Chapter 254: Purple Blood
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Qin Xuelian did not speak, but she stood by Fang Houde’s side. This was her way of supporting her husband, and her willingness to take responsibility for her son’s actions.
The general squinted as he scanned the two figures. He looked at them condescendingly.
Even though he knew that Fang Zhengzhi’s parents were villagers, he expected them to have some special background. They should at least look well read, but these two were just normal villagers.
How could these two people nurture a talent which could stun the Great Xia Dynasty.
Even though the black faced general did not believe it, he knew that he had nothing to worry about. These two were just ordinary villagers.
"You are Fang Zhengzhi’s parents?" The general queried.
"Yes!" Fang Houde replied.
"Take them!" The general commanded.
The moment the three deputies heard the command, their expressions changed. They hesitated - they had heard about how Fang Zhengzhi killed off two soldiers.
Those two soldiers had been killed because they insulted his parents.
Fang Zhengzhi’s parents were his greatest weakness, but they were also the most likely to cause Fang Zhengzhi to go berserk.
"General, I think we should..."
"Why? Do you want me to do it myself?" The general would not want to antagonize Fang Zhengzhi if he had the choice. After all, Fang Zhengzhi was quite the popular person.
The top scorer in both the provincial and state examinations.
He was already in the Heavenly Reflection State at 15 years old. Furthermore, his relationship with that Divine Constabulary talent was unknown.
Even though the results of the imperial examinations were not out yet, Fang Zhengzhi’s potential was clear for all to see.
But, did he have a choice?
From the moment he accepted this mission and entered the Northern Mountain Village, he knew that there was only one way this would end.
Either he or Fang Zhengzhi had to die.
So what if he was a talent? Unrealized potential was meaningless. Even the person with the most potential was nothing compared to someone who had already made it.
Why did he have to go an antagonize someone he couldn’t?
"Yes sir!" All three deputies grit their teeth when they heard the command. They may have hesitated, but they knew that there was no retreat from the moment they accepted this mission.
Capturing these two people was the only way to stop Fang Zhengzhi from resisting.
The moment Fang Zhengzhi was restrained, they would kill him. All they had to do was pin a charge on him and the higher ups would support it.
"You can forget about harming uncle Houde!" Zhang Li stood between the deputies and the two figures.
"Scram!" The deputy advanced.
The other two deputies also dismounted. They drew their blades, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
"Over my dead body!"
"Then go to hell!" The deputy swung his sword quickly. His sword tip glowed icily as it flew towards Zhang Li’s throat.
Zhang Li had experienced battle during his hunting trips. Even though he was not as powerful as the deputy, he was not completely incompetent.
The moment he saw the blade, he tumbled to the side. However, the deputy’s blade was too quick and it still nicked his shoulder.
"Fight it out with them!"
"Without the Fang family, we would not have what we have today!"
"Zhengzhi had got into trouble because of our village. We should take responsibility for it! Fight it out with them!"
"Exactly, nothing can happen to the Fang family. If not, we will be letting Zhengzhi down!"
When the villagers saw the deputies spring into action, they exploded. They all began to attack with everything they had.
They threw spades, pickaxes, forkes, poles, stones...
The three deputies were in disbelief. How dare an entire village rebel?
"Are you all trying to rebel? I would like to see who here dares to do it!" The deputy who injured Zhang Li fumed. He swung his blade and cut a one meter hole in the ground.
"His power was stunning."
"Smack!"
Just as all the villagers were recovering from the shock, a crisp sound rang out as a reply to him.
The deputy looked down in disbelief. There was a splatter of mud on his chest. Someone had just thrown mud at him.
The villagers actually dare to go against the army?!
The deputy was infuriated. He looked at the crowd and realized that their gazes were concentrated at a corner.
"Tian Wazi!"
"It’s... Tian Wazi!"
There was a three year old kid holding a wooden bow glaring at the deputy. She wore a pair of loose pants and snot was dripping from her nose.
"Baddie!" The three year old kid bellowed. She was fearless as she waved the wooden slingshot in her hand contentedly.
