Chapter 193 - 166: The Killer of the County Captain, Xie Yuan

Chapter 193: Chapter 166: The Killer of the County Captain, Xie Yuan

When Yu Chunsheng saw Xie Yuan finally reveal himself, his aura completely locked on, his expression was grave, yet he also breathed a sigh of relief.

The eerie uncertainty of not knowing where Xie Yuan might appear from had been far more terrifying than this direct confrontation.

In the corner of his eye, he saw more and more townsfolk gathering far down the street. Yu Chunsheng straightened up, brushed the dust from his robes, clasped his hands behind his back, and puffed out his chest. He spoke with a composed air:

"Xie Yuan, you killed Chen Su, the master of a martial arts hall, and now you intend to attack a court official in broad daylight? Do you hold the Great Li Dynasty in such contempt?"

Xie Yuan stood on the street, watching Yu Chunsheng without a word.

Seeing this, Yu Chunsheng assumed he had intimidated the young man. A small smile touched his lips, and his voice boomed:

"Even someone as powerful as Shen Longteng was perfectly polite to me. As long as I wear this robe..."

He stretched out a hand, pinched the lapel of his robe, and shook it, making the auspicious cloud pattern on his official garb ripple like waves:

"I represent the Great Li Dynasty! Xie Yuan, think carefully. You’re a young man; don’t throw your life away!"

Yu Chunsheng’s bellow silenced the entire street. Cowed by his official authority, the townsfolk fell deathly quiet, nervously watching the two men in the cleared space at the center of the street.

Xie Yuan remained perfectly still, simply staring at Yu Chunsheng, his bright eyes reflecting the official’s wild gesticulations.

Xie Yuan’s placid gaze made Yu Chunsheng a little uncomfortable, but seeing him make no move, his arrogance gradually returned. He sneered.

"Good, you understand! A brute is still just a brute. An Escort Agency, a martial arts hall... how can they possibly compare to the imperial court? If you’d just use your brain, you wouldn’t dare..."

He was cut off mid-sentence by a flash of cold light.

Yu Chunsheng’s eyes flew wide, and he hastily swung his saber.

BANG! He felt a fierce wave of energy strike his saber, knocking his arm aside and leaving his chest completely exposed. A piercing intent washed over him.

Yu Chunsheng’s eyes widened. A yellow light flared around him as he channeled all his power into the Vajra Sect’s famous hardening technique, the Rock Skill. He managed to block the piercing intent but was forced back several steps, a tightness constricting his chest.

He clutched his chest, coughed twice, and pointed at Xie Yuan.

"Saber qi! You... you dare to attack me?"

Yu Chunsheng was furious and shocked, but also felt a sliver of fear.

’He hasn’t even reached the level of Qi and Blood transformation! How can he project saber qi?’

’I didn’t believe the rumors that he killed Chen Su in a single blow, but it seems they were true. If he’s this powerful, I don’t think I can hold him off... He actually attacked.’

A sense of foreboding crept into Yu Chunsheng’s heart. He gritted his teeth and said:

"Xie Yuan, think about what you’re doing! Even Shen Longteng and his men..."

"The Agency Head and the others thought too much, and that’s why you were able to screw them over again and again."

Xie Yuan interrupted him, finally speaking.

He shook his head and said:

"But what choice did they have? To run an Escort Agency, a County Captain like you holds all the cards. Their only other option was to close up shop..."

He took a step forward, a mocking smile spreading across his face as he looked at Yu Chunsheng.

"But you screwed them over and destroyed the Escort Agency anyway, didn’t you?"

Yu Chunsheng couldn’t help but take a step back, his voice hoarse:

"Don’t be rash. The Escort Agency is gone, but you’re still young, you have a great future ahead of you. You weren’t raised by the Agency, you’re an outsider. Why gamble your own life for them?"

"I wasn’t entirely trained by the Escort Agency, that’s true. But have you forgotten why I joined the Agency in the first place?"

Xie Yuan let out a dry laugh and, from a distance, suddenly swung his saber again.

