Chapter 1259: End of Matter

Although Qi Haoran was mad that they’d wanted to kill his son and nephew, he couldn’t help but pity them.

It was indeed pitiful to acknowledge a thief as one’s father and believe in him.

Compassion rose within Qi Haoran and he did not want to kill them anymore. Thinking about it, their martial arts skills were alright. Even if they could not become guards, it would not be a problem for them to enter the army.

Hence, Qi Haoran went to see them with some wine and promised to let them recover their identities after capturing all of Qin Fang’s remaining men in one fell swoop. Thereafter, they could serve in the army or the palace openly.

The implication was, hurry up and tell me about your accomplices.

However, they were already determined to die and did not listen to Qi Haoran at all. They only looked at the sky with lifeless eyes.

Qi Haoran was so angry that he kicked them and snapped, “Who are you doing this for? Even Qin Fang knows to leave a bloodline for your family, but you’re seeking death now? You’ve already let your parents and family down for more than 20 years. Are you going to cut off their only bloodline and make them unable to rest in peace in the netherworld?”

Affected by these words, the bandits and assassins’ eyes darted around slightly. Seeing that there was a chance, Qi Haoran continued to point at them with the tip of his foot and said, “Get up, get up. Bring me to capture the remaining people. I don’t know how many bandit nests Qin Fang left behind and how many people like you recognize a thief as their father. If we let them continue to make mistakes like this, they will be sent to hell after they die and won’t even recognize their biological parents.”

“It’s fine previously since you didn’t know before, but do you still want to protect Qin Fang now?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the bandits immediately jumped up from the ground and gritted their teeth. “I can’t wait to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Why would I still protect him?”

As he spoke, hot tears flowed down his face. When the people lying on the ground saw this, they turned around and covered their mouths as they cried silently.

They were grateful for Qin Fang’s kindness because he had given them a relatively peaceful and prosperous life. When the people outside were displaced, not only could they have a place to rest, but they could also study and practice martial arts.

Other than not doing it personally, they felt that Qin Fang had done everything a father should do.

However, the more they respected him previously, the more they hated him now. Still, it was not entirely true to say that their hearts were filled with hatred.

They could not absolutely hate the murderer who killed their family and whom they had acknowledged as their father for more than 20 years. This was undoubtedly the most torturous thing to them.

Although Qi Haoran did not have such an experience, he could understand their current situation.

He didn’t know how others would deal with pain and pressure, but he would either resolve it in one go or find something to do if he couldn’t. After a while, when he looked back, he would realize that those difficult problems had become much easier.

Qi Haoran felt that the most important thing for these people was to vent, so he removed their identity as prisoners without any pressure and let them follow him to surround and deal with Qin Fang’s remaining men. After breaking a sweat from fighting, those people would naturally figure it out.

Qin Fang had left behind a total of three strongholds. The three bandit nests were within three to four days’ journey from the capital. According to their explanation, Qin Fang’s original intention was for them to help each other. By setting up a stockade at these locations, the capital would not notice them. Yet, if anything happened in the capital, they could react in time.

However, when Qin Fang and the Second Prince left the capital and fled west, they were in a hurry. At that time, these men were only 17 or 18 years old, and the construction of the three strongholds had just begun not long ago. Therefore, they could not help him much.

By the time they wanted to bring their men to save their adoptive father, Qin Fang, Qi Xiuyuan had already quickly controlled the route to the west. Coupled with Qi Haoran’s army there, they would easily be eliminated as bandits the moment they appeared.

Hence, they could only give up on sending reinforcements in groups. Instead, they disguised themselves as commoners and went over. Unexpectedly, when they arrived at the border, Qi Haoran had already surrounded Qin Fang and the Second Prince. The entire Great Zhou Dynasty instantly fell apart.

From then on, they hated Qi Haoran.

The three strongholds were able to help each other because there was a smooth path between them. This was to Qi Haoran’s benefit. Qi Haoran ordered the garrisons of the regions to surround one stronghold while he led a group of people to surround another stronghold.

As Qin Fang’s adopted sons were venting their anger on the mountain, they attacked the mountain stronghold almost without caring about the casualties. When the guards, who wanted to make a contribution, saw this, they could only follow them and help block the sabers. Otherwise, these dozen or so people would probably die before they successfully entered.

After all, King Rong had said that these were the descendants of loyal ministers, so they ought to leave a bloodline for these loyal people and make sure they stay alive. They had no choice. These men had been so determined to avenge Qin Fang that they remained unmarried and childless despite being in their twenties and thirties.

The guards bitterly followed beside them and helped them block the swords. Seeing that the attacks were getting fiercer, they immediately shouted angrily, “Can you cherish your lives a little more? You might not die, but we will!”

The bandits on the mountain were also very angry. Their eyes almost spewed fire as they said, “I didn’t expect them to betray our adoptive father and even dare to come knocking on our door personally! Aren’t they afraid of having nightmares at night and our adoptive father questioning them?”

One of the adopted sons immediately said indignantly, “Let me ask them!”

They were all adopted sons of Qin Fang and grew up together, so their relationship was not bad. They were only assigned to different strongholds when they grew up.

When Qi Haoran rushed over with his saber, he heard the adopted sons on the mountainside laughing loudly. In the end, they cried and shouted, “Do you really think Qin Fang is our benefactor? He’s our enemy, our greatest enemy! We adopted sons are the descendants of his political enemies and the soldiers who died at the northern border!”

The people on the mountain were stunned.

The person on the mountainside continued angrily, “All of us have acknowledged a thief as our father for more than 20 years. If you don’t believe me, ask the old servants on the mountain. Who are our parents and family members?”

The people on the mountain immediately turned around to look for the old servant who had taken care of them since they were young. However, they realized that the person who had been by their side just now had already disappeared. Suddenly, everything was clear.

The bandits, who were fighting happily with the soldiers, were stunned. They stopped what they were doing at the same time and looked at the soldiers opposite them. So, they had turned from enemies to accomplices?

After all, the family heads seemed to have rebelled…

Okay, so there wasn’t a reason for them to make a move now. Qi Haoran put away the knife in his hand regretfully and waved his hand. “Those who drop their weapons will not be killed. Take all of them into custody for trial.”

Qi Haoran did not care how Qin Fang’s adopted sons would discuss this matter. He turned around and left.

Not knowing how bad things had turned out in the capital, he had to go back as soon as possible to take a look.

He feared that someone would bully Ah Ling while he was away from the capital.

Qi Haoran, who felt that Mu Yangling would be bullied because of the newspaper article, did not know that Mu Yangling was currently messing with all the civil and military officials in the capital, as well as Qi Xiuyuan.

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