A person sacrifices himself to become a saint in a chaotic world of martial arts.

Chapter 152 Kill!

"Shut up," Wang Muzhi interrupted him. "The Chief Envoy has ordered action! The Golden Knife Alliance's leader and deputy leader are both dead. The Golden Knife Alliance is finished!"

The young constable was clearly somewhat skeptical.

Just then—

"!"

A dull thud came from inside Qingfeng Tower, like something heavy hitting the floor.

The sound was heavy and deep; the ground trembled as it hit the ground.

All eyes turned to the building at the same time.

Wang Muzhi's heart tightened, and he subconsciously gripped the hilt of the knife so tightly that it became hot, and the sweat from his palms soaked the strips of cloth wrapped around it.

The Golden Knife Alliance members opposite them stopped laughing and looking at each other. Some craned their necks to look, while others whispered, "What's that noise?" Their voices were very low, as if they were afraid of startling something.

Nobody knows.

Only the night wind still howled, and the torches still flickered.

After a brief silence, a voice came from inside the building.

The voice wasn't loud, but it resounded clearly throughout the entire venue, each word seeming to strike the eardrums: "Jin Tangjing and An Chen, who intended to rebel, have been executed on the spot."

The voice was very flat and even, without any inflection.

It's like talking about something trivial, like what you ate today or what the weather will be like tomorrow.

But it was like a thunderclap, exploding in everyone's ears.

The constables of the Zhenfu Division were all stunned.

Righting the law on the spot?

rebel?

What does that mean?

The Golden Knife Alliance members on the other side were also stunned.

Some people hadn't reacted yet, blinking blankly, their eyelashes fluttering.

Some people had already come to their senses, their expressions changing from bewilderment to amusement, and then from amusement to an indescribable strangeness. The strangeness resembled a smile, yet it wasn't quite a smile; the corners of their mouths were pulled upwards, while their eyebrows were lowered, distorting their entire faces.

"What did he say?" someone asked. The man's mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out, "What did he say?"

"So the alliance leader has rebelled?" another person chimed in, a laugh in their voice. "Hahaha."

The laughter was barely out of his mouth when it got stuck in his throat.

Because two hands were sticking out of the second-floor window of Qingfeng Tower.

Each of their hands was carrying something.

In the firelight, everyone could see what they were—one or two human heads.

The one on the left, with a lean face and three long wisps of beard under his chin, is none other than Jin Tangjing, the leader of the Golden Knife Alliance.

His eyes were still open, his pupils frozen with the terror and bewilderment of death. The terror surged up suddenly and, before it could spread, it was frozen there forever.

His mouth was slightly open, as if he couldn't believe he was going to die, even in death.

The one on the right, with a face full of scars, is none other than the vice leader, An Chen.

His expression became even more distorted, as if he hadn't even had time to react before being killed by a single sword strike.

The flesh on his face still retained the ferocity he had in life, but that ferocity was dead, leaving only an empty shell.

There was a bloody hole between his eyebrows, and blood was still seeping out. One drop, two drops, flowed down the bridge of his nose, past the tip of his nose, and dripped down.

Two heads were held in mid-air, blood still dripping, one drop, two drops, three drops, falling on the window frame, falling on the wall, making a soft "plop" sound.

A deathly silence.

The entire street was completely silent.

All the arrogant laughter, the contemptuous taunts, and the clattering sounds of knives being slapped on their hilts vanished.

Only the crackling of burning torches remained—flames licking pine-stain-soaked strips of cloth, making tiny popping sounds—and the sobbing of the night wind blowing through the streets—a sobbing that poured in from the street corner, passed through the crowd, and then disappeared from the other end, whimpering like someone crying.

Looking at this scene.

The pupils of the constables from the Zhenfu Division suddenly contracted.

They couldn't believe their eyes. They blinked hard, then blinked again, but the two heads were still there, still dripping blood, still swaying.

Jin Tangjing, the leader of the Golden Knife Alliance, a peak mid-stage True Qi Realm expert, a seasoned veteran who had roamed Qingyuan County for twenty years, died just like that.

An Chen, the vice leader of the Golden Knife Alliance, was nearing the mid-stage of the True Qi Realm and was notoriously ruthless. He was dead too.

He just died like that?

They instinctively looked at the Golden Knife Alliance members opposite them.

The expressions on those men's faces were far more interesting than those of the constables.

Someone opened their mouth wide, but no sound came out; their Adam's apple bobbed up and down, producing only a faint "gurgling" sound—

It was a sound of wanting to shout but being unable to, squeezed out from deep in the throat, like being choked.

Some people stared wide-eyed, their eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets, and the skin around their eyes was taut and white.

Some people were trembling all over, their legs were shaking, and they couldn't even hold the knife properly, so it fell to the ground with a "clatter".

