Chapter 57 : Chapter 57
Chapter 57: If You Want Your Reputation, Then Sever Ties with Me—Why Put On This Hypocritical Spectacle?
Great Hero Cheng was going to step in personally!
Everyone’s eyes lit up, and confidence immediately returned to their hearts.
Cheng Zhenjiang’s fame spread far and wide. Throughout the Jianghu of the Great Qian Dynasty, no one failed to respect him, and the reason was precisely that he upheld chivalry and acted openly and uprightly.
Whenever disciples of the River-Severing Sect or the Cheng Family got into disputes with others outside, he had always been utterly impartial, siding with reason rather than kin.
He truly put the righteous path of chivalry into practice.
Now that Cheng Zhenjiang was going to handle Cheng Yu himself, he surely would not show favoritism.
That would also spare the rest of them the trouble of struggling over what to do.
Thinking of this, all the martial artists sighed in admiration and emotion.
“As expected of Great Hero Cheng. Such righteousness!”
“The only painful thing now is that Great Hero Cheng has to choose between chivalry and blood ties!”
“As expected of Great Hero Cheng! That title of great hero is no empty name!”
Under the grateful and respectful gazes of the crowd, Cheng Zhenjiang slowly walked over to Cheng Yu. When he saw the cold hostility on Cheng Yu’s face, a conflicted expression appeared on his own.
He had wronged Cheng Yu first, leaving him to struggle alone outside for more than ten years and pick up a whole host of bad habits.
Because of the guilt in his heart, he did not call him “rebellious son” this time.
“Yu... Yu’er...”
Cheng Yu said nothing. He merely lifted his head and looked at Cheng Zhenjiang with an indifferent expression.
He wanted to see what Cheng Zhenjiang intended to say.
“I know you resent me. I did not understand you enough, and I paid you too little attention...”
Burdened with guilt, Cheng Zhenjiang’s tone was no longer as hard as before. There was even a trace of concession in it.
For a man as rigidly bound by rules and propriety as he was, getting to this point was already no easy thing.
But the moment he thought of all that Cheng Yu had done, the tone that had only just softened turned hard once more.
“No matter how many faults I may have, you still should never, under any circumstances, have done such things as these and brought disaster upon the Jianghu!”
Cheng Zhenjiang once again assumed the posture of a father and began rebuking Cheng Yu.
He had slaughtered the Jianghu forces of an entire prefecture, publicly killed a Human Ranking prodigy, and then threatened others.
These were all things Cheng Zhenjiang simply could not tolerate.
And the one who had done them was his own flesh and blood!
“I slaughtered people?”
Cheng Yu frowned at Cheng Zhenjiang, then suddenly relaxed and laughed.
“Everyone I’ve killed deserved to die. I always had just cause! Are only you people allowed to trample human lives underfoot and strike at me, while the moment I fight back, I’m called cruel?”
“This is your chivalry? Is there really such unfair logic under heaven?”
He had indeed acted ruthlessly and without mercy, killing until Qingjiang Prefecture was thrown into complete chaos.
But he had never once laid a finger on those who had truly kept their hands clean.
For these people to come here now and accuse him was simply the greatest joke in the world.
“You’re awfully broad-minded when it comes to controlling me. But when those forces were oppressing the common people and plundering at will, why didn’t I see you step forward and do anything?”
“Or are you simply one of the same kind? How could you possibly condemn yourself?”
“What did you say?!”
The moment Cheng Yu questioned his motives, Cheng Zhenjiang flew into a rage.
He had always conducted himself openly and impartially and was revered throughout the Jianghu.
Yet his own son always insisted on interpreting him through the most malicious lens.
“You say that all the people you killed deserved to die. Why did they deserve to die? Zhou Fang attacked you, but aren’t you still standing here perfectly fine now? Yet he lost his life!”
“You have no benevolence, no righteousness, and no understanding of when mercy should be shown!”
It was true that Cheng Yu had refused the spar, and Zhou Fang had still attacked him, even using a hidden weapon.
But since Zhou Fang had plainly failed to pose any real threat, why did Cheng Yu have to press the matter so far as to kill him?
Men of the Jianghu ought to be broad-minded and magnanimous, winning others over through the depth of their character and virtue!
Hearing this, Cheng Yu found it laughable beyond measure.
He said flatly, “Show mercy where possible? If I show mercy, then who shows mercy to me? Would you only be satisfied once I’m dead?”
“After all, none of you ever cared whether I lived or died in the first place.”
He had grown up in poverty and hardship and had struggled bitterly just to continue on the martial path.
If he had dared show even the slightest softness of heart, utter disaster would have swallowed him.
And now Cheng Zhenjiang, the very man who had caused all of this, still had the nerve to lecture him about not being magnanimous enough.
