Chapter 41: Zheng Qian
Zheng Qian looked toward the shaking villagers. He suddenly bent down and bowed toward them. "I am Zheng Qian. I am deeply apologetic for having brought a disaster to your village."
The villagers glanced at Zheng Qian in fear, anger, and resentment, but they didn't dare speak.
"Sir Zheng, all of us owe you our lives. You saved our entire village that year, and we won't blame you for what you've done. You've spent all this time working hard for the public good, and you have our gratitude," Old Wang consoled him.
Zheng Qian laughed bitterly. "Even so, I brought this upon you all. Working hard for the public good? It might as well have been a joke. Old Wang, I don't deserve your gratitude."
Zheng Qian sighed and turned toward the warriors. "I'm the one you seek. Don't make things difficult for these innocent villagers."
The captain of the crow troops suddenly struck Zheng Qian's abdomen with vicious force.
Zheng Qian sprayed out a mouthful of blood and knelt on the ground in pain. He gaped at the captain, not having anticipated that he would be so vulgar as to strike him directly.
"Ha! Do you really think yourself a noble just because I address you as Sir Zheng? Who do you think you are? You're not fit to command me!" the captain told him, a cold smile on his face.
"You—"
"Break his qi circulation and pierce his collarbones," the captain commanded.
"Understood!" A group of black-clad warriors rushed forward. Their blades slashed deeply into Zheng Qian's four limbs. Then, two giant hooks were forcibly pushed through his collarbones. He slumped to the ground, blood fountaining out of him.
He howled in pain, unable to resist the attack.
"Stop it!" Old Wang shouted, rushing over.
He was sent flying to the ground, smashing against a wall of a nearby house. As he fell, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, along with a few of his teeth.
"Zheng Qian, the marquis himself instated you as an official, but rather than focus on your work, you attempted to betray him! Not only that, you even stole the marquis' gold. You might as well be one of the marquis' dogs. If you're disloyal, if you're recalcitrant, then there's no reason to keep you alive any longer. Tell me where the money is hidden and I'll give you a painless death," the captain of the troops bellowed fiercely.
"Gold? Ha! All the gold I made for the marquis, he promised me he would use for the common folk. Instead, he spent it all on your crow troops. The people all over the land are dying, but he doesn't care at all! No matter how much gold I make, the only ones that benefit are you. You'll get nothing from me!" Zheng Qian replied resolutely.
"You're really looking to die, aren't you?" The captain narrowed his eyes as he kicked at Zheng Qian's prone body, sending him flying. His breastbone cracked from the impact, and he spat out another mouthful of blood.
"Stubborn, aren't you? Don't worry. When we bring you back to Taiwu, you'll wish you opened your mouth sooner," the captain of the troops threatened.
Zheng Qian spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva at him.
"As for these villagers you care about? You'll see just what happens to those who betray the marquis. Troops, kill them all!" the captain ordered.
"No!" Zheng Qian cried out.
"No, don't kill us!" the villagers pleaded, crying and shouting as they knelt on the ground.
"Kill!" The warriors held up their blades, preparing to unleash a slaughter.
"Hold it!" a voice called out, cutting through the cacophony.
Everyone watched Xiao Nanfeng step out of the crowd.
"What do you have to say?" The captain of the troops stared at him coldly.
"You're here to kill the villagers of Dawangzhuang, but I'm just a traveler. You've made a mistake," Xiao Nanfeng explained seriously.
Everyone: ...Who cares if you're a traveler? Do you think they'd care?
"This young man is indeed foreign to our village. He passed by last night and took shelter in my house. Warriors, this incident has nothing to do with him. Please let him leave," Old Wang begged, even as he continued to pant for breath.
Xiao Nanfeng glanced at Old Wang, astounded by his kindness. Old Wang was about to die himself, but was still willing to speak up in favor of a stranger he didn't know! Damn it. It's a little dangerous, but I can tolerate this amount of risk. Let's put on a show, then!
"Right, I'm only a bystander! Please, sirs, let me go!" Xiao Nanfeng walked toward one warrior.
"Haha, so there really are idiots like you around in the world! Blame yourself for being unlucky—kill him!" the captain of the crow troops commanded.
