Prisoner Rescue

Ji Xun squinted, looking Nie Wanzhi over, then sneered at Si Ming, as if he had seen something. Finally, he said sharply, "Don't try to stall for time. I'll count to three. If you don't back down, then it's a fight to the death! One!"

"Two!"

This was a psychological game. In the end, Si Ming was just bluffing and dared not really ignore the safety of the hostages. He clenched his fist and prepared to give way.

"Negotiations should be left to me, why are you taking my job?"

Yu Shuying walked over and squeezed out of Si Ming's seat.

Ji Xun ignored the change on the other side and continued the countdown, "One!"

Yu Shuying turned to the side and said, "We can let you leave, but are you sure you want to let this mistake continue?"

Ji Xun said, "I am not wrong. The ones who are wrong are you, this unreasonable society! What kind of bullshit Mohist Knight Guard are you? When my family and I were oppressed by those in power, you didn't stand up for justice. But after I avenged them, you jumped out and tried to kill me. I've finally seen it clearly: in this world, you can't survive as a good person. Only by becoming a bad person can you live freely and do whatever you want!"

Yu Shuying said, "You've got two things wrong. First, I'm not a Mohist Knight Guard. Second, I don't think there's anything wrong with you seeking revenge. Your real mistake is that you didn't commit suicide after you took your revenge!"

"What did you say?"

"Think about it, what would happen if you died after killing your enemy's entire family?" Before the other person could answer, Yu Shuying continued, "The world would idolize you as a hero, sympathize with your family's plight, and believe that you were forced to rise up in rebellion, using your blood and tears to denounce the darkness of society. The court's verdict would be ignored, and everyone would think you had been wronged."

"This is simply the truth!"

"The truth doesn't matter at all. People only want to believe what they believe. I'm sure you've read the newspapers and heard the reports, and you know what society thinks of you now—you're a ruthless killer, your mother is a fraudster, your father is a hapless bastard, your whole family deserves what they got. 'There's always a reason why someone is pitiful,' that's the public's opinion. And all of this is because you didn't die back then!"

Chapter 433 The Prison Break

"You could have been a chivalrous hero, praised by the world for your courageous act. But because you refused to die and chose to live a life of ignominy, not only did you suffer a disgraced end, but your parents were also ridiculed by the world. How can you face your parents in the afterlife!"

Yu Shuying's words were like daggers, her voice not loud, yet sharper than arrows, causing Ji Xun to turn pale and gasp for breath.

The chivalrous are not great heroes; they do not uphold great righteousness but only small ones. For example, Nie Zheng's Xia Lei Nie Zheng Lei was triggered by a court dispute. Xia Lei's enemy, Yan Zhongzi, offered a large sum of money to celebrate Nie Zheng's mother's birthday and became friends with him, asking him to avenge his mother. After observing three years of mourning for his mother's death, Nie Zheng remembered Yan Zhongzi's kindness and went alone to Yangzhai, the capital of Han, with his sword. With the force of a white rainbow piercing the sun, he assassinated Xia Lei on the steps and then killed dozens of Xia Lei's guards. Fearing that his sister An, who resembled him, would be implicated, he disfigured his face with his sword, gouged out his eyes, and committed suicide by disembowelment.

It's difficult to distinguish right from wrong in Nie Zheng's Xia Lei of Xia Lei, but people praise Nie Zheng not because of who he killed, but because of why he killed. He repays kindness with kindness and avenges wrongs with revenge, which is what makes him a righteous man.

"Why... why should I die! You dare not kill those corrupt officials, but you bully ordinary people like me who have no power or influence. When my father was beaten to death by them, you did not stand up for justice. When my mother was forced to commit suicide, you did not stand up for justice. Now that I am acting on behalf of Heaven, you all jump out one by one, determined to kill me. Where is justice? Where is fairness?" Ji Xun reddened as he retorted sharply.

Yu Shuying sneered and asked, "I also want to ask on behalf of those innocent people you killed: Where is justice? Where is fairness? They had no grudge against you, yet they died tragically at your hands. Shouldn't their justice be upheld?"

Ji Xun's momentum faltered, and he retorted, "I was forced into this situation. If you hadn't pushed me so hard, I wouldn't have resorted to such extreme measures... What could I do? If I hadn't done it, you would have caught me and put me on trial. I was just seeking justice for my family. Is that wrong? In the end, it's all your fault for forcing me to do this!"

"You were not wrong to begin with, but the fact that you are alive is the biggest mistake you've ever made! Your enemy killed your entire family for his own sake, and you killed innocent people for your own sake. You and your enemy are cut from the same cloth. Your enemy deserves to die, but don't you deserve to die too? You want to seek justice for your family, but shouldn't those innocent people who died tragically at your hands also seek justice for their families from you?"

Yu Shuying pressed closer, her gaze seemingly piercing through the other's heart.

"It's different. I'm not like them at all. They used their power and wealth to kill my whole family. They all deserve to die! I was forced to fight back. I'm not like them..."

