Chapter 44 : Chapter 44
Chapter 44: The Entire Jianghu Running Red With Blood? You Don't Actually Think I'm Afraid of That, Do You...?
CLANG!
Cheng Yue’s sword was struck aside, hitting the ground with a crisp ring.
Cheng Yu sheathed his Thunder-Cleaving Xiuchun Saber and looked at her coldly. This woman had been in the River-Severing Sect for many years and had long since been educated to be just as naive and hypocritical as Cheng Zhenjiang. She always stubbornly demanded that others follow some "Righteous Path" without distinguishing right from wrong, never once bothering to look at her own character.
"Second Brother, don't!"
Seeing her brother's saber pressed against her eldest sister's neck, Cheng Si was incredibly anxious. Fortunately, she saw that Cheng Yu did not follow through and instead withdrew the blade. Only then did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
She immediately turned to Cheng Yue with dissatisfaction. "Sister, how could you draw your sword against Second Brother!"
Did she think this was the River-Severing Sect, where no disciple dared to disrespect her? In the Jianghu, drawing a blade meant a fight to the death!
Cheng Yue had cultivated within the River-Severing Sect year after year; she had never experienced a situation where her sword was knocked away and a blade was held to her throat. In her terror, her eyes widened and she trembled, her mind blank for a moment.
What followed was boundless shock and humiliation. As the Senior Sister of the River-Severing Sect and a Fourth Rank middle-stage martial artist, she was completely powerless to resist Cheng Yu?
More importantly, Cheng Yu actually dared to hold a blade to her neck! She felt shamed and disgraced, her hatred for Cheng Yu intensifying. After all, she was his own biological sister!
Hearing the rebuke from her younger sister, who usually adored her, she finally snapped.
"He almost killed me with that strike, and you actually turn around and blame me! Is ten years of sisterhood worth less to you than this fellow who came out of nowhere?"
"Sister, how can you say that! He is my Second Brother, not some 'fellow'!" Cheng Si was stunned, not knowing what to do. Why was her sister being so unreasonable? She was the one who drew her sword first; how could she have the nerve to blame someone for fighting back?
"You are still speaking for this heartless, unrighteous person who attacks his own family!" Cheng Yue’s eyes were red with agitation. she turned her furious gaze back toward Cheng Yu.
"It is all because of you—drawing your blade against your kin and tricking our little sister into being unreasonable! How could I have a brother like you!"
Faced with Cheng Yue’s furious roar, Cheng Yu looked up slightly and frowned. Then, he shook his head indifferently.
"Heh. You are allowed to brandish weapons at others, but if they dare to strike back, they are 'heartless and unrighteous.' Is this the 'Righteousness' Cheng Zhenjiang taught you? No wonder everyone respects the 'Great Hero Cheng' so much. I suspect anyone who didn't respect him has already been drowned in the Red River, hasn't he?"
The Martial Alliance Leader of the North, Great Hero Cheng, whom everyone revered, was characterized by his own biological son as a hypocritical and treacherous villain. Cheng Yue began to shake all over, her rage becoming uncontrollable.
"How can you say such things! That is your biological father! Your own flesh and blood! Not only did you draw a blade against me, but you also insult and slander Father? Is this how you treat your family?"
The idea of Cheng Zhenjiang being slandered by his own son was a disgraceful matter that would shock the entire Jianghu. She could never have imagined such a family misfortune would occur.
"Family? What a joke! I have said long ago that I have severed ties with the Cheng family. From now on, if we meet, we are strangers! When you drew your sword against me, you became my enemy. Everything you've said is just a load of nonsense."
Hearing Cheng Yu mention the severance of ties again, the rage and humiliation in Cheng Yue's heart suddenly froze. It was true; the man did not even consider them family anymore! Why waste words on him?
She stamped her foot and grabbed Cheng Si, pulling her away. "Let’s go, little sister. Since he has said as much, we have nothing more to say to such an ungrateful fellow. Just as he said, from this day forth, we are strangers!"
Cheng Si was flustered as her sister pulled her. She still had so many things she wanted to say to Cheng Yu, but there was no time. She knew that if she did not go back with Cheng Yue, Cheng Zhenjiang would be hit by a thunderous rage. Both sides were her family, yet they were like fire and water.
After a moment of internal struggle, Cheng Si was forced to follow her sister. She looked back at Cheng Yu with pity and sorrow, her voice filled with concern. "Second Brother, I am leaving. Father and Mother are at the Sword-Forging Manor; you can come and see them... Si'er will always be your sister!"
"You're still saying such things!" Cheng Yue pulled her away angrily.
"Sister, huh...?" Cheng Yu watched the two women depart.
Hearing Cheng Si’s concerned words, he felt a flicker of warmth in his heart. He had been alone since childhood, with no relatives other than his adoptive parents. On the face of the "Living Yama," who had made the Qingjiang Prefecture wail and the rivers run red with blood, a long-absent, simple smile appeared.
In a Jianghu filled with hypocrisy and schemes, there would always be people who maintained their kindness. The innocent and lovely Cheng Si was like that, and so was Grand Chancellor Zhao, the kindred soul he had met today.
