Chapter 67: Touched

Chapter 67: Chapter 67: Touched

Zeng Anmin felt his eyes grow slightly hot.

At this moment, his father, standing before him with greying hair, seemed to radiate a blinding light. He felt a profound, heavy tenderness, like a massive mountain standing tall to shield him.

"Ahem—COUGH." Clearing his inexplicably choked throat, Zeng Anmin nodded heavily. "Father, I’ll listen to you!"

Zeng Shilin kept his gaze on Zeng Anmin, his eyes profound. "If you get the chance, pass a message to the Black Cat Martial Artist for me."

"Huh?" Zeng Anmin instinctively wanted to refute, but after seeing his father’s deep gaze, he opened his mouth and said nothing.

"He beheaded the rebel leader, which is a great merit to the common people. I won’t hold his past actions against him, but if he dares to violate the laws and act on personal vendettas again, I definitely won’t spare him!"

His father spoke with sonorous power, his voice carrying immense pressure. An imposing aura rushed forward.

Zeng Anmin pressed his dry lips together and braced himself against his father’s gaze, feeling a bit conflicted. "I understand..."

It was obvious that his father was already convinced he had a deep connection with the Black Cat Martial Artist.

CRASH!!!

A massive noise suddenly erupted outside the door, immediately drawing the attention of both father and son. They wondered what was going on. The two of them looked up simultaneously toward the door.

Outside the window.

The gates of the Observation Department had already been smashed to pieces by the fish monster from earlier. Through the ruined entrance, a squad of Armored Warriors covered in blood could be seen standing there. Severed human arms and chunks of mangled flesh hung off the Armored Warriors—dripping with fresh blood, making for a glaringly gruesome sight under the sunlight.

A tall, burly man with a twisted expression wore a sinister smile. He simply stood at the entrance of the Observation Department.

THUD.

The burly man casually tossed a highly conspicuous human head onto the ground. Upon closer inspection, it was shockingly the head of Liangjiang Commandery’s Assistant General, Lin Rong!

"I am General Xu Tong, and I am here only to execute the rebel leader, Zeng Shilin!" The burly man’s voice was loud, resonant, and piercing, echoing throughout the entire Observation Department.

A familiar figure stepped forward beside him. With a solemn face and a tone of absolute righteousness, the man declared, "Zeng Shilin conspired with the Demon Race to plot a rebellion! My colleagues, do not make a mistake and ruin yourselves!"

This person was none other than the Prefect of Liangjiang Commandery, Qi Xiande!

As soon as his voice rang out, the massive Observation Department fell dead silent. All the officials who had been busy with their duties looked up in shock, turning their gazes toward the main gates.

In the room.

The father and son watched all of this through the window, their expressions freezing.

"Lin Rong couldn’t stop him," his father said, staring at the scene at the gates with a gloomy brow.

According to his calculations, as the Assistant General of Liangjiang Commandery, Lin Rong possessed the strength of the Seventh Grade Visualization Realm. Leading five thousand troops, he should have easily been able to hold off a mere Eighth Grade martial artist like Xu Tong. However, Lin Rong’s glaringly obvious severed head on the ground left him speechless.

It seemed some unexpected variable had occurred.

Zeng Anmin abruptly looked toward Xu Tong. Although he only caught a fleeting glimpse through the window, he saw it very clearly.

Xu Tong... was walking the exact same path as King Jiang! He practiced the Demon Blood Martial Dao and had already broken through to the Seventh Grade.

No wonder Lin Rong was no match for him.

RUSTLE...

A group of people hurried out from the depths of the Observation Department Government Office, gathering in the main courtyard.

"Prefect... Prefect Qi?" A goatee-sporting old man in his sixties looked on in horror. Staring at the Armored Warriors’ weapons glinting blindingly in the sunlight at the entrance, his voice trembled. "What in the world is going on here?!"

Beside Xu Tong, Qi Xiande maintained a solemn expression and said in a deep voice, "Zeng Shilin colluded with the Demon Race to murder King Jiang! The evidence is undeniable. Tie him up and bring him here immediately, or you will all be treated as his accomplices!"

