"Shen Zhui is committing violence in the street! Move! Seize him!" Yang Wu shouted furiously, his face flushed red as he waved his hand.
Shen Zhui had actually survived—and had even dared to attack him in public.
"Careful, this guy is fast!" the yamen runner who had fallen to the ground warned. He had just raised his hands to block, but somehow failed to stop him and had been kicked squarely in the chest. His whole body now felt weak, and the pain was unbearable.
"Shen Zhui, you're finished!" Several of the yamen runners were also from the Martial Arts Department. Two of them were Seventh Stage Houtian Martial Artists. They were unfamiliar with Shen Zhui, but they still didn't dare be careless and surrounded him from both sides.
By then, Shen Zhui had already rushed to his adoptive father Shen Shan's side and helped him up. Before he could say anything, Shen Shan said, "Zhui'er, I'm fine. Be careful of them!"
The remaining four attacked at the same time, while Yang Wu also drew his Iron Ruler, intending to take the opportunity to kill Shen Zhui.
"Overestimating yourselves!" Shen Zhui glanced over them and quickly judged their strength. Although he hadn't drawn his Iron Ruler, he didn't need it to deal with these men!
Shen Zhui spun around in an instant. With the support of his Major Accomplishment Realm movement technique, his lower leg tore through the air like lightning and swept across the waist of the man charging toward him.
"Whoosh!"
His leg actually created seven layers of afterimages. Shen Zhui had used his legs as weapons and unleashed the moves of Nine Layers of Iron Ruler.
"Damn it!" The Seventh Stage Houtian constable hurriedly raised both hands to block.
"Crack, crack~"
The sound of shattering bones rang out. The man felt as if a mountain had crashed down on him and involuntarily staggered backward, his arms instantly going numb.
That single blow had broken his arms. The pain knocked him unconscious.
"What?!" Yang Wu was stunned. He and Shen Zhui were both Eighth Stage Houtian, but he knew for certain that he couldn't kick a Seventh Stage Houtian into a state between life and death with one blow.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Three more consecutive dull impacts rang out. In the blink of an eye, everyone who had come to help Yang Wu was sprawled on the ground.
Now that Shen Zhui's movement technique and Ruler Technique had both reached Major Accomplishment, even Ninth Stage Houtian Martial Artists were no match for him—let alone people like Yang Wu?
Fast!
Far too fast!
Their attacks came so quickly that they couldn't react at all. Since their movement techniques couldn't keep up, attacking Shen Zhui was no different from standing still and letting him beat them.
"This is impossible!" Yang Wu was dumbfounded as well.
He had five people with him—two Seventh Stage Houtian and three Sixth Stage Houtian—yet none of them had lasted a single exchange against Shen Zhui.
Shen Zhui still hadn't even used a weapon. If Yang Wu charged in himself, could he really win?
Shen Zhui was a ruthless figure who could even kill Ninth Stage Houtian Martial Artists!
"Yang Wu!" Shen Zhui glared at him, his eyes blazing with fury.
"Shen Zhui, don't do anything reckless!" Yang Wu panicked and retreated repeatedly. "This is inside the county town. Committing violence in the street is a grave offense. Don't break the law knowingly!"
"Well said—breaking the law knowingly!" Shen Zhui gritted his teeth. He recalled the ambush from earlier. It had almost certainly been Yang Wu who had tipped them off, nearly getting him killed outside the city.
"You think you're worthy of talking to me about the law? You injured my adoptive father. No one can save you today!"
"Your adoptive father? Him?" Yang Wu deliberately pretended not to know.
He raised his voice. "Stop making trouble for no reason! Your adoptive father fell down because he was careless. I didn't touch him at all—"
"Bang!"
Shen Zhui moved as fast as lightning and kicked Yang Wu squarely in the chest without the slightest hesitation, making him double over in pain.
"You still dare argue? Get on your knees!" Shen Zhui seized Yang Wu by the throat and kicked him twice more in the hollows behind his knees.
"Crack, crack~" Faint friction sounds came from the bones. Yang Wu's legs went limp, and he immediately fell to his knees facing Shen Zhui's adoptive father.
"I, I..." With his throat clutched, Yang Wu could barely breathe, let alone speak.
Shen Zhui's chest heaved violently. In his fury, he increased the force of his grip, and it looked as if he was about to strangle Yang Wu to death.
"Shen Zhui, let him go!"
An angry shout came from the distance. A dozen people from the Martial Arts Department hurried over, led by a dark-faced, thick-browed old man.
Shen Zhui glanced over. The man at the front was none other than He Tong, the Deputy Head of Department of the Martial Arts Department.
He had once advanced to the Xiantian Realm in his early years, but for some unknown reason, he had later fallen back to Peak Houtian.
