Chapter 146 - 101: Thrashing the Green Tea in Public

Chapter 146: Chapter 101: Thrashing the Green Tea in Public

"He insisted on giving it to me."

"And why did he give you gifts? Don’t you have a fucking clue?"

"..."

The woman was rendered speechless, her face flushing crimson.

Jiang Mu said coolly,

"I only hate two kinds of people in this world. The first are those who treat others like fools. The second are those who want to be a whore but still want a monument to their chastity.

Normally, I don’t hit women—especially not a subordinate’s idealized love.

So I’m going to give you one last chance.

Promise you’ll pay him back, then get lost, and we’ll call it even. Deal?"

The woman clutched her dress, muttering through a bitten lip,

"I... I never said I wouldn’t. I was just testing him... testing his sincerity..."

"Testing, my ass!"

Jiang Mu had finally lost his patience.

He turned, pointing at Zhang Daxie, his voice cold.

"Daxie, if you dare try to stop me today, or even say a single word on this woman’s behalf, don’t even think about coming back to the Eighth Hall! I can’t afford that kind of embarrassment!"

The moment he finished speaking, he moved in a flash.

"AHHH!"

A piercing scream.

Jiang Mu reached out, grabbed the woman’s hair, and dragged her out of the carriage as if she were a baby chick.

"SMACK! SMACK!"

He delivered two crisp, resounding backhand slaps.

The woman was completely stunned.

Her cheeks swelled up instantly and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as she stared at Jiang Mu in utter disbelief.

"Damn it. You were given a chance to save face and you threw it away!"

Jiang Mu shook out his hand, a look of disgust on his face.

Seeing this, Young Master Zhao, who was standing nearby, instinctively moved to defend the damsel in distress and was about to start shouting.

Jiang Mu whipped his head around, his eyes piercing him like daggers.

"This has nothing to do with you! I don’t give a damn if your uncle is a Prefect or some magistrate. You’d better stay out of it today, or I’ll beat the shit out of you too!"

Intimidated by the ferocious aura in Jiang Mu’s eyes, Young Master Zhao’s heart leaped into his throat. He subconsciously took two steps back, the words he was about to say dying on his lips.

Only then did the woman snap back to reality.

The excruciating pain and humiliation made her break down completely. She sat on the ground, wailing hysterically.

"Murder! The Demon-slaying Bureau is attacking people in broad daylight! Is there no law in this land? Help me..."

This was a red-light district, after all, and the streets were crowded.

Her screams immediately drew a crowd of onlookers, who began to point and whisper.

"Everyone, get back!"

Yan Fenghuo frowned, brandished his Token, and unleashed a wave of Evil Qi. "The Demon-slaying Bureau is conducting official business! All uninvolved parties, stand back! Anyone who dares interfere will be charged with obstruction!"

The other trusted subordinates also began driving the crowd back.

Hearing the infamous name of the Demon-slaying Bureau, the onlookers lost all courage to gawk and scattered in every direction.

Seeing this, the woman’s heart sank into despair.

Even the passersby were too scared to get involved, and that "backup plan" Zhang Daxie didn’t dare make a peep. Now, she was truly afraid.

Fueled by alcohol, Xu Fu staggered forward, pointed at the woman, and cursed,

"Crying? You have the nerve to cry?

If you never wanted to marry him, then you should spit out everything you took from him! I can’t stand people like you..."

He reached out to grab her by the hair.

"Stay your hand!"

A powerful, booming shout suddenly rang out!

Before Xu Fu could react, a black shadow shot toward him with a gust of wind.

He instinctively moved to block, but when he got a clear look at the newcomer’s face, he froze in place.

"THUD!"

A solid kick landed squarely on Xu Fu’s chest, sending him staggering backward until he fell flat on his ass.

Seeing this, Yan Fenghuo and the others were both shocked and furious, and instinctively moved to intervene.

But when they got a clear look at the attacker and the party that followed him, their faces all changed drastically. They abruptly halted their movements, frozen on the spot.

It was as if they had been hit by an Immobilization Skill.

The attacker was a burly, middle-aged man with a full, bushy beard.

He looked to be in his forties, with a fierce, leonine face and wide, round eyes. In his hand, he gripped a gleaming black horsewhip, and he exuded an air of brutal strength.

Behind him, several other men in similar martial attire with sharp gazes led a few tall horses forward.

They were escorting an elderly man.

