Just now, because they felt Su Chen had made them lose face, the martial artists of the jianghu had all mocked him.
Now that they saw Su Chen was so familiar with an Imperial Guards captain, they could not help but grow afraid.
To ordinary jianghu folk like them, the Imperial Guards were no less terrifying than the King of Hell.
Anyone who offended the Imperial Guards might as well slit their own throat and kill themselves early.
If they waited for the Imperial Guards to come knocking, the suffering would be worse than death.
What made their hearts tremble even more was that the Imperial Guards captain's attitude toward Su Chen carried an obvious hint of ingratiation.
Anyone could tell that someone capable of making an Imperial Guards captain curry favor with him could not possibly be ordinary.
Only then did they finally understand why Su Chen had dared accept the bounty to deal with Tian Boguang.
So he truly had real skills. He was not the green, reckless fool they had imagined.
The bare-chested man, in particular, was filled with regret.
He wished he could slap himself across the face several times.
You and your loose mouth. You and your loose mouth. We had no grudge against each other. Why couldn't I have just gone my own way? Why did I have to mock him?
Now I've offended him. I'm probably dead for sure.
The others also felt like crying without tears.
What face do we even have? Small fry like us have no face to speak of.
Our face is nothing more than an insole beneath some important figure's shoe.
Even if we offered ourselves up as insoles, they'd complain we were too thin and hurt their feet.
A tide of regret spread through their hearts.
At that moment, Captain Xing Daorong also sensed that something was off.
He abruptly turned around and looked at the terrified jianghu martial artists.
His eyes were sharp and probing.
"What happened? Who can tell me what happened?"
Captain Xing's voice was not loud, yet it boomed in their ears like thunder.
For a moment, not a single person dared respond.
Master Zhao shrank back even further, afraid Captain Xing would notice him.
But the more one feared something, the more it came to pass.
"Old Zhao, you tell me. What happened just now?" Captain Xing's icy voice rang out.
Master Zhao trembled in fright.
Though terrified, he did not dare hide a single detail.
Trembling, he told Captain Xing everything that had happened.
After hearing him out, Captain Xing actually revealed a strange smile.
It was as though he found it amusing that they had been so audacious.
"Good, good, good. Wonderful. You people really have some nerve."
"Someone like brother Su is a person even I must respect, someone even I must curry favor with."
"Forget me. Even several chiefs of the Two Bureaus would give him some face. What the hell are you people that you dare disrespect brother Su?"
Those words filled them with another wave of indescribable terror.
Forget the chiefs—even the most ordinary Imperial Guardsmen among the Factory Guards were beyond their ability to provoke.
And now, they had offended someone whom even those chiefs had to show respect.
This time, they were truly finished.
Under that extreme terror, no one could remain standing.
More than a dozen jianghu martial artists fell to their knees in unison, kowtowing to Su Chen and begging forgiveness.
"Sir, my lord, we were blind and offended you. Please, don't lower yourself to our level..."
Master Zhao curled into himself in terror, his head hanging so low it nearly disappeared between his legs.
Even the few Imperial Guards who had come with Captain Xing stared at Su Chen in astonishment.
They had never imagined that a mere jianghu martial artist could command such enormous respect.
After berating the crowd, Captain Xing turned to Su Chen with a smile. "brother Su Chen, tell me. How should these people be punished?"
Su Chen gave a soft laugh. "There's no need to punish them..."
The moment those words came out, everyone let out a breath of relief.
Even Captain Xing looked surprised.
Has this killing fiend changed his nature or something? They interfered with him making money, yet he's being this generous?
The next second, when Su Chen continued, Captain Xing knew he had been wrong—completely wrong.
Su Chen said emotionlessly, "There's no need to punish them. Just kill them. Saves trouble."
Hearing that, Captain Xing froze for a moment before quickly reacting.
That's more like it. That's the money-loving killing fiend who recognizes coin but not people.
"Men, kill these bastards." At Captain Xing's command, the Imperial Guards behind him drew their blades and moved.
Faced with the threat of death, the dozen or so jianghu martial artists could no longer hold back.
"If you want our lives, we'll fight you to the death!"
The bare-chested man shouted, sprang up from the ground, and charged at the Imperial Guards.
With him taking the lead, the others also rushed into action.
Though their martial arts were not particularly strong, they had the advantage in numbers.
Only three or five Imperial Guards faced more than a dozen burly men, and they did not dare act rashly.
Seeing this, Captain Xing's face darkened as he barked, "Are you trying to rebel?"
"If you won't let us live, then so what if we rebel against you?"
"Unless you're willing to let us leave."
For a moment, Captain Xing was in a difficult position.
Just as he was about to turn and ask Su Chen for help, he heard the scrape of a blade leaving its sheath beside his ear.
Immediately after, a silver-white blade light swept past his ear.
The next moment, the dozen or so ferocious jianghu martial artists were all cleaved cleanly in two.
Even Captain Xing's heart trembled at such a bloody sight.
He turned back with some difficulty and saw only Su Chen sheathing his blade, along with that smiling face.
Captain Xing gulped.
Su Chen raised a hand and patted his shoulder. "Relax. This blade is on me. I won't charge you for it."
That slash had come from Su Chen.
These people had already interfered with him making money. There was no way he would let them go.
If Captain Xing and the others had not suddenly arrived earlier, he would have drawn his blade and killed all of them long ago.
How could he have let them live until now?
"Heh... good, good." Captain Xing was already somewhat incoherent.
No matter how many times he saw it, Su Chen, that money-grubbing killing fiend, always gave him a different kind of shock.
Captain Xing took a deep breath and ordered his Imperial Guards, "Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and carry the bodies away."
Only then did the Imperial Guards snap out of their daze. In a flurry, they lifted the corpses and carried them out of the courtyard.
Master Zhao was likewise scared out of his wits.
He had watched more than a dozen people be cut in half right before his eyes.
He felt as if his heart were about to leap from his chest.
His legs had gone weak as well. If there had not happened to be a chair beside him to support him, he would have collapsed to the ground long ago.
"Relax. You're my client. I'm still counting on you to make money, so I won't do anything to you..."
Captain Xing chimed in, "Old Zhao, what are you afraid of? With brother Su here, dealing with Tian Boguang will be as easy as taking something out of one's pocket."
Hearing them, the fear in Master Zhao's heart finally eased somewhat, but he still did not dare remain there any longer.
He tossed out, "Please have a seat, gentlemen. I'll go help the Imperial Guards carry the bodies first."
Then, as though fleeing for his life, he began directing the servants to help the Imperial Guards move the corpses.
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