Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu
Shi Changfeng was outside the city just now. He only rushed over after he spotted Shen Teng’s fire arrow and identified that it was from a martial arts academy student.
Though Shi Changfeng was quick, it still took him more than ten minutes to get here. By then, everything had already culminated to the final moment.
“Well, Teacher Shi…” Yan Liqiang reorganized his language and narrated a complete report to him. He started with how he, Shen Teng, and Shi Dafeng went to have a meal together to how he recognized the Shatu man driving the horse carriage, and then how the three of them tailed the man all the way here before taking him down in addition to the series of events that happened from that point on.
Despite Shi Changfeng’s broad knowledge and extensive observation, he was also very surprised when he heard Yan Liqiang’s account. However, he also managed to understand some critical points in just the blink of an eye.
When he saw that no one was paying attention to them, he pulled Yan Liqiang and the other two to the side. Then he whispered to them with a grave expression on his face. “If anyone asks questions to any of you later, just tell them what Yan Liqiang said just now. Tell the truth as it is, do not deliberately complicate the story by all means. Don’t even mention that you know those Wanderers. Aside from that Shatu man, all of you were clueless and did not participate in anything. All of you noticed was something fishy going on in that boutique and thought King Cobra might hiding here, and therefore you released the warning signal to request for help. Everything that happened after that did not involve you. Understand…?”
Yan Liqiang and the other two exchanged a single glance with each other before they all nodded.
Now that this incident involved the Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng, the three of them naturally understood the seriousness of the situation.
After Shi Changfeng finished briefing Yan Liqiang and the others, he then slightly frowned at the angry crowd. “The person who got surrounded by those people is…”
“None other than the young lord of the Prefectural Governor, Ye Xiao…” Shen Teng replied.
When Shi Changfeng heard that it was Ye Xiao who was surrounded by the crowd that was as violent as the wind and a rainstorm, his frown disappeared. He shook his head. He just stood beside Yan Liqiang and the rest and continued to watch…
A few minutes later, a greater commotion could be heard at the end of the street. The ground shook as though a huge cavalry was charging towards the location.
Yan Liqiang turned his head around and discovered that instead of Ye Tiancheng, it was the Military Governor of Pingxi Prefecture, Huangfu Qianqi, who had arrived. He was riding on a rhinodrake steed, fully dressed in armor. He took the lead and charged forward with the most elite cavalry in Pingxi Prefecture behind him.
Due to the overtly huge commotion here, Huangfu Qianqi was also alarmed since he guarded the city and he personally brought no less than an entire cavalry with him.
‘Strange. Ye Tiancheng is still not here… Could it be that Ye guy is actually not in Pingxi City?’— A thought emerged in Yan Liqiang’s mind. If it really was true, then this would truly become a laughable matter. If Ye Tiancheng didn’t appear tonight, then no one would even be able to see his final act.
“The Military Governor has arrived!!” Someone shouted among the crowd.
The surging crowd around Ye Xiao instantly dispersed with a loud rumble, suddenly clearing up an empty space in the middle of the main street, leaving only one person lying there on the ground motionlessly.
The only underpants Ye Xiao, who was lying on the floor, was wearing had already fallen onto the ground. He was completely naked right now as he laid on the ground like a dead dog. Blood was leaking out from his eyes, ears, mouth and nose. His entire head had already sunk in because his skull was crushed. Both his hands and arms were twisted in weird angles because they were already broken. Bruises decorated his body — it was no longer possible to find even a patch of uninjured skin from his head to his toe. His penis and the balls in his crotch had already been crushed during the chaos just now, reduced to nothing but mangled flesh. The most revolting part was that his feces had been beaten out of him through his rear end. He was totally incontinent. The sickening stench hung in the winds of the night.
Ye Xiao couldn’t be more dead right now. Not even God could resurrect him. The way he died was less than a stray dog; he died in a disgraceful and revolting manner.
Seeing Ye Xiao dead like this, Yan Liqiang finally felt relieved. Of course, even if a trash like Ye Xiao died a hundred times, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t show an ounce of sympathy.
The moment Huangfu Qianqi’s troops and horses arrived, their austere aura instantly silenced the previously agitated street. Only the crackling sounds of the burning torches could be heard. Many people’s hearts were thumping nervously, especially the commoners who had participated in ganging up and beating Ye Xiao up just now. All of them were raging with fury earlier, but now that they saw that the troops and horses of the city had arrived, they couldn’t help but feel somewhat guilty.
Commandant Su and the few officers who had arrived immediately went over and reported the incident that had transpired here to Huangfu Qianqi.
After listening to the reports of the few officers, Huangfu Qianqi looked at the group of calm Wanderers who seemed to be waiting for something good to happen and the thousands of commoners who were watching him attentively from the sides of the street before his gaze landed on Ye Xiao who was lying right in the middle of the main street. One of the officers immediately ran over there from the side. He checked Ye Xiao’s body for a short while before he shook his head at Huangfu Qianqi.
Huangfu Qianqi waved his hand. The officer then took off the cape he was wearing and covered Ye Xiao’s corpse with it.
Huangfu Qianqi, who was riding on his horse, shut his eyes. After a few seconds, he reopened them. His eyes shone decisively before he issued two orders.
