xymnovel Chapter 152 Shan Xiongxin: What do the people of Wagang have to do with me? Get lost!
Chapter 152 Shan Xiongxin: What do the people of Wagang have to do with me? Get lost!
"Who goes there?" Zuo Xiong's booming voice broke the silence of the standoff.
"This man is a wanted criminal personally ordered by the Prince of Shuo of the Imperial Court. Do you intend to harbor a criminal and defy the Heavenly Army?"
Xie Yingdeng scrambled to hide behind Shan Xiongxin's horse, pleading pitifully:
"Master Shan! For the sake of our past friendship as bandits, I beg you to lend a hand and save my life!"
Cheng Yaojin's eyes darted around, he chuckled dryly twice, and spoke first:
"Old Xie, it's not that I, Old Cheng, am ungrateful. But we brothers dare not get involved in the affairs of Wagang and the Prince of Shuo of the Imperial Court."
He spoke tactfully, distancing himself completely.
Yu Junda rubbed his hands together and echoed in a muffled voice:
"Yao Jin is right. Brother Xie, it's not that we're being disloyal, it's just... we can't afford to offend them."
Although he did not explicitly say he would drive them away, his underlying reluctance was all too clear.
Xie Yingdeng's heart sank, and he avoided the gazes of Cheng Yaojin and You Junda.
He stared intently at Shan Xiongxin's sharply defined profile, his voice trembling with a final gasp: "Master... Master Shan!"
Shan Xiongxin sat upright on his horse, remaining silent for several breaths before finally speaking:
"Xie Yingdeng, ever since the day I severed ties with Wagang, I have had no intention of concerning myself with your life or death."
After speaking, he said no more and walked straight past Xie Yingdeng, heading back the mountain path he had come from.
Upon seeing this, Cheng Yaojin, You Junda, and the others also turned their horses around and followed closely behind.
Zuo Xiong was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized what was going on, and his sinister smile grew even wider.
It turned out that this group of bandits was not with Xie Yingdeng, so they no longer had any scruples.
More than a hundred Red Guards horses neighed and instantly formed an impenetrable encirclement, trapping the ashen-faced Xie Yingdeng at its core.
"Prepare to die!"
Zuo Xiong lost his patience and roared, urging his horse to charge straight ahead.
The fish-headed and phoenix-tailed axe sliced through the air with a mournful whistle, and cleaved down with the force of splitting mountains and shattering rocks!
Xie Yingdeng barely managed to raise his sword to parry, but a loud clang rang out, and he was violently slammed off his horse by a tremendous force.
His vision went black, his ears were ringing, and he struggled to get up, only to see a cold axe light rapidly enlarging in his field of vision.
Click!
The next moment, Xie Yingdeng's head was separated from his body and picked up by Zuo Xiong with one hand.
On the blood-soaked head, the eyes were still wide open, frozen in their final shock and resentment.
Zuo Xiong remained unfazed, tore off a piece of coarse cloth, hastily wrapped the severed head, and tied it to the neck of his warhorse.
"withdraw."
He glanced at the headless corpse twitching on the ground, then coldly turned his horse around.
About half an incense stick later, Shan Xiongxin and his party, who had already left, turned back.
The crowd stood silently by the roadside, watching Xie Yingdeng's miserable state.
"Collect his body and send it back to Wagang Village."
After a long silence, Shan Xiongxin finally spoke, his voice still calm.
"Second Brother Shan, what you've done..."
Cheng Yaojin was somewhat surprised.
"It's not for him," Shan Xiongxin interrupted, his gaze sweeping across the wilderness.
"To bury those who have died violently on the road is simply a basic code of conduct for those who roam the martial world."
"Xie Yingdeng, it was just a favor, it has nothing to do with past feelings."
The henchmen did as instructed and hastily collected Xie Yingdeng's mangled body.
"Well, luckily I, Old Cheng, ran fast, otherwise I would have perished with Wagang."
