Kill Yang Zheng!

"Whenever great matters arise, first still your breath! Whenever great matters arise, first still your breath! Whenever great matters arise, first still your breath!"

Fang Xuan repeated it three times in his heart before finally suppressing the urge to hack the bastard before him to death with a single stroke.

Yang Zheng was different from a street thug!

No matter how formidable a street thug was, in the eyes of those high officials and nobles, he was nothing more than a barking dog. If he died, he died—no one would care.

But Yang Zheng was a Yamen Runner born into a wealthy gentry family, part of a true class faction!

Those people would never permit some insignificant street thug to raise his blade against someone of their class!

Therefore, Yang Zheng could not be killed.

Or rather, at the very least, he could not be killed openly!

"A Xuan, don't look so grim. Don't worry, that band of Water Bandits isn't particularly strong. They merely relied on the advantage of the water, and the lack of expert guards aboard that Whaling Ship, to succeed. With your abilities, I don't think wiping out those Water Bandits will be difficult."

After a pause, Yang Zheng continued, "Of course, if you truly can't wipe them out, that's fine too. But at the very least, you must put on a show of giving it your all, so those above can see that it's not that we refused to do it—it's that it truly couldn't be done!"

"What does giving it your all mean?" No emotion could be heard in Fang Xuan's voice.

"If a batch of people doesn't die, how can it count as giving it your all?"

Yang Zheng smiled faintly. "Don't you keep a whole group of men under your command precisely for times like this? Let a hundred or so die, and I can go up there, cry misery, and hand in my report!"

Before Fang Xuan could speak, Yang Zheng laughed first. "Of course, you can refuse as well. But the price of refusing... heh heh. The county recently received a shipment of heavy crossbows and armor. Tell me, if one or two sets of armor were to turn up at your East Hall headquarters, what interesting things do you think might happen?"

He did not finish his last sentence. Yang Zheng merely patted Fang Xuan on the shoulder, his eyes already brimming with mockery and amusement.

The Da Yang Dynasty could permit you to carry blades and weapons, even allow you to step slightly out of line within the rules.

But it would never permit the private possession of crossbows and armor!

Privately possessing crossbows and armor was tantamount to rebellion!

Once private possession of crossbows and armor was discovered, merely a hundred or so heavy cavalrymen, along with several Entry Realm Martial Artists of the Third Heavenly Gate, would be enough to slaughter the two-thousand-strong Black Whale Gang to the last man!

No matter how weakened the Da Yang Dynasty had become, it was still far from incapable of dealing with a mere martial-world gang.

In this age, heavy crossbows and armor were simply weapons of mass slaughter to ordinary martial-world folk!

At that moment, Yang Zheng looked at Fang Xuan with a sinister smile.

Today, he intended to make Fang Xuan understand one saying.

A street thug was a street thug. Never dream of sitting and rising alongside your masters!

You could seek prosperity, but you had to do it on your knees!

In the dense night, Fang Xuan lowered his head, making his expression impossible to see clearly.

A chill rose from his heart and spread throughout his body.

The way to deal with a threat was to remove the threat!

"Head Runner Yang, have you ever heard the saying, 'Suddenly, some madman sharpens his blade by night'?" Fang Xuan's voice suddenly sounded.

"What does that mean?" Yang Zheng frowned.

"Nothing."

Fang Xuan raised his head and slowly bared his teeth in a smile at Yang Zheng.

"Then I thank Head Runner Yang for this fine assignment. I will certainly give it my all and send your official career soaring straight into the blue heavens!"

Yang Zheng first froze, then burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha! Isn't that why I say you, A Xuan, are capable of making things happen? Sharp-minded indeed, and one who knows the times! Serve me well, and if I one day rise like a dragon and phoenix, I certainly won't forget you!"

"Then I truly look forward to that day." In the night, Fang Xuan's smile was dazzlingly bright.

Bang!!!

All of a sudden, a dull sound of something striking a wall came from inside the holding room.

"Wife!!!" Immediately afterward, a heart-rending cry rang out from within.

"Hmm?"

Yang Zheng frowned and hurriedly rose to enter the holding room.

Before one wall, the half-clothed woman, her body covered in bruises, had smashed her head against it. Blood instantly spread across the white wall, like a plum tree blooming amid winter snow.

