After landing on the deck, Lin Xiao sheathed his blade and cast an indifferent glance at the old man pursuing him.
"Is this how your Yin Family treats its guests?"
"I merely wanted to hitch a ride. Why act as though we bear some blood feud? That's far too unfriendly."
The more casually Lin Xiao spoke, the more Yin Ke Ren's face turned livid. He felt utterly humiliated.
But Lin Xiao was no longer in the mood to toy with them. He directly unleashed his full strength—the thirteenth level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill.
Roar!!!
A dragon-elephant bellow rang out, deafening everyone and leaving their eardrums numb.
Lin Xiao struck upward with a savage palm.
The positions of the two sides had now switched.
Previously, Yin Ke Ren and the old man had been below, facing the attack. Now, Lin Xiao was the one below.
The moment he unleashed the strength of thirteen dragons and elephants, even the air around him began to twist.
This was the manifestation of power reaching its absolute peak.
Bang!!!
The merchant ship sank another three inches into the lake, while towering sprays of water exploded along both sides of the hull.
Their palms collided.
The old man cultivated the Iron Sand Palm and had long since mastered it. His palms were hard as iron, and his cultivation had already reached the Peak Innate Realm.
An ordinary Innate Realm martial artist would either die or suffer grievous injuries from one palm strike by the old man. Among those of the same realm, almost no one dared exchange palms with him.
Yet today, Lin Xiao had exchanged a palm strike with him.
The outcome shocked everyone even more.
The old man screamed. White bone protruded from his palm, his arm bent at an unnatural angle, and the entire limb was ruined.
Bang!!!
The old man's body fell weakly onto the deck as blood continually spilled from his mouth.
A flash of bloody light appeared, and the Embroidered Spring Blade had somehow reached Yin Ke Ren's throat.
"This official merely wished to hitch a ride. Why be so stingy about it?"
Smack!!!
The Embroidered Spring Blade slapped Yin Ke Ren across the face.
Yin Ke Ren was knocked straight down, and Lin Xiao planted his foot on his head.
"Now answer me. May I hitch a ride?"
"Boy, how dare you!"
The old man struggled to his feet, glaring murderously at Lin Xiao.
"Do you know who he is?"
Lin Xiao smiled playfully. "Oh? I'd like to hear the details."
"He is the young master of the Yin Family, a great clan of Stability Prefecture! If anything happens to the young master, you will bear the wrath of our entire Yin Family. No matter who you are, you will be hunted to your death."
As the old man spoke, he carried himself with lofty arrogance.
Lin Xiao lowered his gaze toward Yin Ke Ren. "So you do have quite the status. But your mere Yin Family amounts to nothing in this official's eyes."
"Never mind that you are only the Yin Family's young master—even if you were the Yin Family Head, this official would kill you all the same if he wished."
"Boy, aren't you afraid of biting your tongue with such boasts?"
"You keep calling yourself 'this official.' Do you dare announce your name?"
The old man asked with a cold laugh.
Lin Xiao nodded. "Why wouldn't I dare? You will have to know me sooner or later anyway."
"This official is Lin Xiao. Lin as in forest, Xiao as in hero."
"By His Majesty's decree, I have come to Stability Prefecture to take office. My current position is Jinyiwei Banner Commander."
"B-Banner Commander?"
The old man and Yin Ke Ren made sure they had not misheard.
Had they become ill-informed, or had the court reformed its official ranks?
A Banner Commander in the Jinyiwei was supposed to be quite ordinary, wasn't he?
Since when had it sounded so lofty?
"Boy, are you certain you are merely a Banner Commander?"
The old man asked again, uncertain.
Lin Xiao nodded. "That's right. I am currently a Banner Commander."
"Pfft!!!"
"Hahaha..."
Even Yin Ke Ren, pinned beneath Lin Xiao's foot, burst out laughing.
"I thought you were some great figure. So you're only a Banner Commander."
