Chapter 164: Barefaced Hooliganism

Immediately after, the sword light broke into Zong Yunxiu's bedchamber and swept toward her. Zong Yunxiu was startled and hastily circulated her primordial force, but the intruder's speed was astonishingly fast. No sooner had she made a move than the sword light was already pressing against her throat, mercilessly piercing through her neck.

Zong Yunxiu had time only to emit a single mournful cry before her body went limp and collapsed backward. The intruder halted, revealing himself to be Xie En. He glanced down at Zong Ying for a moment before raising his long sword once more.

"Wait." Xue Baiqi's voice came from outside. Having recognized Zong Ying, he paused slightly and sighed, "Do not harm her."

On the day the Ye family took Zong Ying in marriage, her performance had startled him, leaving that haggard face deeply etched in his memory.

Xie En cast a curious look at Xue Baiqi without a word, then drifted backward. Everyone had their own secrets; he had no desire to pry.

"Stay here and do not wander about," Xue Baiqi said softly, tossing down a strip of white silk. "Tie this around your arm."

With that, Xue Baiqi turned and left Zong Yunxiu's bedchamber. A moment later, his loud command echoed from afar: "Show no mercy! Kill everyone, leaving not even a dog or chicken alive!"

Zong Ying suddenly smiled—a smile of profound joy—and then, with stiff movements, picked up the silk ribbon and slowly tied it around her arm.

Inside the royal palace, the atmosphere at the night banquet had grown exceedingly bizarre. Ning Gaowu and the others maintained a stony silence, while the expressions of Han Sanmei and his companions were ashen to the extreme. Only Ye Xin remained entirely at ease.

"I wonder what the official duties of the Grand Marshal entail," Zong Bieli said slowly. "Chief Steward Fu, you surely know?"

"Naturally, I do," Xiao Fuzi said with a beaming smile. "First: to uphold the righteous path of the state and society; second: to command and coordinate the military forces; third—"

"Hold on!" Zong Bieli interrupted Xiao Fuzi, frowning. "To uphold the righteous path of the state and society?"

"Indeed, that is the Grand Marshal's primary duty," Xiao Fuzi replied.

"I originally had no wish to speak of this," Zong Bieli sighed. "Since it is the Grand Marshal's primary duty, I have no way around it. Young Marshal, I have a few questions for you."

"Please speak, Elder Zong," Ye Xin said very politely.

"If my memory serves me correctly, eleven days ago, the Young Marshal suddenly led the Wolf Cavalry into Nine Tripods City, beheaded the former Grand Marshal Wei Juan, and then stormed the execution ground to execute Chief Steward of the Inner Court Guan Hanyu. Following that, you led the Wolf Cavalry into the royal palace, slaughtered the elite palace guards, and ultimately even caused the death of Sovereign Tie Xinsheng!" Zong Bieli said leisurely. "Is all of this correct?"

"Elder Zong, those are matters of the past!" Wang Fang stood up abruptly, utterly unable to control himself any longer. What on earth was going on? Had Tie Shudeng gone mad?!

"Lord Wang, let me ask you: if someone commits murder on the street and escapes capture at the time, does the Grand Secretary's Office simply ignore it just because it is a matter of the past?" Zong Bieli countered. "Is the law of the Great Wei Dynasty truly so absurd?!"

Wang Fang was left speechless. Zong Bieli's angle of attack gave him no room for reply.

"How could that be!" Tie Shudeng laughed. "Where there is law, it must be observed; where the law is broken, it must be enforced. This is heavenly principle."

"Good," Zong Bieli nodded. "Since the Grand Marshal's primary duty is to uphold the righteous and proper way of the realm, is it wrong of me to question these matters?"

No one answered. Han Sanmei stared fixedly at Tie Shudeng, his lips trembling continuously, while Shen Wangji and Wang Fang gazed blankly at their own desks with lifeless eyes. It was over! If anything happened to Ye Xin, the Great Wei Dynasty would inevitably plunge into chaos! They were hardly fools; numerous signs indicated that the strength Ye Xin commanded far exceeded what was visible on the surface. One had to remember that nearly a hundred elites of the Heavenly Sin Camp had remained at the end—every single one of them a battle-hardened veteran warrior. And how many people were currently by Ye Xin's side?

"Young Marshal, silence solves nothing." Zong Bieli's gaze landed on Ye Xin. "This is the very first matter I am addressing upon assuming the post of Grand Marshal. I hope the Young Marshal will grant this old man a shred of face."

"Is this you drawing your sword?" Ye Xin chuckled wryly.

"Young Marshal, do not evade the question," Zong Bieli said sternly. "I ask you only this: were these deeds committed by you?"

"They were." Ye Xin's eyes were filled with mischievous amusement.

"This is regicide..." Zong Bieli let out a long sigh. "Ye Xin, do you confess your guilt?!"

By addressing Ye Xin directly by name, Zong Bieli's intention was glaringly obvious: Ye Xin was no longer a commanding marshal.

"I killed whom I killed, they died when they died; what can you possibly do to me?" Ye Xin laughed. "Zong Bieli, I called you Elder Zong merely out of respect for your age, but you truly are leaning on your seniority to bully others... Hahahaha..."

Ye Xin laughed with effortless ease and soaring spirit. From this moment on, there was no longer any need to hide behind a veil; he was Ye Xin! The one and only Ye Xin in this world!

Zong Bieli was slightly taken aback, because in his calculations, Ye Xin would not confess. He had prepared meticulously to force Ye Xin to bow his head, but now he found that all those preparations had become completely meaningless.

Because Ye Xin was playing rogue—blatantly and shamelessly playing rogue!

