A Clash of Gods - Chapter 60
Chapter 60 Apologize
The bluestone road on the long street was not as hard as the rock, but the blade tip was inserted into the ground, and the martial skill was impressive. Many people had found that the knife was thrown from the crowd, so they looked at the direction, to see that some people made way on the street, and several men walked slowly out of the crowd.
The man in the front wore black armor, about forty years old, and strode with momentum. Two soldiers with armor and knives followed him.
Yang Ning was stunned to see the man in black armor and recognized him. He was the commander of the Tiger God Camp, Xue Lingfeng. Yang Ning had seen him at Qi Jing’s funeral.
Xue Lingfeng looked cold and walked over slowly. Mr. Ximen frowned. The young man in yellow was standing beside the horse and hadn’t got on the horse’s back. He looked at that knife blankly and then raised his head to look at Xue Lingfeng before the latter walked to the knife penetrating the ground.
Xue Lingfeng grabbed the knife handle and pulled it out of the ground easily, saying impassively, “I wonder if I am able to stop you.”
The young man in yellow looked furious and pointed at Xue Lingfeng, roaring, “Who are you?”
Xue Lingfeng responded indifferently, “The capital city is heavily guarded, and it’s forbidden to fight. This is the order from the imperial court. Anybody should abide by the rules.” He raised his head and showed his sharp eyes. “Those who abide by the law are the people of the empire. Otherwise, they provoke the law, and I will take them as the lawless people offending the emperor.”
Mr. Ximen observed his speech and behavior and knew that the comer was not an ordinary person. He saluted. “We are from the west region, Chuanshu and don’t intend to disobey the law.”
“I don’t care whether you intend to or not,” Xue Lingfeng stated coldly. “I don’t have time to investigate your intention. I only believe what I have seen.”
“Oh?” Mr. Ximen smiled. “Sir, what have you seen?”
“Some people were fighting on the street,” Xue Lingfeng replied. “Before the truth is found, nobody can go.”
Mr. Ximen asked, “Is it your job to deal with such matters?”
Xue Lingfeng answered, “The capital city is under protection, and the Tiger God Camp helps the Capital Bureau keep the city in order, so I can naturally interfere as a general.”
“So you are from the Tiger God Camp?”
“This is Commander Xue from the Tiger God Camp,” somebody behind Xue Lingfeng introduced. “He is certainly responsible for the preservation of order in the capital.”
The corner of Mr. Ximen’s eye twitched. Xue Lingfeng looked at the young man in yellow and expressed calmly, “As I have seen, you stormed through this street and didn’t mind others’ safety, so you caused the current situation. It was your fault in the first place. Am I right?”
The young man in yellow sneered. “Yes, so what?”
“Since you have admitted, it’s easy to solve it.” Xue Lingfeng looked at Yang Ning and waved at him. Seeing that Xue Lingfeng looked emotionless but seemed to be on his side after saying that, Yang Ning walked forward and saluted. “Commander…Xue.”
“Are you a witness?”
Yang Ning straightened his back and nodded. “Yes. This bloke let his horse run on the street and almost killed a person. I am not the only witness, and many people around have seen that.”
“How do you think we should solve it?”
Mr. Ximen frowned. “Sir, since you are the commander of the Tiger God Camp. It’s reasonable for you to get involved in this matter, but as you will deal with it, will you let somebody else make the decision?” He raised his brows. “In the city where His Majesty lives, it’s your duty to finish your job. If you are partial when you do something, I am afraid you will arouse public opinion.”
Yang Ning understood what Mr. Ximen meant, who objected to Xue Lingfeng asking for his opinion.
But Mr. Ximen behaved calmly earlier, while now he seemed to be prejudiced by first impressions and thought Xue Lingfeng would be partial, which made Yang Ning doubt. He thought such a person wouldn’t get impatient because of Xue Lingfeng’s casual question, nor should he speak to the commander directly and even warn him.
Xue Lingfeng looked expressionless. “You can’t judge if I am partial. Under so many people’s eyes, if the common people say that I am partial, I can quit my job now.” He didn’t say more but asked Yang Ning, “Tell us. How do you want to solve it?”
“I don’t know how he should be punished by the law,” Yang Ning responded in a loud voice. “But this man disturbed the common people and hurt somebody. According to the rule of the common people, he should pay for it and apologize.”
“Pay for it and apologize?” Xue Lingfeng nodded slightly. “If it was his fault, he should do that.” He stared at the young man in yellow sharply. “Just now you have admitted that you caused the trouble, so you should pay for it and apologize. I think you won’t have any objection.”
The common people around didn’t like the young man in yellow from the beginning. Hearing the commander of the Tiger God Camp, many people shouted, “Pay for it and apologize.”
The muscle of the young man’s face twitched, and he howled, “Do… Do you know who I am?” He hadn’t expected that such a trifle hardly worth mentioning would cause so much trouble today. Seeing that the common people made a fuss and condemned him, he was in panic and just wanted to frighten them by revealing his identity.
Xue Lingfeng shook his head. “No, I don’t.”
Mr. Ximen was about to speak, but the young man in yellow sneered. “I am King Shu’s heir. King Shu in the west region is my father. What can you do to me?”
Mr. Ximen had tried to stop him but it was too late. Since the young man in yellow had said that, Mr. Ximen furrowed his brows.
“Do you know who he is?” Xue Lingfeng pointed at Yang Ning.
The young man in yellow was stunned. Xue Lingfeng stated nonchalantly, “This is the heir of the Marquis of Honor. King Shu made great contributions to our empire, but the Marquis of Honor made no less than him.” He snorted. “Your Excellency, why do you mention King Shu at this time?”