The sound was loud, particularly jarring on the quiet street, but no one looked at the knife; no one had the mind to look.

Some people stood there blankly, their eyes vacant, as if they had lost their souls.

Their eyes were still open, but there was nothing in them—no fear, no shock, no doubt, nothing at all, just two empty black voids.

Just then, a figure leaped down from inside the building.

The black fish-scale dress fluttered in the night wind—the hem was lifted up and then fell down, lifted up and fell down, making a "plop plop" sound.

He wore a dagger on his left waist and a sword on his right, the scabbards gleaming faintly in the moonlight.

His figure was as upright as a pine tree, and when he landed, the soles of his boots touched the bluestone slabs with a very soft "tap".

Su Bai.

He stood there at the entrance of Qingfeng Tower, at the intersection of firelight and moonlight, his face half-lit and half-shadowed, his expression unreadable.

Half of his face was glowing red in the firelight, while the other half was shrouded in shadow, revealing only one eye, which shone brightly in the shadows like two cold stars.

A powerful aura emanated from him, a pressure only found at the peak of the True Qi Realm, spreading in all directions like an invisible tide.

When the tide surged in, everyone felt it—a tightness in their chest, a pause in breathing, as if something heavy was pressing on their hearts.

The members of the Golden Knife Alliance instinctively took a step back.

Su Bai spoke.

His voice remained calm and even, without any inflection: "Jin Tangjing and An Chen, who intended to rebel, have been executed on the spot. The ringleaders have been killed, and the rest will not be questioned. If there is any resistance..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the gang members.

A very faint glance.

His gaze swept from left to right and back again, like two knives cutting across everyone's face.

But this made those people take another step back.

This step was even more rapid and chaotic than the previous one; some people almost fell and stumbled before regaining their balance.

"Kill without mercy."

In an instant, the constables of the Zhenfu Division became like wolves and tigers.

Despite having fewer people, they were overwhelming the Golden Knife Alliance.

As for the forces from other factions, not one dared to come forward to help.

Meanwhile, inside the Golden Knife Alliance's headquarters.

.

Unlike the tense atmosphere outside Qingfeng Tower, this place presents a leisurely scene.

The courtyard wall was very high, keeping out all the noise from outside.

Two locust trees stood in the yard, their leaves rustling in the night breeze. Occasionally, a few leaves would drift down, swirling as they landed on the ground. A black cat crouched in the corner, dozing with its eyes half-closed, its tail swishing back and forth.

The Third Elder, Zhong Ji, sat imposingly at the stone table in the courtyard, with a pot of wine and several small dishes in front of him.

He was a burly man with a full beard, and his open shirt revealed the thick black hair on his chest—a dense thicket that stretched from his chest to his navel, rising and falling with his breath like a black wave.

With one leg on a stone bench, knee bent at an acute angle, and soles of his feet covered in mud, he was drinking heartily from a wine bowl.

This is a habit I developed when I was involved in gangs in my early years; it's been decades and I can't break it.

He picked up a peanut, threw it into his mouth, and chewed it with a crunching sound.

The sound was crisp and clear, especially distinct in the quiet courtyard.

As he chewed, he squinted at the night sky beyond the courtyard wall, a smile playing on his lips. The smile stretched upwards from the corners of his mouth, down his cheeks, to the corners of his eyes, creating a face full of wrinkles.

Tonight, the leader is hosting a banquet at Qingfeng Tower to invite the newly arrived chief envoy for "tea."

I heard he's a young man in his early twenties, fair-skinned and clean-cut, like a scholar.

A scholar?

Zhong Ji chuckled and took another gulp of wine. As the wine went down his throat, he let out a satisfied "ha," and the smell of alcohol wafted from his mouth, carrying a strong stench of alcohol.

Does someone like this even deserve the leader's personal intervention?

According to him, they should lead their men straight into the Zhenfu Division, drag that pretty boy out, and slap him dozens of times in front of the whole city to see if he still dares to be arrogant.

After you finish smoking, press his face to the ground and make him lick the phlegm off the bluestone slab. Once he's licked it clean, you can smoke him again.

But the leader of the alliance said that they should "consider the overall situation".

What big picture are we talking about?

With the three major gangs working together for years, the cowardly Zhenfu Division has long been too afraid to cause trouble.

As long as Old Ghost Feng is around, the Zhenfu Division has to keep a low profile.

What kind of trouble can a pretty boy who hasn't even grown his hair yet cause?

It's fine if it passes.

Zhong Ji slammed the wine bowl down on the table, the bottom of the bowl hitting the stone table with a "thud".

He squinted and imagined the scene in Qingfeng Tower at this moment: the pretty boy sitting opposite the leader, so intimidated by the leader's aura that he dared not even breathe loudly.

