Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting from Immortal Martial Arts

Inside the pavilion, Jia He was taken aback, not expecting that this demon had some good stuff in his hands. He hurriedly floated into the air and chased after him.

Just then, six fifth-level bandits at the entrance of the pavilion were hacked to death by the Golden Tiger Guards, their heads separated from their bodies.

Jia Rong stared in astonishment, his eyes wide. From the moment the enemy launched their attack to the moment they were defeated, less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea had passed. Suddenly, he remembered something and retorted, "How come, Uncle Hou, you know more about our manor's secrets than I do?"

Hou Zunqi glanced at him disdainfully and said indifferently, "This is something you bunch of useless trash who don't practice martial arts could never understand. Your role for our various prefectures is simply to expand our branches and leaves."

Upon hearing this, Jia Rong's face flushed red, and he bowed and retreated. Jia Baoyu, whose eyes were bruised, remained unmoved, unwilling to become a vulgar brute.

Liu He patted Hou Zunqi on the shoulder and said to the group, "The monkey meant no harm. Without cultivation to protect you, knowing the secret would only harm you."

Ignoring the conversation behind him, Jia Tang pointed at the green-robed man and said, "Dislocate his limbs and pierce his dantian to torture him."

Tiger Guards stepped forward, ignoring Xu Yuan and the others who were huddled together to their left. They first dismembered the green-robed bandit's limbs, then pulled out a dark, thin, sharp spike from his lower back, flicked it with their fingers, and pierced it into his dantian below his navel.

The man in green robes screamed in agony, his eyes filled with a death wish. Before all the power in his body had dissipated, he mustered his strength and shattered his heart meridian. His head lolled to the side, and he died instantly.

Jia Tang remained unmoved by the sight. He knew that those below the second rank who could suppress a Blood Refining Martial Master's self-inflicted heart meridian shattering power were powerless to do so.

A moment later, as everyone remained silent, Jia He burst through the wall in front, followed by Jia An, a long-faced man with a bulbous nose, his mouth and nose radiating fiery energy, carrying the Taoist's head. The two returned in mid-air and waited in front of Jia Tang. The only sound in the silent pavilion was the dripping blood from the severed neck hitting the ground.

"General."

"That stupid thief actually fled west, only to run right into the third brother."

After Jia He finished speaking, he squatted down and carefully examined the green-robed man's left hand. He tore off a piece of skin and smelled it carefully. Then he stood up and said to Jia Tang, "There are three obvious indentations on the second joint of the left index finger, the skin has a slight fragrance, and there is a ringing scar on the right side of the chest. There's no mistake."

Jia Tang nodded slightly, his tone cold: "How dare you, Xu Yuan, collude with rebels to assassinate a high-ranking official and the eldest son of Wu Xun! Your crimes deserve death. Guards, seize him!"

Xu Yuan's face was grim as he looked at the pools of blood and mutilated corpses around him. He explained, "I didn't know they were from the Fragrance Scent Cult. I didn't know they wanted to kill you. I just came to the Fragrant Jade Garden to listen to music."

As they were talking, they saw the Golden Tiger Guard, whose armor was covered in blood, reach out to them. They couldn't help but shout, "I am the only legitimate son of the Minister of Rites, and the top scholar in this year's imperial examination in Jiangnan. Who dares to arrest me? Who dares to kill me?"

Tiger Guard slapped Xu Yuan across the face. Xu Yuan's scholarly expression appeared as he blocked the slap, but his hat was knocked off and a bloodstained blade was already pressed against his throat.

Xu Yuan's face flushed red, and he growled, "Jia Tang, don't push your luck!"

Jia Tang smirked and shouted, "Chop him up."

Tiger Guard's large hand emanated blood energy as he gripped his waist knife and swung it with all his might, the blade forming a crescent shape as he slashed at Xu Yuan's neck.

"Lord Jia, there's no need for that."

A sigh came from the fourth floor, and an old man with white hair, dressed in brocade robes and wearing a scholar's hat, stepped out. His words were filled with wisps of literary energy. He was a cultivator who had reached the first level of the Path of Literary Transmission and was wielding his brush.

