Chapter 8: Wang Shendu

  "Hiss!"

  At the moment when the bright red blood spurted out of the wound on the throat of that young man with a five-petaled aura, all the young heroes who were sitting nearby and planning to watch the show stood up involuntarily. The calm smiles on their faces also froze at the same time.

  "He's been killed!"

  "What a big nerve, actually daring to kill someone at a banquet personally hosted by His Majesty the Emperor!"

  "This is simply lawless!"

  A shout burst forth from among the numerous young onlookers nearby!

  They originally thought that both sides were just mutually scolding each other, and at most, they would only be divided by their cultivation levels, humiliating each other a bit. Who knew that Gu Qing, who had not spoken a word, would draw his sword and kill someone the moment he made a move? Such an unscrupulous action has already touched everyone's bottom line.

  It wasn't just the onlookers, even Xu Bingning and Xu Xiaolin were shocked by Gu Qing's sudden and arrogant move. Although in Xu Xiaolin's heart, as the husband of their own young lady, he should be so quick to take revenge, but at a banquet hosted by the Emperor, killing this young man with five merits was equivalent to harming the Emperor's guest. Such behavior was simply not putting the Emperor in one's eyes!

  If this matter is exploited by malicious people, not only will Gu Qing be severely punished, but the Wuwei Wangfu, who received and forwarded the invitation to Gu Qing, will also be implicated!

  "Gu Qing, you..."

  "Oh no, oh no, I'm in trouble now."

  Gu Qing withdrew his hand grasping the hilt of the sword, and let him fall to the ground. Fresh blood instantly flowed out from the wound in his throat, dyeing the ground red.

  "Awesome!!"

  Watching his good friend being killed by someone he didn't even take seriously, Wang Ji's eyes almost spat out fire: "At such an important banquet, you dare to make a move, dare to kill the guest of honor of the Emperor! You're dead for sure, you're dead for sure. Not just you, all of the Wuwei Houfu will pay the price for your foolish actions today!"

  Gu Qing didn't even glance at him, but instead beckoned to the guards who had arrived after hearing the commotion. He calmly pointed to the corpse and bloodstains on the ground, saying, "Clean this up, don't let it affect our mood."

  "This...” Looking at such an important banquet, a bloody incident actually occurred. The expressions of the guards also became serious, and the leader, a guard with six airways, scanned the crowd and said in a deep voice: "What exactly happened just now? You are all witnesses on the scene, please explain the specific situation to me!"

  "It's him, it's him!" Wang Ji immediately pointed at Gu Qing: "It's him, he actually dared to kill a guest at the banquet hosted by His Majesty the Emperor. This is a great disrespect to His Majesty the Emperor! Guards, take him away immediately and hand him over to the Judicial Department for punishment!"

  The guards saw that the expressions of the crowd were not unusual, and they knew that Wang Ji's words were true. They lowered their voices to Gu Qing and said: "Your Excellency, this matter may indeed require your clear explanation, otherwise... we can't explain it to our superiors!"

  "This... uh, Lord Huang Hao said that I couldn't kill him even with a sword in hand, so I tried it out. I did, and killed him."

  The old man briefly and clearly explained a sentence, then sat back down in his own position.

  Xing Bing immediately understood the turning point and said, "That's right, this Huang Hao himself said that as long as Gu Qing could take the sword from his hand and kill him, he would admit defeat and not pursue responsibility. Everyone present can testify to this."

  "Yes, but he provoked it first and suffered the consequences, which is really a case of asking for trouble."

  Wang Jiyi listened and suddenly recalled Huang Hao's words from earlier. At the time, including himself, when they saw Gu Qing take over the conversation, they thought they had a chance to humiliate him. They were completely led by their opponent in the conversation, to the point where now that someone has been killed, he can't find sufficient reason to refute it.

  At this moment, he vaguely felt that he had fallen into a trap.

  Xu Bingning was, after all, the daughter of General Xu, with a noble status that these people couldn't compare to. The guard also had to take her words seriously. He looked around at the others: "Everyone, is it really like Miss Xu said?"

  "Uh...... this......"

  "Miss Xu's words aren't bad, it's just..."

  Seeing the expressions of the crowd, the guard also understood and slightly furrowed his brow: "First take away the body of Huang Hao's subordinate, clean up the scene before saying anything else. If it is seen by His Majesty the Emperor and causes displeasure, that would be terrible."

  Wang Ji heard the careless tone of the guard and said displeased: "This Gu Qing killed someone at the banquet hosted by His Majesty, shouldn't there be any punishment? If not, wouldn't it mean that anyone can kill people randomly in the future? If this continues, won't our Great Qi Dynasty become chaotic?"

  "This matter will be explained in due time!" The guard said, waving his hand to the few men under him: "First, take the person away."

  "Wait a minute." Just then, a voice suddenly came from the crowd, and immediately afterwards, a tall man in his thirties appeared, surrounded by a group of people, walking out of the crowd!

  Upon seeing this tall and stately man, a stifled exclamation of surprise once again erupted from the crowd!

  "Wang Shentu, this is General Wang Shentu of the Northern Expedition."

