Zhu Bajie ate the ginseng fruit, and after swallowing, he couldn’t even taste what it was.
Yang Ge killed seven Dongying martial art masters in one breath, and even after all were dead, he couldn’t clearly distinguish what level they were at... He only felt that these people had an impressive appearance and stance, but their skills were somewhat lacking.
"If you’re incompetent, practice more; if you can’t handle death, then stop playing with knives!"
As if he were in a land devoid of people, he stood in the bustling street, slowly sheathing his sword; the sword was like snow, and so was the man.
Erhei sped up, trotting to his front and butting his head against him: ’Did you forget you have a horse?’
Yang Ge laughed heartily, hugged its big head and rubbed it, then straddled its neck and mounted, shouting, "Yang, Li, Xiang, command the brothers, seal off the entire Hirado Castle, forbid anyone from entering or exiting, kill anyone who tries to force their way through!"
The three men standing side by side at the city gate, upon hearing his shout, felt their hearts beat faster by several beats.
Li Jincheng said with a hoarse voice, "This fellow... isn’t planning to massacre the city, is he?"
Xiang Wudi tightened his grip on the red-tasseled spear, suddenly finding the spear shaft somewhat slippery.
Yang Tiansheng, standing on tiptoe, stretched his neck, gazing at Yang Ge who was riding towards the city’s most exquisite residence, hesitated for a few moments and then said, "Yang Ge wouldn’t do such a thing, but the people here are definitely in for some trouble…"
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Li Jincheng breathed a sigh of relief: "As long as he doesn’t massacre the town, everything else is negotiable... Although I’m no saint, committing a massacre is something even I couldn’t do."
Xiang Wudi quickly agreed, "Me neither!"
Yang Tiansheng: "Alright, let’s get to work, Xiang, you take the left, I take the right, Li, take the twelve zodiacs, and block the eastern exit, the rest is up to Zhou Fu and the others... Stay sharp, don’t capsize in the ditch!"
Li Jincheng and Xiang Wudi laughed simultaneously: "You may capsize, but we surely won’t!"
...
"Bang."
Yang Ge, with a single stroke of his sword, split the main gate of Hirado Castle and a dozen samurais guarding it into debris, leisurely and leisurely entered as though strolling in the spring.
Inside the gate, a dozen samurais adorned in black and red armor and wearing fierce-demon masks, leading a hundred more samurais clothed in wicker armor and wielding wild katanas, arrayed to meet him.
"Oh..."
Clutching his Cold Moon Blade, he squinted his crimson eyes and assessed these samurais: "So, the many bully the few?"
As his words fell, countless katana fragments floated behind him, buzzing softly and shimmering, their cold and violent Evil Qi striking fear in the hearts of each samurai like a blizzard beating against broken windows.
After a standoff for a breath or two, a stern middle-aged samurai, with a topknot, wearing a black hat, and clad in a purple samurai garb with handlebar mustache under his nose, pushing forward from the crowd; with one long and one short exquisitely decorated bright red katanas, he knelt, skirt flared, at the forefront of the samurais, lifted the katanas high and, speaking in clear Mandarin, said: "Oh great lord from the celestial empire, the sinful Matsuura Takamori wishes to disembowel himself to apologize, extinguish the great lord’s anger, and beg for his forgiveness for the sins of the Matsuura clan and the people of Hirado; the Matsuura clan is willing to present our daughter and Gold to the great lord, and forever pay tribute and serve as a vassal state to the celestial empire..."
"Forgiveness?"
Yang Ge laughed, slowly and resolutely shaking his head: "No, never forgivable!"
The stern middle-aged samurai bowed again: "Your Honor, I’ve once heard that a disciple of Confucius, Zigong, asked, ’Is there one word that one may follow throughout one’s life?’ Confucius said, ’It is forgiveness! Do not impose on others what you yourself do not want.’ I am willing to disembowel myself to apologize, praying that your Honor will lift your noble hand, grant kindness and virtue, and allow the Matsuura clan and the people of Hirado to mend their ways and return to the righteous path..."
Yang Ge laughed and interrupted his plea: "When studying, you can’t just read half and think you’ve grasped the essence. Did you only know that Confucius advocated ’benevolence’? Do you know that Confucius also said, ’Return hostility with straightforwardness, and return virtue with virtue’?"
"Enough, stop worrying. None of the Matsuura family will escape, calmly go to meet in the eighteenth layer of hell, but before that... you must witness how your own house falls to ruin!"
As he finished speaking, countless fragmented swords floating behind him shot out, empowered with True Qi, embodying the spirit and intent of the blade and Evil Qi, piercing through Matsuura Takamori and the hundreds of samurais behind him in the blink of an eye... Whether they were samurais in iron armor or soldiers in wicker armor, they were as easily penetrable as paper when faced with the speeding fragments of the blade.
The battle formation of over a hundred men, replaced by a few cries of agony, fell collectively like wheat beneath a scythe!
No, even farmers don’t reap wheat as efficiently as this!
At least farmers have to bend their backs to reap wheat...
Matsuura Takamori felt a sound like chimes in his ears as it whistled by, and when he turned back, he saw the elite samurais of his house fall in swathes, their spattered blood floating like cherry blossoms adrift in a gentle breeze...
His eyes suddenly widened, and turning back like a hunting leopard, he explosively leapt up, drew his long sword, and swept out a line quick as a startled swan, aiming at Yang Ge’s throat... Itto-ryu Iai!
"Clang!"
The Cold Moon Blade was raised up, in the nick of time, blocking the katana’s blade, then the slender blade of the Cold Moon Blade slid forward along the katana inching past Yang Ge’s shoulder and thrusting into nothing, as Matsuura Takamori, lunging forward, had his limbs sheared off by the sword Qi, reduced to a mere trunk.
As the trunk fell, Yang Ge tightened his legs around Erhei, which galloped forward, and he caught the screaming trunk, sealed the major acupoints to stop the bleeding with a wave of his hand.