Ruthless and Cruel

"Did someone stand up to Yang Chun and his gang?"

Li Yunjing and Ma Xingyuan exchanged a glance, excitement shining in both their eyes.

This was a good thing for them!

They could see for themselves what trump cards Yang Chun and his gang had. If they turned out to be all show and no substance, the two of them wouldn't hand over their contribution points either!

The other diners, seeing a commotion, also crowded over.

Excitement flashed in their eyes. Clearly, they had never seen anything like this before.

Many of them hated Yang Chun and his gang just as much as Li Yunjing and Ma Xingyuan did.

Now that they saw someone daring to resist, they were thrilled, silently cheering the resisters on.

Bang!

Seven or eight people from both sides grappled with one another. Before long, Yang Chun went flying and crashed to the ground in a sorry heap.

Li Yunjing saw that his face was mottled with bruises, one eye swollen bigger than the other, one black and the other purple. It was clear someone had hit him hard!

That made Li Yunjing grin inwardly.

"Ji Chi! Kong Shi! You're looking for death! You dare offend people from the Ten Thousand Laws Society? Brothers, beat them to death!"

Even lying on the ground, Yang Chun kept shouting. One hand covered his face while the other pointed at Ji Chi and Kong Shi, and he roared like a madman.

The farce drew more and more attention. In the end, everyone dining in the hall was watching.

Though many didn't dare to resist like Ji Chi and Kong Shi, each and every one of them was cheering inwardly.

Yang Chun was simply detestable. Seeing him get beaten black and blue made everyone feel better.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, the onlookers erupted in terrified cries as one after another were sent flying.

Li Yunjing sensed something was wrong. He grabbed Ma Xingyuan and pulled him out of the crowd, then hurriedly retreated far away.

"Damn it! Are you trying to turn the world upside down?"

A sinister voice rang out. The bustling hall seemed to drop several degrees in temperature.

"Ah?"

Someone planted a foot on Yang Chun's head as he lay on the ground. He let out a terrified shriek, panic showing in his eyes.

He looked as though he had seen something utterly horrifying.

Everyone turned to look.

They saw three neat rows of people in black Dao Robes standing in front of Yang Chun.

There were thirty of them in all, with a white-haired old Daoist at their head.

He wore a black Dao Robe like the others, but unlike theirs, his was embroidered with little bloodied swords.

He was short and gaunt, with a hooked nose and narrow, slanted eyes. He looked exceptionally mean.

A chilling aura radiated from him, lowering the temperature by several degrees and making everyone shiver.

Yang Chun had been unbearably arrogant before, still shouting for Ji Chi and Kong Shi to be beaten to death even after he'd been thrashed.

But now, with the white-haired old Daoist's foot on him, he had wilted completely and didn't dare utter a peep.

He seemed to have stopped breathing, not daring even to make a sound.

His body was rigid with tension. It was obvious just how terrified Yang Chun was.

Yang Chun wasn't the only one afraid in the hall. Almost everyone looked frightened.

At that moment, several Outer Disciple managers from the Elegant Fragrance Garden turned pale, their expressions awkward.

The managers exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and reluctantly stepped forward. They cupped their hands in greeting.

One of those in charge looked apologetic. "I'm sorry! A little incident happened here. We didn't expect to alarm all of you senior brothers from the Law Enforcement Hall."

"Hmph! This has nothing to do with you!"

The short, gaunt white-haired Daoist in the lead gave a cold laugh, cutting off the Elegant Fragrance Garden managers' apologies.

The people from the Elegant Fragrance Garden had no choice. They didn't dare say anything more and obediently stood aside.

They couldn't interfere in this matter, and they had no standing to plead for leniency.

The managers cursed Yang Chun under their breath. He never knew when to quit and caused them trouble every day.

They knew Yang Chun had been bullying the odd-job disciples at the Elegant Fragrance Garden and extorting protection money from them.

But it wasn't a serious matter, and Yang Chun had connections, so they hadn't wanted to meddle. They'd turned a blind eye and pretended not to notice.

Now look at him. He'd become more and more brazen, daring to start a fight right there in the Elegant Fragrance Garden and even bringing the Law Enforcement Hall down on them.

This was serious trouble.

They would surely have contribution points deducted for failing to manage the place properly.

Whether they would face an even harsher punishment would depend on whether the people backing them could protect them.

In any case, because of the brawl between Yang Chun, Ji Chi, Kong Shi, and their men, these Outer Disciples would definitely have to pay a hefty sum in contribution points.

It might be a fine, or it might be the cost of greasing palms...

Either way, they wouldn't get out of it!

"Everyone who fought, come over here!"

The white-haired old Daoist's voice was gloomy as he swept his vicious gaze over the injured odd-job disciples.

Ji Chi, Kong Shi, and Yang Chun's men shuddered and obediently stepped forward, heads bowed and not daring to say a word.

"Seize them! Take them back for questioning!"

The white-haired old Daoist waved his hand. A row of black-clad Daoists behind him stepped forward, took out shackles, and locked all seven or eight of them up. Then they linked them together with a chain.

Only then did the white-haired old Daoist lower his head to look at Yang Chun beneath his foot. He gave a cruel grin. "Your name is Yang Chun?"

"Sir, I'm Yang Chun. I..."

Yang Chun looked terrified and spoke in a trembling voice.

"Heh heh! This old Daoist has heard your name. I hear you're very arrogant and go around collecting protection money. Normally, trash like you wouldn't even interest me!"

The white-haired old Daoist raised a hand, cutting Yang Chun off.

"But you even dared to start a fight in public, in front of thousands of fellow disciples. You really think nothing of our Law Enforcement Hall!"

As he spoke, the white-haired old Daoist ground the sole of his boot against Yang Chun's face.

He kept grinding until Yang Chun's face was contorted and bloody before finally stopping.

The onlookers shuddered.

"How ruthless!"

Even Li Yunjing was secretly shocked. He had thought that the immortal sects were all serene places, inhabited by people with the bearing of immortals. He never imagined that the sect could harbor such vicious people.

This was truly an eye-opener.

So the immortal path had a peaceful side, but it also had a dark side.

The Law Enforcement Hall was the most terrifying institution when it came to dealing with people inside the sect.

Its sole purpose was to uphold the sect's laws.

If you broke the sect rules and caught the attention of the Law Enforcement Hall, you were finished.

Without an immensely powerful backer, there was no way you'd get through this unscathed.

This time, Yang Chun had acted arrogantly and fought his fellow disciples in public, brazenly breaking the sect rules. The Law Enforcement Hall had caught him red-handed. Even if he didn't die, he'd lose a thick layer of skin.