The old man looked at Jia Tang, who was expressionless and motionless, then turned to the Tiger Guards in front of Xu Yuan and shouted, "Discard your armor and defect!"

Four large characters composed of ink and literary style rushed into the Tiger Guard's mouth, nose and ears, affecting his mind. His fingers twitched slightly in his subconscious, and his waist knife slowly retracted.

Tiger Guard's face flushed red as he mustered his strength and began to fight back, causing his longsword to sway and struggle.

The old man said again, "The soldiers are to be armed."

The dark ink-colored literary energy surged again and entered the Tiger Guard's body. Upon seeing this, the other Tiger Guards either rolled or leaped to his back. Their blood energy burst forth and connected with the formation, condensing into a huge blood tiger that appeared above his head. The blood tiger roared, causing the dark ink-colored literary energy within its body to be shaken out of its mouth and nose.

Once the battle formation is complete and the military commander appears, the literary atmosphere naturally dissipates.

The Martial Minister, also known as the Military Minister, is a technique that is usually practiced by soldiers in the army to combine blood and qi for attack. Only soldiers skilled in killing can master it. It is extremely effective against evil and literary qi, and can even defeat strong enemies with weaker forces. It has many wonderful uses.

With his literary aura broken, the old man's face turned ugly, and he dared not make any further moves.

One or two is acceptable, but not three.

Just now, Jia Tang tacitly allowed the Tiger Guards to hone their skills. If they dared to make another move, Jia He, holding the Xuanjin Blade, was watching them with a half-smile, and Jia An was also watching them intently.

Jia Tang was quite satisfied with the Tiger Guards' performance. Lost in thought, he glanced at Sun Che behind Xu Yuan and said with a playful tone, "Imperial Envoy Sun, why don't you introduce those traitors behind you? Perhaps you're also a rebel?"

Sun Che wiped the sweat from his forehead, bent down and ran over with an embarrassed smile, "Lord Jia is too kind. We are all scholars and commoners of the Great Zhao. Please look, sir. The one on the left wearing a narrow-sleeved light blue satin jacket with Hu-style sleeves is Liu Zilang of Songjiang Prefecture in Southern Zhili, a Juren (successful candidate in the provincial examination); the one on the right wearing a silver-green brocade cotton-padded jacket is Zhou Huanju of Changzhou Prefecture, a Juren; and the one on the right behind him is Lin Jibai of Zhenjiang Prefecture, a Xiucai (successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination), whose maternal uncle is Lord Lü of the Censorate."

After listening to Sun Che's explanation, Jia Tang turned to Jia Baoyu, Jia Rong, and the others and asked, "Who among them made the move?"

With a bruised and swollen face, Jia Baoyu stepped forward and whispered, "Let it go, Brother Yuyin, too many people have died already."

Jia Tang shook his head, then asked Feng Weiliu and the other two, "Ziying, Xianglian, Ruolan, did you see clearly?"

The three of them exchanged a glance and shook their heads.

Wang Ren suddenly jumped out, pointed at Lin Jibai who looked terrified, and exclaimed, "Tang-ge'er, it was him! He threw a vase at me!"

The people around him changed their expressions upon hearing the address he used, their faces revealing a chilling murderous intent, their cold eyes fixed on him.

Jia Tang remained silent, raising his head to signal. Upon seeing this, Jia He strode forward, grabbed the terrified Lin Jibai, and slit his throat with a single stroke. Lin Jibai clutched his throat, making a 'hoarse' sound, then collapsed and convulsed for a moment before falling still.

"Go on."

Wang Ren was overjoyed, thinking that Jia Tang was standing up for him. He had just raised his arm when Wang De grabbed him and bowed slightly to Jia Tang, saying, "Reporting to my lord, no one has made a move."

Niu Chengxian said sullenly, "I didn't expect there to be one with a brain."

Just then, the clerks and soldiers of the Eastern Bureau ran in and said to Jia Tang, "Sir, Chief Steward Xia and Military Governor Wang from the Imperial Palace, along with some civil officials, have arrived outside the courtyard."

"Please come in."

