Chapter 365 - 271: Should Good People Be Morally Blackmailed? (Part 2)

Chapter 365: Chapter 271: Should Good People Be Morally Blackmailed? (Part 2)

Hu Qi was still muttering to herself, "Something’s not right! Didn’t that guy’s wife keep male lovers at home? Can any self-respecting man put up with that?"

Tang Wen quickly coughed a couple of times to interrupt her. "I said *if*, *if*! I wasn’t saying he was actually a Half-Step Fourth Grade!"

Hu Qi shot him a hostile glare.

Tang Wen ducked his head and cried out in feigned surprise, "Why won’t this light? Sister Qi, your method is useless!"

"Hah! I told you to burn the words. Who told you to set fire to the beast skin?"

"Hm? Burn the words?" He paused. Moving the flint and steel in his hand, he gently let the flame lick at the writing on the beast skin.

In just a moment, wisps of green smoke began to rise.

The green smoke coalesced without dispersing, swirling three feet above their heads.

The writing on the beast skin was scorched away, crackling as it turned into black smoke and vanished.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the green smoke dissipated. The beast skin was now completely blank, feeling pleasantly warm but not hot to the touch.

Tang Wen had the faint impression that the beast skin had become a bit thinner.

"Sister Qi, how does that work?"

Hu Qi didn’t even lift her head. "You kid... you’re good at everything, but you’re just too cautious! A Fourth Grade master isn’t some wild pheasant you can just stumble upon in the mountains. Why would one just show up out of the blue?"

She kept her head down, busying herself with her chicken and evading the question.

"Ah Qi, don’t tell me you don’t know?" Tang Wen narrowed his eyes. His tone was exactly like that of a top student asking, "No way... the last question is so simple, anyone could do it. You’re not telling me you can’t solve it, are you?"

Hu Qi looked up, her large eyes devoid of expression. She chewed on a chicken bone, which made a loud CRUNCH.

Tang Wen’s smile vanished instantly, and he adopted a serious expression. "This thing looks like one of those Curiosities. As long as it works, that’s all that matters. No need to get hung up on the principles behind it."

Hu Qi swallowed the bone. "Put it away. You’ll receive the reply in your dreams tomorrow."

Huh?

Tang Wen’s curiosity grew.

This world just kept revealing more and more of its wonders.

Just then, a voice called from outside the door, "Young Master, the nearby powers have all arrived."

"Sister Qi, we have work to do. You’ll have to intimidate them a bit."

Hu Qi briefly extended her senses. Finding not a single Sixth-Grade master among them, she shook her head, walked out the door, and flew straight into the sky.

"ROOOOAR—"

The White Tiger’s long roar intimidated everything for miles around.

Outside the gates of Five Families City, a combined force of well over a thousand people had gathered.

They came from nearby camps and tribes, having heard that the main gate of Five Families City had been destroyed.

At first, they didn’t believe it.

But now, seeing it with their own eyes, the gate was indeed gone, and the city walls were heavily damaged as well.

The leaders’ spirits soared. They didn’t know what had happened, but wasn’t this a golden opportunity to profit from the chaos?

Suddenly, a white figure shot into the sky.

A deafening sound reverberated, piercing their ears like a demonic wail.

It was as if someone were smashing their heads with an invisible sledgehammer.

The handful of Extraordinary leaders were instantly dazed.

The men and mounts behind them fared even worse.

They collapsed to the ground, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.

A figure emerged from the gateway, and the roar abruptly ceased.

"Old Liu! Old Knife Master! Old Lan! It’s you!"

General Zhao walked forward with a wide smile and helped the leading Extraordinaries to their feet.

They were still shaken and took a long moment to recover.

"Old Zhao—cough—General Zhao, was that a Sixth Grade Sound Technique just now?"

"Haha! You have a sharp eye. That’s my camp’s Holy Beast. She didn’t get a clear look just now and thought you were part of the same group of bastards who attacked the city earlier!"

The group had been scared half to death and didn’t dare press the issue.

The few Extraordinaries suppressed their unease, rose to their feet, and offered fawning smiles while cupping their fists. "General Zhao, we certainly didn’t come to attack the city! We heard there was trouble in Five Families City and rushed over to help."

"That’s right, that’s right! We’re here to help!"

Every one of them was clad in full armor, and the men they had brought were elites.

Trailing behind their troops was a line of horse-drawn and ox-drawn carts.

The carts were empty, containing nothing but sacks and ropes.

General Zhao took it all in, the corners of his mouth lifting in a smirk. "So, you came to help! Does that mean this was all a misunderstanding?"

"A misunderstanding! It’s definitely a misunderstanding."

"It’s a misunderstanding, General Zhao! We’re like family with Five Families City."

"That’s right. A close neighbor is better than a distant relative. We’ve lived next to Five Families City for years; our bonds run deep! We would never take advantage of a disaster."

One of the more tactful ones quickly changed the subject. "General Zhao, if I may ask, what exactly happened here in Five Families City?"

General Zhao gave a meaningful smile. "Since you’re all here to help, let’s talk inside the city."

