Chapter 197: Give Your Retired Emperor a Shot Too

"What is your name, and what position do you hold?"

"I am Feng Xie, Knowledge of the Privy Council of the Imperial Song!"

Feng Xie, with his rugged features, held his head high and chest out, his voice resonant and loud.

He not only drew everyone's gaze; Lin Dao also gave him an extra look.

Such a man of awe-inspiring righteousness — one would think he would not be a treacherous minister.

Lin Dao, scanning the data on the tablet, raised an eyelid. "You are a former minister of Wanyan Gou's residence?"

Feng Xie was stunned. "Who is Wanyan Gou?"

"Impeached Li Gang, served as Surrender Envoy~"

Hearing this, Feng Xie couldn't help but argue in his defense.

"Li Gang is absurd! He absolutely deserved impeachment!"

"Not Surrender Envoy, it's Thanks Envoy~"

Lin Dao behind the face armor also smiled.

"Thanks for what?"

"Thanking the Jurchens for the grace of destroying the nation, running over to thank them?"

Feng Xie, who exuded a mighty aura, still remained full of vigor under the gun muzzle; no wonder he could go to the Jin camp to report good news and drink freely for three days straight.

"You don't understand~"

"The troops are weak and cannot fight; only by seeking peace is there a sliver of hope for survival."

"We just need to send the Jin people away, then we will certainly assist the Emperor in striving for governance, restoring national strength, sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall~"

'Bang! Bang! Bang!'

Three shots in a row, and Feng Xie's impassioned speech came to an abrupt halt.

He lowered his head in disbelief, looking at the wounds on his body welling up with fresh blood.

The next moment, his body went limp and collapsed to the ground.

Lin Dao stood up, the gun muzzle pointed at Feng Xie's mouth.

"At your age, all that's left is a mouth!"

"Mouth-cannon trash like you, I've seen plenty!"

"Bang! Bang!"

Everyone in Daqing Hall was silent as a winter cicada.

This iron-armored man is truly too cruel!

"Next."

The purple-robed official pointed at by the gun muzzle dared not step forward; his knees went weak and he knelt directly on the ground, kowtowing.

"Spare my life~ Great King, spare my life~~"

Lin Dao flew into a great rage instantly.

The Glock in his hand kept firing non-stop until the magazine was empty.

"Damn thing, you dare insult me!"

"I'm not a Jurchen, what are you begging me for mercy for!"

Over here Li Ruoshui really couldn't bear to watch any longer, and immediately stepped forward to scold: "Who exactly are you, killing innocents indiscriminately — how are you any different from a Demonic Cultivator?"

Lin Dao lowered his head, swapping the magazine. "Who are you, and what position do you hold?"

"Li Ruoshui, Vice Minister of Personnel and Four-Wall Defense Commissioner of the Imperial Song!"

"Kill me then!"

"Oh?" Lin Dao raised his head and turned. "You are Li Ruoshui?"

"Hmph, could it be someone else is impersonating Li?"

This one he knew without checking the data.

A rare upright man in a court dominated by the Surrender Faction.

Facing the Jin's solicitation to surrender, he refused to yield even unto death, and was ultimately brutally killed.

Waving a hand, Lin Dao signaled: "You don't have to die, go wait over there."

Such starkly different treatment instantly drew sidelong glances from everyone.

Why?!

Li Ruoshui's face flushed red, furious beyond measure. "What is the meaning of this?"

Lin Dao pressed the gun muzzle against Zhao Huan's forehead, instructing him.

"Make him behave."

Zhao Huan, covering his nosebleed, hurriedly looked to Li Ruoshui pleadingly.

His gaze was bleak, his words plaintive and drawn out in a long note.

"Qing~ Jia~~~"

Li Ruoshui helplessly covered his face, performed a salute with difficulty, then walked to the side and closed his eyes.

"Next."

The military power of Bianliang City has already collapsed.

After the Jurchens occupied the city walls and sealed the city gates, whether it was the Imperial Guards, the King Qin Troops, or the Palace Guard, all fell into a state of morale collapse.

