Chapter 173: Chaos in Xiaocheng (Thirteen) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"Hehe, isn't it a coincidence—" Qi Shan's expression suddenly changed, his eyes sharp and piercing, as if he wanted to tear the prefect apart. His voice trembled as he said, "It just so happens that after this incident, the weakest of the three major tribes of Shiwu, somehow obtained an opportunity and, relying on mysterious, unpredictable, and powerful military formations, successively swallowed up the other two tribes and unified Shiwu in one fell swoop!"

He crouched down and grabbed the prefect by the neck.

"You dare say that was an accident!"

Over the course of eight years, Qi Shan relied on the fragments of the military formation map obtained from the secret place and the spies from Shi Wu to recreate that military formation countless times.

This formation is truly mysterious and brilliant, with its occasional hooks and interlocking attacks, twists and turns, perfectly integrating the "orthodox and unorthodox" principles of military strategy into the battle formation. Just as the art of war says, "In all battles, one engages with the orthodox and wins with the unorthodox," and "Those who are good at using the unorthodox are as boundless as heaven and earth, as inexhaustible as rivers and seas."

For a moment, the prefect dared not look directly into Qi Shan's eyes.

He stubbornly replied, "I am from the Ten Crows. Is it wrong for me to help my people? I also want to be loyal to the Xin Kingdom, but the ruler of the Xin Kingdom is incompetent, and others despise my origins. They have always treated me like a foreigner and have never truly accepted me. Why should I risk my life for the Xin Kingdom?"

"But back then, you were suffering from a long-term illness and were trapped in the border town. You had run out of money and could only stay in a dilapidated house that let in the wind and rain. He risked his life to find a doctor for you and even begged a physician to come in the middle of the night. Is this how you treat your savior?"

His fingers tightened slightly.

This prefect, from the very beginning, intended to use an unfortunate fellow as a stepping stone to shield him from the "gate of death," and he would stop at nothing to achieve his goal.

Why doesn't this beast just die of illness?

As the pressure on his hands increased, the prefect struggled to breathe, his mouth and nose emitting continuous "whooshing" sounds. He twisted and struggled, but his hands were bound by the black and white qi, rendering him unable to move. As the breath in his chest grew thinner, his seemingly righteous square face turned bluish-red, terrifying veins bulged, and his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably, becoming ferocious and twisted.

Amidst the pain, a strange sense of pleasure arose within him—after all, he had lived eight more years, so it wasn't a bad deal!

Seeing that the prefect's eyes were bloodshot, his eyes rolled back, and his tongue was half-out, and he was about to die, Qi Shan coldly released his grip on the prefect's neck.

Prefect: "Ha-hu-ha-hu—"

Regaining his freedom, countless breaths of fresh air rushed towards him. He opened his mouth wide and inhaled greedily, unaware that the air he had taken for granted was so wonderful.

Having just crawled back from the brink of death, that hand gripped his neck once more, forcing him to look up at Qi Shan's face. The prefect's body uncontrollably recalled the scene of his near-death experience.

He clenched his teeth, which trembled with fear.

"Tan Lezheng, why don't you just give me a straight answer?"

Is this guy planning to torture him until he's satisfied before killing him?

Why should I give you a straight answer?

Qi Shan's answer was confident and justified.

Prefect: "..."

Thinking of Qi Shan's hatred and the man's ruthlessness, he could fully imagine that his fate would be worse than death.

"Good expression," Qi Shan said. He didn't miss a single trace of fear on the prefect's face, his eyes filled with the pleasure of a hunter watching his prey struggle for its last chance.

After saying that, he slowly applied force with his hand again.

He wanted the prefect to carefully perceive every inch of the increasing force, to clearly sense the approaching footsteps of death. Once again, he suffocated, once again pulled back from the brink of death. The prefect lay on the ground, coughing incessantly, his bloodshot eyes almost entirely crimson.

He cursed through the excruciating pain in his throat.

"Qi Yuanliang would never be as heartless and insane as you—"

Qi Shan countered, "And then?"

The prefect choked upon hearing this.

And then what?

Since Qishan inherited the name "Qishan" and is allowed to continue living in the world, his words and deeds should be in accordance with the original.

