Chapter 263: Accepting

Does Duan Jue want to drink this cup of wine?

To tell the truth, he doesn't want to drink it.

Li Miao's rule sounded like a simple sentence, and it was not an excessive demand; it merely concretized the consensus in the Jianghu that one "must not strike against commoners."

However, some things are "consensus" rather than "iron laws" because most of the time, most people have to scrape the edges and cross the line.

It is actually easy to understand.

No matter how lofty or righteous a sect might be, they still need to eat. And the reliance that ensures they eat better than others is their martial force. If they cannot strike against ordinary people, how can they compete with those merchants?

Even without considering interests, Li Miao's rules seem too vague.

For example, Jianghu vendettas, which emphasize cutting weeds and removing roots. If the other party still has a son who hasn't practiced martial arts, should he be counted in this rule?

For example, walking on the road, suddenly being taken a fancy to by a hooligan, who comes up and slaps you in the face, then does this hooligan count as "someone who hasn't practiced martial arts"?

And there are the most classic Jianghu, the first dungeon encountered by a young hero—mountain bandits, where more than half are refugees who haven't practiced martial arts; can these people who have actually done evil not be touched either?

Accepting these rules today, if these things are done in the future, it is equivalent to giving the Embroidered Uniform Guard a righteous cause to move against the Duan family; how can one not ask clearly?

Therefore, Duan Jue asked these questions one by one.

Li Miao smiled.

"They all count."

Duan Jue frowned.

"Official, is it too harsh?"

"Even if my Duan family accepts these rules today, I fear the other major sects in the world will not accept them in the future, and my Duan family will be the one to suffer."

"Moreover, my Duan family has few people; if forced, it might be doable. But other major sects, such as the Beggar Gang and Cao Gang, have tens of thousands of people, and they are intertwined with ordinary commoners, difficult to distinguish. Even if they agree, they cannot do it. Can the official kill all tens of thousands of gang members together?"

Li Miao answered nonchalantly.

"That is why the Beggar Gang and Cao Gang cannot have Heaven-Men, nor can they leave behind Heaven-Man legacies."

"If you leave behind a Heaven-Man legacy, you must follow these rules; otherwise, you can hand over the Heaven-Man legacy and go back to your Dali to nest; I won't care about you. If you want to maintain martial force that exceeds others, you must follow stricter rules than others. Is that not allowed?"

Li Miao said slowly.

"To correct a wrong, one must first go to the extreme."

"You want to enter the world, first follow these rules for ten years for me. If you follow them well, I will set new rules for you after ten years."

"If you don't follow them well… then there is no need to talk about ten years later."

Duan Jue was silent for a moment.

"Does Li Official's rule apply only to my Duan family, or must all sects in the world with Heaven-Man legacies follow it?"

"The latter."

"Good."

Duan Jue reached out and picked up the wine cup.

"This cup of wine, my Duan family accepts!"

After speaking, he drank it in one gulp.

Putting down the wine cup, Duan Jue said slowly.

"However, Li Official, there is one sentence I might have to tell you in advance."

"You can accept this cup of wine, but other Heaven-Men may not necessarily accept it, and may not necessarily be able to accept it."

Duan Jue picked up a chopstick and placed it on the finger mark Li Miao had drawn.

"As long as one person crosses this line and can still live, this line will immediately collapse, and the deterrence of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the court toward Heaven-Men will also vanish into smoke together."

"Can you hold this line?"

Li Miao didn't answer, nor did he look at him.

Crack.

The chopstick placed on the finger mark suddenly made a light sound.

Duan Jue looked down at the chopstick abruptly, his expression uncertain.

After a long time, he slowly raised his head.

"In that case."

"Then I will not disturb you anymore."

"Farewell."

Duan Jue stood up, bowed his hands to Shen Xunning, who was stunned on the side, walked to the counter, left a gold leaf, and left.

He still remembered he had said he would treat Li Miao to this meal, even if he had been coaxed and scared by Li Miao for half a day and signed this "unequal treaty," he still left the money to pay the bill.

"Heh, quite particular."

Li Miao smiled, swept a glance at the few Embroidered Uniform Guards.

"Why don't you hurry up and eat?"

Several Embroidered Uniform Guards hurriedly sat down to shovel rice.

But Shen Xunning on the side had no intention of eating, her eyes keeping on looking at the finger marks on the table and the chopsticks placed on them.

She heard it; although Duan Jue had accepted the loss, what he said actually carried an underlying meaning.

His true meaning was—

"My Duan family can accept these rules, but the premise is that other sects and Heaven-Men in the Jianghu also accept these rules. And, the Embroidered Uniform Guard must be able to hold these rules."

"My Duan family will not be the bird that sticks its head out, and I am willing to be the first to accept these rules and set a good example for the court. But if you cannot hold these rules in the future—then I have no choice."

It was called a reminder, but it was actually a soft-in-hard stance.

But why did he suddenly stop and leave?

Was it just because he looked at that chopstick placed on the finger mark?

Shen Xunning observed that chopstick carefully; it was clearly intact, without any abnormality, so how could it scare Duan Jue away?

Li Miao knocked Shen Xunning on the head with a chopstick.

"Still looking, I'll let you starve to death on the road later. What I told you just now was all in vain, right?"

"Ugh!"

Shen Xunning raised her hand to cover her forehead, tears coming out from the pain.

Grandmaster is too fierce!

And how could this chopstick knock so painfully! It was more painful than being stabbed by a sword when sparring with fellow disciples!

She felt her brain had been knocked out!

Li Miao withdrew the chopsticks and threw them directly onto the table.

"Eat quickly, we still have to send these bound Jianghu people to the prefecture government after eating."

"Yes, Grandmaster…"

Shen Xunning then aggrievedly shoveled two mouthfuls of rice.

After a while, Li Miao led the people away.

A full half-hour passed before the back kitchen door slowly opened, and the owner poked his head out tremblingly, looked around, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Finally gone!"

The owner, waiter, and chef filed out and turned around the shop.

"No blood?"

The waiter let out a light "eh," but was kicked in the butt by the owner.

"You're hoping something happens, aren't you!"

"Why don't you hurry up and clean up, we're not doing business today! Close the door directly!"

The owner finished speaking, turned to close the door, walked to the entrance, lifted the door curtain, but let out a scream, stepped back several times, and sat down on the ground with a thud.

"This, this…"

The waiter hurriedly stepped forward to help the owner up.

"What's wrong, owner?"

"Dead… dead people… five of them…"

The owner said stutteringly, suddenly his eyes clear.

"Don't care, don't care, close the door! What happens outside has nothing to do with us!"

He stood up abruptly, slammed the door shut, making a muffled sound. After a long time, he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Clean up, clean up, go home after cleaning up."

The waiter didn't understand, but didn't have the intention to ask, turning to clean up the leftovers left by the diners.

Cleaning up to Li Miao's table, he reached out to take the chopsticks on the table.

"Hmm?"

The waiter let out a light "eh," twisted the wood powder between his fingers, and reached out to try to take the chopstick on the table, but grabbed a handful of wood powder again.

That chopstick placed on the finger mark had already been pinched by the waiter into two gaps and broken into three sections.

And the remaining part was lying on the table, whole.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 264 =====