Your Majesty, Please Stop!

Chapter 18: Advancing to the Eighth Stage

"There was a young man in the bandit stronghold who stayed up all night reading. He should be the grandson of that old bandit Xin. Although he was only in his teens, his Saber Technique had already reached the state of perfection. With one slash, he killed Li Qing, the second-in-command of the Tiger Bandit Gang, who was an eighth-stage expert. Then, he killed three other bandits who hadn't even reached the first stage. After that, he injured my subordinates and Ge Qige with one slash."

The young man used the same Saber Technique for all three slashes. Ge Qige had asked him about it afterwards, and the young man didn't hide anything, saying that the slash was called "a messy and unfathomable dog-like saber technique!"

Zhu Zhu dragged her left hand with the severed finger and recalled Xin Zhuo's slash. She couldn't help but find the name ridiculous, but she felt no amusement at all. Whether it was fear or pain, her body trembled uncontrollably.

"So, you're saying that there was only one young man in the bandit stronghold on the mountain, and that young man defeated all of you alone, with a Saber Technique called..."

Chen Jing sorted out his thoughts and was shocked again, "Perfected Saber Technique?"

The name doesn't matter, what matters is that it's a Perfected Saber Technique.

In the world of martial arts, whether it's palm techniques, Sword Technique, spear techniques, Saber Technique, poison, concealment, or death, they all have the Sixth Stage Artistic Conception. He had been practicing martial arts for twenty years and had only heard of the Perfected Saber Technique in terms of its form and momentum, but had never seen anyone display it.

"Yes! The form is simple, the momentum is perfect, the person and the saber are one, flawless and invincible. My master once explained the martial arts of the world in detail, and I know about it."

The wound on Zhu Zhu's severed finger was bleeding profusely, causing pain in her heart, but she couldn't suppress her immersion in astonishment and envy.

"Perfected, Perfected..." Chen Jing's square face, which rarely showed any expression, revealed a hint of indescribable astonishment and envy. He suddenly asked, "By the way, what stage is that young man at?"

"You can't tell his Realm without fighting. It seems like he cultivates some kind of concealment technique, but when he makes a move, his Blood Qi fluctuates, as if he hasn't reached the eighth stage."

"Not at the eighth stage... luckily, luckily."

Chen Jing breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Ge Qige, who had already fainted beside him. He couldn't help but angrily say, "You guys are not as good as Li Qing from the Tiger Bandit Gang. You knew how terrifying that young man was, so why didn't you come down the mountain to report it and instead chose to launch a surprise attack? You ended up hurting yourselves for no reason? How foolish!"

"We... didn't see it clearly at the time."

Zhu Zhu couldn't speak, but in fact, her desire for personal gain was at play. As a low-born member of a family, if she didn't achieve something, what future would she have?

Chen Jing was about to scold again when a constable beside him shouted, "Captain, the bandits from the Tiger Bandit Gang have escaped!"

Indeed, the bandits from the Tiger Bandit Gang had fled, running as fast as they could, disappearing into the mountains in the blink of an eye.

"Sun, the head of the Sun family!"

Chen Jing couldn't help but get angry and shouted, "Didn't we agree to accept the amnesty? Why did they break their promise?"

"Who cares about the amnesty? We won't accept it, daddy won't accept it!"

Sun Wu and his brothers ran through the trees and bushes at lightning speed. In his mind, he still heard the words of Xin Zhuo brought by one of his lackeys:

"Sun, the head of the Sun family, your ancestor has already passed away. The grudges can be put aside. We all make a living by shedding blood with our blades. Our heads might fall off at any time. Why should we kill each other? Besides, you might not be able to defeat me. If you want to accept the amnesty, forget about it. I heard that the new governor hates bandits. If you go to the capital, your head will definitely move out!

How about this? You stay in the north, and I'll stay in the south. We depend on each other for survival. The government is busy dealing with both ends, and they don't know who to eliminate. How about it?"

This was how the lackey stuttered, and he might have forgotten some words in the middle, but the meaning was like this.

Sun Wu felt that there was some truth to it, and he himself didn't really want to accept surrender.

However, why was Xin Lao's grandson so fierce? Li Qing wasn't much weaker than himself, yet he was beheaded with a single slash?

He touched his neck and felt a chill.

If it were him...

He wouldn't be able to seek revenge!

Damn it!

Chen Jing, the constable, watched as the bandits of Menghuo Village fled, feeling frustrated but helpless. These bandits were scattered all over the mountains, and he didn't have enough men.

It was a pity that so many constables had died during the day, and his two capable subordinates had just been defeated in Fulong Village. How was he going to explain this to the magistrate?

He looked towards the dark Fulong Mountain peak, then towards the direction of Menghuo Village. In fact, launching a full-scale attack on Fulong Village now, overwhelming them with absolute manpower, would be the best choice. After all, the young man with the Saber Technique was only at the eighth rank.

But having already clashed with Menghuo Village, and now the enemy had disappeared, this bandit stronghold was filled with numerous vicious and dangerous people, causing great harm. In comparison, Fulong Village with its few people seemed harmless to both humans and animals.

After weighing the pros and cons, he finally made a decision: "Let's temporarily leave Fulong Village alone, gather the best men from the five counties, invite five other constables, and jointly besiege Menghuo Village. Once Menghuo Village is destroyed, the situation will be clear, and Fulong Village will collapse on its own."

Let's all work hard together. If we fail to eliminate them within a month, we can all expect to face the consequences together!"

The magistrate personally ordered that all bandits in the Fulong Mountains be eradicated within a month. The entire prefecture and its five counties would be at his disposal.