Otherwise, it would tarnish the reputation of "Qishan" (祈善).

Just thinking about it makes me laugh—

Even if he walks the world under the guise of an old friend, he is merely Tan Lezheng wearing the alias "Qi Yuanliang" rather than the real "Qi Shan".

Looking back on what he's done over the years, he's done nothing humane, but he's done a lot of inhumane and despicable things. Otherwise, he wouldn't have so many enemies throughout the northwestern kingdoms and such a tarnished reputation.

"Evil people will be punished by other evil people." Qi Shan leaned close to the prefect's ear, his feigned gentle tone sending chills down one's spine. "Especially an ingrate like you. If I really had any 'kindness,' I'd chop you up and throw you out to feed the dogs! Even a dog knows to wag its tail when it gets something, but what about you? You're worse than a dog!"

The only stain on Qi Shan's life was that she saved the scum in front of her!

"If Yuan Liang had known that he had saved an ungrateful wretch, a treacherous villain with wolfish ambitions, colluding with the Ten Crows to covet the homeland he loved, would he have given you a second glance back then?"

Qi Shan hated not only the prefect, but also himself. If he hadn't chosen to attend the funeral, and hadn't let "Qi Shan" travel alone, perhaps "Qi Shan" wouldn't have passed through that city, much less have encountered the scheming Yan Cheng. Or perhaps—

I wish I had been the one who died back then.

The prefect was so angry from being scolded that he trembled, his face twitching uncontrollably, and he struggled to get closer to Qi Shan to question him.

"Yes, I did 'plot this all along'! I'm a beast, I repay kindness with enmity, I'm an ingrate, I have wolfish ambitions! But did I have a choice? I left him a way out, and he gave the way out to you, is that my fault? There were only you two in the battle at the time, who knew what was going on?"

How can the truth be determined by his own words alone?

"You say he gave you a chance to live and let you escape? Who do you think would believe that? What makes you comparable to Qi Yuanliang? How can your worthless life be worth even a tenth of his?"

For a moment, the prefect forgot about the threat of death.

Every word was piercing to the heart, every step pressed relentlessly.

"You say there's no more Tan Lezheng in the world? Hahaha, that sounds nice, but didn't you kill your friend first and then seize his identity? Otherwise, with your status as the son of a sandalmaker, a lowly thing of humble origin, do you really think you can make a name for yourself and climb the social ladder? Bah! You lowly thing, do you even deserve it?"

Before Qi Shan could even make a move, the prefect's head was already under Shen Tang's foot. Her face was ashen, and she wished she could crush the head under her feet.

The prefect vomited blood.

The sound was like wind whistling through a torn bag, muffled and indistinct. He still said, "If we're really talking about being despicable, how are you and I any different?"

Shen Tang glanced at Qi Shan, whose face was deathly pale.

"Kill this thing..."

Qi Shan's hands, trembling like leaves, were hidden in her sleeves. She closed her eyes and sneered in self-loathing, "Shen Youli, don't you think he's right? I am indeed the kind of person who would do such a thing..."

Shen Tang retorted, "What's it to me?"

Qi Shan's eyebrows twitched: "The wording is elegant!"

"Fine, I'll be refined." Shen Tang's footwork gradually increased, and the prefect felt as if his head was about to split open. "Yuanliang, do you know about 'presumption of innocence'?"

The facts of the crime are unclear, and the evidence is insufficient; therefore, criminal liability should not be pursued, nor should prosecution be initiated. Those accusations against Qi Shan are entirely fabricated and based on mere suspicion by that old geezer, the prefect. To conclude that Qi Shan is guilty based on this is somewhat absurd.

Qi Shan: "..."

He glanced at the half-dead prefect and closed his eyes.

"Kill him, he's an eyesore."

I intended to disgust others, but ended up being disgusted myself.

Shen Tang gave an "oh" and stomped her foot.

The skull beneath my feet was cracked, blood was flowing from its mouth and nose, and its eyeballs were bulging out of their sockets like fish bubbles. Finally, it was crushed into a pile of mangled flesh.

(End of this chapter)