Chapter 94 : Chapter 94

Chapter 94: All the Jianghu Figures of Jiannan Circuit Came to Answer Cheng Yu’s Invitation!

Seeing Cheng Yu so full of confidence, with the air of a man who had everything under firm control, as though the whole of Jiannan Circuit’s Jianghu were already clenched in his hand, the Jinyiwei Hundred-Household Commander felt nothing but awe and admiration.

“How could Lord Cheng’s mighty prestige possibly be defied by a mere pack of Jianghu madmen? I was overthinking things!”

He even felt a trace of self-reproach in his heart.

How could he have doubted Lord Cheng?

He truly should not have!

As an old Jinyiwei man of more than twenty years, when had he ever felt as proud and invigorated as he did now?

Those Jianghu martial artists who had once looked at them coldly—did they not all have to lower their heads now when they saw the Jinyiwei?

As the man who had brought about all these changes, how could Lord Cheng be someone an ordinary person like him had any right to fathom?

Cheng Yu looked out across the lake and nodded.

“You did remind me of something. These people are, at heart, all greedy for life and profit. Threats can make them behave on the surface, but if I truly want to force some real concessions out of them, that will be difficult…”

After thinking for a moment, he turned to look at that Jinyiwei Hundred-Household Commander.

“Let’s do this instead. Move the gathering to the Jiannan Circuit Yamen. And while we’re at it, summon the court-appointed officials of every prefecture and county, along with the village chiefs and local headmen near Jiannan City, all in Gao Song’s name. The notice must reach them within three days!”

“Yes, sir!”

Cheng Yu turned back to look over the waters of the lake.

Since certain people styled themselves as righteous and called him savage and cruel, then he would show them a few truly “benevolent deeds.”

He only hoped that when the time came, those great heroes and good men would prove as kind and chivalrous as they claimed.

…

In the Jianghu of Jiannan Circuit, a world-shaking event had taken place over the past few days.

Mei Feng, the famed Sixth-Rank martial artist and stockade master of Plum Saber Stockade, had snuck into the Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Office and attempted to steal the Tiger Tally.

He had been captured by Thousand-Household Commander Cheng Yu and beheaded before the gates of Jiannan City, his gruesome death witnessed by several thousand people.

Even more shocking was what came after.

Cheng Yu then raided and wiped out Plum Saber Stockade right in front of the two great experts Zuo Hong and Tie Ke.

He had openly slapped two Seventh-Rank martial artists across the face.

Although the people of Yueshan Escort Agency and Iron Halberd Mountain explained again and again that this was only a rumor, that Cheng Yu had been cunning beyond measure and had already sent men to wipe out Plum Saber Stockade that very night, so that by the time the two experts learned of it, it was already too late,

and that it was nothing like the rumors claiming he had committed the deed in front of them purely to humiliate them—no matter how much they explained, whether others believed them was another matter entirely.

In the eyes of the vast majority who were simply watching the show from the sidelines, the conclusion remained unchanged.

Not even Yueshan Escort Agency and Iron Halberd Mountain could do anything to the Jinyiwei, much less deal with Cheng Yu!

This time, the Imperial Hounds of the court had truly and unmistakably stepped on their heads.

“It infuriates me! It infuriates me! Jianghu martial artists being trampled under the feet of the Imperial Hounds of the court—this is a first under heaven! How are people like us supposed to show our faces before others now?”

“That Thousand-Household Commander Cheng Yu is truly savage and hateful. He kills people and raids households without even blinking… But speaking of which, are you going to Jiannan City in two days?”

“Of course I am! Do I dare not go? Am I supposed to throw away the lives of my whole family for the sake of empty pride?”

Conversations like these played out again and again throughout the vast Jianghu of Jiannan Circuit.

Almost every named Jianghu faction in Jiannan Circuit made the same decision.

They would accept Cheng Yu’s invitation and attend the gathering!

All their former contempt and disdain were gone.

They had been frightened out of their wits by the Xiuchun Saber.

At Brotherhood Tavern, Qin Mosheng and the others sat with bitter faces and lowered heads, drinking one cup of stifling wine after another.

The graceful Liu Erniang personally brought drinking dishes over for them, but her own face was heavy with gloom.

“If we go this time, we will surely be humiliated. I fear we’ll all end up as the laughingstock of the Jianghu…”

The crowd groaned bitterly.

They did not want to lose face like this either, but the situation left them with no choice!

