Chapter 169: Chapter 169: Too Late for Regrets When the Head Rolls, Succession Ceremony

"I, Zhao Shiren, have come to see Shi Da Dangjia."

Upon being led into the Unity Hall of Phoenix Village, Zhao Shiren ignored the malicious stares from the bandits lining the room. With a demeanor neither servile nor arrogant, he clasped his fists and bowed in greeting to Shi Potian.

Clearly, he was a man of courage and conviction.

"Do you know why I agreed to see you?" Shi Potian asked nonchalantly, shifting his position on the tiger-skin throne.

Zhao Shiren smiled, full of confidence. He replied with perfect composure, "Because Shi Da Dangjia is no short-sighted man. Why would he turn the God of Wealth away?"

"Wrong!" Shi Potian sneered, his smile dripping with contempt. "I just wanted to see the face of the man my young master ordered me to kill. Drag him out and behead him."

The moment he finished speaking, two bandits rushed forward, pinned Zhao Shiren by his arms, and began to drag him away.

Zhao Shiren, who had been certain of his success, was caught completely off guard by the sudden turn of events. He was utterly dumbfounded.

When he came to his senses, he began to struggle frantically, shouting in a panic, "Chieftain, wait! There must be some misunderstanding! When have I ever offended any young master?"

"Our young master’s surname is Pei," Shi Potian said.

BOOM!

Zhao Shiren froze as if struck by lightning. His face turned white as a sheet as he stammered, "Pei... Lord Pei?"

Shi Potian nodded slowly, his expression calm.

All the strength seemed to drain from Zhao Shiren’s body in an instant. If the two bandits weren’t holding him up, he would have collapsed. His limbs grew cold and began to tremble.

In his mind, he saw Pei Shaoqing’s harmless expression from a few days ago, when Zhao Shiren had demanded a reduction in his monthly silver payment. He had thought the man was more reasonable than expected; only now did he realize how laughable he’d been.

Pei Shaoqing had already sentenced him to death back then!

"Drag him out and behead him. Have the servants he brought take the head back," Shi Potian ordered with a wave of his hand.

Zhao Shiren’s thoughts were instantly pulled back to reality.

An intense will to live drove him to struggle with all his might against the bandits’ hold. His face was a mask of terror as he pleaded, "Chieftain, spare me! Spare me! I know I was wrong! I beg you, show mercy! Spare my worthless life! Let me wait until Lord Pei returns so I can see him!"

Shi Potian was unmoved.

Zhao Shiren was forcibly dragged out of the Unity Hall.

"I’m willing to offer fifty thousand taels of silver, as long as the Chieftain spares my life and lets me wait for Lord Pei to deal with me!"

"AH! Don’t kill me! I don’t want to die! I DON’T WANT TO DIE! Lord Pei! Lord Pei... WAAAAH..."

"Pei Shaoqing, you bastard who deserves a thousand deaths! You greedy son of a bitch! I’ll get you even as a ghost...!"

Zhao Shiren begged, wept, and cursed. Finally, his voice abruptly stopped, and everything fell silent.

Ma San carried his bloody head to the gates of Phoenix Village and tossed it casually to the servants who had come with him.

"Master!"

"WAAAAH! Master! Oh, Master!"

Seeing Zhao Shiren’s head, his eyes wide in a furious glare, the two servants were overcome with grief and terror, nearly fainting on the spot.

"Heh, a couple of loyal ones, I see." Ma San sneered, watching the servants weep before the severed head. He then declared arrogantly, "Take your master’s dog head and deliver a message to the crooked merchants of Tongzhou City. Tell them we make our living by our own strength. If we want something, we take it. We don’t accept charity. Now, get lost!"

The two servants from the Zhao Mansion returned to the city with Zhao Shiren’s head. Wails echoed through the Zhao Mansion as a Memorial Hall was hastily erected. The entire estate, inside and out, was draped in white mourning cloth.

The merchants of Tongzhou were shocked by the news, but more than that, they were terrified. The deaths of a few caravan guards were nothing to them, but the death of a Shopkeeper—one of their own—was a different story. They felt the fox’s sorrow for the dead rabbit; they knew they could be next.

