Stranger Danger

Chapter 243: I Will Be The One To End This

“Since you’re all in agreement,” Gu Suitang’s mouth slowly curled into a smirk as swept his gaze across the crowd, “I disagree.”

“That’s gr—wait, what?”

Song Shuyu looked flabbergasted. He wasn’t expecting Gu Suitang to disagree at all. “You… disagree? Why, Chief Gu?”

Pang Kun straight up cursed the deputy chief, “The hell do you mean by that, Gu Suitang?”

Gu Suitang glared at them. “It means that everything you say is bullshit to my ears. It means that I do not and will not compromise in any way.”

“But why?” Song Shuyu blurted in confusion and disbelief.

“Why, you ask? Because Ye Qing is a member of the Pacification Bureau, because he had served Chu well, and because he had bled for the people. Also, I’m the one who should be asking why you lot are shitting your pants just because some irredeemable fucks decide to escalate things, so much so that you’re going to sacrifice your fucking savior to appease them. You might be shameless, but neither the Pacification Bureau nor I, Gu Suitang can stand for such dishonor!”

“Slander, Gu Suitang! When have we been afraid of opposition and resistance? We are doing this for the stability of Luo Shui and the safety of the people!” Song Yushu argued.

Gu Suitang snorted out loud. “For the people? Cut the bullcrap already. You’re growing pimples on your face, but instead of trying to treat it, your plan is to cover it up with powder. But even if you dump a kilogram worth of powder on your face, it won’t change the fact you’re now a pockface because you didn’t bother to cure the disease. It’s like trying to scratch an itch on your foot without taking off your boots—completely useless.”

“Do you want to hear the real solution? The real solution is to mobilize the Black Feathers Guard, search every household, and exterminate every rat that’s hiding in Luo Shui to the last! They’re already causing trouble, so we might as well destroy them right here and now. It’s such a simple thing to solve, and yet you just had to find the most convoluted way to go about it. Do you take off your pants before you fart as well?”

“Solving murder with murder is not the right way. Stopping violence with violence is only going to make things worse and earn us the ire of the entire jianghu!” Song Yushu argued.

Gu Suitang snorted again. “It will only make things worse? Bullshit! That’s because you didn’t kill enough of them! Back then, our founder mustered an army of millions and crushed anyone and anything who dared to stand in his way. Countless sects were slaughtered, and rivers of blood were bled. Did any sect dare to challenge his rule? Did any jianghu warrior so much as fart in the wrong direction?”

“Besides that, you do understand the saying, ‘indulging your enemy will only bring trouble’, right? If you bow your head to your enemies today, they will stick a finger up your nose the next day and piss on your head the day after! Forget the imperial court’s dignity, we would have lost everything when all is said and done!”

“There is only one way to handle this, and that is to kill them until they’re afraid; kill them until they etch the consequences of antagonizing Chu into their souls. Only then will glory belong to Chu!”

Song Yushu frowned deeply. “Chief Gu, the benevolent should be filled with love. It is precisely because this country was founded atop a mountain of corpses that we must defend it with benevolence. What difference is there between you and those heartless jianghu warriors if you do this?”

“At the very least, I wouldn’t be a coward who pisses my pants every time someone threatens me!”

Gu Suitang scoffed. “At the very least, I wouldn’t be a scholar who pissed away all of Chu’s glory and honor with your so-called ‘benevolence’!”

“How dare you slander the Way of our sages, Gu Suitang?” Song Yushu grew angry for the first time since he entered this room. “You are a barbarian who can’t be negotiated with!”

Gu Suitang laughed. “That’s right. I am a barbarian. When I’m angry, blood is the only thing that can appease my rage! It does come with some caveats, I admit, but at least I have bigger balls than you lot. Also, you think I can’t be negotiated with? I don’t even want to talk to you scaredy cats.”

“Anyway, if anyone lays a finger on Ye Qing, they're dead. It’s that simple. Now get out of my sight!”

“You uncultured barbarian! You make no sense whatsoever!” Song Yushu yelled in anger. Pang Kun, Jiang Huanjian, Bai Xinhu and everyone else looked angry as well.

“Oh? Is that a threat I hear? I am perfectly happy to send you out on a stretcher if that is your wish.”

Gu Suitang sneered. “The Pacification Bureau doesn’t welcome you. Get the hint and get the fuck out already.”

