Patrol Captain

Two days later, in Qingshan County, the sky was clear and the breeze was gentle. The distant green mountains were lush and verdant, and the people lived in peace and contentment, exuding an atmosphere of tranquility.

"Have you heard? There's been a military disaster in the north. Troops are being sent north everywhere. I just came from Baidi City and saw soldiers galloping on horseback in the streets. Later, I heard from my companions that they're mobilizing troops to the north, and the area is about to descend into chaos."

"I've heard of it too. I heard it's a martial saint from our Shu region who chose a royal palace over there? That's quite impressive." An old man, dressed in a wealthy man's robe, clicked his tongue as he drank, his face full of reverence.

"Hey, I heard quite a few people died. Besides, you didn't hear the whole story. It was our peerless Ninth Mountain Martial Saint General who went. I heard that the prince in the north is ambitious and treacherous, and our general was ordered to suppress him. Ha, he scared the prince so much that he even abandoned his palace and fled." A rugged-looking man, a seasoned seaman, spoke with a proud expression, raising his hand in a fist salute towards the sky. Then, he beckoned with great interest to the waiter serving the meal.
"Waiter, come here!"

The waiter, wearing a small blue hat and with a fur coat draped over his shoulder, heard the call, bowed slightly, and trotted over with a broad smile.
"Sir, what is it?"

"I've heard that the Martial Saint General of the Ninth Mountain came from your Qingshan County. But it's strange, I've been to your county by boat many times, and I've rarely heard the locals mention him. I originally wanted to visit the Martial Saint's former residence and try to absorb some of his good fortune, but I don't know how. Have you heard of him?" the man asked excitedly.

"Hey, I've heard that so many times I'm sick of it. That person is like a god, completely unrelated to us common folk. We can't even remember his name or what he looks like, let alone anything like that. But thanks to him, our little town hasn't had any trouble all these years. Everyone is grateful for his kindness." Upon hearing this, the waiter clapped his hands, pointed to the sky with a look of awe, and then laughed.

Upon hearing this, the man who had asked the question immediately lost interest, tossed over a few copper coins, and said, "Alright, here you go."

The waiter accepted the tip, his face beaming with joy. He quickly slipped the money into his sleeve and bowed even lower.
"Thank you, sir."

As he spoke, a thought flickered across his face. He remembered something; he had just overheard these guests talking about mobilizing troops everywhere. He thought he might as well add some conversation starters to liven things up for them.

"Ah, hearing you all talk about this reminds me of something. This morning, the woodcutter who came to my shop to sell firewood said that he was cutting down trees in the western mountains at dawn when he saw a troop of soldiers walking in the mountains. It was as if they were flying on the treetops, and the horses were too. They disappeared in a short time."

This remark piqued the interest of everyone in the hall.

"Is that so? How many troops are involved?"

"Did you get a good look at what style that armor is?"

"."

In the lobby of Qingshan Inn, guests were sitting and eating. Qingshan County was much more prosperous than before. People from the south and the north were coming and going. News was still quite good. The news of the upheaval in Liangzhou swept in all directions like a whirlwind, even reaching Qingshan County, which is located in the east of Shu. Although the news was very one-sided and vague, the fact that even the common people in this remote place could talk about it said a thing or two, which showed that the news had spread thoroughly.

The hall was full of diners, sitting in twos and threes around a table, all discussing the heroic deeds of the Martial Saint General. Exclamations and chatter rose and fell.

At this moment, only a square table in the corner stood out from the surrounding hustle and bustle. The table was all alone by the window, with a few dishes on it and a long sword beside it. Behind the table sat a person wearing a large bamboo hat with the brim pulled down so low that it covered most of his face, revealing only a section of his cold and hard jawline.

The man raised his hand, holding the wine glass, and brought it to his lips. He tilted his head back, the wine went down his throat, and then, with a "crack," the glass fell onto the lacquered wooden table, followed by a dull thud.

"Waiter, check out!"

The waiter, who was having a lively conversation with a customer, had developed a keen ear over the years. He heard something and called out, "Coming!"

He then apologized to the guests who had asked the questions, saying, "Please continue your conversation."

After saying that, with a smile on his face, he went to the table in the corner by the window, glanced at the dishes on the table, and quoted the prices of the dishes that he knew by heart.
"Lychee kidneys, thirty coins; Nujiang whitefish, thirty-five coins; Mapo tofu, fifteen coins; sir, that's eighty coins in total."

The waiter smiled as he looked at the customers at the table. His face was completely covered by a bamboo hat, and there was a sword on the table. He looked like a wandering swordsman, not someone to be trifled with. The waiter's smile widened.

