Chapter 486: Night of Blood

But they dared not refute Song Qianjin’s words. Offending Li Xiaofei could mean death. Offending Qin Weilong, a titan of power, would bring a fate worse than death not just for them, but for their entire families.

“Oh, so you didn’t know?” Li Xiaofei glanced at Secretary Song and said, “Then tell me, how should the Kong and Du families be dealt with?”

Song Qianjin forced a smile as he replied, “I am merely a humble secretary, here to serve. Matters like these are far beyond my authority to comment on.”

Li Xiaofei stared at him in silence. Panic surged through Song Qianjin’s heart as he realized he couldn’t avoid giving an answer.

Forcing another smile, he quickly added, “If I must offer an opinion, then I would suggest that they be dealt with strictly according to the laws of Great Xia. There should be no tolerance or leniency for their crimes.”

“Heh.” Li Xiaofei let out a faint chuckle. “Now you’re talking about the laws of Great Xia?”

Song Qianjin immediately replied, “City Leader Qin has always been unwavering in enforcing the law. He has never let criminals escape justice.”

Li Xiaofei didn’t waste further words on such a cunning and slippery man. Instead, he stated his intention plainly.

“I want them dead.”

Song Qianjin froze, a chill running down his spine. Li Xiaofei’s expression left no doubt that his words were no joke.

“Esteemed emissary, perhaps we could arrest them and send them to prison for a public trial? That way, justice could be served through the law, and compensation for the injured and deceased in the slum would be guaranteed,” Song Qianjin suggested tactfully.

Li Xiaofei shook his head. Cold sweat began to bead on Song Qianjin’s forehead and started to drip down his pale face.

Qin Weilong had tasked him with ensuring, at the very least, that the patriarchs of the two families were brought back alive. After all, they belonged to the same vested interest group. But now...

“Esteemed emissary, perhaps...” Song Qianjin attempted to speak again.

Swish!

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

A blade flashed through the air as a head fell to the ground. The expression on the city official’s face froze. In the next moment, his sycophantic, smiling head tumbled to the muddy ground like a ripened watermelon severed from its stem.

The city leader’s decree, once held tightly in his hand, fluttered in the wind. The Dragon Group’s intelligence records on this Secretary Song were extensive. Li Xiaofei had reviewed them. So Song Qianjin was dead.

The decree drifted in the breeze; the symbol of the city leader’s authority was now as lifeless as a withered leaf in the chill of autumn. Li Xiaofei lifted his foot and ground the decree into the dirt beneath him. He fixed his cold gaze on Kong Weilan.

"Draw your sword," Li Xiaofei commanded. "In the final moments of your life, I grant you one last chance to swing your sword. Consider it my final act of mercy."

Kong Weilan did not draw his sword. He dared not. He had just learned what had transpired at the Jiepeng Consulate. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, no matter how absurd and unbelievable it seemed, the evidence from multiple sources confirmed the truth. Tsukiha Tensō and You Longzi, two Saints, had fallen at Li Xiaofei's hands.

The surveillance recordings from the streets outside the consulate were particularly damning. The footage, though taken from a distance, clearly captured the entire process of the Saints' deaths.

Those images had been meticulously disseminated by certain forces and were now spreading like wildfire across the light-network. Kong Weilan had seen them. That swordsmanship was beyond his comprehension. It was swordsmanship against which he had no defense.

Though he was prideful, he understood that he was no match for Saints. And Li Xiaofei had slaughtered Saints as though they were dogs. Kong Weilan knew that he stood no chance against Li Xiaofei. The sword was in his hand. But the courage to wield it had deserted him.

"Heh," Li Xiaofei sneered, his expression full of mockery. "Coward."

Kong Weilan’s hand bulged with veins as it tightened on his sword. Even a beggar would feel rage when he was humiliated in front of tens of thousands, let alone a quasi-Saint like him. Yet, he still did not dare to act. Faced with a choice between death and humiliation, he chose the latter.

