Chapter 134: How Dare You Claim Innocence?
Li Daoxuan let out a soft exclamation, his curiosity piqued.
Cheng Xu was a government official, a ninth-rank military inspector of the imperial court, a formally appointed military officer. Who would dare pursue him with swords? Were they bandits? Yet, the people chasing him appeared well-dressed, not quite fitting the image of rebels.
He quickly grabbed a magnifying glass to get a closer look.
Magnifying the view, he could clearly discern the patterns on their clothes: Flying Fish Robes.
Jinyiwei!
Aha, now this was getting interesting.
It was obvious the main act was beginning. He quickly grabbed some snacks, activated all camera angles, zoomed in the lens, turned on automatic tracking mode, and projected the image onto the wall with his projector.
With that, the immersive viewing experience was complete.
The fastest Jinyiwei caught up to Cheng Xu. A flash of steel, and his ornate saber slashed towards the vulnerable center of Cheng Xu's back.
The Jinyiwei screamed in agony and tumbled to the ground.
Two more Jinyiwei behind him roared in unison, "Damn him!"
Two figures lunged forward simultaneously, their ornate sabers slashing in tandem.
Cheng Xu dodged one saber with a quick shift to the left, but met the other with his armor. The blade rang against his iron plate armor, and at the same time, he swung his heavy dao blade, slicing viciously towards the two Jinyiwei.
Both Jinyiwei leaped back in unison, one shouting, "He's a tough opponent! This fellow's martial arts are quite formidable."
Cheng Xu, too, was weary from running. He paused to catch his breath, snarling through gritted teeth, "You pampered city folk! My martial prowess was forged on the battlefield, blade by blade, spear by spear, not like you timid fools who only watch plays and listen to songs in the capital!"
"Hmph!" From among the Jinyiwei stepped a pale, beardless man. His voice was soft and sinister. "What good is your skill? Do you think one man and one blade can stand against all the Jinyiwei? I advise you to lay down your weapons and obediently follow this one to the capital. Explain your false military report properly to the Emperor, and perhaps there's still a slim chance for survival."
Cheng Xu retorted, "Do you take me for a three-year-old child? If I go to the capital with you, I'm a dead man. Even if innocent, they'll beat a confession out of me."
The pale, beardless man scoffed coldly, "Do you still have the audacity to claim innocence? Tell this one, whose head was it that you hung on the city gates of Chengcheng County a few days ago?"
Cheng Xu snapped, "Wang Er of Baishui!"
"Nonsense!" the pale, beardless man roared. "See for yourself this urgent military dispatch."
He threw a rolled-up urgent military dispatch at Cheng Xu's feet.
Cheng Xu picked it up and read it, his face paling drastically. The dispatch stated that Wang Er of Baishui, leading three thousand bandits, had breached Yijun County town, freed its prisoners, and then continued north, entering Luochuan County.
"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!" Cheng Xu shouted. "When I chased Wang Er out of Chengcheng County, he was gravely wounded and only had about a hundred men with him. How could he have rallied three thousand troops and breached Yijun County town in such a short time? It's impossible!"
The pale, beardless man said, "So you admit it now, you never killed Wang Er."
Cheng Xu's face turned ashen. "You're fabricating military intelligence to trick me! My false report of Wang Er's death at the time was also to deter other bandits. And in fact, I succeeded! I wiped out all remaining bandits in Chengcheng and accomplished a great feat. It was a measure of expediency."
The pale, beardless man's voice turned chilling. "No, this dispatch is real. This one hasn't sunk so low as to use such cheap tricks. Wang Er truly did breach Yijun County town. That man has a formidable reputation among the outlaws; at his rallying cry, followers flocked to him like clouds. You let him escape, then you fabricated his head, causing the imperial court to believe he was dead and relax its pursuit. You gave him a chance to rise again. And you still dare claim innocence?"
Cheng Xu stiffened.
Well, now he understood. He truly was doomed.
Cheng Xu glanced frantically around. His great-grandmother peeked half her face out from behind a roadside tree, waving at him. On the valley walls, behind rocks, on earthen slopes... everywhere, great-grandmothers, an overwhelming multitude of them, waved at him.
