"Kill your mother's head!"
The soft drizzle seed to pause in hesitation for a mont. Amid the crowd's astonished silence, a figure strode through the curtain of rain.
He carried a sword slung on his back and a saber at his side, their sheaths slick with raindrops.
One step into a puddle, water splashed outward, ripples spreading in concentric circles that lingered endlessly.
Huang Jing's eyes burned with murder, his fury teetering on explosive.
He recognized this man.
This was the man who had once stord Yuanfeng Building, rescuing Miss Chen, wounding his allies in Jianghu. Later, this man stood beside Xique Pavilion's master as his battle companion. And now, here he was again, standing before Huang Jing, spouting words of defiance.
If not for this man, everything would have gone so much smoother!
"It's you…" Yuanfeng Building lay in ruins, and Huang Jing, pushed to the brink of desperation, no longer cared for maintaining composure. He sneered coldly. "Another good-for-nothing governnt dog!"
No sooner had he spoken than the Jianghu experts all fixed their gazes on Chen Yi, who approached through the rain. So raised their hands, others rested their grips on weapons. The chilling atmosphere of killing intent dispersed like mist in the rain, vibrations stirring through the air as raindrops quivered.
Chen Yi stopped his steps. The crowd, including Six Yang Pavilion's elder, encircled him like a ring, leaving only a small gap. Beyond this opening stood Huang Jing with his hands folded behind his back, his gaze icy and sharp.
Countless eyes converged on Chen Yi. The rain pounded heavily on his shoulders, an oppressive weight that could suffocate most. Yet, his spine remained straight, his deanor cold and unyielding like stone or iron.
It was as if the situation had reached the breaking point; the tension pressing like a drawn bowstring. Huang Jing's fingertips brushed the saber sheath. "You governnt dog… do you intend to use today to establish your authority?"
"Establish authority? No, I'm just here to seek justice."
"Justice?" Huang Jing's expression twisted in a grimace. "My son is dead. What justice do you think you can seek?!"
His raspy voice dripped with hatred. The mont his words fell, the weight of countless Jianghu gazes bore down on Chen Yi like a crushing force. By now, who knew how many martial artists had clenched fists, their expressions darkening with Huang Jing's grief-stricken cry.
Yet still, Chen Yi stood tall, upright as ever.
Countless raindrops struck his shoulders, countless raindrops shattered upon impact.
"Your son's death is justice you seek,"
Chen Yi said, enunciating each word slowly,
"But your violence against the elderly, won, and children—that is justice I seek."
Huang Jing froze montarily, then abruptly understood. He laughed mockingly:
"You an those theater perforrs and those petty servants? So, you're here seeking compensation for them, huh… Ridiculous, ridiculous! My son dies, and no governnt dog speaks for . Yet yesterday, when so lowborns die, suddenly a governnt dog jumps out of nowhere!"
His voice rang loud and clear, shaking the rain into disorder, scattering onto faces in the audience. Although so faces showed mild unease, the fact remained that the lives of lowborns weighed little compared to that of a prominent family's son. Furthermore, hadn't most there benefited from Huang Jing's fortune? Shared interests dulled objections.
The elder Six Yang Pavilion frowned deeply. He had overheard rumors yesterday about servants seeking compensation, with Huang Jing supposedly handling the matter alone. It seed the assumption had been wrong—people hadn't rely been sent away quietly; they had been killed.
Attempting to diate as a respected elder, he spoke: "Esteed officer, perhaps this was all a misunderstanding from last night. With Huang Jing's noble standing, after capturing the ringleader, he will surely provide you an explanation."
Chen Yi replied icily: "An explanation? What explanation does he have left, after scattering money among all of you? What explanation could he possibly provide?"
Six Yang Pavilion froze at this, knowing full well Huang Jing had spent vast sums to secure support. He found himself at a loss for words.
At that mont, Thunder Bear, who stood maid with one arm, spoke up:
"If what you say is true, then I, Thunder Bear, will willingly give up my share. I trust that others here, as righteous heroes, would also…"
As Thunder Bear's words trailed off, he was t with dead silence—no voices of agreent were heard. The pride and valor that had filled the atmosphere earlier dissolved when the matter turned to the six thousand taels of gold. Faces beca complicated, even hesitant. Whatever idealism had driven people here to fight for righteousness now crumbled before greed.
