Chapter Seven: Traversing the Tides, Safeguarding Sha City

  The two fell silent one after another, and what greeted them was a burst of noise from the square.

  It sounds like someone is having a fierce argument, accompanied by the sound of long swords being unsheathed "clanging".

  As I walked closer, it turned out that Chen Tao was surrounded by a group of people in the center, and everyone was accusing him of killing Han Xuan's third son and causing trouble.

  Chen Tao remained expressionless, his hands clasped together in front of his chest, holding a orange long sword, standing still and motionless.

  Until Shendu and Jade Emperor walked in.

  "Everyone, please be quiet for a moment! Let's talk things through!" Black God shouted loudly, and only then did the crowd stop accusing Chen Tao.

  "What's going on here!" Hei Shen pulled Chen Tao's arm and asked.

  Chen Tao remained expressionless and replied: "I'm sure you're all aware, I killed Han Yifeng, now Han Xuan wants to avenge his son."

  Hei Shen heard this and pretended to be unaware, smiling as he said: "Oh, when did all of this happen?"

  Everyone heard this and didn't understand, then someone stood up and explained: "It was just the other day when Chen Tao himself said it out loud while competing with Shen Dou in a sword fight."

  "Oh? Is that really so?" Hei Shen looked around at the crowd and said: "Who among you has seen Chen Tao kill Han Yifeng, and even if you have seen it, who knows why Chen Tao wanted to kill Han Yifeng?"

  Someone stood up and said with a smile, "Anyway, Chen Tao brought trouble to Shacheng. We shouldn't let him stay here any longer. As long as he is here, Shacheng will not be peaceful."

  "Hum!" Hei Shen was furious, glaring at the man and saying: "What kind of attitude is this? Chen Tao was the previous Wushuang of Shacheng, defending Shacheng for over a decade. He deserves respect from every citizen of Shacheng, and as soldiers of Shacheng, you should be even more respectful to him! Who gave you the audacity to openly criticize him?"

  That person, upon hearing this, showed a look of horror on his face, but still did not give up and said: "No matter what, he killed Han Yifeng, offended the Demon King, our Shacheng will soon be destroyed, and everyone will die because of him!"

  As soon as this was said, everyone followed suit and shouted in unison: "Expel Chen Tao, protect Sha City! Expel Chen Tao, protect Sha City!"

  That shouting voice was deafening, but Chen Tao still stood there with an expressionless face, as if waiting for something.

  As expected, Feilu also arrived at the square.

  "Silence!" Fei Lu's face turned cold and stern as he shouted, "What are you doing? Chen Tao is a fierce general of Shacheng. With the great enemy before us, you're actually ostracizing your own general. Is this what I've been teaching you about unity and cooperation? If we can't unite our soldiers' hearts, how can we win this arduous war? Who can give me an answer?"

  When Fei Lu appeared in front of them, the square suddenly fell silent.

  Feilu took a big step forward to Chen Tao, although he was half a head shorter than Chen Tao, he stretched out his hand and patted Chen Tao's shoulder, encouraging him: "Be yourself, I believe you will always be the bravest and strongest swordsman in Shachen."

  Chen Tao's expression finally changed, his face becoming complex as he gazed emptily at Fei Lu, saying in a low voice: "But it was indeed I who killed Han Yifeng, bringing disaster to Sha City."

  Fei Lu heard this and angrily said: "Fool, what kind of attitude is this? Killing Han Yifeng was an unavoidable act, if it wasn't for you taking the initiative to attack first, perhaps Sha Cheng would have been destroyed long ago."

  "Huh?" Chen Tao's face was shocked upon hearing this.

  The crowd looked at Feilu with even more incomprehension.

  Feilu understood, everyone was waiting for her to give an answer, so she turned around and said loudly: "You only know one side but not the other. A few days ago, a scout reported on the movements of Modou, Han Yifeng is secretly gathering 3,000 elite soldiers, preparing to occupy Shacheng. Chen Tao learned about this information and then rashly snuck into Modou to assassinate Han Yifeng, taking his sword."

  At this time, someone else stood up and asked: "Since it's an assassination, shouldn't it be a very secret action? Chen Tao took down Han Yifeng's sword, didn't he expose the identity of the assassin himself? Is there another hidden situation in this?"

  Fei Lu heard this and furrowed his brow, for a moment he didn't know how to respond.

  Someone stepped forward and said, "We all know that the city master and Chen Tao are the best childhood friends. You have a deep emotional connection that is hard to explain. Isn't it true that you intentionally protected Chen Tao? If so, how can you lead the army of Shacheng and lead us to victory in this difficult war?"

  For such doubts, Feilu was also extremely shocked, speechless for a moment. He looked at Chen Tao's still wooden face, then at Heishen's surprised face, and again at the doubting faces of the crowd. Only Shen Du kept looking at him with an encouraging expression, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

  As expected, Shen Dou stepped out to mediate: "Although I'm an outsider, I firmly believe in one thing, which is what Fei Lu just said - when everyone works together towards the same goal, they will succeed. Regardless of what Chen Tao did in the past, or whether he brought disaster to Sha Cheng, Chen Tao is after all a fierce general of Sha Cheng. At this most critical moment, we all need his help, don't we?"

  Shen Du's words left everyone deep in thought.

  Someone whispered: "After all, Chen Tao is a great sword master. If Chen Tao leaves like this, Shacheng will fall into an even more dangerous situation."

  The crowd whispered among themselves for half a moment, and finally someone stood up and said: "Let Chen Tao make amends for his past mistakes and be our vanguard. As long as he can assassinate the Demon King Han Xuan, we will forgive him!"

  Assassinating Han Xuan is such a perilous move!

  Everyone was shocked. Chen Tao was just a mediocre swordsman, how could he possibly kill Han Xuan who had already reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship?

  "But Chen Tao responded calmly: 'Alright, it's settled then.'"

  As soon as this statement came out, it not only blocked the mouths of the crowd, but also shocked Fei Lu, and even Shen Dou felt unbelievable.

  But Chen Tao had made a promise, and the crowd did not say much. At this time, Fei Lu shouted loudly: "Okay, okay, don't surround here anymore, everyone go back to their posts, each person must make sufficient preparations to fight against Mo Du!"