Chapter 108: Out in the World, No One Keeps Their Word! Spare My Life (Seeking Monthly Votes)

The Zhaixing Sect's martial arts arena was filled with tables.

Guests sat around the tables, clinking cups and exchanging toasts, gorging themselves on fine wine and meat, each one flushed with drink.

"I have no great talent, but that you all could come to celebrate my sixtieth birthday is giving me face. Everyone, please eat well, drink well, and have a good time here at my Zhaixing Sect!"

Zhai Xing Laoren, dressed in festive, ornate robes, stood on the steps outside the main hall, raising his wine cup high as he said this with a smile.

Though the Zhaixing Sect was small, by virtue of these connections with heroes from all walks of life, who in the surrounding area wouldn't grant him some face?

"Sect Leader, it's bad! Something has happened, Sect Leader!" Just then, two Zhaixing Sect disciples, their faces deathly pale and traces of blood hanging from the corners of their mouths, came stumbling over.

Seeing this, the guests set down their bowls and chopsticks and began to discuss the matter in hushed tones.

"What are you babbling about! I am still perfectly fine!" Hearing such ominous words on a joyous day, Zhai Xing Laoren's face darkened before he asked about the situation, "What is going on with you two?"

"Reporting to the Sect Leader, the Jing'an Guard from Tongzhou City has come up the mountain!" one disciple shouted while clutching his chest.

The guests present were in an uproar.

"The Jing'an Guard has actually come to the door."

"This is too unrefined. No matter what, today is a day of celebration; did they really have to come and bring bad luck?"

"These imperial lackeys are truly arrogant! They don't put us many martial arts heroes in their eyes at all!"

Zhai Xing Laoren looked around with a dark face, "Everyone, please continue to eat and drink! I will go and meet them!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he strode toward the outside.

"I'll go with you," Chen Qizhi said immediately.

"Right, let's all go together. Coming to cause trouble on such a joyous day, this Jing'an Guard is truly bullying people too much."

"Let's go, everyone go and take a look."

All the guests rose one after another to follow, some wanting to go and cheer them on, others simply wanting to watch the excitement.

But with several hundred people following majestically behind Zhai Xing Laoren, he felt full of confidence; his waist and back straightened involuntarily, and his gait became vigorous and imposing.

Just as the group walked out of the Zhaixing Sect gate, they happened to run into Pei Shaoqing and the others coming up from the foot of the mountain; both sides stopped in their tracks at a distance of about ten meters.

"Whoa!" Pei Shaoqing pulled on the reins, and Black General stopped abruptly, raising its front hooves high and letting out a neigh as it threw its head back, landing in place as its front feet touched the ground.

The others also reined in their horses to a halt; after the dozens of high-quality warhorses stopped, they paced in place from time to time, their hooves striking the ground with crisp sounds.

Zhai Xing Laoren stepped forward and, neither servile nor overbearing, cupped his hands toward Pei Shaoqing and said, "Greetings, Baron of Pingyang. I am the master of this place, and friends in the martial arts world give me face by calling me Zhai Xing Laoren. Today is my sixtieth birthday; if the Baron of Pingyang is here to offer birthday wishes, you shall be an honored guest, but if you are here to cause trouble, please forgive my lack of courtesy."

"I am here to offer you birthday wishes?" Pei Shaoqing, on horseback, removed his mask, leaned forward, and looked at Zhai Xing Laoren with contempt, "What rank of official are you? Are you even worthy?"

"I am but a commoner, but I do have some standing in the martial arts world," Zhai Xing Laoren said proudly.

There were so many people standing behind him.

He felt he could do it.

Pei Shaoqing sneered, sat up straight, lazily rode his horse forward, and circled in place while holding the reins, saying, "I am here to make an arrest. As long as you hand over Chen Qizhi, I will turn around and leave immediately. If anyone harbors him, they will be treated as an accomplice."

"Baron of Pingyang, I am Chen Qizhi." Chen Qizhi had no choice but to step forward, saying with a frank and open expression, "I am already aware of the matter. That such a heinous villain emerged from my sect is a disgrace to the Beggar Sect, and I have no face to show, but this matter has nothing to do with me."

"Whether it has to do with you or not is not for you to decide." Pei Shaoqing waved his hand, "Return the Helmsman's fellow sect members to him."

Thirty-seven heads were immediately tossed out, landing on the ground with a *thud-thud* sound, blood splattering everywhere.

Even though martial arts people were accustomed to slaughter, seeing these bloody heads still left them with lingering fear.