Doing things like guarding gates and raiding homes is quite okay.

If you really want them to fight desperately, unless the reward money is paid in full, don't even mention it.

Lin Dao held the Emperor hostage in Daqing Hall, slaughtering court ministers.

Outside the hall, the various ranks of guards on duty — not to mention charging in to rescue, not a single one even dared approach.

There were, however, quite a few palace maids and eunuchs who would occasionally crane their necks to look, listening to the faint sound of firecrackers coming from inside the hall.

The quicker-witted ones had already run off to report to the Empress Dowager and the Empress.

Inside Daqing Hall, Lin Dao swapped magazines again.

"Next."

Lin Dao's words carried a hint of weariness.

The same motion, repeated too many times, does indeed make one feel tired; it has nothing to do with physical quality, purely a psychological discomfort.

At this moment, the red-robed and purple-robed officials remaining in the hall were few.

Most had already fallen to the ground; only Li Ruoshui, Zhang Shuye, and a sparse few others stood in the safe zone with eyes closed.

On the once-clean golden bricks, pools of blood gradually converged into a river.

The pungent smell of blood assaulted the senses, making heads dizzy.

As for why they didn't run—

The iron-armored men did not kill all the ministers; a few whose reputations in the history books were not bad were spared.

This gave the others hope of survival.

Furthermore, the magic artifacts in the iron-armored men's hands were too terrifying.

No matter how far they ran, they were shot dead.

For the cowardly surrender faction, with a chance to live, who would be willing to risk death?

On top of that, Lin Dao had previously displayed an Immortal Technique.

Such a performance, akin to a miracle, utterly shattered their psychological defense.

Facing an immortal — at least a genuine cultivator who has achieved success — how could they run?

Every person was suffering torment in the struggle between hope and despair, agony unbearable.

Those not yet named had long since been churning with dread; some sat on the ground, some leaned where they stood, faces full of living death.

In such a treacherous environment, only one person still stood ramrod straight, expression flat as if nothing mattered.

This crane-among-chickens display also drew Lin Dao's attention.

"You."

"Come here."

When this man stepped forward with firm strides, Lin Dao casually picked up what, in the eyes of everyone in the hall, looked like a Death Register — the tablet computer.

He asked offhandedly, "What is your name, what post do you hold?"

"Imperial Censor-in-Chief of the Imperial Song, Qin Gui."

Lin Dao raised his head.

On a face that even a cruel battlefield could not move, a look of surprise surfaced.

This thick-browed, big-eyed man before him — could it be Qin Gui?

The most infamous treacherous minister in history.

Although selling out the country and causing the death of loyal ministers — many treacherous ministers have done such things.

But judging by reputation alone, this thick-browed, big-eyed man before him is absolutely the one with the highest name recognition.

Setting down the tablet, Lin Dao rose and stared straight at Qin Gui.

Looking at the ferocious face armor before him, Qin Gui subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Without even looking at the Death Register, he knows who I am?

Lin Dao's gaze fixed on him, staring until Qin Gui's heart grew hairy with fear.

He subconsciously glanced at the magic artifact in the iron-armored man's hand.

Could it be that he's about to be shot dead by this magic artifact right now?

His deliberately different posture to stand out — it seems it failed to work.

"So you are Qin Gui."

Lin Dao smiled, raising his iron-gloved hand to pat Qin Gui's shoulder.

This action nearly scared Qin Gui to death.

He clearly remembered — touching this iron-armored man meant death!

"Good, very good."

Lin Dao did not shoot Qin Gui dead.

This was not punishment at all, but mercy.

To kill Qin Gui so easily — what a tremendous regret that would be.

Qin Gui's death must be an utmost cruelty to vent the hatred in his heart.

He fetched the travel bag, took out a box from it, and took out an adrenaline needle from within.

"Hold it."

Facing the order, Qin Gui dared not disobey.

