Chapter 157: Chivalrous Hero (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 157: Chivalrous Hero (4)
With a dull thud, the Double Yang Gang Leader's head hit the ground. His headless body swayed for a moment before collapsing, just as Jeong Yeon-shin sheathed his sword.
The Branch Head’s lips parted slightly. A single streak of blood was etched across her cheek—splatter from the Double Yang Gang Leader’s neck. Without a glance at the corpse, she simply stroked her cheek, where the last trace of her husband remained.
"My husband..." she murmured, her expression strangely detached. It seemed she had resigned herself to this fate the moment a Black Rank expert from the Desolate Fortress appeared.
That was why her expression had remained unchanged since she first faced Jeong Yeon-shin. She was no ignorant magistrate from some backwater; an official of a Branch Head's stature kept a close eye on the Desolate Fortress. She knew exactly what their status, martial prowess, and character entailed.
"Young Unit Commander," she asked, "will you kill me as well?"
Jeong Yeon-shin did not answer immediately.
She was different from the martial artists whose heads he had just severed. There was much he needed to learn.
What could a Branch Head possibly lack that would drive her to aid bandits? What audacity allowed her to pull such a stunt right under the noses of the Martial World Alliance and the Wudang Sect? And what of the experts from the Deep Martial Alliance she was said to have hosted? What were they plotting, appearing just in time for the Martial World Alliance's Sect Founding Ceremony?
"I will decide after I hear what you have to say."
Huguang Province was as large as a small country. As a Branch Head, she held one of only seventeen such offices in all of Huguang, wielding the power to command eight county magistrates. Killing her rashly would be a burden for anyone. There was no telling what connections she might have to the imperial court.
Jeong Yeon-shin decided to resolve his immediate questions first.
"Lead the way."
Keeping the Branch Head in front of him, he led his group into the pavilion.
* * *
"News of you has spread to every prefecture in Huguang Province," the Branch Head said, lifting her teacup. Perhaps she had Brightfolk blood in her; her fingers, exceptionally slender and smooth for her apparent age, lightly brushed the rim of the cup.
"Whenever a new Unit Commander is born into the Divine Sword Corps, a message is sent to all seventeen of us in this vast land. It details your identity and status, warning us to conduct ourselves with care."
She showed no change in demeanor despite having just lost her husband. Did entering government service turn one into a monster, no different from a martial artist?
She was a Branch Head, a title equivalent to Prefect and addressed as "Lord." Prior to the Song Dynasty, the position was known as Grand Administrator (太守)—a government post of the fourth official rank, three full ranks higher than a common county magistrate or Censor. In the civil sphere, she commanded peerless authority over Judicial Officers, subprefects, and vice-prefects.
Her words were a testament to the immense status of a Black Rank expert from the Desolate Fortress.
"Does it offend you?" Jeong Yeon-shin asked quietly.
The Mount Hua Sect disciples standing behind him gasped. Such insolence was unimaginable in the civil world, yet the Branch Head's expression remained serene. Was she fully accepting the authority of a Divine Sword Corps Unit Commander? Or was she simply that calculating?
"Offend me? Such informal words are unfamiliar to my ears. Any official with a proper head on their shoulders would acknowledge the necessity of your kind."
The Branch Head brought the teacup to her lips. She moistened her throat with tea and spoke again, her face a mask.
"The atrocities committed by lawless martial artists are difficult to stop with government soldiers. And why wouldn't they be? What do those who dwell in the Martial World produce? While government soldiers help commoners till fields, raise livestock, and build houses, those martial artists do nothing but hone their methods of killing. They know nothing else and contribute nothing to the state. It's only fitting that they should at least be strong."
She stared intently at Jeong Yeon-shin.
"That is why the Desolate Fortress is necessary. Though your numbers are few compared to the vast Central Plains, the symbolism of the world's greatest sect protecting the people's livelihood gives us a strong foundation of support."
"We do not protect plunder and slaughter," the boy replied, his voice calm.
Yet, coming from a Black Rank expert of the Desolate Fortress, his words carried undeniable weight.
