Chapter 174: Chapter 174: A Just Cause, Wu Tian and Situ Jing

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

The sound of heavy, powerful footsteps echoed.

Soon, Zhang Qing saw a tall man in black striding in. In the moonlight, he recognized the man as Pei Shaoqing, and rage instantly welled up in his heart.

"Pei Shaoqing! What are you doing?!"

Pei Shaoqing sneered contemptuously and kicked him in the face, causing his nose to gush blood on the spot.

"Aargh!" Zhang Qing cried out in pain, clutching his face.

Liu Yuheng stepped forward, sealed his Dantian, and removed the Storage Ring from his hand, giving it to Pei Shaoqing.

"Give it back!" Zhang Qing instinctively tried to get up and snatch it, but the sharp blades on the fishing net cut him all over. His face twisted in pain as he snarled through gritted teeth, "Pei Shaoqing, are you insane?"

"How dare you put my Spirit Fruit in your Storage Ring?" After claiming ownership of the ring with a drop of blood, Pei Shaoqing took out the Nine Orifice Exquisite Fruit and casually tossed the ring back. He would never take what wasn’t his.

Zhang Qing snatched the ring and put it on, his eyes bloodshot with rage. "Seizing it by force and trickery—is this who you are, Pei Shaoqing, the Lord of Pingyang? Do you think I’m some rootless drifter you can just push around? Don’t forget, I have the Medicine King Valley behind me! I will not let this go!"

"Is that so?" Pei Shaoqing said noncommittally. He placed the Spirit Fruit into his Storage Ring, stepped forward, and stomped on Zhang Qing’s face. "You should be more concerned with how you’re going to clear your name."

"What crime have I committed?" Zhang Qing demanded furiously.

Pei Shaoqing reached out, ripped the Jade Pendant from Zhang Qing’s waist, and said with a smile, "An hour ago, a Martial Artist died in the city. The Jing’an Guard found your Jade Pendant at the scene. Murder in the city, even if the victim is a Martial Artist, is a capital offense under the law. And you still claim you’re innocent?"

’The deceased was that bearded man who mocked me in the bamboo grove last night. No idea who killed him. What a pity.’

"Pei Shaoqing! You motherfucker!" Seeing him so brazenly frame him, Zhang Qing was incandescent with rage.

Pei Shaoqing stood up and said coldly, "Slap him."

Two Jing’an Guards immediately stepped forward and took turns striking Zhang Qing’s mouth and cheeks with the scabbards of their blades.

Soon, he was beaten until his face was bruised, swollen, and dripping with blood.

Zhang Qing’s face was full of hatred as he repeated in a muffled voice, "I didn’t kill anyone. I didn’t kill anyone."

"That’s what all murderers say. What evidence do you have to prove you didn’t do it?" Pei Shaoqing scoffed and waved his hand. "Hundred Households Commander Liu, he’s all yours."

"Yes, my lord. Rest assured, this subordinate will make him confess everything," Liu Wenfeng replied respectfully.

When Pei Shaoqing had first approached him and told him to go after Zhang Qing, he had been startled. But when Pei Shaoqing admitted he had brought men over specifically to deal with Medicine King Valley, he agreed without hesitation to arrest the "murderer," Zhang Qing.

He didn’t expect to cripple Medicine King Valley, but as long as Pei Shaoqing could suppress their arrogance, he, a mere Hundred Households Commander of the Jing’an Guard, would no longer have to bow and scrape to them.

The commotion attracted a crowd of onlookers from the Jianghu. Watching Zhang Qing and the other disciples of Medicine King Valley being hauled away by the Jing’an Guard, they began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Isn’t that Zhang Qing from Medicine King Valley?"

"Heh! I knew it. The Lord of Pingyang is so tyrannical in Tongzhou; did you really think he’s the type to take a loss?"

"He just won the Nine Orifice Exquisite Fruit last night, and he gets arrested before dawn. Isn’t this Lord of Pingyang a bit too vicious? He couldn’t outbid him with real gold and silver, so he resorts to such dirty tricks. It’s outrageous!"