The vice leader slammed his hand on the table, and he trembled with fear, his face turned pale, and his lips turned blue.

Then the leader spoke slowly and deliberately, asking him to give an explanation. He stammered for a long time, barely managing to say anything. Xi Neng kept nodding, like a chicken pecking at rice.

Thinking of this, Zhong Jikui burst out laughing, the sound echoing in the courtyard.

The laughter was rough and loud, startling the black cat in the corner. The black cat meowed and jumped onto the wall, turning its head to stare at him with its bright green eyes.

When An Chen gets back later, I'll have to hear carefully what expression that pretty boy made back then. It'll definitely be interesting.

He picked up his wine bowl, about to take another sip, when he exclaimed, "Ah!"

A sharp, piercing scream came from outside the courtyard wall, breaking the silence of the evening.

Zhong Ji frowned, his hand pausing in mid-air. The wine bowl stopped at his lips, the wine swirling inside, spilling a few drops onto his thick beard.

Another exclamation rang out, followed by a flurry of footsteps. Someone was shouting something, which could be heard clearly. The footsteps were chaotic and hurried, like a group of people running around like headless flies, mixed with the clanging of weapons.

He put down his wine bowl, stood up, and his face, hidden beneath his thick beard, darkened.

His face darkened quickly; he had been smiling just moments before, but in an instant, it turned so gloomy it looked like it was about to drip water.

"What happened?"

No one answered.

The footsteps grew closer and more chaotic, mixed with shouts, screams, and the clash of weapons.

The sound grew louder and closer, as if it would break down the courtyard wall.

Zhong Ji's expression changed.

He strode towards the courtyard gate, his large strides causing his robes to billow in the wind. Just as he reached the gate, a subordinate stumbled in, his face deathly pale, his lips trembling, and he stammered, "Third...Third Elder—it's...it's alright—the Garrison Command—the Garrison Command is surrounding us!"

Zhong Ji's pupils contracted.

"What?"

He shoved the man aside and rushed out of the courtyard.

Outside the door, flames soared into the sky.

Dozens of torches illuminated the entire encampment brightly, and a dark mass of Zhenfu Division officers, armed with knives and spears, had surrounded the encampment.

The torchlight reflected on the knife, making the blade gleam with a sharp light; it also reflected on the spear tip, making the tip look like it was studded with stars.

The light flickered on everyone's face, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, making their faces turn red and sometimes white.

Zhong Ji's expression changed drastically, and the skin under his beard trembled violently. The trembling started from the corner of his mouth, pulling upwards to his cheeks, to his temples, and to his forehead; his entire face was shaking.

Talking broke?

may!

With the alliance leader personally in charge, the vice leader accompanying him, and more than a dozen experts by his side, even if that pretty boy had three heads and six arms, he wouldn't dare to challenge them. His gaze swept over the constables of the Zhenfu Division, and he suddenly stopped.

wrong.

The number of people is equal.

This group numbered forty or fifty, almost the majority of the Zhenfu Division's forces.

At this moment, Zhong Ji was deeply shaken, and a terrible thought surged into his mind. That thought was like a bucket of ice water, poured over him from head to toe, leaving him feeling cold all over.

They're going to make it a "season"!

A voice, full of energy, came from behind the crowd.

The crowd parted, and Su Bai strode out, followed by several True Qi Realm experts.

His gaze, sharp as lightning, landed on Zhong Ji's face, and he spoke slowly and deliberately: "Jin Tangjing and Gong Chen, plotting rebellion, have been executed on the spot. The ringleaders have been killed; the rest will be interrogated. Zhong Ji, will you surrender or not?"

Chung Chi-ju was struck by lightning and froze on the spot.

The alliance leader is dead?

The vice leader is dead too?

How is that possible?!

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found his throat too dry to make a sound.

His throat felt like it was blocked by something; his tongue swirled in his mouth, but he couldn't squeeze out a single word.

Su Bai didn't say anything more, and Xi Shi looked at him coldly.

That gaze was cold, as cold as the wind in December, brushing against Zhong Ji's face and making his skin tingle.

Behind him, the constables of the Zhenfu Division stepped forward in unison, swords and spears raised, their murderous aura soaring to the sky.

The steps were perfectly synchronized, and the boots landed with a muffled "thump," shaking the ground.

Zhong Ji's mind raced.

The talks broke down.

It's really collapsed.

This pretty boy—

He recalled his earlier imagination, the leisurely wait, and that sneer, and suddenly felt that Wu Dan was ironic.

Those images flashed through his mind like knives, cutting into his heart one by one.

This pretty boy, Ren, didn't suffer a setback; instead, he killed both the alliance leader and the vice-leader.

How dare he?!

How dare he?!