FIMA Ch125: Reporting to the Authorities

Everyone was startled and looked up.

The man sitting in the corner of the hall, back facing the crowd and looking out the window, put down his tea cup and slowly turned around.

The scene fell silent.

Such a man was impossible to ignore.

Even the previously aggressive girl in red forgot to speak for a moment.

Xie Chenyun raised an eyebrow, the corners of his eyes and mouth curving into a smile: “Enjoying the show?”

Gu Siyuan’s expression was indifferent: “I just can’t stand people talking nonsense.”

“Heh…” Xie Chenyun chuckled softly.

This foolish ruler was always putting on a show. Clearly, he was helping him, yet he still had to act tough!

At this moment, someone broke the sweet atmosphere.

Tang Sheng looked at Gu Siyuan, his expression extremely ugly: “It’s you! You’re here too!”

Gu Siyuan lifted his eyelids and glanced at him: “It’s me, but I don’t know who you are…”

Tang Sheng became even angrier, feeling that this guy was deliberately humiliating him.

Gu Siyuan looked at Xie Chenyun and casually asked: “Chenyun, do you know him?”

Xie Chenyun grinned: “I’ve met him a few times. He’s not important. I think his name is Tang Sheng, right?”

As soon as he said this, some people in the Lingxu Pavilion’s faces changed abruptly.

“Tang Sheng?”

“Tang Sheng, could it be that Tang Sheng?”

“Tang Sheng, one of the ‘Jiangdong Twin Dragons,”the adopted son of the Wu family head?”

“Sure enough, the Wu family’s army won’t give up on the Imperial Jade Seal, sending Tang Sheng directly to compete for it?”

Hearing these voices, Tang Sheng’s lips curled into a proud smile.

He looked at Gu Siyuan with smiling eyes, as if to say, you pretend not to know me, but so many people here recognize me. I’m already famous!

The red-clad youth sneered in support: “Hmph, now you know Brother Tang’s identity, right? Two country bumpkins daring to offend Brother Tang?”

The girl in red also sneered at Gu Siyuan and the others: “You three, don’t think you can leave easily today.”

Tang Sheng reached out and touched the scar on the girl’s face, speaking softly: “Linglong, don’t worry. I’ll avenge that whip mark for you.”

The girl in red, named Lei Linglong, shyly lowered her head: “I know, Brother Tang.”

Song Zhengqing watched their display with disdain: “I don’t know about revenge, but you’re good at boasting.”

Hearing this, the red-clad youth first glared at Song Zhengqing, angrily saying: “I haven’t dealt with you yet, and you jump out. Quickly hand over what you tricked from me.”

Song Zhengqing lazily sneered: “Tricked? Do you have any shame, Lei Yan? If you lose, you lose. You want to take back what you lost? Is this the credibility of Thunderclap Hall?”

The red-clad youth, Lei Yan, was Lei Linglong’s full-blooded sibling and the current Thunderclap Hall leader’s children.

Lei Linglong also looked up fiercely at Song Zhengqing: “Regardless, you must leave the item behind.”

That item was too important to lose.

Song Zhengqing’s lazy smile gradually turned cold: “Wishful thinking. Do you think I’m made of mud? I’d rather wipe my ass with it than give it to you. If you have the guts, kill me.”

“You!” The Lei siblings”faces turned red with anger.

Though Thunderclap Hall was powerful, if they killed the son of Song Guogong, the army would crush Xunyang City.

Gu Siyuan glanced at them and suddenly said calmly: “Or you could sell it to me.”

Song Zhengqing turned and smiled: “Brother, you know what it is?”

Gu Siyuan nodded: “I can guess.”

Being so coveted by Thunderclap Hall and useful enough to wipe one’s ass with, it must be a design for new firearms or explosives.

Sure enough, the next moment, Song Zhengqing pulled a sheepskin scroll from his bosom and tossed it to Gu Siyuan.

Lei Linglong’s expression changed, and she whipped at Gu Siyuan, trying to snatch it.

Xie Chenyun’s face turned cold. He swiftly raised his palms, emitting a dense flame aura, directly forcing her and her whip several steps back.

Tang Sheng quickly flew over and supported Lei Linglong, preventing further injury.

Lei Yan also rushed over, anxiously: “Sister!”

Xie Chenyun’s gaze locked on her, his tone icy: “If there’s a next time, I’ll take your life.”

Lei Linglong looked at him, then clutched her chest and spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of internal organs.

Gu Siyuan casually caught what Song Zhengqing threw. He glanced at Xie Chenyun, and after their eyes met briefly, he looked down at the sheepskin scroll, without a word of thanks.

