Chapter 18: No One Can Stop Me
Discussion broke out among the servants and maids of the manor, and the low sound of whispers and murmurs started to fill the courtyard. Everyone was shocked by this sudden discovery of a hidden chamber beneath this seemingly normal artificial mountain—or what was an artificial mountain. They had served in the manor for many years, but never realized that such a place existed.
Ye Dongming's face turned unsightly, and his gaze quickly drifted toward Ye Qinghe, who he knew was the only one who had both the resources and capability to build a hidden chamber without his knowledge.
Yuan Zhuang was similarly shocked. As the supervising officer, his initial thought was to ask Fang Chen how he had found out about the hidden chamber.
Luckily, he did not make the decision to forcefully apprehend Fang Chen. With Fang Chen’s abilities, he could easily make him vanish off the face of the earth.
"Supervising Officer Yuan, I'd appreciate it if you could open this door for me," Fang Chen requested calmly.
Yuan Zhuang, who was still slightly taken aback, hurriedly glanced at the minister, and after confirming that the man didn’t object against it, he signaled to his subordinates to open the door.
Two constables immediately stepped forward and tried to open the door, but to no avail. In the end, they had no choice but to use their sabers and try to hack the door open.
As they raised their sabers to get to the job, Fang Chen’s voice resounded with clear threat. "Xiao En, will you come out on your own, or do I have to come in and get you?"
"There’s no need, I'll come out on my own." A voice emanated from inside, and a tall, well-built young man walked out slowly, his eyes cold like that of a wolf. The moment his eyes met with Fang Chen’s, his hatred flared, and intense loathe burned within them.
"Is that really Xiao En?"
Shock overtook the onlookers’ faces.
While the household servants and maids of the manor certainly did not recognize Xiao En, Ye Dongming, Yuan Zhuang, and the others did.
As the son of Xiao Tianci, Xiao En had inherited his father’s talent, and at a very young age, he had reached the late Qi Detonation Stage. He was a well-known figure among the younger generation of Qingsong, and it was an established belief within the circle that he would undoubtedly reach the Qi Manipulation Stage in the future.
Ye Dongming's expression became extremely unsightly, and he sent his son a cold glance, which in turn caused the latter to break into a cold sweat.
Ye Qinghe subconsciously turned his gaze toward the crown prince, who in turn opened his mouth and spoke calmly. "Xiao En really turned out to be hiding here... But, all is well, Minister Ye. Your actions are within reason. Divine General Fang went crazy last night slaughtering martial artists from Qingsong wantonly. By protecting Xiao En and keeping him alive, we can offer an explanation to the Qingsong Empire.”
Xiao En had thought he was doomed, but after he saw the crown prince’s stance, a glimmer of hope rekindled in his heart.
He respectfully bowed to the crown prince and said, "Your Highness, my Qingsong has maintained its end of the bargain when it comes to the non-aggression pact we have had with your Grand Xia over the past few years. Even if there were disputes, they were minor scuffles. However, Fang Chen indiscriminately slaughtered martial artists from the Qingsong Empire—my father included. If news of this were to spread, it might lead to an all-out war between our two empires!"
“Xiao En, don’t worry. I won’t let this matter slide. The Grand Brilliance Bureau has already dispatched its personnel to capture Fang Chen. Once he’s in prison, I’ll definitely provide your empire with a satisfactory explanation,” the crown prince reassured.
"That's good." Xiao En nodded slowly as he concealed the resentment in his eyes. Since he was able to live, he didn’t want to reveal his true thoughts. After all, being in Grand Xia was dangerous enough, he didn’t want to risk any sudden shifts in the situation.
The crown prince turned to Fang Chen. "Fang Chen, don't make any more mistakes than you already have. Follow Yuan Zhaung to the Grand Brilliance Bureau. From this moment forward, you are not allowed to make a move against Xiao En; I don’t even want to see a single hair of his brought to harm.”
Fang Chen couldn’t help but smirk, saying, "Your Highness, given the current situation, do you really expect the Qingsong Empire to accept your peace offering? I have already declared that I would purge the capital of all martial artists of Qingsong. I won’t go back on my words. No one can stop me—not even you."
"Even I can't stop you, you say?" The crown prince's eyes narrowed slightly.
Boom.
A lightning bolt flickered.
Xiao En lowered his head mechanically, in disbelief.
His body was mutilated beyond belief, and the pungent smell of charred flesh started invading the courtyard.
He let out a series of resentful shrieks, and shortly after, the light escaped from his wide-open, resentful eyes, causing the courtyard to plummet to a moment of eerie silence.