  "Wang Sheng is indeed the most famous general among our younger generation, commanding an army of 1.2 million, and among all the young heroes of Da Qi, he is one of the most prominent ones, not inferior to the Second Prince or Lin Daojin in any way... Who would have thought that he would arrive so early?"

  "I heard that Wang Shendu is a general of the Second Prince's faction. Judging from his appearance, he should have been summoned just now. I reckon Wang Ji and others won't let this matter go easily."

  "It's highly likely! However, Gu Qing is indeed too arrogant. He actually dared to draw his sword and kill someone at a banquet personally hosted by the Emperor, and yet he's still just an ordinary swordsman without any official position. If he were to make a name for himself in the future and rise to a high position, who would he still consider as equals?"

  "That's right, let General Wang teach him a good lesson and make him understand the principles of being human!"

  Among the whispers of the crowd, General Wang Shendu, the Northern Expeditionary General, had already arrived at the scene.

  "To the general who had risen to fame through his military prowess, several guards showed sufficient respect: 'General Wang Shendu, we don't know what orders you have.'"

  "This matter shouldn't be that simple." As he said this, Wang swept a glance at Xu Bingying beside him, and then his sharp gaze fell on Gu Qing.

  Xu Bingning was once in Wangdu, and it can be said that she was famous throughout the city, receiving the ardent pursuit of countless young heroes. Even Wang Shen had a mind to get close to her. However, this Miss Xu only had eyes for the Second Prince, and never considered anyone else. Later, although the two had a falling out, as one of the Second Prince's trusted subordinates, he didn't dare launch another attack on Xu Bingning, and could only watch as this beauty, one of Wangdu's Three Beauties, married another man!

  If Xu Bingning had married someone like Nian Wusheng or Lin Daojin, who were among the best of their generation, he wouldn't have given it a second thought. But in the end, she chose an ordinary noble son with no reputation in the imperial capital and no achievements to his name. This naturally made him feel somewhat uneasy.

  Jealousy is something that everyone has. Sometimes a man's jealousy can be just as strong as a woman's, without being any less intense.

  "It's outrageous to draw a sword and kill someone at an imperial banquet, no matter how justified the reason may be! This incident has a terrible influence and must be dealt with severely!"

  "This..."

  "What's up, what do you want to say?"

  "No! Please rest assured, General Wang. I will definitely report to the Judicial Department and handle it impartially!" After finishing speaking, he turned around again and said to Gu Qing: "Gu Qing, please trouble you to come with us."

  Seeing the change in the guard's tone, Xu Bingjing instinctively felt that something was wrong: "This matter can be testified by everyone, and the mistake lies with Huang Haoge himself. He was killed because of his own fault, and it has nothing to do with Gu Qing."

  "Miss Xu, this matter has been handled impartially by this guard, and I believe he will absolutely not be biased or partial."

  "It's all Huang Hao's fault, he provoked first, Gu Qing just counterattacked in self-defense. Is General Wang's tolerance so broad that he can remain unmoved even when being reprimanded to his face?"

  Wang Shen saw that Xu Bing Ning was so protective of Gu Qing, and his heart became increasingly resentful: "Even if it's self-defense, there's no need to take out the sword and kill on the spot, is there? If this matter really sets a precedent for him, because of a small thing, we'll be at each other's throats, won't the great Qi dynasty become chaotic?"

  Xu Bingning also knew that Gu Qing's move to draw his sword and kill someone was too extreme, even if there was a certain reason, he would definitely be held accountable, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do.

  As things seemed to be getting worse and worse, Gu Qing suddenly stood up again!

  As soon as he stood up, he immediately attracted everyone's attention. Everyone thought that the man who dared to draw his sword and hurt someone in such an important banquet venue must have some backing to exonerate himself!

  Gu Qing stood up and looked directly at Wang Shendu, saying straightforwardly: "Wang Shendu, I didn't expect that you've been fighting outside for so many years, but you still look like a coward when you come back."

  As soon as these words came out, everyone including Wang Shen changed their faces drastically.

  No one had expected that Gu Qing would open his mouth and actually provoke Wang Shendu, the General of Conquering the North, in front of so many people!

  "What did you say?!"

  "With your current moral character, I wonder if you still have the strength to hold a sword."

  "You want to provoke me..."

  "It seems like you're good for nothing except scaring people."

  "Clang!"

  The sharp sword at Wang Sheng's waist was instantly unsheathed and pointed directly at Gu Qing!

  "You insignificant thing, when I, the great Wang Shen, was out conquering the east and west, you were still hiding in some corner, unaware of the world. My achievements are not something a mere whelp like you can evaluate! Don't think I don't know what you're planning, let me tell you, as the great Wang Shen, killing you would be no harder than stepping on an ant, especially now that you're provoking me. Immediately, kneel down and apologize to me, otherwise..."

  Before he could finish speaking, Gu Qing calmly added another sentence: "Your sword shouldn't just be for decoration, right? With its soft and limp appearance, can it even kill anyone?"

  "Are you looking for trouble?"

  "Whoosh!"

  A sharp sword light flashed through the air flow, and went straight to the nearby ancient green thorn.

  During the sprint to the top of the charts