Martial Cultivator

Su Yin walked out of the main hall. Outside, the three men all wore suspicious expressions.

Leaving aside Sun Zhongting who had been kicked out with a single blow and then scrambled back to his feet, about to summon all the soldiers outside to swarm into the hall, even the commandery governor gave an awkward dry laugh. “Warden Su, could it be that the person inside is truly an old acquaintance? You coming out now, is it to smooth things over?”

Su Yin ignored the commandery governor and simply stopped Sun Zhongting, lowering his voice. “Old Sun, listen to my advice. The matter hasn’t blown up yet. Stop here. If this continues, it won’t just be a question of whether you can keep your official cap.”

Although Sun Zhongting was a martial artist, he was not merely crude. Otherwise, he would never have reached his current position. His friendship with Su Yin was not especially deep, but they had known each other for many years, and he understood Su Yin’s temperament well. For Su Yin to speak like this meant the stakes were enormous.

“Old Su, the person inside, does he have an even harder background than this?”

Though he asked the question, he did not truly dare to believe it. If someone were really more formidable than the backing behind that constable, what kind of background would that be?

Directly an imperial relative, surnamed Chen?

Su Yin glanced at him and said nothing.

If Su Yin had stated it outright, Sun Zhongting might still have doubted it. But precisely because Su Yin reacted like this, Sun Zhongting felt that the waters here ran far too deep.

“Since it’s some exalted figure, then I ought to go and offer my apologies.” Sun Zhongting’s words were well chosen, both a final test of Su Yin and a statement entirely reasonable under the circumstances.

Su Yin thought for a moment, then said, “Go ahead.”

Sun Zhongting never expected such an answer. After a moment of hesitation, somewhat unsure, he ultimately decided to go and see for himself. After all, although this affair had already gone badly, with some maneuvering afterward, it might still be possible to turn a bad thing into a good one. Such matters were never certain.

Su Yin remained where he was, watching that General Sun enter the hall, and then come back out like an eggplant struck by frost. He narrowed his eyes, feeling a trace of schadenfreude, and even more a sense of shared misery.

“Old Sun?”

The constable finally sensed that something was wrong and asked in confusion. But no sooner had he spoken than Sun Zhongting, furious beyond restraint, kicked him hard in the stomach. “Calling your father, are you?”

The constable was sent flying by the kick. After scrambling back up, he shouted in rage, “Sun Zhongting, you don’t want to live anymore?!”

“Fuck your mother!”

Sun Zhongting strode toward the constable, cursing loudly. “You really think you’re some big shot? Borrowing a tiger’s hide to bluff people, huh? Your Father's entire future has been ruined by you, you bastard!”

Already seething with anger, now that Sun Zhongting knew the truth, he wished he could beat the constable to death on the spot. But knowing he could not do that, he could only vent his rage with punches and kicks.

The commandery governor watched the scene. At first he was puzzled, but he quickly calmed down. After so many years as an official, if he could not understand what he was seeing, how could he possibly continue being a commandery governor?

“General Sun? Warden Su?”

Commandery Governor Liu glanced at the two of them, hoping to glean something from their reactions. But neither seemed inclined to say anything, especially Sun Zhongting. After giving the constable a thorough beating, he strode off in great steps. From afar, his furious roar could still be heard: “Withdraw the troops...”

Su Yin looked at the commandery governor, thought for a moment, and said, “Your Excellency, today’s matter must be properly investigated. Find out the truth, then draft a memorial and submit it to the prefectural authorities.”

The commandery governor wore a look of suspicion, still having no idea who was inside the hall.

Su Yin moved his lips, but in the end said nothing more. Finally, he gave the constable a long, deep look.

......

......

The group came and went in haste.

By the time Chen Chao walked out of the main hall, no one was left. Several men followed him out. The one in front, Zhang Da, suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud. “This commoner Zhang Da thanks Your Excellency for saving my life!”

The men behind him also knelt, knocking their heads repeatedly on the ground.

Chen Chao turned around, saying rather angrily, “No need to kneel. Why should you kneel?”

“If anyone should kneel, it should be me kneeling to you!”

With one hand, Chen Chao lifted Zhang Da up. The others froze in place, not understanding why this Lord Warden Commander would say such a thing.

"Your Excellency..."

Zhang Da hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

Chen Chao took a deep breath. His eyes had already reddened. “You bear no guilt. Even if you once had a moment of misguided thought, it was not a crime deserving death. Yet you nearly died at the hands of officials like these... You are not at fault. They are. And the one truly at fault is me...”

Chen Chao shook his head, exhaling several heavy breaths.

Though he knew full well that some things required time to accumulate, that they needed one person after another to struggle and strive, and could never be accomplished by a single individual, Chen Chao still felt deeply ashamed.

The Great Liang Dynasty had been entrusted to him by his uncle, and he ought to watch over it properly.

Drawing in a steady breath, Chen Chao said softly, “Go. Rest assured, today’s matter ends today. From now on, no one will be able to use what happened today to trouble you.”