Ch. 16
Chapter 16: Lord Cheng Has Done Nothing Wrong!
“So my second brother holds such a high position here.”
Cheng Si secretly nodded to herself.
As expected of her second brother. He had built up prestige so quickly.
She had just been about to ask around and then head into the city to find Cheng Yu when a burst of urgent hoofbeats suddenly rang out behind her.
“Move! Move! Out of the way!”
Five riders lashed their whips and drove the pedestrians aside as they charged straight into the city.
At a glance, they were all Jinyiwei wearing Flying Fish Uniforms, and the man leading them gave off the aura of a Third Rank expert.
At the sight, Cheng Yue folded her arms and revealed an unhappy expression.
“Are all of his subordinates this overbearing and unreasonable, bullying the common people?”
“Sis, how can you think that? That leader isn’t weak. He’s at least in the late Second Rank. How could he possibly be one of Second Brother’s men?”
Cheng Si hurriedly refuted her.
Cheng Yue’s first impression had already affected her. She now felt that any reputation for brutality had to be connected to Cheng Yu.
She had meant nothing by it, but when the people of Qinghe County heard her words, they grew even more displeased.
How dare this woman insult Lord Cheng?
“What nonsense are you talking about? If the Jinyiwei brothers under Lord Cheng ever dared do something like that, they’d better be ready to be beaten with boards!”
“Other than the Bodhisattvas themselves, there’s no one under heaven more merciful than Lord Cheng! If you keep talking like that, be careful you don’t invite retribution!”
Denounced from all sides, Cheng Yue was so humiliated that she could not say a word.
“So Second Brother really isn’t that kind of utterly vicious man.”
Cheng Si’s eyes lit up, but then she said in confusion, “But why would Jinyiwei of that level of strength come to a tiny place like this?”
In the county Jinyiwei Banner Office, the highest post was that of General Banner Captain, with Second Rank strength.
Yet judging by the townspeople’s reactions, they clearly did not recognize the mounted Jinyiwei leader who had just passed by.
“Oh no! This is bad!”
One passerby suddenly remembered something, and his expression changed drastically. “Could it be that the matter of Lord Cheng killing that old dog Wu Lenggang has come to light? Could it be that people from the prefecture have come to call him to account?”
“He killed a General Banner Captain?!”
“Second Brother is in trouble?!”
Hearing this, the two women reacted in completely different ways.
Cheng Yue, who had instinctively sought fault in Cheng Yu, belatedly realized that her own brother’s safety mattered more. She said nothing more.
“May I ask where Banner Captain Cheng is?”
Cheng Si was anxious. Her second brother was no match for the Jinyiwei leader who had just arrived!
The worried townspeople quickly answered, “After hearing from the townsfolk that mountain bandits had been blocking the roads and oppressing the farmers, Lord Cheng went out this morning to suppress the bandits!”
“Suppressing bandits?”
Cheng Si was just thinking that she had to find Cheng Yu first, before anything happened to him.
But in her anxiety, she suddenly felt her body turn cold. Her old illness flared up again.
Her vision went black, and she fainted on the spot.
“Little Sister!”
……
【The host wipes out mountain bandits and marauders, safeguards the safety of the area under the Jinyiwei’s jurisdiction, and is rewarded with Internal Energy!】
A thread of pure Internal Energy, not especially large in amount, entered his body. Cheng Yu, who had been standing at the mountain stronghold’s gate with his hands behind his back, turned around.
Behind him, his men were carrying out box after box of silver and money.
“All the bandits have been dealt with. Go see if you can find the things that were stolen from you. If you can’t, go to the county seat and claim compensation.”
“Thank you, my lord, for protecting us!”
Seeing that the bandits were all dead, the farmers hiding not far away burst into tears and dropped to their knees, kowtowing over and over.
Only after kowtowing for quite a while did they go to retrieve their belongings in deep gratitude.
As his subordinates looked at Cheng Yu’s towering figure, they felt as if they were seeing a dazzling golden light.
Banner Captain Cheng was truly a heroic man!
Suppressing bandits, returning stolen goods, eliminating evil, and bringing peace to the people!
And if the stolen goods could not be found, the victims could even go claim copper coins as compensation. Where under heaven could anyone find such a kind man?
What they did not know was that Cheng Yu was painstakingly doing all of this for the future of the Jinyiwei.
Only by steadily growing stronger and building up prestige step by step could he obtain rewards, increase his strength, and rise with the tide.
“Let’s go back.”
All the bandits in this area had already been wiped out, so Cheng Yu led his men back.
