Chapter 428
Chapter 428
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 428
>Chapter Title: Better to Kill a Thousand by Mistake
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With that said, with a light wave of his hand, the junior celestial supervisor behind him had his men distribute sheets of paper to everyone present.
Li Huowang took one and leaned in close to examine it carefully. He saw that it listed some addresses along with descriptions of appearances.
“These are all suspected Sit-Forget Daoists. Bring them in—dead or alive doesn’t matter.”
“As long as you can verify their true identity, for an ordinary Sit-Forget Daoist’s head, one head gets you fifty Lifespan Pills and a half-grade promotion.”
“For the heads of Three Yuan or Four Joys, one head gets you three hundred Lifespan Pills! And a three-grade promotion!”
“And among those who kill the most, the Director of the Celestial Bureau will personally bestow three jiazi of Pure Lifespan!”
The moment these words were spoken, everyone erupted in a buzz. Such an incentive was utterly unprecedented.
Three jiazi! A full one hundred and eighty years! Who wouldn’t want an extra hundred and eighty years of life? And the lifespan granted by the Director of the Celestial Bureau naturally wouldn’t turn into a man-fiend!
Those who had previously been scheming to hide their strength immediately cast aside all reservations and grew eager to get started.
“Go forth! This old man wishes you all swift success and rapid promotions. Oh, and remember this: the Sit-Forget Dao are heinous villains guilty of the gravest crimes. Your encirclement of them this time is a heroic act of upholding heaven’s justice for the people, for the realm, and for His Highness. So better to kill a thousand by mistake than to let a single one escape!”
“Boom~!” The east, south, west, and north gates of the capital slammed shut amid rumbling echoes.
With the beat of war drums, heavily armored soldiers climbed onto the walls. They brimmed with killing intent, forming four massive barricades that sealed everything inside.
The giant crossbows and weapons originally meant for enemies were now turned toward the city interior.
Snow continued to fall, blanketing the capital in white, while tiny black specks like ants spread outward from the Supervising Heaven Bureau’s yamen.
Li Huowang, brows furrowed tight, rode his horse while constantly whipping its flanks, urging it toward the eastern district. Five others followed behind him, likewise eyeing the papers in their hands.
Screams and wails rose from the houses around them.
A wooden door plastered with door gods burst open as a frail woman clutched her swaddled infant and stumbled outward.
But with a whistling rush, a ghost-headed broadsword shot from within the house in hot pursuit.
At this critical moment, the baby in her arms let out a sinister giggle. Its bones contracted sharply, and it slithered slickly free from the swaddling.
Its tiny limbs then kicked out fiercely, shoving its own mother toward the incoming blade while using the recoil to flee.
“Pfft!” The woman was instantly pierced through the heart. Her scalding blood melted the pristine snowflakes, revealing the dark tiles beneath.
A woman with two scars across her face charged furiously out of the house. She yanked the ghost-headed broadsword free and lunged toward the infant scrambling through the snow.
“Damn it! You filthy Sit-Forget Daoist! Don’t you dare run!”
Meanwhile, no one but Li Huowang paid any mind to the mother’s corpse, discarded in the snow like a ragged sack.
“This one night will see countless, countless people die!”
Li Huowang clenched his teeth so hard his cheeks bulged.
All along the way, scenes of gore unfolded before him. Both sides were playing for keeps, making a tremendous racket.
Some fought solo, others in teams. The entire capital boiled like porridge over a roaring fire, bubbling from within outward.
Unknowingly, he had arrived at his destination.
Li Huowang leaped from his horse and crashed through a paper window into the house.
Facing a family of three huddled together in terrified cries, he raised his purple-tasseled sword—yet he couldn’t bring it down.
Suddenly, a flash of cold steel streaked through the broken window. With a “clang,” sparks flew as Li Huowang parried it away.
“This one’s mine, fuck off!”
Li Huowang, eyes reddening with bloodshot veins, bellowed sidelong.
He turned back to the wife in the family of three, sheathed his sword, and drew a dagger from the pouch at his waist.
“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. But to make sure you’re not a Sit-Forget Daoist, I need to check your face skin. I’ll patch you up after.”
A scream followed. Li Huowang set down a tael of silver and walked out with a grim expression.
The good news was that she wasn’t a Sit-Forget Daoist. The bad news was the same: she wasn’t a Sit-Forget Daoist!
He stepped swiftly onto a pile of lumber and vaulted onto the snow-covered rooftop using the window ledge.
From the highest point on the roof, Li Huowang gazed out at the capital in utter chaos. If the eighteen hells existed, they couldn’t be worse than this.
The Supervising Heaven Bureau agents and Sit-Forget Daoists leaping between rooftops never spared a thought for the common folk. Why would they?
These unarmed civilians, abruptly caught between them, faced a doomed fate whether they acted or not. It was predetermined.
Perhaps just for blocking the way, the next instant they’d be decapitated.
Li Huowang should have been hunting for the heart elemental North Wind among them. But with this human tragedy unfolding before him, his mind buzzed uncontrollably, unable to stop.
“Boom!” In the distance, a towering building erupted in flames, like a colossal torch replacing the absent moon in the sky, illuminating everything around.
“What are lives worth to you people! They’re human beings! Living, breathing people!”
Li Huowang pointed at the capital and cursed furiously.
He’d thought himself numb enough already. But seeing it happen right in front of him, he couldn’t stomach it.
Yet after venting, a deep sense of powerlessness welled up in him. He couldn’t even manage himself—how could he presume to manage others?
“Wooah... wooo!!” A strange noise came from beside him. Li Huowang turned to see Jinshan Zhao, reduced to half a body.
Tears of blood streamed down his face as he pointed in grief and rage at the scene, mumbling things Li Huowang couldn’t understand.
Then came sobbing—this time from the monk. He wept while clasping his hands and chanting Amitabha to ferry the souls of the dead.
“Sigh! What are you doing, Boss Red Center! Time is of the essence! Forget them and let’s hurry find Boss North Wind!”
Li Huowang turned a gaze of unprecedented chill toward the speaker, Red Center. He then looked to headless Peng Longteng.
She stood like a statue, silently facing the soldiers atop the distant walls.
As Li Huowang clenched his fists and punched himself twice to calm his agitation, three figures rushed toward them.
Two women and one man, dressed in ways marking them from different stations.
Six or seven pursued them from behind. Spotting Li Huowang, their eyes lit up.
“Boss Red Center! There you are! Hurry and go! We’ll cover your retreat!”
With that, they skidded to a halt and stood resolutely between the Supervising Heaven Bureau agents and Li Huowang.
(End of chapter)