The people of Great Xia watched this scene, their eyes gradually turning red, their breathing growing heavy. Subconsciously, their gazes began searching the surrounding area for the figures of Qingsong Country warriors.
"General, what should we do?"
One of You Longchang's subordinates suddenly spoke up.
"What do we do?"
You Longchang looked somewhat dazed.
"The Military God Fang's cultivation has already recovered, so we have nothing to fear from Qingsong Country! How can we let them run wild in the Capital? Naturally, we should assist the Military God Fang and wipe them out one by one!"
His subordinate said in a low voice.
"But..."
You Longchang clenched his teeth tightly. This matter was of the utmost importance, and he did not dare to make a decision on his own; to kill Qingsong Country warriors required a personal decree from the Emperor.
"General, my younger brother was beaten to death in the streets of the Capital by Qingsong Country warriors."
The subordinate said quietly.
"Damn it, forget it!"
You Longchang let out an angry shout: "Soldiers of the West Tiger Camp, listen up!"
"Here!"
A thunderous roar rang out.
"We will follow the Military God Fang! Today, we will slaughter every last Qingsong Country warrior in the Capital!"
A layer of blood gradually crept over You Longchang's eyes, as if he had returned to the days of fighting on the battlefield. Terrifying murderous intent wrapped wildly around him!
"Understood!"
With that single response, You Longchang led his subordinates to follow Fang Chen, rushing all the way toward a certain direction. There was a martial arts hall over there, opened by Qingsong Country, and most of the Qingsong Country warriors frequented that place!
Countless commoners saw this and quickly followed along. Although they were empty-handed, the pent-up grievance and bitterness they had harbored for a full five years made them feel full of vigor, as if they possessed an endless supply of strength!
"Empress, the heir..."
A palace maid looked blankly at the Empress.
The Empress pondered for a few moments, then turned to the commander of the imperial guards escorting her: "Take some men and follow Chen'er. Since he wants to kill Qingsong Country warriors, you will help him kill them together."
"Yes!"
The guard commander nodded excitedly, then left a few guards to protect the Empress before leading the rest in pursuit of Fang Chen.
"After today, the skies are going to change."
The Empress muttered to herself.
"Empress, people in the palace might use this matter to attack you..."
The maid's face was filled with worry.
After all, Fang Chen was the Empress's nephew. Now, on his way home, he had suddenly begun slaughtering Qingsong Country warriors; if this matter blew up, it would inevitably implicate the Empress.
Especially that pampered Imperial Noble Consort; she would absolutely not let go of such an opportunity.
"Some people may have forgotten that before I entered the palace, I was also a member of the Fang family."
The Empress gave a light chuckle, a flash of lightning sparking in her eyes. The jade thumb ring she was toying with suddenly turned into a pile of fine powder, slowly spilling from her fingertips.
***
Qingsong Superior Hall.
It covered an enormous area, having formerly been a government office of Great Xia. However, after Great Xia suffered defeat five years ago, this building was seized by Qingsong Country, which established a martial arts hall here.
They used the word "Superior" to flaunt their status as superior people, while the citizens of Great Xia were treated as inferior pariahs.
It was bustling with activity, and eight or nine out of every ten Qingsong Country warriors making a living in the Capital of Great Xia frequented this place.
"Hehe, do you think Xiao Shennü will come to stay here?"
"Naturally she will. Our hall master is a veteran of the Wolf Army and once followed the First Wolf Commander to personally defeat Fang Chen at Three Realms Mountain."
"I heard that Xiao Shennü is incomparably beautiful. Fang Chen is getting off too easy this time."
"Don't put it that way. If Fang Chen becomes one of our Qingsong Country people, won't Great Xia have not a shred of hope left? It's only a matter of time before our Qingsong Country tramples this place flat, hahaha!"
In the front hall, a group of Qingsong Country warriors were chatting idly, occasionally bursting into loud laughter. The servants walking among these warriors, however, were trembling with fear, their expressions filled with dread.
