Chapter 8 : Chapter 8
Chapter 8: If You Like It, Then Feel It With Your Own Body
“There’s no need for this, old sir.”
Cheng Yu bent down, about to help the old man up from where he was kneeling and begging for mercy.
But the moment the old man saw him reach out, he became even more frightened. He shrank back, lowering his head further.
The common people passing by all around them saw the elderly man prostrating himself and kowtowing, yet not a single one dared come forward to say a word.
They were unwilling even to spare him an extra glance, hurrying away as though afraid of getting dragged into trouble.
Every last one of them feared armed martial artists to the extreme.
Am I really that frightening to them?
Cheng Yu frowned.
What kind of things had they usually gone through for them to react so strongly?
So this was the “Jianghu chivalry” Cheng Zhenjiang talked about? A hypocritical joke.
With a cold sneer in his heart, Cheng Yu flicked his jet-black Flying Fish Uniform and took out a wooden token, tossing it down in front of the white-bearded old man.
“I am the newly appointed Banner Captain of the Qinghe County Jinyiwei Banner Office. If I tell you to stand, then stand. I want to ask you a few questions.”
The man was terrified of him to the core. He could not even listen to kind words, so Cheng Yu could not be bothered to explain any further.
What he had not expected was that the moment he stated his identity, the old man immediately stopped kowtowing.
Pushing apart the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, the old man widened them and studied the Flying Fish Uniform on Cheng Yu’s body.
His fear visibly lessened.
The people who had been watching nearby also lost interest one by one, no longer dodging away. They simply went about their business.
Pursing his lips, the old man lowered his head and patted the dust off his trouser leg, muttering under his breath.
“I thought you were one of the Red River Gang. So you’re only a Jinyiwei. That kowtow was wasted...”
He had only gotten halfway through dusting himself off and grumbling when he suddenly heard a sharp tearing sound through the air. A chill swept past his ear, and his back instantly turned cold.
“If I ask, then answer. Don’t waste words.”
Cheng Yu silently sheathed his Xiuchun Saber, and a single strand of the old man’s white hair drifted slowly to the ground.
The people passing by froze where they stood at the sight.
This newly arrived Jinyiwei Banner Captain was actually this ruthless. He had almost killed someone on the spot!
“M-murder...” the old man cried out.
This Jinyiwei was going to kill him just like that?!
“Hm?” Cheng Yu let out a cold snort.
The old man trembled all over and forcibly swallowed both his terror and his scream.
He only felt a sudden warmth spreading below his waist, but he dared not make a sound, afraid of provoking Cheng Yu.
“My lord, this humble commoner will tell you everything he knows!”
[The host has intimidated one who disrespected the Jinyiwei and changed his attitude. Reward: Internal Energy!]
Feeling the pure Internal Energy forming within his body, Cheng Yu shook his head inwardly.
Too little.
If it were not for the trouble of dealing with someone so difficult to question, he could not have been bothered to throw his weight around before an ordinary old man.
“Who is running Qinghe County now? What is this Red River Gang? And why did your attitude change like that the moment you learned I was Jinyiwei?”
Faced with those several questions, the old man hurriedly answered each one in detail, terrified that Cheng Yu might be displeased and cut him down with a single stroke.
Before long, Cheng Yu had gotten answers to all the questions in his mind, and he let the old man leave.
He cast an indifferent glance at the passersby who were doing their best to avoid him. When that look frightened them into stumbling back again and again, he turned and headed toward the Qinghe County Jinyiwei Banner Office.
The Qinghe County Banner Office stood in the center of the city, easy enough to find by following the main road.
After showing his token and entering, what he saw inside struck Cheng Yu as strange.
Qinghe County was clearly located in the wealthy lands of Jiangnan, yet the Jinyiwei Banner Office under the Emperor’s command looked old, dilapidated, and half-ruined.
Many doors were shut tight, never opened, and spiderwebs covered every corner.
Even the martial training ground and the other facilities had long since been abandoned.
Aside from the person who had received him at the entrance, there were scarcely any other Jinyiwei in sight within the Banner Office.
When he finally did encounter a few, they all looked listless and dispirited.
Their heads were lowered, without even the slightest bearing a martial artist ought to possess.
One of them had Internal Energy so close to reaching the threshold of an official rank, in other words, almost at the level of a Banner Captain.
Yet he stood in a slovenly, spiritless manner, looking even worse than an ordinary unranked martial artist.
