Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Surrender

Guo Wei could no longer help with Big Saber Hong’s situation. He could refuse Wang Ren, and even refuse to work for Young Master Yan, but he couldn’t rush up Cyan Cloud Mountain to fight alongside Big Saber Hong.

Commoners don’t fight officials.

All Guo Wei could do was look out for himself.

After eating at the Martial Arts Hall, Chu Lingguang returned to Liu Family Gully. He washed up, then sat on his bed and began to practice the Tidal Breathing Technique. He made time for this training every day and had never once slacked off.

Days passed, and the battle between Big Saber Hong and the Government Office reached a fever pitch.

「Five days later.」

「That night.」

The government personnel besieging the mountain to cut off Big Saber Hong’s supplies heard voices from above.

“We surrender!”

“Spare us! We surrender!”

“Give us something to eat!”

At first, there were only a few voices, but they steadily grew in number until they echoed across the entirety of Cyan Cloud Mountain.

CLANG!

CLINK!

A moment later, bundles of blades, spears, and clubs were thrown down by the bandits.

Then, a group of bandits holding torches high knelt on the mountain path, waiting for the government forces to ascend and capture them.

One of the minor leaders even shouted, “We surrender! Our Village Chief is tied up on the mountaintop. He is now at your mercy!”

“Damn him! Does he really think he’ll be allowed to live just because he surrendered?”

Tie Zhennan’s arm was wrapped in gauze. He had crossed swords with Big Saber Hong recently and had not come out on top. His reputation would be damaged if he didn’t capture Big Saber Hong himself.

He never expected Big Saber Hong to just surrender.

Furious, he took Magistrate Li’s men and charged up the mountain first.

“Tie up all these bandits. A few of you, with me!”

Wang Chao was startled. If Big Saber Hong was taken by Magistrate Li’s men, how would he answer to Wang Ren?

But after just a few steps, he felt something was wrong.

After a moment’s thought, he decided not to follow Tie Zhennan’s men up the main path. Instead, he led a group toward the back of the mountain. He remembered Guo Wei taking Chu Lingguang to see Big Saber Hong via a trail there.

He had heard from Guo Wei how Big Saber Hong had cut down a corrupt official during the Provincial Examination. ’A man like that wouldn’t just wait to be captured and killed,’ he thought, ’especially not by surrendering to the Government Office.’

“Chief, someone’s there!”

“Who!”

“Big Saber Hong, I know it’s you!”

Just as he’d suspected. By the time Wang Chao and his men reached the base of the back mountain, they spotted a figure silently descending under the cover of night.

The squad originally stationed there had heard about the surrender and run to the front to watch the excitement. Wang Chao’s arrival was perfectly timed to catch him.

“Hmph!”

The man snorted, drawing his saber and slashing at the men. The resulting Sword Sound was enough to make one’s hair stand on end. It was none other than Big Saber Hong.

“Big Saber Hong, you can’t win against the Court! Surrender!”

Wang Chao shouted.

Then, he saw a flash of cold steel arcing toward him. Big Saber Hong’s Saber Technique was masterful, and his Qi Blood was far superior to anyone else’s. Wang Chao realized the men he’d brought couldn’t stop him.

He managed to block only two strikes before Big Saber Hong kicked him in the chest, sending him flying. Before he could even get up, he felt the chill of a blade descending and screamed in terror, “My master is Guo Wei!”

Big Saber Hong froze.

The blade, which had been aimed for Wang Chao’s neck, suddenly shifted, slicing off one of his ears instead. Big Saber Hong then mounted Wang Chao’s warhorse and charged away from Cyan Cloud Mountain.

“Chief!”

“He’s getting away!”

“Our men are all injured!”

The government constables were in a panic; they had nearly died on the spot.

Blood was streaming down Wang Chao’s face. As he watched Big Saber Hong’s retreating figure, a horrified realization struck him. “Damn it!” he cried. “He’s going to the County Yamen to kill Lord Wang!”

“What?”

