Ch. 25
Chapter 25: I Take My Work Seriously—If I Say I’m Wiping Out a Whole Family, Then I Have to Wipe Out the Whole Family
What Cheng Yu had ordered thrown before Cui Duo was none other than the heads of Cui Yan and the other man.
Looking at his son’s dead face, his eyes still open in death, Cui Duo staggered back half a step in agony. In the very next instant, he became like a furious wild beast.
He turned a vicious gaze on Cheng Yu.
“Yan’er, you died such a miserable death! Kill these Jinyiwei for me and avenge my son!”
Roaring, Cui Duo commanded the Cui Family men to besiege the Jinyiwei.
When the Cui Family’s skilled fighters saw the head of the eldest young master, every one of them flew into a rage and glared at the Jinyiwei before them.
A bunch of nobodies who had not even entered the ranks yet actually dared kill a son of the Cui Family and attack the Cui Family itself?
They were simply tired of living!
One after another, they struck out ferociously and charged forward.
Against the Jinyiwei before them, a group of ranked martial artists like them would naturally produce a completely one-sided result!
But what the Cui Family martial artists had not expected was that the Jinyiwei were already prepared.
Cheng Yu shouted, “All Jinyiwei, kill anyone who blocks your path! Empty your bolt cases and don’t bother conserving ammunition!”
The moment the order rang out, bolts flew at the Cui Family men as though they were free.
The bolts were swift and fierce, far more powerful than ordinary ones.
As the bolts tore through the air, many Cui Family martial artists were struck before they could even dodge. They gave muffled groans and fell.
The Cui Family martial artists who had escaped that first volley all turned pale.
The bolts were poisoned!
What drove them into even deeper despair was that the Jinyiwei had no intention of stopping at all.
The instant they fired one bolt, they immediately loaded another, not caring in the least about the state of their targets.
The whole point was to push their rate of fire to the limit.
Some Cui Family martial artists who had already fallen were not even clearly seen, and after they died, they were still struck by several more bolts.
The Cui Family martial artists could only retreat and dodge. They did not dare approach even half a step.
“Fall back first!”
Cui Duo roared in fury.
As a Third Rank martial artist, it was difficult for the bolts to hit him.
After dodging one bolt, he trembled with rage. These were all elite fighters of the Cui Family, the very key to the Cui Family’s strength!
Yet these Jinyiwei actually dared slaughter them like this!
With an enraged roar, he personally charged at Cheng Yu.
If he killed Cheng Yu, the rest of the Jinyiwei would be nothing but chickens and dogs!
“You little beast who still reeks of milk! Die first!”
A pair of ghastly pale claws slashed viciously toward Cheng Yu.
The Cui Family’s inherited Low-Grade High-Rank technique, the Cold Poison Claw!
Countless people had died beneath those claws. Today, they would be used to console his pitiful son in the afterlife.
But in the very next instant, Cui Duo froze. No matter what, he had never expected this.
When his Cold Poison Claw struck Cheng Yu’s body, it felt as though he had clawed into an incomparably hard piece of cold iron.
Cheng Yu’s gaze sharpened, and the muscles all over his body turned as hard as iron.
The Thirteen Guardians Hard Body Art!
A powerful hard-body technique that far surpassed the ordinary Human, Earth, and Heaven mortal grades and had reached the Human Grade!
Against opponents of the same level, it was impossible to break his defense. He could even forcibly endure attacks from enemies of a higher level!
There was simply no way Cui Duo, who was also at the Third Rank, could break Cheng Yu’s defense.
Looking at Cui Duo’s disbelieving face, Cheng Yu let out a cold smile.
Then he seized the other man by the throat in one hand.
The pure Internal Energy refined by the Demon-Slaying Dao Canon granted him terrifying strength.
So much so that Cui Duo had no power to resist at all.
“You dared attack the Jinyiwei. Your crimes are increased by one degree. The rebel leader has been captured! Exterminate the Cui Family and confiscate their household!”