King Shu’s heir learnt Yang Ning’s identity and was petrified for a while. Even Mr. Ximen showed a surprised expression in his eyes, and his brows were wrinkled more tightly.
“He was lying.” Yang Ning rolled his eyes and suddenly pointed his finger at King Shu’s heir. “He is not King Shu’s heir.”
All people around were shocked.
“King Shu’s outstandingly meritorious deed is well-known, and he must be strict with his children and won’t let his son ignore the law. He would never allow his son to joke about others’ lives,” Yang Ning shouted. “This bully tried to murder people in the capital. How can King Shu make such a man his heir? This man must have masqueraded as King Shu’s heir. Commander Xue, please observe clearly.”
Xue Lingfeng looked indifferent. However, hearing Yang Ning’s words, he had a smile in his eyes, but it disappeared soon. He glanced at King Shu’s heir. “What His Excellency said makes sense. Are you really King Shu’s heir?”
King Shu’s heir was anxious as they suspected his identity. When he was about to defend himself, Mr. Ximen spoke before him. “Commander Xue, the identity is not important. Since you said the capital is heavily guarded, and common people gather here, it’s not a good thing. In my opinion, it’s better to solve it as soon as possible.”
Yang Ning sneered. “It’s easy to solve it. I have said he should pay for it and apologize, and then it will pass. We are not idle and don’t want to pester you.” He pointed at King Shu’s heir. “Will you apologize or not?”
“Why do you insist on asking His Excellency to apologize?” Mr. Ximen frowned. “I have apologized on his behalf.”
Yang Ning replied, “The reason is simple. It’s different if you apologize. You are just one of his followers. If you can apologize for him, can anybody with power do whatever they want in the future? If they cause trouble, they can let the followers take the blame and they would get away with it, right?” He raised his voice and declared, “Only after he apologizes in person can others know that whoever makes mistakes would take the responsibility. Nobody can avoid punishment easily because of their identity.” He stressed each word. “If a prince offends the law, he would be punished like the common people.”
After his statement, the crowd cheered. It was the capital here, and there were many royal members and noblemen everywhere and some people from powerful families would inevitably bully others. As the heir of the Marquis of Honor, Yang Ning said something like that and won people’s hearts. All people around shouted “Bravo!” And somebody yelled, “Both of them are heirs of noblemen, but their behaviors are totally different. One is arrogant and doesn’t care about others’ safety, but the other saved somebody at the risk of his life. This is the difference between King Shu and the Marquis of Honor.”
King Shu was in a high position in the west region, but the people in the capital didn’t know that, so they were not afraid of belittling him. On the other side, the Marquis of Honor had been prestigious in the capital city and the common people respected him. Many people admired Yang Ning after they witnessed that he had saved a child under the horse’s hoofs regardless of his safety. Now that they knew this young man was the heir of the Marquis of Honor, they felt more excited and couldn’t stop cheering for him.
Mr. Ximen apparently knew that under the people’s enthusiasm, the matter couldn’t be solved easily. At the moment, before them was the tall and big Xue Lingfeng stopping them with his people, and behind them was Lei Yonghu as well as the servants from the government. And the common people surrounded them. King Shu’s heir was like a rat that everybody wanted to beat up.
Mr. Ximen pondered for a minute and finally whispered in the ear of King Shu’s heir for a while. King Shu’s heir showed an angry expression in his eyes, but seeing that countless eyes fell on him, he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. With hatred in his eyes, he glared at Yang Ning. If his eyes could kill somebody, Yang Ning might have been killed.
“I… I apologize…to you…” King Shu’s heir lowered his head. “It’s my fault. I…”
His voice was low, and it was noisy in the crowd. Although Yang Ning heard it clearly, he raised his hands and gestured for the people around to quiet down. They saw that and stopped talking. When it was silent, Yang Ning asked, “What did you say? We didn’t hear it.”
King Shu’s heir felt his face burning and was embarrassed and furious. After a hesitation, he gritted his teeth and stated at last, “It’s my fault. I… I am sorry.”
Yang Ning looked around and saw the woman holding the child. He waved his hand and the woman came over with the child. Then Yang Ning stated, “You should apologize to him. This kid was almost killed under your horse’s hoofs.”
“Don’t be insatiable,” King Shu’s heir responded with hatred. “I have apologized.”
“Pardon?” Yang Ning pricked up his ears. “None of us heard that.”
The blue veins on the fists of King Shu’s heir stood out. He just wanted to leave here as soon as possible, so he looked at the child. “I am sorry. I shouldn’t…shouldn’t let my horse run…”
People heard that clearly and burst into laughter, and some people even clapped their hands.
King Shu’s heir felt ashamed and jumped on the horse’s back. Looking at Xue Lingfeng who stood in front of the horse, he howled, “Get out!”
Xue Lingfeng didn’t want to push him too hard and dodged. King Shu’s heir sat on the saddle and stared at Yang Ning with a sneer. “The heir of the Marquis of Honor… Fine, I know you today. Don’t worry. We will see each other in the future.”
“Rest assured. No matter when we see each other, it’s not bad to admit and correct your mistake.” Yang Ning smiled.
The eyes of King Shu’s heir were sharp, and he shook the rein, urging the horse to go. But Mr. Ximen glanced at Yang Ning and smiled. “I hear that the Marquis of Honor has passed away. Please take care in the future, Your Excellency.” He didn’t say more but led the attendants to follow King Shu’s heir and left.