Ch. 22
Chapter 22: I’m Not the Sort to Leave Grudges and Scores Overnight
“And my fishing skills need you to make them look good?”
Zhao Yi’s old face reddened as he threw the fishing rod onto the ground.
“Forget that. Did you hear what I was saying to that person just now?”
“Other than when you pointed into the river and gave me that little ‘lesson,’ which made me dodge for a bit, I heard everything else.”
After answering honestly, the masked man cupped his hands and bowed to Zhao Yi.
“Congratulations, Mister Zhao, on your younger grandson entering the Fifth Rank. He can truly be called a prodigy, and he cares deeply for you as well. Your bond is clearly profound.”
“Hmph.”
There was not the slightest trace of joy on Zhao Yi’s face. If anything, there was even a hint of sorrow.
“That brat Feng’er takes most after his father. He’d love nothing more than to draw a clean line between himself and someone like me. Him restoring my name and bringing me honor? Xichun must have lied to me.”
It was obvious that he did not like that outstanding younger grandson of his, the one most praised and admired throughout the jianghu.
The masked man found it hard to say anything about such family matters, so he could only avoid the topic.
“Then let me congratulate you on gaining another remarkable eldest grandson.”
Hearing that, Zhao Yi’s expression finally turned playful.
“A brat who severed ties with his family, whose martial arts are mediocre at best, and who even rushed to become a hound of the imperial court—what is there to congratulate?”
The masked man shook his head and began explaining seriously.
“Born into humble circumstances, yet he reached the Third Rank entirely through his own efforts. He hid his edge so well that even Great Hero Cheng could not see through his true strength. He acts decisively and leaves no room for retreat. If a young hero like that isn’t extraordinary, then who in the world is?”
“As for being a hound of the imperial court, that insult curses even me along with him, so I certainly don’t accept it.”
“Hahaha!”
Only then did Zhao Yi finally stop hiding the smile on his face.
From the moment he had heard his daughter describe Cheng Yu, admiration and delight had already risen in his heart.
What kind of youth could go through so much and yet, instead of sinking into despair,
have the sheer daring to tear everything down and start over from nothing?
Among all those young heroes in the jianghu with reputations overflowing with praise, which one could remain firmer than him in such circumstances?
And such a person was actually his own flesh-and-blood grandson!
“I never thought that hypocritical Cheng Zhenjiang could father such a hero. It seems my daughter must have inherited this old man’s excellent qualities!”
“Mister Zhao is mighty indeed!”
The masked man hurriedly chimed in.
“That’s enough. Pack things up. Didn’t my eldest grandson long to become a Jinyiwei? Since I, his grandfather, have the ability to help, naturally I can’t just stand by.”
“You’re going to return?!” the masked man blurted out in excitement.
What he meant by taking action was not the same as the “coming out of retirement” Zhao Xichun had asked for.
The mountain he meant to leave was the mountain of Great Qian’s court.
Very few people knew that the elusive Ninth Rank master, the Eccentric Zhao Yi,
had another identity that was almost impossible to associate with him besides being a supreme expert of the jianghu.
He was the retired former Chief Grand Secretary of Great Qian from twenty years ago.
He had once held overwhelming power over court and country, standing alone against the way jianghu forces and foreign enemies gnawed away at Great Qian. Even when the Emperor of Great Qian had asked him to return, he had refused.
The masked man had been one of the officials Zhao Yi had promoted in the bureaucracy. When Zhao Yi retired from office and returned home, he too had cast off his official status and followed him.
The jianghu’s power rising high enough to overwhelm the court, and knights-errant and martial men looking down on the court’s hounds—all of it had spiraled out of control from the moment Grand Secretary Zhao stepped down.
Now that Zhao Yi was returning for the sake of his grandson, it seemed the situation in the realm was about to undergo a tremendous upheaval!
...
Far away in Jiangnan, thousands of li away, Cheng Yu had no idea how Great Qian’s situation might change. Right now, he only wanted to accumulate strength as quickly as possible.
So he could confiscate the households of every single person in Qingjiang Prefecture who could not escape blame!
He stood before the gates of a smaller sect, directing his men.
“Go announce it to us!”
“Yes, sir!”
