Chapter 7: “Even Though the Law of Majestas Allows You to Live, I Won’t.”
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The blood of heroes had already soaked the battlefield, their families had earned the right to a life free of oppression and troubles. Yun Yang would never compromise on this, and as he had told Juan’er earlier, he would not allow anyone to harass the families of these warriors anymore.
If he had to, he would be ready to kill anyone who did.
Gazing at the heavens, Yun Yang inhaled deeply. “Big brother, I finally know what you meant all this while. I understand why you brought me back to serve as an enforcer, working outside the limits of the law. This world still bears witness to so many atrocities, and the vaunted official law of majestas will never be able to banish them all...”
“Heroes may bleed, but they should never shed a single tear.” Yun Yang mumbled, “You were absolutely right, big brother. Don’t worry, I will remember your words.”
And just as Yun Yang was about to depart, he paused when he felt a shudder wrack his body. Glancing across at the corpses of Wang Bao and his cohorts, he could feel a weak tug as a miniscule amount of Qi energy flowed from their bodies to his own.
“Just as I thought.” Yun Yang looked inward into his subconscious, and saw the tiny swaying lotus. Was it just his imagination, or had it grown just a little bit bigger than it was before?
“My assumptions were correct. Absorbing the air of injustice hastens the growth of the lotus leaf.” Yun Yang thought, “Does this mean that the more criminals I kill, the faster the Lotus of Endless Fate will grow? Will the Endless Divine Art develop as quickly as well?” His thoughts were coming hard and fast now.
“There’s such wonder in this world, a skill that matches my intentions!”
“Even if this were not the case, I would still be out there removing these scum on my own. Having this effect is just a bonus thrown into the hat!”
With this amazing revelation, Yun Yang dusted off his blood-speckled robe, and faded away into the deepening night.
“If Wang Bao is an example of the members of the Green Snake Clan, let us see what kind of filth the others are made up of. If they were as vile, I would have to wipe them all out, starting from the very roots.”
“Besides, my Lotus of Endless Fate needs a little… fertilizer.”
…
Their faces were brutish, under the illumination of the dim yellow light. The headquarters was nothing more than an abandoned courtyard, conveniently occupied by these men.
“Now that the war is over, the nation will take better care of these soldiers and distribute pensions; this would make up a great portion of our income!” The scar on Green Snake’s face wriggled animatedly as he spoke, “We won’t be able to rob the strong and train in martial arts, but if we went back to our old ways and take from the disabled and weak… Don’t tell me we can’t overcome those poor, crippled fools? The empire might as well hand their fortunes directly to us!”
The glimmer of avarice was replicated across the eyes of all those that sat there. They were no strangers to taking advantage of the weak, and it was indeed a simple task!
“These crippled veterans, they have already received plenty of silver taels upon returning home,” Green Snake was practically foaming at the mouth from excitement, “From what I know, the pension this year should be distributed within a few days… We will make our move then, when they have gotten their silver taels.”
“Big brother is far sighted!” The other clan members were all delighted with his brilliance and greed. There was nothing complicated about robbing a few disabled men, especially those with broken legs… after all, they couldn’t even catch up even if they let them! It was a brilliant idea.
“Li San’er, find out how many disabled men are in your area; Du Tou, Sun Wu, both of you too. We’ll begin shortly. Swap areas, you’ll take his and he’ll take yours to avoid suspicion,” Green Snake ordered.
“Okay. We’re gonna’ be rich!”
“Wang Bao, that son of a bitch, why is he still not here?” Green Snake complained with a snarl, “He’s still out fooling around at such a critical moment! Mark my words, that idiot is going to die at the hands of a woman sooner or later.”
“Bang!”
The doors blew apart with a resounding crash; following in its trail, a figure in black walked in like a vengeful spirit in the dead of the night. Clutched in it’s hand, a sword glinted with a cruel chill.
Recoiling in shock, Green Snake and his cohorts scrambled up, screaming, “Who the hell are you?! Bastard, if you wish to pick a fight with me, you must be seeking your own death!”
Yun Yang had arrived just in time to hear the last few sentences of Green Snake’s dastardly plan, but he had been angered enough to burst into action. Never mind that these bastards were neither respectful nor grateful towards those who were handicapped fighting in the war for their country, but to think about robbing them! They were practically the scum of society. With these thoughts furiously running through his mind, he slammed upon the doors with enough force to completely destroy it.
“Get him!” Green Snake hollered.
Two of the men by the door charged him with matching growls.
Yun Yang strolled forward without uttering a word, his gaze cold; lips curled into a cruel smirk as they barrelled towards him.