No path to life remained!
Escape was impossible!
To hell with it! He'd fight to the bitter end!
Any death was fine, but he wouldn't willingly offer his head to an enemy blade.
"Everyone takes me for a pushover, eh? A pushover!" Cheng Xu raised his blade. "Come on then, I'd like to see how much skill you pampered young masters from the capital possess to claim this 'pushover's' head."
Three Jinyiwei charged forward simultaneously, their three ornate sabers gleamed with cold light.
Cheng Xu slashed left, slashed right, and spun with another strike. With a series of metallic clashes, he forced all three back, even managing to wound one of them.
Even the pale, beardless man was startled. He thought to himself: *I'd always heard Cheng Xu was a coward, but I never expected his martial arts to be so formidable. What in the world? If he's this skilled, what was all that chicken-hearted act for?*
"Attack!"
Several more Jinyiwei jumped into the fray. A group surrounded Cheng Xu, some pressing in while others circled, creating a fluid, encircling attack.
But Cheng Xu truly had some skill. Wielding his heavy dao blade, he parried left and blocked right, demonstrating balanced offense and defense. Convinced he was doomed, the man cast aside his lifelong cowardice, fighting with his back against the wall. He fought with desperate ferocity, his eyes bloodshot as he fought to the death. His desperate fury stole their momentum, and they couldn't bring him down.
Li Daoxuan secretly chuckled. *Well, this is entertaining! Both Bai Yuan and San Shier had said that Cheng Xu was a massive coward, who always thought of fleeing in battle and dared not charge without a guaranteed victory. I thought he was useless, but it turns out his martial arts are quite good.*
At this thought, Li Daoxuan felt a stir of interest.
While Bai Yuan could help the Gao Family Village villagers with tactics, his approach was somewhat unconventional, and he couldn't teach the villagers martial arts. Bai Yuan also had his own family affairs to attend to. Gao Family Village couldn't keep calling on Bai Yuan every time something happened, could it?
But this Cheng Xu not only possessed martial skill but could also teach tactics, and even had experience leading regular troops. These were all things Gao Family Village currently lacked.
This person might prove useful.
He was now being hunted by the Jinyiwei and was at his wit's end. This was truly a good opportunity to bring him into Gao Family Village. Later, with him and San Shier—one civilian, one military—each performing their duties, they might prove quite effective.
With this in mind, Li Daoxuan decided to intervene.
He glanced at the scene where Cheng Xu and the Jinyiwei were clashing. It happened to be in a small valley. That made things much easier.
Reaching into the box, he aimed at a rocky peak on one side of the valley, and slammed his palm down with a resounding *thwack*...
The rocky peak trembled. Then, a torrent of loose rocks and earth surged down the valley slope.
At that moment, Cheng Xu was still engaged in battle with the Jinyiwei, when suddenly, he heard a rumbling 'boom' from the nearby peak, followed by a furious cascade of rocks and earth sliding down the valley walls.
Startled, both sides of the battle instantly broke apart.
The Jinyiwei desperately scrambled back.
Cheng Xu also tried to retreat, but Li Daoxuan's other hand, just before the rocks slid down, arched its back and, with a soft thud, covered Cheng Xu's head, blocking all his escape routes, front, back, left, and right, rendering him completely immobile.
Cheng Xu stumbled back a few steps, his back hitting Li Daoxuan's palm. An invisible, intangible wall, cutting off his last hope of escape.
So be it!
Cheng Xu burst into wild laughter. "Great-grandma, your great-grandson is coming to see you!"
The torrent of rocks surged, instantly engulfing Li Daoxuan's hand.
Dust billowed!
The Jinyiwei, having narrowly escaped death, were utterly terrified. The sheer power of heaven and earth was truly insurmountable.
The pale, beardless man, his fright barely subdued, swallowed hard. "Cheng Xu died in a landslide, his body buried. There's no way we can dig him out. Everyone here witnessed it with their own eyes. Let's return to the capital and report back to the Emperor together."
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