Imperial Capital Yan City, Misty Rain Pavilion:
Did one need a reason to kill?
Of course, a reason was needed. Even the humblest ant was alive and deserved respect. What more a human?
Although Xiao Chen was decisive in killing, he never killed the innocent. He would often give only a small punishment as a deterrent, never killing unless necessary.
However, some people had to be killed at all costs.
Monarch Yu Wang Ling was one such person. He was like a rabid dog. While he was worse than trash, he still had some influence. Xiao Chen did not fear being openly or covertly attacked. What Xiao Chen feared was that Monarch Yu would attack the people with him in a craze when he realized that he could not touch Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen did not fear a gentleman; he feared a knave.
Knaves were unscrupulous. They had no principles and did not follow the rules. One could not guess when they would go crazy.
Hence, since Xiao Chen remembered Monarch Yu, there was no need for him to leave Monarch Yu alive.
What if one day, this rabid dog injured and humiliated the people beside Xiao Chen? Xiao Chen could not afford to pay such a price.
Thus, Xiao Chen had used the Fiendish Saber inheritance’s second move, Water Droplet Destroying the Firmament, ending Monarch Yu’s life the instant he erupted.
The manservant had already been frightened silly in the private room. He remained stunned, unable to say a single word.
Senior Feng appeared sullen, showing fear as he faced Xiao Chen. The other party’s strength felt horrifying, leaving a shadow in his heart.
Senior Feng wanted to leave but did not dare to, as Xiao Chen had not said anything yet.
The Divine Sword Pavilion disciples that accompanied Monarch Yu appeared in a daze, unable to react.
“Whoosh! Whoosh!”
At the crucial moment, two figures suddenly appeared in the private room. These figures had the aura of a 3-Vein Sovereign Emperor. These were the experts of the Misty Rain Pavilion.
Usually, when ignorant people caused trouble in the Misty Rain Pavilion, they would end up suffering when seeing these two, no matter how great their backgrounds were.
These two rarely appeared. However, people called them the Misty Rain Twin Demons in secret.
Senior Feng recognized these two, so he immediately released his bated breath. He said, “Seniors, my clan’s young master died a miserable death in the Misty Rain Pavilion. No matter what, please account for it.”
As Senior Feng spoke, he cast his gaze on Xiao Chen. Clearly, he wanted the Misty Rain Twin Demons to take down Xiao Chen.
However, the Misty Rain Twin Demons ignored Senior Feng. They looked at Xiao Chen, and each made a pronouncement.
“Monarch Yu Wang Ling caused trouble in the Misty Rain Pavilion, wanting to attack and kill the honored guest of the Misty Rain Pavilion. In the end, he overestimated himself and died miserably at the hands of a Sovereign Emperor.”
“Duke Yun failed in teaching his son, causing heavy losses to my Misty Rain Pavilion. The Misty Rain Pavilion will pursue this matter to the end and report it to the Royal Court!”
The two’s voices were not loud. However, the pronouncements rang out throughout the Misty Rain Pavilion. Everyone heard every word clearly, not missing a single one.
Senior Feng immediately felt stupefied. Such a result was entirely beyond his expectations. This person killed a Royal Clan disciple. The Misty Rain Pavilion should have taken this person down and offered compensation and apologies to Duke Yun.
How did things turn out like this?
“Are you all lawless?! The one he killed is Monarch Yu, also a true inheritor disciple of our Divine Sword Pavilion. Are you belittling our Divine Sword Pavilion?!”
“Misty Rain Pavilion, I think you no longer want to continue operating in the capital.”
The group of Divine Sword Pavilion disciples startled awake. They felt upset and unwilling to submit.
“Scram!”
“Bang!”
No one saw how the Misty Rain Twin Demons attacked, but they sent the clamoring Divine Sword Pavilion disciples flying out of the room. Then, the Misty Rain Pavilion’s guards each carried one out of the Misty Rain Pavilion.
The Misty Rain Twin Demons shifted their focus to Senior Feng. Senior Feng felt a chill, then said sullenly, “I understand. I’ll go after collecting the remains of my young master.”
However, when Senior Feng looked around the private room, he saw that Monarch Yu had not left behind a corpse. There was nothing much to collect.
Hence, he just picked up a jade pendant and quickly left without looking back.
