"Clang, clang, clang."
"It’s the third watch of the night, all is well!"
The distant knocking of the night watchman’s bamboo, drifting with the wind through every street and alley.
And so, the long night was punctuated with a comma…
At the courthouse, Yang Ge, still reviewing the government’s public accounts, slowly set down the account book in hand, "Is it just the third watch?"
He looked up toward the open gates, his hand gently resting on the hilt of his sidearm, "You all are quite impatient, aren’t you…"
There was nothing outside the gate, yet a chilling voice rose, "Hand over that girl to us, and we will leave immediately, ensuring not a single hair on the official’s head is harmed!"
"You are well-informed!"
Yang Ge gripped his sidearm and straightened his sitting posture, "Why don’t you guess, why am I not the one chasing you out of the city?"
The voice replied, "Although we walk different paths from the official, we still respect the official as a man who keeps his word; we ask the official not to be our enemy, as it benefits neither us nor you."
"Stop flattering yourselves!"
Yang Ge chuckled, "I may not be talented, but I have never harmed a soul. How dare such vicious and cruel scoundrels like you compare yourselves to me?"
The voice replied unshaken, "Throughout history, those who achieve great things are not concerned with trifles; we are here for…"
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"Fuck off!"
Yang Ge suddenly turned angry, cursing out loud, "If I were to kill your entire family, would you still regard me as someone ’not concerned with trifles’?"
The voice was momentarily at a loss for words but soon retorted stubbornly, "That Geng is corrupt and indifferent to people’s lives, bringing disaster upon himself. Even if he doesn’t die at our hands tonight, he won’t escape the execution ground tomorrow!"
Yang Ge scoffed, calming his emotions before speaking placidly, "There are many principles, but I bet you came back not to listen to my reasoning. We are all men with weapons, so let’s make it quick!"
"You are nothing but knives; whether I take you or not is of little consequence. You have already done the deed, and even though you have not completed it, you can still report back to your master!"
"Leave now, and I’ll pretend I never saw you!"
"But if you are hell-bent on being loyal dogs who share your master’s troubles… then come!"
"Kill me, and I won’t be able to stop you from killing whoever you want!"
"But as long as I have a breath left in me, no one’s going to lay a finger on that girl!"
The voice seemed not to expect Yang Ge to be so resolute and was silent for a moment before replying sinisterly, "One against three, the official has no chance of winning!"
Yang Ge caressed the hilt of his blade, "Even if I am no match, dragging someone down with me won’t be hard; do you think that person could be you?"
The voice replied, "That remains to be seen after the fight..."
Yang Ge sighed heavily in his heart… These people just couldn’t be intimidated!
"Boom."
A loud crash, tiles flying about, a man in black descended from the sky, brandishing a bright long saber, striking down directly at Yang Ge with a Mount Hua cleaving force.
At the same moment, two figures dashed in from outside the great hall, moving with incredible speed, like two large black rats scurrying close to the ground.
Yang Ge had been prepared; thus, even as his enemies launched a sudden attack, he was nowhere near panicked.
He was seen grabbing a leg of the sandalwood bench in front of him, assuming a stable stance, and swinging it up as if swatting mosquitoes with a fan, striking fiercely at the man descending from above.
"Crack!"
The thick and wide bench immediately broke a large hole, the descending man not yet hitting the ground before flying off at an angle like a baseball.
Just then, the two black-clothed men reached him.
Yang Ge, with no time to draw his sword, could only muster all his strength to swing the broken bench to force them back.
With his immense strength, the nearly ten-foot sandalwood bench made a whining sound like a heavy weapon cleaving the air.
The assailants, hearing the whine, felt their scalps tingle, their coordinated attack disrupted.
One of them, quick to seize the opportunity, stomped his foot hard to spring back just as he was about to run into the bench.
The other, slower to react, foolishly swung the broken piece of metal in his hand, attempting to strike the bench approaching head-on.
"Clang."
The long saber flew out, the wielder crashing viciously onto the rosewood table, and amidst the crisp sound of bones snapping, was flung sideways.
At first contact, of the three who had returned, only one remained standing!
Yang Ge set down the broken table, swept his gaze around, and couldn’t help but reveal a face of incredulity, "That’s it?"
He had almost developed PTSD from the fright Yan Yun’s three goons had given him, thinking anyone skilled would be just as formidable...
"Gulp."
The man in black standing below struggled to swallow his saliva, forced a smile, and said, "Would it be alright if we left now?"
Judging by the voice, it was none other than the earlier mouthpiece of ’great achievers don’t get caught up in the trifles’...
Yang Ge tossed the table aside, slowly drew his saber, and a ferocious intent gradually emerged on his face, "What do you think?"
Before his words had ended, he suddenly stomped his foot with force, his body shooting out like a cannonball, his saber swinging mightily down in a chopping motion.
"Clang!"
The man in black couldn’t dodge in time, desperately raised his saber to parry, and the two steel sabers clashed, notching together.
Yang Ge grabbed the hilt with both hands, pressing down hard.
"Thud."
The man in black kneeled on one knee, his kneecap shattering the stone slab beneath.
Just then, a shadow rushed forward, embracing Yang Ge around the waist... It was the man whose saber had been sent flying by the rosewood table.
Yang Ge pinned down the man before him and kicked the one by his side.
But far from letting go in response to the pain, that man bit ferociously into his waist.
"Ah..."
Yang Ge cried out in pain, delivering a powerful kick to the chest of the man in black who was pinned by the saber, sending him flying three or four zhang, crashing into the threshold.
Then he freed one hand, grabbed the man at his waist, forcefully tore him off, and threw him heavily to the ground.
"Bam."
The already badly injured man in black was smashed to the floor by Yang Ge, collapsing like a mess of mud.
Yang Ge let go, wiped at his waist, and his hand came away covered in blood...
"Good!"
Anger flashing in his eyes, he raised his foot and stomped down ferociously on the knee of the man in black at his feet.
"Crack!"
"Ah..."
The man in black, who a second before had been limp as mud, suddenly tensed, his eyes bulging as if they might pop out.
With an emotionless face, Yang Ge lifted his leg and stomped down again on the other knee of the man lying on the ground.
The sound of bones shattering echoed unnervingly through the hall in the dead of night.
This time, the man on the ground didn’t even have the strength to scream, his eyes rolling back as he fainted.
Yang Ge then looked back towards the man in black by the door, only to see him crawling away on hands and knees!
"Hey, you just got here, why not stay a bit longer..."
He dragged his saber and walked towards him with long strides, his tall figure casting an ominous shadow over the man like a dark cloud.
All of the negative emotions he had accumulated throughout the night finally erupted.
He had seen more dead tonight.
Than he had in his whole life.
He respected every person’s life.
But those who did not respect the lives of others clearly did not deserve the respect of anyone for their own.