"This...?"

The hearts of the few Extraordinaries filled with apprehension.

"What? Is there a problem?" General Zhao pointed to the carts behind them. "Five Families City has indeed suffered a great misfortune! You brought all these carts with you—surely you came to help with the reconstruction?"

His tone grew heavy as he finished.

The leaders’ expressions changed, and they had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

General Zhao was from Flame Camp, and their camp had always had a good reputation.

They never slaughtered the innocent or used their strength to bully others.

With this in mind, the leaders of the various camps cautiously led their people into the now-gateless Five Families City.

Everything in the Outer City seemed normal, except that the main street was emptier than usual.

Upon reaching the Inner City, they saw Miss Zheng the Elder from a distance.

She was dressed in sackcloth for mourning, leading her people and directing the Guards to clear the rubble and rebuild.

Old Liu and the others hurried forward to inquire about the situation.

The Zheng Clan Members didn’t hide what happened. They recounted the entire sequence of events, only conveniently forgetting to mention that the attacker was a Sixth-Grade Master.

They saw that several dozen heads had been laid out for a memorial offering.

These men assumed that an Extraordinary had led a surprise attack on the masters of the Five Great Clans, and that Flame Camp’s Sixth-Grade Holy Beast had arrived just in time to save the survivors.

When they heard that all the masters of the Five Great Clans had been killed in the fighting, they were shocked, but an unavoidable seed of greed began to sprout in their hearts.

’This valuable territory is now masterless!’

Eager gazes fell one by one upon Zheng Nanzhu’s pretty, unadorned face.

’Miss Zheng the Elder is so beautiful, and her Talent for Martial Arts is excellent. If I could marry her, she could give me eight or ten children.’

’When those children come of age, wouldn’t they be another batch of Extraordinaries?’

’The only worry is whether Flame Camp has the same idea.’

’They wouldn’t, would they?’

’Flame Camp has a sterling reputation. They would never do something like this!’

’Their Queen would never allow it.’

’Besides, back at the gate, Old Zhao clearly saw we weren’t here to help, yet he still let us in, didn’t he?’

Greed had clouded their judgment.

Aside from a few of the older, more composed men, the rest saw that Five Families City—once prosperous and powerful enough to keep them all in check—was now like a defenseless beauty, weakly opening her arms with no power to resist. How could their hearts not be stirred?

"Miss Nan Bamboo, my condolences."

"Yes, Miss Zheng, you must take care of yourself."

"From now on, the burden of Five Families City rests on your shoulders. You must take care, Miss."

Miss Zheng, who had been showing them only her profile, suddenly turned. Her eyes were devoid of grief or joy. "There’s no need for your concern. The Five Great Clans are grateful to Young Master Tang Wen for saving our lives and taking our revenge, and we have decided to give Five Families City to him. From this day forward, myself included, we are all Young Master Tang’s household servants!"

What?

How can this be?

After their initial shock, they became "deeply grieved," feeling even worse than if their own wives had taken lovers.

"How foolish!"

"Absolutely not!"

"Miss Zheng, have you considered what the ancestors of the Zheng Family would think of this?"

"This is utterly outrageous..."

They all began to rebuke her, each one taking the moral high ground.

"You all have such short memories!"

Zheng Nanzhu snapped, her laughter dripping with undisguised mockery. "Scared out of your wits by that roar, and you’ve already forgotten? Who do you think you are to dare criticize me?"

The men’s faces turned beet red, deeply embarrassed.

The few Extraordinary leaders, however, were not intimidated.

’Life isn’t just about fighting and killing.’

’That tiger’s roar earlier must have been a warning.’

’Flame Camp preaches fairness and justice. They can’t just slaughter us all indiscriminately, can they?’

’Frankly, if those had been men from Black Mountain Camp at the gate...’

’...they would have turned and fled without a second thought.’

’It would have been every man for himself.’

’But Flame Camp is famously soft-hearted. They don’t even kill the refugees and vagrants at their own gates, so how could they kill prominent figures like us?’

’Worst case, we just get on our knees and beg for mercy.’

’We can’t miss this opportunity!’

"That Young Master Tang is from Flame Camp, isn’t he?"

"Flame Camp has always been righteous and kind. For thousands of miles around, everyone knows they walk the straight and narrow path. Niece Nan Bamboo, I believe there must be a misunderstanding here!"

"Indeed, how could Flame Camp do something as dishonorable as seizing another’s ancestral property?"

Zheng Nanzhu laughed, exasperated. "I am going to marry Young Master Tang. Five Families City will be my dowry."

"Alas, that’s even more improper! Five Families City is the property of all Five Great Clans. How can you, Miss Zheng, decide on behalf of everyone? Besides, wouldn’t this tarnish Flame Camp’s reputation!"

The mockery in Zheng Nanzhu’s eyes vanished. Her expression suddenly became placid as she quietly watched them perform.

CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.

"Well said! And what do you think should be done?"

The few Extraordinaries jumped in surprise. Someone had come up right behind them, yet they hadn’t heard a single footstep.