Chapter 97 : Chapter 97

Chapter 97: The Jinyiwei Must Give an Explanation Today!

At this moment, the exceedingly spacious Circuit Yamen had been filled with rows upon rows of seats, yet far fewer people had actually come.

The Jiannan Circuit Jianghu martial artists sat together in one section. Looking at the many empty seats, every last one of them sneered in ridicule.

Zuo Hong snorted coldly.

“We all came to show him respect, yet Cheng Yu is still not satisfied.”

“He set out this many seats. Does he expect the whole of Jiangnan to come pay him a visit?”

“Exactly! The man probably thinks himself the emperor of Jiannan Circuit and believes everyone should come bow and kowtow before him!”

Cheng Yu was flamboyant, yes, but they had not imagined him to be this arrogant and conceited.

To fill a spectacle like this, one would likely need all the martial artists in the whole of Jiangnan to arrive.

But that was no different from wishful thinking!

Not even the Martial Alliance Leader had that kind of influence!

Tie Ke sneered. “Later, when all those seats are still empty, we’ll ask Cheng Yu how he plans to clean up this mess.”

“Exactly!”

The martial artists immediately found it amusing. If Cheng Yu flew into a rage from humiliation, they would have the perfect chance to mock him.

But right at that moment, a tremendous commotion suddenly broke out beyond the gates of the circuit yamen.

“Court-Appointed Officials from every prefecture and county have arrived!”

As the announcement rang out, a group of Great Qian officials in formal robes walked in and offered greetings toward Cheng Yu one after another.

Then, smiling warmly, they looked toward the Jianghu martial artists seated off to one side.

Those who knew someone even took the initiative to greet them.

“Th-This is...?”

Seeing the scene before them, the martial artists all frowned.

Had Cheng Yu not said they were here to discuss the future of Jiannan Circuit?

What was the point of bringing these frail men here, people with no martial strength and barely enough power to truss a chicken?

The smug smile on Zuo Hong’s face froze awkwardly. He saw the Prefect of Yueshan Prefecture greeting him.

Left with no choice, he gave a stiff nod in response.

Then he watched as the man found a seat roughly equal to his own and sat down, effectively placing them on the same level.

Anger surged in his heart at once.

“So now I understand what that brat Cheng Yu is doing! He means to use these people to humiliate us!”

In Yueshan Prefecture, who did not know that his Yueshan Escort Bureau was the strongest force there, and that Chief Escort Zuo held the highest standing?

Whenever the Prefect of Yueshan saw Zuo Hong, he had always needed to be respectful and deferential.

Otherwise, he would find it impossible to get anything done.

Yet now, after taking Cheng Yu as his patron, he actually dared sit on equal footing with him!

The other martial artists soon ran into the same situation.

One after another, those court officials they had once dismissed with disdain had suddenly risen over them!

“That brat Cheng Yu really does know how to humiliate people!”

They were furious and ashamed, yet there was nothing they could do.

As long as Cheng Yu continued lording it over Jiannan Circuit, they would not be able to retaliate against these people.

Just then, another group of plain and ordinary folk walked into the circuit yamen.

Quite a few of them were dressed simply. Some even had flecks of mud on their trouser legs, and their sun-darkened faces made them look no different from old farmers from the countryside.

“The Village Chiefs and Local Headmen from the villages around Jiannan City have arrived!”

Village Chiefs and Local Headmen?!

The proud martial artists had already been displeased to begin with.

The moment they heard this, their expressions turned icy.

Were these not just rustic peasants and common townsfolk?

And yet they were actually going to sit at the same tables as them!

The hierarchy of honor and status within the Jianghu, which they had always believed in so deeply, suffered a tremendous blow in that instant.

Their anger flared at once.

“Is Cheng Yu saying we are no different from rustic peasants?!”

Zuo Hong and the others growled under their breath, barely able to suppress the fury in their hearts. “We will repay this humiliation without fail!”

On the other side, Cheng Yu swept his gaze around. He saw that the seats for the officials of every prefecture and county, along with the Village Chiefs and Local Headmen, were all filled. Not a single person was absent.

All of them were looking at him with reverence.

Over the past few days, the Jinyiwei had gone everywhere suppressing bandits, relieving them of no small amount of trouble.

Since Cheng Yu took office as Thousand-Household Commander, the benefits he had brought to Jiannan Circuit were real and tangible.

If they still failed to show him proper respect, could they even call themselves human?

Cheng Yu then glanced at the seats on the other side reserved for the Jianghu figures and saw that several were still empty.

He raised his head and said, “The time is about right. Close the gates of the circuit yamen.”

The great gates shut.

