Chapter 44: Chapter Forty-Four: Mediation

“Keep telling the story; the next few rounds may not afford such leisure.”

“Tell.”

……

Meanwhile, in the Zhenbei Prince’s mansion, Xi Wu Chou was about to mete out heavenly justice when a stern voice halted him.

He turned to see it was an acquaintance—Li Zhang, the Inspector of this province.

If anyone else had intervened, Xi Wu Chou would have ignored them, but since it was this Lord Li—who had crossed paths with him several times in the Divine Capital and now enjoyed an excellent reputation—he temporarily kept his sword pressed against Gao Muzhen’s neck.

Li Zhang was equally startled to see Xi Wu Chou, and after a startled inquiry, he learned the full story from Xi Wu Chou’s account.

“Truly… lawless!” Li Zhang glared at Gao Muzhen, but after a moment’s thought, he placed his hand on Xi Wu Chou’s arm.

“Master Xi, this man deserves death, but you shouldn’t kill him here.”

“Why?”

Li Zhang frowned and slowly listed three reasons.

First, you hold no official rank; though you have a fine reputation as a knight-errant, punishing bandits and minor clerks is one thing, but executing the Prince’s heir by your own hand invites disaster upon yourself.

Second, the Zhenbei Prince is a man who values face; the mansion is currently holding a grand ancestral return ceremony, with many guests invited—should it suddenly spread that this boy is a beast who raped and murdered an innocent woman, and was executed by heavenly justice, it would severely damage the Prince’s dignity.

Third, this matter can be handled far more smoothly: first inform the Zhenbei Prince, let him expel the boy from the family under the pretext of immoral conduct, then the local authorities can arrest him, and after the storm subsides, quietly carry out the execution.

Upon hearing this, Xi Wu Chou had no objection.

He only wanted Gao Muzhen to face justice; he bore no grudge against the Zhenbei Prince. If the Prince was reasonable and merely unwilling to lose face, Xi Wu Chou was willing to cooperate.

Though his demeanor, shaped by years of hardship, was sharp, and his features too strikingly handsome, often making others feel uneasy, in truth Xi Wu Chou was not without a gentle side—on the road, as long as there was no fundamental conflict, he did not always press his advantage.

Li Zhang sighed in relief: “Then please bind the criminal, Master Xi. I’ll go explain the situation to the old lady, and when the Zhenbei Prince returns, I’ll handle the negotiations myself.”

Xi Wu Chou nodded, took Gao Muzhen to the firewood shed, and guarded him personally, refusing to leave, waiting quietly for the outcome.

Only at the third watch of night did Li Zhang return, drenched in sweat—the situation had not gone well; the old lady insisted Gao Muzhen was the Gao family’s only heir and refused to yield, and had already sent messengers to notify the Zhenbei Prince.

Now that the matter was exposed, killing Gao Muzhen outright would make Li Zhang an enemy of the Zhenbei Mansion, so Xi Wu Chou followed Li Zhang’s advice and took the prisoner to the provincial jail, leaving Li Zhang behind to await the Prince’s return.

The Zhenbei Prince had guarded the border for over a decade and commanded great prestige; surely he would not wish to ruin his reputation over such a matter.

Yet after waiting a long while, Li Zhang received only a message: “My son is unworthy, causing you trouble, Master Li. I shall discipline him properly in the future.”

Xi Wu Chou immediately considered dragging Gao Muzhen to the mansion’s gate and executing him there himself, taking full responsibility so as not to implicate Li Zhang.

But now the mansion believed Gao Muzhen was in Li Zhang’s custody—if anything happened, how could Li Zhang escape blame? He urgently persuaded Xi Wu Chou to stand down, saying he would go speak to them face-to-face again.

Xi Wu Chou said: “Then I give you two days.”

With that, he took Gao Muzhen and left.

Li Zhang stared at the empty cell and regretted ever getting involved in this mess.

