The moment Wang Ping aimed his arrow at the county yamen, Xu Bingzheng felt an icy killing intent lock onto him. His face flushed with a mix of fear and rage.
“Stinking grunts… I knew they couldn’t be trusted!”
He gritted his teeth, glaring at Wang Ping outside the yamen. The man’s demeanor ignited an intense wave of humiliation and fury within him.
What was his status? How dare a mere peasant point an arrow at him…
He quickly suppressed his anger, however. Given his martial arts, he knew he could block Wang Ping’s arrow. But he was already in poor condition. Forcibly blocking the shot would only aggravate his injuries.
He found this unacceptable.
A second later, he made a decisive choice. Enduring the agonizing pain of worsening his wounds, he circulated his internal force.
Almost simultaneously, Wang Ping released the bowstring. Like a stone dropping into a lake, visible ripples of air blasted outward from the loosed arrow.
Silence swallowed the surroundings.
The arrow left sound itself behind. The dragon-like streak of light rapidly closed the distance to the county yamen through a noiseless world.
Right then, four figures stepped into the arrow’s path. Astonishment and disbelief lingered on their faces, yet their bodies moved without hesitation. They used their externally-perfected flesh and blood as shields, forcibly grinding away the arrow’s blazing crimson light!
Everyone, aside from Wang Ping, failed to react.
This included the four veteran constables who had reached external perfection. Confusion filled their faces right before death; they had no idea why they had suddenly stepped forward.
Only Wang Ping knew the reason.
The 【Heavenly Roc Capturing the Dragon Cultivation Diagram】… this dog official actually didn’t lie. He really used the 【Thrall Dragon Force】 to secretly turn these veteran constables into puppets.
Boom!
The arrow shattered the defense, leaving a trail of frost in its wake. After tearing through the four veteran constables, it lost none of its momentum and plunged into the depths of the county yamen.
Soon after, Wang Ping seemingly sensed something and let out a sigh.
“A pity. I failed to kill him.”
Before he finished speaking, the flesh across his body began bursting open. His vision rapidly darkened. Intense dizziness and exhaustion robbed him of the strength to stand.
The main doors of the county yamen slowly pushed open. Xu Bingzheng strolled out wearing his imposing official robes. He gripped an arrow in his hand. Blood dripped from the webbing between his thumb and forefinger. He was injured, but judging from his calm expression, the damage was minor.
“Excellent archery. Have you perfected the 【Heaven-Shaking Cloud-Piercing Bow】?”
Xu Bingzheng stared at the blood-soaked Wang Ping, who remained surrounded. He spoke in a deep voice, “You are a man of fine talent. Why choose the path of a rebel? You have only yourself to blame for your current state.”
“Sorry, my hearing isn’t great.”
Wang Ping gripped his saber hilt and chuckled lightly. “If His Exellency the Magistrate has something to say, please come closer. Otherwise, I really can’t hear you.”
Xu Bingzheng: “…….”
“A man of great wealth does not sit near the edge of the roof.” Xu Bingzheng sneered. “If you lack the ability to reach me, it is your own incompetence. I have no obligation to accommodate you.”
Despite his words, he felt far less composed than he looked.
The arrow had pierced through four heavily-armored, externally-perfected martial artists and still retained enough power to make him bleed. If he had faced it alone…
For the first time in years, Xu Bingzheng felt a chilling dread.
What angered him even more was Wang Ping’s expression. The man’s life was a candle in the wind, death imminent, yet his face showed no fear.
Did he possess another trump card?
With this in mind, the usually cautious Xu Bingzheng stepped back instead of advancing, keeping the remaining constables positioned between them.
This battle cost the yamen nearly half its constables, including all four veterans. The Imperial Court’s grip on Longxing County would undoubtedly become precarious. Yet, Xu Bingzheng didn’t care. Compared to these losses, his personal safety remained the top priority for the Court and the world.
He had come to Longxing County under a secret imperial decree.
Shouldering a heavy responsibility, he carried the hopes of the common people. If he died at the hands of a boor who failed to see the big picture, the common folk would suffer the consequences.
Therefore, nothing mattered more than his own life.
Besides, by saving him, those stinking grunts died a worthy death. Everyone knew that, despite what the books said about equality between the noble and the lowly, some lives were simply worth more than others.
“What are you staring at? Kill him!”