Before Tie Shudeng, before the grand ministers of the Great Wei Dynasty, and before the renowned generals of the world, he was acting lawlessly without a single reservation!

What can you do to me? What can the lot of you possibly do to me?!

Within the grand hall, there were nearly ten supreme-pillar-grade powerhouses, yet Ye Xin treated them as if they were nothing!

"Ye Xin, this is the path to your own destruction!" Zong Bieli's expression turned icy.

"Destruction? Whether you die or I die... remains to be seen." The teasing glint in Ye Xin's eyes grew even more intense.

"Oh?" Zong Bieli's eyes were likewise filled with mockery.

"You believe you will win, and I believe I will win, hahahaha..." Ye Xin burst into laughter once more. "I love matchups like this the most; they always give me the supreme pleasure of an intellectual landslide victory!"

Although Zong Bieli did not understand what "intellectual" meant, he could roughly grasp the sentiment. He looked at Ye Xin with amusement. "A landslide victory? Ye Xin, you overestimate yourself far too much."

"No, no, no," Ye Xin shook his head repeatedly. "I have overestimated you, and I have overestimated the people of this world. In truth, I revealed a massive flaw, yet after all this time, not a single person noticed it. My Heavenly Sin Camp is divided into one ghost, two riders, four fiends, and eight tigers. Xie En entered the Longteng Martial Arts Academy two years ago; Xue Baiqi and Hao Fei joined the Ye family two years ago; Moon Tiger entered the celestial prison as an executioner two years ago; Ghost Mister entered the palace two years ago. Two years... is a fatal parameter. If any of you possessed even half my competence, you would have had a chance to see through my layout. What a pity... Looking back, I spent the whole time feeling anxious and on edge for nothing."

Zong Bieli understood none of this, as he was not deeply familiar with the inner workings of the Great Wei Dynasty. Tie Shudeng understood nothing either due to his limited intellect. However, Han Sanmei, Shen Wangji, and Wang Fang were all struck with terror, their gazes shifting one after another to Xiao Fuzi, who stood smiling with his hands folded respectfully.

"Grand Preceptor, Grand Secretary, the matters here no longer concern you. You should... return immediately," Ye Xin said.

Before Shen Wangji and Wang Fang could speak, Tie Shudeng frowned. "Little Xin, I am the master of this household here. How can you chase people away without my consent?"

"Because the secrets involved next are terrifying beyond measure; the destruction of families and annihilation of bodies lie only a heartbeat away." Ye Xin looked at Shen Wangji and Wang Fang. "My lords, are you truly not leaving?"

"The destruction of families? I see the destruction of the entire state..." Shen Wangji's body was trembling with anguish. He had never imagined that Tie Shudeng would commit such a boneheaded blunder! Ye Xin was a man of deep sentiment, and precisely because of that sentiment, he had raised the banner of rebellion without regard for the consequences. If Tie Shudeng had cast aside past grievances, valued Ye Xin, and shown empathy toward him, Ye Xin would certainly have shed his last drop of blood for Tie Shudeng. Such a golden opportunity to completely win over Ye Xin had been utterly ruined by Tie Shudeng! He had previously believed Tie Shudeng to be a man of integrity and magnanimity who might become an enlightened monarch for an era, but now he realized Tie Shudeng was simply an irredeemable fool!

"I am the Grand Secretary! I want to see with my own eyes how this farce begins and how it ends!" Wang Fang said in a deep voice. "I... am not leaving!"

"I am not leaving either," Shen Wangji laughed bitterly. "A farce? Indeed... Go on and put on your farce! Best if you completely ruin the magnificent rivers and mountains of the Great Wei Dynasty!"

"My lords exaggerate," Tie Shudeng said, shaking his head. He knew far too well the power Zong Bieli commanded, yet he had never once considered whether he himself was even qualified to wield such power.

"Third Brother, you should leave," Ye Xin suddenly looked at Tie Shudeng.

"Me?" Tie Shudeng was stunned. "Why should I leave?"

"In my two lifetimes, I have never given anyone a second chance; I always grant only a single opportunity," Ye Xin said slowly. "As for you... you are my sole exception. Third Brother, if you leave now, I can still find a place for you to spend your old age in peace. If you do not leave... then you will never be able to leave again."

"Little Xin, you are becoming increasingly lawless!" Tie Shudeng flew into a rage, shouting sternly.

"Lower your voice, lower your voice, I can hear you just fine." Ye Xin shook his head. "You've made your choice, haven't you? Very well, my lingering regrets are finally put to rest."

"Lord, there is no need to fly into a rage over such a madman," Zong Bieli sighed. He looked at Ye Xin with the gaze one might reserve for an idiot; Ye Xin's behavior was practically indistinguishable from a deranged madman. Where on earth did he get his confidence?!

"Elder Zong is smiling quite happily, it seems?" Ye Xin said with a beaming smile. "However, I happen to be someone who loves delivering slaps to people's faces. Furthermore, using my hands isn't even a true display of skill; with just a single sentence, I can wipe that smile off your face forever. Do you believe it or not?"

"Hahaha..." Zong Bieli laughed, laughing so hard tears were nearly streaming from his eyes. "Although this old man is dull-witted, I have weathered quite a few storms in my time. A single sentence, you say? Young Marshal, please speak freely; this old man listens respectfully!"

"Zong Bieli, do you think that by taking the Dao-Realization Pill, victory is already in your grasp?" Ye Xin flashed a ferocious grin. "You are nothing!"

Zong Bieli reacted as though he had been struck a vicious blow straight to the face. The muscles on his cheeks twitched violently several times, and the smile vanished from his face entirely. This was his greatest, most closely guarded secret; he could not fathom for the life of him how Ye Xin had managed to figure it out!