Chapter 129 Ruckus (1/2)

The lumbering man, towering at more than 2 meters tall, carrying his huge, menacing sabre was called Wu Zhenjiang (Wu the Conqueror of Raging Rivers), a name so imposing that, when coupled with his hulking length and girth, many locals in the vicinity of Ji River feared and avoided him. What a pity it was, that he met Li Ye.

Wu Zhenjiang was rescued from the water and he collapsed on to the wooden planks of the ship's bow, lying down, gasping for breath like a fish out of water. The two other young men, whom he always greatly respected, were also tightly bound in ropes. One of them was so badly beaten that the swells and bruises of his face rendered him unrecognizable.

The other was tossed into the air by Li Ye that he crashed through the cabins of the ship with his head used as a battering ram. He too was badly wounded.

Li Ye muttered a few words to Liu Zhiyan, ordering the latter to take every bandit who was blocking the way into custody, before he walked to Wu Zhenjiang and crouched in front of him. Like the two young men, the seething Wu Zhenjiang wore an angry and defiant look.

”You have pride, I like that. It's better than some sniveling fool that begs for mercy,” Li Ye uttered, slapping lightly on Wu Zhenjiang's face with a smirk of admiration.

”Kill me or torture me! Do as you will! I will never give in, lest I dishonor my own name!” Wu Zhenjiang screamed at the top of his voice, his taut sinewy throat stretching tightly, full of the stoutness and arrogance of a swordsman of the Jianghu.

Li Ye giggled. ”As if you have much honor to have my family name,” he remarked jokingly, ”Still, I can fulfill your wish if you so choose to be so heroic.”

A jeweled dagger appeared in his hand. Li Ye tested the sharpness of its blade by running a thumb down the side of the edges before holding the weapon at Wu Zhenjiang's throat. ”Truth be told, I have ample admiration for self-respecting heroics of the people in the Jianghu,” he turned serious and said, ”I know full well that you'd die rather than dishonor your name. Rest assured that I will have a stone plaque set here as a memorial to you after your death.”

There was not a hint of jest in Li Ye's voice. Before he had even finished, the runes on the dagger began shining.

Wu Zhenjiang's eyes immediately widened with shock. His eyes darted to the shining dagger, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets as he struggled to maintain his smug expression. ”Kill me! Go ahead! But be assured that this is not the end!” He bellowed loudly, ”Mark my words! In three days! You will join me in death! All of you!”

”Oh?” Li Ye's grip on the hilt of the dagger slackened.

Seeing that Li Ye's hand had lowered the dagger, Wu Zhenjiang thought that his ruse was working! Li Ye was afraid! He quickly put on a self-satisfied and pompous grin. ”You are powerful,” he continued yelling loudly, ”But how powerful can you be? Do you think you are the most powerful around here, with just this bit of followers?”

He flexed his shoulders, trying to make himself seem more comfortable. ”I am a son of the Wu family from Qizhou,” he spoke proudly, ”What do you take us for? Kill me if you dare, and my family will make sure that none of you survives! Not even your remains!”

Li Ye began rubbing his chin with interest. ”The Wu family from Qizhou...” he muttered softly. He turned to the two young men, wearing a feigned expression of surprise. ”Are you also from the Wu family?”

Realizing that Wu Zhenjiang's ruse seemed to work, the young man with his face badly swollen yelled smugly, ”Release us at once and apologize to us! There is still time for penance! Inconsequential fools like you should understand the greatness of the Wu family! Every river gang down the Ji River swears fealty to the Wu family! Defy us and your whole family will die a most terrible death!”

”A most terrible death? Our whole families, you say?” Li Ye remarked, his face still wearing the feigned expression of alarm. ”Is the Wu family indeed so powerful in Qizhou that they are above the law? Why are the local magistrates not doing anything?”

”Local magistrates?” The swollen young man coughed. His chin raised proudly as he began to savor the sensation of vengeance. ”We are the law here! These are troubled times! The family that has the most practitioners of magical skills on retainer are the most powerful! Not even the local magistrates would dare antagonize the Wu family! A mere glare by the Wu family is enough to bring them to their knees!”

”Oh my, they are so powerful?” Li Ye observed.

”Hmph! Only now you realized, do you! Release us quickly, lest woe betide all of you!” The swollen young man boomed proudly, ”Bring all your riches and prostrate yourselves before the Wu family and beg for mercy! The Big Master of your gang seemed pretty enough! Present her as a gift to the master of our family, and you might save yourselves!”

Li Ye shook his head, chuckling cheerfully to himself. He turned to the Ugly Man. ”Have you recorded everything?”

The Ugly Man was holding a disc, a magical instrument that allowed its user to record a short visual recording when activated with one's Spiritual Qi. He nodded to Li Ye and said, ”I have.”

Li Ye nodded in acknowledgment. He chortled with delight. ”Set sail for the Wu family of Qizhou!”

The Ugly Man bowed, and trotted off to relay the order.

Wu Zhenjiang and the young men were beaming to hear this. ”Good for you to surrender yourselves,” they began squealing, ”Release us quickly! Prepare food and wine for us!”

Li Ye turned back to regard them as if he had momentarily forgotten about them. He waved for his guards and muttered, ”Hang them up on the ship's mast. Let everyone on the way see them. They will be fine gifts for us to present to the Wu family when we get there. A guest should not visit a host without gifts, eh?”

Wu Zhenjiang and the young men were stunned. ”What?!” They gasped in unison, hardly being able to believe their ears.

Was Li Ye not alarmed and frightened?! They thought. Should Li Ye be releasing them and apologizing to them by now before treating them like kings and princes?! But why he ordered to hang them on the mast? It was totally wrong.

The three, as if waking up from a dream, immediately began yelling angrily.

”You are courting death!”

”This is not the end! You'll see!”

”You'll be destroyed, I swear!”