Chapter 24: Executing the Law
Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
As the crowd gasped at the amount of blood coming from the bald man’s body, the most extraordinary thing happened. His large frame continued to fly through the air for over a dozen meters, until finally falling off the pier and into the running waters of Dragon’s Beard Creek.
As the crowd was still standing there in shock, Xu Yi had already rushed into the fray with Little Qiu in his arms.
The giant hammer in the hands of the bald man probably served more purpose as a tool for intimidation than a weapon for war. But in Xu Yi’s hands, it became a killing weapon.
With his extraordinary strength, he was best suited for wielding such a heavy weapon. Weighing over a hundred pounds and being swung with his great strength, it was an awe-inspiring sight. Every swing landed on its target, and was accompanied by the sound of breaking bones. Following that, blood would splatter like rain, and another figure would be seen flying into the river.
In just a few short breaths, the explosive battle was over.
Xu Yi did not care at all if the onlooking crowd was watching with excitement or fear and unease.
Without a care, he took large strides towards Head Zhou who had collapsed on the ground, and he coldly said, “You are the one in charge of collecting the fishermen’s catches. My Uncle Mu did not ask for a high price and was willing to leave the Giant Green Carp to you. You should have acted fairly instead of abusing your authority and bullying the old and weak. The market price of a Giant Green Carp is over a hundred taels of silver. According to The Laws and Regulations of the Dayue Imperial Court, seizing the riches of others is punishable by three hundred strokes of the paddle and banishment to the border.”
“Stop trying to scare me. Why don’t you go find out where I’m from first? The governor of White Horse County is my brother-in-law. Bloody hell, how dare you use the bullshit Dayue laws to threaten me. You’re too naïve!”
Initially, with Xu Yi’s astonishing skills that took out all of his fighters whom he had taken so long to find, Head Zhou was scared out of his wits. He was afraid that Xu Yi would continue on his rampage and end his life as well. But now that he heard Xu Yi talk about the law, he suddenly remembered his own status and found the fight in him again.
Xu Yi, however, ignored him, and turned to Little Qiu who was still in his arms. “Little Qiu, go take a nap. When you wake up, you’ll be home, and Uncle Beardo will make sure to buy some good food for you tonight.”
With those words, Xu Yi was about to squeeze the back of Little Qiu’s neck when he heard her say, “Uncle Beardo, I want to see you beat up the bad guys; I’m not scared!”
This little girl was frighteningly intelligent.
“Alright, then watch how Uncle Beardo beats up the bad guys!”
With that, Xu Yi turned his attention back to Head Zhou. He coldly stated, “I was thinking that I would have to waste more words to talk about your crime of resisting the law, but I guess there is no need. Hehe, ‘bullshit Dayue laws’? Well said indeed. How dare you disregard the laws set by the Dayue Imperial Court. Your crimes are truly deserving of your death!”
Whoosh!
The copper hammer was swung so hard through the air that a shockwave was created. After a deafening crash, dust and debris filled the air as the ground seemed to almost shatter from the force of the hammer. As the dust settled, the crowd focused their attention, but Head Zhou was nowhere to be seen. All that was left pit that was a foot deep, and a messy lump of blood and flesh.
Head Zhou, who had tyrannized Furong Town for so many years, was crushed to death by a hammer just like that. An unbelievably gruesome death.
It was a great visual and mental shock, causing the crowd to doubt their own eyes.
Xu Yi, however, was calm, as though what he had crushed was merely an ant. Dragging his hammer, he made his way to the black robed teen, stopping firmly just a few meters in front of him. Under the golden glow of the setting sun, Xu Yi’s thin but tough frame looked like a celestial who had come down from the heavens.
“Who would have thought that a lowly constable of this small town would actually have reached the later stages of the Body Forging stage. That’s more than enough for your Green Shirt constable at the White Horse County office. It’s too belittling to keep you here in the small Furong Town. So what do you think? If you’re willing, I can open the path for you.”