Because they were Great Xia commoners who had no choice but to come here and serve these Qingsong Country warriors, and if they were the slightest bit careless, they might lose their heads in the blink of an eye.
Just then, a Qingsong Country warrior noticed something was amiss.
"Why is it so noisy outside?"
He stood up to look outside, and his expression suddenly changed.
"What is it?"
Someone asked.
"People, a lot of people..."
That Qingsong Country warrior muttered: "It looks like they're coming toward us."
A lot of people?
A group of Qingsong Country warriors immediately gathered at the entrance, startled by the vast, imposing procession before them.
Among this procession, many were ordinary Great Xia commoners, but they also saw soldiers in military uniforms, and some even recognized Fang Chen walking right at the front.
"Isn't that Fang Chen?"
"Something's wrong. I'm going to notify the hall master!"
Someone hurried away.
By this time, Fang Chen had already arrived before the gates of Qingsong Superior Hall. He glanced at the signboard and said indifferently, "General You, smash the sign."
"Yes!"
You Longchang leaped up fiercely, smashing the signboard to pieces with a single punch, the fragments scattering across the ground.
"You have a lot of nerve!"
The Qingsong Country warriors gathered at the entrance flew into a rage, their eyes instantly turning red at the sight.
"Kill them."
Fang Chen said.
"Military God Fang, are you sure?"
Along the way here, You Longchang's mind had calmed down somewhat, and he had begun weighing the gains and losses.
"Don't talk nonsense."
Fang Chen frowned slightly.
You Longchang felt that he was already riding a tiger and could not dismount; at this moment, he only had one choice left. The next second, he roared at the top of his lungs:
"Kill!!!"
Taking the lead, he rushed straight into Qingsong Superior Hall with his subordinates!
The Qingsong Country warriors who bore the brunt of the charge were caught off guard and were swallowed up by the sea of people in a few moments. Each of them suffered at least a dozen stab wounds, showing just how intense the hatred of the Great Xia people was toward the Qingsong Country warriors.
You Longchang cleared the path ahead, while Fang Chen strolled leisurely behind. The commoners closely followed Fang Chen's footsteps, their expressions a mixture of terror and excitement.
The Qingsong Country warriors gradually recovered from their shock and immediately organized a powerful counterattack. At the same time, a figure hurried over, and upon seeing this scene, he roared angrily:
"Everyone, stop!"
This person was none other than Xiao Tianci, the master of Qingsong Superior Hall.
He was not a member of the Xiao family, but having followed Wolf Commander Xiao on campaigns since he was a child, he was granted the surname Xiao by him!
Chapter 12: How to Calm the Anger in One's Heart?
The battle between the two sides temporarily paused, and everyone's gaze fell uniformly upon Xiao Tianci.
"Fang Chen, what are you doing!"
Xiao Tianci stared coldly at Fang Chen, a flash of suspicion and uncertainty deep within his eyes.
The other party had been silent for five years, yet today he suddenly led a group of... a mob, to storm Qingsong Superior Hall?
Yes, in his eyes, the people beside Fang Chen were nothing more than a mob with virtually no combat power! He could easily handle all of them by himself.
A Qi Control Expert was not just for show; on the battlefield, a single Qi Control Expert could easily match a thousand troops!
"Wolf Commander Xiao arranged for you to stay in the Capital and communicate and plot with certain restless fellows. I could have turned a blind eye, after all, those fellows... cannot sway the national fortunes anyway."
Fang Chen sighed softly: "But you should not have condoned the Qingsong Country warriors running amok in our Great Xia Capital."
"You are a defeated general; what qualifications do you have to make demands?"
Xiao Tianci gazed fixedly at Fang Chen: "Before long, you will be my Xiao family's son-in-law. Out of respect for Miss, I'll let you take your people and leave now, and I won't report this matter to your Emperor."
Just then, a boisterous voice rang out: "Hall Master Xiao, who has eaten the gallbladder of a bear and the heart of a leopard to dare come here and cause trouble? Don't worry, you guys don't even need to lift a finger—I, Li Huang, will be the first to slaughter him!"