To endure when necessary is the mark of a true man.

Li Xiaofei shifted his gaze to the two family patriarchs kneeling in the mud. They lay prostrate like soaked chickens, trembling violently as they looked up at Li Xiaofei with pleading eyes.

"Honored emissary, I am willing to accept any punishment," one begged.

"Please, have mercy," the other pleaded.

Their earlier arrogance had been replaced by abject submission. Li Xiaofei shook his head and pointed to the distant crowd behind him.

"Ask them if they’ll agree to forgive you."

The crowd of impoverished fighters, stunned by the earlier spectacle, suddenly snapped out of their daze. But in the next moment, waves of grief for their lost loved ones and seething fury for their enemies crashed over them like a relentless storm.

Forgive them? Of course not. Letting this chance for vengeance slip away would mean a lifetime of regret. Though they said nothing, their expressions of hatred, the tightening grip on their weapons, and the slow, deliberate steps toward the kneeling men spoke volumes.

"I’m willing to compensate you! I can offer millions, billions, tens of billions!" The Du family patriarch’s desperation erupted as he pleaded frantically for his life. "I can open factories in the slum to create jobs. I can provide free porridge to the residents. I can even—"

Swish!

But he was answered by a breathtaking flash of blade light. The Chixia Blade carved a flawless arc through the air. His head fell to the ground and rolled away like a discarded stone.

Li Xiaofei raised his hand to retrieve the crimson curved blade. He said calmly, “I’ll remember your promises. Let’s hope the Du family fulfills the commitments made by their now-deceased patriarch.”

He turned his cold gaze on the Kong family patriarch. The man who, until this day, had dreamed of restoring the Kong family’s glory and building a super martial aristocracy in Haijing City now stood utterly defeated. His heart felt like it had frozen solid.

"I am willing to atone with my life." The Kong patriarch said quietly, rising to his feet.

He brushed the rainwater from his clothes, smoothed his disheveled hair with both hands, and straightened his appearance.

"Honored emissary, I only ask one thing, spare my son. He followed me here today but has not drawn his sword, nor harmed a single person."

"Father," Kong Weilan’s expression was shaken as his voice trembled.

"Remember this." The Kong family patriarch commanded sternly, his tone like thunder. "Today, I die by my own doing. You are never to seek revenge against the emissary!"

Kong Weilan’s entire body quaked, his heart heavy with grief and humiliation.

"Did you hear me?" The patriarch shouted again, his voice filled with anger and desperation. "Will you let me die with regrets?"

For a moment, Kong Weilan felt as though the rain had pierced through his protective qi barrier, drenching not just his face but his very soul.

"I understand!" He cried loudly.

Satisfied, the Kong patriarch spared no final glance for the son whom he had placed so much hope in. Instead, he turned to face Li Xiaofei with quiet resignation. There was no longer pride in his eyes, only the deep pleading of a father trying to save his bloodline.

“Such a tiresome and nauseating display,” Li Xiaofei remarked coldly. "If you had understood this sooner, none of this would have happened. Still, you’re correct; your son hasn’t drawn his sword or killed anyone today. I can spare him. I’ll even wait for him to come and avenge you. But I doubt this coward has the guts."

A fleeting look of wild joy flashed across the patriarch’s face. Nothing else mattered. All that mattered was that his son would live.

Without hesitation, he detonated his inner qi. His chest burst open, flesh and blood spraying out as his organs turned into mush in an instant. His life force collapsed, and he died on the spot.

Kong Weilan stood there, trembling violently. Then, without a word, he spun on his heel and began to walk away.

"Wait," Li Xiaofei’s voice called out suddenly.

Kong Weilan froze mid-step, then turned to face him, his eyes filled with seething emotion.

"You made a promise to my father," he said, his voice trembling with suppressed rage.

His eyes were blazing as he looked at Li Xiaofei.

Li Xiaofei chuckled softly, his expression both mocking and amused.