“Irrelevant parties should quickly disperse. Do not obstruct the traffic flow of this main street and cause any more trouble…”
“Inform the Law Enforcement Office personnel to come and take statements…”
After issuing the two orders, Huangfu Qianqi turned his horse around and immediately left with his troops… He left just like that…
Upon seeing Huangfu Qianqi leave with his troops, the crowd of more than a thousand onlookers was silent for a moment before they started cheering.
Yan Liqiang also breathed out a sigh of relief. He knew that Huangfu Qianqi had made the right decision.
Putting aside Huangfu Qianqi who was known for his unblemished reputation and how he treasured his reputation, who would possibly still dare to lick the Prefectural Governor’s boots over his young lord who had been beaten to his death by the angry commoners in city for the irrefutable proof of his heinous crime and thus become enemies with the commoners in city and this huge group of Wanderers? If he really stirred up a civil revolt and the situation got out of hand, the first person the Prefectural Governor would decapitate would probably be the person who started this mess.
After all, in this world, there weren’t many brainless people, let alone military officers.
For his own son to cause such a huge incident in the city which caused widespread indignation and discontent among people, the days Ye Tiancheng had left as Pingxi Prefectural Governor were probably numbered too…
…
With Shi Changfeng’s company, Yan Liqiang and the other two were invited to the Law Enforcement Office where their statements in regards to tonight’s incident were taken separately. Four or five hours later, they were able to finally leave the Law Enforcement Office.
Yan Liqiang and the other two had said nothing but the truth. Naturally, the three statements matched each other without any issues, and no one could really find any faults with them — the three students from the martial arts academy were dining at Du Clan’s Kuai in Fine Willow Alley. One of the students’ eyesight and memory was great enough to actually recognize a coachman who passed by Fine Willow Alley on a horse carriage in disguise as the one he had met two months ago when he entered the city. The Shatu man was moving suspiciously so three of them tailed him all the way from Fine Willow Alley to a boutique. After subduing the coachman, they discovered that some Wanderers had barged into the courtyard and heard battle noises, so they released a signal — was there a problem with this?
Not only were there no issues with the three statements that they had provided, anyone who read them would sing praises for Yan Liqiang and the other two for being vigilant and decisive. As expected of good students from the martial arts academy.
For the sake of verifying the statements that Yan Liqiang and the other two had given, the Law Enforcement Office even called the owner and family of Du Clan’s Kuai in Fine Willow Alley to come in. They inquired them if Yan Liqiang and the other two had indeed dined in his shop last night. The answer was of course, affirmative.
…
By the time Yan Liqiang and the other two came out from the Law Enforcement Office, it was already past one o’clock in the morning.
“Try to keep this incident low for now. Go back to doing what you should be doing…” Shi Changfeng reminded the three of them when he left the Law Enforcement Office with them together.
With Shi Changfeng present and knowing his status as an academy tutor at the martial arts academy, the few officers in the Law Enforcement didn’t deliberately make things difficult for Yan Liqiang and the others. They asked them some standard questions and took their statements under Shi Changfeng’s supervision. After settling all that without any issues, the three of them were asked to sign their names on the statements they had provided before they wrapped things up.
“Thank you, Teacher Shi…”
“No need to thank me. What the three of you did today was completely right. You all are brave and astute. I am proud of you. As expected of the students from our martial arts academy. Especially you, Yan Liqiang!” Shi Changfeng’s gaze fell on Yan Liqiang. It was filled with admiration as though he had just gotten to know Yan Liqiang all over again. “I didn’t expect you to be so observant and sharp-eyed enough to be able to immediately see through that Shatu man’s disguise. Impressive, really impressive…”
Yan Liqiang smiled shyly and scratched his head. “You’re flattering me, Teacher Shi. I was just really annoyed by those Shatu people the day I entered the city. This city is ours, it belongs to the Chinese. Even we have to abide the laws and dismount from our steeds when we enter the city. Why are these Shatu people entitled to ostentatiously enter the city on their steeds? Although preferential treatment is given to Shatu people, this is not the way to do it. This is simply letting them abuse their treatment over our heads. Not only that, we also have to swallow our anger and defend their dignity all the time as though they are our grandfathers while we are their grandchildren. This doesn’t make sense at all. When that Shatu man rode past me that day on his rhinodrake steed, he even gave us a disdainful look. I could recognize him even if he were reduced to ashes…”
“You are right, Liqiang. The Shatu people in Pingxi City are indeed too arrogant. Over these few months ever since I arrived in Pingxi City, I’ve seen Shatu people bully the Chinese a few times and the Law Enforcement Office actually turns a blind eye to them…” Shi Dafeng chimed in from the side, showing his indignation.
“The ‘Writ of Grace’ has already become totally different over these few years…” Shen Teng also sighed.
“Powerless anger is meaningless. Refrain yourselves from speaking such words from now on. All of you will have the rights to talk about things like this when you progress into a Martial Warrior in the future or when you attain higher realms…” Shi Changfeng told the three of them profoundly.
Yan Liqiang and the other two nodded.
Since it was already past curfew in the city and the sky was already dark, Shi Changfeng figured it might be inconvenient for the three of them to return at this hour. So he decided he might as well rent four rooms at an inn which was not too far from the Law Enforcement Office and let the three of them rest for the night…
Tonight, Yan Liqiang was finally able to sleep soundly on the bed at the inn…