One after another, they went in groups to the Zhao Mansion to pay their respects to Zhao Shiren.

"My lords," a servant said, tears in his eyes, "the bandits asked me to deliver a message to you all."

The crowd hurriedly asked, "What did the bandits say?"

"The bandits said... they don’t accept charity," the servant stammered, swallowing hard. "They take what they want by force."

Hearing this, the merchants all looked at each other in dismay.

In their business, they had traveled north and south and dealt with bandits from many places, but they had never encountered any like this.

This made them angry, scared, and helpless.

"This... this is...! What kind of bandits are these? Are they even going to let us make a living?!"

"That’s right. If we get robbed every time, forget doing business, we’ll be forced to pack up our families and move."

"Sigh, it can’t be helped. Let’s halt business for a few days. We’ll wait for Lord Pei to return. He’ll never sit by and watch those bandits run rampant. After all, if we can’t do business, he loses income too."

"Exactly! Those bandits aren’t just stopping us from making money, they’re stopping Lord Pei from making money. Lord Pei will definitely not stand by and do nothing."

.........

「In the evening, just before the city gates closed.」

Pei Shaoqing and Liu Yuheng entered Yazhou City.

"Whoa~"

The two of them stopped in front of an inn.

"Are you two guests here for a meal or for a room?"

An attendant heard the noise and came out to greet them. When he saw General Hei, a look of astonishment appeared on his face, and his attitude became extremely respectful.

"Both a meal and a room. Get me your best room. Also, my horse is to be fed with the best fodder," Pei Shaoqing said as he dismounted.

’The best fodder on the market was just so-so for General Hei, but one had to make do while on the road.’

"Right away! Rest assured, I’ll make sure this divine steed eats better than I do!" the attendant said eagerly, taking the reins. "Please, you two, head inside and find a table. I’ll get the horse settled, then I’ll check which of our finest rooms are available."

"Mm," Pei Shaoqing nodded and walked inside.

The attendant stood on his tiptoes and shouted inside, "Two honored guests for a meal! Someone come and serve them well!"

After watching his colleague rush out to welcome Pei Shaoqing and Liu Yuheng inside, the attendant carefully led the horse toward the rear courtyard. "This way, Lord Horse."

General Hei followed behind him, head held high, chest puffed out.

Once inside the inn, Pei Shaoqing discovered it was surprisingly crowded. Seven or eight of the ten tables were full.

This was very unusual. It was already past the dinner rush. At this hour, aside from a brothel, neither an inn nor a tavern should be this busy.

Moreover, they all seemed to be people from the Jianghu.

"Attendant, has anything major been happening in Yazhou lately?" Pei Shaoqing inquired.

The attendant paused for a moment. "Aren’t you two here for the new Sect Leader’s succession ceremony at Medicine King Valley?"

"Oh? Tell me more," Pei Shaoqing’s eyebrow raised, and he exchanged a look with Liu Yuheng.

The attendant deftly wiped the dust from an empty table with a cloth. After the two were seated, he poured tea and explained, "The old Sect Leader of Medicine King Valley is advanced in years and has decided to abdicate to live out his retirement. He has appointed his eldest disciple, Pharmacist Wu Tian, to inherit the position of Sect Leader.

"The succession ceremony is in three days, so our Yazhou has seen many out-of-towners like you two recently. They’re all going to Medicine King Valley to offer their congratulations."

The attendant mentioned Medicine King Valley with a sense of shared glory, his expression animated. "And that’s only because the old Sect Leader didn’t want to be too ostentatious and didn’t publicize it widely. Otherwise, even more people would have come to congratulate them."

"I see." Pei Shaoqing showed an expression of sudden understanding, then casually took out a piece of broken silver and tossed it to the attendant. "Thanks for the information. Bring us a few of your house specialties, but don’t bring too much."

"Thank you for the reward, guest." The attendant was overjoyed as he caught the silver, thanking him repeatedly. "You two please enjoy your tea for a while. I’ll go make the arrangements right now."

