Chapter 78 : Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Not in Accordance with the Rules? My Rules Are the Rules!

The blazing sun hung overhead.

A hundred li north of Jiannan City, inside a dense, verdant forest.

“My lord, we have searched the whole area. We found no trace of Prince Qing’s remnants.”

“I know.”

Cheng Yu nodded to the subordinate reporting with cupped hands, then turned to look at a tree before him so thick it would take two men to encircle.

On its rough trunk, the most eye-catching thing was a deep palm print.

Any martial artist capable of leaving such a mark was certainly no weakling.

This place was far from both roads and villages. Few people ever passed through, and those who did were merely common folk trying to make a living, without any martial skill.

It was a hunter who had first discovered the palm print.

According to the Jinyiwei’s investigation so far, this was their only clue for the moment.

By all logic, for such a mark to appear in a place this remote, carved into the trunk of a tree, it really could have been left by Prince Qing’s remnants, who had no wish to show themselves openly.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Cheng Yu silently studied the palm print, yet inwardly he felt suspicious.

Prince Qing’s remnants would never want their trail discovered so easily, so why would they leave behind such an obvious trace?

At that moment, one of the Jinyiwei suggested, “My lord, should we bring in more men and search this forest thoroughly?”

Cheng Yu shook his head, already having reached a decision.

He had long felt that it was too strange for traces of Prince Qing’s remnants to appear so quickly.

He stepped back a few paces, then looked again at the palm print on the trunk.

Only then did he spot the flaw.

“It faces the forest path exactly, not even slightly off, as if whoever left it behind was afraid it might not be noticed...”

His subordinates were instantly jolted.

“That is right. I was saying earlier that something about that palm print looked strange. Now that you mention it, my lord, it really does seem as though someone left it there on purpose!”

“If Prince Qing’s remnants had left a trace, it would have been accidental. That really does seem likely.”

The Jinyiwei now understood, and their admiration for Cheng Yu deepened all the more.

As expected of Lord Cheng. At such a young age, not only was his martial skill extraordinary, but his powers of observation and judgment far surpassed those of ordinary men.

This was exactly the sort of Jinyiwei described in the books.

【The host inspired and encouraged his subordinates, displaying the bearing of the Jinyiwei. Reward: Internal Energy!】

Feeling his Internal Energy rise again, Cheng Yu spoke calmly.

“A forest stretching for more than ten li... Even if every Jinyiwei in Jiannan City came to search it, it would still take three days and three nights...”

“And if we search it once and find nothing, then we may very well be playing straight into someone’s hands.”

He looked at the gathered Jinyiwei.

“There is no need to investigate this place any further. Call everyone back.”

The Jinyiwei obeyed and summoned back the Strongman Guards and Battalion Commanders under them.

After some time, one of them came forward again.

“My lord, everyone is here. Shall we return to Jiannan City now?”

Cheng Yu shook his head.

“Since we are already here, how can we make the trip for nothing? Are there any jianghu forces nearby?”

The moment those words were spoken, the old subordinates who had followed him from Qingjiang Prefecture instantly lit up, brimming with energy.

At last, it was here.

Over the past two days, the gambling dens, brothels, and similar places around Jiannan City seemed to have caught wind of something. They had all been conducting business with remarkable propriety.

Even the local bullies and street thugs who usually prowled the alleys had vanished.

They had only managed to suppress a few minor gangs whose crimes were too obvious to hide, and their hands had been itching for more.

“My lord, there are no villages ahead and no inns behind. The nearest jianghu forces are all dozens of li away. Still, there is indeed one fairly strong power nearby.”

“Tell me.”

“It is the ancestral residence of that Circuit Intendant Gao from two days ago. Quite a few skilled Gao Family martial artists are stationed there. In this area, they stand alone at the top.”

At once, Cheng Yu grew interested.

“Well, is that not convenient? Let the others go back first. Leave twenty men behind and come with me. We shall pay them a visit.”

...

“Bring out whoever is in charge of your household. My lord wishes to question him!”

At the gate of a vast garden estate, with pavilions and towers spread across the grounds, a Jinyiwei Strongman Guard in a Flying Fish Uniform pointed to the Jinyiwei troops behind him as he explained their purpose to the Gao Family gate servants.

But the Gao Family servants guarding the entrance did not even deign to look him in the eye.

One of them even sneered sarcastically, “What stray cats and dogs are these? You do not even announce your names, yet you think you can enter my Gao Family?”

When he said that, he even wore an expression of towering pride.

Naturally, the Jinyiwei Strongman Guard was displeased by such treatment.

His hand moved toward the Xiuchun Saber at his waist.

To put on airs in front of the esteemed Lord Cheng like this, they were courting death.

But in the very next moment, a hand came down on his shoulder, stopping him from drawing his blade.

When he looked up, he saw that it was none other than Lord Cheng Yu himself. The Strongman Guard was instantly flustered.

