The moment the fat man opened his mouth, Sun Shaozong silently cursed his bad luck.
He had already come to this drinking party against his will. And now, before he had even glimpsed the banquet table, he had run into someone here to smash the place up.
Though Sun Shaozong had no idea which family's wastrel this "Chou Yunfei" was, the fact that he dared bring dozens of soldiers to seek revenge at the Divine Martial General's Residence proved that his family was certainly no inferior to the Divine Martial General's. Caught between them, Sun Shaozong was plainly a mortal suffering while immortals fought!
While Sun Shaozong was feeling vexed, Feng Ziying faced the dozens of soldiers without retreating an inch. Instead, he strode boldly out from the crowd, threw back his head, and laughed. "They say petty men seek revenge from dawn till dusk. Today, I've seen one alive! Chou Yunfei, use whatever tricks you have while you can. If I so much as furrow my brow, then I'm a bastard born of a whore!"
Chou Yunfei sneered repeatedly. "Fine, fine, fine! Mad Dog Ying, I'd like to see whether your bones are any harder than your tongue!"
One was on horseback and the other on foot, both trading barbs and pretending to be fearless heroes.
The soldiers had not been idle either. More than ten of them had already dismounted, armed themselves with ropes and Deterrence Rods, and closed in from both flanks.
As they drew near, Feng Ziying could no longer keep up his verbal bravado. He hastily struck a passable stance, preparing for one last struggle.
"Brother Feng, count me in!"
Xue Pan eagerly leaped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, shouting, "How could such a grand spectacle possibly leave out me, Xue Pan?!"
Feng Ziying knew he would surely come out badly this time. How could he bear to drag Xue Pan into it for nothing?
He hurriedly urged him not to get involved.
But how could Xue Pan possibly listen?
Annoyed by Feng Ziying's words, he suddenly let out a howl and charged toward the soldiers on the left, yelling, "Leave these ones to me! Over there... ow~!"
Xue Pan had been pampered all his life. When had he ever seriously trained in martial arts? Though he possessed plenty of brute strength, how could he stand against several elite soldiers?
Thus, before he could even finish his boast, someone caught him off guard and swept a rod across his shin. The soldier knew he was either rich or noble and did not dare strike with full force, but it still hurt badly enough that Xue Pan cried out and pitched forward.
Before his body even hit the ground, both arms had been seized, leaving him unable to struggle in the slightest.
What a fool!
Sun Shaozong was speechless at the sight, but Feng Ziying grew anxious. He rushed forward, throwing punches and kicks in an attempt to rescue Xue Pan.
He was indeed much more capable than Xue Pan, and three to five ordinary men could not have done much to him—but there were far more than three to five opponents! Moreover, they were all elite soldiers, especially skilled in coordinated attacks!
In only a moment, Feng Ziying was surrounded on all sides, able only to parry without any chance to strike back. And that was only because the soldiers did not dare truly injure him. Otherwise, even if three Feng Ziyings were gathered together, they likely could not have held out.
After struggling through a few more exchanges, he was finally overwhelmed by sheer numbers. They pinned his shoulders and arms and bound him tight.
"Bring him over! Bring him over here!"
Chou Yunfei was delighted. His double chin seemed to have become triple-layered atop his horse. When Feng Ziying was brought before him, he ordered, "Make that dog kneel and speak to me!"
The moment Feng Ziying heard that, he desperately straightened his back, raised his head, and spat directly at Chou Yunfei's fat face.
Caught off guard, Chou Yunfei was sprayed across the face with spittle. He flew into a rage and lashed Feng Ziying across the shoulder with his riding crop, cursing, "You dog really won't shed tears until you see your coffin! Men, strip him naked and put him in the cangue before Hundred Flowers Pavilion for all to see!"
Feng Ziying's face changed drastically at those words. He was hopping mad and about to curse Chou Yunfei's ancestors for eight generations when someone behind him suddenly shouted, "Hold it!"
Everyone turned toward the voice. The speaker was none other than Sun Shaozong, who had been watching from the sidelines all this time.
Feng Ziying did not react much, but Xue Pan immediately perked up upon hearing Sun Shaozong speak. He hurriedly cried, "Second Brother, save me! Second Brother, save me!"