“You would threaten us, Gu Suitang?” Pang Kun roared and released his killing intent. It was thick and unsettling as expected of a captain who had killed his way to the top.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

But as soon as Pang Kun finished his sentence, Gu Suitang abruptly appeared in front of him and punched him right in the chest. The captain let out a muffled groan as he crashed through the door and landed in the courtyard.

“You—” Pang Kun had just opened his mouth when his senses caught up to him. Every bone in his body felt broken, and his vigor was churning chaotically like a storm. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

Pang Kun was angry, but he was even more shocked and afraid. Not only was he a late-stage Spirit Purifier, his cultivation was built atop a mountain of corpses. He was far, far stronger than those useless Spirit Purifiers who had come into their power through cultivation pills. However, he couldn’t even take a single hit from Gu Suitang.

“You dare attack a fellow colleague, Gu Suitang?!” Song Yushu and the others hurriedly rushed out of the building. They sighed in relief only after they confirmed that Pang Kun was fine, relatively speaking.

Gu Suitang crossed his arms and said coldly, “What did you think I just did? Waste any more of my time, and I will punch out every tooth in your mouth. Get. Lost!”

“This is how it’s going to be, Gu Suitang? Very well! I will be reporting this to the governor! We will see what he has to say about this!” Song Yushu turned around and left after that.

“I won’t forget this, Gu Suitang. Let’s go!” Pang Kun also took his leave after shooting Gu Suitang a fierce glare.

Jiang Huanjian and Bai Xinhu were gone as well.

After everyone was gone, the only two people who were left, Lin Zhao and Ding Bumian, looked at Gu Suitang and tried to explain, “Chief, we’re only doing this for the Pacification Bureau—”

Song Yushu and the others could just pat their bums and leave, but they could not.

“I don’t want to see you two either. Out!” Gu Suitang interrupted them.

Knowing that Gu Suitang was pissed right now, they didn’t say anything and took their leave just like that.

Outside, Song Yushu’s group had just exited the Pacification Bureau’s gates when they saw an unexpected face. “Ye Qing?”

Ye Qing stared at the ashen-faced group and the bleeding Pang Kun with a strange expression. Did these guys butt heads with the deputy chief or something?

“Do you know your crimes, Ye Qing?” Song Yushu snapped as soon as he realized that another opportunity had presented itself.

“What crimes?” Ye Qing had never met Song Yushu before, but he had read his profile. He even knew that he was good friends with Li Yuechun.

Song Yushu immediately launched into a righteous tirade, “You laid a trap for the jianghu warriors and pissed them off. That is why they are damaging properties, killing innocents, and generally making life difficult for everyone in Luo Shui. How can you not know about your crimes?”

“I see. What are you going to do about it, Lord Song? Are you going to capture me or kill me?” Ye Qing crossed his arms smilingly.

Song Yushu choked a little, but he quickly recovered himself and said, “That is going too far. Why would we ever do such a thing?”

“However, it is a fact that the people of Luo Shui will continue to suffer so long as this matter isn’t resolved.”

“In my opinion, you should leave Luo Shui as soon as possible. This farce would resolve itself once you’re out of Luo Shui.”

“Oh?” Ye Qing said thoughtfully, “That’s not a bad idea. If I’m gone, my troubles would leave with me. Luo Shui would be safe, and the rest of you can rest easy as well.”

“Will you leave Luo Shui then?” Song Yushu and the others exclaimed in pleasant surprise.

But Ye Qing cocked his head to one side and chuckled. “It’s not a bad idea, but why should I agree to it?”

“Your lives are valuable, the people’s lives are valuable, but what about my life? Are you saying that my life deserves to be trampled?”

Xue Shiwu sneered. “You’re the one who brought this on yourself. Shouldn’t you suffer the consequences of your own actions?”

“Hah! Someone conveniently forgot the fact that my action is the only reason you’re still standing and breathing right now!”

Ye Qing clicked his tongue tauntingly, “I already knew this, but some people only look like humans on the outside. In that case, why not just surrender to your instincts and act like the dogs you are?”

“The fuck you just said!?” Xue Shiwu looked furious.

“I’m saying…” Ye Qing smiled. “That the blame is not mine to bear, and I don’t care to listen to the barks of dogs.”

“Goodbye!”

