Chapter 239: Seething Resentment
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Qiu Jianhan said, "I think that this shouldn’t be too far from the truth, but the presence of a ball of flame is insufficient to prove much. However, we can confirm the existence of Supreme Wind, it’s just hard to tell if he’s willing to show himself."
The old Grand Commandant Fang Qingtian coughed and said, "Your Majesty mustn’t take this lightly. Although my Ingenious Volition has verified that Yang Botao is indeed guilty, it’s not as astute as it used to be. Yang Botao might have something else up his sleeves. His real capabilities are probably not as simple as what we’ve seen and he is one of Yutang’s four marshals after all…"
"Right you are. I have been too naïve in my thinking earlier. Even when Yang Botao’s hidden forces are taken out of the equation, the matter has been pushed all the way to its tipping point. It’s impossible to take down such an authoritative military figure without concrete evidence. In this matter, I can't simply do as I wish," the emperor said with a deep frown.
"But if Supreme Wind did appear – as long as he is certain that he can take Yang Botao down, he would definitely emerge to verify this matter. As long as Supreme Wind appears and confirms his identity, there won’t be a need to judge Yang Botao anymore. He can be punished for his crime, and his subordinates won’t even bother to defend him anymore."
"But if Supreme Wind doesn’t deign to show up…"
His Majesty continued to ponder this dilemma.
Old Marshal Qiu Jianhan said, "Supreme Wind has to come out in the open, but what we need to consider seriously right now is the same thing that he is wondering - how do we ensure Supreme Wind’s safety once he emerges?"
"That is a difficult task indeed."
Old Grand Commandant Fang Qingtian coughed gruffly, his hand covering his mouth while Leng Daoyin passed over a handkerchief swiftly. After spitting out a wad of phlegm, Fang Qingtian finally felt his breathing turned easier as he said, "It’s hard. For as long as Supreme Wind remains concealed, the world is his playground. The moment he comes out in the open, he paints a target on himself for all his foes to aim at! Even when the Nine Supremes were still together as one, they still succumbed to the deadly ambush. Now that there’s only Supreme Wind, it would be a dicey thing, even if he had support from Supreme Flame."
"After all, their enemies come from both the other countries and the martial arts world – even traitors within our imperial court…"
Old Grand Commandant caught his breath and continued, "We can't guarantee his safety with any certainty. Although Yang Botao’s doom can be set once Supreme Wind appears, the price that has to be paid might be too high."
"This old official knows that Your Majesty wants to meet Supreme Wind and be assured of doing so, but to coerce Supreme Wind to come out may bring more harm than good!" The Grand Commandant coughed violently.
"If it were up to me, I’d go the hard and fast way – exterminate Yang Botao’s entire family in the name of treason." The official said darkly while coughing, "This way, Supreme Wind won’t have to make himself known and while Your Majesty’s dictatorial methods may not be vastly popular, it is not an undeserved course of action."
The emperor chuckled humorlessly. "Old Grand Commandant’s suggestion is terribly tempting; I don’t mind being dictatorial for once, but the key now is this; was it really Supreme Wind who appeared? If we can be sure, then killing Yang Botao will be just; but if we can’t be sure, we’d be blamed for killing an innocent man. The price paid will be equally huge!"
"Verifying that Yang Botao is guilty with Grand Commandant’s Ingenious Volition is credible to us, but it can’t hold up in the court of law. If we did behead him, the people will say that we’ve killed a nation’s marshal just because some random assassin dressed in black was heard to have turned into a gust of wind by uttering a single word."
"The consequences will be immense and it might spiral into another case of Zhuo Wenlong. Worse still, the other nations’ military figures might spin the tale and melt the unity of Yutang’s military away…" the emperor chuckled bitterly.
The old Grand Commandant kept mum with a frown. The emperor’s considerations were reasonable too. Executing penalty without concrete evidence would only sow the seed for rumors. Empire of Yutang was already the public enemy; once there was to be a chance of attack, the other countries would definitely latch onto it and that would be difficult to defend.
"Showing himself to the world just to set his sights on Yang Botao? I believe that Supreme Wind has the intention to prosecute Yang Botao. If he appears briefly, there won’t be too much of a problem as long as he doesn’t expose his real face and identity."
Leng Daoyin said, "The only thing to be settled right now is the aftermath of Supreme Wind’s appearance. It’s the key to prevent him from being tracked and hunted down."
"I am certain that if Yang Botao does indeed have an ulterior motive, the forces behind him must also be waiting for Supreme Wind’s appearance; to unveil his real identity and providing the support needed to get Yang Botao out of this situation."
"Since they’re waiting, they must have ways to track him and even the confidence to prevent Supreme Wind from escaping in his wind manifestation," Leng Daoyin said.
"Like what Old Leng said, this is the main issue. The mystique skills and strange arcane magic that these people who come from all parts of the world possess are unknown to us."
Qiu Jianhan heaved a long sigh.