At Xu Bingzheng’s command, the constables who had previously cleared a path closed in again. However, they remained cautious, terrified that Wang Ping would launch a sudden, fatal attack.
Seeing this, Wang Ping suddenly burst into laughter.
“Hahaha!”
His laughter carried no panic of an impending death, only sheer exhilaration.
He had settled his karma in this life regarding Old Liu and Madam Su. Dying publicly here ensured they wouldn’t be implicated.
Moreover, the deed of single-handedly breaking an army is quite heroic. If I use 【The Taiping Classic】 to process my corpse after death, I should draw a pretty good scripture, right?
Wang Ping mused happily. This outcome satisfied his conscience while guaranteeing a reward—a truly perfect conclusion.
Beyond this, one thing excited him the most.
“Hey, dog official.”
The next second, Wang Ping reached into his robes and pulled out a porcelain bottle. A label pasted on it featured five flamboyant characters:
【Heaven’s Will Soul-Returning Pill】.
“This is what you want, right?”
“Stop!” Xu Bingzheng threw his hand up, halting the constables. His eyes burned with intensity. “Give me the pill, and I will spare your life.”
“…Sure.”
Wang Ping grinned and casually tossed the bottle into Xu Bingzheng’s hand. He chuckled softly, “Here’s the pill. Let’s see if you dare eat it.”
Xu Bingzheng’s expression shifted rapidly. He understood Wang Ping’s underlying threat. A label didn’t guarantee the contents. The martial world was treacherous; heaven knew what the bottle actually held. What if it contained a lethal poison?
But he soon regained his composure.
“Why wouldn’t I dare? I can simply find someone to test it. One try will reveal its authenticity. If it’s real, fine. If it’s fake…”
Xu Bingzheng’s gaze turned cold.
“…Then it only means you’ve already eaten it.”
“When the time comes, I’ll toss your corpse into an alchemy furnace and refine it as an ingredient. Trust me, you cannot digest that pill’s potency.”
He stared intently at Wang Ping, hoping to see even a sliver of fear. Instead, he saw only disdain.
“You think you can still get my corpse?”
“What?”
Xu Bingzheng’s heart jolted. He urged his men on again. “Charge! Whoever kills this man becomes the new Head Constable, along with a reward of a thousand taels of silver—”
Thud!
Before he finished, Wang Ping lost all breath. He dropped to his knees, his bones and sinews shattered, blood pouring freely. Then, before everyone’s eyes—
He vanished.
His spilled blood remained on the ground, yet his flesh and bones were completely gone. Only his bloodstained clothes lay sprawled out. His corpse vanished without a trace!
Xu Bingzheng could no longer sit still. He strode forward, his face ashen, and inspected the scene. All his prior smugness evaporated, replaced by deep apprehension. “The corpse vanished. Such a bizarre occurrence. Could the evil entity attached to Shouchong have taken an interest in this man as well?”
At this thought, he lost the desire to investigate further.
Or rather, this fell outside his realm of concern.
Shifting his gaze, he casually pointed at the strongest remaining constable and spoke in a deep voice, “From today onward, you are the yamen’s new Head Constable.”
“…Yes, sir.”
The chosen constable lowered his head and replied respectfully. He sounded excited, but Xu Bingzheng detected a hint of insincerity in his tone.
This darkened his expression further.
The impact Wang Ping left from this battle extended far beyond that simple arrow. Or perhaps… that arrow was never meant to kill him.
Rather than taking my life, he aimed to destroy my reputation.
Xu Bingzheng understood now. To block Wang Ping’s desperate arrow, he had exposed both his puppet-controlling ability and his personal conduct.
In short—a subordinate’s merit belongs to the superior, and a superior’s fault falls on the subordinate.
Everyone now knew he would force subordinates to act as human shields during a crisis. How could such a man ever earn anyone’s loyalty?
Whatever, it doesn’t matter.
I won’t be stationed here permanently anyway. Lunatics like Wang Ping, who disregard their lives to storm the yamen, are rare. There won’t be a second one.
Dismissing the thought, Xu Bingzheng hurriedly brought the pill back to his study in the yamen. He extracted the pill from the bottle. It looked like a translucent glass bead. Just exposing it to the air filled the surroundings with a medicinal fragrance.
“It seems authentic.”
Xu Bingzheng stared greedily, swallowing hard. He forced down his impulses, carefully set up a stand, and gently scraped off a layer of powder.
Following this, he summoned a yamen servant inside.