Ye Qing stepped past them and entered the Pacification Bureau just like that.

“Barbaric! How barbaric!”

Song Yushu flew into a rage, but his expletives were seriously lacking in variety. He could only repeat the same words over and over again. They weren’t expecting Ye qing’s response to be more or less the same as Gu Suitang’s.

“What do we do, Lord Song, Captain Pang?” Bai Xinhu looked to Song Yushu and Pang Kun for directions.

Pang Kun answered, “I’m going to report this to the commander.”

Song Yushu added in an equally irritated voice. “Me too. I’m going to ask the governor to step in and have a deep discussion with Chief Fang. Ye Qing’s matter must be taken care of as soon as possible. He must leave in order to return peace and order to Luo Shui.”

……

Gu Suitang asked smilingly after Ye Qing entered his room and told him what happened at the entrance, “You ran into them on your way in? What did they say?”

Ye Qing shrugged. “They told me to leave Luo Shui.”

“Yes, that was what they ‘suggested’ to me as well. Aren’t you curious what my answer is?”

Ye Qing smiled. “You turned them down, of course. Their faces wouldn’t be as colorful as they were, and they wouldn’t have stopped me to give me their spiel or try to guilt me into leaving Luo Shui otherwise.”

Gu Suitang rebuked him good-naturedly, “Smartass. Don’t worry. So long as you’re still in the Pacification Bureau, they will never be able to oust you. Plus, they aren’t just targeting you. They’re targeting my Pacification Bureau as well.”

“Thank you, chief.” Ye Qing saluted Gu Suitang before adding, “But I would like to handle this myself.”

“Oh? And how are you going to handle this?” Gu Suitang asked curiously.

“Easy. I’m just going to kill them all.” Ye Qing bared his teeth. “I’m going to kill them until they’re thoroughly terrified of me, until the mere mention of my name is give them nightmares. The problem will resolve itself then, don’t you agree?”

Gu Suitang looked surprised for a second. Then, he burst out laughing and slapped Ye Qing across the shoulder repeatedly, “Well said, well said! That is how the Pacification Bureau became what it is today, and that is how its members should carry themselves! Compromise? Understanding? It’s all bullshit! It’s our way or nothing!”

“Do whatever you must to solve this. Put a hole in the sky of Luo Shui if you have to. No matter what happens, I will always be there to defend you.”

“You don’t need to hit me that hard.” Ye Qing rubbed his numb shoulder but felt much better than he was before. “Thank you, chief. I would like your full cooperation then.”

“No problem!” Gu Suitang withdrew his hand and asked, “Now tell me: what is your plan?”

Gu Suitang frowned and fell into thought for a moment after listening to Ye Qing’s plan. He asked, “Are you sure you want to do this? Don’t you think it’s too dangerous?”

Ye Qing looked at Gu Suitang calmly yet unwaveringly. “This matter started because of me. It’s only natural that I should be the one to end it. I don’t want those who don’t resent me for what I’ve brought to shoulder any more burden than they already have.”

“Very well. You may do as you please.” Gu Suitang chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’ll live to tell the tale at least.”

Ye Qing: “...” That… doesn’t sound like a blessing.

“I’m counting on you, chief. I’ll see you later.”

Ye Qing saluted Gu Suitang and left. The sun was strong, bright, and shining through the entrance. It cast a long, long shadow that promised woe to all who would dare to wrong him.

“Chief, this is getting a little out of hand, don’t you think?”

After Ye Qing was gone, Lin Yuhuai stepped out of the back hall and asked.

“That’s precisely what I was hoping for.”

Gu Suitang was smiling, but the look in his eyes could only be described as chilly. “If this matter hadn’t gotten as ridiculous as it was, the clowns wouldn’t have shown themselves, would they?”

“If it wasn’t for this matter, I wouldn’t know that there are traitors in the Pacification Bureau, I wouldn’t know that there are so many officials who are colluding with outsiders, and I wouldn’t know that there are so many people in Luo Shui who are displeased with us.”

“The Great Levee is ruined by an ant nest. This would be a good opportunity to exterminate these roots and leeches.”

“Plus, the Pacification Bureau is a blade that slays all demons and Strangers, upholds the emperor’s authority, and protects the people. We are no one these people could trifle with.”

“It is time we test our blade against those who do us wrong.”