It was simply ridiculous.
“Yu’er, don’t say that! How could your father and mother possibly wish for harm to come to you?”
Unable to endure it any longer, Zhao Xichun handed Cheng Si over to Cheng Yue and walked over.
Her face was wet with tears, full of grief.
What grieved her most was that every word Cheng Yu had spoken cut straight into the heart.
For eighteen years, through life and death, they truly had not cared for him!
Cheng Zhenjiang’s heart trembled. His anger was doused by guilt, and he looked at Cheng Yu.
“How can you think of your parents like this? I’m not stepping in to harm you. On the contrary, I’m trying to save you!”
“What you have done has already crossed the bottom line of the Jianghu. No one else will tolerate you. The only road left to you is death!”
“This time, if you listen to me, kowtow to the Dragon Whale Island Master, admit your guilt, and return to the River-Severing Sect, then you will have your only path to survival. I will deal with the rest!”
At his side, Zhao Xichun nodded again and again.
“Yu’er, don’t keep sulking. Listen to your father! Our family can start over from the beginning. Mother will make up for everything, I swear!”
Her voice was utterly sincere, as though she could already see the beautiful future of their reunited family.
Looking at the expectant expressions in both their eyes, Cheng Yu shook his head.
There would be no reunion.
Cheng Yu, the son of Cheng Zhenjiang, had died long ago—he had died in suffocation and despair.
“Are the two of you, the great-hero couple, finished?”
“If you are, then leave. I still have things to do here. In a moment, the blood might splash all over you.”
His cold voice was full of distance and estrangement.
Hearing this, Cheng Zhenjiang and Zhao Xichun both froze, and the hope in their hearts shattered in an instant.
Tears spilled from Zhao Xichun’s eyes.
At that moment, she understood.
Cheng Yu would never come back!
Cheng Zhenjiang had not expected that even after he had lowered himself like this, Cheng Yu would still remain so wild and unyielding. He was instantly enraged beyond measure.
“I already said it—without me, only death awaits you! No one else will spare you! Don’t mistake good intentions for malice!”
“Who won’t spare me?”
Cheng Yu suddenly rose to his feet and stared coldly at Cheng Zhenjiang.
“Let them come and try. My Xiuchun Saber is always waiting for them!”
“And you two should stop pretending to be good people. In the end, isn’t this all still for the sake of your precious reputation? If you want your reputation, then sever ties with me. Why bother putting on this hypocritical spectacle?”
His voice was as cold as ice, and Cheng Zhenjiang and Zhao Xichun felt as though they had fallen into an icy abyss.
“You... how can you say that about us?!”
“Why can’t I say it? A moment ago, that thing attacked me, and the one who stopped him was not you!”
That single sentence completely tore open the hypocrisy Cheng Zhenjiang had been hiding.
He knew it perfectly well.
At that moment just now, he hesitated!
If that Jinyiwei expert had not stepped in, Cheng Yu would already have died at the Dragon Whale Island Master’s hands.
And yet now, he was actually trying to force Cheng Yu to go apologize to the very same man!
Cheng Yu turned around, and his cold voice rang out once more.
“My patience is limited. Hand over the men of Dragon Whale Island within the time it takes one stick of incense to burn. Otherwise, I will regard you all as accomplices to rebellion!”
“Every household will be raided, and every sect exterminated!”
With that, he walked back into the ranks of the Jinyiwei.
The martial artists watching this were all stunned, and the Dragon Whale Island Master in particular looked terrified.
Great Hero Cheng had failed to talk him down!
How was that possible?!
For a moment, murmurs rose everywhere as people began whispering about Cheng Zhenjiang.
“What kind of father can’t even persuade his own son...”
The words struck like a blow, and grief and fury churned together.
“That rebellious son! That rebellious son! I... I’m done with him! He won’t listen to a single good word. If he wants to die, I won’t stop him!”
With that, Cheng Zhenjiang turned and made to leave.
“Zhenjiang!”
Zhao Xichun was horrified when she saw this. “Yu’er is our child. You can’t just stand there and watch something happen to him!”
“I’ve already said everything that needed saying. He is the one seeking death!”
Cheng Zhenjiang shook his head and walked into Sword-Forging Manor.
Zhao Xichun stood there blankly, her eyes filled with nothing but endless disappointment.
Was her husband truly such a coward?
Amid pain and confusion, she made up her mind.
No matter what, she could not let anything happen to Yu’er!
She chased after Cheng Yu once more.
Standing to one side, Cheng Feng watched his father leave and his mother move to go after Cheng Yu again.
A flash of anger and jealousy crossed his eyes, and he hurried after Zhao Xichun.
He glared viciously at Cheng Yu, one hand moving toward the sword at his waist.
That man had come to destroy his happy family all over again!