Xuanqing Guard

"Three million coins, or three lives. If you won’t choose, I’ll choose for you." Shen Hao glanced at the man and woman across from him, his tone unchanged, not a trace of emotion. As if he were talking about three taels of silver and three mice lives.

"What do you want? Do you know that I am..."

"Drag these three back and hand them over to Wang Yiming. Let him squeeze everything out of their heads before dealing with them." Shen Hao didn’t even acknowledge the shouting, just issued orders to the Guard beside him. These Black Shirts—so what? Offending him and still thinking they can walk out alive?

"Yes, my lord!"

Everyone from the Black Banner Battalion knew exactly what "deal with" meant. So this time, their actions weren’t "gentle"—they directly broke both arms of the three, removed their jawbones so they couldn’t speak, then carried them out. They’d deal with them back at the base—doing things outside wasn’t convenient.

"Mm-mm-mm-mm..."

With their jawbones detached, the three couldn’t speak. All they could do was groan like they were begging their family for help. But even though the man and woman had some cultivation—one Qi Refining First Layer, one Second Layer—facing the Guards’ oppression, they didn’t dare resist at all. How could they save anyone?

"Wait! We’re from the Imperial City Qin Family! Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Qin Wenhe is my grandfather!"

The Guards were ready to carry the people out, but hearing "Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue", their steps still paused. That was no small official; if true, these two really weren’t easy to mess with. So they turned to their lord for guidance.

Shen Hao was momentarily stunned, thoughts spinning fast, then gave a small smile—remembered the "Vice Minister of Revenue" Qin Family and his own long-standing... grudge? Quite the coincidence, indeed.

The brief daze and smile on Shen Hao’s face were noticed by the faced man and woman. Their previously uneasy hearts instantly relaxed: The name of the Qin Family, the name of their grandfather, still worked. See, this "lord" who didn’t look like much obviously got cold feet.

The two from the Qin Family had seen this far too often—before, others looked down on them, but as soon as their identity was known, everyone smiled and bowed low, licking their boots. People call it being "snobbish"—and rightly so. They’d grown so used to it.

"Qin Wenhe’s descendants, huh. Heh. Qin Yurou is your aunt?"

"You know my aunt?"

"Met her once. She came to my Public Office trying to bribe me with a Treasure Pill, I refused. And when we raided the Wen Family, she bolted to the Imperial City Qin Family ahead of everyone, hid, leaving her own son and daughter in the Wen Family to die. How dare you call her your aunt? Not afraid of getting dragged out and having your whole family wiped out?"

As Shen Hao spoke, he waved his hand. The Guards dragging people got the hint, eyes turning vicious again, dragging the three out at a brisk pace. Lord Shen didn’t change his tune—so no matter who shows up, it’s useless. These three are dead.

Even the remaining Guards put their hands on their dagger hilts. Though they’d swapped out the Yanji Sabers, using daggers indoors was just as fitting.

Watching the three Black Shirts get taken, the man and woman from the Qin Family were stunned again. They wanted to stop it, but were silenced by the freezing, snake-like glare aimed their way.

Like—a deadly viper flicking its tongue at them, making every hair stand, instinctively wanting to flee.

"Go. Take anything you like from the rack, your master’ll buy it for you two." Shen Hao patted Brocade and Silk on the head, signaling her to grab clothes off the rack.

"Mmhm!"

Brocade and Silk weren’t the only ones hopping over—Hong Chou did too. They were thrilled—not just for new clothes, but because their master had dealt with the bad guys, stood up for them, protected them. Seeing those three pressed to the ground, arms broken, the two girls laughed sweetly. They weren’t some naive Human children—they’d grown up among Barbarians, later captured by the Slave Trade Association. A few broken arms and screams didn’t frighten them, it made them feel safe.

Master is indeed the strongest, all the bad guys are afraid of him!

Ms. Xia Nu didn’t lie to us!

"You two stop! Those are the clothes I wanted—how can slaves touch them!" The young woman who’d stayed quiet finally lost her composure when Hong Chou and Brocade and Silk reached for the rack’s dresses again. She shouted angrily, but with Guards blocking, she couldn’t get through, while Hong Chou and Brocade and Silk ignored her, each grabbing a dress and happily trying them on.

"How dare you? You even dare offend the Qin Family, all for two slaves? You’re finished! You’re finished!"

Compared to having their clothes "snatched", Shen Hao’s watching-them-like-a-circus-monkey gaze made them even more uneasy. What’s more, Shen Hao had mentioned "Qin Yurou" explicitly—and asked, "Not afraid of getting involved?" This guy was utterly fearless!

Once the two girls finished picking clothes, Shen Hao didn’t have the mood to linger in the shop. He was planning to head over to the East Market.

"Take the rest back as well. Suspected of impersonating the Vice Minister of Revenue’s family to commit fraud."

"Yes, my lord."

Thinking the three servants with broken arms would just be taken away and that was it? That kind of painless ending wasn’t Shen Hao’s style. He preferred those who mess with him to taste real suffering—otherwise, letting them off easily would only encourage them to try again. Only after paying a tragic price would some people learn their lesson—and not dare provoke him again.

Besides, a Vice Minister of Revenue wasn’t enough to scare him. And since their old grudge wasn’t settled, he had no qualms. Also—why had the Qin Family suddenly shown up in Fengri City? Was it mere coincidence, or was there a goal? Was it related to Qin Yurou? Shen Hao wanted answers.

The remaining two from the Qin Family and Black Shirt naturally didn’t want to sit and wait for death. They set their stance, ready to resist—but the surrounding circle of Guards had already drawn their daggers, forming an encircling formation, slowly closing in.

"Wait!"

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded behind, along with a loud shout.

Shen Hao didn’t turn around—he sensed the approaching aura: not someone he knew, and only Qi Refining Fourth Layer. Nothing worth caring about.

Shen Hao remained silent, so the Guards didn’t stop. With their joint attack, the last two Black Shirts were subdued instantly, and the man and woman were slapped with Soul Suppressing Talismans, hands bound behind their backs.

"Take them back. If anyone tries to block you on the road, just use the Summoning Talisman and call people in to surround and wipe them out."

"Understood, sir!"

Only then did Shen Hao turn around, glancing back. A couple fathoms away stood three people: the maid from the shop who was supposed to follow Hong Chou and Brocade and Silk; someone he hadn’t seen in a long time—Lin Xin’Er; and a man, presumably the one who’d just shouted "Wait!"—about forty, lean and sharp-looking, his face now steel-gray with rage.