Cheng Yu was puzzled. Jiangnan was prosperous and much closer to the Great Qian Capital. So why was its Jinyiwei Banner Office in even worse shape than those in the North?
No wonder people were less afraid once they learned I was Jinyiwei. So this is what the Jinyiwei here are like.
Shaking his head, Cheng Yu found the main hall.
After stating his identity, he was taken to see a middle-aged man in a Flying Fish Uniform who carried himself with a faint air of authority.
Wu Lenggang, General Banner Captain of the Qinghe County Jinyiwei Guard Office, a Second Rank martial artist.
“Banner Captain Cheng has entered the martial ranks and been promoted to Banner Captain at such a young age. You are quite promising indeed.”
Wu Lenggang’s tone was neither warm nor distant. Cheng Yu’s arrival did not seem to stir much reaction in him.
Cheng Yu cupped his hands and nodded.
“I am new to this place and unfamiliar with everything here. I still have much to learn, so I will have to trouble General Banner Captain Wu to guide me in the future.”
“Good.” Seeing that Cheng Yu was young but not overly arrogant, and that he had taken the initiative to express his willingness to learn, Wu Lenggang’s attitude improved somewhat.
“Banner Captain Cheng has traveled a long way to get here. As your host, I should naturally take you to a restaurant and hold a welcoming feast for you.”
Once Cheng Yu accepted the feast, certain dealings and arrangements would be easier to discuss.
“Many thanks for General Banner Captain Wu’s kindness, but since I’ve only just arrived, I’d rather first understand the work of our Banner Office. As for a welcoming feast, let’s leave it at that.”
Cheng Yu refused at once. He had come here to do his job. He was waiting to raid households and seize property.
Trading empty pleasantries back and forth would only waste time.
The moment he said that, Wu Lenggang’s expression cooled slightly. His invitation had been rejected, and the face he had offered had been thrown to the ground.
“Banner Captain Cheng does not understand.” Wu Lenggang rose to his feet and shook his head.
“The affairs of Jiangnan are not like those in the North, where you came from. In a small place like Qinghe County, the various powers and entanglements are exceedingly complicated. Pull one small thread, and you may drag out an entire tree. If you lower your head and rush in blindly, you will truly find yourself unable to take a single step forward.”
The threat in his words was no longer concealed.
If someone dared reject Wu Lenggang’s goodwill and refuse to obey, then nothing would get done here.
“There’s no need. No matter how tangled the threads are, they can still be sorted out. I’m a man of action. I prefer to start by doing.”
Cheng Yu shook his head, unwilling to pay any heed to the man’s veiled threat.
“You!”
Wu Lenggang slapped the table in anger, knocking over the teacup sitting on it.
“I thought you were sensible, but it turns out you’re hopelessly stubborn. I’ve seen plenty of people like you. At the start, every one of them thought himself extraordinary. In the end, none of them met a good end!”
“Since you want to work so badly, then for the next few nights, take some men and go patrol the streets at night!”
“And what are those clothes you’re wearing? The Flying Fish Uniform is the face of the Jinyiwei. Where did you have it altered into something so gaudy and vulgar? You’ll only disgrace us when you go outside!”
With that, he clasped his hands behind his back and prepared to leave.
Cheng Yu let out a cold laugh, feeling a trace of emotion in his heart.
Jiangnan really was different from the North. Even a mere General Banner Captain had learned how to make life miserable for his subordinates.
Everything Wu Lenggang had just done was the same old routine his vicious superior from his previous life had used.
Always assigning the work that was hardest to handle, then making petty comments about things unrelated to the job.
Back when he had been nothing but a beast of burden, he might have felt anxious and helpless over this sort of thing.
Now, however, things were very different.
At that moment, a panicked voice suddenly rang out from outside.
“G-General Banner Captain, that Second Master Sha from the Red River Gang has come again! He’s making a racket in our Banner Office again...”
The moment Wu Lenggang, who had his back turned, heard this, he hurriedly turned around and strode outside, his face tight with angry tension.
“Why has he come again? Didn’t we already let him have his fill last time? Why does he keep coming here to fleece us? What a beast!”
After grinding out several curses through clenched teeth, Wu Lenggang forcibly suppressed his fury.
“What does he want this time?”
The Jinyiwei Battalion Commander who had come to report kept his head lowered, speaking in a cowed and timid voice.
“He says that today he wants to play at being a general and go capture young girls, and he wants our men to go out with him and act as his soldiers...”
