Chapter 194 : Chapter 194
Chapter 194 He Was Broad-Minded and Generous, While I Repay Even the Smallest Grievance!
“If we do not destroy Ning Dingyuan, that rebel, how can we live up to His Majesty’s trust? What face would we have to stand in Great Qian?”
“The reason the Jinyiwei are looked down upon and mocked by everyone under heaven is because we have grown used to being cowards!”
Cheng Yu spoke with righteous severity, completely ignoring Lu Zhi’s attempt to stop him as he continued venting his dissatisfaction.
There were some things he had wanted to say for a long time.
The current Great Qian Jinyiwei were truly far too disgraceful!
In order to exercise the function of monitoring the realm on behalf of the Great Qian Emperor, the Jinyiwei had established numerous Banner Offices and Hundred-Household Offices throughout Great Qian.
With their forces scattered, it was true that they were weak in various regions and had difficulty contending with the tangled relationships of the Jianghu.
But the Jinyiwei as a whole could not be considered weak at all. On the contrary, they were incomparably powerful.
The top-tier great sect, Sword-Forging Manor, had dominated Dragon Abyss Path.
Its Manor Master was at the Eighth Rank and possessed the Dragon Abyss Sword, a supreme weapon under heaven. It was already one of the very top forces outside the Nine Great Sects.
Yet after provoking the Great Qian Emperor Xiao Wuji, two Assistant Commissioners were sent out, and they were still able to suppress it by force and raid and exterminate the household on the spot.
The matter of Cheng Yu and Jian A resisting the might of the Dragon Abyss Sword was known to very few people under heaven. In the eyes of most, it was the Jinyiwei who had casually destroyed Sword-Forging Manor.
The Jinyiwei possessed such strength.
Yet they still suffered humiliation from Jianghu people everywhere. It was simply disgraceful to the extreme!
In Cheng Yu’s eyes, the Jinyiwei should never be like this!
They should be like they had once been in Qingjiang Prefecture, and like they had recently been in Jiannan Circuit. The Jinyiwei should sweep through Jianghu forces.
They should suppress an entire region, and anyone who dared refuse submission should have his household raided and his family exterminated!
“What nonsense are you spouting?!”
When Zhang De and Lu Ming heard the phrase “cowards,” they instantly became ashamed and angry.
What Cheng Yu was talking about was no longer merely the matter of Duke Dingguo and his son, but the current state of the entire Jinyiwei.
The problem was—
He was only a Commandant. What right did he have to speak recklessly about such things?
At the side, Fang Xiaolin sneered. “Is that not the case? When outsiders mocked us as Imperial Hounds, I did not see you people becoming this angry.”
His background was not especially good.
He had also fought his way up in the provinces to reach his current position.
Compared with the other two Deputy Commanders, who came from extraordinary backgrounds and had stayed in the Great Qian Capital since childhood, he understood far better what the Jinyiwei were in the eyes of other forces.
Were they not simply laughable cowards?
After Lu Zhi heard these words, he also shook his head helplessly. As the Commander-in-Chief of the Jinyiwei, he knew the Jinyiwei’s strength better than anyone.
They did not fear any one of the Nine Great Sects.
More than that, they had the entire Great Qian Court and imperial family behind them. Even without outside aid, even if two or three of the Nine Great Sects joined forces, the Jinyiwei would not be unable to fight.
The Jinyiwei possessed such power, yet they had remained silent and endured, suffering the mockery of Jianghu martial artists.
The greatest commotions of the past ten-plus years had all been caused by Cheng Yu alone, the man standing before them.
For martial artists who strove to advance, this attitude was truly disappointing.
“Commandant Cheng, some things are not as simple as you imagine. The forces of the Jianghu are bound together by many interests, while the court itself is not of one mind.”
Lu Zhi heard Cheng Yu’s anger at their failure to live up to expectations and understood that it came from good intentions, so he could not bear to speak too bluntly.
The court and the Jinyiwei were facing even greater troubles than the Jianghu.
Some people’s rebellious intentions no longer needed to be concealed.
Disappointment immediately appeared in Cheng Yu’s eyes.
But a moment later, killing intent surged out again. “The Jianghu’s entangled interests are their own problem! As for those in the court who are not of one mind, why are they still being kept around?”
“Execute First and Report Later, with the Throne’s Special Authorization—cutting down disloyal subjects! Was it not meant to be used for this?”
Upon hearing this, Lu Zhi’s expression could no longer remain calm. He had not expected Cheng Yu’s temperament to be so fierce and ruthless.
