The Imperial Guards, like Yama, slaughtered until the Empress cried out for help.

Shen Qing shattered the crimson sword energy with a single strike, then coldly looked at Wang Xiu.

"Hey, where did this stray dog ​​come from, causing trouble on my turf and trying to kill me?"

Wang Xiu saw the silver flying fish robe on Shen Qing's body, but he remained arrogant.

"Murder? He looks like a filthy beggar. What's the harm in killing him?"

"How much is a human life worth?"

The laborer behind Shen Qing lowered his head silently upon hearing this.

The next moment, Shen Qing's knife moved, and in an instant, four domineering blade lights appeared in the air and swiftly slashed towards Wang Xiu.

Su Jiudie and the Huangsha Gang members stared wide-eyed, completely unable to react to when Shen Qing had drawn his knife.

Before they could even see the full extent of the blade's flash, they heard the crisp sound of flesh and bone being sliced ​​open.

Blood splattered everywhere. Wang Xiu's limbs were neatly severed, and his mouth was wide open, constantly spitting out blood foam.

Shen Qing walked forward, his expression unusually calm, as if he had just killed a wild dog.

He raised his foot and stomped on Wang Xiu's face: "What? Don't the lives of cattle and horses matter?"

"I'm exhausted after a long day, and you still want to chop me up tonight?"

"Heh heh..." Blood kept gushing from Wang Xiu's mouth. He was in terrible condition, but the arrogant look on his face was finally gone.

He was afraid. He was afraid of Shen Qing, and he was also afraid of dying.

"I was wrong... I know I was wrong... I don't want to die..."

"I'm willing to pay compensation...please don't kill me..."

Wang Xiu's voice even carried a hint of a sob. In the past, he was the one who decided the life and death of others, but today he was about to die himself.

"Hahaha." Shen Qing laughed, an unusually hearty laugh, as if he were joking with an old friend.

"What you're saying is true. You'll definitely have to pay the money, but I'm also going to take your life."

Having said that, a long knife pierced Wang Xiu's heart, and then with a light kick, he handed the money pouch from Wang Xiu's waist to the laborer.

"Fang Ming, find someone to take this body back and hang it at the entrance of the Hundred Household Office."

Fang Ming hurriedly summoned two captains and ordered them to take the corpse and severed limbs back to the centurion's garrison.

Then Shen Qing looked at the Huangsha Gang disciples who were standing to the side, trembling with fear.

When the disciples met Shen Qing's gaze, they felt as if they had seen a raging flood or a ferocious beast, and their legs went weak, causing them to kneel on the ground.

"My lord, it was Wang Xiu who attacked us; we were merely... on the defensive."

Shen Qing waved his hand.

"Take these back with you too."

Shen Qing's gaze shifted away, bringing a sense of relief to the group. In just two short sentences, their backs were completely soaked with sweat.

They scrambled towards Fang Ming and readily allowed the captain to tie them up with iron chains.

Now they only had one thought: to escape Shen Qing's sight.

Shen Qing came to Su Jiudie again. Su Jiudie was kneeling on the ground, holding Zong Fang in her arms. Her white dress was completely stained red with blood. She looked at Shen Qing with bloodshot eyes and her voice trembling.

"My lord, I was just trying to stop Wang Xiu."

Shen Qing didn't speak, but looked at Zong Fang.

Zong Fang was already breathing more gas than he could exhale, but the fatal wound was not the one in his abdomen.

For a martial artist at the Acquired Realm, having a bloody hole in the abdomen is like a broken bone for an ordinary person—it's painful but not fatal.

What was truly fatal was Wang Xiu's blood-red sword energy. Zong Fang's internal strength was inferior to Wang Xiu's, so this sword energy was causing him to be wreaked havoc within his body.

Zongfang's internal strength, like that of her incompetent husband, was incapable of protecting anything.

Shen Qing bent down slightly, placed his fingers on the back of Zong Fang's neck, and channeled a powerful stream of true energy into Zong Fang's body.

This changed the balance of power between offense and defense.