Yu Chunsheng held his saber horizontally to block the incoming saber qi, his arm trembling slightly.

He was horrified. ’I can barely withstand this force, and by the looks of it, Xie Yuan isn’t even trying!’

Yu Chunsheng shrieked:

"What is your true cultivation level?"

"Just Fourth Training. Same as you."

With every step Xie Yuan took forward, Yu Chunsheng took one back.

DING! DING! DING! The sounds rang out continuously as streams of saber qi collided with Yu Chunsheng’s long saber, making his arms shake violently.

Suddenly, with a CLANG, Yu Chunsheng lost his grip, and his long saber fell to the ground.

Terrified, he quickly raised a hand and said with a trembling voice:

"Stop! Xie Yuan, that was just a misunderstanding! It was all that bastard Zhang Xuefeng’s fault for misleading me! He was the one who wanted to harm you, it had nothing to do with me! Look, I didn’t do anything to you afterward, did I? Even when you killed him, I didn’t pursue the matter..."

"That’s only because his house was burned to the ground. You had no evidence. Otherwise, you would have come for me long ago."

Xie Yuan’s words cut straight to the point.

"There was no evidence, but everyone knows you did it... Right, right, no evidence. He wasn’t killed by you in the first place. Xie Yuan, you’re innocent. It’s not too late to stop now."

Yu Chunsheng flinched at the look in Xie Yuan’s eyes and quickly changed his tune.

Xie Yuan looked at Yu Chunsheng and grinned.

"Actually, I did kill them. The government official Zhang Yufeng, and his brother—I killed them with my own hands."

Yu Chunsheng shook his head repeatedly.

"No, there’s no evidence! You didn’t kill them!"

"I did kill them. I’m admitting it myself."

"You didn’t kill them, don’t talk nonsense!"

"I killed them. And Chen Su, too. Didn’t you just say I killed Chen Su in the middle of the street? The whole street is full of witnesses. The evidence is irrefutable."

Xie Yuan said with a chuckle.

Yu Chunsheng said with difficulty:

"They could have... not seen anything."

Xie Yuan was amused by Yu Chunsheng’s absurdity. He pointed his saber at him and laughed loudly.

"Hahaha! Look, everyone! This is the ’parent official’ of our Yunzhao County!"

The faces of the watching townsfolk were complicated. They didn’t say a word, their silent gazes all fixed on Yu Chunsheng, putting an inexplicable, heavy pressure on him.

But at this moment, Yu Chunsheng couldn’t be bothered with any of that. He only wanted to save his own life. He raised his hand and pleaded:

"Xie Yuan, if you stop now, I’ll let bygones be bygones and guarantee you a clean slate. You’re a prodigy with a great future. If you become a wanted criminal now, you won’t be able to take a single step in this world, no matter how big it is."

He gritted his teeth and, throwing caution to the wind, said:

"Xie Yuan, let me warn you! A Divine Catcher from the Spring Rain Building is investigating a case in Yunzhou right now. If you kill me, he’ll definitely come here to investigate. When a Grandmaster-level Divine Catcher arrives, you won’t even be able to escape the Yunzhao area before you’re caught! Don’t be reckless!"

Xie Yuan just smiled faintly and responded with another strike of his saber.

"Ah!"

Yu Chunsheng screamed and was sent flying backward, crashing to the ground.

His chest was slashed open by the saber qi, and blood immediately soaked through his fine silk official robes, turning them crimson.

"You... you actually dare!"

Yu Chunsheng shrieked. Seeing Xie Yuan raise his saber again, he struggled to lift a hand.

"Don’t! Don’t kill me! If you kill me, you’ll be a wanted criminal for killing a court official!"

"Are you deaf? I just spent all that time explaining that I’m already a murderer."

Xie Yuan chuckled and swung his saber again.

The saber qi struck Yu Chunsheng. The yellow light flashed, blocking some of the force, but the rest of it cut into his body like a dull knife sawing through flesh.

"Ah!"