Cheng Yu snapped Cui Duo’s arms and legs, then, ignoring his incomparably shrill screams, drove shackles through his collarbones.
Like a dead dog, he tossed the man aside.
With Cui Duo, the strongest member of the Cui Family, already captured, the rest of the experts immediately lost their nerve. As their minds grew unsettled, they were forced back step by step under the Jinyiwei’s combined assault.
The Profound Cold Heavy Crossbows in the Jinyiwei’s hands were exceptionally powerful.
If a First Rank martial artist was struck and did not die, he would still be gravely wounded. Even a Second Rank martial artist found them difficult to dodge or block.
It took scarcely any time at all before the Qinghe County Jinyiwei had finished sweeping away the Cui Family martial artists.
Piles of gold and silver treasure were carried out, and many female slaves who had been tormented beyond bearing had their indenture contracts torn up and were set free.
The youngest among them was only a little over ten years old.
“My lord, this is the Cui Family’s account book. Also, we’ve brought out everything valuable from the Cui Family treasury. As for the rest, we can’t take it with us.”
Cheng Yu took the enormous stack of banknotes his subordinate handed him. After leaving one note behind for his men, he tucked the rest into his bag.
Then he picked up the account book and began flipping through it.
He discovered that the bully gangs raised by the Cui Family and the other forces were not limited to the Red River Gang alone, but included many others.
They covered the entire Qingjiang Prefecture region.
Cheng Yu had long expected that, but after reading a few more pages, he suddenly frowned.
“Why are there so many vague freight exchanges and food-consumption expenditures? What exactly is the Cui Family transporting?”
Cui Duo, whose limbs had been broken and who had lost all power to fight, lay sprawled on the ground without answering.
He looked at the corpses of the Cui Family members all around him, and at the people smashing and carrying off the Cui Family’s wealth.
A family fortune built over so many years had been destroyed just like that!
“My hatred is unbearable!”
Cheng Yu gave him a cold glance and put away the account book.
Although Cui Duo refused to speak the truth now, in a little while, he would naturally be willing to.
“Hate yourself for doing what you should never have done.”
Cui Duo looked at Cheng Yu. The boundless fury in his eyes had already turned into wretched despair.
“Who exactly are you? Why are you treating my Cui Family like this? At least let me die knowing!”
“I already told you,” Cheng Yu replied calmly.
“Told me what?”
“That your Cui Family colluded with the rebel force Red River Gang, refused to cooperate with an investigation, and attacked the Jinyiwei. Every bit of this is your punishment.”
After saying that, Cheng Yu turned and left, no longer bothering with Cui Duo.
That man still needed to be kept alive and taken back for a proper interrogation.
“Set this place on fire. Then take everything and return to Qinghe County!”
“Yes!”
【The host has confiscated the household of a guilty family, punished the disrespectful, and displayed the authority of the Jinyiwei. Reward: Thirty Tiger Strength Internal Fortification Pills!】
The moment Cheng Yu saw the reward, his heart leaped with joy.
Those pills were enough to raise the Jinyiwei under his command to the level of ranked martial artists.
If that happened, the men under him would become a force that could no longer be underestimated.
At the very least, some confiscation work would no longer require Cheng Yu to go personally.
...
The Qinghe County prison.
Cheng Yu stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Cui Duo. The man had already been tortured beyond recognition.
His body was covered in whip marks, and his hands and feet were riddled with wounds left by all kinds of instruments of torture.
His entire body bled all over. He looked like a man made of blood, as though he were on the verge of death.
Seeing this, the Jinyiwei in charge of whipping and torture hurriedly stuffed a pill into Cui Duo’s mouth.
Cui Duo, who had been hanging on by a thread, came back to life once more.
This was a miraculous healing medicine Cheng Yu had received as a reward from the system, one that could heal injuries and keep someone alive. He had distributed it to his subordinates as a precaution, never expecting it to show such astonishing effectiveness in a place like this.
With its help, the Jinyiwei in charge of the torture had brought Cui Duo back from the brink of death two or three times, yet still failed to force any answers out of him.
