Eagle Bo Kong held his head back, gazing at the ceiling, utterly motionless, like a statue carved from stone.
No one would have guessed that the Elder Eagle, standing with his hands behind his back staring at the heavens, was actually rolling his eyes with desperate intensity. Those who knew Jun Mo Xie’s background—acquaintances like Li Youran, Tang Yuan, or Mo Wudao—all displayed severe facial muscle spasms. Among them, Fatty Tang was the most extreme; upon hearing Jun Mo Xie utter those words, he nearly choked, erupting into a fit of violent coughing, as if suffering from a severe asthma attack, shaking his bulky frame so that his flesh rippled like a sea surface struck by a hurricane…
It was the biggest joke imaginable. If one were to tally up the acts of bullying women and intimidating men, there was probably no one in Tian Xiang City who surpassed Young Master Jun! Heaven only knew how this fellow could utter those words without a trace of shame…
It seemed Jun Mo Xie truly had no reason to be embarrassed. Why should this Lord Xie blush? When had this esteemed self ever bullied women or coerced men? The time this venerable self finally shed his virginity, it was because he had been drugged, forcibly taken advantage of?… While this description might seem slightly excessive, it was remarkably close to the truth…
As for everything before that… what did it have to do with me?
“The first rule established by my Xie Jun Residence for the martial world is: No bullying women or coercing men!”
Jun Mo Xie said slowly.
“Second, no oppressing the honest and good common people!”
Jun Mo Xie flicked an eyelid: “The lives of the common folk are hard enough as it is. We who possess martial arts should be upholding righteousness for the nation and its people—the epitome of the chivalrous way… If people like us go on to oppress them, we are worse than pigs and dogs! Therefore, any who dare violate this rule shall be executed without mercy!”
“The third rule is, absolutely no…”
“These are the Nine Prohibitions under the Xie Jun Edict. Anyone who violates these nine articles, no matter how high they climb in heaven or how deep they hide on earth, the Xie Jun Residence will surely bring them to justice! Even the greatest power backing you will not shield you! So everyone, take note: I do not wish the hands of the Xie Jun Residence to be stained with the blood of any of you, or your relatives, friends, or fellow sect members!”
In total, Jun Mo Xie listed nine prohibited actions.
“Furthermore, this Sovereign must solemnly address the matter of the ‘Xie Jun Ling’ right here.”
Jun Mo Xie stood with his hands behind his back, yet a large swath of mist-like matter suddenly materialized in the air, swirling with an ethereal haze. After a moment of gentle dissipation, the mist coalesced into a bizarre insignia.
In the center was the character ‘Ling’ (Edict). Above it was the character ‘Xie’ (Evil). Surrounding it were the sun and moon embracing it, while swords and blades looked menacingly sharp. The overall external shape was the character ‘Sha’ (Kill)!
“This is the token of our Residence, the ‘Xie Jun Ling.’ If anyone holding this token approaches you all, I kindly ask that you… grant me some face!”
Jun Mo Xie scanned the faces of everyone present with eyes like lightning and thunder!
“Those who give me face, I shall naturally return the favor…”
Jun Mo Xie stated calmly: “But if someone refuses to give me face… alas, I have few other flaws, except that my temper is slightly poor, and I possess the nasty habit of repaying every offense tenfold. In this life, who doesn't have a few minor shortcomings or bad habits?…”
Jun Mo Xie shook his head, letting out a seemingly wistful sigh, as if dissatisfied with his own temperament?…
Damn it!
This was an absolute threat!
A blatant, in-your-face threat!
This was undeniably declaring that all heroes under heaven must obey the commands of the Xie Jun Residence! Those who refuse… shall be slain!
“Gentlemen, do any of you have questions or dissenting opinions?”
Jun Mo Xie smiled faintly, his demeanor relaxed, his smile gentle, asking with sincere politeness.
Everyone present exchanged bewildered glances.
Many eyes turned toward Mo Wudao and the other two Great Sect Masters, Xi Ruochen and the like. This Xie Jun Residence was being so aggressively domineering; would the three Great Holy Lands not utter a single word? Where was your former prestige and imposing aura?