Everyone looked up and saw a slightly plump young man walking over at a leisurely pace, flanked by several guards whose cultivation was not weak.
"Why is he here?"
You Longchang frowned slightly.
This Li Huang, much like Fang Chen, had an aunt who was a concubine of the Great Xia Emperor, making him a member of the imperial relatives.
"Fang Chen?! You Longchang of the West Tiger Camp?"
Li Huang suddenly stopped in his tracks. He caught sight of Fang Chen, and a look of terror, along with a deeply buried resentment, flashed in his eyes.
"Young Master Li, I'll handle this matter."
Xiao Tianci said with a faint smile.
"Good, good, good. Hall Master Xiao, please handle it."
Li Huang immediately backed down, then stood to the side, secretly sizing up Fang Chen. He couldn't understand why Fang Chen, who had already become a useless cripple, would suddenly appear at Qingsong Superior Hall.
"Fang Chen, you should withdraw."
Xiao Tianci said indifferently.
A look of hesitation flickered across You Longchang's face, and the Great Xia commoners, who had just been full of excitement, also felt a surge of apprehension.
They knew that the man before them was a Qi Control Expert!
"In Qingsong Superior Hall, there are three Qi Control Experts—two in the Early Qi Control stage and one in the Mid Qi Control stage—fifteen Peak Qi Burst warriors, and one thousand and thirty-two ordinary warriors remaining."
Fang Chen slowly spoke.
Hearing this, everyone secretly drew in cold breaths. They had no idea that Qingsong Superior Hall possessed such terrifying strength; one had to know that the entire Capital of Great Xia only had a little over a dozen Peak Qi Burst warriors to begin with!
As for Qi Control experts, after the battle five years ago, very few remained—you could count them on one hand!
"And this is just one martial arts hall opened by Qingsong Country. Just how many experts must there be over in Qingsong Country?"
Everyone thought to themselves in secret.
Xiao Tianci's expression shifted slightly. How could the other party accurately state the number of Qingsong Country warriors in the Great Xia Capital?
If these warriors were gathered together, they could completely wage a small-scale war; even storming the Great Xia Imperial Palace might not be entirely impossible!
For some reason, an ominous premonition suddenly rose in Xiao Tianci's heart. He had thought that Fang Chen's five years of silence meant he had given up everything, but those words just now precisely proved that Fang Chen had been paying attention to everything all along!
"Military God Fang, what is your purpose in coming here today? Don't forget, you are about to marry into my Xiao family as a matrilocal son-in-law."
Xiao Tianci's words carried a hidden threat.
"Don't you know that Xiao Shennü has already left the Capital?"
Fang Chen smiled.
Left the Capital?
Xiao Tianci was startled; he truly knew nothing of this news.
"You didn't know... well, it doesn't matter. Knowing or not knowing the inside story won't change anything I'm about to do."
Fang Chen flicked his sleeve, and a bolt of lightning instantly blasted into Xiao Tianci.
A dignified Qi Control Expert didn't even have time to make the slightest reaction before he was instantly struck and charred black on the spot.
"Hiss—"
Everyone drew a sharp breath.
You Longchang had already witnessed this scene, but still felt inexplicably shocked.
As for the commoners around them, they fell into a state of profound shock. Many among them looked at Fang Chen with a mixture of awe and worship.
"The heir is truly the heir; he has never conceded defeat!"
These people felt their spirits surge, wishing they could let out a long howl.
"Now, there are only two Qi Control warriors left in Qingsong Superior Hall."
Fang Chen said softly.
"General You, kill them. Not a single Qingsong Country warrior here today is to be spared."
"Understood!"
You Longchang let out a loud shout, his eyes blazing red as he led his troops to charge at the Qingsong Country warriors who were still immersed in shock.
Things had reached this point; he had no way out and could only act as the sharp blade in Fang Chen's hand, striking wherever Fang Chen pointed!