Ji Xun was like a prisoner driven to the brink of despair. In front of him was an invincible enemy, and behind him was a bottomless abyss. With no way to advance or retreat, his face showed despair, and the muscles on his face kept twitching.

If this were a reverse referee, he'd probably transform right away. Si Ming muttered to himself as he secretly gathered his strength, preparing to strike.

"They kill with power, you kill with martial arts, what's the difference? You should have died long ago. If you had died after taking your revenge, your hands wouldn't be stained with the blood of innocents, your parents wouldn't be stigmatized, and your name would be sung as a chivalrous hero. Your enemies would never be able to redeem themselves. Why! Why do you live?"

Why... do I have to live?

Ji Xun wanted to refute Yu Shuying's words, but he found himself accepting the logic within himself: if he had died at that time, everything would have been as she had said...

Regret and the will to survive were locked in a struggle. Ji Xun asked himself honestly, perhaps he shouldn't have lived on, but should have died a glorious death like a hero. But what could he do now that things had come to this?

"Since you've already made a mistake, why not just keep going down that wrong path and never look back? Is this your justice? Is this your fairness? Is this your forced helplessness?"

Yu Shuying pointed out Ji Xun's thoughts in advance, thus blocking his last escape route.

"Shut up... shut up, shut up, shut up! --"

A surge of intense shame welled up inside him, as if the ugliness within him had been exposed. The string of "reason" snapped, Ji Xun's eyes turned red. He couldn't help but want to swing his knife and kill the woman who had exposed the dark side of his soul.

But just as he moved the blade away, the female lead singer, who had been too afraid to move, suddenly raised her elbow and flicked his arm away.

"Now!"

Si Ming pushed off with both feet, his body exploding with energy as he shot out like an arrow. One hand was in a claw-like stance, aiming to capture the person, while the other was in a fist as a backup. If he couldn't capture the person immediately, he would severely injure or even kill them with a single punch. There were still many tourists at the scene, and there was no room for mercy at this moment.

Ji Xun was, after all, a martial arts master. Even in his madness, he still instinctively made the right judgment. He pushed the hostage forward with his left hand, which was holding the hostage, and pushed the hostage toward Si Ming to block his advance. Then he turned around and ran away, rushing toward the other band members who were standing dumbfounded on the stage and had not run away.

At this moment, a Sword Qi swept in, blocking Ji Xun's path. He quickly withdrew his hand to dodge, but he was still a beat too slow. His left hand was grazed by the Sword Qi, leaving a frozen sword mark, and a chill seeped into his body through the wound.

"The wind sweeps across ten thousand miles, smoke and dust swirl, the world's path is uncertain. In the end, the ancient road slumbers, the vast clouds and waves wash over the heavens."

Murong Qing in a blue robe and having completed her disguise, stepped in. She remembered Si Ming's instructions to recite a poem upon her entrance to enhance her presence.

"You actually have the mind to change clothes? Just how deep is your hero complex?" Si Ming couldn't help but complain.

Murong Qing couldn't possibly be searching in a crowd dressed in such conspicuous clothes; otherwise, even if she spotted her target, she wouldn't be able to get close. In other words, she must have changed her clothes after Ji Xun's identity was exposed, which happened to coincide with the time when Yu Shuying was negotiating.

Murong Qing ignored Si Ming's complaints. Because of the time constraint, she didn't have time to change into the human skin mask. After all, this thing is not a face mask that you can just stick on your face. If you want to avoid being noticed, you need to carefully smooth out all the wrinkles and make it fit your face shape. So she bought a Black Tortoise patterned mask at the music festival venue. Even if she blushed, no one would see it.

With a flick of her sword, Murong Qing unleashed three sword flowers. Though few in number, they effectively blocked Ji Xun's movement. If he didn't want to fight, he could only retreat, but Si Ming and others blocked his escape route from behind.

With a sudden thought, Ji Xun roared and slashed at Murong Qing with his sword, seemingly ready to fight to the death and forcefully create a path to survival.

However, when the swords clashed, Murong Qing discovered that the opponent's strike was completely powerless. She immediately realized that the opponent was trying to use her strength to retreat. So she increased her Internal Cultivation, and the tip of her sword burst out with cold air, attacking with unstoppable force.

Ji Xun did indeed intend to borrow strength, but this time he borrowed not only power, but also a chilling aura that rushed in. He hurriedly circulated his internal energy to resist, but the meridians in one of his arms were still frozen, causing his body to stiffen and losing his chance to take off.

This delay allowed Si Ming to arrive and join forces with Murong Qing to encircle Ji Xun. Under the combined attack of the two masters, Ji Xun managed to block three moves before being knocked out of his hand and captured on the spot.

Moments later, the doctor and the Mohist Knight Guard arrived at the venue. The former treated the injured, while the latter escorted the prisoners. After this chaos, the music festival naturally could not continue and ended abruptly.