Chapter 232 You Can Try What I Said
Chapter 232 You Can Try What I Said
Outside Wuliuxiang, figures crowded the area.
Disciples of the Enforcement Hall, clad in dark black robes, angrily drew their swords, blocking the entrance to the alley while glaring at the group inside with fury.
The half-demons of Liehai Hall, all bearing the marks of demons on their bodies, appeared somewhat ferocious under the bright daylight.
Even the commoners of Tianjiao City, who harbored good will towards the Blood Lotus Cult, couldn't help feeling afraid and kept their distance from the fearsome and eerie half-demons.
And these terrifying half-demons were now laughing and jovially gathering around a half-demon dressed in a robe adorned with a six-petaled lotus, as if they were stars surrounding the moon.
Outside the alley, over a hundred black-robed disciples of the Enforcement Hall glared furiously.
The leading Liu Fu had an aloof face; at only 23 years old, he had already become a fourth-grade lotus member through Li Muyang's promotion.
Now, with his hand on his sword, he stood at the entrance to Wuliuxiang, coldly addressing the laughing group of half-demons at the mouth of the alley.
"...Shi Maocai, you have trespassed into the Sin Alley without permission; according to the cult's laws, you should receive twenty lashes," he said in a cold voice.
"Seize the moment before you've made a grave mistake. Release the two girls and come out quietly to accept your punishment, and let's end today's matter here."
"Continue this madness, and I fear you won't be able to withstand the consequences!"
Liu Fu's face was indifferent, and his voice carried not the slightest hint of emotional fluctuation, merely a cold ultimatum.
However, his words only elicited roaring laughter from the half-demons inside the alley.
"Can't withstand the consequences? Ha-ha-ha! You, a mere fourth-grade lotus member, speak so arrogantly; anyone uninformed might think you're the head of the Enforcement Hall."
"Are all you pups of the Enforcement Hall this ridiculous?"
"You, a minor fourth-grade lotus member, dare to make such a clamor here?"
"Looking so effeminate, lacking any semblance of a man's vigor—were you selling your ass in the background while grandfathers like us were slaying enemies on the battlefield?"
"Ha ha ha ha... Effeminate ass seller!"
The half-demons' laughter thundered through the air, showing no fear of the Enforcement Hall disciples outside.
At the center of the half-demons' huddle, Shi Maocai let out a cold laugh.
"I'll just sit right here today, and not come out; let's see what consequences there will be!" he boasted.
He sat boldly at the entrance of Wuliuxiang, flanked by two girls, one on each leg.
The younger girl, not yet fully grown, had a childlike face, with faint bruises visible on her body. She was now curled up in fear, trembling uncontrollably.
The older girl tried to remain composed, her lips pressed tightly together, able to sit upright, but her eyes were filled with terror.
The two young ladies of the Qin family from Tianjiao City, who were once high-ranking members of a cultivating family, were now being held hostage by the half-demons, not even daring to let out a cry.
In the past, they had already been degraded and abused many times by the leaders and banner lords of the Blood Lotus Cult.
But even their meek and compromising efforts to survive had led to today's dire straits.
The commotion in Wuliuxiang continued unabated, when suddenly a cold voice emerged from the crowd.
"Shi Maocai, a sixth-grade lotus member, such great bluster!"
Upon hearing this voice, the disciples of the Enforcement Hall all perked up.
"The Banner Lord!"
"The Banner Lord is here!"
In the midst of excited shouts, the Enforcement Hall disciples outside the alley immediately made way as Li Muyang, with his indifferent expression, stepped forward.
The moment Li Muyang appeared, the surrounding onlookers were surprised, buzzing with quiet whispers.
"This person... isn't wearing the Blood Lotus Cult's robe?! So arrogant."
"Who does he think he is? Such a grand presence!"
"Shh! Do you have a death wish? That's Li Muyang, the Banner Lord of the Enforcement Hall! Be careful or he'll have your entire family executed!"
"Shut up!"
"Quiet!"
As Li Muyang, dressed in regular attire, emerged from the crowd, the scene went suddenly quiet.
