Peerless City was located within Taizhou. It was a powerful force renowned throughout the martial world, with City Lord Dugu Yifang possessing a cultivation level at the late Grandmaster Realm—enough to dominate Taizhou. Moreover, standing behind him was the Sword Saint of the current age: his elder brother, Dugu Jian!
For the past few days, Peerless City had held grand, open banquets to celebrate Dugu Yifang's sixtieth birthday. Martial forces from Taizhou and the neighboring prefectures that maintained friendly relations with the city had all sent people to offer their congratulations.
The night was as dark as ink, and the moonlight as silver. Rustling sounds occasionally came from the woods. As a cold wind swept past, a solemn and murderous atmosphere permeated the air.
Peerless City was brightly lit. Guests who had traveled from afar gathered together, exchanging toasts and drinking merrily. The scene was extraordinarily lively.
Qin Shuang stood atop a sheer cliff, gazing into the distance at Peerless City. Behind him stood Ding Ning, Mu Wan Qing, Shen Hu Chan, Wang Dong, the five Section Leaders—Li Sheng Nan among them—and Cheng Lingsu.
"Is it about time?" Qin Shuang asked softly without turning around.
"Judging by the time, my Qu Ran Zhou Die Meng should already have spread throughout the entire city. We can make our move!" Cheng Lingsu said confidently.
Qin Shuang drew a deep breath and made up his mind. In a cold voice, he said, "Pass on my orders. Fang Henshao, Cai Shuize, and Tang Qi Wei will remain here to guard Ni Pusa and care for the five wounded. Li Wenxiu's squad will stand guard outside Peerless City. Everyone else will immediately attack Peerless City. Tonight, within Peerless City, kill without mercy—all men, women, and children except the elderly and the weak!"
"Yes!" Everyone answered and left.
An incense stick later, Qin Shuang and Cheng Lingsu entered Peerless City unhurriedly. Corpses littered the road, blood flowed like a river, and the air reeked of blood.
In the main hall of the Dugu residence, Ding Ning held the head of a strikingly imposing man in his left hand.
Qin Shuang asked, "Dugu Yifang?"
"Yes!" Ding Ning nodded. "But I didn't see either of his children, Dugu Ming or Dugu Meng."
"It doesn't matter." Qin Shuang turned to Cheng Lingsu. "Go take stock of Peerless City's wealth. Follow the rules: seventy percent goes into the public accounts, and thirty percent is kept. Of that thirty percent, two-tenths will be distributed among the brothers, and one-tenth will be taken back and handed to Commander Yang, the Military Sima."
"Okay." Cheng Lingsu agreed and walked toward the inner hall.
"You're worse than beasts!" A woman's furious curse suddenly came from the direction of the inner residence. From the voice, it was Mu Wan Qing.
Qin Shuang and Ding Ning exchanged a glance before hurrying toward the voice together.
Inside a room in the inner residence of the Dugu household, Mu Wan Qing and Qu Xiu glared furiously at each other. On the bed, a beautiful, delicate-looking woman lay huddled in the corner, her clothes in disarray and her body trembling.
Qin Shuang knew what had happened without needing to ask.
Several more people arrived one after another. Qin Shuang swept his gaze over them before finally fixing it on Qu Xiu. "How long have you been part of the Dragon Guard?"
Although Qu Xiu found Qin Shuang's question inexplicable, he answered truthfully, "One year and three months."
"That isn't a short time." Qin Shuang seemed to be muttering to himself, yet was also asking a question. "I heard that you and Xiang Hong, Wu Meng, and the other five are fellow disciples?"
"I'm their sixth junior brother."
"Oh. Then aside from me, Section Leader Li, and Squad Leader Li, those five bear some responsibility as well. They failed to remind you often enough about the Dragon Guard's discipline."
Qu Xiu glanced at Li Sheng Nan, who was standing nearby, and his courage rose. "What discipline?"
"The Dragon Guard follows the military system, so naturally, it also follows military law." Qin Shuang's tone gradually hardened. "Those who assault a woman are banished if they are strong; those who cause injury are executed by strangulation!"
"You want to kill me?" Qu Xiu stared at Qin Shuang in astonishment, his face full of disbelief. "You want to kill me over some strange woman?"
"There are no instruments of torture here, so consider yourself lucky!"