To prevent morale from eroding further, Huang Jing cut Thunder Bear short: "No need! Governnt forces are always greedy, using so-called 'compensation' as an excuse to strip us of our money. If this governnt dog dares to demand justice, then I ask: how exactly do you plan to obtain it?"
With that, nurous Jianghu figures turned furious gazes toward Chen Yi.
The murmurs and argunts grew chaotic, escalating like crashing waves.
Six Yang Pavilion's elder, still intent on diation, said: "The pain of losing a child is sothing everyone here understands. And let's not forget how crafty spies are, burning down Yuanfeng Building…"
Swish!
Chen Yi stepped forward sharply, the sound of his footfall against the rain punctuating the elder's speech, silencing the crowd.
Through the drizzle, his laugh was icy: "Crafty spies, Jianghu ethics, cries of noble grief—after Yuanfeng burned, you presented yourself as stoic and unyielding. But at its root, wasn't it your negligence, Huang Jing, that allowed yourself to be toyed with like a dog?!"
The jab hit its mark.
Huang Jing's face turned shades of pale green and mottled red. The notion of spending fortunes to win favor was exposed as re smoke and mirrors for concealing his failures.
Chen Yi's voice rang like a bell through the room:
"Grief for a son? His life mattered, did it not?
But when Yuanfeng's killers surrounded , did my life not matter?
When you slaughter innocents and ruin their livelihoods, do lives of lowborns not matter?
What part of Jianghu's moral code says only his son's life counts as a life?!"
His biting tone pushed forth like a shockwave, rippling the rain in waves.
Huang Jing rallied his energy defensively, glaring with fury. "You want to ask for justice with a blade?"
"Ask,"
Chen Yi said, each word deliberate, voice trembling with conviction,
"Ask for justice over wrong and right, ask to asure life and death!"
...…
Yuanfeng Building lood like a dead tree amidst the rain-soaked backdrop. The scene remained eerily still.
Heavy clouds pressed overhead, dust whirled in bitterness, and rain fell like sharp iron wires.
The crowd had backed away, clearing an expanse of seventeen or eighteen zhang between the two figures. In the rain's midst stood Chen Yi and Huang Jing, unmoving even as rain like iron needled their faces.
Water splashed on the ground.
Huang Jing did not clasp his hands, eyes blazing with unrelenting fury. Since inheriting his family's estate upon reaching adulthood, he had founded martial arts schools and spent thirty years unbeaten. His na carried imnse weight in the Northwest's Jianghu circles. Huang Family's Saber Technique had reached perfection, with his Qinggong and hard-body martial arts further polished from ancestral teachings. Though he regarded Chen Yi as beyond ordinary Fourth Rank, he himself was far more than that!
Chen Yi stood as still as a mountain without clasping hands, fingers resting on the saber's hilt. When his long saber unsheathed, the sharp tallic sound echoed crisply.
Rain collided against the blade given by Min Ning, its steel glimring with spiritual energy, emitting an unparalleled chill.
Chen Yi suddenly felt Min Ning's presence, as though it was her hand guiding his blade from its sheath.
The designated arbiter for this duel needed no introduction; Six Yang Pavilion's elder, the most respected figure present, stepped forward to serve as witness.
He surveyed both fighters, sighed, and spoke aloud: "By the witness of all present, on this day, the West Factory's Thousand Households Min Ning and Yuanfeng Building Owner Huang Jing shall duel in Shantong City. Blades are rciless; life and death shall be borne by the participants alone. Regardless of the outco, grievances shall be laid to rest, all matters resolved. None shall pursue vengeance further. Heaven watches, the spirits bear witness!"
Clang!
The striking of a gong reverberated, dispersing raindrops out in a circle. The atmosphere grew silent but for the occasional mutter of distant thunder.
When the sound ceased to echo, both opponents had already drawn their weapons, their edges gleaming coldly.
"Huang Family's Saber, Huang Jing."
"West Factory Thousand Households, Min Ning."
Both voices rang clear in near unison:
"Begin!"
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