"I truly don't know where you got such an overwhelming sense of superiority, making a Jinyiwei Banner Commander sound as though you were a Pacification Envoy."
"Here in Stability Prefecture, never mind a Banner Commander—even a Hundred-Household Officer amounts to nothing."
"I advise you to be sensible. Release this young master at once, then obediently kneel and kowtow in apology. If this young master is pleased, perhaps I may spare your life."
Lin Xiao smiled faintly. "Is that so?"
"Then what if we add an imperial-bestowed Flying Fish Uniform and Embroidered Spring Blade?"
As his words fell, Lin Xiao tore away the outer robe covering him, revealing the Flying Fish Uniform beneath.
Four-clawed flying fish patterns were embroidered upon it in golden thread, noble and luxurious.
When Yin Ke Ren and the old man saw Lin Xiao's imperial-bestowed Flying Fish Uniform and Embroidered Spring Blade, they both fell silent.
Though they did not know the Jinyiwei in great detail, they had heard of imperial-bestowed Flying Fish Uniforms and Embroidered Spring Blades.
It was said that only Jinyiwei deeply trusted by the Emperor would be granted Flying Fish Uniforms and Embroidered Spring Blades.
No one in the entire Jinyiwei system of Stability Prefecture possessed such an honor.
Even the Flying Fish Uniform of Stability Prefecture's Jinyiwei Pacification Envoy was merely an official uniform, not one bestowed by the Emperor.
This youth was only a Jinyiwei Banner Commander, yet the Emperor had already granted him a Flying Fish Uniform. Clearly, he was someone the Emperor was cultivating as a key figure.
In terms of status, even their Yin Family Head was not worth a fart compared with him.
One had to know that if you offended a favored minister of the Emperor, could you possibly expect a good outcome?
Still, their immediate priority was to find a way to rescue the young master.
"My lord, even if you are close to the Emperor, the mountains are high and the Emperor is far away here. The waters of Stability Prefecture run deeper than you can imagine."
"If something were to happen to you here, even the Emperor would have difficulty finding the culprit, wouldn't he?"
Lin Xiao smiled faintly. "So you are threatening me."
"Let us not even discuss whether you possess the strength to kill me."
"Just consider this: after my death, every martial force in all of Stability Prefecture would be slaughtered clean."
"His Majesty has kept one eye open and one eye shut toward Stability Prefecture all this time only because there was no need to act."
"Among the Wu Kingdom's nineteen prefectures, Stability Prefecture can only be considered one of the lowest. It has no resources to speak of and serves as a strategic buffer zone. Even if it were properly managed, it would be of little use."
"Once the Wu Kingdom and Northern Qi went to war, Stability Prefecture would become the first target. Pouring too much effort into governing it would merely make a wedding dress for someone else when war came. It would be better to leave it to fend for itself."
"Am I right?"
Upon hearing Lin Xiao's words, the old man and Yin Ke Ren both fell silent.
"However, this official has been assigned to Stability Prefecture this time. Perhaps the Emperor already intends to deal with it, and the powers of Stability Prefecture must now make a choice."
"Either submit to the court, or continue standing against it. You choose your own road, but once you choose wrongly, there will be no turning back. Rebirth and destruction both lie within a single thought."
"The opportunity is now before you. The first to pledge allegiance to the court and the last to do so will receive treatment as different as heaven and earth."
After speaking, Lin Xiao lifted his foot from Yin Ke Ren's face and asked with a smiling expression, "So, are you now willing to let me hitch a ride?"
Yin Ke Ren rose to his feet and gave Lin Xiao a cold, sinister look.
"Even if the Emperor intends to resolve Stability Prefecture's problems, it is not something you can pacify alone."
Lin Xiao shrugged. "That may not be so. Nothing can stop what I, Lin Xiao, intend to do. If I want Stability Prefecture to live, it will live. If I want it to die, it will die."
Before you continue