"Shh! Keep it down! Do you have a death wish?! Didn’t you see the Lord of Pingyang just came out?"

Pei Shaoqing walked out of the inn and announced loudly, his expression composed, "I know that this incident will inevitably lead to some misunderstandings about me. While I have always acted with a clear conscience, in accordance with the laws of the Great Zhou, and pay no mind to idle gossip, I do not wish to be wrongfully misunderstood.

"So allow me to offer a brief explanation. Last night, a Martial Artist was killed in the city, and the Jing’an Guard discovered Young Hero Zhang’s Jade Pendant at the scene. As this involved the Medicine King Valley, Hundred Households Commander Liu had his reservations and came to me for advice."

"I had intended to personally invite Young Hero Zhang to the yamen to clarify the situation and cooperate with the investigation. After all, we in the Jing’an Guard will neither let a single criminal escape, nor will we ever wrong an innocent man..."

He paused here, his expression turning cold. Then, his tone suddenly hardened as he said furiously, "But I never expected that Young Hero Zhang would agree on the surface, only to suddenly attack, injure my men, and attempt to flee."

It didn’t matter how many people would believe him.

He just needed a justifiable pretext, at least on the surface.

"What? So Zhang Qing attacked first?"

"They found Zhang Qing’s Jade Pendant at the scene. Even if he isn’t the killer, he must be connected to it."

"Heh heh, when the Jing’an Guard investigates a case, they can spin death into life. Who knows what the real truth is?"

Some believed Pei Shaoqing’s words, while others scoffed.

But Pei Shaoqing couldn’t care less how many people believed him or mocked him. He only wanted to cloak his blatant robbery in a veneer of legitimacy.

So, after finishing his explanation, he simply left with his men.

The quicker-witted ones were already planning to rush to Medicine King Valley with the news as soon as the city gates opened at dawn.

They might be able to get their face known and earn a small reward.

Zhang Qing had always thought of himself as a tough man.

He was fond of heroic declarations like, "Losing your head just leaves a scar the size of a bowl. In eighteen years, I’ll be a hero again!"

But he couldn’t even withstand the most basic "appetizer" in the Jing’an Guard’s prison: the water-soaked leather whip. Three lashes shattered his heroic spirit, and he confessed to the murder.

To avoid further beatings and the tortures Liu Wenfeng had described—such as ripping out fingernails, the "human lamp," and the "ten thousand insects devouring the heart"—he signed his name on the confession, filled with resentment.

’I have to survive, no matter what,’ Zhang Qing thought. ’As long as I’m alive, Medicine King Valley will definitely save me. If I die, it’s all over for good.’

He couldn’t endure it, and neither could the few Medicine King Valley disciples who had come down the mountain with him. Especially after hearing that Zhang Qing himself had confessed, they all signed statements admitting they knew about Zhang Qing’s crime.

After settling everything, Liu Wenfeng brought all the confessions to Pei Shaoqing. "My lord, here are the confessions from Zhang Qing and the others. According to him, the deceased was disrespectful, which made him feel humiliated. He held a grudge and therefore snuck into the man’s room to kill him."

"Two other Medicine King Valley disciples acted as lookouts for him. We’ve found and secured the shoe prints of all three at the scene. By chance, someone who got up in the night saw them, and the witness has already agreed to testify."

"Mm, very good." Pei Shaoqing glanced casually at the confessions, handed them back, and said with a smile, "Hundred Households Commander Liu, a man as sharp and capable as you is truly wasted in Yazhou. I foresee you’ll be appointed to a position in the capital sooner or later."

"I’ll take that as a blessing from you, my lord," Liu Wenfeng said, his eyes lighting up as he bowed respectfully.

Pei Shaoqing waved his hand. "Alright, since the case is clear and both the principal offender and the accomplices have confessed, handle it according to the law. However, there’s no need to rush the execution. Just lock them up for a while."

’He had no intention of killing Zhang Qing and the others. They were his bargaining chips for dealing with Medicine King Valley.’