Ashamed, he lowered his head and looked at Cheng Yu. “My lord, he refuses to talk...”
“Sigh.”
Cheng Yu let out a sigh, frightening the Jinyiwei so badly that his whole body trembled. He thought Lord Cheng was angry.
But then he heard Cheng Yu speak with feeling instead.
“You haven’t learned enough and you lack experience. I don’t blame you. Just use your head more in the future. The Jinyiwei’s traditional craft mustn’t be forgotten. There’ll be plenty of places where I can still use you.”
“Yes! Thank you, my lord!” The Jinyiwei’s eyes filled with tears.
“I’ll interrogate him myself.”
The Jinyiwei immediately stepped aside, prepared to watch Cheng Yu perform.
This time, Cui Duo opened his eyes and revealed a resolute expression.
If he refused to speak, then at worst he would die. But if he did speak, then even the only remaining bloodline he had hidden away would be finished!
“I don’t know anything. No matter how you question me, I don’t know. Even if you kill me, that will still be my answer...”
“Stubborn even in the face of death, huh?”
Cheng Yu sighed with emotion, then leaned in close to Cui Duo and showed him a faint smile.
“I’ve already interrogated the others. And indeed, they really didn’t know anything.”
Hearing those words, a nearly imperceptible trace of relief appeared on Cui Duo’s face, only to vanish again at once.
Pretending not to have noticed, Cheng Yu began muttering to himself.
“So strange. There were clearly so many transport expenses and food-consumption costs, yet nobody knows anything. Your Cui Family really is just a pack of idiots.”
Of course no one knew, because he had handled it personally!
Cui Duo did not care about Cheng Yu’s insult and only sneered inwardly.
“But not everyone in your family was an idiot. Your son Cui Yan was actually quite a talent. He knew that the family business was enormous, so he guarded against the possibility that someone might one day come to snatch away the inheritance that should belong to the clan head’s son.”
“That’s why I say he was clever. He even knew how to trail his own father, and he really did uncover some secrets!”
As Cheng Yu said that, he pulled out a sheet of paper.
There was clearly something written on it.
“That way, no one will be able to fight him for the position of next clan head. Oh, and do you remember how you and your son last met?”
“A scene like that... seems like it could happen one more time.”
“Stop talking! Stop talking! I’ll tell you everything—just spare my son! He’s the last bloodline of my Cui Family!”
The hidden illegitimate son had actually been discovered.
Cui Duo’s body and mind had already been tortured to their limits. This was the final blow that shattered him completely.
He told them everything he knew, item by item, without holding anything back.
The Jinyiwei responsible for recording the testimony hurriedly wrote it all down, his eyes filled with admiration for Cheng Yu.
Because he knew perfectly well that there were no secrets at all written on the sheet of paper Cheng Yu had taken out.
It was the virility-and-yin-nourishing secret recipe he had been preparing to go fetch, which he had just handed to Lord Cheng to use as a prop.
He had never expected the result to be this good.
“My lord, my admiration for you is like a surging river! How did you know this man had an illegitimate son?”
Cheng Yu smiled.
“The head of such a huge family had only one son, and that son was a vicious bastard. I refused to believe there wasn’t something suspicious going on.”
“Besides, even if I couldn’t trick it out of him, it didn’t matter. We could just confiscate the next family and move on. Sooner or later, someone’s mouth would loosen.”
You can do that too?!
The other Jinyiwei nodded, their eyes shining, looking as though they had been taught something valuable.
Hearing Cheng Yu’s little lesson, Cui Duo’s eyes widened.
“You tricked me?”
“What else? Was I supposed to let you trick me instead? Oh, right—you really do have an illegitimate son? Then I suppose I’ll have to look for him. I take my work seriously. If I say I’m wiping out a whole family, then I have to wipe out the whole family.”
Cheng Yu looked at him and spoke calmly.
Pfft!
Cui Duo spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes bulging wide as he died without closing them.
【The host displayed the Jinyiwei’s fine professional qualities and educated his subordinates. Reward: One Hundred Torture Instruments!】