Lin Dao reached out and pointed at Zhao Huan. "Go give him a shot in the buttocks."

"Th-this-this~~~"

Looking at the colorless liquid shaking in the syringe, Qin Gui trembled all over. "Is it not poison?"

"You're not wrong."

Lin Dao smiled again. "It is indeed poison, deadly poison."

"But it's slow-acting; take the antidote regularly, and it can effectively delay the onset of toxicity."

"No no no~~~" Qin Gui's hands trembled like a sieve, his voice shrill. "I don't dare~"

"You can."

Lin Dao raised his hand, the scorching muzzle pressing against Qin Gui's forehead.

The muzzle that had already disposed of dozens upon hundreds of cowardly court officials had soared in temperature; the instant it touched his forehead, white smoke rose from Qin Gui's brow.

Amidst sizzling sounds, the smell of scorched skin wafted out.

"I'll go! I'll go!"

Amidst the screams, Qin Gui trembled as he walked toward Zhao Huan.

The living looked at him with eyes full of disdain.

Zhang Shuye shook his head repeatedly. "I truly misjudged him!"

"Qing Aiqing, don't come over~~~"

The emotionally agitated Zhao Huan's broken nasal bridge bled again.

He flailed his limbs, scrambling backward on the ground, his expression fearful to the extreme.

In Zhao Huan's eyes, Qin Gui holding that weird magic artifact was completely the image of a soul-hooking evil ghost.

Without a doubt, Qin Gui's reputation was utterly destroyed at this moment.

"Move faster."

Lin Dao, watching the spectacle from behind, urged unhurriedly. "Your face has already been peeled off; what do you still have to hesitate about."

Qin Gui, face pale, let out a desperate cold hum.

Only at this moment did he finally admit that he was a coward who clung to life and feared death!

Feeling the gazes cast from all around, Qin Gui's eyes reddened.

He gritted his teeth, strode forward and pressed down on Zhao Huan, reaching out to tear at the dragon robe.

Zhao Huan's whole body went limp in an instant, collapsing on the ground without a shred of strength.

Tears falling, he stared at Qin Gui, mouth muttering incessantly.

"Qing Aiqing~ Qing Aiqing~~"

"Tsk~" Lin Dao laughed watching this. "So full of deep affection; anyone who didn't know would think this was a female-lead novel."

"Hold the needle steady, stab it in."

Qin Gui had never used it, not knowing what force was required.

Now at a life-or-death juncture, he couldn't care about anything, exerting all his strength to stab the needle into Zhao Huan's rear buttock.

"Awoo~~~"

Humans are perhaps innately afraid of injections.

Especially Zhao Huan, who had never experienced it before, and was in a tense environment; this one stab down, his howling could be called earth-shaking, ghost-weeping.

The Retired Emperor Zhao Ji, not far away, already had his scalp go numb watching, terrified to the point of despair.

"Press down the rear plunger, push all the poison in."

Lin Dao, arms crossed leisurely, laughed heartily. "This is top-grade poison from the Heavenly realm."

"How is it? Do you feel your heart racing, breathing rapid, blood pressure soaring, dizziness and blurred vision plus tinnitus?"

This thing has side effects; if severe it will lead to danger.

But Lin Dao doesn't care.

If he truly can't withstand it, then he deserves it!

Zhao Huan, his body manifesting the reactions Lin Dao described, shed tears and snot together.

He was like a beheaded snake, twisting and crawling on the ground.

"Immortal Master spare my life~ Save me~"

Lin Dao took out a box of Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pills, poured out one grain and threw it over.

"This is the antidote, can relieve it for a day."

The tiny pill fell into a pool of blood on the ground.

Zhao Huan scrambled forward, without the slightest hesitation opening his mouth to lick it up.

Cowardly, timid, and afraid of death — such a person could actually be Emperor!

From within the travel bag, he took out another adrenaline shot and tossed it to Qin Gui, whose expression was strained.

His gaze signaled Zhao Ji. "Give your Retired Emperor a shot too."

(End of Chapter)