Chapter Thirty: People You Shouldn't Mess With (Part 2)

  Nothing more to say... Anyway, I just discussed with the editor about the following plot. Decided to push back and rewrite a few chapters... In short, please wait and see.

  A sudden burst of tears dividing line

  Indeed, someone has arrived, and in considerable numbers. Just like Yang Zhao's experience from countless TV movies before crossing over, the newcomer is a policeman who will always appear slowly only after everything has ended - of course, there are no police in the Great Sui, so here it should be replaced with "patrolling city gate catchers".

  These fierce men and horses were all dressed in black official uniforms, holding torches and steel knives, rushing along the streets on horseback. As they approached, the leader raised his hand and waved it. The entire group of people and horses suddenly came to an abrupt halt, standing firmly in a row of three in the middle of the street. Just judging by their horsemanship alone, they were almost as good as the most elite border troops of the Great Sui dynasty.

  The leader of the captors raised his head to look at the half-destroyed wine building, then looked around at the streets that were in disarray due to the previous fierce battle. His eyes involuntarily revealed a few threads of anger. His gaze first fell on Tang Siew who was still lying on the ground, unconscious and unknown whether he was dead or alive. He raised his arm and made a gesture. Two horsemen immediately came forward to investigate, one of them said: "Reporting to the leader, this person is only in a coma and has not died."

  Another person held up a lantern and examined it carefully, suddenly saying: "Huh? This person... seems to be the Young Master of the Tang Gate, Tang Shiwu?"

  "What's this? Him again?" The chief constable frowned, seemingly not unfamiliar with the rough-around-the-edges Tongwen. He waved his hand and ordered, "Take him away on horseback, we'll deal with him at the yamen." Just as he turned around, he caught sight of Li Shentong sitting cross-legged under the eaves of a nearby house, practicing his internal energy. The chief constable let out a cold hum, then rode forward, cracking his whip in mid-air and shouting, "Who are you? You're the one who injured Tongwen, aren't you? How dare you engage in a public brawl and injure someone, don't you fear the law?"

  Li Shentong had just suffered a great loss in his fight with Tang Seng. Not to mention the external injuries, the internal ones would need at least three or four days of good care to recover. At this time, his whole body felt weak and sore, all 360 bones from head to toe were almost aching. As a young master from a noble family, he naturally had an air that commanded respect. When he heard the captain speak rudely, he couldn't help but feel angry. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at the other person, saying calmly: "Who are you? How dare you speak to me like this?"

  The chief catcher, not angry but smiling, shouted: "I am Bu Guangsui, the head of the Chengdu Prefecture Yamen, on orders from the Magistrate of Chengdu, to patrol the whole city and arrest those who break the law. You are suspected of private fighting, disturbing the order of the city, and damaging other people's property, which has already violated national laws. Come, replace me in taking down this criminal."

  Li Shentong's eyes rolled back, and he shouted: "I am the Right Guard General Li Shentong, a cousin of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, who is also the Duke of Tang. Who dares to seize me?"

  The Sui dynasty's official system established the left and right four palaces, twelve guards, and the Forbidden Army to protect the imperial palace. The Thousand Bulls were the officers of the Forbidden Army. In simpler terms, they were equivalent to the sword-bearing attendants in front of the emperor in later generations. Although their position was not high, they were close ministers of the Son of Heaven and sixth-grade military officials. These bailiffs and constables were trained to be elite, but after all, they were only minor officials who had not yet entered the mainstream, and compared to fifth- or sixth-grade military officers, they were far inferior. Furthermore, Li Shentong was a member of the Tang royal family, making him even more prestigious. Not to mention the humble bailiffs, even ordinary prefects and magistrates would treat him with courtesy and flattery when meeting him, and would not dare to slight or offend him easily.

