Chongshan Order

The standoff dragged on. Lan Tianye's face flushed with rage, his hand resting on his curved saber. Seeing him hesitate, Landlord Liu and the yamen runner chief grew even more smug. The chief rattled his iron chains and was about to move in and seize him.

Just then, Chen Qing, who had been silently watching, made his move.

He calmly stepped forward and stood between Lan Tianye and the yamen runners. His movements were unhurried, yet the chief instinctively paused.

"What do you think you're doing? Trying to obstruct official business?" the chief barked, his bluster masking his fear.

Chen Qing didn't look at him. His gaze landed directly on Landlord Liu's face. It was calm, but Landlord Liu felt an inexplicable jolt of unease.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Chen Qing slowly took the Mysterious Iron Token from inside his robe—the Chongshan Order.

"Whoever sees this token sees General Li Chongshan himself." Chen Qing's voice was level, yet clear.

"G-General Li?!" The yamen runner chief sucked in a sharp breath. His face turned deathly pale, and his legs went weak. The runners behind him panicked as well.

The ferocious grin on Landlord Liu's face froze. His corpulent body trembled, and terror flashed in his eyes.

But he hadn't become the local tyrant by being a fool. His extreme fear instantly turned into the ruthless resolve of a desperate gambler. He stared hard at the token, then shot a glance at Chen Qing's youthful face and plain blue robe. A vicious idea came to him.

"Wait!" Landlord Liu suddenly shrieked. His voice warped with agitation. "Captain Wang! Don't let him fool you!"

Pointing at the token, he shouted to the chief and the surrounding crowd, "The old General Li Chongshan's token is priceless! Why would it be in the hands of some young man of unknown origin? Just look at the way he's dressed. Does he look like someone who could possess a general's token? That token was clearly stolen! Or forged! Yes! It must be a fake!"

His words set off an uproar!

Captain Wang, the yamen runner chief, froze. He scrutinized Chen Qing and the token, uncertain what to believe.

That was true. Why would General Li's token be in the hands of an utterly ordinary young man? It made no sense! Stealing or forging a token belonging to a high-ranking imperial general was a hundred times more serious than fighting in the street!

Lan Tianye flew into a rage. His hair nearly stood on end. "Bullshit! You fat pig, how dare you slander him! How could Brother Chen's token be fake?" He wanted nothing more than to draw his saber and cut down the tyrant for smearing Chen Qing.

Seeing the runners wavering, Landlord Liu pressed his advantage. "Captain Wang! Hurry and arrest this thief who stole a military token! If a wanted criminal gets away, neither of us will escape punishment! Take him in and interrogate him. You'll surely uncover his accomplices! This is a great chance to earn merit!" His words brimmed with temptation.

Landlord Liu leaned close to Captain Wang and whispered, "Arrest him, and on top of the credit, I'll give the brothers five hundred taels to drink."

Captain Wang's eyes flickered as greed and fear fought within him.

In the end, he decided it was better to be safe than sorry, and the prospect of possible "merit" tipped the scales.

He raised his iron chain again, his face twisting into a scowl. "So! I nearly let a thief like you fool me! You dare forge a general's token! Men! Arrest this wanted criminal! Kill him if he resists!" At his words, the runners drew their iron rulers and chains and closed in.

The situation turned on its head in an instant, becoming even more dangerous than before! What had been an ordinary clash had suddenly escalated into the grave crimes of "stealing military intelligence" and "forging an official token"!

Lan Tianye was shocked and furious, utterly stunned.

He'd never imagined they could be so shameless and vicious, fabricating such a serious charge out of thin air! With a metallic clang, he drew his curved saber and shielded Chen Qing. "Brother Chen! These bastards don't play fair! Let's fight our way out!"

From the moment Landlord Liu had slandered him, Chen Qing's eyes had turned utterly cold.

It was as if starlight had been veiled by the ice of the northern frontier. He had only wanted to settle things quickly by using the token's authority, but his opponents had chosen the most foolish course, turning a small matter into a disaster.

He gently pressed down on Lan Tianye's shoulder and pulled him back behind him.

Chen Qing stepped forward to face the runners closing in and Landlord Liu, who wore a smug expression. He didn't even look at the runners, only at Landlord Liu. His voice was calmer than before, yet it carried a chilling menace that made one's heart quail.

"Are you sure you want to frame me?"

The crushing pressure made Landlord Liu's skin crawl, but there was no backing down now. He forced himself to shout, "You're as good as dead, and you still dare to talk tough! Captain Wang, hurry up!"

Captain Wang gritted his teeth and shouted, "Seize him!"

Two runners summoned their courage and lunged at Chen Qing, ready to grab him.

Chen Qing moved.

No one saw how. They heard only two exceptionally crisp slaps!