However, his emotions quickly returned to a calm state.
"So the entire Cheng family has come to the Sword-Forging Manor... Perfect. Do they not say that one cannot survive in the Jianghu without righteousness? I shall let Cheng Zhenjiang see for himself."
He wanted to see if the Jianghu that spoke so much of heroism and the righteous path was truly as they claimed. He wondered if those million displaced laborers would also call him "Great Hero Cheng" from the bottom of their hearts.
***
Qingjiang Prefecture City.
Jinyiwei Hundred-Household Office.
Inside a cold, damp prison that never saw the light of day, Ma Yuan was being held. He had been beaten so badly he barely looked human; his appearance was wretched in the extreme. Had it not been for his faint breathing, one would not even know he was alive.
At that moment, the prison door creaked open. A Jinyiwei stepped inside.
Ma Yuan spoke with extreme weakness. "Why are you here again? Have I not confessed everything already?"
The newcomer was a Jinyiwei Banner Captain. As he entered the cold, bloody prison, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. This place had never held so many people before, and almost all of them were bloody, broken wrecks.
The previous Hundred-Household Commander had been a greedy sort who only cared about profit. When he first built this prison, he had done a shoddy job. It wasn't even dug deep underground, and there had been skylights to let in the sun. It was Lord Cheng who had specifically ordered the windows sealed and water diverted to flow through the cells. Only then did the place achieve this particular atmosphere.
According to Lord Cheng, this was called being "professional!" He was truly the number one expert of Qingjiang Prefecture, the light of the Jinyiwei, Lord Cheng! Even Ma Yuan had been no match for him.
After his internal praise, the Banner Captain looked at Ma Yuan. "Your confession is complete, but there is still one thing left to do. Sign this."
A confession and indictment paper was tossed in front of Ma Yuan.
"Haha, I didn't expect a man of his strength and spirit to enjoy such useless formalities." Ma Yuan sat up, laughing with sorrow. He knew Cheng Yu liked to shout slogans that the Jinyiwei used a hundred years ago. He hadn't expected the man to take it this far, actually drawing up a formal confession. He felt it was both helpless and laughable. Did Cheng Yu think that if Ma Yuan refused to confess, he wouldn't die? Cheng Yu had already acted on his own authority to arrest his superior.
However, when he saw the contents of the paper clearly, it was as if he had been struck by lightning.
"Ma Yuan, Jinyiwei Hundred-Household Commander of Qingjiang Prefecture, Dragon Abyss Path, conspired with the Sword-Forging Manor and other forces to privately control a million Great Qian men. He is lawless, disregards His Majesty, and his crimes are equivalent to treason!"
RIP!
Ma Yuan became incredibly agitated. His internal energy erupted subconsciously, shredding the confession.
"You're looking for death!" the Jinyiwei shouted in anger.
"If you want me dead, then come! Ma is not afraid. Why bother writing such useless things!" Ma Yuan looked furious and seemed fearless, but his heart was pounding wildly.
What was Cheng Yu trying to do? If the matter of kidnapping and transporting laborers was reported to the top, even if Great Qian was weak, it was something the Great Qian Emperor could never tolerate. This was a crime against a million subjects; it was trampling the face of Great Qian into the dirt! It would inevitably cause a massive upheaval!
If Ma Yuan dared to sign and seal that paper, both the Jianghu and the Imperial Court would likely exterminate three generations of his clan!
Right at that moment, heavy footsteps approached, and a familiar voice rang out.
"How is it? Did he sign and seal it?" Cheng Yu walked out.
"Lord Cheng, he tore the confession!"
"Oh." Cheng Yu raised an eyebrow. "Since Hundred-Household Commander Ma dared to do such things, why does he not dare to admit to them?"
His cold voice made Ma Yuan shiver, but the man still gritted his teeth and said, "Are you mad? This isn't a question of whether I dare to admit it or not. This will cause chaos throughout all of Great Qian! It will be a disaster where the rivers run red with blood!"
"So, you are unwilling to sign and seal it then?" Cheng Yu laughed coldly.
"Just kill me. My family is already in your hands anyway; I cannot possibly sign such a thing!" Ma Yuan gritted his teeth. He had relatives in other places; he could not doom them.
"Actually, I have been thinking about something," Cheng Yu said calmly, showing no anger or haste. "It's just a signature and a seal. Why must the person be alive to do it? Is a corpse not the same?"
Ma Yuan’s pupils shrank, and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. Cheng Yu was going to forge his confession! Yet he had no room to resist. Only a desperate cry remained in his heart.
Cheng Yu was insane; he was going up against the Sword-Forging Manor! This was like throwing an egg against a stone!
SCHWING!
A flash of saber light passed, and Ma Yuan fell into a pool of blood.
"Hundred-Household Commander Ma committed suicide after confessing. Use his thumbprint while it’s still warm."
Cheng Yu clapped his hands and began to laugh grimly.
"The entire Jianghu running red with blood? You don't actually think I'm afraid of that, do you...?"