Seeing this, Xie Chenyun felt even more delighted. He had long considered Gu Siyuan as his own and thoroughly enjoyed being depended on naturally.

On the other side, Lei Yan’s face darkened as he saw Gu Siyuan leisurely flipping through the sheepskin scroll.

Lingxu Pavilion was already the largest entertainment venue in Jiangcheng.

The third floor mostly comprised VIP rooms, but there was also a large gambling room for the VIPs to entertain themselves in their spare time.

Lei Yan had always enjoyed gambling and was quite skilled at it.

This time, he placed a big bet, but this fellow had a foul mouth and low character, bullying the servants and teasing the maidservants.

Song Zhengqing happened to be enjoying himself there and, upon seeing this, decided to teach Lei Yan a lesson by gambling with him.

Unsurprisingly, Lei Yan lost several rounds in a row, almost losing his pants.

However, gamblers often have a mentality of not wanting to give up, always thinking they can win it back in the next round.

So, in the last round, Lei Yan made a big bet with Song Zhengqing.

He revealed his identity as the young master of Thunderclap Hall and wagered a newly obtained design for a new type of firearm. The stakes were high; if he won this round, not only would he recover his previous losses, but he would also clean Song Zhengqing out.

However, things did not go his way.

In the end, Lei Yan lost again.

Thus, the firearm design naturally belonged to Song Zhengqing.

But Lei Yan refused to accept this.

He didn’t care about losing gold and silver treasures, but losing this item would probably result in his father killing him.

He then used his identity to threaten Song Zhengqing.

But as a member of the Song clan and the legitimate son of the Song family head, Song Zhengqing wasn’t afraid of such threats and took the item without hesitation.

Just then, Tang Sheng and Lei Linglong came looking for Lei Yan.

Upon learning what had happened, they also issued threats, which ultimately led to the fight.

…

Lei Yan glared at Gu Siyuan: “Don’t look for trouble. Some things are not for you to see. Hand back the design immediately, and I’ll spare your life today.”

Gu Siyuan acted as if he hadn’t heard and ignored him completely.

Xie Chenyun, however, cast a cold glance at the arrogant youth: “Do you want to end up like your sister?”

Lei Yan’s eyes narrowed. His martial arts skills were not even as good as his sister’s, and he knew he was no match for this man.

At this moment, there was a commotion at the entrance of Lingxu Pavilion. A group of about twenty people in red clothing with half-masks arrived.

As soon as they entered, they bowed to Lei Linglong and Lei Yan.

“Young Master, Young Miss, we finally found you!”

Lei Yan’s eyes lit up: “Just in time.”

Tang Sheng also felt a surge of joy.

Seeing Xie Chenyun’s earlier move, he realized that Xie Chenyun’s current cultivation was not weak and might already be on par with himself.

With Song Zhengqing also present, although he had previously defeated him, Song Zhengqing was more than capable of dealing with the Lei siblings.

That was why he had hesitated to act directly, but now everything seemed to be in place.

He immediately sneered at Gu Siyuan: “You, a worthless fool who doesn’t know martial arts, back in Jinling, relied on some bodyguards and used despicable sneak attacks to kill Yanyan, and then unfairly outnumbered me to narrowly win. Do you think you can still do that today?”

Gu Siyuan finally lifted his head from the sheepskin scroll, glanced at the masked red-clad men, and raised an eyebrow slightly: “Why not?”

The rest of the people present gasped.

This person didn’t know martial arts?

He didn’t know martial arts yet dared to provoke Tang Sheng and the Lei siblings repeatedly?

Such audacity!

Lei Linglong hesitated and curiously asked: “Brother Tang, you say this person doesn’t know martial arts?”

Tang Sheng nodded, full of disdain: “He’s just a naive young master from Jinling, who doesn’t even wet his hands with spring water. He relied on having many bodyguards to outnumber others back then. Now he’s in Jiangcheng, and he still dares to put on airs in front of me?”

Lei Yan laughed heartily: “Outnumbering others? Haha, that’s my favorite! Brother Tang, just wait and see how I blow them all up!”

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the masked red-clad men squatted down. They flipped their arms, revealing devices resembling sleeve arrows and crossbows, but instead of short arrows, there were slots.

The red-clad warriors skillfully took out round black pellets from the boxes at their waists and inserted them into the slots.

Seeing this, everyone in the hall changed their expressions.

“Thunder Pellets?”

“They’re going to use Thunder Pellets?”

“Oh no, in such a small place, we might all be affected…”

Gu Siyuan squinted, glanced at the sheepskin scroll in his hand.

So, these were Thunder Pellets.

Lei Linglong quickly grabbed Lei Yan and anxiously said: “Wait, the design is still in his hands! It doesn’t matter if he dies, but what if the design gets destroyed?”