Cheng Yaojin stared at the corpse being carried away, clicked his tongue, and shook his head as he sighed.
By this time, Lü Xiao had already safely returned to the Zheng family's ancestral home.
The once bustling Zheng family mansion is now silent, with only a few embers flickering in the night.
His deep gaze turned toward Wagang, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Based on his years of understanding of Wang Bodang, he knew that this man was vindictive and ruthless.
Wang Junke is half-dead and has been betrayed by Wagangzhai. Wang Bodang will never let him go easily.
Now that the people of Wagang have witnessed Lu Xiao's ruthless methods firsthand, their fear is beyond words.
Fear is often the most effective way to unite people.
Those generals who originally had their own agendas will surely band together for mutual support in this life-or-death situation, and hold on to the crumbling banner of Wagang.
However, isn't it exactly what I wanted that they united as one?
Lu Xiao stood with his hands behind his back, thinking that if these people really scattered like birds and beasts, hiding their identities and disappearing into the martial world.
If he were to find them one by one and take revenge, that would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Now that they're all together, it saves him a lot of trouble.
He has to play this game piece by piece, and settle accounts one by one.
"Your Highness, it's late," Zhao Chong reminded him.
Lu Xiao nodded slightly, and just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly saw torches winding like dragons in the distance, and the sound of horses' hooves approaching from afar.
In less than half a day, an army of five thousand men had arrived at the city.
Under the firelight, the soldiers stood in perfect formation, their armor gleaming.
The leading general dismounted and, upon seeing Lü Xiao, immediately cupped his hands in greeting:
"This humble general, Zhang Cheng, the garrison commander of Hulao Pass, has led his troops to take over the Zheng family's territory. Please forgive my lateness, Your Highness!"
"Get up," Lü Xiao said, offering a helping hand. "You've arrived just in time. This place is now in your care; do not fail to guard it."
"This subordinate obeys!"
Zhang Cheng clasped his hands in response.
As soon as he finished speaking, Yuwen Chenglong, who had been unable to contain himself any longer, stepped forward, rubbing his hands together and chuckling:
"Your Highness, now that someone has taken over, shouldn't we get down to business?"
His eyes lit up; the Zheng family's ancestral graves were still waiting for them.
This guy's only thought is digging up people's ancestral graves.
Lu Xiao glanced at him, recalling how many times Yuwen Chenglong had boasted about his skills along the way.
There are no secrets to burial under the shovel; he is the first person to determine the location of the burial site.
Very well, let's see today if this kid is really as powerful as he claims.
"lead the way."
Lü Xiao's words were concise and to the point.
Yuwen Chenglong was immediately invigorated and was about to call for everyone to set off when he heard the sound of horses' hooves coming from afar.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Zuo Xiong leading more than a hundred Red Valiant soldiers galloping back.
"Your Highness!" Zuo Xiong called out from afar, his voice filled with excitement.
He rode up to the crowd, ripped off the cloth bag hanging from his horse's neck, and presented it with both hands, exclaiming, "The head of the Wagang bandit leader is here!"
Zhao Chong took the cloth bundle and untied it in the torchlight.
Lu Xiao stared intently, and saw that the head was pale and bluish-white with wide-open eyes; it was Xie Yingdeng.
When he left Wagang Village, this man had attacked him.
"Good, very good." Lu Xiao nodded, the coldness in his eyes lessening slightly. "You've done a great job by killing him."
"When I pursued this man, I encountered a group of strange people along the way."
Immediately afterwards, Zuo Xiong recounted what had just happened.
I heard that one person was carrying a jujube spear and the other was carrying a large axe.
Especially since the person wielding the axe was chubby, two figures immediately flashed into Lü Xiao's mind.
Isn't this Shan Xiongxin and Cheng Yaojin who left Wagang earlier?
It seems that Shan Xiongxin was truly heartbroken by his former sworn brother, and was able to sit idly by while Xie Yingdeng was killed.