A quick flick of his sword and two heads fell, blood spurting from their necks like a twin pair of fountains. Yun Yang kicked the bodies aside and continued strolling forward.
Each step he took sounded like a death knell to Green Snake.
The blood in his face drained away as the others trembled, looking at the black-clothed man in fear.
Who was this ruthless man? He entered the courtyard and started killing indiscriminately without so much as a single word!
“Who are you?” Green Snake was terrified, backing away like a frightened mouse, “Great knight, I’m sure we can talk it out… I… I don’t know how or when I may have offended you…”
Yun Yang continued walking without making a sound; his murderous rage becoming palpable with every step he took. Another two men standing by the door attempted to escape, but with another flash of that wicked sword, two more heads came falling off. It happened so quickly that their headless bodies managed to take a few steps before they fell over and crashed onto the floor.
Green Snake’s bowels failed him at that point, releasing itself in intense fear, “Great knight… great knight… What is this all about? Who are you? Why do you do this?”
Yun Yang was silent as he continued forward, his sword leaving a trail of crimson blood behind him.
“Drip, drip, drip…”
It was the sound of blood dripping from the blade; to the remaining crooks, it sounded as if the king of hell had summoned them. The three men remaining cried in terror as they dropped to their knees, “Great knight have mercy… have sympathy... this lowly one still has an 80-year-old mother and a 3-year-old child…”
Unmoved, Yun Yang waved his sword almost negligently – and three heads rolled off.
There was only Green Snake left in the room.
Yun Yang had already killed seven people from the moment he stepped into the room, without saying a single thing. From his knowledge, the Green Snake Clan had a total of 12 members. Including the four who had succumbed in his hands earlier, he had executed the whole bunch; the only one left alive one was the clan master himself, Green Snake.
“Thump, thump.”
Yun Yang footsteps rang clear as made his way to Green Snake, step by step.
Green Snake was paralyzed with fear; he still did not know when and what he had done that had offended this killing machine, this demon who had yet to utter a word as he separated the heads of his men clean from their bodies.
Glancing down, he saw Yun Yang’s shoes that were right in front of him, and he knew there was no way out for himself. Like a cornered rat, he went berserk with fear.
Yun Yang’s sword was already raised.
“Hold!” Green Snake shouted, “This... This is Tiantang City, and we practice the majestas law! Although I’m no saint, the crimes I’ve committed don’t call for capital offense! You, who are you to defy the law of majestas, slaughtering people with no regard?”
Law of majestas?
Yun Yang almost rolled his eyes, but managed to keep his expression constant.
He raised his sword even higher.
Green Snake was near tears, “You… even if you want to kill someone, even if you want to kill me, you have to at least give me a reason! Why? Why!?”
“Why?” Yun Yan paused, and finally spoke with an air of dignity, “You have a subordinate called Wang Bao, correct?”
Green Snake stared, his eyes wide enough that they seemed as if they were about to fall off his face. “Yes… that is correct.”
“Wang Bao harassed a widowed mother and child. So I’m here to see if everyone in his clan is the same type of scum.”
Green Snake froze, despair evident in his eyes as he shouted, feeling wronged, “This… this Wang Bao harassing a widowed woman… so you’re killing me?” He cried hysterically, “What… what does that have to do with me?!”
“I’m innocent! I...”
Before he could finish his protest, his head was already rolling on the floor; his eyes wide open in terrified uncertainty. As his body slumped to the floor, Green Snake’s last thoughts were that of confusion.
Why was he killed, just because Wang Bao had harassed someone else?
And then there was nothing that remained.
Yun Yang wiped his sword clean on the body and sheathed it. He looked at the dead bodies that littered the floor with a chilling gaze.
“Law of majestas… these scum want to talk about the law... with me.”
Yun Yang murmured, “The nation’s crisis has dampened, taking away the conscience of these crooks’. Their offenses don’t call for capital punishment according to the law, but they should be killed for oppressing disabled veterans! Must be killed!”
Looking at Green Snake’s headless corpse on the floor, he said, “You’re right, and there is the majestas law in this city. It's true that you didn't have to die for your offense according to the law.”
“However, even though the law of majestas allows you to live, I won’t.”
Yun Yang turned to leave and as he departed, he felt the mystical energy being absorbed into his body once more.
His subconscious gave a slight quake. The small seedling of the Lotus of Endless Fate was growing rapidly as it swayed, much to Yun Yang’s surprise.
“Unforgivable heinousness and the extermination of it by the sword, followed by the absorption of the air of injustice, completes a leaf of the Lotus of Endless Fate.”