As for Li Zhang, he was truly upright and impartial in law enforcement, but during his years serving in the Six Ministries of the Divine Capital, he once received this evaluation: “Full of spirit, lacking backbone; eager to act, easily exhausted.”

This assessment now proved devastatingly accurate: seeing Xi Wu Chou take the law into his own hands, Li Zhang had genuinely wanted to protect Xi Wu Chou while avoiding provoking the Prince, so he took the burden upon himself.

Before the old lady and the Zhenbei Prince, he claimed only that he had uncovered the case himself, never revealing Xi Wu Chou’s name—partly to protect Xi Wu Chou, partly to earn himself a reputation for fearlessness toward the Prince and unwavering justice.

Yet the Zhenbei Prince, usually stern and unyielding, actually chose to shield this boy he’d barely met—something Li Zhang had never anticipated.

Now he was frantic—not so much because he feared the villain wouldn’t be punished, but because he feared the Zhenbei Prince’s wrath would erupt once Xi Wu Chou killed Gao Muzhen.

And Xi Wu Chou had never hesitated, nor would he ever hand Gao Muzhen over to others; when the two days were up, he would kill him without fail.

Li Zhang gritted his teeth and resolved to plead with the Zhenbei Prince once more.

Meanwhile, Xi Wu Chou took the prisoner away and stayed in Yin City for those two days.

He had come here for two purposes: one, to seek a legendary martial art; two, if unsuccessful, to settle and build a hut here to break through.

He had openly inquired about the first goal, but the second remained known only to him.

If this news spread, it would cause a massive uproar.

Xi Wu Chou was only thirty-two; six years ago he had just entered the Xuan Gate after the Xuanhe robe fell away. Compared to true prodigies, he was a late bloomer.

Yet who could have predicted that three years ago, in the Yulin Trials, he entered the list and immediately rose to twenty-third place?

He became famous throughout the land.

Now three years have passed, and the new Yulin Trials are about to begin; everyone wonders whether he can enter the top ten—some even dare to bet he’ll be in the top five—yet no one guessed his gaze had already moved beyond this, preparing to break through the Xuan Realm and ascend the Heavenly Tower, becoming one of the few great figures under heaven.

Of course, it wasn’t this confidence that made him dare to interfere with the Zhenbei Mansion—he would have killed this man even if his vein-tree had just sprouted.

He entered the martial world at fourteen; at nineteen, when his vein-tree had reached five sprouts, he killed the eight-sprout “Desert King” He Lan Zhu in the Western Desert, thereby entering the Immortal Platform and solving over a hundred cases; at twenty-three, in the Southwest mountain town case “The Heir of the Vein,” he faced the [Luofu] of the Devouring Sun Sect and directly killed a Grandmaster with his eight-sprout cultivation, nearly single-handedly thwarting a terrifying plot.

After returning to the capital, he leveraged this achievement to become the Immortal Platform’s first “Crane Inspector” who was not yet a Grandmaster—but three years later, he resigned his post and wandered the land as a knight-errant.

Perhaps because of his many past rebirths from utter despair, Xi Wu Chou did not value his own life highly; death’s borrowing of his breath was routine for him, and this led him to hold little reverence for most things.

The Zhenbei Mansion, with its hundred thousand troops—he clearly understood this power could crush him effortlessly—but he still made no effort to conceal his intent to kill Gao Muzhen.

By the afternoon of the second day, Xi Wu Chou went to the provincial authorities to inquire and saw Li Zhang sitting comfortably in his chair—the Zhenbei Prince had relented.

It turned out the mansion had discovered another illegitimate son elsewhere, and this one could be dealt with as they wished.

“How is this Zhenbei Prince like a hen, laying eggs wherever he goes?” Xi Wu Chou laughed.

Li Zhang quickly covered Xi Wu Chou’s mouth: “Tomorrow’s court session will have all evidence gathered—then we’ll convict and execute him immediately.”

Xi Wu Chou nodded and immediately went to Kuiju Town to fetch the scholar, inviting him to witness his enemy’s execution firsthand.