Someone beside him asked in confusion, “Lord Cheng, the Clear Wind Sect’s guilt is already set in stone, so why don’t we just charge in and kill our way inside?”
Cheng Yu did not blame his subordinate for speaking too much.
It was Cheng Yu himself who had actively encouraged the Jinyiwei to cultivate initiative and the ability to think for themselves.
That way, in the future, they could develop the ability to act independently and expand the work of building up the Jinyiwei.
And also expand the work of building up his own strength.
“They’re a sect, not bandits. It naturally wouldn’t look too good if we just barged in and ransacked the place.”
Cheng Yu explained blandly.
“But that’s not what you said at the last place, sir. You just took everyone away directly.”
“Then that’s something you need to think through yourself. As Jinyiwei, we must consider the dignity of our own status, not base ourselves on what the other side is like.”
Cheng Yu made it sound profound and unfathomable, and his subordinates listened as though they were surrounded by clouds and mist.
But this only made them admire the invincible Lord Cheng all the more, prostrating themselves in their hearts.
He couldn’t exactly tell them it was just for show, could he? After all, the better the show, the more rewards he got.
Just then, the subordinate who had gone to announce them returned.
“My lord, someone from the Clear Wind Sect has come out!”
Cheng Yu raised his eyes and looked over.
He saw an older man and a younger woman in jianghu attire step out through the gate.
“I am Xie Lin, Sect Master of the Clear Wind Sect. What exactly are you people doing surrounding my sect?”
Xie Lin was a middle-aged martial artist, close to the Third Rank. His face was stern and cold, and even his tone carried a sense of distance.
The moment he opened the gate, he locked onto Cheng Yu, who stood with folded arms in the center of the crowd.
This was an expert!
Cheng Yu said nothing. After demonstrating the gate-announcement routine a few more times himself, he no longer personally handled every small matter.
One of his subordinates strode out with imposing force.
“We are Jinyiwei under the Qinghe County Banner Office. We have discovered that your Clear Wind Sect is secretly harboring the rebel Sha Yue’s family! Step aside at once. We are going inside to search!”
The moment those words came out, Xie Lin, whose expression had been stern and cold, gave an almost imperceptible tremor.
But he quickly regained his composure.
“The Clear Wind Sect is a member of Great Qian’s Jiangnan Martial Alliance. How could we let you search us just because of a single claim from you?”
“Long’er, shut the gate!” Xie Lin said, his voice full of hostility.
The person beside him was his daughter, Xie Long.
Xie Long had shown extreme hostility toward every Jinyiwei present from the very beginning. The moment she heard her father’s order, she immediately moved to close the gate.
“Ah!”
Before her hand could even touch the gate, a crossbow bolt tore through the air and buried itself deep into the wooden door right in front of her hand.
The tip of the bolt had missed piercing her palm by only a hair.
“What are you doing? Attacking people for no reason in broad daylight? This is utterly lawless!”
Seeing that his daughter had almost been injured, Xie Lin instantly flew into a rage and no longer bothered hiding his hostility.
“Who shot that just now?! Get out here!”
He drew the sword from his back and stared coldly at the gathered Jinyiwei.
In the jianghu as it now stood, this sort of attitude from martial artists toward the court was perfectly normal.
Since they practiced chivalry, they naturally felt no need to show any respect to the court’s hounds.
Cheng Yu put away the delicate hand crossbow in his hand and walked out calmly.
“If I were Sect Master Xie, I wouldn’t make a choice I’d regret for the rest of my life.”
“You!”
Xie Lin glared at Cheng Yu, the one who had attacked his daughter, and forcibly suppressed the urge to strike.
As far as he knew, the person who had taken down Sha Yue, the leader of the Red River Gang, was a young Banner Captain of the Jinyiwei.
It was highly likely that the person before him was that very man.
Though he had no idea what methods Cheng Yu had used to deal with Sha Yue, Xie Lin still did not dare act recklessly.
“You’ve trained such fine martial arts, yet instead of acting like a human being, you prefer being the court’s dog!”
“Men, drive them out!”
With that, Xie Lin ordered his disciples forward, telling them to take up their weapons and expel the Jinyiwei.
