A gaping hole appeared in Ji Zhibai's shoulder. His body slowly pitched forward before falling onto the steps with a dull thud, blood pouring out in torrents.
A deathly silence fell over the entrance to the Ning'an County Government.
No one had expected Fang Yun, after putting up with Ji Zhibai for so long, to bring things to such a violent end.
Fang Yun stood before Ji Zhibai's corpse, his head slightly raised, proud and straight.
"My clash with Ji Zhibai at the Literary Assembly was a contest of pride. It did no real harm; a man needed a little impulsiveness and hot blood to deserve the name of scholar. At court, ours was a struggle over interests. We traded blows, each relying on his own abilities, with no regrets in victory or defeat. After hearing of my death, he colluded with foreigners to seize my family's ancestral property. I could tolerate that. To damage my reputation, he used every means to stop my poems and writings from spreading. I could tolerate that too. But..."
Fang Yun abruptly paused and swept his gaze over the crowd, surveying them with an eagle's stare and a wolf's vigilance. His eyes seemed to hold the power to pass judgment on all creation.
Not a single person dared meet his gaze.
At last, Fang Yun lowered his head to look at Ji Zhibai's corpse.
"You could embezzle from the workshops. You could flatter the bureaucrats. You could steal their achievements and claim them as your own. You could attack me as your political enemy. But you slandered the blood and sweat of the Craftsmen School. You poisoned the wellspring of the human race's progress. That was breaking a nation's backbone! That was burying the human race! That was cruelty and brutality no different from