When they returned to the gates of Qinghe County, two unfamiliar Jinyiwei Battalion Commanders were waiting there.
When the two men saw Cheng Yu and his group returning with a large haul of spoils, a trace of greed appeared on their faces.
They walked up and said in a commanding tone, “You’re Cheng Yu, right? Come with us. My superior, Acting Hundred-Household Commander Li, is waiting for you inside.”
After speaking, they turned around and started walking without even waiting for Cheng Yu.
It was obvious that they were convinced that, under the pressure of an Acting Hundred-Household Commander’s title, Cheng Yu would definitely follow after them.
“So they’ve come to call me to account.”
Still seated on horseback, Cheng Yu did not move. He merely looked at the two men in silence.
“With the evidence of me killing Wu Lenggang already set in stone, the people behind the Red River Gang are probably afraid I know something, so they hurriedly sent men here.”
At the same time, the two Battalion Commanders noticed that Cheng Yu’s group had not followed them, and they barked in displeasure, “Hurry up and move! Don’t keep Lord Li waiting!”
“Heh.”
Cheng Yu gave a faint laugh and rode past the two of them into the city.
The two Battalion Commanders became even more arrogant at the sight.
“So what if a Banner Captain killed a General Banner Captain and thought he could overturn the heavens? In the end, the moment he runs into our Lord Li, he still has to obediently listen.”
“I heard they seized quite a lot of stuff when they wiped out the bandit gangs. This time, our pockets should be nice and full.”
At the thought that the spoils from the Qinghe County Jinyiwei’s bandit suppression would most likely have to be handed over, they felt secretly delighted.
They instinctively turned to look at the boxes Cheng Yu’s men had brought back.
But when they turned around, they did not see gold and silver treasures.
Instead, they saw ten figures standing behind them with grim expressions.
“What are you trying to do?!”
“Beat the sense into you two blind fools! You think you can come here and put on airs in front of Lord Cheng?!”
As the words fell, countless fists and kicks rained down on the two men.
Where did these nobodies come from? They actually dared provoke the Lord Cheng they respected. They were asking for a beating!
Inside Qinghe County, with the reward notifications from his subordinates dealing with the trash sounding in his ears, Cheng Yu arrived in front of the Banner Office.
There, he saw a cold-faced man standing at the entrance, staring sternly at him.
This was presumably the Acting Hundred-Household Commander sent from Qingjiang Prefecture.
Li Da.
“This one is Cheng Yu. Might you be Acting Hundred-Household Commander Li?”
Li Da clasped his hands behind his back and merely nodded in response.
Seeing that the other party was unwilling even to open his mouth to answer, Cheng Yu showed no displeasure. Instead, he smiled faintly.
“Since Acting Hundred-Household Commander Li has come all this way, whatever the matter is, let’s go inside the Banner Office and talk.”
“No need.”
Li Da still looked like the sort of person who kept strangers at arm’s length.
He had no intention of giving Cheng Yu even the slightest face.
A mere Banner Captain had dared defy his superior and kill a General Banner Captain. What next? Was he going to kill a Hundred-Household Commander too?
He had to give Cheng Yu a taste of his authority.
When Cheng Yu saw that the man still refused to speak properly and would not go inside either, he naturally could not be bothered to waste words on someone like this.
He walked straight past Li Da and into the Guard Office, ignoring the man’s existence altogether.
It seemed anyone could come before him now and put on a mysterious act.
If he liked to posture so much, then he could stay out there at the door and enjoy it.
Li Da had not expected Cheng Yu to leave him hanging so decisively and walk away. His previously cold expression immediately twisted into ashamed fury.
How dared a mere Banner Captain treat him, a dignified Acting Hundred-Household Commander, like this?
He turned back and shouted loudly, “Cheng Yu, do you know your crime?!”
The shout was extremely loud, pushed forward by a martial artist’s Internal Energy. Everyone on the street in front of the Jinyiwei Guard Office could hear it.
Quite a few passersby looked over, only to see an unfamiliar Jinyiwei loudly berating Cheng Yu.
“What crime would that be?”
Hearing Li Da’s shout, Cheng Yu remained completely unruffled and paused only to ask blandly.
“You know very well what you’ve done!”
Still speaking in riddles.
Cheng Yu said nothing. He shook his head and turned to leave again.
The man claimed he was guilty, but would not even say what. Only a lunatic would bother humoring someone like that.
“You!”
When Li Da saw that Cheng Yu was once again turning to leave and not taking him seriously at all, he grew even angrier.