He screamed again, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He scrambled backward on the ground, half-lying, half-crawling, shouting:

"Xie Yuan! You’ve made your point! Spare my life, there’s still room for negotiation... AHH—"

Xie Yuan didn’t react, just sending out strike after strike.

The power of his saber qi was less than a real cut, and he had deliberately reduced his strength. Each strike was like a whip lashing Yu Chunsheng’s body.

Yu Chunsheng was hacked back again and again, until he finally turned over completely and started crawling, trying to get away from Xie Yuan. But how could he possibly escape?

He left a long trail of blood down the street, his screams and pleas for mercy growing fainter:

"...Spare me!"

"Stop! Stop cutting... me..."

"Xie Yuan!"

"Xie Yuan! How dare you... How dare you kill me! I’m... from the Vajra Sect... I’m a court official! You wouldn’t dare kill a court official!"

Yu Chunsheng couldn’t crawl anymore. He turned to face Xie Yuan, seeming to have a final burst of energy, and roared:

"Look at my official robes! I am an official of the Great Li Dynasty! I am the County Captain of Yunzhao! You dare kill me!"

Xie Yuan walked up to Yu Chunsheng. The sun shone from behind him, casting a shadow that completely enveloped the fallen man.

Yu Chunsheng found the sunlight behind Xie Yuan blinding. He couldn’t see his expression, only a silhouette. He squinted, weakly raising a hand, only to see the silhouette slowly raise its saber.

Yu Chunsheng’s eyes flew wide with fury as he let out a bloodcurdling shriek:

"Xie Yuan, you can’t kill me!!!"

The long saber whistled down. With a crisp CHOP, Yu Chunsheng was cleanly beheaded.

Xie Yuan bent down, picked up the head with its wide, furious eyes, and stared into them for a moment. Then he raised the head high for the dense crowd to see and shouted:

"The man who killed the County Captain is Xie Yuan of Little Stone Village!"

During the long, execution-like process, nearly half of Yunzhao had gathered on this street, packing it so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass.

They watched Xie Yuan in silence. It’s unknown who started it, but someone began to clap, and the applause gradually grew into a deafening thunder.

Xie Yuan nodded slightly, then glanced at the County Magistrate, who had long been standing at the front of the crowd, and announced in a loud voice:

"Deeds and shops should be returned to their rightful owners and not be seized. Otherwise, their fate will be the same as his."

He threw the head, and it rolled to the County Magistrate’s feet.

The guards around the County Magistrate reacted as if facing a great enemy, raising their sabers toward Xie Yuan, their faces tense.

The refined-looking County Magistrate, however, remained composed. He paid no mind to the veiled threat and nodded.

"As long as the laws of the Great Li are followed, that is how it should be."

Xie Yuan gave him a deep look, then turned his gaze to the side, toward the entrance of Yu Chunsheng’s mansion.

A pale-faced woman stood there, along with a young boy whose eyes were filled with fear and resentment.

When the woman saw Xie Yuan look over, she let out a cry, then quickly covered her mouth and hugged the boy tightly, like a mother hen protecting her chick.

Seeing this, Xie Yuan sneered, looked away, and couldn’t be bothered to spare them a second glance.

He glanced around, nodded slightly to the extremely excited Qin Sea and other old friends from the Escort Agency in the crowd, and then strolled away.

As Xie Yuan approached, the crowd parted like a great river split by magic, revealing a path through the middle.

Amidst a silent, respectful gaze, Xie Yuan walked on, blended into the crowd, and disappeared from sight.

「Half a day passed.」

The crowd on the long street had already dispersed, but the main streets and back alleys were still buzzing with discussion.

The County Captain, who had tyrannically lorded over the people for many years, being executed in the street—an event like this would likely remain a hot topic in restaurants and teahouses for many years to come.

Amidst the discussions filling the streets, a pair of Flying Cloud Boots stepped onto the road.

A young-looking Chief Constable walked over, knelt down by the still-wet bloodstain on the ground, and began to examine it closely.