"I have no money to pay for this. Can you give me something else to settle the debt?" The man in the straw hat spoke in a deep, deathly voice. As he spoke, he raised his head, revealing a pair of cold, lifeless eyes beneath the hat. The sight sent a chill down the waiter's spine, and a cold shiver ran down his spine.

"What would you like to use as payment, sir?" The waiter stammered, and the commotion caused by this conversation drew the attention of several other customers at nearby tables.

The man spoke each word clearly, his eyes like cold stars, his killing intent blazing: "Use the heads of everyone in this room!"

The words fell,

“ceng”

The long sword on the table was drawn, its cold light flashing, and it whistled past the ear of the terrified waiter.

"what"

A line of blood slid across the waiter's ear, and he let out a scream.

This scream, like the prelude to a massacre, caused the man in the straw hat on the table to suddenly rise.

Screams erupted in the lobby.

"Killed."

"Who are you, and why are you committing this crime?"

"boom"

"what"

The sounds of tables and chairs breaking, windows being opened and doors being smashed, and screams erupted all together.

A dozen or so breaths later, the entire lobby on the first floor of the inn was ravaged by blood. Overturned tables and chairs, broken dishes, corpses lying on the ground, and blood splattered everywhere—it was a scene of carnage and devastation.

The man in the straw hat, the culprit, approached the waiter, who was clutching his bleeding ear and cowering in a corner, filled with fear. The tip of his sword, dripping with crimson blood, pointed diagonally downwards at him, his eyes lowered as if looking at a dead man.
"Do you know anyone here that the Martial Saint General they were talking about knows?"

The waiter watched as the sword was about to touch his brow, his fear widening to an extreme. He desperately tried to shrink back, but there was a wall behind him.

"I...I don't know, spare me, spare me, I still have some at home."

Before he could finish speaking, with a muffled "swoosh," the scarlet sword tip ruthlessly and cunningly pierced the waiter's brow. The fear and pity in the waiter's eyes remained frozen in their sockets, but did not cause the cold star in the straw hat to waver in the slightest.

The man in the straw raincoat drew his sword and strode out the door. Behind him, the doorway reflected a bloody scene, blood dripping incessantly from his sword. At that moment, panic gripped the street outside the inn.

"Killed!"

"Killed!"

"."

The panicked shouts of the crowd shattered the peace of the long-quiet county town. People on the street scattered and fled as they watched the blood-stained villain emerge with a sword.

The man in the straw hat suddenly turned his gaze to the side, looking in the direction of the county government office. He stomped his foot, drew his sword, and transformed into a blur, intending to fly over there.

Just then, a sword light suddenly appeared from the direction of the county government office, followed by a fiery red figure flying out from above, its sword flashing like lightning as it slashed at the flying afterimage.

"Who is committing this crime here?" a woman shouted.

The man in the bamboo hat withstood the cold light, his sword flashing and slashing directly at the red-clad woman. The powerful aura of the Heavenly Gate Dao Fruit carried a ruthless and fierce edge. Suddenly, a golden light descended from the sky, landing on the man in the bamboo hat and instantly freezing him in place. Even the cold light that had been unleashed was frozen in mid-air.

Next second,
Two sharp whooshing sounds pierced the air.

In the void to the east, two points of light appeared out of nowhere. Then, the points of light flashed and expanded rapidly, and two figures emerged from them!

The figure was covered in heavy blue armor, with a sword at his waist, a flag on his back, and two black chains in his hands, which he swung at the man wearing a bamboo hat.

One chain pierced the man's collarbone, while another, like a snake, bound him, tying his limbs. Then, the two pulled, and the chains snapped taut.

The man in the bamboo hat was captured in an instant, his hat shaken off, but he showed no panic. Instead, his lifeless gaze fell on the suddenly appearing blue-armored warrior, a madness lurking deep within his eyes.

"The Ninth Mountain!"

"Your general is indeed here."

"I'm passing on a message from the Prince: you must repay the blood debts of Liangzhou one by one. We, the men of Liangzhou, will never forget this blood feud."

“If you don’t pay, then your people will pay.”

He laughed loudly, then gritted his teeth. Soon, dark red blood oozed from his lips, his pupils dilated rapidly, his whole body turned black, his laughter stopped abruptly, and he died with his head lolling to the side.

Suicide by poisoning resulted in instant death, demonstrating the ruthlessness of the perpetrator.

The two Ninth Mountain Guards who came to capture him exchanged a glance, and saw the ugly expression on each other's faces.

Death warrior!

