Volume 7 Chapter 55
Heaven Knows What I Bore Witness To (Part 1)
Listen to the cries. Look at the splattering blood. Have a whiff of the smell of violence. Bones sent soaring through the air. Body parts smash into body parts loudly. Look at the two trying to cut each other. Hahaha, ecstatic, isn't it? Ah, I want to get my hands dirty. I have this pesky mission, though.
Master is worried the imperial court will send adepts out to apprehend us, but I think he's more concerned than he needs to be. We're specialists at hiding, and none of their adepts could defeat Master. He managed to survive an explosion; I'm not worried about him.
I've killed a couple of people while scouting out the area over the last few days, but I haven't seen anyone from the imperial court. Out of nowhere, Night Fortress' master has started to be active again. I heard he's a new force who's part of some five palaces or some sizzle. Whatever. He's one of Jiangnan's five youngest powerhouses besides the Seven Champion White Princes and the mightiest of the five. He's capable of gaining support from orthodox and unorthodox sects, so I have to do something about him. I've only seen his subordinates, however.
Over the last few days, I've found out a bit more about Night Fortress. Night Fortress' master really is a mysterious man. Stories of his combat prowess don't match, and he reportedly uses a variety of styles. I was told the leader was a Young Master Ming with the surname Zhong. His real identity is supposed to be the son of Zhong Hualiu, owner of the Central Plain's biggest brothel ring. Young Master Ming is also said to be a philanderer.
Sometimes, I wonder if we chose the wrong side. I'm the orthodox one, right? Either way, we're not pushovers. I wouldn't need to hide here if they didn't have a few skilled fighters. The guy who threw a damn spear at me scared my wit out of me without batting an eye. I know he could scorch me since I smelt the burning iron spear he threw at me. I'd have died a more brutal death than I dish out if I didn't use my fake body. That's why I have to refrain from killing, and wait for them to kill each other.
Hehehe, according to what I've learnt, Tea Lake Manor, Qian Clan and Horse Divine Association are the closest to Bishui Town. Blow this incident up enough, and they'll catch wind of it. Once they show up and find two hundred of their men dead, tsk, tsk, it'll be hailing blood, hahaha. I can't wait.
Wait, the riot is calming down for some reason.
What the hell?! Why are they stopping?!
I rushed over to see Zhong Ming's men stopping the pursuers.
What are you doing, you useless sacks of bones?! Why are you ruining all of my efforts! They framed Master Ming and framed Young Master Zhong! Why aren't you killing them?!
Smiling, Dugu appealed, "Please stop. This is a misunderstanding. We can talk this out. If we hurt each other, Jiangnan's orthodox sects will all suffer. I beseech you to stop."
How about you stop bullcrapping?! Don't stop! Your patriarch just died! Avenge him! Are you all so scared of fighting?!
"I inspected Patriarch Chen's corpse and found the culprit used an extremely fast broadsword technique to kill him. As you can see, Tea Lake Manor, Hundred Thousand Qian Manor and Horse Divine Association don't have anyone so skilled among their ranks. I am willing to bet none of the two hundred people present could defeat Patriarch Chen in a fight, let alone kill him. They are not the culprit. If you can trust me, I am willing to take responsibility for finding the culprit."
Enhancing his voice using his internal energy, Dugu managed to extend the distance his voice travelled and convinced them to stop. He ran around the town and repeated himself. Thanks to several more internal style pugilists helping out, they were able to call a ceasefire after a few hours.
Don't flipping stop! Oh my god!! Why won't these Central Plain-ers slash and gash each other?!Your balls shrunk?! Drats! Damn it! Damn it! I want to kill someone! Argh!
Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Deep breaths…
Hehe, sorry about that, I almost ended up forgetting about the next phase of my plan. Don't underestimate my genius. I haven't even launched the climax.
The rioters soon peacefully gathered at a plaza. Little did they know I already put my backup plan into motion. I already had my subordinates report to the officials in the neighbouring town. From what I found out, officials have similar authority to officials in Beijiang. They take the same exam and will stop at nothing to pass. No incident would ever remove him from power in Jiangnan since it was so peaceful. However, an unresolved riot might threaten his rank. You think he would sit idly by with the looming threat?
As expected, the official shut everyone up as soon as he arrived on the scene. I knew they wouldn't dare to make a scene in an official's presence. Strangely… the handsome and imposing middle-aged man with Zhong Ming wasn't intimidated whatsoever. There was also a bloke in his early thirties named Long Zaitian. He looks as ugly as diarrhoea, yet he was pushing the official around and told the official he'd speak to the official's brother-in-law any day. The nut case even bounced the official's face off his fist, knocking the latter out cold.
