Chapter 244
Chapter 244
Inside the main tower of Raging Tide City.
Four chiliarchs of the Nujiang Army knelt before Shen Lang. The other two were already dead. How? They had been a fraction too slow to flee when Qiu Yao'er swept past with her great blade, and were sliced into several pieces. Their remains were being gathered now, but it would likely be impossible to reassemble a complete corpse.
Shen Lang spoke.
“I need one chiliarch to go to the docks and summon Prefect Zhang Chong. Who will it be?”
The four captured chiliarchs kept their heads down, pretending not to hear. They held Zhang Chong in awe, and the thought that Shen Lang planned to harm him made it impossible for them to respond. Shen Lang stopped before one of the chiliarchs and asked.
“Will you do it?”
The chiliarch replied in a trembling voice.
“Shen Lang, it was Qiu Yao'er who defeated us, not you. Your victory is unjust.”
“She slept with me, and she defeated you, which is the same as me defeating you. I’ll ask again. Will you go to the docks and bring Prefect Zhang Chong here?”
“No. I am an officer appointed by the court, and you are merely the son-in-law of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. Do you dare kill me?”
*Swish!*
As Shen Lang raised his hand, the chiliarch’s head fell to the floor. Thirteen had drawn his sword in an instant. Shen Lang moved to the second chiliarch and asked again.
“Will you go to the docks and make Prefect Zhang Chong come ashore?”
The chiliarch trembled from head to toe but kept his mouth firmly shut. He, too, was an officer appointed by the court, and his family was a martial clan that had served the State of Yue loyally for generations, even producing several generals. If he were to follow Shen Lang’s orders, his entire family could face annihilation.
*Swish!*
Thirteen’s hand rose again, and another man fell. Shen Lang then came to the third chiliarch and asked.
“And you? Will you do it?”
The chiliarch, shaking uncontrollably, dropped to his knees and kowtowed.
“I will.”
Their resolve had finally shattered. The alternative was death.
“Open your mouth.”
At Shen Lang’s command, Thirteen stepped forward, pried open the chiliarch’s mouth, and Shen Lang poured a packet of powder inside. Instantly, the chiliarch felt a gut-wrenching pain. A moment later, his vision went dark.
“This is a potent poison. Without the antidote, you will surely die. So, if you want to live, you’d better do exactly as I say.”
In truth, the powder wasn’t a deadly poison, and there was no antidote. It was designed merely to cause enough pain to terrify its victim. The chiliarch clutched his stomach, shivering as he spoke.
“This officer will obey your command.”
“What is your name?”
“Fang Manshan!”
“A fine name. Go. And be convincing. You must make Prefect Zhang Chong believe that you have won and taken Raging Tide City.”
And so, Chiliarch Fang Manshan of the Nujiang Army led several hundred warriors toward the docks of Raging Tide City. With an air of dignified triumph, they went to welcome the possibly arriving Prefect Zhang Chong. Though they wore the armor and carried the banners of the Nujiang Army, the hundreds of warriors he led were all from the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. The moment Prefect Zhang Chong set foot on Raging Tide City, he would be surrounded by Shen Lang and Qiu Yao'er.
***
Inside Qiu Yao'er's white tower.
She was no longer the murderous fiend from before, but had transformed back into the languid woman who now gazed quietly out the window at the eastern sea. The curves of her voluptuous figure were still breathtaking. Zhang Jin knelt on the floor. Xu Qianqian sat in a chair, watching the man with an indescribably complex expression.
Her enemy and her fiancé! The man she ground her teeth at even in her dreams, the one whose death alone could bring her peace. Had she loved him? It was hard to say. At the time, for Xu Qianqian, the daughter of a merchant family, love was too great a luxury. She had yearned for power—power to elevate her family, to become a true aristocratic house—and Zhang Jin was the key to obtaining that power. So, for a very long time, Xu Qianqian had admired Zhang Jin, even if she had also been disappointed in him.
On the day Shen Lang’s *Boundless Wind and Moon* was published, Zhang Jin, feeling utterly humiliated, had slapped her hard across the face. At that moment, Xu Qianqian had been deeply disappointed in his actions, yet she still saw him as the husband she was destined to marry. That was, until the cataclysmic event when Zhang Jin murdered her entire family.
For the past few months, Xu Qianqian had survived by fueling the flames of her hatred for Zhang Jin. Her heart burned like a torch, day in and day out. Every night, she dreamt of tearing him to pieces, never imagining the moment would come so soon. Only a few months had passed, and now Zhang Jin was kneeling before her. Who was responsible for this? Qiu Yao'er? Or Shen Lang? It didn't matter. What mattered was that she could now have her revenge.
Xu Qianqian’s voice was choked with emotion as she asked.
“Why? Breaking the engagement would have been enough. Why did you have to kill my entire family?”
Zhang Jin’s expression was listless, his eyes vacant. Was he afraid? A little, but the pain of his defeat was greater.
‘To lose to Shen Lang again. And this time, there’s no coming back. Why? How? A woman like Qiu Yao'er is peerless; no one can conquer her. So why did she fight for Shen Lang?’
Of course, he was mistaken. Qiu Yao'er hadn’t fought for Shen Lang. It would be more accurate to say she had fought for Xu Qianqian.
‘Is my father’s future finished? Have I, Zhang Jin, become a disgrace to the Zhang Clan? This is unbearable. Why did Shen Lang win again? By taking Raging Tide City, the Jin Clan will now soar to new heights! Can it be that my talents are truly so inferior to Shen Lang’s?’
