Chapter 28: Master Nines Astonishment

Chapter 28: Master Nine's Astonishment

Starlight laid down many more ground rules, all the while pacing back and forth as he glowered at everyone like a hunting wolf.

After that came the main event.

"As I said earlier, we're on the Guardians' territory, so we have to follow the law. Otherwise, we run the risk of being exposed. Hence, and let me reemphasize, none of you are to do anything legally or morally reprehensible. This is a very important lesson that I want to drive home, so I've prepared a little performance for you all."

With a tug the rope, around twenty people were dragged out from behind the veil, all of whom were completely tied up.

"These are all people who've kidnapped and forced women into prostitution, trafficked innocent children, or committed other heinous and unforgivable crimes. Let me show you what happens to people like them."

Fang Che pulled out an executioner's blade as he spoke, while everyone looked on with horrified expressions.

"Don't blink! Make sure to remember this performance for the rest of your lives!"

With a swift swing of his blade, twenty-four heads were decapitated at once, to the complete astonishment of all of the shopkeepers below.

They wanted to scream, but they didn't dare. In the face of Starlight's vicious gaze, none of them dared to make any sound, clasping their hands tightly over their mouths to suppress their voices. Some had even wet themselves in horror.

It was truly a performance that they would never forget for as long as they lived.

"We're all good, law-abiding citizens, so we can't commit such heinous crimes, wouldn't you all agree?"

"Yes!"

"They've all received just retribution for their crimes, isn't that right?"

"Yes!"

A friendly and benevolent smile appeared on Fang Che's face as he asked, "Was that a memorable performance?"

"Yes!"

"Very good! I'll leave you all to dispose of these bodies. I'm sure I don't need to teach you how to do that, right?"

"No, no, no need."

"Oh, and there's one final rule I have to impose. Now that our branch helm is back, it requires personnel. I've split your thirty-six shops up into four quadrants, and each shop needs to supply one Grandmaster to form four groups to look after the branch helm on a rotating basis, with each term lasting half a month! Absence, tardiness, and complacency on the job will not be tolerated, and be punished by execution!"

Everyone shuddered as they stared at the twenty-four heads on the ground, terrified that their heads would join them.

"You may think me cruel and unreasonable, but we all have to work hard for the sake of the church, everyone!" Starlight said in a meaningful and heartfelt manner. "As the saying goes, teamwork makes the dream work! Everyone has to pull their weight for a brighter future! To conclude, I have a piece of good news for you all.

“All of the incense halls beneath our branch helm have been destroyed, and I have no interest in recruiting any new people for now, so I'll be choosing among all of you. Four incense halls are to be set up in three months, and I'm sure I don't need to tell you all of the benefits that incense halls are entitled to."

The thirty-six shopkeepers' eyes instantly lit up in unison at this massive opportunity.

"Also, do any of you know the locations of any of the other churches' strongholds?"

"No. As far as we're aware, they've all been wiped out."

"That's fine, I'll do some investigating myself. Also, if you encounter people from any other churches asking about our branch helm, bring them to me, and I'll take care of them. That's all for tonight. If there's anything you need me to address, put it on the table. Make sure to clean up all this blood before you go. As a final warning, don't do anything that makes me unhappy. I'm a very petty guy, and I'm not one to get over grudges."

***

The thirty-six shopkeepers were terrified, and none of them dared to move, even after Starlight was already long gone.

Their complexions were even paler than the moonlight as they looked back and forth at one another with fearful expressions.

The heads on the ground were strewn around like a bunch of watermelons, and the air reeked of the stench of blood.

After a long silence, someone finally struck up a conversation.

"I believe this is the first time all of us have been gathered in one place. What do we all think of this new helmsmaster?"

"I think he's a brilliant man!"

"I fully agree!"

After some idle chatter, everyone began cleaning up the courtyard.

Even on such a cold night, everyone had worked up a sweat, and it wasn't entirely from exertion.

