"How dare you insult Great Japan? You'll regret this. I’m going to beat you until you can’t even take care of yourself," Yamaguchi Kenichi said coldly.
Ye Ning didn’t say a word. His response was to reach out and clamp his hand around Yamaguchi Kenichi’s throat.
Yamaguchi Kenichi’s pupils shrank violently; he hadn’t even seen how Ye Ning had moved. Feeling the grip on his throat tightening, panic set in.
***
"You beat them, but that means nothing. You can only blame them for being pathetic," Ye Ning said indifferently. The members of the Jiuzhou Ancient Martial Arts Club present had their faces darken instantly.
They wanted to retort, but realized they couldn't find a single point of contention. If a hundred people couldn't defeat one, what were they if not pathetic?
"However, you shouldn't have used the term 'Jiuzhou sick man.' I really don't like hearing it. You say I insulted the Island Country and want to cripple me, so what should I do to you for insulting Jiuzhou?"
Ye Ning’s voice grew increasingly cold. Everyone felt a trace of icy killing intent in his tone. They were startled, staring at the scene in shock. Could it be that Ye Ning was actually going to kill him?
"Jiuzhou sick man, I don't believe you’d dare to kill me," Yamaguchi Kenichi managed to squeeze out through his teeth.
Ye Ning’s lips curved upward slightly, his killing intent becoming even more ferocious.
"Ye Ning, don't be rash!" Lin Xue shouted.
*Snap.*
Ye Ning applied pressure, and Yamaguchi Kenichi’s neck snapped. He widened his eyes, staring at Ye Ning in disbelief—the man had actually dared to kill him.
Everyone present was stunned. No one had expected this outcome. Yamaguchi Kenichi was dead.
The members of the Karate Club stared at Ye Ning in terror. Ye Ning dusted off his hands as if he had just done something insignificant. He swept his gaze over the crowd and smiled slightly. "It’s my first time meeting someone so cheap; he actually asked me to kill him, so naturally, I had to oblige."
The crowd fell into a deathly silence. He had really killed him. That was an exchange student from the Island Country, and Ye Ning had crushed him without a moment’s hesitation. This was going to cause a huge problem; Ye Ning was likely heading for disaster.
"Something's gone wrong," Lin Xue’s face turned pale. Even she hadn't expected Ye Ning to be so impulsive as to kill Yamaguchi Kenichi directly.
"Ye Ning, you were too reckless. How could you kill him? This is trouble. Let's go back and find my father," Lin Xue said, her heart full of anxiety.
Ye Ning smiled. "Why couldn't I kill him? He's just a little Jap. Our predecessors shed blood for every inch of this land to drive out foreign powers, not so that we could suffer insults in the future. Anyone who offends the majesty of Jiuzhou shall be executed."
The crowd felt their blood boil, their eyes filled with admiration as they looked at Ye Ning.
"Besides, don't worry. I killed him according to the rules; someone will handle this," Ye Ning said calmly.
*Killed according to the rules?* What did that mean? No one understood, save for Deng Yang, who looked thoughtful.
"You are an Ancient Martial Artist, one of the ranked ones?" Deng Yang struggled to her feet and asked Ye Ning.
Ye Ning glanced at her and nodded. "Yamaguchi Kenichi was ranked too, so I was allowed to kill him."
Deng Yang suddenly smiled. She turned to Lin Xue and said, "Don't worry, your boyfriend will be fine."
"Really?" Lin Xue asked, puzzled.
"That’s the rule of another circle. He truly did kill according to the rules," Deng Yang laughed. She had been worried at first, but knowing Ye Ning was an Ancient Martial Artist, her worries vanished instantly.
After saying this, Deng Yang coughed, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, which immediately frightened Lin Xue.
"Ye Ning, quickly, check on Deng Yang. Is she okay?" Lin Xue asked, filled with worry for her friend.
Ye Ning took a look and said, "Her internal organs are injured. It doesn't look too serious right now, but if not treated properly, all of those who were struck will gradually fall ill and die within a year."
Hearing this, Lin Xue’s face changed dramatically. She asked nervously, "Ye Ning, you must have a way to treat them, right?"
"I'll write a prescription; they’ll recover after a week of taking it," Ye Ning said. Having witnessed Ye Ning’s divine skill, no one doubted his medical ability. Since ancient times, medicine and martial arts have been inseparable. Powerful martial artists all possess some medical knowledge.
Someone brought paper and pen, and Ye Ning wrote out a prescription while explaining some precautions for taking the medicine. Deng Yang took a look—having dabbled a bit in Traditional Chinese Medicine, she immediately understood that Ye Ning’s prescription was highly credible and would be very effective for their internal injuries.
"Thank you. My name is Deng Yang, I'm Xiaoxue's friend. Let's get to know each other," Deng Yang said, extending her hand.