"No, impossible... How could he... Xiao Tianci is a Qi Control warrior, how could he be killed in a single move by Fang Chen?! Has his cultivation recovered?!
Where did that lightning just now come from? What kind of method is this!?"
Li Huang's face turned ashen, his mind spinning into chaos. When he saw the surrounding Qingsong Country warriors being systematically slaughtered by You Longchang's troops, his body couldn't help but start trembling.
"Li Huang, let's catch up."
Passing by Li Huang, Fang Chen dropped these words before walking deep into the interior of Qingsong Superior Hall.
With a desolate expression, Li Huang glanced at the surrounding situation, then had no choice but to grit his teeth and follow Fang Chen.
"These past few years, you've been quite close to Xiao Tianci."
Fang Chen said as they walked.
A forced smile squeezed onto Li Huang's face: "Not that close, really. I just came here often to practice martial arts and exchange pointers."
Pausing for a moment, Li Huang tentatively probed: "Military God Fang, by killing Xiao Tianci, you're likely to provoke dissatisfaction in the court. If His Majesty finds out about this, he might punish you..."
"I killed a few Qingsong Country warriors, so why would His Majesty punish me?"
Fang Chen asked with a half-smile.
"Because... this will provoke Qingsong Country's fury. By then, how many people in Great Xia will have to die to appease their anger?"
Li Huang said.
"How many people do you think need to die in Qingsong Country to calm the anger in my heart?"
Fang Chen countered with a question.
At the same time, he had arrived at the backyard of Qingsong Superior Hall. It seemed they were still unaware of what was happening outside; many Qingsong Country warriors were bare-chested, eating meat and drinking wine in large gulps while casually pointing and gesturing toward the targets in the distance.
In the distance stood dozens of targets, stained with dripping blood. The reason for this was that the things tied to those targets were living human beings—they were people from Great Xia!
"Li Huang, did something happen outside? With the hall master here, what are you worrying blindly for? It's your turn in the archery contest now. I hit a pariah right between the eyebrows with a single arrow; if you can't do it, you lose the contest, and remember to pay me a thousand taels of silver!"
A Qingsong Country warrior called out with a laugh toward Li Huang.
The others burst into loud laughter, because Li Huang had lost quite a bit of silver here over the years, leading them to view him as a fat sheep to be fleeced!
Combining Fang Chen's words from earlier with what he was now hearing from this group of Qingsong Country warriors, Li Huang's face instantly turned ashen, and the trembling of his body grew more and more violent.
"You haven't answered me yet. Tell me, how should I calm the anger in my heart?"
Fang Chen looked at the corpses on those targets with their eyes wide open in death, and spoke softly.
Chapter 13: After Today, Fall Back in Line
"I... this, this matter has nothing to do with me! I just came here to watch the commotion! These targets—no, I've never killed a single one of these people..."
Li Huang's voice was already trembling.
The few guards by his side exchanged glances and instinctively protected Li Huang's vital points, terrified that Fang Chen might strike him dead on the spot.
"Is that so..."
Fang Chen smiled.
The group of Qingsong Country warriors gradually sensed something was wrong. After taking a few more looks at Fang Chen, they realized with a shock who he was!
"It's Fang Chen!"
"Why is he here?!"
Subconsciously, they put down their wine and meat. Some drew sabers, some unsheathed swords, and others raised the longbows in their hands, staring intently at Fang Chen.
"Fang Chen, what are you doing here?"
Just then, a figure swept over in a furious rush. This person possessed a powerful aura and nimble footwork, seemingly skimming the ground without touching it as he arrived—it was the visual manifestation of Qi Control at the feet!
"Lord Tie Ma!"
A look of pleasant surprise appeared in Li Huang's eyes.
The newcomer was none other than one of the two Early Qi Control experts of Qingsong Superior Hall. He had once been a famous swordsman in Qingsong Country, later defecting to Wolf Commander Xiao to campaign with the army, and eventually coming to the Great Xia Capital alongside Xiao Tianci to take charge of Qingsong Superior Hall!