“Honored guests, there is no need to panic. A small situation occurred in my Misty Rain Pavilion today, startling everyone. The matter is already resolved. To compensate everyone, the Misty Rain Pavilion will not collect money for wine today. Everyone, please drink to your heart’s content. Starting from today, we will not be billing anyone for three days. The Misty Rain Pavilion will entertain everyone for free. The twelve headliners will also perform together. I hope everyone will forgive us.”
Just at this moment, a person spoke softly while leaning against the railing of the highest floor of the Misty Rain Pavilion. The melodious voice sounded very pleasing, like the many birds of the forest. Even more moving was the sincerity in the apology—free wine and no bills for three days. Furthermore, the twelve headliners would perform together.
Cheers greeted this person’s announcement. Flute, pipa, and zither music rang out simultaneously as the twelve headliners appeared on the dance stage one after another.
The atmosphere of the Misty Rain Pavilion suddenly changed, instantly reaching a climax.
In the blink of an eye, the headliners coming out attracted the attention of honored guests, who immersed themselves in the wondrous music anew.
The earlier interruption unexpectedly resulted in this performance, making the honored guests even more excited.
Furthermore, drinks were free. With the free drinks, the Misty Rain Pavilion would inevitably plunge into revelry today.
Only a few people understood what had happened. The pleasure quarters in the imperial capital had not seen blood for centuries.
The Misty Rain Pavilion had to have some reason for protecting this person.
However, Monarch Yu was still a Royal Clan disciple no matter what. The Misty Rain Pavilion could not hide the fact that he had died on its premises. Word of this matter would spread throughout the capital in less than a day.
At that time, there would be another good show to watch.
Some people left quietly to inform the factions behind them about this situation.
Zhang Ping nervously tried to clean the floor in the private room. He trembled as he looked at the bloodstains.
A heaven-defying Sovereign Personage had suddenly died. How strong was that white-clad person?
Fortunately, that white-clad person did not seem to care about Zhang Ping slighting them earlier.
“This young master, this way, please. Our Pavilion Master would like to meet you,” the Misty Rain Twin Demons, two aloof 3-Vein Sovereign Emperors, said respectfully to Xiao Chen.
Such an attitude shocked the manservant Zhang Ping. My goodness. To think that two major characters of the Misty Rain Pavilion, who rarely appear, show such respect to this white-clad person.
Xiao Chen replied calmly, “Tell her to come and meet me here.”
What a joke. Xiao Chen was a Rank 6 envoy inspector. He could be considered the superior of the Pavilion Master here.
Although he did not like using his status to suppress others, propriety had to be followed sometimes.
Since when could a subordinate summon their superior over?
The Misty Rain Pavilion’s two old men immediately exchanged glances, a trace of anger furrowing their brows.
“We will need to consult our Pavilion Master first,” the two old men said after exchanging glances.
“Hehe! There is no need to seek further instructions. Since the envoy inspector calls, this little lady does not dare to disobey.”
Tinkling laughter immediately came from outside. A woman wearing a red cheongsam, which revealed her long, slender, and beautiful legs, walked in. Her exquisite facial features appeared perfectly sculpted, not showing any flaws.
[TL Note: A cheongsam is a traditional Chinese dress that is tight-fitting and typically has a long slit on one side. Here is a link to a sleeveless version on Wikipedia: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Red_qipao.jpg/1280px-Red_qipao.jpg. It can have sleeves as well.]
After this person came in, ancient paintings descended around the private room, forming an independent world isolated from the outside.
The manservant Zhang Ping fainted silently.
The Misty Rain Twin Demons were shocked. They quickly performed cupped-fist salutes and bowed. “These subordinates greet the envoy inspector. Sorry for the offense earlier.”
“It’s fine,” Xiao Chen said indifferently. Then, he took out the certificate of appointment that Mu Zifeng had given him. He gently pushed it forward, and it drifted into the hands of that lady wearing a cheongsam.
The lady only guessed Xiao Chen’s identity earlier. The certificate of appointment verified it.
“This little lady, Su Ye, welcomes the envoy inspector to the Misty Rain Pavilion. Previously, I did not know of the envoy inspector’s identity. I apologize for the late reception and offense.”
The lady returned the certificate of appointment to Xiao Chen. Then, she continued softly, “Before you arrived, I was the one carrying out the duties of the envoy inspector. It looks like I will have more leisure time from today on.”