"How are the military bases reacting to this?" His Majesty asked.
"The bases are heating up to their boiling points; they’re almost out of control." Leng Daoyin chuckled dryly and said, "It’s not only the military actually, the entire Tiantang City has been rendered into a state of frenzy!"
The emperor mused and replied, "This needs to be settled as soon as possible. We shall hold Yang Botao’s open trial at Tiantang Square, before the Lionheart Memorial."
The rest of the group’s eyes brightened abruptly. "Marvelous!"
"Qiu Jianhan," the emperor called. "You’re in charge of arranging this. You must ensure that nothing goes wrong if Supreme Wind chooses to make an appearance!"
"Yes! This official shall meet Your Majesty holding my head in my hands if there are any mistakes in this open trial!"
Qiu Jianhan exited the room with large, bold strides while Leng Daoyin's reminder floated over to his ears, "Don’t forget about the twenty to thirty experts who appeared out of the blue in Yang Botao’s residence when the assassination attempt was being carried out!"
"Do you think I’m you?" Qiu Jianhan was already out of sight but his words rang out loud.
Leng Daoyin rolled his eyes, choked by his anger.
…
Tiantang City had turned into the ocean of resentment within a single day.
"Revenge for the Nine Supremes Lords!"
Flags like this could be seen everywhere, be it in the military camps or among the citizens; each and every one of the people was aggrieved and solemn in their bearing.
Yang Botao’s residence was on lockdown while all the houses along the residence’s street had their doors closed. Only Yang Botao’s residence was prohibited from closing its doors, regardless of the hour.
Other than the teeming militants, no one else was seen on that street. When someone would occasionally pass the ends of the alley, they would look upon the residence with hate and leave right away.
Life still went on for the hundreds of people in the Residence of Yang though; although there were stored grains, there was still a need to buy fresh produce. The military would not forbid them from heading out to make purchases.
The steward in charge of purchasing walked briskly with his head lowered. He had been tasked to do so all along, so he was already very familiar with the vendors in the market. Now, he only wanted to head home and stay in his room after buying what he needed as fast as possible…
However, when he got to the market, this steward was shocked to realize that things had changed.
The resentment in the gazes he was greeted with felt like he was responsible for getting their parents killed. He had only made a dozen steps far in the market before he was engulfed in an incredibly tense atmosphere like he had stepped right into the lion’s den!
The stares directed at him were all filled with brutality and an eerie glint of maniacal fury.
The vendors who had pandered to him in hopes of making more sales were totally different from how they had been; not only did they not strike up a conversation to promote their wares, they looked like they wished to beat someone up.
What was worse was that he could not even buy anything, even though he had silver taels!
"Not for sale!"
"Oh, you’re asking about this? This isn’t for sale!"
"Why are you setting up this stall if you’re not selling them?"
"It's to look as if I have something to do but in actual fact, I’m just waiting for a debacle. If I’ve finished selling my goods, then I’d have to head back. How could I watch the fun then?"
"What fun is this that it is so worthy of such anticipation?!"
"Someone is about to die a horrendous death. I’ve heard that it’s a marshal. How can I not wait for such fun?"
There was no way the conversation could go on. He decided it was better to go to another vendor.
"Are you selling this?"
"It’s not for sale!"
"Why not?"
"I’m happy enough with my sales today!"
Happy? What a solid reason. The steward could only go somewhere else.
"Are you selling this?"
"It’s not for sale!"
"Why not?"
"I’m not happy!"
Not happy? It was an equally solid reason, but it made sense if he was happy not selling his goods; how could he not sell things because he was unhappy?!
The steward wanted to question the rationality behind these statements but he held himself back. He might be given a trashing once the question was raised. He would not have been afraid to raise a conflict if it had been any other time, but now… he had better just go to someone else.
"This vegetable…"
"It’s not for sale. What am I going to feed the pigs at home if I sell them to you?"
…
"This vegetable…"
"It’s for humans. You can’t eat it…"
The replies received grew increasingly insulting as the underlying meaning escalated one after another.
The steward asked around patiently, finally finding one who was tempted by the silver taels and wanted to do business. Just as the vendor extended his hand to accept the silver taels, he realized that everyone in the market was glaring at him.
There was contempt within the countless gazes focused on him; some of them were so angered that he was swayed, while some others looked like they were going to beat him outright. The person’s hand flinched back like he had been burned.
He could see from those people’s eyes that if he had sold even a stalk of green to the Yang Family today, there would be no hope of him making a living here for the rest of his life!
He gave a dry chuckle and retracted his arm, saying, "I’ve forgotten. My vegetables today aren’t good."
As the steward was almost about to succeed, he panicked. "What’s not good about it? Isn’t it just the same?"
"You might mind…" The man laughed with no humor in it. "I’ve urinated in the vegetables today… My son has defecated on them too. If you really don’t mind…"
The steward’s eyes went wide at these vitriolic statements!