Qin Mosheng did not even have the interest to fan himself anymore. He merely ate one peanut after another from the dishes set out for drinking.

He had just been about to say something, only to sigh and fall silent instead.

Just then, the group suddenly heard an excited voice ring out from outside Brotherhood Tavern.

“Great news! Great news!”

A martial artist rushed inside in a flurry, gasping for breath as he poured down a cup of tea.

The joy and excitement on his face were impossible to hide.

The others frowned at once, and anger rose in their hearts.

Before long, they were about to lose every shred of face they had left. What happy occasion could possibly make someone so excited now?

“What? Is your wife about to give birth?”

“Your wife is about to give birth!”

The martial artist glared back at him, then said in high spirits, “Yueshan Escort Agency and Iron Halberd Mountain have spoken! They too are accepting Cheng Yu’s invitation, and they’ll appear in a few days!”

“They absolutely refuse to bow their heads to the Imperial Hounds of the court!”

The moment those words were spoken, the entire room froze in stunned silence.

The next instant, it exploded with wild joy.

Ever since the invitation letter had first been sent out, every martial artist in Jiannan Circuit had known

that those two factions were powerful and well-established. They had never cared in the least about Cheng Yu.

How could they possibly lower themselves to go to a Jinyiwei gathering?

And yet now, they had actually changed their minds!

The chopsticks in Qin Mosheng’s hand dropped onto the table. Snatching up his fan, he excitedly asked,

“They’ve really decided?!”

“Yes! Chief Escort Zuo and Sect Master Tie both said that since someone had extended an invitation, it naturally could not be refused. Otherwise, they would be losing the spirit of Jianghu men and women!”

The more Qin Mosheng heard, the more the tight knot in his brow relaxed.

The fan in his hand began waving rapidly once more.

“I should have known. How could they possibly tolerate a mere junior running wild like this!”

At first, when Cheng Yu’s invitation had been sent out, the two factions’ refusal to pay it any mind had been the best possible attitude.

The Jinyiwei were not worthy!

But later, the situation had changed.

In Mingtian Prefecture, Cheng Yu had genuinely toyed with and humiliated the two great experts.

If they still refused to attend the banquet now, others would truly think they were afraid of the Jinyiwei.

This time, their appearance was meant to reclaim their face!

More than that, it was to send a signal to the rest of the Jianghu martial artists.

They were one body.

They absolutely could not allow a mere Imperial Hound of the court to strut around lording it over them!

Qin Mosheng looked at the ecstatic crowd and said with a smile, “Everyone! We can recover our dignity now!”

Once the banquet had been attended, the Jianghu figures of Jiannan Circuit could be said to have shown courtesy to the Jinyiwei first.

If Cheng Yu still dared run wild again after that, it would amount to a naked provocation against the entire Jianghu of Jiannan Circuit.

They already held the moral high ground, and with Yueshan Escort Agency standing at the front to bear the pressure—and with the Army-Breaking Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects, standing behind them as well—once it came to that point, there would be no way Cheng Yu could summon Jinyiwei experts no matter what he did.

Without sufficient cause, even if the Great Qian Emperor himself were willing to make enemies of the Nine Great Sects, the Moderate Faction, which held the overwhelming share of power within the court of Great Qian, would never agree!

Liu Erniang nodded happily.

“For every force in an entire circuit to face one man head-on—that too is an unprecedented first. Even if Cheng Yu dies for it, it will have been worth it.”

The entire group brightened up, raising cups and drinking merrily.

Qin Mosheng waved his fan as he joked, “That little whelp Cheng Yu is arrogant beyond measure. He really thinks he can force the entire Jianghu into submission.”

“With every notable figure in Jiannan Circuit gathering there, let’s see what excuse he’ll still have for making trouble!”

Someone laughed and said, “Well, it won’t quite be every notable figure in Jiannan Circuit. There is one person whom Cheng Yu could never invite, nor would he dare make trouble for.”

“Which one?”

“The eccentric one from Divine Physician Mountain. There’s no way that person would pay any heed to someone like Cheng Yu.”

The crowd suddenly understood and all nodded with smiles.

There was no chance that person from Divine Physician Mountain would give face to a brute like Cheng Yu!

Cheng Yu’s vicious reputation might sound fearsome, but before truly world-renowned grand figures of the Jianghu, it amounted to nothing at all.

People like that would not even deign to pay him any attention.