Chapter 120 - 84: I Came Uninvited, Surely You Village Heroes Don’t Mind?

Chapter 120: Chapter 84: I Came Uninvited, Surely You Village Heroes Don’t Mind?

The surrounding County Soldiers had no idea what had just happened. All they saw was a flash of Zheng Jun’s blade, and Lu San’s head suddenly fell to the ground.

Seeing this scene, Du Ding was overjoyed. He even felt a sudden urge to beat gongs, sound drums, and perform a lion dance to celebrate. But, since he was in the military and surrounded by his comrades in arms, he forcefully suppressed the desire.

After Zheng Jun killed Lu San, he only saw the small, ink-like characters flash before him, revealing a line of text.

[Decapitated with a single slash. Wave-Treading Blade Technique repayment progress +31. Current repayment progress: 928/10,000.]

"What a long road ahead," Zheng Jun sighed heavily. Over the past few days, he had swiftly and decisively slain three Qi Storage Martial Artists and over a dozen Blood Refining Martial Artists. Coupled with seven days of grueling training and bitter cultivation, he hadn’t dared to relax for even a single day. Yet, he had only completed a tenth of the progress.

After all, just how many Qi Storage Martial Artists were there in the entirety of Black Mountain County? He was on the verge of killing them all! The only ones left were likely Chief Clerk Shen Yunyi and perhaps three or four commoners. There were still a few in the Qi Storage Realm on Black Mountain, but added together, they shouldn’t amount to twenty people. Even if he slashed them all, it would probably only yield two or three thousand points of repayment progress. That would still leave more than half to go.

Extremely frustrated, Zheng Jun looked up, only to see the Qi Storage Martial Artist lying on the ground, blood seeping from his chest. The Lotus Water Sword, Yuan Yaoyang, had a faint aura and seemed to still be clinging to life. Seeing this, Zheng Jun stepped forward to inspect him.

He discovered a surge of Broken Jade True Qi inside Yuan Yaoyang’s body, constantly tearing at his bones, muscles, and meridians, while Yuan Yaoyang’s own True Qi was desperately trying to protect him. As one waned and the other waxed, Zheng Jun could sense that it would eventually drag Yuan Yaoyang to his death. After a moment of thought, Zheng Jun immediately took action, sending a stream of True Qi into Yuan Yaoyang to extract the Broken Jade True Qi from his body.

"Apply some medicine to stop his bleeding," Zheng Jun instructed the soldiers behind him.

Zheng Jun needed Yuan Yaoyang alive. The reason was simple: there weren’t enough Qi Storage Martial Artists in Black Mountain County anymore. Zheng Jun wanted to save him so he could kill him again. Even if the effect would be greatly diminished this time, adding only forty or fifty points of repayment progress, Zheng Jun was more than willing.

But through this, Zheng Jun finally realized that the Broken Jade True Qi had such an effect. Once slashed into an enemy’s body, if not suppressed, the Broken Jade True Qi would frantically wreak havoc within. Amidst their bones, muscles, and meridians, it acted like a fragmentation grenade or shattered jade shards buried in flesh, subjecting the victim to unspeakable agony. No wonder it could be compared to the Gang Qi of an Outer Gang Martial Artist. This was the sheer domineering power of the Broken Jade True Qi!

[Retracted with ease, protecting the heart and meridians. Broken Jade Skill repayment progress +94. Current repayment progress: 2,580/3,000.]

After Zheng Jun withdrew the Broken Jade True Qi, Yuan Yaoyang began to slowly regain his breath, groggily opening his eyes.

"This..." Opening his eyes, Yuan Yaoyang felt the injuries within his body slowly stabilizing. Instantly confused, he looked up and saw an unfamiliar young general standing before him, holding an Imperial Saber that was slowly dripping with blood.

"Yuan Yaoyang, isn’t it? Your crimes have been exposed!" Zheng Jun spoke with absolute coldness. Waving his hand, he continued, "It is not too late for you to turn back from the wrong path! Take him inside to identify Old Thief Lu’s accomplices!"

Yuan Yaoyang’s mind was completely muddled right now. Severely injured, he was easily subdued by Du Ding and Xu Zhilei, who escorted him behind Zheng Jun as they marched into the Lu family’s Dock Fortress.

Inside the Lu family’s Dock Fortress, Huo Erlang and Liu Wulang had absolutely no idea what had happened. They simply waited anxiously at the birthday banquet for news from the front, their eyes glued to the fortress gate entrance. Instead of their Uncle Lu returning, a young general clad in black Official’s Clothes and carrying a Beirong Saber walked in. Upon entering the banquet inside the Dock Fortress, he scanned the surroundings with a predatory gaze as sharp as an eagle’s or a wolf’s.

"Are they Thief Lu’s accomplices?" Zheng Jun asked coldly.

"What accomplices?! If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a trumped-up charge." Yuan Yaoyang finally snapped out of his daze. Hearing Zheng Jun’s inquiry, he gritted his teeth and hissed at him, "If you want to kill me, just do it! Why bother finding so many excuses and reasons?!"

Zheng Jun ignored Yuan Yaoyang completely. After all, in Zheng Jun’s eyes, Yuan Yaoyang was just a walking EXP pack. Would anyone in their right mind talk to their own EXP pack? That would be madness.

"Today is actually Thief Lu’s birthday banquet. Hmph." Zheng Jun glanced around and naturally noticed the festive decorations. He couldn’t help but smile, continuing, "From what I see, he used this birthday banquet as an excuse to gather his accomplices here with the intent to subvert our Great Zhou!

"Arrest them! Interrogate them thoroughly! Find out their origins, when they colluded with Southern Chu, and when they plotted to rebel against our Great Zhou!"

Hearing Zheng Jun’s words, Huo Erlang and Liu Wulang were completely dumbfounded. Colluding with Southern Chu to subvert Great Zhou? Was this something they, mere countryside landlords, were even capable of doing? This was pure framing!

"We are deeply wronged, my lord!" Huo Erlang fell to his knees without hesitation. "Please see clearly, my lord! I am Huo Erlang of the Huo family from Huping Village, and this is Liu Wulang of the Liu family from the North Village! We are all law-abiding citizens. My father and Uncle Liu are both Court-certified Village Heroes, and my father is even the Village Chief of Huping Village! We absolutely have no treasonous intentions! We are definitely being framed!"

"The Huo family from Huping Village, and the Liu family from the North Village?" Upon hearing these two names, a rather strange expression crossed Zheng Jun’s face. Talk about someone handing him a pillow just as he was nodding off!

"Very well. The Huo family from Huping Village and the Liu family from the North Village are involved in this case. Their crimes are unforgivable! Arrest them!"