Xiao Chen said indifferently, “There is no need to change anything. Just continue with what you were doing. If there are any problems that you cannot solve, you can tell me about them. When it is time to work hard, we have to work hard. This is Mo Chen, Master Ku Yun’s disciple. She will help you with the work.”
Mo Chen smiled faintly and stood up. “Greetings, Elder Sister Su Ye. Do take care of me from today on.”
Master Ku Yun’s disciple?
A strange look flashed in Su Ye’s eyes. Naturally, she knew about Master Ku Yun.
Master Ku Yun was one of the best blacksmiths in the Martial Epoch. At the same time, he was the oldest core Doyen of the Heavenly Alliance.
Su Ye was more interested in the status of Master Ku Yun. This meant that the white-clad youth before her had the support of two core Doyens.
Initially, she thought that the headquarters sent a youth less than one hundred years old just to go through the motions. She thought that the headquarters had already given up on the Yanwu Dynasty and merely sought to maintain the status quo.
It looked like the situation was somewhat different from what she thought.
“These are my companions. They are all outstanding talents who became Sovereign Emperors before the age of one hundred. If you run into any trouble, you can get them to help. There is no need to stand on ceremony.”
After introducing Mo Chen, Xiao Chen pointed to Wu Meng and the others, introducing them one by one.
Su Ye’s expression did not change, her smile steady. However, she grew increasingly graver in her heart.
Has the headquarters actually decided to expand in the Yanwu Dynasty?
“Lord Xiao, how should we deal with today’s matter? Duke Yun will definitely pursue this. When that happens, it will be hard for the Misty Rain Pavilion to avoid pressure.” Su Ye suddenly changed the topic after discussing handing over the Misty Rain Pavilion, trying to test Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen glanced at Su Ye and smiled faintly. “I am a Sovereign Emperor. First, he humiliated me. Then, he wanted to kill me. He deserved death. If you cannot solve such a minor matter, you won’t be the Pavilion Master of the Misty Rain Pavilion, right?”
Su Ye wanted to use today’s matter to pressure Xiao Chen, to see how he would handle this when he had just arrived in the capital.
Who knew, Xiao Chen was even more direct, telling her not to bring up these minor matters and dismissing her capabilities.
The subtext was that if she could not handle such a minor matter, there was no need for her to continue being the Pavilion Master.
These words sounded simple but actually concealed a threat. If Su Ye did not handle the matter well, she would be looked down on. She might even end up a scapegoat.
Su Ye replied softly, “Of course. Although this matter is tricky to deal with, this subordinate will manage.”
Naturally, the Royal Clan disciples were highly respected. However, it had not gotten to the point where they could kill anyone they wanted. Furthermore, Wang Ling was just a monarch from a branch family.
However, Xiao Chen’s attitude and the threat hidden in his words made Su Ye somewhat wary.
This white-clad youth was not as simple as she initially thought.
“If there is nothing else, this subordinate will leave first,” Su Ye said softly.
“Wait a moment.”
Su Ye stopped and looked at Xiao Chen, puzzled.
Xiao Chen entered deep thought. “You are called Su Ye, right? I recall that there is a Noble Clan skilled with swords in the Yanwu Dynasty. Right now, the clan’s patriarch, Su Hanshan, is known as the strongest expert of the Sword Dao, titled the Sword God.”
Su Ye raised her eyebrows as she asked sullenly, “What’s wrong? Envoy Inspector, are you trying to investigate me? Did Lord Mu Zifeng not tell you that some things cannot be investigated?”
Indeed, there is a connection. I only sensed a strong sword intent hiding in her and asked in passing. Unexpectedly, I seem to have touched the other party’s bottom line.
Xiao Chen remained calm as he said indifferently, “It’s not important. You may leave first. Remember to call the people in charge of the top ten merchant associations under us to meet me tomorrow. If anyone does not come, I will go and meet them alone.”
“I feel that rushing might not be a good thing for many matters. The envoy inspector just arrived in the imperial capital. There are many lovely sceneries to check out, like the Yan River outside the city. It is vast and deep; you should observe it carefully,” Su Ye said calmly and unhurriedly.
This woman is not telling me to check out the Yan River. She is trying to warn me to check out how deep the waters are at the capital and not wade blindly into deep water.
Xiao Chen smiled and said, “I will check it out when I have time. If I accidentally fall in, I hope Pavilion Master Su will help pull me out.”
Su Ye’s expression warmed when she heard this. She smiled and said, “Milord is joking. I will take my leave first.”