Everyone was dumbfounded; despite the crown prince's objection, Fang Chen had killed Xiao En on the spot.
The martial art experts beside the crown prince exchanged glances, their gazes filled with caution. They subconsciously took half a step forward, using their bodies to shield the crown prince.
"Yuan Zhuang, lend me your blade." Fang Chen extended his hand.
Yuan Zhuang, who had been caught with surprise, finally regained his senses and instinctively handed his blade over to Fang Chen.
Fang Chen took the saber and approached Xiao En’s body, and with one swing, he severed Xiao En’s lolling head.
Taking the head in his hand, he turned around and walked out of the manor.
Outside, many commoners were waiting silently. When they saw Fang Chen come out with a head dripping with blood in his hands, expressions of shock appeared on their faces and they started speculating instantly.
Whose head is that? Could it be Xiao En's? Or perhaps someone from the manor?
"Divine General Fang, since you have already killed him, how about you come to the Grand Brilliance Bureau...” Yuan Zhuang, who tailed behind Fang Chen quickly as he left the manor, said, plastering a smile on his face.
Fang Chen chuckled and tossed Xiao En's head on the ground, letting it roll away.
The person who had proposed to use the commoners as their practice target was Xiao En to begin with!
"I've avenged your grievances, but this is far from enough... far, far from enough," Fang Chen murmured to himself.
Shortly later, he looked at Yuan Zhuang and said, "Let's go. I won't make things difficult for you."
"Many thanks, Divine General Fang!" Yuan Zhuang felt a sense of relief wash over him, and he almost couldn’t help himself from calling Fang Chen “Daddy.”
After Yuan Zhuang and Fang Chen left, the crown prince and his people departed, and shortly afterward, the gates of the manor were slammed shut.
A courageous martial artist stepped forward to examine the severed head, and when he saw Xiao En's wide, lifeless eyes, he immediately shouted in surprise, "It's Xiao En! Xiao Tianci's son, Xiao En!"
"Isn’t he that domineering martial artist from the Qingsong?" someone exclaimed.
"That’s him... I never expected that the minister of war would shelter a martial artist from Qingsong. What perfidy! He has betrayed both the trust of the Divine General and the trust of the people of Grand Xia!" The shock and disbelief they felt were evident in their tone.
The crowd was agitated. Some people had already picked up nearby objects and started hurling them at the manor.
"Boil that bastard’s head into soup! My son has a lung disease, drinking it will definitely cure him!" An unknown voice rang through the skies, and everyone started to fight over the severed head.
They vehemently believed that the flesh and blood of such wicked people had purifying effects on the body. It was definitely capable of driving away diseases in their bodies; evil drives away evil, after all!
Inside the manor, Ye Dongming’s expression sank even further when he heard eggs shattering against the entrance of the manor.
He dismissed everyone but Ye Qinghe.
"Qinghe, why did you do it?"
Ye Qinghe clenched his teeth and spoke, his voice low, "Father, it was all the crown prince's arrangement. He wanted to save the martial artists of Qingsong from Fang Chen’s hands.”
Ye Dongming frowned. "Why does he want to go against Fang Chen? There’s no benefit in that. "
Ye Qinghe explained, “He just wants the people to know that Fang Chen can be wrong, and that not everything he does is right. So as long as the people understand this, we can completely prevent Fang Chen from rising back to prominence! The crown prince is afraid that if Fang Chen regains his military might, his position will be threatened..."
Ye Dongming's expression changed slightly. "But the third prince has been held captive in the Qingsong Empire this entire time. Does this mean... does this mean that His Third Highness is coming back?"
It was well known that Fang Chen had a deep friendship with the third prince. Five years ago, when Fang Chen was defeated, the third prince willingly volunteered to be held captive in the Qingsong Empire on the sole condition that the emperor would not punish Fang Chen. If he hadn’t done that, the captive wouldn’t have been the third prince, but the crown prince...
"The crown prince said that if Fang Chen had truly regained his cultivation, he would spare no effort in rescuing the third prince. Perhaps... someone has already taken action silently." Ye Qinghe spoke in a hushed tone.
"It seems that you guys... are genuinely afraid of Fang Chen." Ye Dongming sighed softly.
Fang Chen's methods had indeed left a heavy shadow on the younger generation, but if they looked at it from another point, the older generation weren’t spared either!
If the crown prince hadn’t sensed a threat, there wouldn’t have been the need for him to do all this just because Fang Chen’s cultivation recovered......
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