The two runners at the front flew backward even faster than they had charged in. They cried out as they crashed to the ground, their cheeks swelling high at once, blood trickling from their mouths. Dazed and seeing stars, they even dropped their weapons.

Chen Qing stood exactly where he'd been, as though he'd never moved.

He merely shook his hand as if brushing off a pair of flies.

"Attacking an officer in broad daylight! This is rebellion! Rebellion!" Shocked and furious, Captain Wang stumbled backward and drew his saber. The other runners were too frightened to step forward.

Landlord Liu was so terrified that he hid behind his servants and shrieked, "See? He's guilty! He's resisting arrest by force! Captain Wang, call the archers! Hurry and summon the garrison soldiers!"

Chen Qing ignored their shouting.

He raised the Mysterious Iron Token again. His gaze was no longer for these ants; it seemed to pass through them and look far beyond. He channeled a thread of Starforce. His voice wasn't loud, yet it carried clearly across the entire street, cold and authoritative.

"General Li Chongshan once said, 'Whoever sees this token sees me.' The Northern Border Army will not disobey."

He paused, sweeping his gaze over the uncertain runners and townsfolk. Then, slowly and deliberately, he said:

"Today, the Qingshui Market runners have conspired with a local landlord to slander a general's token and frame the person bearing it. This is no longer a private dispute."

"On behalf of the Northern Border Army, I now requisition all those here who remain faithful to their duty to detain everyone involved at once. Any resistance will be dealt with under military law."

When he finished speaking, dead silence fell over the entire street.

Everyone was stunned by his words. This wasn't the voice of a wandering hero. It was the command of a superior! A military order!

Captain Wang's face was as pale as paper, and his hand shook around his saber. He suddenly realized he might have made a colossal mistake! This man... his bearing... he was nothing like a thief!

Landlord Liu was stunned as well. He hadn't expected his opponent to be not only skilled in martial arts, but also so sharp and terrifying with his words—to raise the matter directly to the level of "military law"!

Just then, the rapid, orderly beat of hooves rang out in the distance, followed by a deep, urgent shout:

"What's all this commotion up ahead?! A border patrol is passing through!"

A cavalry squad of about ten riders came galloping up, covered in dust and wearing the Northern Border Army's standard leather armor. Clearly, they were a patrol passing through the area.

At their head rode a dark-faced, keen-eyed squad leader.

Seeing the border troops, Captain Wang and Landlord Liu thought they'd been saved and were about to step forward with their complaints.

But the squad leader immediately spotted Chen Qing standing amid the crowd, holding the Mysterious Iron Token with a cold expression—and the token glinting faintly in the sunlight!

The squad leader's face changed dramatically! As a veteran of the border army, he might never have seen Chen Qing, but he certainly recognized the Chongshan Order! The old General Li had bestowed it on only a handful of people; it was the highest token of his personal authority!

"Whoa!" The squad leader yanked his horse to a halt, nearly tumbling from the saddle as he dismounted. He and all the riders behind him dropped to one knee in perfect unison, their armor clanking!

Amid the crowd's astonished stares, the squad leader spoke in a loud voice full of respect—and even a trace of trepidation:

"Zhang Kui, squad leader of the Northern Border Army patrol, pays his respects to the bearer of the general's token! I didn't know you were here, sir. I came too late. Please forgive me!"

Silence.

A silence as dead as the grave.

Captain Wang's saber clanged to the ground. Landlord Liu's legs gave way, and he collapsed, his trousers instantly soaked and reeking.

Every runner and servant went ashen, trembling like a leaf.

Lan Tianye's mouth hung open. He stared at the dramatic turn of events, then at Chen Qing standing beside him, expressionless. His eyes were filled with utter shock and admiration.

Chen Qing swept his gaze over the kneeling squad leader and spoke calmly, pointing at Landlord Liu and Captain Wang, whose faces had turned ashen.

"Squad Leader Zhang, arrest these men."

At Chen Qing's icy command, the air seemed to freeze.

Zhang Kui looked up sharply, his eyes filled with a soldier's resolve, not a trace of hesitation remaining. He sprang to his feet and barked at the border soldiers behind him, who were just as shocked but had already snapped into action.

"Understood! Men, disarm these corrupt officials and tyrants! Arrest every last one! Kill anyone who resists!"

"Yes!" The nine border soldiers answered as one, their voices shaking the street. Hardened by years on the battlefield, they moved with the speed of wolves and tigers, rushing at the terrified runners and the servants of the Liu household.

Captain Wang, who had just been throwing his weight around, was now white-faced and on the ground, unable even to beg for mercy as the soldiers roughly pinned his arms behind him and bound him.

The other runners were even more terrified. They dropped their weapons and fell to their knees, begging for mercy.