The three government soldiers standing guard behind the Branch Head placed their hands on their waists, ready to draw their swords at a moment's notice. They knew that for an amateur, yielding the first strike to an expert meant instant death. Even so, none of them could hide the trembling in their hands. It had started the moment Jeong Yeon-shin spared them a casual glance.
"Stay still," the boy said briefly.
His voice seemed to carry the weight of an absolute command. Infused with Law-Transcending Halo Qi, it was heavy and undeniable. All at once, their hands fell away from their weapons.
A bitter smile formed on the Branch Head's lips. "You are indeed a creature of the strange and supernatural. To have such power at your age..."
"Shut up," he cut her off, getting straight to the point. "Are you that short on food? Why did you plunder an innocent village?"
Instantly, the Branch Head's smile vanished.
"I said I acknowledge the necessity of the Desolate Fortress. Which is to say, I keenly feel the need for martial force to suppress them."
"Keep talking."
"...But the government soldiers are weak, and inviting imperial experts is an arduous task, even for me. That is why the Desolate Fortress exists, but you are all busy tending to the entire Central Plains. Officials like me can only wait in line, hoping our region is chosen for your next mission. Compared to the vastness of the world, even the forces of the Desolate Fortress are but a handful, are they not?"
"..."
"I cannot raise a private army on a Branch Head's stipend. Thus, I privately took a martial artist as my husband. Using public tribute to feed and clothe those brutes from the Jianghu would be treason. So, I treated a portion of the citizens under my rule as tribute instead. One can be sacrificed to save ten. Rather than waiting for the sword of the Desolate Fortress to arrive, I sought to punish the lawless myself—even if it meant feeding the Double Yang Gang."
"Is that not also treason?"
"When it comes to auditing tribute, one cannot deceive the eyes of the Censorate. Laughably, it is actually easier to gloss over the disappearance of an entire village. Is the entire country not in chaos, overrun by all kinds of rabble masquerading as martial artists? You must have seen countless atrocities on your way here from Xiangyang. As the famine spreads, those Jianghu people don't hesitate to brandish their skills. The sight of those lawless bastards without identification tablets running wild, not knowing their place..."
For the first time, the Branch Head showed clear emotion. Blue veins bulged on the back of her clenched fist. Jeong Yeon-shin stared indifferently at her fierce display before speaking.
"Did the Martial World Alliance and the Wudang Sect turn a blind eye to your actions?"
In that instant, the Mount Hua Sect disciples held their breath. This was a critical moment. Depending on her answer, this reckless young Commander of the Demonlight Wing might do something unthinkable to the Orthodox alliance and the leader of the Nine Sects.
The Branch Head answered readily.
"The Wudang Sect likely knows nothing of this. Those immortal-like figures rarely descend from their mountain. Since they, along with Shaolin, receive the most support from the imperial court after the Desolate Fortress, they only come down occasionally to eradicate heterodox sects."
"And the Martial World Alliance?"
"They turned a blind eye. I am the master of Yunyang Prefecture, which shares a border with Hanzhong, Shaanxi. 'We shall not interfere with the Branch Head's affairs, so we ask that you put effort into the exchange of goods between Hanzhong and Yunyang.' That is the message they sent."
"A message to a Branch Head, no less. There's no way they delivered it verbally," Heonwon Chang said, his eyes wide. He had briefly used honorifics out of courtesy but had now reverted to his usual tone. Jeong Yeon-shin didn't seem to mind.
"Hand over the letter," Jeong Yeon-shin demanded.
Without a word, the Branch Head retrieved a document sealed with a string from a nearby table. Heonwon Chang received it on behalf of the young Unit Commander and tore the string. Soon, the paper, lined with green silk, was unfolded before the eyes of the Desolate Fortress experts.
A curse escaped Heonwon Chang's lips. "The seal of the Jegal Clan Leader... those bastards."
"I told you, the noble families aren't truly orthodox. Aside from the Nine Sects, they're all just powerful hypocrites," Lazy Flame Dragon commented lightly.