More importantly, what Cheng Yu said was precisely the attitude the Great Qian Jinyiwei should have—domineering, powerful, and almost unreasonable.
Instead, they were the ones walking in the opposite direction from their predecessors.
If they continued arguing, they would only be humiliating themselves.
Lu Zhi immediately felt an incomparable headache.
“There is some reason in what you have said. The Jinyiwei cannot allow themselves to be humiliated at will. I will think of a way to make Duke Dingguo return the prisoner.”
“As for judging the crime of a noble of the current court, that is absolutely not a simple matter. I still need to ask His Majesty for instructions. Are you satisfied now?”
As soon as these words came out, the three Deputy Commanders were immediately shocked.
The Commander had yielded!
Zhang De immediately tried to persuade him. “Commander, please think twice! If we force Ning Dingyuan to hand Ning Cen back, we will definitely form an irreconcilable feud with him!”
If that happened, the Jinyiwei and Duke Dingguo would tear away all pretense, and the two Zhang Brothers would be caught in the middle, pleasing neither side!
As for the Jinyiwei’s dignity, he could not care about that at this moment.
But just then, Cheng Yu suddenly shouted, “A feud?”
“Ning Dingyuan was not afraid of forming a feud when he broke into the Imperial Prison and attacked the Jinyiwei, yet now you are afraid of forming a feud with him?! If you are going to be this much of a cowardly tortoise, you might as well draw your saber and cut your own throat!”
After being humiliated like this, Zhang De instantly became furious.
“Shut your mouth! Do you have the right to speak here?”
This Cheng Yu had repeatedly ruined his plans. He was truly far too hateful!
But before anyone could have expected it, Cheng Yu suddenly drew his saber and slashed out. Sinister black mist erupted madly.
Swish!
It all transformed into a terrifying War-General Wraith, which gripped a savage great saber and slashed toward Zhang De.
The incident happened far too suddenly. The others did not even have time to react.
“What are you doing?!”
Zhang De widened his eyes and immediately circulated his Internal Energy to block the saber light, but he was still somewhat too late.
A pitch-black saber light was far too swift.
It landed directly on his chest, leaving behind a hideous, terrifying wound.
As a martial artist at the Early Ninth Rank, this injury was nothing much to Zhang De, but it stirred boundless fury in his heart.
Cheng Yu had gone mad!
He had actually dared attack him in a place like this!
Lu Zhi and the others were also dumbstruck. Had the young Jinyiwei of today already become this violent?
He was openly attempting to kill a superior!
“Cheng Yu, you are courting death!”
Zhang De’s eyes turned red. He roared and was about to erupt, seeking revenge for the sneak attack just now.
But at the same time, Cheng Yu’s cold voice rang out. “Commander, this man openly attacked a colleague. Quickly take him down!”
When Zhang De heard this, all the Internal Energy in his body immediately froze. He stood there like a fool.
His expression twisted to the extreme.
“You were the one who attacked me first, and you still have the nerve to say that!”
Before he could roar and argue further, Lu Zhi’s terrifying pressure appeared over the two of them and pressed them back into their seats.
As their superior, he had broken up the fight.
However, only breaking up the fight at a time like this made his bias somewhat obvious.
Lu Zhi frowned and looked at Cheng Yu, his tone turning cold. “You need to give me an explanation.”
Attacking Zhang De right in front of him was far too outrageous.
Cheng Yu answered without hesitation, “When someone else broke into the prison and humiliated the Jinyiwei, Deputy Commander Zhang was still worried about forming a feud with him. That proves he is an extremely broad-minded, generous, and benevolent person.”
“According to that sort of moral character, my attack should not count for much, should it? I, however, am different. I repay even the smallest grievance. If he dares strike back, then he is forming a death feud with me!”
“Lord Zhang can forgive Duke Dingguo, an outsider, so I should not be a problem, should I?”
In the matter of Duke Dingguo, Zhang De had chosen to be a cowardly tortoise, but Cheng Yu was unwilling to do so!
On the contrary.
He even wanted to step on that tortoise!
Zhang De trembled all over with rage. “This is complete nonsense, Lord Lu! This brat has completely lost his mind. He must be taken down!”
But as soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly realized something.
The expression on Lu Zhi’s face was extremely wrong. It showed extreme disappointment.
And a kind of anger and humiliation that had been suppressed for a long time.
These feelings did not seem to be directed at Cheng Yu. Instead, they seemed to be directed at Zhang De!