Chapter 118 : Chapter 118

Chapter 118: Bright Birds Come in Many Colors, but Crows Are Black All the Same

"Let me go, you lowly wretches! Beasts!"

Xiao Qian was suspended in the prison by cold iron chains, her exquisitely beautiful figure fully exposed.

"Don't look!"

She glared at the two Jinyiwei guards in front of her with utter fury.

Did two dog-slaves of the False Court really think they were worthy of staring at her so openly?

If she had not been so badly injured, Xiao Qian would have gouged out both their eyes on the spot.

The two Jinyiwei frowned, exchanged a glance, and stroked their chins in thought.

If they had understood correctly, then this captive was not only slandering their professional standards, she was also looking down on them as people.

"Big Sis, you're a prisoner now. There's no need to bring unnecessary trouble on yourself."

"Your surname may be Xiao, but your ancestor already turned down any special privileges for his descendants."

Big Sis?!

Xiao Qian's eyes instantly turned red.

She was the supremely noble little princess among the Descendants of Heavenly Fate, burdened with the great mission of overthrowing the False Court and saving the world. And yet these false-court slaves, lowly as ants, dared call her an old woman!

"You're courting death!"

Xiao Qian could not break free of the cold iron chains and kill them directly.

In her fury, she bit off a strand of hair at the corner of her mouth, infused it with Internal Energy, then snapped her head and flung it out.

As a Seventh-Rank martial artist, even a starving camel was still bigger than a horse.

That strand of hair, carrying Internal Energy, shot out like a hardened steel needle.

If the Jinyiwei guard had not dodged quickly, it would almost have struck him straight in the face.

Even so, it forced him back half a step and left a bright red cut across his face.

"Hahaha! Trash really is trash!"

Seeing how wretched he looked, Xiao Qian burst into laughter, using it to steel her courage despite being trapped in prison.

Even wounded as she was, with both hands bound, she was still enough to crush the trash of the False Court!

"You—!" The two Jinyiwei glared at Xiao Qian. A prisoner actually dared attack them.

Just then, heavy footsteps sounded.

With his hands behind his back, Cheng Yu silently walked out and expressionlessly looked at the injured Jinyiwei guard.

The two guards' expressions changed drastically, and they hurriedly lowered their heads in alarm.

"Greetings, my lord!"

Cheng Yu said nothing. He merely frowned in silence as he looked at the wound on the Jinyiwei guard's face.

That silence itself created an invisible pressure.

The two guards became even more terrified. They had suffered at the hands of a badly wounded and restrained prisoner.

This was nothing less than bringing shame upon their lord!

The Jinyiwei guard whose face had been cut trembled all over. "My lord, I have brought shame upon you. Please punish me!"

Cheng Yu's frown only deepened, and the Jinyiwei grew even more frightened.

Though the Thousand-Household Commander treated them extremely well, his fearsome reputation outside was no lie.

And neither was the blood staining his Xiuchun Saber!

Sensing the tension among the Jinyiwei, Xiao Qian laughed at the sight before her.

"As expected of dogs that serve the False Court. They're either useless trash or garbage that bullies the weak with strength!"

With trash like this, how could they possibly stop the Heavenly Fate Lineage from reclaiming Heavenly Fate?

"If you were wrong, then accept the punishment."

At last, Cheng Yu broke the silence. His words made his subordinate shudder all over again.

Filled with shame and fear, he waited for his Thousand-Household Commander's punishment.

"This subordinate accepts punishment and has no complaint!"

Cheng Yu sighed and shook his head.

"Your leave for the next three months is canceled. Use that time to train your martial arts properly. Don't embarrass yourself like this again."

Three months of leave canceled?

Both the Jinyiwei and Xiao Qian froze when they heard that punishment. Compared to beatings and abuse, could this even count as punishment?

"Thank you for your leniency, my lord! This subordinate will not disappoint you again!"

Cheng Yu nodded.

Weak martial skill was not the fault of the people under him. What he needed was for them to maintain the professional standards expected of the Jinyiwei.

"Besides, how can one of my Jinyiwei be humiliated by a prisoner for nothing?"