That crimson sword energy instantly transformed into a wronged little girl, easily manipulated by Shen Qing's domineering true energy.

It was shaped into a human form in one moment, and then shaped into a human form again in the next.

Before long, the crimson sword energy was crushed.

After confirming that everything was correct, Shen Qing straightened up.

"It's alright, you won't die."

The next moment, Zong Fang, who was lying down, suddenly coughed up two mouthfuls of blood.

Her brows twitched slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes, immediately seeing Su Jiudie crying with tears streaming down her face.

Zong Fang forced a smile and said weakly.

"Junior sister...I think I just saw that I looked too cute."

Su Jiudie chuckled, but quickly realized what she meant.

Shen Qing had saved his senior brother, and he hadn't even thanked him yet, so he quickly looked up.

But Shen Qing was nowhere to be seen.

......

Changshui Street.

Elder Jinji of the Huangsha Gang, holding a three-foot-long sword, looked at the dilapidated hut in front of him and said calmly.

"Sun Qian, hand over the cultivation technique, and I'll spare your life."

After a long silence, the group of people guarding outside the house exchanged glances and slowly approached the hut.

In the next instant, several hidden weapons shot out swiftly, heading straight for the faces of the group.

This crude sneak attack couldn't break through their defenses at all, and the group threw away their hidden weapons and rushed towards the house.

Just as they approached the house, they heard a muffled sound, and thick smoke billowed out, engulfing several surrounding buildings.

The next moment, a hoarse voice rang out, accompanied by a sinister laugh: "You want it, right? Then I'll give it to you."

After saying that, three sheets of paper, shimmering with a faint golden light, flew out from the smoke and landed precisely in the hands of the three people.

However, there were six people present, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

The three who received the gold paper tightened their grip on their weapons.

Jinji glanced at the paper in his hand, his expression changing slightly.

"Don't be fooled, everyone! This scripture is fake!"

"What?!"

The other two who received the scriptures hurriedly checked them. At that critical moment, a dark figure emerged from the smoke; it was none other than the rogue cultivator Sun Qian.

At the same time, Peng Chun, an elder of the Blackwater Gang, also drew his sword and launched an attack, but his target was not Sun Qian, but Jin Ji, an elder of the Yellow Sand Gang.

Jinji casually swung his sword to block the attack.

"Peng Chun, you idiot, what are you trying to do!"

Peng Chun gave a cold laugh.

"What do you mean by real or fake? To me, it's real. Here you go."

"Idiot!" Jinji shouted angrily, flicked the paper to Peng Chun, and then drew his sword to chase after Sun Qian.

But in the blink of an eye, Sun Qian rushed out through the gap in Peng Chun's defenses and disappeared without a trace.

Jinji's face turned extremely ugly. He turned to look at Peng Chun, his eyes filled with anger.

"What a disgrace to the Blackwater Gang! They're more trouble than they're worth!"

Peng Chun didn't speak, but just looked down at the paper in his hand.

On the other side, Sun Qian quickly crossed Changshui Street, took off his robe, and casually pulled a gray cloth garment from a clothes rack and put it on.

At the same time, he casually picked up some yellow mud from the ground and smeared it on himself, disguising himself as a down-and-out beggar.

Then we came to a narrow alley and sat down against the wall.

It seems they are waiting for someone to arrive.

After a long while, a noise came from the street corner. Sun Qian turned his head and his pupils widened slightly. He saw a figure in a silver robe appear at the street corner.

A faint hint of murderous intent flashed in Sun Qian's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure, lowered his head, and waited for Shen Qing to cross the street.

Shen Qing walked quickly, crossing the street in just a few breaths. To be on the safe side, Sun Qian didn't raise his head. After a while, when Shen Qing's footsteps had completely disappeared, he slowly looked up.

But when he looked up, Sun Qian was so frightened he almost fainted.

Shen Qing was already standing in front of him, bending down and smiling at him.

Shen Qing's voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, but to Sun Qian it sounded no different from the voice of the King of Hell.

"Who are you waiting for? Would you like to wait at my centurion's office?"