"I hit him, I hit him!"
All of the villagers went silent when they heard Tian Wazi’s excited screams.
Even though there were only four opponents, the hundreds of villagers were no match for them.
They were just acting it out. No one had actually thought of attacking the generals.
"Hit him!"
"Hit them!"
However, Tian Wazi’s hit had invigorated the other kids. Within moments, a storm of mud and rocks were hurled towards the furious deputy.
Many of the kids in the villages played with slingshots. The youngest was not even two years old and the oldest were just seven.
"Pitter patter!" The sounds continued to ring out on the square.
Stones were aimed at the three deputies.
The infuriated generals could not take it any longer. The villagers’ resistance was sufficient for them to accuse the villagers of rebelling.
"Kill!" The black faced general commanded. The only way to quell the riot was to begin killing.
The moment he finished giving the command, two black swords appeared in his hand. One was humongous whilst the other one was fine. They gave him both power and precision.
"Woosh!" He swung his blade at the crowd.
In an instant, four to five villagers were injured.
As the general guarding the perimeter of Cang Ling Mountain, the general was already in the advanced Heavenly Reflection State. Of his three deputies, one was in the nascent Heavenly Reflection State whilst the other two were in the Star Conglomerate State. The villagers were simply no match for them.
"Ah! It hurts!"
"They’re killing us!"
"Fight it out with them!"
The villagers did not run. It may have been a stupid decision, but their resolve was strengthened.
If they ran now, there was no turning back.
"Such dumb scum!" The black faced general’s face darkened. He had planned on using a single strike to suppress the villagers. Little did he expect it to rile them up.
Some of the villagers drew their hunting bows.
"Fire!"
The hunting party always had their bows on hand. Within moments, over 30 sharp arrows rained down on the four generals.
"How audacious!" The black faced general bellowed when he saw the rain of arrows. A wave of red exploded from his body, turning into a sea of fire as it reached the villagers.
Territory of Fire.
The arrows burned and cracked as they went through the fire. The fins were incinerated, causing the arrows to fall limply to the ground.
"I will massacre every last one of you audacious scum!" The black faced general began to swing his sword as he used the fire to suppress the villagers. Many were caught in the sea of fire.
"Ah ah ah..."
"Extinguish it, quickly!"
"Water, water..."
The frantic villagers had never experienced such a battle before. They knew that the black faced general was powerful, but they never expected him to be this powerful.
Is this the power of an influential person?
"He is a cultivator!"
"Is this the power of the Dao of All Creation?!"
The villagers had all heard of it, but few had ever seen it in action.
"Stop!" Just as the villagers were panicking, a voice rang out. Then, an academic stepped out.
"General, you are in the Heavenly Reflection State, how dare you bully untrained villagers?!"
"Who are you?" The black faced general was wary when he saw the middle aged man.
"I am Wang Anhua, a teacher in the school of Dao here. I am under orders from the Divine Constabulary!" The middle aged man replied solemnly.
"Under orders from the Divine Constabulary?"
"Yes!"
"Kill!" The black faced general was solemn. He would not be afraid of the other villagers. However, he had to be cautious around a teacher reporting to the Divine Constabulary.
The other three deputies rushed towards Wang Anhua, understanding the general’s intentions instantly.
"You are a bully!" Wang Anhua’s expression changed. He had no intention of courting trouble, but he could not stand by and watch the villagers be bullied.
"Scum! Aren’t you just trying to capture us to threaten our son? I will make sure you do not have the chance!" Fang Houde was loyal, but he was being pushed to the brink.
He put a sword to his throat.
A stream of blood flowed from his throat. He had already pierced the skin.
Qin Xuelian also held a dagger in her hand. The tip was pointed straight at her heart. All she had to do was press down on it.
"You two... hold on!" The black faced general was worried.
If he could capture them both, he could definitely apprehend Fang Zhengzhi. But, what if they were dead?
Capturing Fang Zhengzhi would no longer be as easy.
