Chapter 12: Cai Fu—All of You, Get on Your Knees!

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Daming Prefecture, Military Command Office.
“What?”
Liang Zhongshu, the top official of Daming Prefecture and the Military Commander, slammed the table in a furious rage!
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
“Li Cheng led five hundred cavalrymen to capture four rebels, but not only did he fail, he was killed by the rebels himself?”
Liang Zhongshu’s face turned ashen.
“Wasn’t he said to be fearless in battle?
“Why was he killed by mere rebels?”
A group of battered soldiers fell silent, trembling.
Cautiously, an officer at the table reminded him:
“Minister, the rebels are in Qilin Village!
“Why not send troops there immediately to prevent their escape…”
Nonsense!
Liang Zhongshu shot him a glare:
“If you can think of it, so can I.
“Isn’t this the same as sending the military supervisor Wen Da to pursue the rebels on the main road to Liangshan? He still hasn’t returned.
“We’ve dispatched troops on all major and minor roads. Daming Prefecture is even more defenseless than I am. Who else can we send to Qilin Village?”
“Hmph!”
Liang Zhongshu could only slam his hand on the armrest:
“Send someone at once to catch up with Supervisor Wen and have him reroute to Qilin Village!”
As an officer nodded and prepared to leave, another officer entered:
“Minister, more defeated soldiers have come with news!”
Liang Zhongshu furrowed his brow: “What now?”
The officer bowed and replied: “They risked their lives to retrieve Supervisor Li’s body!
“They also say the rebels have fresh movements to report to you!”
“Oh?”
Liang Zhongshu immediately beckoned the messenger to return, saying:
“Quick! Let them in!”
Soon, another group of battered soldiers surged in, each disheveled, armor lost, hair unkempt, heads hanging low.
One burly man carried a headless corpse whose armor and uniform clearly identified him as Military Supervisor Li Cheng.
He bowed low and hunched over, carrying Li Cheng’s headless body in, laying it across the floor before Liang Zhongshu.
Seething with rage, Liang Zhongshu stood and looked down at Li Cheng’s severed corpse:
“All useless trash!
“What about the latest rebel movements?”
Before he could finish, the burly man suddenly drew the sword hanging at Li Cheng’s waist!
“Clang—”
With sword in hand, the burly man lunged forward, thrusting the blade toward Liang Zhongshu!
“Ah!”
Startled by the dazzling flash, Liang Zhongshu screamed and fell backwards into his chair!
At that moment, regret flooded his mind. All he could think of was why he had slammed the table…
If only he hadn’t overturned it, maybe the table could have blocked the sword!
But there was no “if.” Liang Zhongshu could only watch the gleaming blade flash dangerously close—no more than half an inch from his eye!
The sharp edge pierced his eyeball painfully, tears involuntarily welling up…

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“Everyone, kneel down!”
The burly man pointed the sword at Liang Zhongshu, shouting fiercely:
“Whoever remains standing, I’ll take Liang Shijie’s head first!”
All the officials present immediately dropped to their knees, intimidated by the threat.
They were bullies toward the weak, submissive toward superiors, ruthless when preying on civilians.
Now that the burly man held Liang Zhongshu hostage, they naturally kowtowed…
The first group of battered soldiers were stunned:
“Do we kneel or not?”
Since they all looked alike in tattered armor and weaponry, the burly man had confused them…
Grabbing Liang Zhongshu’s neck like a chick, the burly man held him up and commanded:
“Brothers, set fire!”
“Yes!”
The few battered soldiers who came with him drew torches from their backs and lit them from the oil lamps.
The first group of battered soldiers were dumbfounded, watching in horror as the torches were set ablaze all around.
No!
Suddenly realizing the danger, they quickly knelt down:
“Who knows if kneeling now is even in time…”
“Cai Fu?”
At this moment, Liang Zhongshu finally recognized the burly man and exclaimed in shock:
“It’s you?”
“No!”
Cai Fu flicked aside his messy bangs, tightened his grip on Liang Zhongshu’s neck, bringing him face-to-face.
Liang Zhongshu’s feet left the ground, kicking wildly like a child.
With fierce, tiger-like eyes, Cai Fu glared at Liang Zhongshu and declared passionately:
“Remember, I am Cai Fu, the Northern Blade King!”
Are you crazy?
Liang Zhongshu was scared, angry, and terrified all at once, forcing a smile:
“King Cai, we have no grievances or enmity…”
King of kitchen knives!
Cai Fu snapped angrily, grinding the treasured sword against Liang Zhongshu’s neck:
“Northern Blade King. Don’t you dare shorten the title!”
“Y-yes, yes…”
Liang Zhongshu was so frightened he nearly lost his soul:
“Northern Blade King, spare me! I swear I won’t pursue this matter further!”
“Who’s in control now?”
Cai Fu snapped: “You still want to pursue me?”
“I was wrong, I was wrong…”
Liang Zhongshu was so scared by Cai Fu’s murderous aura he started crying:
“I’m willing to offer ten thousand taels of gold!
“Just spare this dog’s life!”
Cai Fu sneered coldly: “You keep that gold here for now. Next time, we’ll take it together.”
Liang Zhongshu nearly wet himself: Next time?
A handsome young soldier raised a torch and signaled to Cai Fu:
“Brother, the fire is set!”

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“Good!”
Cai Fu hoisted Liang Zhongshu and swaggered out of the hall. As he stepped outside, flames engulfed the area!
“Whoosh—”
Roaring fire rolled in from outside, terrifying the officials and battered soldiers on their knees, who fled in panic!
In the chaos, they got jammed at the door for a moment before finally escaping. Looking back,
the entire Military Command Office was engulfed in a sea of flames!
“Go!”
Cai Fu vaulted onto his horse.
Though an infantryman, riding was no problem for him.
With him were battered soldiers Lu Junyi, Cai Qing, Yan Qing, and four youths including Yue Fei.
The nine rode swiftly toward the city gate, shouting as they went:
“The Military Command Office is flooding—”
The streets quickly descended into chaos, with soldiers and civilians alike rushing to put out the fire.
Cai Fu and his group charged to the city gate and shouted to the guards atop the gate tower:
“The Military Commander orders you to open the gates!”
Of course, the guards refused to open the gates casually. A captain poked his head out and demanded loudly:
“Do you have the commander’s order token?”
“No!”
Cai Fu defiantly lifted Liang Zhongshu before them:
“I’ll have the commander tell you himself!”
“Gasp—”
The captain squinted and saw it really was Liang Zhongshu, involuntarily gasping:
“Have you all gone mad?
“We all know Daming’s civil and military officials are at odds, with Military Supervisors Wen Da and Li Cheng opposing Liang Zhongshu.
“But this… this is madness!”
Liang Zhongshu wept and shouted: “Open the gate! I order you to open it!”
The captain hurried down, realizing the situation was wrong, but still obediently opened the gate.
While opening the gate, the captain warned Cai Fu:
“Release the commander, or you’re all doomed!”
Cai Fu eyed the captain and then the length of his ghost-headed blade, frowning:
“Come here!”
The captain instinctively took two steps back, trying to sound fierce but inwardly trembling:
“Rebel, what do you want?”
Cai Fu pressed the ghost-headed blade to Liang Zhongshu’s neck, who screamed like a slaughtered pig:
“Come here! I order you to come here!”
The captain had no choice but to grip his spear tightly and approach Cai Fu’s horse:
“I’m coming. What can you—”
“Swish—”
A flash of steel, and a head rolled to the ground!
“HE—TUI!”
Cai Fu spat fiercely:
“Too much talk!”