Cheng Yu looked in Xiao Qian's direction.

"Hit her back. Across the face."

"Yes!"

SMACK!

The scene fell instantly silent, as if time itself had frozen.

Thus, the first Jinyiwei Battalion Commander in Great Qian to slap a Seventh-Rank martial artist across the face was officially born.

【The host distinguishes rewards and punishments clearly, and by standing up for his subordinate has strengthened Jinyiwei unity. Reward: Soul-Controlling Pill!】

The Jinyiwei Battalion Commander stared at his own right hand in disbelief. Xiao Qian's hard-trained body had jolted it red from the impact.

It hurt like hell!

But it also felt incredible!

"AAAAAAAH! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!"

Xiao Qian had never imagined they would dare lay hands on her like this. Her eyes went wide as she witnessed such humiliation and yet had no way to resist.

Those dog-slaves and lowly beasts actually dared strike her!

She completely lost control and screamed hysterically.

In the next instant, a thunderous boom erupted, and the cold, deadly Thousand-Forged Ice-Thunder Xiuchun Saber came to rest against Xiao Qian's throat.

"Shut up."

Cheng Yu looked down at her from above, as though he were staring at a corpse.

The smooth blade of the Xiuchun Saber was like a polished mirror, yet it inspired bone-deep terror.

It had already been stained with the blood of far too many martial artists!

Xiao Qian's cries stopped at once, and her whole body began trembling uncontrollably.

Only after a while did she force herself to gather some courage.

Clenching her teeth, she said, "If you've got the nerve, then kill me, you dog of the False Court! Granny Wu and my royal father will surely avenge me, with the righteous path of Heavenly Fate above!"

Seeing how stubborn she still was, Cheng Yu raised his brows with interest.

"The righteous path of Heavenly Fate? Is that your slogan?"

"What did you say!"

The moment Xiao Qian heard Cheng Yu treat the great ideal she held in her heart with such contempt, she forgot the life-and-death crisis before her and was instantly consumed by rage.

"We Descendants of Heavenly Fate act by Heavenly Fate and uphold the righteous path! One day, we will overthrow the False Court and bring hope to the suffering common people oppressed by it!"

Hearing such childish words, Cheng Yu let out a mocking laugh.

"For the sake of all living people under heaven? You rebels who burn, kill, plunder, and loot dare speak of that? How little blood have Prince Qing's Remnants shed?"

Every time Prince Qing's Remnants rose in rebellion, seizing land and taking resources, the number of common people they killed was never small.

But Xiao Qian did not hide it in the slightest. She resolutely defended her ideals.

"For the sake of the greater righteous path, the sacrifice of a few is worth it!"

"Then why aren't you the ones making that sacrifice? If you all died, a great many common people would live."

Xiao Qian flew into a rage.

"We Descendants of Heavenly Fate act in accordance with Heaven's will. How can we be mentioned in the same breath as ordinary people? On the day the great undertaking of Heavenly Fate succeeds, everyone will thank us. Every sacrifice will have been worth it!"

Cheng Yu burst into relieved laughter.

"Hahaha! How interesting!"

Bright birds in the world came in many colors, but crows were black all the same.

He no longer intended to continue arguing.

Some things were proven better by facts than by words.

"Kill me, then! The righteous path of Heavenly Fate will never compromise with a treacherous villain like you!"

A resolute look flashed through Xiao Qian's eyes. If she could offer herself up for Heavenly Fate and escape this humiliation, then death would not be such a bad thing.

But in the next moment, Cheng Yu withdrew the Xiuchun Saber in his hand and smiled instead.

"Why would I kill you?"

He reached out and gently lifted her pale, smooth chin.

Xiao Qian shuddered all over.

"What do you mean by that!"

"What do I mean?"

A vicious glint appeared within Cheng Yu's smile.

Suddenly, he seized her throat viciously, just as he had back at the Circuit Yamen.

"Of course I'm going to keep you alive, so you can watch how those utterly wicked rebel relatives of yours confess their crimes and submit to the law, how they die beneath the Xiuchun Saber!"

"And you will be the tool that draws them here one by one to die. Their deaths will have your share in them!"