If They Can Kill Me, Let Them Come

"You..."

Hui Yuan's face was filled with disbelief.

If not for his senior brother's insistence that they give the Demon Suppression Office some face, why would they have wasted their breath here?

Yet not only did the other side fail to appreciate it, she even dared to strike his senior brother!

"Do you know who he is?! Do you know who we are?!"

"You're finished! You're really finished!"

Hui Yuan pointed at Jiang Yuechu and roared, "Baosha Temple will never let this matter rest today! Just wait! Neither heaven nor earth can save you!"

Jiang Yuechu paid no mind to his howling. She merely slowly swept her gaze over the subordinates behind her, each wearing a different expression.

"Under Great Tang law and the Demon Suppression Office's rules, what is the punishment for interfering with an investigation and obstructing official duty without authorization?"

"..."

The group looked at one another, none of them knowing what medicine their newly appointed squad commander was selling in her gourd.

Liu Ke in particular.

By now, his heart was already churning like storm-tossed seas.

Earlier, when Jiang had ignored the commoners' tearful pleas, he had thought her hard as iron and stone, cold-blooded and merciless.

But in the blink of an eye, she had come to blows with Baosha Temple's monks?

Why?

Could it be...

They had failed to reach an agreement?

When no one answered, Jiang Yuechu's brows drew together slightly.

"Hm?"

A burly man standing in the corner caught her glance and shuddered, answering instinctively.

"R-Reporting, my lady, according to Office rules, if the circumstances are serious... they may be executed on the spot!"

"Very good."

Jiang Yuechu nodded, her gaze returning to the two monks.

"Then why haven't you seized them?"

The words fell.

The courtyard remained deathly silent.

No one moved.

Compared to Jiang Yuechu's matter-of-fact indifference, Liu Ke felt his scalp go numb.

Seize them?

These were people from Baosha Temple!

Baosha Temple—the temple whose roots ran deep through Longyou Circuit, the very temple that even the former commander had to show some respect!

Earlier, when he had traded barbs with Hui Yuan and clashed with him verbally, it had merely been youthful hotheadedness. Relying on the uniform he wore, he had only spoken a few words for show.

But now, Squad Commander Jiang actually intended to make it real?!

Alarmed, he hurriedly stepped forward, intending to dissuade her.

"This... this matter requires careful consideration! Baosha Temple has deep foundations in Longyou. If we offend them rashly, it may bring us monstrous trouble! Why not..."

Before he could finish.

Smack!

A crisp, ringing slap exploded through the courtyard.

Everyone froze.

The fat, hulking monk Bujie had somehow already reached Hui Yuan. He swung a huge slap, landing it squarely across the young monk's face.

Hui Yuan was completely stunned by the blow. Covering his cheek, he stared at Bujie in disbelief.

"You... you dare hit me?!"

"Amitabha."

Bujie withdrew his hand and chanted a Buddhist invocation, his face filled with compassion for all living things.

"This humble monk saw that you were beset by inner demons, so I helped clear your head. No need to thank me."

That slap left everyone utterly dumbfounded.

Chen Tong's eyes lit up. It was as though he had instantly found his backbone. With an angry roar, he charged forward first.

"Fuck you, bald donkey! You dare throw your weight around with us!"

He kicked Hui Yuan to the ground, then rained down punches like a storm.

The other men in the courtyard seemed to wake from a dream as well, howling as they pounced on him.

"Beat him!"

"Let him keep acting tough in front of us!"

For a time, fists and kicks flew through the courtyard, accompanied by endless screams.

Hui Yuan might have possessed some cultivation, but how could he withstand a pack of wolfish, tiger-like men beating him together?

In the space of a few breaths, he was beaten black and blue, with no strength left to resist.

County Magistrate Qian lay sprawled on the ground, no longer having any idea how this could possibly end.

Only Liu Ke remained stiffly where he stood, blankly watching the chaos before him, utterly at a loss.

Jiang Yuechu slowly walked over to him.

"Weren't you the one shouting the loudest just now?"

She looked at Liu Ke's flushed face, a trace of mockery in her eyes.

"Why is it that when I actually tell you to do something, you start whining at me instead?"

"I..."

Liu Ke opened his mouth, but a word lodged in his throat, and he could not say another thing.

Jiang Yuechu could not be bothered to hear his explanation. She turned away without a word.

She said nothing, yet that silence was more painful than any cutting insult.

Before long, the two monks were bound hand and foot and escorted before Jiang Yuechu.

Chen Tong and the others had struck viciously. The two monks, who had looked so solemn and dignified moments ago, were now black and blue, their robes covered in footprints, wretched beyond measure.

"Let me go! You lot of dogs who bully others with borrowed power! Do you know who I am?!"

Hui Yuan was still howling relentlessly, his eyes brimming with venom. "My master is the head of Baosha Temple's Discipline Hall! You touched me today, and I guarantee none of you will live!"

"Junior Brother, shut your mouth!"

Hui Ming struggled to raise his head from the ground and sternly cut him off.

He understood completely now.

The woman before him was nothing like the Demon Suppression Office officers they had dealt with in the past.

She did not follow rules, care for personal ties, or yield to threats.

He had merely revealed the faintest hint of a threat inside the room, and she had kicked him out without even giving him time to react.

The suppressed resentment in his heart nearly burst through his chest.

But now, they were fish on the chopping block.

Enduring the searing pain in his cheek, he forced a smile at Jiang Yuechu that looked worse than weeping.

"My lady... please calm your anger. My junior brother is young and hot-blooded. He spoke without thought and offended you. This humble monk... this humble monk apologizes in his stead."

"Today's matter was Baosha Temple's fault. We will no longer interfere. Please, for Buddha's sake, show mercy and let my junior brother and me leave. Everyone at Baosha Temple will remember your kindness, and there will surely be a generous reward in the future!"

As long as they could return alive and report today's humiliation to their sect.

Hmph...

A mere Eighth-Rank Squad Commander—even if she had some ability—was no more than a slightly larger ant before a colossal giant like Baosha Temple.

However.

Jiang Yuechu merely looked at him coldly and slowly drew the saber at her waist, inch by inch.

Shing—

Hui Ming's expression stiffened as he instantly understood.

This...

This woman truly meant to execute them on the spot?!

"You... do you truly mean to fight Baosha Temple to the death, like fish and net tearing each other apart?!"

Hui Ming could no longer maintain his pretense. "Baosha Temple has stood in Longyou for centuries. There are no fewer than dozens of Bone-Chiming Realm experts within our temple, and Core Formation elders hold the fort! If my junior brother and I die here today, within three days, our temple's experts will come in person to demand your life!"

"That uniform may protect you for a time, but it cannot protect you forever! If you have the nerve, then hide in the Demon Suppression Office for the rest of your life and never come out!"

Jiang Yuechu said nothing.

She merely raised her eyes.

What kind of eyes were those?

There was no anger, no killing intent.

There was not even the slightest ripple of emotion.

Sunlight fell upon her cold, pale face, like winter wind and snow.

Her thin lips parted, her voice calm.

"If they can kill me, let them come."

The instant her words fell.

Saber light flashed.

Splurt.

Two fine heads soared into the sky.