His strength was even more frightening than that of someone at Peak Houtian. He was one of the top experts in the Martial Arts Department and unquestionably the strongest person beneath the Xiantian Realm.
"Shen Zhui, you insolent brat! Release him now?!" He Tong shouted angrily. "The county magistrate already knows about this. Don't ruin yourself!"
Shen Zhui's heart stirred. After hesitating for a moment, he snorted coldly and threw Yang Wu away.
"Take them into custody!" He Tong waved his hand and breathed a sigh of relief. More than a dozen men immediately surrounded Shen Zhui, gripping his shoulders. Then they fastened a thick iron chain around his wrists and bound his hands.
"Shen Zhui, sorry for the trouble." The one taking Shen Zhui into custody was Zhao Hu, who spoke softly.
"It's fine, Brother Hu. Please send someone to take my adoptive father to see a doctor first. He may be injured," Shen Zhui urged him.
When something happened inside the city and alarmed the county magistrate, the entire course of events was inevitably already clear to him.
There was no need for an interrogation. The judgment could be handed down directly according to the law, with testimonies and statements supplemented and archived afterward.
For now, Shen Zhui was more worried about his adoptive father Shen Shan's injuries.
"Alright, I'll arrange it," Zhao Hu said with a nod.
"Zhui'er, you'll be alright, won't you?" Shen Shan hurried over anxiously.
"Don't worry, adoptive father. Just rest and recover. I'll come back to see you soon." Shen Zhui smiled reassuringly. Since the incident had a cause, he would certainly be punished, but the county magistrate wouldn't impose a severe sentence on him for someone like Yang Wu.
"Deputy Head He, I—I didn't do anything! This Shen Zhui injured me for no reason. That's a grave offense, a grave offense!" Yang Wu was being supported by others. He couldn't even stand steadily, yet he still pitifully tried to smear Shen Zhui.
He Tong frowned and cast him a somewhat disgusted glance.
"The county magistrate will decide the judgment. You don't need to worry about it. Take them all away!"
"Yes!" The yamen runners of the Martial Arts Department answered in a thunderous chorus.
Shen Zhui glanced at Yang Wu and drew his palm sharply across his throat, making his threat perfectly clear.
"Shen Zhui..." Yang Wu lowered his head in fear, unable to meet his eyes. He roared inwardly, Shen Zhui, you actually came back alive. But you can't escape. You definitely can't escape!
Just wait. The main household will certainly avenge me. You're finished!
County office, Law Enforcement Hall.
Waiting for them there were the stern-faced Steward Liu and Wang Long of the Martial Arts Department.
Steward Liu didn't waste words and directly announced the punishments:
"Yang Wu of the Martial Arts Department bullied civilians, engaged in an armed brawl in the street, and disregarded the law. Thirty strokes of the cane. Six months in confinement!
"Accomplices Liu Er, Zhang Si, and Li Sang joined in the violence. Twenty strokes of the cane and three months in confinement!"
"Shen Zhui of the Martial Arts Department engaged in a private brawl. Taking into account that his adoptive father was injured and that there were circumstances behind the incident, he is sentenced to one month in confinement and ten strokes of the cane, as a warning to others!"
"What?!" Upon hearing the judgment, Yang Wu was filled with unwillingness. "Why is Shen Zhui's sentence so light?!"
Previously, his nephew Yang Cheng had beaten a servant to death and received only a one-year sentence.
It was clear from this that the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty were not particularly harsh. This was especially true when it came to martial artists, who were effectively a privileged group.
Six months in confinement and thirty strokes of the cane was already an extremely severe punishment.
If everyone had received that sentence, it would have been one thing—but Shen Zhui was only confined for a month!
"This subordinate acknowledges his guilt." Shen Zhui obediently accepted his punishment.
"This subordinate acknowledges his guilt." At this point, no matter how unwilling Yang Wu and the others were, they could only grit their teeth and accept their punishment.
Inside the county town, the county magistrate was heaven itself. They didn't dare resist, and they didn't even dare voice a complaint.
Quite a few yamen runners nearby wore varied expressions after hearing the punishments.
In such cases, whether the sentence was light or heavy depended entirely on the county magistrate's decision. Even so, they hadn't expected Shen Zhui's sentence to be so light.
But once they heard that Yang Wu had bullied and injured Shen Zhui's adoptive father, they immediately felt that Yang Wu had brought it upon himself.
Many people knew that Yang Wu and Shen Zhui had a grudge, but troubles between adults shouldn't implicate their families. Besides, Yang Wu had used his identity as an Eighth Stage Houtian Martial Artist to bully a frail old man. He was utterly unworthy of being called a son.
"Bring the cane!" Wang Long snorted coldly and waved his hand.
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