piratefiction Chapter 106 Li Chengxiang
Chapter 106 Li Chengxiang
Central area of Wugu Town
A middle-aged man dressed in brocade, with a gloomy face, was devoutly lighting incense, prostrating himself on a prayer mat, and bowing three times.
The middle-aged man, named Li Chengxiang, was the uncrowned king of Wugu Town.
The surroundings were quiet and deserted, except for the Goddess of Fertility who sat on the altar in the temple with a compassionate expression and lowered eyes. Whenever the worshippers under the altar looked up, they could meet her gaze.
Beside her stood a boy and a girl dressed in bibs. The boy was all smiles, looking innocent and carefree; the girl was shy and timid, peeking half her head out from behind the Goddess of Fertility. There were no other statues of deities around.
The dark red and yellowish-brown banners hung in a patterned manner, and from a distance, they looked as if someone was trapped inside, unable to escape...
"Uncle, something terrible has happened..."
Even from several feet away, Li Chengxiang could clearly hear the panicked voice.
A stumbling, unsteady figure squeezed through the crack in the temple gate. It was the bandit leader, his cheeks red and swollen from being slapped. Ignoring his burning face, he scrambled and knelt down beside Li Chengxiang.
"Why are you in such a panic?"
"Didn't I tell you before that unless it's an emergency, you must not barge into the temple while I'm offering incense, lest you disturb the goddess?"
Li Chengxiang's tone grew colder, and the gloom on his face deepened.
"Uncle, it's not that I don't know the rules, but a scoundrel has come to town who covets the goddess. He's already taken all 180-100 brothers from our gang... I had no choice but to trouble you like this..."
After carefully listening to Li Zhixu's report, Li Chengxiang, who had been barely able to maintain his composure, suddenly slapped Li Zhixu. The immense force sent the unsuspecting Li Zhixu flying, causing the already somewhat delirious Li Zhixu to instantly lose consciousness.
"Fools! It must be that you've become greedy. Otherwise, you should have handed it over to me long ago! It's one thing for you to be dishonest on a daily basis, but I've repeatedly warned you that Her Majesty is at a crucial moment of transformation, and not to cause any trouble... Why won't you listen?!"
"Do you think that just because I'm your uncle, you can do whatever you want? After this matter is over, go to the ancestral hall and face the wall for three days!"
Li Zhixu, who didn't dare to breathe, hurriedly got up from the ground and agreed, while lying prostrate on the ground, not daring to look up at those murderous eyes.
"Take me to see him; perhaps we can get rid of him by giving him some money..."
...
A full incense stick's time had passed since Li Zhixu went out again to fetch reinforcements. The believers, who were used to being arrogant and domineering, could hardly withstand this ordeal. Already weakened by wine and women, they now felt even more uncomfortable and uneasy all over.
"Why hasn't Master Li arrived yet... Could it be that he's truly afraid of this fellow?"
"It's hard to say. While it's true that even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake, it's not like a mighty dragon can cross a river..."
"Shhh... keep your voice down"
"If you were also captured and forced to lie prone on those cold, blue bricks, it would be too late for regrets then..."
For the common people who had been absolutely certain that Fang Hongxuan wouldn't last even half a cup of tea's time, they now felt their mouths dry and were speechless. After all, this was too astonishing; they had never seen anyone suppress a hundred or so people simply by virtue of their aura.
However, for Fang Hongxuan, this was also the first time he had experienced a different way of using resentful energy. During his previous fight with Zhang Desheng, he had inadvertently discovered that energy could be used in this way while following Zhang Desheng's moves.
At the same time, Cuo Jin in Fang Hongxuan's arms began to tremble violently, the force of which almost made him lose his grip.
"Clang..."
Cuo Jin drew his sword on his own, the sharp blade pointing directly into the darkness at the end of the street.
"They're here..."
The calm, still darkness was stirred by ripples, and then Li Zhixu, his face swollen like a pig's head, stepped in, humbly and respectfully guiding Li Chengxiang. As the ripples widened, Li Chengxiang's gloomy and imposing face came into Fang Hongxuan's view.
Li Chengxiang first looked around and saw pairs of eyes filled with worship and blind trust on the ground and in the attic. Then he focused his gaze on Fang Hongxuan, who was standing with his sword on the ground.
The people who were lying prone on the ground got up and followed behind Li Chengxiang.
"This time he's really finished..."
"That Li Zhixu must have quite a lot of influence, he actually managed to get Master Li to come out."
"Who can argue with that... Unless it's during the Empress's travels, you'll almost never see Master Li step out of the Li residence..."
"This time, there shouldn't be any more reversals... Otherwise, he'll truly have turned the world upside down..."
Li Chengxiang, whose face had been gloomy, somehow managed to force a smile.
"I admire you...I admire you..."
"They are looking down on people and have offended your great power, young hero. Please don't take offense."
Looking at Li Chengxiang, whose face was all smiles and who was getting closer and closer, Fang Hongxuan's frostiness couldn't help but fade a lot.
As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face. Li Chengxiang adopted a very humble attitude, which inadvertently elevated Fang Hongxuan's status.
"No, no..."
The martial world is never just about fighting and killing, but about human relationships and social interactions. In addition, Fang Hongxuan was not sure about this person's true strength, so he decided to proceed with his plan and test the waters.
"Young hero, what brings you to my Blackbone Town..."
"Looking for someone...a prisoner..."
"Oh? May I ask where this young hero works? If you could tell me your name, I might even recognize one of your colleagues."
"Demon Suppression Division, Demon Extermination Captain Fang Hongxuan... Shall I show you the Demon Suppression Token?"
Fang Hongxuan looked at Li Chengxiang with a half-smile, while shaking the Demon-Suppressing Token he took out from his clothes. The blood-red character for "suppress" seemed to have the effect of bewitching souls.
For a moment, Li Chengxiang couldn't take his eyes off the token. He stared at it intently for a long time before finally revealing a smile.
"Assisting the Demon Extermination Captain is the duty of every citizen of the Wansheng Dynasty. As for whether it is true or not, I am still confident that no villain would dare to impersonate the Demon Extermination Captain."
"Although Wugu Town is small, it has all the necessary facilities. I hope Commander Fang will visit my humble abode so that I can send an artist to create a portrait of the prisoner based on your description. Then I, Li, will dispatch men to search for the criminal day and night... How about it..."
To everyone's surprise, Fang Hongxuan did not accept this opportunity to back down. Instead, he continued to look at Li Chengxiang aggressively and said, word by word.
"There's no need for that. I've already cut off the prisoner's left arm. You just need to gather the townspeople in one place, and I'll search house to house. It will only take two hours, and everything will be settled... How about it..."
Upon hearing this, Li Chengxiang's face turned extremely ugly. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, barely managing to suppress the anger in his heart.
"Captain Fang, this is probably inappropriate..."