Stranger Danger

Chapter 450: The Beginning Of The End

Every time he announced a price, Chu Qingli would toss a silver certificate at Ye Qing’s face. The gesture was as arrogant as it was disparaging.

“Is it too little? Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of money. Three hundred, four hundred, five hundred. I’m nothing in a lot of things, but the one thing I have is money!”

“The Pacification Bureau has always handled its affairs impartially. We don’t tolerate bribes and definitely not corruption. What do you think you’re doing, Your Highness?” Gao Ningan said coldly while taking a step forward.

“Am I talking to you? No? Then get the fuck out of my sight!” Chu Qingli sent spittle flying all over Gao Ningan’s face before turning back to Ye Qing. He said haughtily, “When you get back, I expect you to release my men and kowtow to me at my residence. Otherwise, you will learn what it means to make an enemy out of a prince! Understand?”

“No can do, Your Highness.” Something inexplicable flashed in Ye Qing’s eyes.

“No can do?” Chu Qingli’s voice rose an octave as if he heard a funny joke. Then, he let out a disdainful scoff. “Do you think you’re the Qing Emperor just because they call you the Qing Emperor Junior? Hahaha! I don’t know what you think you are, but you’re lesser than a fart to me! A fart could at least make some noise and entertain a crowd, but you couldn’t even do that! Hahaha...”

The hedonistic youngsters accompanying Chu Qingli were laughing as well.

They were sitting in a public space, so of course the rest of the customers noticed the commotion and were pointing fingers at them. No one had any intention of stepping in, of course. After all, it was a conflict between the Pacification Bureau and a prince. Jianghu warriors or not, to get involved in this matter was no different from committing suicide.

“You are going too far, Your Highness!” Lin Yuhuai raised his voice as well.

“Am I? So what if I am? What are you gonna do about it?” Chu Qingli declared arrogantly. “Plus, am I not telling the truth?”

“He’s just a commoner who popped out of the butt end of nowhere and learned some shitty ass martial arts, and he thinks he deserves to be called the Qing Emperor Junior? Who does he think he is? What do you guys think?”

“Yeah!”

“You’re totally right, Your Highness.”

His followers echoed in agreement.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Stay away from my sister, you piece of shit. How dare a shitstain like you dare to lust after her.” Chu Qingli suddenly moved closer and lowered his voice. “If I ever see you around my sister again, if you so much as say a single word to her, I swear I will snuff you out like an ant. Understand?”

As Chu Qingli said this, he raised his hand and hit Ye Qing’s face lightly. It wasn’t a slap, but it was crisp and loud enough to be heard throughout the restaurant.

Everyone flinched when they saw this. The gesture wasn’t even painful, but it was degrading to the highest degree.

The next moment, Chu Qingli’s hand suddenly froze in the air. His arrogant face stiffened, his eyes slowly widened, and his pupils slowly contracted little by little.

At the same time, blood slowly dripped on the floor and scattered like blooming flowers.

“You... you...”

Chu Qingli staggered away from Ye Qing as he pointed a finger at Ye Qing. Every time he took a step, intestines would spill out of his stomach and onto the ground. A few steps later, he collapsed on the floor and fell limp.

He was dead.

“Ah... ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

The youngsters accompanying Chu Qingli suddenly screamed on top of their lungs. Some grew weak at the knees and collapsed to the ground, and some literally pissed their own pants.

There was a huge cut spanning from Chu Qingli’s chest all the way to the belly button, and Ye Qing was holding a slender, beautiful saber. There was no mistake. The Patrolman had disemboweled the prince and spilled his internal organs and intestines everywhere.

“Joyless!”

“Joyless, why did you...?”

Gao Ningan, Chu Nianjiu and Lin Yuhuai’s mouths were wide open. It was like lightning had struck them all. No one had any idea what to do.

Out of all the things they had anticipated from this conflict, Ye Qing killing Chu Qingge was the last thing they expected.

He just couldn’t!

He wouldn’t dare even if he wanted to!

Yes, Chu Qingli’s words were beyond insulting. In his position, they would’ve lost their cool as well.

However, the worst they would do to Chu Qingli was to beat the shit out of him. Killing him was absolutely out of the question!