After the attendant left, Liu Yuheng frowned and said in a low voice, "Young Master, with the new Valley Master’s succession ceremony at Medicine King Valley imminent, given their connections, I’m afraid even some Court officials might send people. Should we wait until after the ceremony to cause trouble for them?"

"No need. We’ll make our move when everyone has arrived," Pei Shaoqing said flatly.

’The people from Medicine King Valley injured my men and kidnapped my friend, all on my territory. And they never sent anyone to apologize. They clearly have no respect for me.’

’In that case, why should I give a damn about their reputation? I’m going to grind their faces into the dirt.’

"Are you two also here for the succession ceremony of the new Sect Leader of Medicine King Valley?" A suave and refined young man suddenly descended from the upper floor. He greeted them with an elegant bow, clasping his fists. "I am Lv Liangyi, a disciple of the Huashan Yunyang Sword Sect, here on my master’s orders to attend the ceremony. May I ask which esteemed sect you two hail from?"

Before Pei Shaoqing and Liu Yuheng could even react to his words, murmurs broke out all around them.

"Lv Liangyi, the Shadowless Sword of the Seven Swords of Huashan!"

"He’s Lv Liangyi? I heard his Shadowless Swordsmanship is so masterful it’s divine, killing without a trace."

"One of the strongest of Huashan’s younger generation."

Huashan Yunyang Sword Sect, Songshan Lotus Temple, Taishan Grand Profound Temple, Hengshan Heart Inquiry Hall, and Mount Heng Qinglan Sect are known collectively in the Great Zhou Martial World as the Five Great Orthodox Sects. They are prestigious major sects with Grandmasters presiding over them, holding a revered status.

Disciples from these sects are respected wherever they go in the Jianghu, and someone like Lv Liangyi, who has already made a name for himself, is especially renowned in the Martial Arts world.

"Can I help you, Young Hero Lv?" Pei Shaoqing asked flatly. ’It takes one to know one. Although Lv Liangyi was ostensibly speaking to both of them, his eyes kept darting toward Liu Yuheng.’

’What a bastard. Can’t he see Liu Yuheng’s hair is done up in the style of a married woman? Doesn’t that tell him she’s taken?’

’Of course, he enjoyed doing the same thing himself, but he couldn’t stand seeing others do it. It wasn’t a double standard, of course. He just wanted to rid the world of a few scumbags.’

Lv Liangyi noticed Pei Shaoqing’s coldness but paid it no mind. ’After all,’ he thought, ’my intention to hit on his mother is pretty obvious. It’d be weird if her son wasn’t hostile.’

’That’s right. Judging by their ages and looks, Lv Liangyi had decided they must be mother and son.’

’He’d also noticed a clear change in Liu Yuheng’s expression after he introduced himself. Clearly, she recognized the Yunyang Sword Sect, or perhaps had even heard of him.’

He immediately beamed. "As I travel the Jianghu, I always seek to befriend exceptional people. I saw that you both have an extraordinary air about you, so I took the liberty of introducing myself."

’Even though he was only twenty-five, he had a particular taste for mature, beautiful women in their thirties or forties. They were much more flavorful.’

’And this one was a rare, Top Grade specimen. Older women usually had a few flaws, but he couldn’t see a single one on her.’

"No, thank you. We’re busy. Feel free to go about your business, Young Hero Lv," Pei Shaoqing said calmly.

Lv Liangyi still didn’t mind. He gave Liu Yuheng a helpless smile and sighed, "Madam, for some reason, your esteemed son seems to have taken a dislike to me?"

’Little bastard. I’m going to make your mother mine and become your new dad!’

"Pfft~" When Liu Yuheng realized he thought Pei Shaoqing was her son, her beautiful eyes widened, and she couldn’t stop a laugh from escaping. The smile was utterly bewitching.

’Lv Liangyi stared, dumbfounded. Beautiful. She was just too beautiful.’

The next second, he was suddenly snapped back to his senses.

Because a cup of tea had been splashed in his face.

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