Ye Ning shook her hand and said, "I'm Ye Ning, Lin Xue’s husband."
Deng Yang smirked. "We're all aware of that." The news of the famous school beauty Lin Xue having a boyfriend had already spread throughout the academy. Now, there wasn't a soul in the entire academy who didn't know.
"It seems I'm quite famous," Ye Ning laughed, rubbing his nose. At this moment, he showed no trace of the murderous intensity he had displayed toward Yamaguchi Kenichi earlier.
Seeing them talking happily, some Karate Club members wanted to leave, while others began calling the police.
"You should head back first. There will be trouble once the police arrive," Deng Yang warned.
"If they dare to cause me trouble, I'll finish them off," Ye Ning said nonchalantly, which startled Lin Xue. Police were different from Yamaguchi Kenichi; if Ye Ning really hurt the police, the consequences would be much harder to navigate.
"Let’s go back first. It’s better not to have conflicts with the authorities, okay?" Lin Xue said gently.
Seeing her plead, Ye Ning nodded and left with her. However, before leaving, he pointed at the Karate Club members and said, "You guys carry that guy’s body away. From now on, if I hear anyone dares to say the words 'Jiuzhou sick man' again, I will kill them."
If someone else had said this, the students would have ignored it or even found it laughable. But with Yamaguchi Kenichi’s corpse lying right there, no one dared to disobey. A few students carried the body away.
Ye Ning nodded in satisfaction and said to those from the Ancient Martial Arts Club, "Do you see? There’s no need to be polite with these Japanese Japs. Just treat them like slaves. That race loves the feeling of being oppressed by the strong. The more assertive you are, the more submissive they become."
The Japanese students in the Karate Club turned ashen. They were furious but dared not say a word. The Ancient Martial Arts Club students, however, were all smiles, agreeing with Ye Ning and feeling immense satisfaction at seeing the Karate Club members humbled.
***
Not long after Ye Ning and Lin Xue left the school, the police arrived. They were stunned to see the students lying all over the ground.
"What’s going on here?" a spirited female police officer asked.
Deng Yang stepped forward and recounted what had happened. The female officer was furious; a cold expression crossed her beautiful face. "These Japs are too arrogant. Injuring people in our Jiuzhou and insulting our people—they deserve to die."
Deng Yang was surprised; the officer exceeded her expectations. She wasn't one of those stuffy types and clearly held no love for the Japs.
"Who is the guy who did the killing?" the officer asked again. The students of the Ancient Martial Arts Club all remained silent.
Chen Shu, the officer, glanced at them and knew exactly what they were thinking. "Even if you want to shield him, you can’t. We have plenty of ways to find out who he is."
"He was acting in righteous defense!" a student said indignantly.
Chen Shu glanced at him and said indifferently, "I didn't say it wasn't righteous defense. It's just that even for righteous defense, we need to verify his identity. Some procedures must be followed." Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Shu questioned the Karate Club members and locked onto Ye Ning’s identity. The Lin Family. A strange light flickered in her eyes; that was not a family to be trifled with.
A Japanese couple arrived shortly after. The man was filled with malice and said to Chen Shu, "Where is the Jiuzhou person who killed my son? Arrest him and execute him immediately."
Chen Shu looked at him and asked the school administrator, "Who is this guy?"
The administrator hurried to explain, "This is Yamaguchi Ichio, and this is his wife, Yamaguchi Keiko. The killed student was their son, Yamaguchi Kenichi."
Chen Shu nodded. "I see. A Jap."
The administrator broke out in a sweat; why was this officer so unrestrained in her speech? Yamaguchi Ichio was the president of a Japanese company’s regional branch in Jiuzhou and held significant influence.
True enough, Yamaguchi Ichio’s face darkened at her remark. He said coldly, "Officer, please show some respect. We are Japanese merchants in Jiuzhou. Now that my son has been killed, we expect you to catch the murderer quickly and give us an explanation."
Chen Shu’s face sank as she said with dissatisfaction, "What murderer? He is a good citizen who acted in righteous defense. Your son was the one who was the aggressor, injuring over a hundred students. If it were me, I would have killed him too."
Yamaguchi Ichio’s face turned black. The killer of his son was being labeled a hero. Judging by her tone, she had no intention of holding the other party responsible—was she going to give him an award?
"Officer, do not harbor the murderer. I know your precinct captain. If you don't enforce the law impartially, I will take it up with him," Yamaguchi Ichio said coldly.
Chen Shu revealed a look of disdain and sneered, "Are you threatening me?"
"You can take it that way," Yamaguchi Ichio retorted.
The officer beside Chen Shu felt something was wrong and grabbed her. Sure enough, in that split second, Chen Shu lunged forward and kicked Yamaguchi Ichio.