It was one thing if Chu Qingli was just your average person, but the prince was anything but average. He was a prince, for heavens sake! The son of the Harmony King and a member of the imperial family itself! He was naturally above them from the moment he was born! Hell, he could commit treason, and they still wouldn’t have the authority to punish him!

According to the laws of Chu, if a member of the imperial family committed a crime, they must be tried at the Three Judicial Offices, and only the Son of Heaven possessed the authority to judge him. Anyone who killed a member of the imperial family without permission would be exterminated to the nine generations without question.

Naturally, Ye Qing wasn’t exempt from this law. Gu Suitang couldn’t protect him. Hong Jianglong couldn’t protect him. Not even the Bureau Chief General[1] of the Capital Pacification Bureau, Sifeng Wudi could protect him. No one could.

As if that wasn’t enough, Chu Qingli was the Harmony King’s only son, and everyone who knew him knew just how much he adored his son. If, no, when he hears about this, he was going to flip Tian Yong upside down and rip Ye Qing to shreds!

Tian Yong... was about to experience a major turning point in its history!

“What... What am I...”

As if he just regained his senses, a dazed Ye Qing slowly turned toward his companions and asked, “What... did I do?”

When he looked down and saw Red Sleeve in his hand, and Chu Qingli’s body on the floor, his pupils abruptly contracted into pins. “How did this happen?”

“No... It wasn’t me... I didn’t...”

“My prince!”

“Your Highness!”

It was at this moment three men wearing embroidered robes burst into the restaurant. The blood drained away from their face when they saw Chu Qingli’s lifeless body on the floor.

They were Chu Qingli’s shadow guards, and it was their responsibility to keep him safe from the shadows. But because Chu Qingli was a prince, and they were in public right now, no one thought that a member of the Pacification Bureau would dare to kill Chu Qingli. By the time the unthinkable happened, it was already too late.

“You killed the prince! You will pay for it with your life!”

One shadow guard launched a furious palm strike at Ye Qing. Chu Qingli was their responsibility, and now their charge was dead. They had no doubt in their minds that they and maybe even their families were going to pay for the mistake. At the very least, the Harmony King would see them dead for this dereliction of duty. With that in mind, how could they not loathe Ye Qing for what he did?

Seemingly in a daze, Ye Qing didn’t respond to the sudden attack. Moreover, the shadow guard was pretty strong, and the two men were standing just a few meters away from each other. By the time Gao Ningan, Chu Nianjiu and Lin Yuhuai tried to react, it was already too late. They could only watch as the palm strike landed squarely on Ye Qing’s forehead.

Bang!

The shadow guard was an early-stage Spirit Purifier, and he was angry beyond imagination. Naturally, his full-powered attack possessed enough power to crush a head like a watermelon.

The shadow guard blanched, however. Ye Qing had taken the full brunt of his attack, but he could feel his force sinking into what felt like a bottomless pit. It failed to do any damage to Ye Qing whatsoever.

“That’s not it... that’s not it either... wait. Was it that Where Goes The Soul?!”

Suddenly, Ye Qing looked up and brushed off the shadow guard. The man staggered backward as an indescribable power scattered his energies completely. He could only watch Ye Qing with shock and disbelief.

Ye Qing never looked at the shadow guard. In fact, the guy didn’t even register as a blip in his mind. All his whole focus was on what the hell had just happened to him.

When Chu Qingli had humiliated him, his anger and bloodthirst began growing at an unstoppable rate. When they hit the absolute peak, his mind suddenly blanked out for a brief moment. When he came to, Chu Qingli was already dead by his hands.

He was angry with Chu Qingli, of course. It was also true he felt the impulse to kill the man. The problem was, why on earth had he allowed his emotions to overtake him? Or more accurately, how did his emotions swell to the point where he completely lost his head?

He was a careful, calculative man. Normally, Chu Qingli could humiliate him a hundred times worse than this, and he would still brush it off like it was no more than a feather. Even if he felt like killing the bastard, he would never do it in front of everyone. He wasn’t stupid. He knew just like everyone else what the consequences of killing a prince was.

This should never have happened, and yet it had. This could only mean that an external force was in play.

All things in this world are connected. Nothing can happen without a reason. So, what was the reason he lost control and killed Chu Qingli?

1. Hey to whoever it was who wanted to change Chief of Bureau to Bureau Chief, you finally got your wish! Kinda! ☜