The elder appeared to be in his sixties. His hair and beard were completely white, yet he was vigorous and in high spirits.

He was dressed in a simple gray robe with his hands clasped behind his back. Though he carried no weapon, his mere presence radiated an imposing aura of natural authority.

The bearded man’s gaze swept over the entire scene.

He took in the group of Demon-slaying Bureau members who reeked of alcohol, glanced at the suggestive sign for the nearby Yanchun Tower, and finally let his eyes rest on the weeping woman on the ground...

His expression was thunderous.

He walked over to Xu Fu, who was just getting back on his feet, and stared at him coldly.

"As Demon Slayer Envoys, you’re binge drinking, frequenting brothels, and beating up civilians in the street! What in the hell... do you think you’re doing?!"

Xu Fu was instantly sobered.

Looking at the familiar face, he stammered,

"I... We were..."

"CRACK!"

Before he could finish, a whip cracked loudly across his body.

With the sound of tearing fabric, Xu Fu let out a muffled grunt of pain, but he gritted his teeth and didn’t dare to dodge, much less fight back.

The bearded man snorted, then walked up to Yan Fenghuo, whip in hand.

Yan Fenghuo instinctively glanced at the gray-robed elder. His lips moved, but he ultimately lowered his head.

"CRACK!"

Another whip-crack.

Yan Fenghuo took a lash as well, and also didn’t dare make a sound.

Then came the other trusted subordinates...

The bearded man delivered one lash to each of them, his actions clean and efficient, without an ounce of hesitation.

Each man who was struck stood with his head bowed, not daring to even breathe too loudly, let alone fight back.

Finally, the bearded man came to stand before Jiang Mu.

He sized up Jiang Mu, then glanced at the tear-streaked woman on the ground and the clear imprint of a palm on her face.

A flicker of disgust crossed his eyes.

"I don’t recognize you. Are you new?"

the bearded man said coolly,

"What, you put on the uniform of the Demon-slaying Bureau and suddenly you think you’re the Celestial King himself? Think you can just go around bullying people on the street?"

Jiang Mu said, "Actually, you should investigate first."

The bearded man sneered, raised his horsewhip, and lashed out directly at Jiang Mu’s handsome face.

The whip was swung with tremendous force.

If it connected, it would certainly disfigure him.

However—

The whip stopped dead in mid-air.

A long, powerful hand had caught the tip of the whip, holding it fast.

"Hmph?"

The bearded man was stunned. Clearly not expecting any resistance, he flew into a rage and tried to yank the whip back.

"Let go!"

He used seventy percent of his strength, trying to pull Jiang Mu off balance.

But the whip didn’t budge an inch.

Jiang Mu’s expression remained calm as he uttered a single word:

"Oh."

The next moment, he let go.

The bearded man was still pulling with all his might. Caught completely off guard, he stumbled back several steps, nearly falling over.

Before he could regain his footing, his vision blurred.

A large boot slammed viciously into his gut.

"THUMP!!"

A heavy thud.

The bearded man shot backward like a cannonball and crashed directly into a slop bucket by the side of the road.

"SPLASH!"

Foul-smelling slop splashed everywhere, filling the air with a wretched stench.

The entire scene fell deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned.

Xu Fu, Yan Fenghuo, and the others were even more shocked, their jaws hanging open and their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

Even the elder, who had remained impassive until now, was visibly startled and stood stunned for a moment.

"Old Jiang!"

Xu Fu finally snapped out of it. Realizing that Jiang Mu didn’t seem to know who these people were, he was scared out of his wits. He rushed over, grabbed Jiang Mu’s arm, and said urgently, "They’re—"

"What is your name?"

An old yet commanding voice cut Xu Fu off.

The elder slowly walked forward.

He didn’t spare a glance for his wretched, bearded subordinate. Instead, his sharp eyes fixed on Jiang Mu, carrying a suffocating pressure.

Jiang Mu retorted, "And who might you be?"

’He already had a guess, though.’

’Someone who could make a hothead like Yan Fenghuo take a beating without daring to fight back, coupled with his age and bearing...’

’...Who else could it be but the legendary Deputy Director, said to have just returned from the Capital City?’

Sure enough, a guard in martial attire beside him shouted sternly,

"Insolence! You are standing before the Deputy Director of the Hu State Demon-slaying Bureau, Lord Tian Wenjing!

State your name!"

Jiang Mu said calmly,

"My name is Ma Guocheng."