He still did not know that other sects had already been confiscated. He was convinced these spineless Jinyiwei were nothing but paper tigers.
Just because they dared act against a tyrannical gang like the Red River Gang did not mean they would dare lay hands on a proper sect.
Surely, like before, they would lose their nerve, hit a wall, and leave.
But what he had not expected was this: the Jinyiwei he had encountered this time were completely different from before. Not a single one of them moved. None of them showed the slightest intention of retreating.
Seeing this, Xie Lin said coldly, “So you do have a bit of backbone. But think it through. Why throw away your lives for someone else?”
“Debts have their owners and grudges have their targets. I will repay the enmity of that arrow another day. Let no one else seek his own destruction for no reason!”
“No need.”
Cheng Yu smiled at him.
“I’m not the sort to leave grudges and scores overnight...”
His expression suddenly turned severe.
“The Clear Wind Sect has obstructed the Jinyiwei in carrying out their duties. Treat them as rebels! Empty every bolt case! Kill the rebel leader Xie Lin! Sweep the Clear Wind Sect clean!”
“Yes!”
At that single command, more than twenty Jinyiwei answered in unison and immediately fired their crossbows at the people of the Clear Wind Sect.
Xie Lin had never imagined things would develop to this point.
“Dodge!”
He brandished his sword to block the bolts flying toward him, but his disciples could not avoid them.
Quite a few were struck and fell to the ground.
“You dare kill disciples of my sect!”
Xie Lin roared hysterically and unleashed the full strength of a late Second Rank martial artist as he charged at the Jinyiwei.
But a Xiuchun Saber carrying boundless cold intent mercilessly cut short his final counterattack.
The blade-light slashed into the sword-shadow, and the sound of metal exploding rang out.
As he watched the fragments of his sword fall to the ground, the disbelief on Xie Lin’s face froze there forever.
Cheng Yu’s blade swept across his chest.
Shaking the blood from the blade, Cheng Yu sheathed the saber and stepped on Xie Lin’s corpse.
“The rebel leader has been executed. Sweep the Clear Wind Sect clean!”
The disciples of the Clear Wind Sect were scared out of their wits and were all rounded up like pigs.
The Jinyiwei swarmed into the Clear Wind Sect...
Half an hour later, Cheng Yu stood with his hands behind his back at the sect gate of the Clear Wind Sect.
Beside him, his subordinates had tied the members of the Clear Wind Sect together into a long line and were leading them away. The coal mine left behind by the Red River Gang happened to need manpower.
“My lord! We’ve captured them all. They really were harboring Sha Yue’s family. It turns out Xie Lin was the elder brother of Sha Yue’s lawful wife!”
Cheng Yu nodded, but he was thinking about something else.
“There’s still a fish that slipped through the net...”
The system’s voice had not sounded in his ear yet. That meant there was still one fugitive who had not been caught.
“Forget it. Let’s go.”
Inside a hidden compartment in the well shaft, the trembling Xie Long listened to the footsteps above gradually recede, and only then did her wildly pounding heart finally begin to slow.
Her legs gave way, and she slumped onto the damp ground.
Just now, she had taken advantage of the chaos to hide herself and had escaped the search.
“Those damned hounds of the imperial court. The people who killed my family—I will definitely have my revenge!”
Reduced to such a state, she hated the Jinyiwei who had come today to the extreme, especially Cheng Yu, who had led them.
She and her parents had lived at the Clear Wind Sect without offending anyone.
Yet merely because they had taken in her homeless aunt, they had suffered this calamity. Those hounds of the imperial court were hateful and vile to the extreme!
Since childhood, she had admired all sorts of great heroes and yearned for the righteous path of chivalry. She simply could not accept the Jinyiwei’s violence.
“I’ll report this to the Martial Alliance and avenge my blood debt!”
Filled with hatred, Xie Long climbed upward along the well, her heart brimming with schemes of revenge.
But a laughing voice interrupted her and instantly made her feel as though she had fallen back into an icy abyss.
“Heh, Lord Cheng really is a genius. There really was a fish that slipped through the net!”
Looking up, she saw three Jinyiwei in black hats standing at the mouth of the well, looking down at her with amused smiles.