Chapter 186: Kill All the Way

This term's Xiangyang Prefect was a Han official, and after Bai Lang entered the city and settled, when night fell he leisurely walked toward the Prefect's government office. The panic caused by Bai Lang has already spread through the Qing dynasty's provincial capitals and the court—along the places he has walked, several local officials have been killed by him. Even though there is no radio or telegraph yet, the fast‑horse messengers already give the provincial governor a splitting headache.

The news that these officials were assassinated by rebels was rushed eight hundred li to the Capital, also causing an uproar at court. Killing officials and rebelling is not usually so brazen; the heads of several county magistrates have been taken, and the words "Murderer Ming Dynasty Prince's Junior Guard Bai Lang!" were scrawled in large characters. Such a villain has never been seen; capture! Must capture! The palace guards have already set out, preparing to surround and seize this ferocious rebel.

Nevertheless the news was still slow, at least unable to give sufficient warning. When Bai Lang arrived, the Xiangyang Prefect had just received a document from above saying that a rebel might already be in his jurisdiction. Bai Lang easily vaulted over the rear‑yard wall and entered the government office—by convention the front is the office and the back houses the officials and their families. Bai Lang was now in the Prefect's rear yard, thinking, "A Fourth Rank Yellow Hall already counts as a local tyrant within a few hundred li."

Bai Lang strolled leisurely through the garden; the night was still long, giving him plenty of time to kill slowly. Of course, when his servants saw him, Bai Lang habitually granted them a snap‑of‑the‑finger to render them unconscious for a night rather than taking their lives outright—who would deliberately kill these ants? The maids received similar treatment, but they usually could not see him. Bai Lang's Lightness Skill, now able to travel ten thousand li alone, has become astonishingly unprecedented in this world.

"This is… the women's quarters," Bai Lang thought, seeing a side hall with the silhouettes of middle‑aged women, more than one. This must be the Prefect's female relatives and the maids who serve them, while another room housed a girl dressed very differently from the maids—likely the Prefect's daughter. "The Prefect's wife—if that's what she is—must be in her thirties? I can't tell a woman's age at all. But that young girl is at most twelve or thirteen… wait, I recall a character from Dream of the Red Chamber, Baoyu and Daiyu, being about this age?"

Bai Lang stood quietly at the Moon Gate; as an Innate Expert his aura naturally sinks, forming an invisible barrier that greatly reduces his presence, so even the maids would treat him like a flower or tree if they saw him. The condition is that Bai Lang does not deliberately step forward or make himself stand out. "The Prefect should still be in the front yard; let him live a little longer." Bai Lang's Divine Sense picked up the aura and knew that the front yard still held many people, and the Prefect should be among them.

Bai Lang cannot read qi, and this world seems to have none, so he cannot see any white, red, or blue qi streams. The tall, hulking master leaned against one side of the Moon Gate, casually surveying the women in the courtyard. "This young lady isn't bad looking; compared with Murong and Qin Lian'er she's a bit prettier, though still not as good as modern senior sisters. Her figure, however, is still undeveloped." Bai Lang isn't a lolicon, so he merely thought the girl in front of him was quite cute.

"I don't know if she'll grow crooked later; such cases exist throughout history—those child stars did end up twisted, didn't they?" Bai Lang mused, and he already heard footsteps from the front yard. "Several people, probably the Prefect and his Chief Attendant." Bai Lang slightly turned his body, hiding himself in the shadows.

Soon, the Xiangyang Prefect in official robes entered; the Chief Attendant escorted him to the rear‑yard gate and did not go in, nor did the guards. A maid in the courtyard greeted them, walking not far from Bai Lang's side, completely missing the tall, big man there. Bai Lang watched them go in, then gave a light cough and stepped out. Even as he gathered his intent, the tiger‑like aura still leaked in strands, and the maid in front of him immediately wet herself and then fainted.

The aura of an Innate Expert is terrifying; even if Bai Lang does not intend to release it, a single strand still shakes the entire rear yard. The frog croaks and bird songs that were there vanished into dead silence. Bai Lang advanced step by step toward the house; no one dared to speak out and stop this audacious madman. Inside, the Prefect's mind suddenly cleared— the so‑called rebel was right before his eyes, the arrogant rebel Bai Lang, the Prince's Junior Guard who "kills officials all the way" as the official document described.

"I'm going to die!" That is probably the brightest thought in the Prefect's mind now; he tries to call out, but his mouth won't open, he can't shout, as if a heavy weight presses on him, like a huge tiger's paw pinning him down… He has no time to look at his wife and daughter, grips his wife's hand tightly, and simply stares straight at the towering figure drawing nearer.

A handsome, curly beard and long hanging eyebrows displayed a heroic, fierce look; by the time the Prefect saw clearly, the man had already stepped through the doorway. "Tartar's Xiangyang Prefect… don't worry, it'll be quick, no pain—hahaha." The mad rebel grinned. The Prefect tried to speak but couldn't; the rebel in front shouted that the court was Tartar, so the debate of civilization versus barbarians was moot—no matter how one argues, the fact that the Jianzhou Jurchen are Tartar cannot be denied.

Bai Lang brushed his slightly longer hair, glanced at the Prefect's head after he removed his official hat, and said, "A Han lad has never had such an ugly pig‑tail head." Having said that, Bai Lang reached to take the Prefect's head. "Rebel! Do not hurt my father." a soft, mushy voice rang out; the twelve‑ or thirteen‑year‑old girl stepped in front of the Prefect, confronting Bai Lang's tiger claw. "A woman with guts, but what a pity."

Bai Lang praised the girl, "Your father treats a thief as a father, a traitor—he's read all the saints' books into a dog's belly—hmph, no wonder; the Kong family are all of that 'recognize thieves as fathers' type, so it's no surprise his disciples are like this." He nodded, lifted the girl and placed her onto the woman beside her. The woman seemed to regain consciousness, lunged forward to grab Bai Lang's arm, apparently willing to sacrifice herself.

But Bai Lang's hand was faster; the Southern Dipper Sacred Fist activated, his palm like an axe blade instantly cleaving the man's head in front of him, blood spraying up to the high ceiling beam. Bai Lang used the man's robe to dab the blood on the outer wall, writing in large characters, "Murderer Ming Dynasty Prince's Junior Guard Bai Lang," then brushed the girl's head, laughed loudly and strode away.