"You damn Jap, you dare threaten me? I’ll kill you, you animal!" She reached for her belt to draw her gun, but realized her colleagues had already taken it. The officer holding her broke into a cold sweat; he knew Chen Shu’s temperament well.
Chen Shu was usually calm, but she was impulsive whenever it came to Americans or Japanese people. This stemmed from her family history. Her great-grandfather’s generation had lost seven brothers in the war against Japan; her grandfather’s generation had lost three out of four brothers in the counter-attack war. Her family’s honor was dyed in blood, and they held deep-seated hatred for those who brandished their power in Jiuzhou.
Yamaguchi Ichio frowned and let out a cold hum. "Is this how you treat international friends? I will certainly complain to your superiors." He left with his wife.
"Squad leader, you've caused trouble," the officer said after Yamaguchi left.
Chen Shu calmed down and said, "Give me my gun."
"Damn it, seeing those Japs makes me angry. Threatening me? They’ve got some nerve. That guy better hope I don’t find any dirt on him." As for the complaints, she didn't care at all. If they wanted to complain, they should look into her background first.
"Squad leader, what do we do next?" the officer asked.
"Go to the Lin Family."
"Right, let's go get the suspect!" the officer said immediately.
Chen Shu gave him a hard slap and rolled her eyes. "Arrest him? I just said he acted in righteous defense. I'm going to confirm his identity and give him an award!"
"What?" The officer broke into a sweat. Did this lady know how serious this was? A foreigner had died, and if she did that, it could cause an international incident. But seeing her serious look, he knew her mind was made up.
***
They arrived at the Lin residence. Even Lin Muhua was caught off guard by the scene. He greeted them personally and asked, "Squad Leader Chen, what has happened to warrant such a display?"
Chen Shu looked at him and said, "Your son-in-law killed a Japanese man. I'm here for him."
Lin Muhua was slightly stunned. Ye Ning killed someone? But hearing it was a Japanese man, he didn't care much. He smiled and said, "It’s just a little Jap. You can just consider it like a dog died."
"The man was Yamaguchi Ichio’s son," Chen Shu said indifferently.
Lin Muhua was taken aback. He had heard of Yamaguchi Ichio; he had some influence in the city. He thought for a moment and said, "Still, just a slightly troublesome dog. No need to take it too seriously."
Chen Shu looked at him deeply, then suddenly beamed. "I completely agree with your assessment. Your son-in-law acted in righteous defense. I’m here to confirm his identity and present him with an award."
Now it was Lin Muhua’s turn to be stunned.
***
He looked at Chen Shu suspiciously—was she pulling his leg? Lin Muhua hesitated. As long as Ye Ning wasn't taken away, he had plenty of ways to handle things. Killing a Jap was nothing. But once someone was taken into custody, it was out of his control.
"Dad, let the officer come in. Ye Ning said so," Lin Xue said, emerging from the house.
Chen Shu glanced at Lin Xue with surprise; the girl was beautiful. She nodded and prepared to enter with her team.
"Wait," Lin Xue said. Chen Shu arched a brow, thinking she had changed her mind.
"Please don't misunderstand, Ye Ning said only one person can enter. Too many people will make things complicated," Lin Xue explained.
Chen Shu paused and said, "I'll go in alone."
Her subordinates looked uneasy, but Chen Shu had already stepped inside. Lin Muhua smiled slightly, closed the door, and followed.
"Will something go wrong? Yamaguchi Kenichi could beat a hundred people and was still crushed by Ye Ning. If he attacks the squad leader, she’s no match for him," an officer worried. In their eyes, Ye Ning was an extremely dangerous person. Letting Chen Shu face him alone was too risky.
"Rest assured, it should be fine. We are police; even if that guy is crazy, he wouldn't dare attack a police officer. If he does, he’s a dead man," an older officer said, speaking from experience. He knew about Ancient Martial Artists, but even they wouldn't easily kill an officer of the law. If they did, they would have nowhere to hide.
***
Chen Shu and Lin Xue walked to Lin Xue’s quarters. Ye Ning was already waiting. She sized him up—he was young and very handsome. To think such a man could crush Yamaguchi Kenichi.
"You’re an Ancient Martial Artist?" Chen Shu asked first.
Ye Ning wasn't surprised; such information wasn't entirely secret to the authorities. He nodded. "That's right."
"And Yamaguchi Kenichi?" Chen Shu asked.
"Yes, a third-rate martial artist. He just managed to refine his internal energy, which is how he could fight a hundred," Ye Ning replied.
"Well done. Thank you for taking out that Jap," Chen Shu said with a smile. Since it was a matter between Ancient Martial Artists, it wasn't her place to interfere. Fights between them had their own rules, and as long as they didn't involve ordinary people, the police didn't care. Generally, the special organizations of Jiuzhou wouldn't interfere either, unless the situation became too extreme.