The scrawny poor man stood there blankly, watching his wife's head press against the wall as her corpse slowly slid downward, painting the sturdy trunk of a plum tree upon the white surface.

He dazedly reached up and touched the warm blood on his face. It was as though a violent bolt of lightning had struck him in the head, leaving his eyes wide and vacant, his entire body trembling faintly.

Then, all at once—

"Yang Zheng!!!"

The poor man's reddened eyes flew wide open. He spun around sharply, and from nowhere found the strength to instantly break free from the restraints of the two Yamen Runners, charging headlong at Yang Zheng.

His hair hung loose and wild, his eyes split with fury; he looked like an evil ghost.

A cold gleam flashed through Yang Zheng's eyes as his five fingers slowly closed around the hilt of the long blade at his waist.

Smack—!

A resounding slap cracked across the poor man's face, sending stars bursting before his eyes and the world spinning. His whole body flew backward, smashing into the distant wall.

"Shunzi! You've got some damned nerve! You think the likes of you are worthy of risking your life against a yamen runner?"

Fang Xuan barked out a rebuke, striding forward and, with his back to Yang Zheng, grabbing the poor man by the hair and hauling his head up.

He braced himself with both hands and feet, pinning the struggling poor man firmly against the wall so he could not move.

"A dog like you wants to risk your life against me?"

Yang Zheng sheathed his blade and spat disdainfully. His gaze swept over the glaring scarlet wall, and he said in disgust:

"What rotten luck. A Xuan, clean this place up. And this Shunzi—I don't want to see him again!"

With that, Yang Zheng gave a cold snort through his nose, straightened his collar, and strode away.

The group of yamen runners hurried after him.

"F-Fang Xuan, let me go."

Tears burst from Shunzi's eyes as his entire body trembled without stop.

"I'm sorry, Shunzi Ge." Fang Xuan slowly released him.

Shunzi crawled toward his wife and knelt beside her. Looking at her face, a mangled blur of flesh and blood, he broke into heartrending sobs.

Yet the cries that came from his mouth turned into weak, powerless gasps.

Fang Xuan remained silent. He had known this feeling before.

Before true grief, crying made no sound.

He removed his rain cape and gently draped it over the woman. Then he crouched down and softly patted Shunzi's shoulder.

"Shunzi Ge, don't cry. Give me a little more time—just a little. Wait for me..."

Fang Xuan spoke softly. As he watched Yang Zheng's departing back, a violent killing intent unlike anything he had ever felt before already filled his eyes!

Yang Zheng.

He would kill him!

A full moon hung high overhead.

Dense moisture rose from the vast wilderness, shrouding all of Pingjiang City in a thin mist.

After settling Shunzi and his wife, Fang Xuan returned to the gang hall to prepare some Soul Confusion Powder and other items before striding out beyond Pingjiang.

The river surged violently, charging like galloping horses from upstream. It tore through mountains and shattered cliffs, waves exploding between sheer precipices.

Rumble—!

Wave after monstrous wave slammed against the cliff faces like thunder.

Fang Xuan took a deep breath, a flash of resolve passing through his eyes.

He knew that den of Water Bandits had originally belonged to the Cao Gang, the largest gang in Pingjiang City. But later, as they grew ever more powerful, they failed to restrain themselves, and people from the prefectural city were sent to wipe them out.

Some remnants then slipped into the eight hundred li of Pingjiang, forming den after den of Water Bandits.

They were ruthless and lawless in their dealings. Unlike the Black Whale Gang, which operated within the rules, they were truly outlaws who knew no bounds.

Fang Xuan indeed lacked the ability to wipe out these Water Bandits, but the whale blood concerned his cultivation.

Over a thousand jin of whale blood would be enough to propel his cultivation into the second great threshold, Sinew Bodhisattva, and even bring the Whale Sand Palm to the utmost perfection!

There was no way he could let it go!

The next moment.

Fang Xuan leapt forward, plunging into the cold river beneath the fierce wind and raging waves.

Some parts of the previous chapter were cut by the system. Those who understand, understand. O(∩_∩)O

Please add it to your collection! Please keep reading! Please send monthly votes!

Wishing everyone a smooth new month, with all your wishes fulfilled.