Xu Qianqian asked him again.
“Zhang Jin, I’m asking you. Why did you wipe out my family?”
Zhang Jin lifted his head and looked at Xu Qianqian, his eyes filled with a deep sense of shame.
“I’m sorry.”
Zhang Jin said no more, offering no excuses. Xu Qianqian’s voice was hoarse as she pressed him.
“I asked you why. Breaking the engagement would have been enough. Why did you kill my entire family?”
“Because your family wasn’t important enough. It didn't matter if you were all killed!”
His words revealed the cruelest of truths. Xu Guangyun had been wealthy, but unlike other noble houses, his family was not important. To avoid the blow to their reputation, the Zhang Clan had been unwilling to break the engagement, even if it meant killing them. It meant that the lives of the entire Xu Clan were worth less than the honor the Zhang Clan would lose from a broken engagement.
Xu Qianqian pressed her hand to her forehead. She had agonized over this question countless times, desperate for an answer. But now that she had the truth, the pain was unbearable. She had already known the answer, but hearing it from another’s lips made her heart ache all the more.
Wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, Xu Qianqian asked him.
“Do you regret it now? Have you ever regretted killing my family?”
Zhang Jin shook his head.
“Qianqian, I never imagined you would survive and become so formidable. I didn’t even know what role you played in this grand performance. It must have been an indispensable one. You succeeded in pushing me into hell. But Qianqian, I have never regretted what I did.”
Just then, Shen Lang, who had been standing to the side, suddenly asked.
“Zhang Jin, did you ever love Xu Qianqian?”
Zhang Jin replied dejectedly.
“What right do people like us have to speak of love? We can’t simply act as our hearts desire. Not like you, Shen Lang, who can live as you please. But I was very fond of Xu Qianqian. She may be the woman I’ve liked most in my entire life.”
Xu Qianqian’s mind drifted back to the past. She had genuinely wanted to be a good wife to Zhang Jin, a good daughter-in-law to the Zhang Clan—a wife who supported her husband, raised her children well, and saw her own status rise with his promotions. Zhang Jin, too, had certainly wanted to be a good husband who would treat Xu Qianqian well for his entire life, perhaps even a truly good partner—not a husband who would let his eyes wander to other women, like Shen Lang.
But unfortunately, the Xu Clan had only money and no power, while the Zhang Clan had only power and no money; their foundations were insufficient. Neither side had many choices, and their circumstances made talk of love difficult, a luxury. But no words could justify the viciousness of Zhang Jin’s actions. In the end, he was a heartless man who would rather slaughter an entire family than break an engagement.
*Clang, clang, clang, clang.*
Suddenly, the sound of a bell echoed from outside. It was the signal that a fleet had arrived. Shen Lang said to him.
“Zhang Jin, your father is here.”
Zhang Jin scrambled to his feet and struggled to the window. The meridians in his hands and feet had all been severed, crippling his martial arts. Not far off on the sea, a fleet had appeared. They were flying the banner of Qiu Hu, the adopted son of the Pirate King. Yes, that had to be Zhang Chong’s fleet. For a moment, Zhang Jin was at a complete loss.
***
‘Prefect Zhang Chong is here?’
At the docks of Raging Tide City, Chiliarch Fang Manshan fought to suppress his fear. The "poison" spreading through his stomach now left his entire body cold and contorted, and his head spun. He could barely stand straight. He was the only one among the chiliarchs from a noble family. Of course, it was a nobility in name only, without land or private soldiers, and he had no right to inherit the title. But for that very reason, he valued his own life far more than the commoner-born officers did.
*Clang, clang, clang, clang.*
The bell rang out from the sea, and the fleet came into view. They flew the banner of Qiu Hu; if this wasn't some kind of ploy, it had to be the fleet commanded by Zhang Chong. Thirteen, standing beside him, spoke.
“It’s your turn to perform.”
At those words, Chiliarch Fang Manshan collected himself and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Prefect, we’ve taken Raging Tide City! Prefect, we’ve taken Raging Tide City! Congratulations, Prefect! You have achieved an immortal deed! Congratulations! Soon you will be enfeoffed as a lord and appointed chancellor!”
As expected of a man from a noble background, Fang Manshan was a rather decent actor. His voice, filled with excitement and triumph, sounded as if he had truly won a great victory. As the fleet drew nearer, Fang Manshan shouted.
“All men, wave your banners and welcome the Prefect!”
At his command, the several hundred warriors on the docks waved their swords and banners with all their might. On the flags was written the character ‘Zhang’. In that moment, the entire dock erupted in a frenzy of joyous celebration, waving their banners in excitement. The fleet drew closer and closer. Fang Manshan immediately dropped to one knee, and the hundreds of warriors in military armor on the dock knelt in an orderly fashion.
“Welcome, Prefect! Your tireless efforts to capture Raging Tide City have paid off! Prefect, you will soon be enfeoffed as a lord and become chancellor! Long live the King! Long live the Prefect!”
Chiliarch Fang Manshan threw his all into the performance. Jin Hui and Thirteen, hidden in armor among the soldiers, were incredibly tense. In the buildings on both sides of the docks, the forces of Qiu Yao'er and Shen Lang lay in ambush. The moment Zhang Chong’s army landed on the docks, the two forces would rush out to surround and annihilate the combined forces of Zhang Chong and Qiu Hu.
“There must be no mistakes…!”
Jin Hui trembled inwardly, muttering the words as if making a vow to himself.