Before he had finished speaking, however, Xiao Nanfeng made his move. He punched toward the temple of the closest guard.
His skull was smashed in as his temple exploded, splattering blood and brain matter everywhere. Before anyone else could react, Xiao Nanfeng had claimed his blade and tossed it at the enemy.
The blade struck a warrior standing beside Zheng Qian with such strength that it penetrated through his chest and pinned him against a wall.
"I'll kill you!" the captain of the crow troops thundered. Who could have thought that this seemingly harmless youth would suddenly kill someone?
Xiao Nanfeng, who had just killed two of the warriors, rushed straight toward Zheng Qian and ran out of the village carrying him.
"Hold it!"
"Kill him!"
"Take him down!"
A group of enraged warriors chased after Xiao Nanfeng.
Dawangzhuang was at the foot of a forested mountain. Xiao Nanfeng carried Zheng Qian into the forest, rushing up the hill, with 48 black-armored troops giving chase behind him.
Zheng Qian, already wounded, vomited out fresh blood as Xiao Nanfeng inadvertently jostled him as he ran.
"Lad, thank you," Zheng Qian coughed out.
"I'm not here to save you, you scourge!" Xiao Nanfeng cried out.
"Not me?" Zheng Qian seemed astounded.
"I did it to save Old Wang and his family!"
"You—" Zheng Qian coughed a few more times, unable to continue the conversation.
Xiao Nanfeng didn't elaborate. He headed deeper and deeper into the forest.
Angry roars could be heard from behind.
Xiao Nanfeng plodded on, feeling as though the warriors were closing in on him minute by minute. Although he cultivated qi of pure yang, he was still only an Acquisition-realm cultivator, and his strength would be weaker than that of an Immanence-realm one. Fortunately, a light rain began to fall, and mist descended on the forested mountain.
"Zheng Qian, I'm going to sequester you here. Don't make any noise—I'll lure them away," Xiao Nanfeng instructed in a whisper. After that, he found a particularly lush tree, leapt up onto its branches, and deposited Zheng Qian by its crown, shrouded by countless leaves.
Then, he scampered back down into the underbrush.
"Ouch!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted as he feigned a stumble.
"He's over there!" A group of warriors headed straight toward Xiao Nanfeng.
Atop the tree, Zheng Qian looked on with a complicated expression on his face.
"This is the youth that Old Wang mentioned to me last night? He seems to be an Acquisition-realm cultivator. If he had forsaken us and run off alone, he might well have escaped, but he risked his life to carry me out to save Old Wang and the village at large... His courage is truly commendable," Zheng Qian murmured.
Without Zheng Qian slowing him down, Xiao Nanfeng began to move quite a bit more rapidly, frustrating the warriors behind him.
"Surround this entire mountain! We'll split up and encircle our prey. Let's see how far he can go!" the captain of the troops commanded.
"Understood!"
The troops split up and began combing through the entire forest, patch by patch.
"There's no one here!"
"None here either!"
"None—" One warrior was halfway through a shout when a fist struck his face, causing him to scream as he was flung back.
The scream was suddenly cut short.
The warriors rushed over to see their companion dead on the ground, his collarbone fractured.
"He's dead?" The warriors blanched.
"Captain, that brat's launching sneak attacks at us! We have to be careful!" one warrior reported.
From afar, another warrior screamed. With a crack, his scream was suddenly cut short.
"That bastard! From his speed, he's only at the peak of Acquisition—and he dares try to take us down? Keep searching. I'll skin him alive and kill his entire family!" the captain of the troops shouted.
"Understood!" Everyone grew alert and vigilant as they continued their search.
In a forested mountain shrouded by mist, subject to a fine rain, a hunt was unfolding.
Xiao Nanfeng was like a wraith in the night, appearing out of nowhere, finding Acquisition-realm targets that had gone astray, killing them, and then going back into hiding.
"On Mist-Sense really does work out in practice! I can take advantage of the mist to manipulate my spiritual power in the form of misty tendrils to sense the auras of those around me. These warriors are nothing more than bandits, leaving countless innocents in their wake! Today, I'll take revenge for all those they've killed." Xiao Nanfeng's eyes flashed. "As for the Immanence-realm cultivators, well, I still have a sixth of the purpleveil poison orb left."
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