“Stand right there! You murdered your superior Wu Lenggang, and you acted without authorization in slaughtering and confiscating the Red River Gang and other forces. Do you dare say you didn’t do those things?!”
“I did indeed do them, but so what?”
Cheng Yu looked at Li Da calmly. “There was nothing wrong in anything I did. Wu Lenggang and the Red River Gang both deserved to die. If you don’t believe me, you can ask anyone else.”
Li Da had just been about to fly into a rage when commotion suddenly rose outside the door.
“That’s right!”
“Lord Cheng has done nothing wrong!”
Hearing that Li Da had come to make an issue of Cheng Yu over the Red River Gang, the townspeople of Qinghe County gathered outside and all began speaking up for him.
“The Red River Gang brought calamity upon Qinghe County. Their crimes reached the heavens. Wu Lenggang occupied the post of General Banner Captain for nothing, and even helped evil flourish. It was a good killing!”
“The moment Lord Cheng arrived, he rescued us from the Red River Gang’s hands. He is a truly good man. Don’t think you can frame him!”
“Don’t think every government runner in the world is like your lot. Lord Cheng is different!”
Cheng Yu had wiped out the Red River Gang and had even generously shared the gang’s accumulated illicit gains. No one had failed to benefit from his favor, so naturally they stood on his side.
As for Li Da and the others, when the people were being oppressed, they never came. Now they came running over to hold someone accountable.
It sounded righteous enough.
But the townspeople merely regarded them as accomplices of the Red River Gang.
“You ignorant rabble are unbelievably foolish. Shut your mouths!”
Li Da had come with instructions from above to threaten Cheng Yu, but he had never expected to run into a situation like this.
Where had he ever seen a Jinyiwei officer who had so many common people speaking for him?
A trace of jealous fury actually rose in his heart.
He cursed loudly, “Stop trying to argue your way out of this! We will determine right and wrong, guilt and innocence ourselves. Just come with me first!”
“Do you have a Hundred-Household Commander’s token or an official order?”
Cheng Yu suddenly asked.
“No… Why are you asking that? Don’t tell me you think I forged the order!”
“Without a token or an official order, what nonsense are you spouting?”
Cheng Yu gave a disdainful laugh and looked at Li Da as though he were an idiot.
Did he really think a few empty titles would be enough to scare him?
If that were the case, then he might as well throw away the Hundred-Forged Xiuchun Saber at his waist.
“You!”
Li Da grew even more furious at Cheng Yu’s attitude.
He had seen the disdain in Cheng Yu’s eyes with perfect clarity.
How dared a mere Banner Captain behave like this!
Wherever Li Da went, he was welcomed with deference and treated like an honored guest. This Qinghe County was simply lawless!
Just because this man could kill a General Banner Captain, he had become this arrogant and conceited!
At the same time, when the townspeople outside saw Li Da left speechless by Cheng Yu’s question, they all burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! I thought he was some important figure, but it turns out he’s just someone throwing his weight around with borrowed authority! No, that’s not right—he can’t even produce the authority!”
“A clown!”
Hearing a crowd of ordinary commoners actually dare mock him like this, Li Da’s face flushed red, and anger surged straight to his head.
The more he looked at Cheng Yu in front of him, the more he hated him.
“Sharp-tongued brat. Today, I’ll teach you what the rules of the Jinyiwei are!”
With that, he drew the long saber at his waist and attacked Cheng Yu.
Within the Jinyiwei, Hundred-Household Offices were established at the prefectural level. Those who held the post of Hundred-Household Commander were Fourth Rank, while those who held the post of Acting Hundred-Household Commander were Third Rank.
Li Da’s Third Rank cultivation was on par with Sha Yue, the Red River Gang Leader who had once dominated Qinghe County.
A frighteningly cold aura spread from the blade, carrying a terrifying pressure as it went straight for Cheng Yu.
The Jinyiwei’s standard technique, the mid-grade martial art Cold Ghost Fiend Saber!
He had trained this move until it was fierce and powerful. The moment he struck, its force was anything but ordinary.
“Let’s see whether you still dare be disrespectful! Kneel for me!”
The saber came slashing down.
Li Da’s eyes widened. He had not expected Cheng Yu to make no move to draw his saber in resistance.
Instead, Cheng Yu’s feet shifted slightly, and like a gliding snake, he turned into a phantom-like blur and avoided the strike.
The low-grade movement technique, Coiling Snake Step!
“A movement technique? How do you know a movement technique?!”