Lei Yan frowned, looked at his sister, then at Tang Sheng: “Then we won’t blow him up for now. What do you suggest?”

Lei Linglong looked at Tang Sheng dependently.

Tang Sheng patted her head: “Let’s go with my plan.”

He then took a step forward with a feigned aloofness and loudly said to Gu Siyuan and Xie Chenyun: “Today, we are showing great mercy. We won’t take your lives. Just return the design, kneel down, and apologize to us, then break your legs and crawl out of here, and we’ll let this matter go.”

Gu Siyuan had only met him once, but he had always acted high and mighty, as if he was the sun or a star in the sky, seemingly looking down on him.

Hmph, killing such a person would be too easy.

Breaking his bones and making him kneel like a dog before him—that was the real satisfaction.

Lei Yan immediately burst into laughter.

For a man like Gu Siyuan, the epitome of masculinity, this kind of torment is exactly what he deserves…

Xie Chenyun’s face turned extremely cold, staring at Tang Sheng with eyes that seemed to hold both icy swords and raging flames.

Ha, dare to make such a demand to Gu Siyuan.

However, at this moment, the warriors of Thunderclap Hall had already secured the gates of Lingxu Pavilion, their crossbows aimed inside the pavilion.

Lei Yan stood with hands on hips, triumphantly shouting, “I’ll count to ten. If you don’t kneel and kowtow, we’ll fire a Thunderbolt Arrow. If you don’t do it by twenty, we’ll fire two Thunderbolt Arrows. Heh heh, I won’t kill you, but I’ll let you watch as everyone in Lingxu Pavilion dies for you. They all die because of you…”

Hearing this, Lei Linglong also thought of something amusing, her gaze scanning around until she found the girl she couldn’t discipline earlier. Pointing at her, she laughed, “Not only you, but her too. Didn’t you just run out saying you saved her? Right in front of you, I’ll kill her first!”

With that, she laughed heartily.

The girl’s eyes welled with tears but she remained defiant, “I won’t kowtow to you. If you have the guts, kill me.”

Xie Chenyun clenched his fair fist tightly, his expression alternating between gloomy and calm.

Gu Siyuan remained indifferent, slowly rolling up the parchment and tucking it into his bosom, seemingly oblivious to the current scene.

However, he reached out to cover Xie Chenyun’s clenched fist, gently prying it open, and calmly said, “You’re gripping too tightly.”

Xie Chenyun looked at the person beside him, and for some reason, his emotions gradually calmed down.

Hooking his finger around Gu Siyuan’s, he asked, “Have you figured out a way?”

“Probably,”Gu Siyuan replied softly.

Tang Sheng smirked, looking at Gu Siyuan, “What are you waiting for? Do you still think there’s some savior coming down from the heavens?”

Lei Yan stared at Gu Siyuan, starting to count, “Ten, nine…”

“You can stop now,”Gu Siyuan stood up.

Tang Sheng and Lei Yan’s faces brightened.

With a wave of his hand, Gu Siyuan loudly commanded, “Begin.”

Abruptly given an order, the warriors of Thunderclap Hall hesitated for a moment, then looked at each other in confusion.

Why would the threatened man be giving orders to seek death?

Tang Sheng and Lei Yan were equally puzzled.

However, the next moment,

Everyone saw four figures suddenly leap out from among the red-clothed masked men, sleeves drawing daggers with swift and decisive movements, swiftly harvesting the heads of their own companions.

“Are you insane…”Lei Yan exclaimed in shock.

Tang Sheng was even more astonished, about to say something.

“Fire arrows!”

“Suddenly, that cold and stern male voice rang out again.

Immediately, a shower of arrows descended from the sky.

Almost every arrow hit the Thunderclap Hall warriors who had been stunned by the sudden turn of events!

Instantly, cries of agony and screams filled Lingxu Pavilion.

Tang Sheng completely did not understand what had happened, why things had turned out this way. But his first reaction was to push the person next to him forward and then jump out of the window himself.

Lei Linglong fell to the ground, her face drastically changing, shouting, “Big Brother Tang!”

Gu Siyuan looked at the remaining dozen or so red-clothed masked individuals, most of whom were incapacitated, either clutching their bodies in agony or lying completely still in pools of blood.

He turned around and ordered, “Half of you clean up the battlefield, the other half capture the people.”

After saying this, he glanced at Xie Chenyun, and the two of them chased after Tang Sheng towards the direction he fled out of the window.

However, Lingxu Pavilion was built near the water, very close to the riverbank.

Tang Sheng was also a decisive person. After escaping, he disregarded everything and rushed towards the riverbank.

At that moment, a boat happened to pass by.

Standing at the bow were two figures, one male and one female.