"Li..." Qu Xiu looked toward Li Sheng Nan, but the moment he opened his mouth, Qin Shuang slashed his throat with a saber.
Dream Slaying Saber Technique, Tiger Wing Style!
Li Sheng Nan had never expected Qin Shuang to be so decisive, denying her even the chance to speak. Of course, as a woman, she also loathed what Qu Xiu had done. But if she did not put on an act and plead for mercy on his behalf, this squad would probably be difficult to lead in the future.
Wu Meng and Ge Zhong, standing nearby, wanted to say something, but Qin Shuang cut them off with his words. "When you get back, study the Dragon Guard's discipline properly as well. Don't make things difficult for me!"
Make things difficult for you? Who would believe that nonsense? Did you show even the slightest hesitation when you killed Qu Xiu? Wu Meng and Ge Zhong cursed inwardly, but they dared not speak out despite their fury.
Suddenly, a signal flare streaked across the pitch-black night sky, glaringly conspicuous. It was the Dragon Guard's unique distress signal.
"Damn it!" Qin Shuang looked toward the direction where the signal flare had risen. It was precisely where Ni Pusa was.
Everyone from the Dragon Guard within Peerless City saw the signal flare as well. They immediately put aside what they were doing and rushed toward the scene.
On the way, Qin Shuang encountered Fang Henshao fleeing in their direction with Ni Pusa on his back. Behind him were Cai Shuize and Tang Qi Wei, retreating as they fought. Their opponents were actually Imperial Guards dressed in flying-fish robes and wielding embroidered spring sabers!
"Kill!" Qin Shuang ordered without hesitation.
The Dragon Guard members behind him drew their weapons and joined the battle, going to the aid of Fang Henshao and the other two.
The Imperial Guards continued to gather, growing so numerous that they densely packed the area with nearly a hundred men. The five men at their head appeared from their attire to be one Hundred-Household Officer and four Probationary Hundred-Household Officers!
Although the Imperial Guards had the advantage in numbers, the Dragon Guard members were superior in individual combat strength. Ding Ning, Shen Hu Chan, and several others in particular had no equal before them; every saber stroke claimed a life!
"I'm Wen Fangda, a Hundred-Household Officer of the Taizhou Thousand-Household Office of the Imperial Guards. Who among you is in command? We all serve the imperial court. Stop fighting for now, and let's discuss this properly!" This self-proclaimed Wen Fangda had a face covered in wrinkles, dark-yellow skin, and hair that had begun to thin. Yet his eyes were bright and piercing, and his temples bulged high. One glance was enough to tell that his internal energy was extraordinary.
"Bah! You start the fight when you want and stop it when you want? How could things be that convenient? Kill them!" Qin Shuang had learned the whole story from Fang Henshao. Knowing that they had been ambushed by the Imperial Guards and that Chen Bu Ding, Feng Bu Ba, and the others were still unaccounted for, he was unwilling to let the matter end so easily.
"Foolish youngster!" Wen Fangda was slightly angered. If not for the Dragon Guard uniforms they wore, given his usual domineering temperament, why would he have bothered saying another word? His expression darkened as he removed the twin halberds from his back and soared into the crowd, striking at the most conspicuous person there, Shen Hu Chan.
The four Probationary Hundred-Household Officers flanking Wen Fangda were precisely his four younger brothers, the other members of the Wen Family Five Elders: Wen Fang Yi, Wen Fang Shan, Wen Fang Shi, and Wen Fangwu. Seeing Wen Fangda make his move, the four followed suit and attacked the Dragon Guard members.
Wen Fangda, Wen Fang Yi, Wen Fang Shan, Wen Fang Shi, and Wen Fangwu had all broken through the Postnatal Peak, reaching the early stage of the Innate Realm.
The addition of five Innate Realm experts instantly reversed the battle, plunging the Dragon Guard into a difficult situation.
The three early Innate Realm Section Leaders—Shen Hu Chan, Wang Dong, and Li Sheng Nan—were the first to meet them head-on. Ding Ning also intercepted Wen Fang Shi's flying saber attack, while Qin Shuang faced the remaining Wen Fangwu, wielding the Worry-Severing Saber in his right hand and the Hatred Severer in his left against his cowhide soft whip.
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