The commoners of Tianjiao City, who were originally mumbling in hushed tones at the outskirts, all closed their mouths and dared not utter another word, lest the handsome man in white cast a glance their way and drag them into the dungeon to be executed.
At the entrance of Wuliuxiang, Shi Maocai, seated in a Taishi Chair with a golden saber at his side, embracing two girls, also paused ever so slightly.
Across from him, the man did nothing, merely walking expressionless out of the crowd.
Yet for some reason, the moment when everyone around fell silent, Shi Maocai, who had previously scorned Li Muyang, couldn't help feeling a twinge of guilt.
Luckily, this moment of guilt was fleeting and went unnoticed by his brothers beside him.
Realizing this, Shi Maocai breathed a sigh of relief, but was immediately followed by a sense of indignant humiliation.
"Li Muyang!"
He deliberately hugged the two girls in his arms tighter, and amidst their pained cries, he sneered at Li Muyang standing before him, "You as the Flag-Bearer of the Enforcement Hall, are the truly imposing one!"
"Clinging to the skirts of women to climb to the position of Flag-Bearer, it must have kept you so excited you couldn't sleep for days, huh?"
"Going around the city like a mad dog biting people every day, do you really think you are above the law and untouchable?"
Shi Maocai sneered with ridicule and provocation.
But Li Muyang remained aloof, completely unresponsive, as if the sneering was nothing more than the barking of a dog.
He glanced at the two Qin sisters.
The girls bore many bruises, some old and some fresh additions.
Clearly, the resentful Demons of Liehai Hall had not been gentle with them.
Li Muyang said indifferently, "I heard you wanted to avenge your sworn brother, Daishan, and thought you were coming to the Enforcement Hall to look for me, so I waited specially for you."
"But I didn't expect your idea of avenging to be leading a bunch of Demons here to bully women in the Crime Alley."
"Your so-called avenging wouldn't be taking out your frustration on these two girls, would it?"
"Is this how your Liehai Hall takes action? In a fit of rage, drawing your swords against those even weaker than yourselves?"
Li Muyang's tone was cold and without any hint of mockery or ridicule, just an indifferent recital.
Yet it was this deadly cold tone that enraged the Demons in the alley, all of them with bulging veins on their foreheads.
"Damned Demon Sect scum dog!"
"The hell with your bullshit!"
"I'll bully your damn mother!"
The Demons cursed furiously.
But Shi Maocai, sitting in the Taishi Chair, was not overly angry, instead he snorted coldly.
"What's the point in looking for you at the Enforcement Hall? After all, you, a mongrel from the Demon Sect, are just going to be led by the nose by me."
"Don't you claim to uphold justice and maintain the sect's rules?"
"My brother Daishan just slept with two cultivator women of the Demon Sect, and for that you tore out his tongue, whipped him four hundred times, and shattered all his bones."
"These Demon Sect women in Crime Alley all deserve to die sooner or later, what's wrong with sleeping with them? It's their honor to be slept with!"
"Today, not only do I want to sleep with these two Demon Sect women, I also want to do it right before your eyes! After I'm done, I'll let my brothers have a turn!"
"I, Shi Maocai, don't believe it—the blood lotus sect that we fought for, blade and spear, will be overshadowed by you Demon Sect scum!"
Having said that, Shi Maocai placed his hand on the shoulder of one of the girls in his embrace.
Upon seeing this scene, the surrounding crowd gasped in shock.
The disciples of the Enforcement Hall behind Li Muyang drew their swords in anger.
Yet Li Muyang, who stood before them all, didn't move an inch, nor did he exhibit any signs of shock or anger.
He continued to look coldly at the Demon seated in the Taishi Chair, his icy gaze as if beholding a corpse.
In the scrutiny of all those present, Li Muyang, clad in his usual attire, with his hands clasped behind his back, showed no intention to intervene.
Instead, he just issued a cold ultimatum.
"Defying the rules, resisting the law, according to our sect's laws, you shall be subjected to lingering execution thrice."
"Before me, if you dare to lay a finger on these two daughters of the sinners, none of the Demons you brought to Crime Alley today will live to see tomorrow's sunrise."
"You can try me," he said coldly.