Chapter 443: Chapter 252: None Above the Mortal Body Realm May Enter
Gu King?
Gu Zheng!!
RUSTLE...
Snapping out of their shock, the others quickly dropped to their knees.
Even the Hundred Households and Thousand Households of the Demon Slayer Bureau knelt on one knee, hearts pounding and bodies trembling.
Meng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng gaped, then moved to kneel with everyone else.
However, they only bent their knees slightly before they froze, unable to go any lower.
"Masters, you honor me too much."
Gu Zheng hovered in the air, hands clasped behind his back. He spoke with a light chuckle, but then his expression darkened slightly. "Speaking of which, it is Ping’an who has implicated you two. The Zhong Family can’t do anything to Ping’an, so they take their anger out on Master Meng and Master Xie. It’s truly shameless."
In the courtyard, the kneeling crowd trembled slightly. No one dared to respond.
Even Meng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng, who were still standing, opened their mouths but did not chime in.
They had relied on the Zhong Family’s resources to get to where they were today. Originally titans of the Martial World, they had used the Pupa Pool to live on for another two hundred years.
Turning their backs on the Zhong Family had never been their intention, and they’d never even considered betrayal. But the Zhong Family’s latest actions were truly disheartening.
Just because they had once mentored Gu Zheng and were associated with him as his teachers, the family was having them arrested and escorted to the Royal Capital for imprisonment.
’So petty.’
"Just one thing."
Breaking the silence, Xie Bisheng was the first to make his decision. "The Zhong Family has shown no benevolence, so we owe them no loyalty," he said coldly. "Does Ping’an’s Qingshi County need a teacher?"
"Of course we do." Gu Zheng laughed heartily. "Haha, with Master Xie willing to come to Qingshi, the children of the city will be blessed."
"Count me in." Meng Taiqi waved a hand. "If that Old Scoundrel Xie can teach books, then I’ll teach martial arts. We’ll make sure the children of Qingshi City are skilled with both the pen and the sword from a young age!"
"Welcome, welcome! With Master Meng joining as well, the children of the city will be even more fortunate." Gu Zheng cupped his fist and bowed to Xie Bisheng and Meng Taiqi. "On behalf of the many children to come, I, Ping’an, thank you both, Masters."
"Hahaha~" Casting aside all his burdens, Meng Taiqi let out a great laugh and shot into the air. "Let’s go, let’s go! I can’t wait!"
Xie Bisheng didn’t follow immediately. Instead, he looked down at the kneeling Hundred Households and Thousand Households. "Take care of yourselves," he said gravely.
With that, he leaped into the air, landing behind Gu Zheng to stand with Meng Taiqi.
"Masters, let’s go."
Gu Zheng glanced at the ground, said nothing, and then motioned for Meng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng to leave.
The three of them streaked through the air, disappearing over the horizon.
The entire time, none of the people kneeling in the courtyard so much as lifted their heads, let alone made a sound.
The middle-aged general let out a long sigh of relief, as if a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, stood up, and waved to his men. "Let’s go."
Hearing this, the dozen or so armored men rose silently to their feet.
The young man under guard followed listlessly behind, his head hung in dejection.
Gu Zheng had taken Meng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng, so their mission had naturally failed, but no one dared to say a single word.
The young man might have been arrogant and domineering, but he knew who not to cross.
He could afford to disrespect Meng Taiqi and Xie Bisheng.
But in front of Gu Zheng, he wouldn’t dare even fart.
To speak out of turn now would be to court death.
...
Gu Zheng had come, and then he was gone.
Xie Bisheng and Meng Taiqi had left with him.
An uproar broke out among the Demon Suppression Guards at the Demon Slayer Bureau headquarters.
"What do we do? The Commander and the Grand General are both gone. Who’s going to be in charge of Fengzhou now?"
"That’s not your concern. Didn’t you see the men who came to escort the Commander and the Grand General? They contacted the Royal Capital the moment they stepped out the gate. Someone will be here to take over the Fengzhou Demon Slayer Bureau before nightfall."
"Sigh, what a mess. What are we supposed to do now? Gu Zheng has established his own power base and is openly defying the Imperial Court. Doesn’t that mean we’ll have to pick a side?"
"You’re overthinking it. Small fry like us aren’t even qualified to pick a side. But, I believe many people will head to Qingshi to pledge allegiance to Gu King!"
"Of course! If I didn’t have a family to think about, I’d go to Qingshi and pledge myself to Gu King too."
"Ahem... but do you all think the Imperial Court will really let Gu Zheng get away with this? Just let Qingshi County become its own independent state?"
"What else can they do? Send an army? Don’t you know what a King’s Body is? Against someone at that level, numbers are just a statistic. Even the most coordinated battle formations can’t touch a King’s Body."
"..."
Fengzhou State City was abuzz with discussion.
Some were thrilled, some were stunned, some were scornful, and some were envious...
Gu Zheng had achieved the King’s Body and was openly opposing the Imperial Court, yet the Zhong Family was powerless to stop him.
No matter how one looked at it, the affair was exhilarating, making people wish they could be in his shoes.
Unlike the high and mighty Zhong Family, Gu Zheng had grown up in Fengzhou, working his way up step by step.
At the Demon Slayer Bureau headquarters, his name was still on the merit boards for his many accomplishments.
It’s no exaggeration to say.
Compared to the Zhong Family, the Demon Suppression Guards of the Fengzhou Demon Slayer Bureau found Gu Zheng far more relatable and approachable.
And so, while most were still just talking, a small group had already sprung into action.
「In a small room.」
Zhang Ning, An Xiaoxue, Tao Liu, and Wu Kun—all of whom had once followed Gu Zheng—were gathered together with Zhang Boshong.
"I’ve already asked Yan Tou. She can’t go."
An Xiaoxue explained in a low voice, "Yan Tou’s master is a high-ranking member of the Observatory. If she goes to Qingshi, she’ll implicate her master. Just like with Commander Meng. If Gu King hadn’t arrived in time, he would have already been taken away and imprisoned."
"Hmph. The Zhong Family are such sore losers. They’ve embarrassed themselves all the way to the Sea Realm!" Zhang Ning sneered.
"If Yan Tou can’t go, then let’s not contact her again and risk getting her into trouble. The few of us going to Qingshi will be enough," Tao Liu said in a low voice. "I already found my kinsman, Tao Qi, and got the full story. Mr. Gu’s family, the Gu Family, was already a prominent household in Qingshi. Now that the whole of Qingshi belongs to them, there will be plenty of opportunities for us if we go."
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