The men left after receiving their orders. A short while later, the Grand Eunuch Xia Shouzhong, the Military Governor of the Capital Garrison Wang Ziteng, and a lean and capable old man with white hair and beard entered first. Li Hua, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, followed behind with his officials. When they saw the scene before them, their pupils shrank.

Xia Shouzhong asked, "Lord Jia, what has caused such anger?"

Before Jia Tang could reply, the capable old man, who had just learned about the situation from a first-level scholar, took the initiative to attack, shouting, "How dare you! Who gave you the right to use force against the scholars of the current dynasty? Put down your weapons at once!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Tang smiled and said, "Xu Honglu, there are several successful candidates here. Which one are you referring to?"

Xu Fanghua, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, pointed at Xu Yuan and said coldly, "Only a top scholar from Jiangnan could have a blade at his throat. Who else could it be? Besides, as the deputy commander of the Western City Military Command, a seventh-rank official, how could he not bow before his superior?"

"As a military officer of the Five City Guards, I am not a civil official. How can I possibly have the honor of paying my respects?"

Jia Tang sneered and turned to Xia Shouzhong, saying, "Prime Minister, Xu Yuan colluded with rebels to assassinate me. According to the laws of the Great Zhao Dynasty, as an official of the court, I should rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free when it comes to the sorcerer who smells fragrance. His entire family should be executed. I intend to execute him on the spot and then confiscate his family's property."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan immediately roared, "Second Uncle, I didn't know that the man surnamed Zhang was a sorcerer."

"You bastard, shut up."

Xu Fanghua's face twitched, and he angrily shouted, staring at Jia Tang and saying, "Lord Jia, what a big accusation you've made! How can we listen to your one-sided story about whether someone is a rebel or not? Release them at once!"

Before Jia Tang could speak, Liu He said sarcastically, "Oh? So Xu Honglu is the second uncle of the rebels."

Niu Chengxian continued, "Your Excellency, I request that the relatives of the rebels recuse themselves from any potential conflicts of interest."

Hou Zunqi was dissatisfied with this and retorted, "What's there to avoid? Chop them all up in front of the Grand Chancellor!"

Xia Shouzhong asked with some confusion, "Lord Jia, what is the reason for this rebellion?"

Jia Tang first bowed slightly and said he dared not, then pointed to the corpses on the ground and said, "As soon as I arrived, these people drew their weapons and rushed at me. There was even a first-level evil spirit who tried to assassinate me. Fortunately, I was protected by my family's Tiger Guards, otherwise I would have fallen victim to these treacherous villains."

He then pointed to Zhang Zhixiong's corpse: "Moreover, this sorcerer was previously protected by Xu Jieyuan. If Xu Honglu doesn't believe it, he can ask Imperial Censor Sun."

Sun Che's expression shifted, and after stammering a few times, he gritted his teeth and walked to Jia Tang's right side, bowing to the group and saying, "This humble official is the Imperial Inspector of the Eastern City. What Commander Jia said happened before my eyes, and every word is true."

Upon hearing this, Xu Fanghua's expression turned icy, and he retorted, "Who knows if you're in cahoots? I should escort them to the Dali Temple to find out the truth."

Niu Chengxian couldn't help but retort, "What? Everyone else is wrong, but you, you old geezer, are right?"

Liu He and his group burst into laughter, but Xu Fanghua remained expressionless and ignored them.

Jia Tang chuckled twice and said to Xia Shouzhong, "Listen to this, Grand Secretary. Anyone who didn't know better would think Xu Honglu was the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Since when did the Court of Judicial Review start managing these things?"

Xu Fanghua declared with righteous indignation: "As an official appointed by the imperial court, I cannot tolerate evildoers distorting the truth and harming loyal and virtuous people right under the emperor's nose."

Hearing what everyone was saying, Jia Rong, Feng Ziying, and the others shrank back in fear and hid in a corner. However, after learning what had happened, Wang Ziteng's face turned ashen, and he looked like he wanted to devour Wang Ren alive.

Seeing that Jia Tang and his group were still arguing, Wang Ziteng pondered for a moment, then stepped forward and flattered Xu Fanghua, saying, "Lord Jia, executing them on the spot is a bit too much, and what Xu Honglu said is also inappropriate. Why not transfer them to the Ministry of Justice prison for examination?"