  Unexpectedly, Bu Guan didn't know what medicine he had taken wrong and actually didn't give in at all. He coldly said: "Even princes who break the law are punished equally with commoners. Not to mention you're just a mere attendant of the imperial bodyguard. Take him down!" Seven or eight bailiffs immediately obeyed, dismounted their horses, and clanked open the iron chains, about to approach. Li Shentong's pale face sneered coldly as he secretly mobilized his remaining strength into his right palm, ready to strike at any moment.

  A tiger fallen into a plain is still a tiger. It's not that any stray dog can come out from any corner and bully it at will.

  Yang Zhao happened to walk out of the wine building at this time. Seeing this scene, he couldn't help but feel a sense of joy in his heart. He thought to himself, "Li Shentong, you've finally gotten what's coming to you." He shouted loudly, "Halt!" and slowly walked forward, cupping his hands together in respect. "Are you Chief Constable Bu? Before you arrest someone, shouldn't you first distinguish between right and wrong? I was just having a peaceful drink with Brother Li at the wine building when that Tang young master suddenly burst in without asking any questions, spouting nonsense, and even took the initiative to strike first. Brother Li had no choice but to defend himself out of necessity. Although some houses were accidentally damaged, it's not our fault, is it?"

  Bu Guan sat on horseback, looking down at Yang Zhao with a stern expression and asked: "Who are you? Were you also present just now?"

  Yang Zhao nodded and said, "I am Yang Yu, a clansman of the King of Yue. I have no official position or title, just an ordinary person. However, I was also present at the scene just now, so I saw everything clearly."

  "Very well, then come with this official to the yamen and we'll talk about it later. The actual situation will naturally be investigated clearly after returning to the yamen." He turned his head to instruct his subordinates: "Put away the iron chains, please have the two young masters Li and Yang mount their horses. Zhang Lao San, Qian Lao Qi..."

  Before he could finish speaking, the sound of horseshoes came from the west, rapid as a sudden rain. In the blink of an eye, seventeen or eighteen riders rushed to the scene like lightning. The man in front didn't even stop his horse, and hastily jumped off, floating towards Tang Sengwen like a wisp of smoke. The two bailiffs guarding Tang Sengwen shouted loudly and pulled out their iron rulers, trying to prevent him from approaching.

  That wisp of cold smoke shouted, "Scram!" Without seeing him lift a hand or foot, the two bailiffs were immediately blown away and rolled five or six zhangs away. The man then grabbed Tang Shengwen's waist to hold him up as he fainted, his right hand on his pulse point, letting out a long sigh of relief before pressing on his back at the yang point, slowly channeling in true energy. The crowd following behind rushed over without any fear, driving off the bailiffs and protecting the two men tightly.

  Tang Shengwen's injury was not as severe as Li Shentong's, but he had been unconscious until now because his body's yang fire had suddenly surged upwards, causing him to lose strength temporarily. After receiving the true energy from that person, he let out a loud "ah" and slowly opened his eyes. He called out: "Third... Third Uncle?"

  That man nodded and said in a low voice: "Shaomen Master, your internal injury is not serious, rest well for a few days and you'll be fine. Where's Dongxi?"

  Tang Wen's eyes widened in surprise and he asked, "They... aren't they here?"

  That man furrowed his brow, withdrew his hand and instructed the subordinates beside him: "Take care of Young Master Tang. You few, go into the wine tower to search." The crowd separately clasped their fists in obedience, preparing to enter the Jin Guan Tower. From start to finish, this group of people treated the bailiffs from the Chengdu Prefecture as if they were transparent. Bu Guang could no longer bear it, urging his horse forward to block the entrance of the Jin Guan Tower, shouting loudly: "Tang Zixue, do you think I'm dead? Tang Siwen is suspected of fighting and injuring people, disturbing the citizens, according to the law he should be handed over to the Chengdu Prefecture for trial. As the chief bailiff of the Chengdu Prefecture, I have no choice but to take responsibility, I absolutely will not permit you to do as you please!"

