
The Kaiyang Saint Heir slowly sank to one knee and began to disperse his power. His body shrank back to its normal size, but the backlash was severe. His face was as white as a sheet.
"I am willing to surrender! I will serve the Emperor!"
"Hook Locks!" Pei Shaoqing roared.
A dozen Jing’an Guard lowered their crossbows and sprinted to encircle the Kaiyang Saint Heir. They unslung the steel-forged Hook Locks from their waists and threw them. With a sharp tug, the vicious hooks pierced the Kaiyang Saint Heir’s collarbones and other vital points.
These were the tools the Jing’an Guard used to capture high-value targets.
"AAAAARGH!"
The Kaiyang Saint Heir was caught completely off guard.
He struggled instinctively, but the more he fought, the more excruciating the pain became. Bathed in his own blood, his collarbones nearly torn from his body, he became a man of pure gore.
This sudden turn of events left County Magistrate Wang, Liu Yuheng, and the others stunned. ’He turned on him the moment he surrendered? The man has no honor whatsoever.’
Even they thought it was utterly shameless.
But Chen Zhongyi and the other Jing’an Guard saw nothing wrong. To them, what Lord Pei did was simply a case of "all’s fair in war."
The Kaiyang Saint Heir’s eyes were so bloodshot they looked ready to burst. He roared, "You went back on your word! You have no honor, no respect for the code of the Jianghu!"
"Hmph! With a demonic heretic like you, there’s no need to talk about the code of the Jianghu." Pei Shaoqing tugged on his reins and sneered, then added with an air of lofty righteousness, "Besides, I am an official of the Court. I abide by the law, not by honor."
’Of course, the law was something he only expected others to follow.’
’He himself never abided by it.’
Pei Shaoqing held out his hand. "Crossbow!"
Chen Zhongyi immediately presented him with a Breaking Gang Crossbow.
"AAAAARGH!" The Kaiyang Saint Heir’s body trembled violently in pain, sweat pouring off him like rain. He howled, "You said I’d be more valuable to the Court alive! That your achievement would be greater! Spare me! I’m begging you, spare me!"
"You being alive is more valuable to the Court, but you being dead is more valuable to *this official*. As for the achievement... well, this official has never been greedy." Pei Shaoqing leisurely loaded a crossbow arrow, aimed at the Kaiyang Saint Heir, and pulled the trigger.
’Why would he ever leave an enemy alive?’
"THWIP!"
The crossbow arrow flew through the air and struck him squarely between the eyebrows.
The Kaiyang Saint Heir collapsed, his face a mask of bitter resentment.
Song Youcai immediately yelled, "A divine shot, Lord Pei!"
"Congratulations, my lord, on slaying the Profound Sect rebel with your own hands!"
"My lord, what excellent archery!"
All sorts of flattery and cheers followed.
"Hahahaha! Hahahahaha!" Pei Shaoqing held the crossbow in one hand and roared with laughter at the sky. He casually tossed the weapon to Chen Zhongyi, then yanked his reins and galloped off, ordering without a backward glance, "Collect the rebel’s corpse. We’re returning to the city."
"As you command!"
"Hiyah! Hiyah!"
The Jing’an Guard galloped away. Liu Yuheng and her two companions executed their Lightweight Skills, departing through the treetops. Only County Magistrate Wang was left behind, standing dazedly in place, completely ignored.
’The Kaiyang Saint Heir, who poisoned his own sect mate to steal a Spirit Pill, ended up dying at the hands of the Jing’an Guard, just like Zhou Shunqing.’
’And the Spirit Pill had fallen into Pei Shaoqing’s hands.’
’Everything that had happened today was too chaotic. He had no idea how he was supposed to report this to headquarters.’