"Yes," Liu Wenfeng acknowledged, then said tentatively, "Then this subordinate will take his leave?"

"Mm," Pei Shaoqing nodded slowly.

Bowing, Liu Wenfeng slowly backed out of the room.

...............

Medicine King Valley was half a day’s journey from Yazhou City.

It was nestled in a tranquil valley outside Yazhou City. Even at the mountain gate, one could smell the fragrance of herbs carried on the wind. The entire Medicine King Valley grew no ornamental plants—only a vast array of medicinal herbs and flowers.

At noon, in a side hall of Medicine King Valley, Wu Tian, the soon-to-be Sect Leader, looked doubtfully at the young man who had come to deliver a message. "You’re saying the Lord of Pingyang came to Yazhou personally, and Junior Brother Zhang and the others were arrested by the Jing’an Guard on suspicion of murder?"

"Yes," the young man replied, nodding repeatedly.

With a gentle expression, Wu Tian gestured to a chair. "Please, brother, sit down. Have some tea to wet your throat, and then tell me exactly what happened."

"Thank you, Sect Leader Wu," the young man said.

"Please, just call me Pharmacist Wu," Wu Tian corrected, his expression firming. "I want you to understand, brother: as long as my master has not passed the position to me, he alone is the Sect Leader of Medicine King Valley."

"My apologies, my apologies." The young man, momentarily stunned, apologized profusely. He then sat down and began to recount the events starting from the Ghost Market the previous night.

Wu Tian’s expression remained calm as he listened.

After finishing his story, the young man offered his own opinion. "Pharmacist Wu, if you’ll forgive my bluntness, the Lord of Pingyang is clearly framing him out of personal revenge."

"Please, brother, watch your words," Wu Tian chided with a frown. "The Lord of Pingyang’s name is known throughout the Great Zhou. How could a man from such a prestigious family do something like that?" He then softened his tone. "Of course, I also don’t believe Junior Brother Zhang would commit murder in the city. There must be some misunderstanding. In any case, thank you for bringing this news. Please, go have something to eat first."

After a Medicine King Valley disciple led the young man away, Great Elder Situ Jing, who had been silent by Wu Tian’s side, spoke up. "Sect Leader..."

Wu Tian gave him a lukewarm glance.

"Senior Brother." Situ Jing’s expression changed, and he quickly corrected himself. With a slight bow, he said, "Could Pei Shaoqing have come to Yazhou because of the Ouyang Rong affair? My disciples injured several Jing’an Guards back then."

"Hmph! From now on, the people of Medicine King Valley must be restrained. If things go on like this, we will sooner or later invite a great disaster," Wu Tian said, his face dark.

Situ Jing said, "Senior Brother, that can be dealt with later. The urgent matter is how to handle Pei Shaoqing. And what should we do about Junior Brother Zhang? Do you think... we should report this to the Sect Leader?"

"Absolutely not! The succession ceremony is the day after tomorrow. Nothing can be allowed to interfere with it." Wu Tian flatly refused. His expression shifted uncertainly for a moment before he declared, "I will go and personally apologize to Pei Shaoqing."

’Since Pei Shaoqing came to Yazhou himself, it proves he cares a great deal about Medicine King Valley injuring his subordinates.’

’So, to ensure the succession ceremony proceeds smoothly without any complications, he was willing to bow his head to Pei Shaoqing.’

"Senior Brother, you’re about to become the Sect Leader of Medicine King Valley! You’re going to apologize to him?" Situ Jing exclaimed in shock.

"I’m not the Sect Leader yet," Wu Tian replied calmly, his mind clear. "My main purpose in seeing him is to probe his intentions. If he truly came to hold us accountable, what’s the harm in lowering my head to him? It’s better than having him ruin my succession ceremony. Besides, no one will know what happens behind closed doors. We can’t lose the greater for the lesser."

’As for Zhang Qing and that Spirit Fruit... they could be considered part of his sincere apology to Pei Shaoqing.’

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