The woman recognized Tang Sheng at a glance and shouted loudly, “Big Brother Tang!”

Tang Sheng’s face lit up, “Man’er!”

Then, he jumped directly into the river and swiftly swam towards the direction of the boat.

Wu Man’er immediately turned to the person beside her and said urgently, “Quick, quick! Big Brother Tang is being chased, go and fetch him!”

Beside her, Yang Tai’s eyes darkened.

Hmph, Big Brother Tang, always Big Brother Tang…

Seeing him remain silent for a long time, Wu Man’er frowned displeasedly and scolded lightly, “Yang Tai, what are you doing? Can’t you see Big Brother Tang is in danger?”

Yang Tai stared at her, his tone chilly, “I’m also your foster brother. We grew up together. How come you call him Big Brother Tang directly and call me by my name?”

Wu Man’er pursed her lips impatiently, “Can you be like Big Brother Tang? Why are you dawdling? If something happens to Big Brother Tang, I won’t let you off. I’ll definitely tell father when I get back!”

Gritting his teeth, Yang Tai ordered the servants nearby to turn the boat towards the direction Tang Sheng had gone, his face now even colder.

When Gu Siyuan and Xie Chenyun led their men in pursuit, they saw Tang Sheng and the small boat just a few steps away.

Xie Chenyun slapped the water in anger, causing a surge of white waves to rise up.

He sneered, his voice icy, “This kid seems to have luck with women, being saved several times!”

Gu Siyuan seemed to have anticipated this, his expression very calm, “Just a useless waste. Being alive now is more useful than being dead.”

Xie Chenyun looked up at him, his big round eyes wide, “Hmm, do you have any new strategies?”

“Can’t really call them strategies, just some clumsy methods,”Gu Siyuan said, looking at him with an adorable expression, unable to resist reaching out to pinch his cheek.

“Ugh…” Xie Chenyun grunted and opened his mouth, grinding his teeth on Gu Siyuan’s hand.

Feeling the warmth on his palm, Gu Siyuan naturally didn’t feel pain, but there was a strange feeling rising in his heart.

He and Xie Chenyun seemed to have developed a habit of playing along for real.

Such contact came as no surprise at all.

He withdrew his hand, gave it a light squeeze, and his expression returned to indifference. “In a few days, it will be the beginning of winter. Let’s talk more when the Celestial Selection Ceremony at Tianwai Hall begins.”

Xie Chenyun immediately sneered disdainfully, “Celestial Selection? Just a mere martial arts sect dares to claim anything about celestial matters?”

After a while, he turned his head again, curiously looking at Gu Siyuan and said with a smile, “You’re not even angry?”

Gu Siyuan raised an eyebrow slightly and calmly said, “Who said that? I’m practically furious right now. Can’t you tell?”

“…” Xie Chenyun.

If your expression wasn’t exactly the same every day, every moment, completely calm and unchanged, I might have almost believed you.

“Let’s go back. There are still some loose ends to tie up at Lingxu Pavilion.”

Gu Siyuan reached out to take Xie Chenyun’s hand, but then hesitated halfway, remembering what happened earlier.

However, Xie Chenyun grabbed his arm, both hands embracing intimately, and grinned, “Let’s go, let’s go!”

“…” Gu Siyuan.

He glanced at the calm and composed person beside him, thinking to himself: I really did overthink it. Chenyun is so straightforward.

As they walked, Xie Chenyun curiously asked, “When did you arrange people in Thunderclap Hall? How did you know we would encounter them today?”

Gu Siyuan’s voice remained calm, “I didn’t know we would encounter them today. I simply had some interest in Thunderclap Hall’s affairs, so I casually arranged some manpower months ago. It turned out to be fortunate.”

“…” Xie Chenyun.

Your luck indeed turned out well.

He blinked and asked again, “What about those archers ambushed outside Lingxu Pavilion? Were they also arranged by you because of your interest in Lingxu Pavilion, so you arranged them in advance?”

Gu Siyuan shook his head, “Lingxu Pavilion hasn’t earned that privilege yet. The archers were sent after I saw Tang Sheng and Song Zhengqing fighting, so I instructed the guards to bring reinforcements.”

“Hmm? Why?”Xie Chenyun grew even more curious.

Gu Siyuan found his question rather strange, “Isn’t reporting a fight in public places the right thing to do?”

“…” Xie Chenyun.

Is this how people in the martial arts world operate?

…

On the calm surface of the river.

After Tang Sheng climbed onto the boat, he cast a deep glance at Yang Tai.

This guy deliberately dawdled just now, almost causing him to be caught by Gu Siyuan.

Hmph… If not dealt with soon, he might become a big problem sooner or later.