This new helmsmaster did things very different from the previous one. The previous helmsmaster had never revealed himself to them, never appearing in person to issue orders and collect money. Furthermore, none of the shopkeepers had ever met, either, and no one knew anyone else's true identity, yet Starlight had completely destroyed those conventions by gathering everyone for an in-person meeting!

Furthermore, he had shown himself to be extremely ruthless and unpredictable.

One moment, he would appear friendly and benign, only to turn into a cold-blooded killer in the blink of an eye! On top of that, he seemed to revel in killing and take joy in tormenting others.

When he dragged out those twenty-four people from behind the veil, everyone thought he was actually going to put on a performance, perhaps whipping them in public or administering some other type of non-lethal punishment.

Never had they imagined that he would execute them!

The spraying blood, the tumbling heads, the cruel smile on Starlight's face... These were all harrowing memories that would remain with them until the day they died.

Everyone had a clear premonition that their lives were most likely going to become much more difficult from this day forth.

The nine Grandmasters tasked with looking after the branch helm were even more concerned than everyone else.

They had to open the gates of the manor up wide to give off the appearance that someone was living here while also fearing that such a blatant display would attract attention from the Hall of Protectionists.

They began moving in all types of furniture, and the workspace also had to be renovated.

Everyone constantly had a rag in their pocket, compulsively wiping down anything that was even the slightest bit dirty. If the new helmsmaster were to kill them over lackluster cleanliness, then that would surely be the most tragic way to die.

***

It was already dawn, yet Fang Che was still brimming with energy as he trained diligently in the courtyard.

He cycled through his saber, spear, sword, and halberd, honing his skills in the four weapons one after another, and the killing intent that he gave off was so immense that even Ye Meng couldn't help but feel fearful inside the room.

All of a sudden, she began rubbing her own eyes vigorously, convinced that she was hallucinating.

A piece of folded paper had appeared out of thin air right before her eyes, and it was slowly descending.

Ye Meng turned to Fang Che with a bewildered expression, only to find him completely engrossed in his own training.

Where did this paper come from?

At this point, the piece of paper had already fallen onto her lap.

She gritted her teeth tightly as she picked it up in an anxious manner, and upon opening it, she was instantly astonished by its contents.

It contained all of the most valuable information that she desired, including where Fang Che had gone last night, what he had done, whom he had met, the establishment of the branch helm, the location of the new branch helm, Fang Che's new codename...

Everything was laid out so clearly that Fang Che could've hardly presented a more detailed account himself!

Where did this come from? Who did this?

Ye Meng clutched the piece of paper tightly in her hand as her heart pounded in her chest.

Never had she seen anything so strange and unexplainable in her life!

After some thought, she decided to report the contents of the piece of paper, as well as how she had come into possession of it.

***

Moon Shadow's report was delivered to Fan Tiantiao, who left it untouched as he passed it onto the headquarters.

Dongfang Sansan had prohibited anyone but himself from seeing Moon Shadow's secret reports.

Meanwhile, at the Guardians headquarters.

"Master Nine, we've just received a report with the moon symbol."

"Bring it to me."

Before long, Dongfang Sansan was staring at the report with a very peculiar grimace on his face.

So he has a spirit body at his disposal. No wonder he was so desperate for a piece of divine metal.

He read through the rest of the report with a speechless expression.

I can hardly think of a more barbaric way to pass on intelligence! I told you to set up some alternative pathway to pass information onto Ye Meng, but you've really outdone yourself here! Could you really not have thought of a better way to do this?

However, after some thought, Dongfang Sansan realized that this completely ridiculous method of information conveyance seemed to be flawless!

He carefully thought everything through once more, only to arrive at the same conclusion.

As far as Ye Meng was concerned, she had just experienced a supernatural event, and she wasn't suspicious of Fang Che at all!

While it was an extremely direct and crude method of passing on intelligence, it was flawless as long as Fang Che wasn't exposed!

Does this really work? I can't believe this!