Landlord Liu lay in his own urine, his corpulent body like a puddle of mud. Two soldiers dragged him out from behind his servants like a dead dog. He began squealing like a slaughtered pig. "Have mercy, sir! Have mercy! I was blind! I was blinded by greed! Please, for the sake of—" One of the soldiers found him too noisy and stuffed a rag straight into his mouth. All he could manage was a desperate, muffled "Mmph!"

His spoiled son had already fainted from fright.

In the face of overwhelming power and authority, the situation had been completely reversed in an instant.

Only then did the crowd, silent all this while, seem to come back to themselves.

At first, soft, disbelieving sobs rose from the young girl who had nearly been abducted and her parents, who held her close as they wept.

"A just lord! A lord of justice!" The old farmer suddenly dropped to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly in Chen Qing's direction, tears streaming down his weathered face. "Thank you! Thank you for saving our family! Thank you, bearer of the general's token!"

His cry was like a spark to a fuse.

In an instant, the emotions held back for so long erupted through the crowd!

More cries rang out—not from fear, but from the exhilaration of surviving a catastrophe, the release of long-buried grievances finally avenged!

"Heaven has eyes!"

"Landlord Liu the Bloodsucker finally got what was coming! Retribution! Retribution!"

"Thank you, young hero! Thank you, soldiers!"

"General Li sent a just lord to save us!"

Praise, sobbing, and curses against Landlord Liu tangled together, surging into a roaring wave.

Many townsfolk excitedly knelt and kowtowed to Chen Qing and the border soldiers. They had suffered Landlord Liu's oppression for years with nowhere to bring their grievances. Now they had finally witnessed justice, and they could barely contain their emotions.

An elderly woman selling vegetables tottered over with a basket of eggs, hoping to press it into the soldiers' hands. When they politely refused, she turned to Chen Qing's carriage instead, tears in her eyes as she murmured, "Benefactor... please, have something to eat..."

A few children, not yet grown, squeezed through the crowd. Their eyes shone as they looked at Chen Qing, their faces full of admiration. Imitating the adults, they clapped as hard as they could.

Standing beside Chen Qing, Lan Tianye watched the scene unfold like a tale from a play: the people's heartfelt gratitude and tears, and Chen Qing beside him, calm and unruffled, as though he'd merely done some trivial thing. The shock within him was beyond words.

He had gone out to uphold justice before, but all he'd received was thanks from the people directly involved. When had he ever witnessed a scene where the whole crowd was so moved, the people's hearts surging like a tide?

For the first time, he felt so directly that a true "hero" was more than someone who fought and stood up for the wronged. A hero could also sweep away corruption with the force of thunder, restore a clear and bright world, and win the people's heartfelt reverence.

His earlier pride in being a "young hero" seemed so childish and insignificant beside Chen Qing's understated yet earth-shattering actions. He looked at Chen Qing with complicated admiration, and with a longing he could hardly put into words.

Chen Qing's gaze swept over the agitated crowd. The frost on his face softened slightly, but he said little. When Squad Leader Zhang Kui came to report after handling the scene, Chen Qing gave him a slight nod. "Leave the rest of the matter here to you. Deal with it under military law, and report the outcome to Iron Wall City."

"Understood! I won't fail you!" Zhang Kui answered solemnly, clasping his fist. He knew that Landlord Liu, Captain Wang, and the others were finished for good.

Chen Qing didn't linger. He turned to Lan Tianye and A Ning. "Let's go."

Lan Tianye nodded quickly, taking a deep breath to steady his surging emotions before hurrying to fetch his horse.

Chen Qing walked over to the carriage. A Ning was peeking out the window, her little eyes wide as she looked at him, then at the weeping, grateful crowd. There seemed to be a trace of confusion on her small face, but above all, she looked at him with trusting relief. Chen Qing gently patted her head and climbed into the carriage.

The carriage started slowly and left Qingshui Market.

Behind them, the townsfolk had gathered of their own accord along both sides of the road, watching them go with tearful eyes and cries of gratitude that would not fade.

"Farewell, benefactor!"

"May you live a hundred years!"

"Thank you, bearer of the general's token! Thank you, General Li!"

The carriage traveled far, but their voices still seemed to drift faintly on the wind.

Riding his horse, Lan Tianye was silent for a long time. He was no longer the chatty, endlessly talkative young man. At last, he let out a long breath and sighed, his tone complicated. "Brother Chen... today... I think I've finally begun to understand what it means to be a true 'hero among heroes.'"

Chen Qing looked ahead, where the official road stretched beneath the wheels and distant mountains rose in dark blue layers.

He said calmly, "The road is long."

Lan Tianye nodded firmly. The restless light in his eyes gradually gave way to something steadier. He tightened his grip on the reins and silently followed the carriage ahead, his heart full of endless thoughts about the road before them and his unfathomable companion.