Chapter 47: Something Big Has Happened!

"The Commander is a master-level martial arts expert. Although you are very strong, I do not believe you are stronger than a master of that level!"

When pronouncing the title of the Commander, the captain's face was filled with deep reverence.

Clearly, this Commander held an extremely lofty position in his heart.

"Right now you are the fish on the chopping block and I am the knife. It would be one thing if you were not honest and well-behaved, but how dare you still threaten me?"

Chen Xuan sneered.

Suddenly, with a flick of his wrist, the tip of the sword pressed against the captain's throat advanced a fraction further.

Instantly, the wound on his throat widened, and fresh blood poured out unsparingly, dyeing his entire neck a crimson red in the blink of an eye.

The captain was instantly overwhelmed by a heavy sense of suffocation. He desperately wanted to step back to make the sword tip leave his throat.

Yet he dared not. He knew all too well that if he retreated, the head upon his shoulders would surely be lost; Chen Xuan would decapitate him without hesitation!

"What... what do you want?"

The captain spoke with fearful apprehension.

He knew that the fact Chen Xuan had not killed him immediately meant there was still room for negotiation.

After all, as for the previous centurion, Chen Xuan hadn't even given him a chance to speak before finishing him off right away!

Now that he still had the opportunity to speak, it proved there was still a chance of survival!

Chen Xuan's gaze was sharp as lightning, and he suddenly shouted heavily, "Kneel!"

"What did you say?" The captain's pupils dilated in shock.

How noble was his status? In this remote city, aside from the Commander who led eight thousand elite soldiers and the Prefect, who wouldn't show him a measure of respect upon meeting him?

And yet, Chen Xuan was actually ordering him to kneel in public?

Was this not a slap in the face?

No, this was no longer merely a slap in the face—it was naked humiliation!

In truth, Chen Xuan did this deliberately. He knew clearly that these people barring him from entering the city must have been directed by someone behind the scenes.

Chen Xuan couldn't be bothered to care who was pulling the strings behind the scenes; since this person refused to let him live in comfort, it was naturally impossible for him to let that person off easily!

"I will count to three. If you do not kneel, you die!"

Chen Xuan's voice was cold, leaving no room for compromise.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

The captain clenched his teeth tightly. Kneeling in public was nothing short of ultimate disgrace.

However, the moment Chen Xuan uttered the word "one," his teeth began to chatter uncontrollably.

Furthermore, his legs started trembling along with them.

"Do you think the captain will kneel?"

"Hmph, it is impossible for the captain to kneel. Throughout his entire life, he has possessed an unyielding backbone; only the Prefect and the Commander could ever make him bend the knee."

"Well said. The hardest part of the captain's body is his backbone. No matter who it is, he would never kneel."

"How can you be so certain?"

"Because I am a soldier trained by the captain himself, and I know his character inside out!"

Thud!

Just as the surrounding crowd was engaged in heated discussion, the captain's trembling knees finally gave way under the immense pressure, and he dropped heavily to the ground with a thud!

In an instant, everyone widened their eyes.

Those who had just claimed the captain would never kneel had their jaws nearly drop to the floor.

"This..."

The captain's subordinate soldiers all felt a burning sensation on their faces, as if someone had pressed them to the ground and mercilessly slapped them across the face with the soles of their boots.

"Hahaha!"

"Hilarious! Which utter fool was just claiming that their captain would never kneel? Isn't he kneeling faster than anyone else?"

"This is simply too funny!"

The bandits behind Liu Jinyu placed their hands on their hips and burst into loud laughter, laughing so uninhibitedly that they seemed afraid others wouldn't hear them.

This uninhibited and exaggerated ridicule felt like ruthless slaps landing heavily, one after another, across the captain's face, plunging him into a profound sense of shame!

Yet he was helpless. Chen Xuan had already counted to one; if he didn't kneel now, his head truly wouldn't remain on his shoulders!

"I have already knelt. Can you let me go now?"

The captain lowered his head, his voice hoarse. Today, he had lost face to an unprecedented degree.

Deep within his eyes, intense hatred surged, and his back teeth were almost ground to dust. He had already resolved that if he could survive today, he would make Chen Xuan pay tenfold, a hundredfold, for today's humiliation!

"Did I say I was going to let you go?"

Just as the captain thought he had secured his survival, Chen Xuan's cold words caused his expression to change drastically.

"What do you mean by this?"

He never imagined that even after kneeling—which logically should have spared his life—Chen Xuan's words implied he still had no intention of letting him off.

"I merely told you to kneel just now. I never said I would let someone like you go. Your little life is pinched between my fingers; if I tell you to live, you live, and if I tell you to die, you die!"

Chen Xuan's voice was icy as he continued, "Next, I will ask you a few questions. If your answers satisfy me, I may consider sparing your life. If your answers fail to satisfy me..."

Swish!

The tip of the sword pressed against the captain's throat once more, the meaning crystal clear: taking your life is merely a matter of a gentle flick of my sword!

"What do you want to ask me?"

Terrified and shaken, the piercing pain from his throat kept the captain constantly aware that he was lingering on the edge of death.

He had no choice but to lower his head and endure the humiliation inflicted by Chen Xuan once again.

"Who ordered you and your men to block me from entering the city?"

Chen Xuan asked coldly.

The moment he arrived at this remote city, he was given a chilling welcome by being barred from entry.

How could he possibly let this account go unsettled?

He had to vent this pent-up fury!

Now, he was going to drag the mastermind out into the open!

The captain felt as though a fishbone was stuck in his throat.

Whose command was it?

Could he possibly reveal such a thing?

Wouldn't speaking out amount to betrayal?

Yet if he said nothing, the sword in Chen Xuan's hand could take his life at any moment.

For a time, he was caught in a dilemma.

Gritting his teeth, the captain lowered his voice and said, "I advise you not to find out, because that person is someone you cannot afford to offend."

"Is that so? Is there someone in this city that I cannot afford to offend? I'd like to see who it is!"

Chen Xuan sneered.

"Are you certain you want to know?"

The captain hesitated.

Chen Xuan's gaze immediately turned sharp.

With a jolt in his heart, the captain quickly blurted out, "Don't act rashly, I'll speak..."

Up on the city wall.

"Young Master, something big has happened!" A subordinate rushed in frantically.

Zhang Tianci and Chen Qing were still leisurely sipping tea.

Neither of them was in a hurry to leave, as both were waiting to hear the good news of Chen Xuan being blocked outside the city and subjected to humiliation.

Hearing his subordinate rush in to announce that something major had happened, Zhang Tianci displayed a look of displeasure and scolded:

"Panicking like this, what kind of composure is that? What big thing could possibly have happened? Could the sky of this city possibly fall down?"

With that, he glanced at Chen Qing and smiled apologetically, "Young Master Qing, please forgive me. I have failed to discipline my subordinates properly, and this flustered behavior lacks all decorum. I hope it hasn't disturbed you?"