Long Zaitian laughed: "Damn bugger thinks he's a hot shot when his rank isn't even worth mentioning. Master, I threw him into a building. The locals recognise him as an official, so they will not harm him. We should be on our way."
The master replied, "There's no rush. We went out of our way to stop, so let's get to the bottom of this. Let's find out why they framed us and poisoned Miss Lu."
Long Zaitian: "Yes, Master! Hey, get over here…"
H-Hold up. Hold the motherflipper up! What the hell is going on here?! They aren't robbers, and there are so many of them. What gives him the audacity to beat an official? If we hit an official in Beijiang, we'd get on our horses and run for our lives right away. Why is their group standing around and making small chatter?! Why are they investigating this? I poisoned her to frame you, you clods! Be honest with me: are you lot bandits?
"H-How come my brother-in-law is unconscious?!"
A new group of a hundred or so guards came over. Every single one of them was clearly a pugilist. The leader came forward and brayed, "Who knocked my brother-in-law out?!"
The leader was the Rank Seven Qilin Guard the official mentioned.
Ah, now I get it. He had the balls to come here because he called his brother-in-law to back him up. Pussy. Well, I appreciate you being a pussy today, pussy.
Hmm, if they dared to hit an official, I bet they'll fight even a Qilin Guard. Unsurprisingly, Long Zaitian answered, "I put his lights out. You got a problem?"
"You are asking for it!" The Qilin Guard scanned the group and settled on the middle-aged man. He blustered, "You look too cultured to be their leader. Who is your leader?"
Long Zaitian chortled: "You think you're qualified to know his name? Huh?"
The middle-aged man stated, "Long Zaitian, don't say pointless things. Since he is a Qilin Guard…"
Hahaha, damn straight. Be scared, old man. The Qilin Guards really are something.
I did my due diligence and researched the Qilin Guards. I learnt they have plenty of influence and would rather kill someone innocent than risk letting a suspect of an unorthodox sect go. We heard about that even in Beijiang. They've been ruling the martial world with an iron fist but have been fair with punishments and rewards.
"So don't fight," the middle-aged man finished. "Just let him be on his way."
Huh? They brought a hundred men over, and you think you can just shoo them off?
The Qilin Guard drew his broadsword and aimed it at Long Zaitian: "Enough with the nonsense! I must be too lenient with you criminals. Men, arrest them!"
The people from the martial world tensed up. They were worried Night Fortress' allies would be arrested, but they weren't sure if they should help or not. If they helped the escort, the Qilin Guards would be on their tails. If they sat back and watched, they'd feel guilty.
Hah, that's exactly what I wanted. Fight. Fight! Fight! Kill each other. Finally. Wait, what now?
Long Zaitian wrapped his arm around the Qilin Guard's shoulder and whispered something. He then led the Qilin Guard into a house…
Is he planning to bribe the Qilin Guard? Uncle Long Zaitian, do you think I'm ignorant just because I'm from Beijiang? You think I didn't account for that?'
It's impossible to bribe any of the three martial world's offices in the Central Plain. The Emperor's Entourage are a bunch of creeps who like to stick around to smell the mentally deficient Emperor, while the Qilin Guards are a bunch of morons who love to uphold justice. I love the Qilin Guards.
I had to fight the Qilin Guards grand commander when I crossed the border. I can assure you that he's a monster. He chased five hundred of us all by himself and almost killed us. If Master didn't bring up the rear, he would've decimated our entire group. You know why I like the guy? His violent tendency is crazy. My bad, I digressed.
Anyway, I chose the official with the big beard because of his Qilin Guard affiliation. Long Zaitian won't be bribing anybody.
I didn't hear any fighting from the house. Soon, they came back out. I thought one of them killed the other in the house. Long Zaitian stepped out first. Behind him was the… what the heck! The Qilin Guard is subservient to Long Zaitian?!
The Qilin Guard said, "I apologise for not realising we are family."
You're a family? Your surname is also Long? What?! Wait. I can't process this. Wait. Didn't your brother-in-law get hit?
"No, no, please do not say that. It was not a misunderstanding. It was all his fault. He deserved the beating. I would have hit him if you did not. You did the right thing."
Long Zaitian seemed as if he was the superior, laughing and commanded, "I like that you're honest. Leave the horses for me, and you can head on back."
Long Zaitian's request was absurd, yet the Qilin Guard company officer reacted as if he was rewarded gold. He pulled their horses over and even offered them his money; he looked as if he'd strip if he was asked.
Where's the fight? What happened to the fight? How did they resolve it with only words?! What the hell is with the people from the Central Plain?!