What if Fang Zhengzhi decided not to show up? What if he went back to the capital and announced their deeds here? The consequences could be dire. He had to get rid of Fang Zhengzhi here before such a talent was let loose.
"Uncle Houde, don’t do it!"
"Brother Houde, please don’t!"
"Fang family, don’t do anything stupid. If Zhengzhi sees this, none of us will be able to face him!"
Zhang Yangping and Zhang Li hollered when they saw Fang Houde raise the blade to his neck. The other villagers echoed the sentiments. Some of them who had been saved by Fang Zhengzhi before knelt down and pleaded.
"Today, you all came for Zhengzhi. I am Zhengzhi’s father. I will take responsibility for it. I cannot let you all suffer!" Fang Houde prepared to take his own life.
"You won’t dare! You know that I am going to use you to threaten Fang Zhengzhi. If you die, no one will walk out alive!" The black faced general added.
"You..." Fang Houde’s expression changed.
"Put down the sword and I can consider letting this go. I will personally go to my higher ups and plead his case. He may have killed two soldiers, but he does not deserve to die. As long as he surrenders himself, everything will be left to the military courts!" The black faced general reassured. The last thing he wanted was for Fang Houde to take his own life.
"Brother Houde, did you hear that? Zhengzhi will not die! He may just have to take a beating!"
"Yes, please put down the blade!"
"Uncle Houde, if you do this, Zhengzhi will blame us for life!"
All of the villagers advised Fang Houde against taking his own life.
"I, Fang Houde, have let you all down!" Fang Houde bellowed, dropping his sword to the ground, crumpling to his knees as he did so.
"Husband!" Qin Xuelian was heartbroken to see Fang Houde this way.
"Subdue them, quickly!" The black faced general commanded urgently when he saw the couple drop the blades.
The deputy bounded over to the couple and kicked the blades aside.
Then, he tied them both up with string before finally heaving a sigh of relief.
"Kill him!" The black faced general felt a load off his shoulders. He turned to look at Wang Anhua and gave the command to execute him.
"You... why are you soldiers so dishonest?!" Fang Houde was stunned to hear what the general said.
"Fang Zhengzhi had the audacity to kill soldiers! That is an unpardonable crime! Wang Anhua has an intention to rebel! We have come here with orders from the highest in the land, and we intend to execute those orders!" The black faced general chuckled as he looked at Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.
Now that things were this way, how could he possibly leave a teacher from the Divine Constabulary alive!
Even Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde had to be killed once their usefulness was up!
"You soldiers are scum. You bully the citizens. If I have a chance at life, I will make sure you are all taken to task!" Even though Wang Anhua was a teacher, he was not a cultivator.
When he heard what the black faced general said, he knew that his time had come. However, he wanted to die with dignity.
"Well, you must first be alive to report it!" The black faced general snorted. He paid no attention to Wang Anhua as he swung his blade, the sea of fire roaring towards Wang Anhua.
Wang Anhua did not dodge. The blade was too quick. He shut his eyes, his expression pained as the blade neared.
"Boom!" A huge explosion echoed out.
A column of flames soared skyward, sending dust plumes flying in all directions.
"Am I dead? Where... where is this?" Wang Anhua opened his eyes. He had no idea if he was alive, but he felt no pain.
Was the blade too fast?
He had heard that a quick blade delivered death painlessly.
When the dust cleared, Wang Anhua was still seated on the ground. His gaze froze. He realized that he was not dead.
All of the villagers were staring at him.
The black faced general’s gaze also turned icy. The jaws of the three deputies dropped. The general’s swing was blocked?
"How fast!"
The three deputies did not get a clear view of what just happened. The ray of light which blocked the black faced general’s sword was too quick.
It was at least three times quicker than the black faced general.
"Who is it?!"
All three deputies were fearful and awed.
The black faced general was silent. He glanced coldly at a point about one meter from Wang Anhua. There was a sword there.
That sword had a purple stain!
A strange purple glow emanated from the blade, almost like a drop of purple blood oscillating on it. The drop of blood seemed to extend quickly down the length of the blade.