To everyone’s surprise, Mo Wudao and the others remained utterly silent, seated calmly as if they had not heard Jun Mo Xie’s speech at all. Xi Ruochen and Hu Yan Aobo both furrowed their brows in deep thought. Only Mo Wudao’s eyebrow twitched slightly, and he cast a deeply veiled glance at one person, seemingly conveying some sort of message…
“No one has questions or opinions? Then I shall assume everyone tacitly agrees. Haha, it seems you all possess a strong sense of justice.” Jun Mo Xie laughed heartily, “Then this matter is settled…”
“Hold a moment!”
A burly man with a thick, unkempt beard stood up. This man belonged to the Fang family, affiliated with the Hermit Immortal Palace, a figure accustomed to unchecked arrogance on the continent. At this moment, he finally could not hold back and sprang up.
His courage stemmed entirely from that single glance from Mo Wudao!
That look clearly conveyed Mo Wudao’s intentions! I have the backing of the Three Great Holy Lands, he thought. Even though Sect Master Mo did not speak, since he gave me direction, I must seize this opportunity to demonstrate my loyalty.
At this moment, when no one else dared to stand, this was a perfect chance to claim the merit for myself! After all, in front of all these people, and especially in front of the three Great Sect Masters of the Three Holy Lands, and as a guest here to offer congratulations, even if Jun Mo Xie was unbelievably (wild/arrogant), utterly evil, and completely unreasonable… he wouldn’t dare kill me on the spot, would he?
With this thought, with a shua, he stood up, adopting a stance of righteous indignation and stepping forward without hesitation!
“You have an opinion?”
Jun Mo Xie smiled at him, his voice gentle and warm.
“Indeed!”
The bearded giant puffed out his chest: “We…”
“Your choice of words is quite inappropriate, sir. Who is ‘we’? You cannot represent anyone; at best, you can only represent yourself!”
Jun Mo Xie said kindly, “I believe I mentioned earlier that I am a somewhat narrow-minded person. I detest hearing dissenting opinions the most, so you needn't bother with specific points; it’s meaningless and wastes time.”
As the bearded giant was about to speak, he suddenly felt an inexplicable chill and his face turned ashen with shock. He stammered, “I…”
“You can die!”
With a flick of his pure white hand, Jun Mo Xie made a grabbing motion through the empty air. Although they were a full hundred zhang apart, the moment Jun Mo Xie’s palm snapped shut, forming a fist held before his chest, the giant—before he could utter another word—had his large head inexplicably burst open! Shattered!
Jun Mo Xie had crushed his skull from a distance with his bare hand! Blood sprayed everywhere! The crisp sound of bone shattering echoed in everyone’s heart!
“Who else has a different opinion? Or… disagrees with the methods of the Xie Jun Residence? Feel free to speak boldly,” Jun Mo Xie said sincerely. “Besides those minor flaws, I am actually a very democratic person! I am excellent at accepting different opinions. If anyone has doubts, please do not keep them bottled up. Difficulties should always be discussed, right? If I am wrong, I certainly won’t stubbornly cling to my position; I will definitely… graciously accept good advice…”
Hearing his words, and then seeing his gentle expression juxtaposed with the headless corpse slowly sliding to the floor, a chill ran through the marrow of every person present!
Who dared to believe his nonsense? Damn it! Even after all that, he still claimed to be democratic? What kind of ‘graciously accepting good advice’ was that? He killed the man before he even finished speaking…
“Hm, what is going on here?”
Jun Mo Xie suddenly frowned, pointing at the corpse, his expression filled with confusion. “Why did this hero suddenly commit suicide? Was he dissatisfied with our hospitality?”
Everyone present felt a wave of nausea! The man suddenly committed suicide… You suddenly committed suicide?… Your entire family suddenly committed suicide…
Of course, these thoughts only swirled in their minds; absolutely no one dared to voice them!