"This..." The old man with the goatee looked uncertain and bewildered. He said hoarsely, "There must be some sort of misunderstanding..."

"A misunderstanding?" A sharp glint flashed across Qi Xiande’s face as he suddenly bellowed, "Think carefully! The Observation Department is heavily guarded by Arrays. How did Wang Deli die? Why did the Demon Race manage to enter the prison so smoothly to kill him?

"Without Zeng Shilin’s permission, how could the Demon Race possibly enter the Observation Department?!"

In truth, this argument had a massive flaw. After all, Zeng Shilin wasn’t the only one who knew about the Arrays within the Observation Department; Qi Xiande, as the Prefect of Liangjiang Commandery, knew about them as well. However, the situation was so sudden, and with Qi Xiande seizing the initiative to strike first, everyone’s train of thought was derailed by him.

"This..."

The officials in the courtyard were all startled, glancing at each other in dismay.

Inside the room.

Zeng Shilin took in the entire scene.

"No wonder they had An Shiyi get rid of Wang Deli." Taking a deep breath, his father narrowed his eyes, his voice chilling. "It was all for this exact moment!"

If Wang Deli, the number one expert of Liangjiang Commandery, were present right now, the squad of Armored Warriors at the gates and the rebellious Xu Tong wouldn’t pose the slightest threat.

Zeng Anmin pursed his lips.

Indeed, while they had their own schemes, others naturally had theirs. In this world, no one was a fool.

"I am Qin Shoucheng, Principal of Shuidu Academy!"

A voice suddenly rang out across the courtyard. Qin Shoucheng stepped out of a room expressionlessly. Looking at Qi Xiande outside the gates, his voice carried a trace of fury. "You certainly have a knack for confounding right and wrong and twisting the truth, Qi Xiande! It is clearly you who colluded with King Jiang and the Demon Race, yet now you try to shift the blame?

"Does a disloyal person like you even deserve to practice our Confucian Daoist Methods?!"

"It seems Principal Qin has also been deceived by the rebel Zeng. The truth will be revealed once General Xu captures and interrogates him!" Faced with Qin Shoucheng’s questioning, Qi Xiande’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He coldly surveyed the crowd in the courtyard. "If you do not hand over the rebel Zeng, you will all be treated as his accomplices! When the imperial envoy comes to investigate in the future, it will be a crime punishable by the execution of your entire extended families. You had better think this through, my colleagues."

"Why waste your breath on them?" Xu Tong stepped forward, looking down his nose at everyone in the courtyard, his voice harboring a dark undertone. "Just kill the rebel Zeng first."

With that, he waved a massive hand and ordered in a booming voice, "Charge in and execute the rebel Zeng!"

"Execute the rebel Zeng!!!"

The Armored Warriors shouted in unison. Their imposing momentum was so overwhelming that it suffocated everyone in the courtyard. Moving with extreme speed, they filed into the courtyard before anyone else could react. Every Armored Warrior’s face was flushed with a bloodthirsty aura, and their sharp blades gleamed blindingly. The stench of blood caused the civilian clerks to turn pale simultaneously.

Qin Shoucheng’s face was also ashen.

For a Confucian Cultivator, eliminating evil and suppressing demons was naturally not an issue. However, when faced with these barbaric, vulgar Martial Artists, he was powerless despite his intentions.

"You filthy degenerates, you dare to bark here?!"

An aged voice rang out as Mr. Qi suddenly stepped out of a room and into the courtyard. Dachun followed closely behind him. The old man and the young boy stood like guardian deities at the gates of the Observation Department!

"Kill!!!"

Without a shred of hesitation, the Armored Warriors raised their sharp blades and charged at the duo together.

BAM!!!

An Armored Warrior’s chest caved in, and he spewed fresh blood as he was sent flying backward.

Mr. Qi coldly retracted his foot and asked mildly, "Dachun, let’s take them together. Are you afraid?"

"At thirty, stand firm!" Dachun’s voice was resolute.

Only thirty men were worthy enough to make him stand up and fight.

This was what the Young Master had taught him.