The black robed teen spoke calmly, as though he had not seen what that had just occurred.
“The ones who raised their hand at my Uncle Mu were the green dogs behind you, am I right!?”
Having lived two lives in two worlds, Xu Yi could definitely identify the intentions for a truce within the words of the black robed teen. For Xu Yi, what he valued most was the bonds that he forged. What the black robed teen took to be simply making fun of commoners was in fact something that enraged Xu Yi greatly. Even if god had come, he would not let the matter be.
“Constable, know how to appreciate my goodwill. Let me first remind you, anyone who offends my Black Dragon Hall never comes to a good end. Indeed, this matter was caused by me. You killed Zhou, and that is already a blow to me. With that, we should be equal now. You are still young, constable. Perhaps you have not made it far in the martial world yet. You need to know that in the martial world, another friend means another path you can take!”
The black robed teen’s expression remained cool, but his blood was boiling behind his face. If not for the fact that he was not sure that he could take down Xu Yi, he would have let loose long ago.
“To hell with you!”
Xu Yi’s voice was as cold as ice. He pointed his large hammer towards the green robed men and said, “The lot of you ganged up on an old man, resulting in serious injury. According to the Dayue Imperial laws, that is punishable by a hundred strokes of the paddle each. I shall execute the law in place of the Imperial Court. Without a paddle here, I shall use this hammer instead. Because a hammer is much heavier, one strike shall replace a hundred strokes. In other words, the lot of you only have to receive one blow from my hammer.”
As those words were said, sneering could be heard from the crowd.
Anyone with a brain could understand what that laughter meant. How heavy a blow from Xu Yi’s hammer was was evident from the bald man’s body who had flown out of sight, and Head Zhou who did not even have a body left.
Although Xu Yi had said ‘one blow,’ what he actually meant was that he would be taking their lives. The onlooking crowd was already tired of the black robed teen and his group of green robed fighters abusing their might here in Furong Town. Now that a member of Furong Town’s police force could give them peace of mind, they were extremely grateful. There was also a hint of pride within their hearts.
The shame of the green robed men turned into rage, but they still did not dare make a move. They looked at each other, waiting for one another to make a move. Finally, the black robed teen lost his temper.
“F*** you all! What are you bloody waiting for? Black Dragon Hall does not have members who are easily scared to death. Attack! Chop him to pieces!”
The moment he said those words, he grabbed a green shortsword with his left hand and a white metal ball the size of a duck’s egg with his right, and charged towards Xu Yi with a ferocious look on his face.
In actual fact, he was already fuming at Xu Yi. Previously, he had shown some face to Xu Yi because he valued his life and was not willing to face Xu Yi head on. From observing how Xu Yi had easily taken care of the bald man and the others, he deduced that Xu Yi was the same as him, at the later stages of Body Forging. And from the way Xu Yi moved, he feared that Xu Yi had been at that stage for quite a while, unlike himself who had just reached the later stages.
As for whether or not Xu Yi was at the peak of Body Forging, the idea did not even cross his mind. Within the entire Guang’an City, the number of people who can reach the peak of Body Forging before the age of thirty could be counted with one hand.
This person in front of him might have a scraggly beard which made him look old, but the brightness in his eyes and the cold hard lines of his facial features betrayed his youth.
Furthermore, if he were really at the peak of Body Forging, not only in Furong Town, but even in White Horse County, there would be no one that could stop him.
After determining Xu Yi’s level of cultivation, he had thought that Xu Yi would be willing to say a few courteous words in return. The black robed teen would not mind making a new friend.
But little did he expect that Xu Yi would reply with such scathing words, leaving him with no face at all. If he were to back off like this, no good would come to him when he returned to the Black Dragon Hall.
Furthermore, he had a secret weapon with him. Even if Xu Yi’s cultivation was a little higher, if he gave it his all, his chances of winning were still very high.
With these thoughts in his mind, the black robed teen then made his move.