“That worthless piece of trash wants to play general? The Red River Gang has so many men of its own, so why don’t they play with him? Why does he have to come here and torment us?”
Wu Lenggang gnashed his teeth.
“Hah. Who can blame him for having a good life and an even better elder brother? Find a few quick-witted ones and send them to play along with him.”
“Yes!”
The man immediately accepted the order and hurried away.
Standing to the side, Cheng Yu’s brow drew tightly together.
How had the mighty Jinyiwei ended up doing childish things like accompanying someone in a game for children?
No wonder other people looked down on them. They had thrown away their own dignity.
Just then, Wu Lenggang suddenly noticed Cheng Yu’s frown, and an idea flashed through his mind.
“You go too. Didn’t you want work? Now I’m giving you an important matter for our Guard Office to handle. It’s the younger brother of the Red River Gang’s leader. Serve him well, and I’ll celebrate your success afterward.”
When he saw that Cheng Yu did not agree immediately, he sneered.
“Or are you planning to disobey an order from your superior?”
This boy from the North was arrogant and ignorant of the world. It was the perfect chance to let him properly experience the sinister nature of the Jianghu.
The younger brother of the Red River Gang’s leader?
Cheng Yu recalled what he had heard.
According to that old man, who had been frightened so badly he wet himself, the Red River Gang was the greatest power in Qinghe County. It had many skilled fighters under its command and ruled over countless common people through oppression.
And among them all, the most frightening and incorrigible of the lot was Sha He, the younger brother of Sha Yue, the Red River Gang leader. He behaved like a vicious and spoiled child.
If he liked something, he seized it. If he disliked something, he smashed it. And at the slightest displeasure, he would burn, kill, plunder, and commit every evil imaginable, running completely lawless throughout Qinghe County.
And yet, because his elder brother was a Third Rank expert, no one could do a thing to him.
Wu Lenggang’s motives in sending him along could not have been more obvious.
Cheng Yu gave Wu Lenggang a calm glance, then nodded.
“I will certainly ‘entertain’ your distinguished guest properly.”
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving behind only Wu Lenggang’s contemptuous sneer.
Outside the Guard Office, an ugly man dressed in fine robes, with a body like an upright pig, was stomping about in fury.
“Why are there only a bunch of common soldiers here? How am I supposed to lead troops and capture little girls without a deputy general? It won’t look impressive at all!”
A group of cowering Jinyiwei Strongman Guards stood nearby, trembling and not daring to raise their heads.
You never said that before...
Beside Sha He, a man in black said coldly, “Didn’t you hear that our Second Master Sha wants a deputy general? Go tell your General Banner Captain to send another man over. Someone with a bit of strength. It would be best if it were a Banner Captain.”
“Th-this...”
None of the Strongman Guards dared move. Whoever carried that message, if it really brought over a Banner Captain, would offend the man thoroughly.
Since none of them moved, Sha He became even angrier.
Then suddenly, he saw something and burst into laughter.
“Good, good, good! He’s the perfect one to be my deputy general!”
Some of the Jinyiwei recognized the newcomer as Banner Captain Cheng, who had just arrived to report for duty, and inwardly relaxed. At least now they would not be the ones offending anyone.
This Banner Captain Cheng really did not know the height of heaven or the depth of earth. He had already slighted General Banner Captain Wu, and now, right after arriving, he was about to be humiliated by this fat pig.
“You, come here! Hold my horse and come lead troops with me! Let all of Qinghe see the majesty of this general!”
At the same time, the old man standing beside Sha He released his Internal Energy as a show of pressure, revealing cultivation at the level of a newly advanced Second Rank.
“Didn’t you hear my second master calling you?”
Cheng Yu walked over and silently looked up at Sha He without saying a word.
At that moment, Sha He’s tiny bean-like eyes suddenly lit up when they landed on Cheng Yu’s exquisite Hundred-Forged Xiuchun Saber.
“What a beautiful saber. If I had it, all the pretty little ladies on the road would surely fall for me. And if they didn’t obey, it would be perfect for dealing with them too. Let me have a look!”
The old man at his side also widened his eyes, signaling for Cheng Yu to hand the saber over.
“It’s a good thing that you like it.” Cheng Yu nodded faintly and reached for the Hundred-Forged Xiuchun Saber.
Sha He was instantly overjoyed. He was about to get a very beautiful saber!
But in the very next moment, a flash of cold light swept across his neck, and a pig’s head tumbled to the ground.
“If you like it, then feel it with your own body!”