The constables were all stunned.

“Quick, warn the others!”

Wang Chao yelled.

「An hour later.」

A messenger constable galloped back to the County Yamen. As he raced toward the rear courtyard, he shouted, “My lord, Big Saber Hong has surrendered!”

“What’s that noise?”

Startled from his revelry, Wang Ren leaped to his feet.

“My lord, Big Saber Hong has surrendered! We’ve won!”

The messenger’s voice rang out again.

Hearing this, Wang Ren was so excited he practically danced. “Hahaha, I’ve finally accomplished something big for Young Master Yan!”

He ran out of the room, still in his sleepwear.

“My lord, Big Saber Hong has surrendered. We’ve won.”

The messenger constable knelt before him.

“Haha, very good. Is he in Chief Wang’s hands?”

Wang Ren knew that only by personally handing Big Saber Hong over to Young Master Yan could he win his favor.

“I don’t know, my lord,” the constable explained. “But when I left, I saw Chief Wang gathering his men. I assume they were headed up the mountain to capture Big Saber Hong.”

“What? If Magistrate Li gets his hands on Big Saber Hong, I’ll have all of your heads!”

Wang Ren was furious. He barked at his attendants and the nearby constables, “Help me dress! Get my horse! I’m going to capture Big Saber Hong myself!”

“Lord Wang, no need to trouble yourself. I’ve delivered myself to your doorstep.”

Carrying a blood-soaked long saber, Big Saber Hong had fought his way into the County Yamen. With most of the yamen’s men away besieging him on Cyan Cloud Mountain, its defenses were at their absolute weakest.

“B-Big Saber Hong, don’t do anything rash! I am an official of the Court! If you dare…”

Wang Ren simply couldn’t believe his eyes.

Big Saber Hong had actually appeared inside the County Yamen.

SWOOSH!

He didn’t even finish his sentence before a flash of cold steel came cleaving at him. He snatched a saber from a nearby constable and, still in his sleepwear, began trading blows with Big Saber Hong in the rear courtyard.

The Great Yuan Dynasty revered martial arts.

How could a County Magistrate like Wang Ren not know any Kung Fu?

But he had been so busy exploiting the common people over the years that his Martial Arts had long grown rusty. Facing a bandit leader like Big Saber Hong, Wang Ren, just like Wang Chao, only managed to parry a few blows before his own saber was sent flying.

“I serve Young Master Yan—”

It was a pity. While Wang Chao had sensed danger and invoked Guo Wei’s name, Wang Ren chose to invoke Young Master Yan. He didn’t even get the name out before Big Saber Hong’s blade sliced through his neck. As his head flew into the air, Big Saber Hong followed up with a second slash, cleaving Wang Ren’s body in two.

AHHH!

His wives and concubines screamed in terror behind him.

Big Saber Hong showed no mercy, cutting down anyone connected to Wang Ren, sparing no one. By the time he was gone and Wang Chao finally arrived with reinforcements, the sight of the carnage in the yamen’s rear courtyard made Wang Chao’s legs give out from under him. He collapsed to the ground in terror.

「The next morning.」

When the news reached the Martial Arts Hall, Guo Wei was speechless for a long time.

In their youth, he and Big Saber Hong had taken the Provincial Examination together. He had witnessed firsthand Big Saber Hong cutting down a corrupt official, so he knew the man would never allow himself to be passively slaughtered.

But he never imagined Hong would feign surrender, storm the County Yamen alone, and kill Wang Ren on the spot—slaughtering his entire family, from his wives and concubines to his children. As cathartic as the act might have been, it meant he would now be a wanted man by the Court.

Escaping with his life wouldn’t be so easy this time.

「Three days later.」

Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu were in the rear courtyard practicing their Spear Technique.

Wang Chao, his face wrapped in gauze, ran in and knelt before Guo Wei. “Big Saber Hong could have killed me. It was only because I am your disciple that he only took my ear. I have brought shame upon our school. Please punish me, Master!”

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