Yet, right after that surge of joy, Li Huang suddenly let out a cry of alarm: "Lord Tie Ma, watch out! Hall Master Xiao has already died at Fang Chen's hand!"
What?!
"Hall Master Xiao died at Fang Chen's hand?!"
"How is that possible!"
"Didn't Fang Chen lose all his cultivation?!"
The Qingsong Country warriors present were shocked into a standstill.
Seeing this, Tie Ma immediately unclipped the sword at his waist, and a sword glare over a zhang in length swept out like an overwhelming force!
In a split second, the heads of a dozen Qingsong Country warriors fell to the ground together.
Tie Ma's movements did not stop. As a Qi Control Expert, his figure shifted and maneuvered around the courtyard like a ghost, every single sword stroke taking the lives of several Qingsong Country warriors.
In just a short moment, dozens of Qingsong Country warriors—including Qi Condensation warriors and Qi Burst warriors—all perished beneath Tie Ma's sword.
Fresh blood slowly dripped from Tie Ma's long sword to the ground.
Li Huang stared dumbfoundedly at this scene, his mind unable to process the turn of events or figure out what on earth was happening.
Why would Tie Ma turn on his own people?
The few guards beside Li Huang were also left gaping, secretly terrified by the terrifying methods of a Qi Control Expert; if it were any of them, blocking a single sword strike from Tie Ma would have been an uphill battle.
"Your Highness, Xiao Tianci was watching closely, which is why I couldn't go to the Hidden Courtyard that day."
Tie Ma gave his arm a shake, completely flinging the blood from his sword, before walking up to Fang Chen and clasping his fists in a bow.
"You've had a hard time all these years, having to witness scenes like this every day. Tell me, is the resentment in this Qingsong Superior Hall towering to the heavens?"
Fang Chen muttered to himself.
"It is Your Highness who has had the hardest time."
Tie Ma said in a low voice.
"I knew about this, yet lacked the ability to stop it..."
Fang Chen said with self-deprecating irony.
"Your Highness must not think like that. They... were destined to meet this calamity, and what Your Highness must do is far more than just save the lives of one or two people.
If Great Xia did not have Your Highness, even more people would die!"
Tie Ma said in a deep voice.
Their conversation left Li Huang completely dumbfounded, his mind plunged into a chaotic void.
"You, you guys..."
Li Huang pointed tremblingly at Tie Ma and Fang Chen.
"The Great Xia Hidden Guards have been reactivated. Your mission... has also come to an end. After today, fall back in line."
Fang Chen patted Tie Ma on the shoulder.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Tie Ma replied in a heavy voice.
Though he tried his best to appear calm, the slight tremor in his voice betrayed him.
For many years, back when Fang Chen had arranged for him to infiltrate Qingsong Country, he had risen step by step until he successfully embedded himself within the Wolf Army, even winning the favor of the First Wolf Commander.
By utilizing this position, he had transmitted numerous vital intelligence reports to Fang Chen and swayed the outcome of several military campaigns.
He understood that his utility to Fang Chen was immense, but being stationed in enemy territory day in and day out—sometimes even forced to personally execute Great Xia soldiers with his own hands—subjected him to endless mental torture night after night.
Today, he had finally returned to his ranks!
"Your Highness, the other one has already died by my hand. There shouldn't be any Qingsong Country Qi Control warriors left in the Capital. What should we do next?"
Tie Ma calmed his emotions and asked in a low voice.
"Leave none alive."
Fang Chen smiled faintly: "Now, Great Xia no longer needs to politely prevaricate with Qingsong. The first step is to begin by purging the remaining poison from the Capital."
"Then what about these people?"
Tie Ma looked toward Li Huang and the others.
"Military God Fang, I was wrong, I was wrong! I'm also a citizen of Great Xia, please spare my life for the sake of both my aunt and the Empress being imperial concubines!"
Li Huang suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud, kowtowing frantically.