Chapter 53: Bring that woman over to me

On the other side.

Virtuous Integrity Pavilion.

Although its name is a pavilion, it actually has a sizable manor in West City.

At the manor's center stands a two-story pavilion; here one can smell a faint, secluded fragrance and faintly hear the chanting of sutras.

Inside the pavilion, a man with an air of scholarship knelt on a prayer mat, holding a string of prayer beads in his hand, murmuring words, while before him stood a tall, closed-eyed Buddha statue.

Outside, two middle-aged men stood respectfully at the door; the shorter one was the Third Chief of Virtuous Integrity Pavilion.

The Third Chief glanced at the Second Chief beside him and whispered, "Second Chief, is the Pavilion Master really useful doing this? We've been in this line of work, why bother worshiping Buddha?"

The Second Chief shook his head and said nothing.

The Third Chief furrowed his brows, glanced at the lofty Buddha statue, and muttered, "If this thing were actually useful, we should have already gone to the underworld..."

When he finished speaking, the man inside the pavilion slowly rose to his feet—he was the Elder Chief of Virtuous Integrity Pavilion, that is, Pavilion Master Song Wen.

Song Wen turned his head to look at the Third Chief with a calm expression, his tone equally flat: "Old Three, slap yourself."

The Third Chief glanced at the Second Chief, said nothing, raised his hand and slapped his own face three times.

The Second Chief beside him was also used to it, showing no great surprise, and directly asked.

"Pavilion Master, how are we supposed to ship this batch of goods? The old routes no longer work."

The Third Chief rubbed his reddened cheeks and said, "Damn it, it's all because of that newly arrived Captain; since he came, Luoshui City has had no peace—last time they captured the pirates, they arrested a whole bunch of the city's defending soldiers."

"By ill fate, they've locked up all the contacts we had bribed; now our old routes are blocked."

Song Wen showed little panic: "Don't rush; the new connections are already being opened—before long, business will continue as usual."

The Second Chief nodded, but still worried: "However, there's a problem with that batch of goods—one is seriously ill; if he doesn't see a doctor soon, he won't live many days."

Song Wen closed his eyes and recited two lines of sutra: "Life and death are fated; if he dies, he dies—this is his destiny."

Suddenly, a mocking voice came from above the pavilion behind.

"Virtuous Integrity Pavilion? Do you deserve that name?"

"You're lacking virtue and smoking with it! Truly, the more you lack something, the more you crave it."

Shen Qing stood on the eaves of the pavilion, looking down at them.

At the same time, he couldn't help but recall his past life.

On the Weak Trust, some people always name themselves "Virtue that Carries All"; take note—among such people, some truly lack great virtue.

The several chiefs suddenly looked up: "Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

At that very moment, cries of misery echoed from all sides of the manor—the Embroidered Uniform Guard had stormed in.

The Third Chief's face instantly turned grim; it was obvious he had recognized Shen Qing.

"He is the newly arrived Captain of West City, Shen Qing."

Shen Qing looked down at them: "You know me? Then you dare cause trouble on my turf?"

The Third Chief stepped back two paces; he often walked Luoshui City, naturally having heard Shen Qing's name, and he couldn't even think of resisting—he turned and tried to flee.

But before he could take two steps, a green light descended from the heavens; the Azure River cleaved him in half from above, and the Overbearing True Qi surged out, the violent True Qi directly shattering his flesh—in an instant, blood and spray flew.

Shen Qing flicked the Azure River, then slowly walked toward the Second Chief and Song Wen.

The Second Chief's cheek twitched; he had also heard of Shen Qing's reputation, knew he was violent, but he never imagined it would be this extreme.

The Second Chief only felt his legs go weak; he turned his head, used his footwork to move in the opposite direction, but unfortunately he was a step too slow—a fierce blade wind wrapped in Overbearing True Qi directly blasted him into blood mist.

Song Wen, meanwhile, remained expressionless, his fingers still turning the prayer beads, producing a crack-crack sound.

Shen Qing slowly approached him: "Your two lackeys have run—why aren't you running?"

Song Wen kept his calm: "Since I entered this line of work, I've known this day would come—ask what you want, then kill me after."

"It's only death; I fear nothing."

Having said that, Song Wen slowly turned his body, facing the Buddha statue, and slowly lifted his head.

The next moment, Shen Qing kicked him squarely in the buttocks; Song Wen spun three times in the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

"You're still pretending? What does a human trafficker have to pretend about facing death brazenly? You made it seem like you were so righteous."

"You're not afraid of death? Then are you not afraid of pain?"

Song Wen painfully lifted his head, gently wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth; his gaze remained calm, but a hint of pain and fear in his eyes betrayed him.

"Well, you're pretty tough." Shen Qing laughed as he stepped forward, planting his foot on the back of Song Wen's hand: "Can you still endure this?"

Shen Qing's foot gradually increased pressure, making Song Wen's palm continually redden; a faint crackling sound came—this was the sound of bones being crushed—and Song Wen clenched his teeth tightly, spitting out a few words from between them.

"I yield, I yield."

But Shen Qing had no interest in listening to him; he kept increasing the force on his foot, and Song Wen couldn't help but let out a anguished cry.

Suddenly, the floor tiles burst apart; Song Wen's palm was stomped straight into the tiles, and Shen Qing twisted his heel, grinding it several times—this made Song Wen's anguished cry tear at his heart, his hand completely turned into a meat patty.

Shen Qing squatted before Song Wen, grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked him up; looking at Song Wen with tears and snot streaming down his face, Shen Qing let out a scornful laugh.

"I still like your defiant, untamed look from just now."

Song Wen wailed: "Shen Qing! Why must you torture me?"

Shen Qing smiled: "Because I enjoy it."

Before, there was constant arguing over how to punish human traffickers.

The radical faction believed they should be executed outright.

While the conservative faction thought the radicals were too cautious—since traffickers also have families and attachments—how could they be simply killed? The whole clan should be exterminated.

Thus, when it comes to torturing human traffickers, Shen Qing truly takes pleasure in it.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded; Ding Yi came running in large strides.

"Sir, the children have all been found—none missing, all blindfolded and sent out; moreover, this bunch of lowlifes have all been captured."

Ding Yi now wore the uniform of the Divine Farmer's Academy; since after the last autumn harvest festival, Shen Qing had arranged for him and his two brothers to join the academy as guards, eating the imperial household's meals, and having just bumped into them on the way here, he insisted on coming to lend Shen Qing a hand—nothing could stop him.

Shen Qing didn't even turn his head: "These human traffickers don't need to be captured alive; the county jail isn't a trash dump; just chop these things on the spot."

Ding Yi nodded: "Got it."

Suddenly, Ding Yi thought of something: "Right, I just caught a woman in the side rooms; she has no cultivation, I don't know what's going on—should we also chop her?"

Chop them all together.

A flicker of panic crossed Song Wen's eyes; though it vanished instantly, Shen Qing still caught it.

Shen Qing laughed and waved his hand.

"Hey, Ding Yi, I've changed my mind—bring that woman over to me."