Chen Qizhi's brow twitched, and he suppressed his anger, saying, "They committed crimes and deserved to die. Many thanks to the Baron of Pingyang for weeding out such dregs for my Beggar Sect. If the Baron of Pingyang insists on taking me back for investigation, could you wait until the birthday banquet is over? I do not wish to ruin an old friend's joyous occasion because of this."

"Brother Chen, what are you saying? We people of the martial arts world dare to act and dare to take responsibility. You say you didn't do it, then you didn't, but once you enter the Jing'an Guard prison, it won't be up to you anymore." Zhai Xing Laoren looked at Pei Shaoqing and said with an unfriendly tone, "I ask the Baron of Pingyang to grant us some face."

"What kind of thing are you, to dare ask me for face?" Pei Shaoqing asked with a resounding voice.

Zhai Xing Laoren's face turned livid; he turned back and pointed at the guests behind him, saying, "Fine! The Baron of Pingyang may not give me face, but you must at least give face to so many fellow martial artists. If you bully us too much, we are not spineless cowards without spirit! I hope you will think thrice before acting."

"Threatening me?" Pei Shaoqing narrowed his eyes and sneered, looking around at everyone, "There is an old saying: those who know the times are heroes. I advise you all to think thrice. Opposing the law enforcement of the Jing'an Guard is opposing the imperial court, which is treated as treason. Can your sects withstand the trampling of an army? Get out of my sight within a quarter of an hour."

As the words fell, he raised one hand.

Accompanied by the sound of rapid footsteps, more than thirty Jing'an Guards dismounted and rushed to the front, kneeling on one knee and setting up their Broken Gang Crossbows; the sound of the crossbow strings being drawn was clearly audible.

The guests who had come to offer birthday wishes looked at each other in dismay.

"Senior Zhai Xing, I only came to offer birthday wishes on behalf of my elders; I dare not bring disaster upon my sect without authorization. Since my respects have been paid, this junior will take his leave first." A young man stepped out, cupped his hands to Zhai Xing Laoren, then cupped his hands to Pei Shaoqing, and hurried down the mountain.

"Senior, I also came on behalf of my sect."

"And me... Senior Zhai Xing, farewell."

With the first person taking the lead, those who had come to offer birthday wishes on behalf of sects and families left one after another.

The number of guests decreased at a speed visible to the naked eye.

And seeing that so many people had left and their side had lost the momentum, those who had previously clamored to support Zhai Xing Laoren also silently mixed in with the crowd and left.

Not standing on Pei Shaoqing's side.

Was already their final bottom line.

"You... you all..." Zhai Xing Laoren's face turned livid as he watched this scene, and he pointed tremblingly at an old friend, "Old Liu, even you are leaving?"

"It is not that I fear the Jing'an Guard, I just do not wish to be associated with the likes of the Beggar Sect. Farewell." Old Liu said sanctimoniously, then held his head high and swept his sleeves as he left.

Like dominoes, the more people who left, the more people would follow; in the end, everyone was gone, leaving only Zhai Xing Laoren and Chen Qizhi.

Zhai Xing Laoren was somewhat dazed; he did not understand how such a great situation had turned into this.

They were all spineless, gutless things!

With such a large crowd, they were actually scared off by a single word from Pei Shaoqing. If they were so afraid of death, why even be in the martial arts world? They should just go home and farm! A bunch of cowards!

It was precisely because there were so many spineless people who blindly retreated in the face of the imperial court that the court became even more aggressive.

Chen Qizhi's temples throbbed wildly, and he looked at Zhai Xing Laoren with a face full of unease, "Brother Zhao, look..."

"Baron of Pingyang, please forgive me. I was hosting a birthday celebration and had a few too many drinks with everyone, so my mind was unclear and I said the wrong thing. Please forgive me, please forgive me." Zhai Xing Laoren, who had just wanted to be the leader and oppose the Jing'an Guard, instantly changed his attitude, showing a fawning expression and admitting his mistakes repeatedly.

Pei Shaoqing revealed a mocking smile.

Chen Qizhi was dumbfounded, "Brother Zhao, you..."

"Shut up!" Zhai Xing Laoren shouted with a stern rebuke, saying righteously: "I invited you here as a guest out of past friendship, never expecting you to commit such unconscionable acts. I was nearly deceived by you into clashing with the Jing'an Guard; you are utterly shameless! From this day forth, I sever our ties and break our friendship; there is no longer any relationship between us!"