“My lord, this subordinate has failed in his duty...”

“You did well.”

Cheng Yu shook his head and tossed him a bottle of Tiger Strength Internal Fortification Pills, making the man instantly excited beyond measure.

Then Cheng Yu turned toward the arrogant Gao Family gate servants, smiled, and cupped his hands.

“I am Cheng Yu of the Jiannan Circuit Jinyiwei. Might you announce me to the person in charge of your household?”

The servant arched a brow. “Cheng Yu of the Jinyiwei? Never heard of you. Move along, move along. This is the ancestral residence of Circuit Intendant Gao. Idle nobodies are not to come near!”

As he spoke, he glanced again at Cheng Yu’s exquisitely made Flying Fish Uniform.

He could tell Cheng Yu must hold at least some status within the Jinyiwei.

But no matter how high that status was, could it compare to Lord Gao of the Gao Family, the Circuit Intendant?

With a smirk, he said, “To tell you the truth, the residence is currently entertaining heroes and worthies of the jianghu. As for the likes of you, forget it.”

Even the gatekeepers before a prime minister ranked like seventh-rank officials.

The gate servants at the ancestral residence of a third-rank Circuit Intendant were hardly any less overbearing. Since the jianghu martial artists looked down on the court’s Imperial Hounds, they naturally could not afford to fall behind.

Seeing that Cheng Yu and the others still had not left after he said this, one servant was just about to flare up in anger when his vision suddenly blurred and one side of his head turned warm.

Amid the sharp pain, he hurriedly lowered his head, only to see one of his ears lying on the ground, blood dripping ceaselessly from it.

He was terrified beyond measure, yet he could not even tell what Cheng Yu had done.

All he could see was that the smile on Cheng Yu’s face had turned cold.

“Bring the person in charge to see me.”

The servants instantly panicked and fled back into the residence.

A true ruthless figure had arrived.

Not long after that—“Who dares come to my Gao Family and throw his weight around...?”

A Fourth-Rank martial artist of the Gao Family came storming out in fury. He was just about to use his strength to throw his weight around in return, but once he sensed that Cheng Yu’s Internal Energy was impossible to read, he immediately suppressed his anger and cupped his hands.

“May I ask what matter brings this lord to my Gao Family?”

Cheng Yu smiled. “I was passing by while investigating something, so I came to ask a few questions.”

“Then ask as you please, my lord.”

“Within the Gao Residence... are you illegally keeping slaves in private?”

The moment Cheng Yu asked this, the Gao Family martial artist frowned deeply.

In Great Qian, privately keeping slaves was a grave crime, yet in truth almost no one obeyed that law.

For such words to be spoken aloud—especially by the Jinyiwei, who possessed investigative authority—could only mean ill intent.

“Of course not...”

Cheng Yu looked toward the sprawling entrance of the Gao Family ancestral residence.

“Your estate is this large. Are all of your servants and household hands lawfully hired?”

The Gao Family martial artist hurriedly nodded.

“That is exactly the case.”

“Then bring them all out. Bring out the contracts as well. I want to inspect them.”

At once, anger surged in the Gao Family martial artist’s heart.

What contracts could there possibly be? These Jinyiwei had clearly come looking for trouble. If he had been able to gauge Cheng Yu’s strength, he would already have turned hostile.

“My lord, that does not seem to be in accordance with the rules...”

“Not in accordance with the rules?”

Cheng Yu let out a cold laugh.

“My rules are the rules!”

His icy shout carried Internal Energy with it, making the Gao Family martial artist’s entire body shudder.

Gritting his teeth, he shouted, “What exactly do you mean by coming to my Gao Family like this?!”

At that commotion, several more Gao Family martial artists came out, their eyes blazing as they glared at Cheng Yu.

“What are you doing here at my Gao Family?!”

Cheng Yu’s face turned cold as he slightly raised a hand.

Behind him, his subordinates all lifted their Profound Cold Heavy Crossbows.

“What do I mean? What does your Gao Family mean? You have illegally kept slaves by the thousands. The entire Gao Family is to be taken away for questioning. Surrender at once!”

The Gao Family martial artists flew into a rage.

“In your dreams!”

“Resisting the law and disrupting order—under Great Qian law, that adds another degree to your crime. Seize them all and throw them into prison!”

The Gao Family martial artists grew even more furious and assumed fighting stances.

“You are looking to die!”

Cheng Yu drew the Thousand-Forged Ice-Thunder Xiuchun Saber. Threads of lightning flickered across the blade, while frigid light shimmered from its edge.

Thunder cracked and lightning flashed as the Xiuchun Saber slashed down with terrifying force.

The Fourth-Rank Gao Family martial artist’s head fell to the ground.

“Threatening to murder an official of the court is a crime equal to rebellion! The Jinyiwei is confiscating the Gao Family. Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!”