He looked at the people present and revealed the faintest trace of a smile.

“I invited you all here today in order to discuss—”

“Open the gate for me!”

Just as he was speaking, a clamor suddenly rose from outside the circuit yamen.

It sounded as though people were arguing.

Everyone’s attention was drawn over.

They wanted to see who had the audacity to show Cheng Yu so little respect and cause trouble at a time like this.

Outside the gate—“Out of my way! I’m going in!”

A tall man with an imposing aura, dressed in fitted martial garb, was glaring furiously at the closed gates of the circuit yamen.

He was unmistakably a Fifth-Rank martial artist.

“The gathering has already begun. You are late. Go back.”

A Jinyiwei guard spoke coldly.

“Go back? Do you even know who I am, that you dare stop me? I am Yuan Sun of the Yuan Family Water Gang!”

Yuan Sun’s words were thick with menace.

Even a gatekeeping Jinyiwei dared to stop him. Did he really think everyone was Cheng Yu?

“Can’t you understand plain speech? If you’re late, then you have no right to enter. Begone!”

“What did you say?!”

Yuan Sun was a dignified Fifth-Rank martial artist. Within the territory controlled by his own faction, his word was law. When had he ever been humiliated like this by some weak little Jinyiwei?

“Say that again!”

With reddened eyes, he suddenly strode forward, his iron fist swinging with force.

That Jinyiwei’s martial strength was not high, and he could not react at all.

He was just about to be struck.

But at that very moment, a frost-cold Embroidered Spring Saber suddenly cut in before Yuan Sun’s fist, stopping him from advancing even half a step farther.

“Cheng... Thousand-Household Commander...”

Only then did Yuan Sun clearly see the crackling lightning on the Embroidered Spring Saber, and sweat instantly beaded on his brow.

“Who dares openly harm a member of my Jinyiwei?”

Cheng Yu’s voice was icy, and his narrowed eyes seemed to be looking at a dead man.

Yuan Sun nervously swallowed and said in a trembling voice, “Lord Cheng, I am Yuan Sun of the Yuan Family Water Gang. I arrived a step late and was stopped by that... that officer over there. In a moment of urgency...”

“I offer my apologies. I hope my lord will not misunderstand!”

But even as he begged for mercy, Yuan Sun noticed that Cheng Yu’s expression was growing colder and colder, and that the Embroidered Spring Saber in his hand showed no intention whatsoever of being withdrawn.

A terrifying thought suddenly appeared in his mind.

Cheng Yu wanted to kill him!

He immediately looked toward Zuo Hong and the others, who were hurrying over, and shouted, “Chief Escort Zuo, Sect Master Tie, save—”

Crack!

Before he could finish, the thunderclap had already sounded.

With a cold expression, Cheng Yu withdrew his saber. A huge, hideous blackened gash appeared across Yuan Sun’s chest, and he crashed to the ground.

“Cheng Yu, what do you mean by this?!”

Seeing that the situation had turned bad, Zuo Hong and the others rushed over at once, but they were already too late to stop Cheng Yu from killing him.

“We are all here tonight, yet you still dared kill one of Jiannan Circuit’s Jianghu men. You must give an explanation!”

Cheng Yu looked at the few martial artists advancing aggressively and let out a cold sneer.

“One of Jiannan Circuit’s Jianghu martial artists? This man was nothing more than one of Prince Qing’s remnant followers in disguise.”

“I invited the Jianghu martial artists of Jiannan Circuit to the circuit yamen. If someone failed to come or came late, that only proves he had a guilty conscience.”

The hearts of the martial artists shook, as though a heavy drum had been struck inside their chests.

Prince Qing’s remnant followers!

What a monstrous accusation!

Cheng Yu truly intended to kill every last one who failed to come!

【The host overawes the crowd, acts with unquestioned authority, and displays the prestige of the Jinyiwei. Reward: Body-Hardening Progress!】

Seeing Cheng Yu kill a man and remain so calm afterward, Zuo Hong trembled with rage from head to toe.

“This is utter lawlessness! To slaughter the innocent so wantonly—how can the Jiannan Circuit Jianghu possibly tolerate a villain like you?!”

“In barely half a month, you destroyed Plum Saber Stockade and killed Stockade Master Mei. And today, you have killed Gang Leader Yuan as well. The people of the Jianghu will never allow the Jinyiwei to keep trampling over us like this!”

“You slaughter the innocent and butcher the Jianghu. Today, your Jinyiwei must give an explanation!”

“Give an explanation!”

The other Jianghu martial artists all echoed Chief Escort Zuo.

They had all come here today, united against a common enemy, precisely to demand an explanation!