“Eat this.”
In the past, the servant would have swallowed it without hesitation. This time, however, the servant hesitated at Xu Bingzheng’s command.
This shift instantly enraged the Magistrate.
“Bastard!”
He slapped the servant across the face. Too impatient for words, he forcibly poured the powder down the man’s throat.
Under Xu Bingzheng’s expectant gaze, the servant dry-heaved for a moment before dropping to the floor in abject terror. A full quarter of an hour passed, yet his body showed no reaction… Seeing this, Xu Bingzheng’s eyes lit up.
“It’s genuine!”
Wang Ping had previously studied the actual effects of the Heaven’s Will Soul-Returning Pill but gained nothing, as consuming it produced no immediate changes.
He simply lacked the key information.
“Had my master not guided me beforehand, I would likely be just as clueless. Within the Imperial Court, the Heaven’s Will Soul-Returning Pill goes by another name.”
The 【Elixir of Immortality】.
The body showed no changes upon consumption because its medicinal effects acted upon the future. Put simply, one pill granted ten years of lifespan!
“Just in case, I should slice off a small piece to check.”
Xu Bingzheng reconsidered and gouged out a tiny piece from the pill’s edge, forcing the servant to ingest it again. However, this time, the servant suddenly clutched his throat.
Shortly after, the man collapsed to the ground.
Dead from poisoning.
“A trap, as expected… It’s the Intestine-Severing Pill.”
Xu Bingzheng’s face turned livid. He studied it carefully again. He meticulously shaved away the outer layers of the longan-sized pill, forcibly removing a thick coating.
He poisoned three more servants during testing before finally extracting a fingernail-sized pill. It proved entirely non-toxic, and its properties matched the descriptions of the Heaven’s Will Soul-Returning Pill. Xu Bingzheng finally breathed a sigh of relief. Treating it like an invaluable treasure, he stored it in a new container.
“This medicine is extremely precious. I must send it to my master.”
Though he craved the ten years of lifespan, he was still in his prime. Rather than a longer life, he desired career advancement to continue contributing to the common people.
He immediately waved his hand.
“Men, bring my Golden-Eyed Eagle. Send this urgently to the Imperial Academy in the capital. Have Master Cheng take it as soon as possible, and tell him it is a token of his disciple’s filial piety…”
By early the next morning, the stench of blood finally dissipated.
Doors reopened in every household. Countless people gossiped about a single topic—the battle that engulfed half the county town last night.
The news quickly spread from the city to the outskirts.
Seven days later, in the peach grove outside the city.
Madam Su had discarded her dress for mourning clothes, sitting blankly on a bluestone by the stream.
Beside her, a young woman with long, slender legs and her hair tied in a high ponytail softly recounted the news she had gathered in and out of the city.
“I must admit, the man was fiercely brave.”
“Though his dying arrow failed to kill that dog official, it severely crippled the morale of Longxing County, throwing the city into deeper chaos.”
“Right now, even the yamen constables harbor grievances against the Magistrate.”
“As for him, though they can’t find his corpse, he must be dead…”
Before she finished, Madam Su, who had been staring blankly with a wandering mind, suddenly turned her head. A faint glimmer appeared in her dazed, beautiful eyes:
“No corpse?”
“Uh, indeed, they haven’t found it. But you’d best not overthink it, cousin. Bizarre events usually involve huge complications. It’s best to just assume he’s dead…”
Madam Su shook her head vigorously.
Seeing this, the tall woman could only sigh and gently advise, “Don’t forget, cousin. Although he saved your life, the danger also arose because of him.”
“If he hadn’t killed that yamen Head Constable, you wouldn’t have fallen into danger. Even fleeing the city in the end was largely his fault. While stepping up showed he had a sense of responsibility, you owe him nothing. Now that he’s dead, your karmic ties are settled…”
“You don’t understand. He was different.” Madam Su shook her head again.
She fell into another daze.
She suddenly recalled that absurd night when the young constable pulled her waist close and whispered softly in her ear.
He said he would guarantee her safety in this life.
He had actually done it.
The scenes from their brief half-month together flooded her mind, finally pausing on the young constable’s fearless smile before he left.
“A conversation struck, life and death shared, a promise worth a thousand gold…”
At this moment, Madam Su—who hadn’t shed a tear but laughed upon hearing of Chen Haoyan’s death—suddenly choked up. Two lines of clear tears rolled down her cheeks.