  That man sneered and pulled out a token from his bosom, holding it high. Under the light of the torches, one could see that the token was engraved with the three big characters "Shu Wang Fu". He said proudly: "Bu Zong, the head of the capture squad, you must know who is the sister of my family's young master? Tang Siwen, as the biological brother of the Shu King's concubine, it's not for you to decide how to deal with him."

  Bu Guan's face changed, and he shouted: "The prince who breaks the law is the same as a commoner, as long as it's something that happens under the jurisdiction of Chengdu Prefecture, what can't be handled by the local officials?"

  Tang Ju sneered, "Mind your own business about the Shu King's mansion. As the chief historian of the Shu King's mansion, I order you to scram immediately. Hmph, a mere ninth-rank capture officer like you really thinks he's some kind of big shot?"

  Bu Guan's face suddenly changed color, and he shouted: "Although this official is only a humble ninth-rank official, wearing this official uniform represents the great law of Sui. Let alone you being just the Long Historian of Shu Wang Fu, even if Shu Wang himself were to come, don't think that this official would retreat half a step."

  Tang Jixue's face turned red with rage as he sneered, "Bu Guangsui, Bu Guangsui, I knew you were a blockhead who didn't understand anything, but I didn't think you were also a stinky and hard stone from the latrine. Whatever, today I'll condescend to clean up after you."

  He suddenly raised his arm and made a few swift, light movements with his fingers. Bu Guang's eyes narrowed and he quickly pulled out the iron ruler from his waist, using the "Su Qin Back Sword" move to protect himself. A series of seven or eight extremely light and fine ringing sounds echoed through the air, causing Bu Guang to stumble as if he had been hit by a giant war hammer. His body swayed and he fell off his horse. However, he was quite skilled with his hands and managed to steady himself in time, avoiding a fall. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Tang Jue learned continued to make several more swift finger movements. A sudden, sharp ringing sound forced Bu Guang to take a step back. By the time Tang Jue learned finally stopped, he had already been pushed back several yards and was unable to stop Tang's men from entering the wine shop to search.

  Tang Jixue smiled and said: "General Bu is indeed a reasonable person, I'll accept your kindness." With a wave of his left hand, the crowd rushed into the Jin Guan building. Immediately after, someone exclaimed in surprise: "It's Dong Xie Hu Fa! And Xi Du Hu Fa is also here... how are they all..." At this point, someone hastily ran out and whispered something in Tang Jixue's ear.

  Bad news reached his ears, and the long history of Shu King's mansion turned gloomy. He immediately turned his head sharply towards Li Shentong and Yang Zhaowang. His eyes were sharper than knives. He said slowly: "Chief Tao, it seems you have something to do. Two guards from our Tang family were unfortunately killed, and their bodies are now in the building. As the chief of this city's capture, shouldn't this be your responsibility?"

  "Are those two freaks dead?" Bu Guang's face turned extremely ugly, not because he was mourning the loss of Dong Xizuo and Xi Du, but because he had been ambushed by Tang Ju's hidden weapon earlier and his blood was still boiling. He beckoned a constable to come over and gave him two orders. The constable went inside to investigate and came back to report that indeed someone had died. Bu Guang's face turned iron-green as he shouted, "Li Shentong, Yang Yu! Now you're not only secretly fighting and disturbing the citizens of the city, but also suspected of murder! Follow me back to the yamen quietly, or else don't blame my subordinates for being ruthless!"

  Li Shenfu was furious: "What's this nonsense about east and west? I, the young master, have never heard of it. They're dead, what does that have to do with me?"

  "It doesn't matter whether it's your business or not, let's go to the government office and sort it out." The one who spoke was not Bo Guangxu, but Tang Jixue. He waved his hand, and immediately his subordinates surrounded Yang Shaowei and Li Shentong in three layers, inside and out, making it impossible for them to escape. Li Shentong had internal injuries and couldn't muster up any real energy. Even if he wanted to resist, he was powerless. Yang Zhao revealed a mischievous smile, casually putting his hands behind his back, without showing any intention of resisting.

  It seems like someone has indeed provoked a person they shouldn't have messed with.