Sun Shaozong slowly descended the steps, cupped his hands toward Chou Yunfei, and said, "The two young masters are presumably only having a dispute of pride. There is nothing wrong with reclaiming some face after suffering a loss, but now that you've fought and cursed each other, continuing this will likely be difficult to settle. Why not give Sun some face and stop here, making peace?"
He had merely watched earlier because he resented being dragged into this matter for no reason by these two wastrels. But if he continued standing by now, once the Divine Martial General learned what had happened, the Sun family would likely be the first to suffer.
Although Chou Yunfei could tell Sun Shaozong was no ordinary man, he could not recall anyone like him among the capital's noble families. The surname Sun was hardly a prominent one, either. Thus, he sneered dismissively. "Who the hell are you, daring to show off before Master Chou? Men, seize this blind fool! Give him a hundred Deterrence Rods first, then I'll reason with him!"
The few soldiers who had remained idle immediately moved in from both sides, intending to seize Sun Shaozong together just as they had done before.
But Sun Shaozong was no Xue Pan or Feng Ziying!
Smiling, he strode forward. With a sweep of his long arm, he snatched away a Deterrence Rod, then lightly kicked the stunned soldier.
"Ah~!"
The soldier's feet instantly left the ground. He flew more than twenty feet before landing with a thud on all fours.
Sun Shaozong then casually swept the Deterrence Rod, catching all the soldiers who had surrounded him within its arc.
The soldiers hurriedly raised their rods to block. Three crisp cracks rang out—of the five rods, two snapped and three flew away. As for the final crack, the Deterrence Rod in Sun Shaozong's hand had finally failed under the strain and broken in two.
Sun Shaozong casually tossed aside the broken rod, stepped forward, and tugged left and right. Without seeming to exert much force, he toppled all the soldiers to the ground as though playing with wooden dolls.
"Young Master Chou."
Having dealt with the soldiers, Sun Shaozong cupped his hands again as if nothing had happened and repeated like a parrot, "Please give Sun some face and stop here, making peace. How about it?"
Chou Yunfei had been staring in astonishment as Sun Shaozong dispatched several elite soldiers in no time. Hearing him bring up the same matter again, he felt thoroughly humiliated. He swung his riding crop wide and cursed, "What the hell are you all standing around for? Hurry, hurry, hurry! Take this bastard down together!"
At his command, more than twenty men jumped from their horses in a rush, each wielding a Deterrence Rod as they surrounded Sun Shaozong with murderous intent. This time, none dared hold back; every move was delivered with full force.
Yet what could mere Deterrence Rods do against Sun Shaozong's muscles, forged as if from steel and iron? For anyone with slightly less strength, their blows probably would not even have been enough to scratch his itch!
Thus, in only three to five exchanges, Sun Shaozong charged among them like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, knocking down seven or eight men. That was only because he had restrained his strength and did not wish to take lives.
Seeing this, even those valiant soldiers could not help feeling some fear. Yet without Chou Yunfei's permission, none dared stop on their own.
Just as they were caught between advancing and retreating, a furious roar suddenly sounded from outside the circle. "Move aside! All of you, move aside!"
The soldiers looked toward the voice and saw three men on three horses charging toward them at full speed, clearly intending to use the horses' momentum to win!
The soldiers immediately scattered to both sides, leaving Sun Shaozong trapped in the center.
In the blink of an eye, the three riders reached him. Never mind the men—their horses were all fine mounts from beyond the border, with thick legs, broad shoulders, and bodies nearly ten feet long. Their charge carried perhaps a thousand pounds of force!
Yet Sun Shaozong still neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, he strode forward and swung his bowl-sized fist into the bit of the leading black horse!
Boom~
The earth itself seemed to tremble beneath that blow. The black horse's neck first bent at a right angle, then its body folded as well, crashing sideways into the companion on its right before its flailing hooves tripped the horse on the left.
Thus, all three fat, powerful warhorses fell beneath Sun Shaozong's single punch!
Silence~
For a moment, the only sounds in the small square before Brocade Fragrance Courtyard were the agonized cries of the three men and three horses. Nothing else made a sound!
Whew~
Sun Shaozong lowered his head and blew the horsehair from his fist. Then, as though nothing had happened, he cupped his hands and said calmly, "Please give Sun some face and stop here, making peace. How about it?"
Before you continue