If they failed to handle the situation, they could only invite the stationed troops outside the city and bring back the chief constable, losing face.

"Yes!"

...

Fulong Village, Assembly Hall.

The candles had been extinguished.

Cui Ying'er and the other four finally woke up, feeling numb all over and confused as they looked at each other.

"We're still alive. It seems like we were drugged. What's the meaning of the big boss?"

Huang Da Gui struggled to get up, cursing with a wide open mouth, but not daring to curse too harshly.

Bai Jian carefully looked around and noticed that Xin Zhuo was not there. He squinted his eyes and raised his slender finger, saying, "Although the big boss has extremely high martial arts skills, he is still a child. He was probably scared by the fighting scene under the mountain during the day and took the opportunity to run away. No one understands the big boss better than me."

The bandits fell silent. This statement made sense and the logic was sound, otherwise it would be difficult to explain.

At this moment, Cui Ying'er suddenly sniffed and got up to open the door.

Outside, the dawn was just breaking, and the faint morning light cast a grayish-white hue over the courtyard, revealing the gruesome scene within.

The ground was stained red with blood, and severed limbs were scattered everywhere, a sight that was both shocking and horrifying.

Li Qing, the second-in-command of Menghu Village, had a lonely and confused expression on his ashen face, which happened to be facing the direction of the Assembly Hall.

This expression seemed familiar, just like the decaying body of Chai Donghu.

The bandits were shocked by the scene before them.

After staring blankly for a while, Huang Dagui trembled and pointed to the lonely head on the ground, saying, "I recognize this head... It's Li Qing, the second-in-command of Menghu Village. Last year, I carried pork with him. He was a slippery guy. He died miserably."

"I think I understand now. The leader knew that Menghu Village would launch a night attack and was afraid of casualties, so he deliberately confused us and fought to the death. No one understands the leader better than me. We misunderstood him!"

Bai Jian's lips trembled, imagining a touching scene. He felt terrible and wanted to slap himself.

Han Jiulang anxiously looked around, but there was still no sign of Xin Zhuo. He couldn't help but panic and asked, "Where is the leader? Where did he go?"

Cui Ying'er quickly approached a corpse and gently touched it with two fingers, saying, "The body is not stiff yet, there is still warmth. He died not long ago. Let's go!"

The five of them left the village and followed the bloodstains on the ground to a giant rock at the foot of the peak. When they looked up, they saw Xin Zhuo.

It was dawn, and the soft morning light illuminated Xin Zhuo, whose linen clothes had been stained red with blood. He was leaning against the rock with his cheek in his hand, holding a stalk of grass in his mouth, looking down the mountain.

Beside him was a bloody gap in the shape of a goose feather, and a yellow dog with a red crest sat squatting.

One person, one dog, one knife.

It was like a tragic and beautiful painting.

Fighting alone against the night, blood staining his clothes, protecting the entire village alone.

The bandits couldn't help but feel dazed.

They had never imagined that the leader, who was often mentioned as "the leader said," would make them feel so safe and dependent one day, even more so than the former leader who would challenge anyone.

"Leader!"

The five of them simultaneously bowed respectfully.

Xin Zhuo, who was in a daze, turned his head to look at the five of them. His gaze swept over their heads, without a red crest or a high forehead, and he couldn't help but relax, saying, "Finally awake!"

He had been on high alert all night, not knowing what Menghu Village and the government below were planning. One thing was certain, they had indeed joined forces.

This was not good news. If the other side suffered losses and launched a major retaliation, it would be a real disaster.

"The leader's chivalry will last forever!"

"In our hearts, we will always follow the leader!"

Huang Dagui and Bai Jianxi were truly moved, speaking in a gentle tone that made Xin Zhuo uncomfortable.

"No need to be polite!"

Is it done? Can they feel it?

Xin Zhuo immediately cheered up and summoned the "Lunar Serenity Well." After a rough scan, he felt a bit disappointed.

[Cui Ying'er: Ninth Rank.]

[Han Qiniang: Ninth Rank.]

[Huang Dagui: Sub-Ninth Rank.]

[Bai Jianxi: Sub-Ninth Rank.]

[Han Jiulang: Sub-Ninth Rank.]

Their other attributes remained unchanged, only their Realm had improved, but not by much.

Is their potential too weak to be brought out?

No! According to the rules, the well water needs time to digest. It only temporarily changed their potential and still needs to accumulate over time.

Acceptable.

Seize it!

Moonlight: 56/100.

[A deep and stable Sub-Eighth Rank Realm.]

This time, only one ability was seized, which was deemed worthless and useless to the well owner according to the rules of the Lunar Serenity Well, so it couldn't be seized.

The combined Realm of the five people improved to a Sub-Eighth Rank Realm.

Absorb!

The shared "Sub-Eighth Rank Realm" was absorbed through their fingertips and quickly merged with their own "Sub-Eighth Rank Realm." Their bodies felt a slight soreness and numbness, as if some kind of shackles had been released.

After a while, they looked into the well again.

"Well Owner: Xin Zhuo!"

"Realm: Eighth Rank!"

Very good, he leveled up again! Eighth Rank Realm!

This made him somewhat relieved.

"Leader, have the people from Menghu Village retreated? Why are you standing here in a daze?"

Cui Ying'er, who couldn't see the existence of the Lunar Serenity Well, took two steps forward and looked at Xin Zhuo's still youthful face, slightly lost in thought.

"Not only Menghu Village, but the government officials also came last night. I don't know what they are planning."

Xin Zhuo's words were not shocking, but the bandits couldn't help but feel their hearts pounding.

(End of this chapter)