Jin Se

Chapter 29

After that day, Shi Wuduan no longer had the time to show Bai Li all the places on his little "Illustrated Guide to Guji Streetfood." His work started to get busy.　

The defenses around Guji City looked lax from the outside but were in truth very sound. Gu Huaiyang's ambitions were digging their way out of the earth like a groundhog, slightly disturbing the topsoil as it poked its head out for a look, carefully revealing a tiny hint of its presence.

There hadn't even been time for the lands that the King of Guji had seized from the city lord to be surveyed before they'd changed hands. And, to top it off, Gu Huaiyang invited all the wealthy landowners and merchants to a "merry" feast, held right in his own heavily defended military barracks.

Then, he dealt with a number of "traitors" right then and there, amongst them was Wang Ergou, who'd stabbed his previous employer to death - Gu Huaiyang believed that the middle of the road was the best place to be, that one should never go too far in any direction. But although it was said that without ruthlessness there can be no greatness and that a great man must be adaptable and shameless to some extent, Wang Ergou had really taken it too far with his vile actions.

Wang Ergou blathered and screamed that he was a "meritorious subject" as he was publicly sawed in half.

These people who slept in dens piled high with silver and gold each night, whether or not they were literate, lived by the words "a gentleman keeps their distance from the kitchen." They'd never even seen the butchering of livestock, how could they stomach such a gory scene? Two fainted on the spot, three vomited, and one suffered a bout of some strange affliction, his hands and feet went cold, and his eyes stared blankly ahead.

At the feast, Shi Wuduan personally raised his cup in a toast as he offered reassurance, "There's no need to be afraid, everyone. My eldest brother is here to exterminate the bandits on the king's orders. Now that they are dead already, everyone will have the chance to live in peace - hm? But what's the matter, Sir Jiang? Why does your hand tremble so? Someone come and fill Sir Jiang's cup again."

A burly man who'd just wiped the blood from his blade entered the tent, trailing in the scent of iron, and wordlessly picked up the cup of poor Sir Jiang, who rattled like a thin sapling in a storm, filling it to the brim with wine.

Sir Jiang miraculously stopped shaking - his eyes had already rolled into the back of his head.

Gu Huaiyang sighed bitterly, "If only I'd come sooner, I could've spared you all this fright. My sins are truly inexcusable; I'll drink a cup of penalty wine."

Shi Wuduan drank a cup as well then continued, "No need to look so serious everyone. This's a good thing. From now on, my brothers will be setting roots in Guji City and counting on everyone's support. The soldiers and citizens must be as one. As long as my eldest brother is here to defend the city, we'll promise there won't be any more traitors."

Before he'd finished saying his piece, Lu Yunzhou fiercely slapped his sword, gleaming with cold light, onto the table. The sudden noise nearly gave the elderly gentlemen heart palpitations. Lu Yunzhou coldly declared, "Those who dare resist will be killed without mercy!"

The old men who sat around at the table like lumps of meat on the chopping board were silent as the grave. But Shi Wuduan began to chuckle as he gently said, "With third brother's sword here, I don't think there'll be any dissidents so unwise as to disturb the peace."