Namgung Hwa-shin remained silent, his eyes deep and hollow as if lost in thought.
Jeong Yeon-shin gestured with his chin. Heonwon Chang resealed the letter and handed it over to the new Commander of the Demonlight Wing. The boy took the document and tucked it into his robes. The bird he had received from Chief Eunuch Myeong-yeo squirmed once against his chest.
A blade to pierce the heart of the Martial World Alliance had just fallen into the hands of the Demonlight Wing. This would be the foundation for an immense achievement.
His face showing little emotion, Jeong Yeon-shin spoke again. "This is the last question. Tell me about the Deep Martial Alliance. Are they targeting the Martial World Alliance?"
"The forces of the Deep Martial Alliance are on their way."
* * *
Jeong Yeon-shin filed away what the Branch Head had told him. For now, it was enough to focus his thoughts on the upcoming confrontation with the Martial World Alliance. It was difficult to predict what variables might arise during the Sect Founding Ceremony. He decided to devote all his mental energy to the Alliance.
His priorities were to watch for potential ambushes and to enhance the power of his Radiant Brilliance Sword Style, even in the midst of the ceremony.
It will be difficult to use my fists and palms against the Alliance Leader, who is said to be a peerless swordsman. I must transform my swordplay first.
They released the commoners who had been imprisoned in the villa's annex. After hearing their consistent testimonies of the horrific ordeals they had suffered, and with the Branch Head's own admission, he severed the necks of the remaining government soldiers. The number of commoners slaughtered while resisting, they said, was far greater. Indeed, Jeong Yeon-shin's group had already witnessed the piles of corpses in the village.
The only one left was the most noble official in Yunyang Prefecture.
They made her kneel in the middle of the training ground. Jeong Yeon-shin stood before her, as impassive as an executioner about to behead a heinous criminal.
"No matter my grand cause," the Branch Head spoke, "I admit I have committed a crime akin to treason. Since a Unit Commander of the Desolate Fortress has come in person, it is only right that I surrender my head. That is how the order of the world is maintained."
She spoke in an archaic tone, lending credence to her claim of Brightfolk blood.
Jeong Yeon-shin was unmoved by her detached attitude. He wrapped his hand, which looked robust to any eye, around the hilt of his sword.
"Is it really alright to do that?" Taoist Yu-hyeon, standing to the side, asked the question to no one in particular.
It was a reasonable concern. An official of a Branch Head's stature was bound to have countless connections in the Forbidden City. No matter how noble a Unit Commander of the Desolate Fortress was, this was not something to be done rashly. Even the eunuch who had acknowledged Jeong Yeon-shin and given him the spirit beast would not have envisioned the execution of a fourth-rank official. At most, he might have expected the death of a seventh-rank county magistrate.
I don't care.
The face of the Imperial Grandson flashed through the boy's mind, along with his words.
—You may call me Senior Brother.
No matter what standing the Branch Head held in the politics of the Forbidden City, and no matter which of her connections came calling, surely he could block them at least once. This was especially true considering the Eastern Depot, to which Chief Eunuch Myeong-yeo belonged.
"Continue to slay the lawless," the Branch Head said. "It seems you will not easily crumble. One who acts as an agent of vengeance for the innocent and weak is indeed a chivalrous hero. As a Unit Commander of the Desolate Fortress, you will appease hundreds, thousands of souls."
Did she harbor some deep-seated grudge against martial artists? Looking at her sharp eyes again, they held no trace of nobility. She was simply one more facet of the tragedy born of this chaotic age.
"Indeed," Jeong Yeon-shin said. "Starting with you."
He did not overcomplicate things. If there was someone to cut down, he cut them down. The obstacles in his path to the fruit of the World Tree, the figures who offended his eyes, the Lord of the Hegemon Sword Sect who had annihilated the Jeong Family Manor, and the countless orthodox experts who would test him tomorrow...
"Speaking as the Commander of the Demonlight Wing," the boy slowly parted his lips, "since my departure, you have been the most lawless of all."
With his words, a flash of sword light gleamed from his fingertips.