Having said this, he grabbed a corner of his robe, tore it off, threw it fiercely to the ground, and turned to enter the door without looking back.

The disciples of Zhai Xing Laoren quickly closed the main gate.

"Bang!"

The once dense crowd was now reduced to only the lonely figure of Chen Qizhi; how desolate.

Damn it, there isn't a single person in this business who keeps their word!

Chen Qizhi cursed bitterly in his heart.

Looking at the highly oppressive Jing'an Guard opposite him.

His face turned deathly pale; he pursed his lips, cupped his hands, and said: "I beg the Baron of Pingyang to forgive my crimes. I swear that from now on, no one from the Beggar Sect will ever enter Tongzhou City again. I am also willing to offer a large sum as compensation; please, I beg you to grant me a path to survive."

As his voice fell, he threw himself onto the ground with a thud and kowtowed heavily, his head instantly bloodied.

"I am a man of great capacity, but at times, I am also a petty man." Pei Shaoqing drew the Mo Tan Sword from his waist and spurred his horse to charge toward Chen Qizhi.

"Fine, fine, fine! I'll fight you to the death!" Faced with this situation, it was naturally impossible for Chen Qizhi to stand by and wait for death.

He leaped up abruptly, grabbed the Coiling Dragon Staff he used as a weapon, and swept it toward the sword Pei Shaoqing was swinging down.

"Clang!"

A crisp sound rang out, and sparks flew in all directions.

The Coiling Dragon Staff was snapped in two.

Chen Qizhi's eyes widened in horror; he hurled the broken half of the staff at Pei Shaoqing and turned to flee into the distance.

"Stop, you villain!"

Liu Yuheng leaped from her horse, flicked her wrist, and sent her sword scabbard flying. While in mid-air, she stepped onto the scabbard to gain momentum, darted forward rapidly, landed in front of Chen Qizhi with a roll, and kicked him fiercely in the chest.

"Ah! Pfft!"

Chen Qizhi spat out blood and flew backward.

Before he could even land, a specially made fishing net was cast out by the Jing'an Guard. The net was woven with special iron wires and covered in blades; once Chen Qizhi was enveloped, he struggled instinctively, and in an instant, ten thousand blades sliced into his flesh.

"Ahhh!"

He screamed immediately and fell back to the ground.

Two iron hooks flew out, piercing his shoulder blades with pinpoint accuracy. With a tug, the hooks locked, and he was dragged back to the front of Pei Shaoqing just like that.

Throughout the process, he was in agonizing pain, screaming incessantly.

"Want to run? Did you think you could get away?"

Pei Shaoqing said from atop his horse, looking down from above.

"My lord, spare my life! My lord, spare my life! I am willing to be used by you. My Beggar Sect has many eyes and ears; I can be of help to you. I beg you, my lord, give me one chance."

Covered in blood, Chen Qizhi wailed and begged for mercy.

"Spare your life? Very well," Pei Shaoqing said.

Chen Qizhi was stunned for a moment, thinking he had misheard, then was overcome with joy. The relief of surviving death made him forget his pain for a moment as he thanked him repeatedly.

"Thank you, my lord, for your mercy! Thank you for giving me this chance; you are my second parent!"

Pei Shaoqing's gaze was cold and sharp. "Men, destroy his dantian, cut out his tongue, gouge out his eyes, puncture his ears, and break his legs. Then, bandage his wounds to stop the bleeding and throw him into Tongzhou City. I shall let him truly be a beggar for once."

As his voice fell, he pulled the reins and rode away.

"Giddyap!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qizhi was struck as if by lightning.

If it truly came to that, would he not be worse off than dead?

"No! No! My lord, you cannot do this!"

"Pei Shaoqing! You will die a horrible death! You might as well kill me! Kill me! Kill me, you bastard!"

Chen Zhongyi stepped forward, ripped the fishing net off Chen Qizhi, and crushed the bones of his lower legs.

Afterward, he ordered two men to hold him down, pinched his cheeks to pull out his tongue, and severed it with a single blade stroke.

Finally, he gouged out his eyes and punctured his ears.

Chen Qizhi could no longer even let out a scream.

Blood gushed from his mouth, and he made dull, incoherent sounds; his clothes were soaked through with blood.

"Bandage him up; make sure he doesn't die from excessive blood loss." Chen Zhongyi sheathed his blade and ordered his subordinates, then kicked Chen Qizhi and said with a cold laugh: "Don't forget the lord's mercy in sparing your life."

(End of chapter)