They were sent from the Northern Liang direction.

"go!"

The two armored soldiers tightened their chains, pulling the corpse back. Then, one of them clasped his hands in a fist salute to the red-clad woman who had appeared. The two of them then leaped into the air, transforming into two streaks of light and quickly heading east.

Above, Lian Ni Chang's sharp, willow-leaf-shaped eyebrows furrowed, her expression hardening as she sensed the gravity of the situation.

She leaped down and landed in front of the Green Mountain Inn. Upon seeing the bloody scene inside, the pungent smell of blood hit her. As she stepped inside, she saw several pairs of terrified eyes at the bottom of the stairs and quickly shrank back.

Lian Ni Chang looked at the corpses lying haphazardly in the hall, all innocent civilians, and her eyes burned with anger.

After a while, the sound of horses' hooves approached rapidly from outside.

"Step aside!"

"Step aside!"

A group of officials quickly arrived at the scene, pushed through the crowd, and dismounted at breakneck speed.

At this moment, Lian Ni Chang, dressed in red with a sword on her back and wearing soft armor, walked out of the inn's main gate.

"Captain Lian!"

"Lord Lian!"

Leading the group was the magistrate of Qingshan County, dressed in official robes with an unpleasant expression. Behind him were a dozen or so officials in dark blue robes, all respectfully holding his hand. Some of them had seen the tragic scene inside the inn and dared not even breathe.

"Immediately impose martial law in the county town, with strict entry and exit controls!"

"Conduct a thorough search of all streets, docks, inns, and other places where migrant workers gather. If you encounter any bad people, do not fight them; report back immediately."

Lian Ni Chang quickly issued the order and, without waiting for the magistrate and others to reply, leaped into the air. The sword behind her flashed like a clear chime, flew to her feet, and she flew eastward on her sword to find her leader.

He knew that his elder brother had not been in Jiazi Lane for the past two days, but had gone to Langdang Mountain in the east.

After Lian Ni Chang hurriedly flew away on her sword, the magistrate of Qingshan County led his men into the inn's lobby. He was pale with fright, knowing that something terrible had happened, and quickly sent someone to deliver the order to impose martial law on the entire city.

The surrounding people witnessed all of this. Some were still in shock, but just watching it all, they knew that things were serious.

Two hundred miles east of Qingshan County, there is a region shrouded in mist and clouds, beneath which a magnificent building appears.

Figures were scattered among them, their armor gleaming and reflecting a cold light. Pavilions and towers were nestled among them, white jade railings winding around the pond, and upturned eaves adorned with gilded animal heads, gleaming warmly in the sunlight. The pavilion in the center of the lake was covered with green tiles, its vermilion pillars carved with flowers, its reflection shimmering gently in the blue waves. Treasure plants grew densely among them, ancient trees with gnarled branches reaching for the clouds, their fragrance rising and shimmering, a breathtaking sight. Yet, in some corners, there were still traces of blood that had not been washed away, and in the center of the inner courtyard, the scars of a great battle.

However, with a new owner, this former royal residence will soon take on a new look.

At this moment, in the backyard of the former Prince's Mansion, outside the door of a study, the armored soldiers who had just gone to capture the villains returned to report with a blackened corpse.

"He failed the general's orders. This man committed suicide by poison as soon as he was captured. His last words were that of a death squad sent by the King of Liang!"

"And they threatened the lives of the people of Qingshan County, demanding that the general repay the blood debt of Liangzhou!"

The captain bowed his head and clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice filled with malice, sounding very angry.

Standing before them was Chen Yuan, dressed in a simple blue robe, his face expressionless, though a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he let out a cold laugh.
"Now I seem to have become a bloodthirsty and ruthless cold-blooded demon, and passionate men are coming from afar to collect debts from me."

"Heh heh, I wonder what that prince said about me. I suppose he's united against a common enemy, and everyone wants to kill me!"

Upon hearing this, the two captains kneeling before him immediately straightened their expressions, filled with righteous indignation.

"General, you are loyal and courageous, and have saved countless lives. How dare those rebels yell at you? If they dare to come, I will kill them and feed them to the dogs. What kind of hot-blooded lads are you? Killing the innocent people of Qingshan County, you deserve to be torn to pieces and treated like demons."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan

"You'd love to hear that!"

"Send the order to summon the cavalry and the heads of various departments for a meeting!"

Now, at Ninth Mountain, having received his orders, most of the elite troops have been arriving in Qingshan County from various prefectures and counties in the south.

I'm not going back to Chengdu!
"Yes!"

The two men stood up and immediately went to relay the order. (End of Chapter)