"I’m just a ghost who should not see the light of day; even if Lord Yang were to kill me, what good would it do?"
The elder in hemp robes watched as Yang Ge approached, dragging his saber, yet there was not a trace of fear in his dim, aging eyes.
Upon hearing this, Yang Ge laughed, "What’s the fun in being a fake ghost, if you’re going to be one, you might as well be a real ghost!"
The elder in hemp robes: "Whether I live or die matters little, but Lord Yang, a young and talented man with a promising future, why must you wallow in this mire? You should always leave room for maneuver so we could meet again in the future!"
The smile on Yang Ge’s face suddenly turned ferocious, "All these smooth sayings, are you preparing for a test?"
He raised his saber and slashed at the hemp-robed elder, the saber energy hiding behind the blade, subtle yet present.
The elder in hemp robes sidestepped the blade, his bronze staff probing toward Yang Ge’s throat like a snake’s tongue.
His swipe missing, Yang Ge shifted his saber to deflect, the blade gliding along the staff as he abruptly advanced, attempting to break through the staff’s encirclement.
The elder in hemp robes secured his bronze staff against the Gold-Inlaid Ox-tail Saber, the end of the staff suddenly lifting, striking toward Yang Ge’s throat once again like a thrusting fist.
Yang Ge leaned back tactically, his leg kicking swiftly and fiercely like a cannonball aimed at the elder’s chest.
The elder in hemp robes sidestepped into a crouch, his lifting staff shifting to a deflecting motion, tapping Yang Ge’s right wrist.
"Bang."
The leg as sharp as a saber blade shattered the flowerbed behind the elder, splitting the brick and stone creation in two.
But it seemed Yang Ge, who appeared aggressive, not only gained no advantage but nearly had his Ox-tail Saber pulled away by the elder’s staff.
He withdrew to out of the range of the bronze staff, eyeing the unassuming elder in hemp robes with a serious gaze, "Truly, age is to be feared in a fight with a staff!"
The elder in hemp robes, panting heavily, steadied his bronze staff pointing at him, and managing his breathing replied gravely, "Though old, I still have some fight left, and even with Lord Yang’s youth and strength, counteracting me without consequence is a fool’s dream. Why don’t we both step back today, and the Changfeng Gang will gift you with gold steps? Please, let this end here."
"Huff... "
Yang Ge exhaled deeply, his anger rising rapidly like fuel to the flame, "Hearing your compromising bargaining, I almost thought I was the bully!"
He retreated one leg, focusing intently on the elder as he bent his body, holding the saber in both hands, True Qi surging around him: "Clearly it’s... you who are devouring people!"
Before the words were finished, he suddenly lifted his saber slashing out, and in an instant, a brilliant saber energy erupted like a torrential flood, rapid and wild, enveloping everything!
The elder in hemp robes, his turbid eyes instantly filled with the brilliant saber energy!
Fast!
Too fast!
He couldn’t dodge in time, only managing to desperately position his staff horizontally to block with all his remaining strength.
"Bang."
The ferocious saber energy fell, shaking the ground and the houses, splitting everything it touched from flower stands and rockeries to surrounding walls!
One strike created a path three yards long and over three feet wide directly in front of Yang Ge.
And the hemp-robed elder, who stood more than a yard in front of Yang Ge, slowly faded, his frightened pupils dilating as the murky light in his eyes dimmed rapidly.
He murmured stiffly, "Truly, youth is to be feared..."
The next second, his body and the stick exploded into two halves and flew out.
"Damn, damn, damn..."
Yang Tiansheng, wide-eyed and gaping, crawled out from the hole in the wall, goosebumps all over his body as he stared at the straight corridor in front of him and cried out in a cracked voice, "Awesome!"
He still remembered, at the beginning of the year, they had been evenly matched...
How long had it been since then?
If Zhang Mazi had used that saber strike on him,
he would have been dead on the spot!
Gasping for breath, Yang Ge leaned on his saber and slowly stood up, "Awesome, huh?"
Yang Tiansheng, with eyes gleaming green, stared at him, "Isn’t this awesome?"
Yang Ge thought for a moment and replied, "I think I can be even more awesome!"
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Yang Tiansheng gave him a thumbs up, "Then you are really awesome!"
"Whether I’m awesome or not, we’ll talk about that later!"
Yang Ge sheathed his saber, took a deep breath to calm the boiling True Qi inside his body, "Let’s first break the legs of these corrupt officials!"
He turned around and walked back to the room.
Inside the room, Xiong Jun was still collapsed on the ground, vomiting blood, while the fire in the brazier had already been put out by Yang Tiansheng.
He quickly walked past the brazier to the hall table, and skimmed through the account books on it.
"June 10th, three thousand taels of gold, received by Yang Fugui, the second steward of the Yang residence."
"July 2nd, three hundred mu of good land in Shao Bo Town, transferred to Mei Tongming, the second son of the Mei Family."
"August 9th, two pairs of jade horses..."
Yang Tiansheng stood beside him, scanning the account books and laughed heartily, "What a huge haul!"
Yang Ge, however, frowned, glanced at the unconscious Xiong Jun, turned around and shouted loudly, "Fang Ke!"
"At your service!"
Fang Ke, whose voice rapidly approached from a distance, soon rushed into the room and saluted with his saber, "My lord!"
Yang Ge, pressing down on his saber, said solemnly, "Take your men immediately to the yamen for martial law. Everyone inside, regardless of their rank or relation, must be arrested and detained separately!"
After speaking, he pointed to the stack of account books on the hall table, adding, "We’ve got all the evidence we need, everyone involved in Yangzhou is doomed. Whether we are rewarded or punished depends on what you do next."
"If well handled, even if you don’t achieve merits, you won’t be punished."
"If not, we’ll meet again at the border of Lingnan."
Fang Ke nodded knowingly, immediately replied, "Rest assured, my lord, I will handle this case so solidly that it leaves no loose ends!"