“Zhang Da Niu! How are you managing as the head guard captain? Didn’t you see the guest commit suicide? Why are you still standing there blankly?”
Jun Mo Xie commanded sternly, “Hurry up and investigate the cause!”
Zhang Da Niu gave a mournful grunt, quickly scrambled over, and after a brief examination, reported, “Reporting to the Residence Master, this friend became delirious with joy and excitement after hearing the Master’s magnificent plan. This caused a surge of blood to rush to his head, and in his extreme pleasure, he actually burst his own skull…”
“So that’s how it was! A man of intense feeling…”
Jun Mo Xie sighed dramatically, “Give him a grand burial.”
“Yes!”
Zhang Da Niu waved a hand, signaling a few others to carry the corpse away. Servants swiftly came to clean up the area spotlessly…
A man of intense feeling?…
Everyone in the hall found this conclusion utterly ridiculous and hard not to laugh at. Delirious with joy, excitement mounting, blood rushing to the head, causing the skull to burst… Was there really such an explanation? This… this was too preposterous! Couldn’t he have fabricated a slightly more believable reason?
“Naturally! Justice speaks for itself! Even within the Xie Jun Residence, if someone commits a crime, I will enforce the law without mercy!”
Jun Mo Xie stated faintly, “There are a total of four Xie Jun Lings. They will appear in the martial world once a month! Managed jointly by eight people. Every two people will oversee one token, dispatched to the four directions—East, West, South, and North! Those holding the tokens are forbidden from arbitrary killing or arbitrary judgment! Killing requires a clear investigation into the preceding causes and consequences, documented in a written report. If there is any error, the token holder shall die!”
“Thus, although these are the orders of the Xie Jun, they shall bring a bright and just world to humanity!”
Jun Mo Xie emphasized heavily, “The Discipline Hall of the Xie Jun Residence is specifically tasked with monitoring this matter! Any who arbitrarily or mistakenly kill shall only be repaid with death!”
The crowd breathed a slight sigh of relief, thinking that if things were handled this way, it was somewhat more acceptable… They had only feared reckless slaughter…
After a brief consultation among themselves, and noting the complete inaction from the Three Great Holy Lands, they reluctantly nodded their acceptance. Furthermore, it was just a nod, with no written documentation, nor any corresponding mandatory measures… So, everyone had no reservations.
In reality, the vast majority were thinking: Even if we deny this upon returning, what can you do? The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Even if your Illusionary Mansion is powerful, how can you manage everyone? Even if you manage to kill one or two people, can you kill every martial practitioner under the heavens? Even if we grant you a nominal title, you won’t be able to touch me…
“Since everyone has no objection, then it is settled.”
Jun Mo Xie smiled reassuringly, then his gaze turned solemn, and he spoke slowly, “I implore everyone to remember clearly: I, Jun Mo Xie, am not joking about this. This is actually one of my most cherished virtues…”
A light, fleeting sentence concluded the address. The banquet then commenced! As cups were raised and crossed amid the warm atmosphere, many people completely dismissed the events of this gathering…
I am currently at a comrade’s home in Jinan. Having borrowed money everywhere in Laiwu, I came to Jinan. My comrade didn't say much, and over lunch, we drank a bit, leaving me tipsy. He only asked me one question: How much more do you need? I said, I still need two hundred thousand!
In the afternoon, I slept at my comrade’s place. He didn’t return until evening. When he came back, he threw two hundred thousand in cash into my arms, saying: Take it and go quickly. Stop looking miserable in front of me. Get lost! I can’t stand to see a man frown!
I cried…
Because my comrade is not wealthy himself, not a single cent of this money was his own…
I will remember this camaraderie until I die! Until I die! I will pay it back!
After all, I still have someone who is truly devoted to me! Wholeheartedly devoted to me!
I am content! Because, in this world, having just one person like that, a connection for a lifetime—that is enough!
I don’t wish for people to curse him as an idiot, the way others curse me…
I’m taking the earliest train back tomorrow morning. Tomorrow there will be a breakthrough! I apologize to everyone for these past few days…