Chapter Eight: Losing Composure

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Xiao Zhi never cared whether those ministers got soaked in the rain or not. Were they staying indoors because they disliked it? At this moment, he was sipping tea and grumbling.

“How desperate is the Imperial City Department? The tea tastes like stinky feet.”

A hundred-household officer nearby gave a forced laugh. “Sir, what you’re holding is elm seed tea. We picked it ourselves this spring.”

Xiao Zhi glanced at the elm tree swaying in the wind in the courtyard. This was his first time drinking elm tea. He hadn’t expected the Imperial City Department to be so poor they no longer bought tea leaves.

“It’s time to pay a visit.”

Xiao Zhi stood up and headed straight for the main gate of the Imperial City Department, stopping halfway to relieve himself under the elm tree. Behind him, the hundred-household officer held an umbrella for him.

Outside the gate, officials were already drenched, even though they had umbrellas; the wind was too fierce to offer any real protection.

The pitch-black gate slowly swung open, and Xiao Zhi’s figure finally appeared in everyone’s sight. The chaotic scene before the Imperial City Department’s gates gradually quieted down.

Shi Weigong wiped rainwater from his pale face. Seeing Xiao Zhi’s cynical demeanor, he wished he could just strangle him on the spot.

A young official pointed at Xiao Zhi and shouted loudly.

“You insolent brat Xiao Zhi! How dare you arrest a third-rank minister of the current court? This is lawlessness! Release Deputy Minister Bai at once. Perhaps we can plead with His Majesty for leniency on your behalf.”

“Who are you?” Xiao Zhi asked.

The young official replied arrogantly, “I am Xiao Chan, Director of the Ministry of Revenue.”

Xiao Zhi was slightly taken aback. To reach the rank of Director at such a young age, he must have some connections.

He smiled faintly. “Why such a big face? Does His Majesty really listen to your pleas?”

Shi Weigong stepped forward from the crowd. “Lord Xiao, do you have an imperial decree to search and seize Deputy Minister Bai’s entire household?”

Xiao Zhi shook his head. “No decree.”

Shi Weigong continued, “You have detained Deputy Minister Bai at the Imperial City Department. Has anyone come forward to lodge a complaint?”

Xiao Zhi still shook his head. “No complaints.”

Shi Weigong sneered. “No decree, no complainant. Lord Xiao, do you not regard the Emperor and the ministers at court? You’d better release Deputy Minister Bai’s family immediately, or else you will be deemed an enemy of the entire bureaucracy, an enemy of His Majesty, and an enemy of the realm of Great Chu.”

Xiao Zhi took a step back, realizing that moving forward would leave him exposed to the rain.

“Stop slapping labels on me. The Imperial City Department acts without needing to explain to anyone. Lord Shi, have you forgotten what kind of place the Imperial City Department is?”

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Shi Weigong was about to say more when Xiao Zhi frowned. “If you like getting drenched, then get drenched. As for Deputy Minister Bai’s corruption charges, the truth will come out in due time.”

With that, Xiao Zhi ignored Shi Weigong and the others and turned to leave.

He had spoken reasonably—if they didn’t leave, it was because they preferred standing in the rain.

“In due time? Xiao Zhi, are you planning to coerce a confession?” Xiao Chan stiffened his neck and strode toward the Imperial City Department gate. “Everyone, make way! I want to see if Deputy Minister Bai is being tortured by you!”

He was stubborn beyond belief. Xiao Chan had gone mad trying to impress Shi Weigong and advance his career.

Xiao Zhi glared coldly at the hundred-household officer who stopped Xiao Chan and said, “One more step, and you will be killed without mercy. Dare take even half a step into the Imperial City Department, and your entire family will be executed.”

This was not mere exile or confiscation—this was annihilation of the entire clan!

Xiao Chan ignored Xiao Zhi’s warning. He was already intoxicated with ambition. If he performed well today and Deputy Minister Bai was released without charges, Shi Weigong would surely take him under his wing. Bai Yan would be grateful to him, as if he had saved his life. His career would then sail smoothly.

“Kill me? If you kill the Prime Minister, do you think you can slaughter all the ministers and officials? I want to see how many of us you can kill. Today, I will force my way through this gate. What can you do to me?” Xiao Chan shouted loudly. “Everyone, come with me! I want to see if this spear-bearer dares to kill us all.”

“Hand me my spear!”

A thousand-household officer handed Xiao Zhi the long spear that had once pierced Huai Zhong to death.

Among the crowd, a few were eager to join Xiao Chan, shoulder to shoulder. First, because the law rarely punishes the many; second, this was a golden opportunity to make a name for themselves.

But when they saw the long spear in Xiao Zhi’s hand, their calves cramped, and they dared not take a step forward. Not a word escaped their lips; they were afraid Xiao Zhi might recognize their voices. When Xiao Zhi glanced at them, they all lowered their heads.

“If he wants to go through that door, no one should stop him. I want to see if his stubbornness beats my spear.”

Those blocking Xiao Chan immediately stepped aside. Now, Xiao Chan faced the wide-open gate.

He strode inside and turned back. “I’m in. How about that?”

Then he leapt out lightly. “I’m out again. How about that?”

“I’m in again.”

“I’m out again.”

“Come and hit me!”

“Aren’t you going to kill me?”

“Go ahead and kill me!”

From the moment Xiao Zhi asked for the spear, Shi Weigong sensed things were slipping beyond control.

With so many of them, surely some had guards and servants. Could they really not break through that gate?

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But was it a gate to be barged through at will? Even as Minister of Revenue, he dared not rashly violate the law by forcing open such a door.

Though the Imperial City Department’s gate was rusty and decayed, it was still the Imperial City Department—a place representing the late Emperor himself.

Seeing Xiao Chan step through that door, Shi Weigong knew disaster was imminent. As he opened his mouth to warn Xiao Chan to stop his reckless act, Xiao Zhi swung the long spear in a wide arc.

Xiao Chan was still hopping back and forth, utterly unprepared for the fact that Xiao Zhi would really strike him down.

The spear was a ceremonial weapon in Great Chu, but also a weapon of war—a versatile tool that could hook, stab, and strike.

When Xiao Zhi killed Huai Zhong, he used the spear’s tip to stab. This time, he used it to slash.

More accurately, he struck it down like a hammer.

Though the ceremonial weapon had no sharpened edge, that did not stop it from taking Xiao Chan’s life.

Xiao Chan screamed and collapsed face-first.

Instinctively, he turned to look at Xiao Zhi with confusion and disbelief in his eyes.

“I’ve lived this long and never heard of such demands. The Imperial City Department may lack other skills, but it is supreme in taking lives. You got what you wanted.”

Then Xiao Zhi wielded the spear like a sickle, the pointed end down, piercing into Xiao Chan’s chest again and again.

Xiao Zhi worked like a farmer tilling the soil, continuing until Xiao Chan was a bloody ruin, his body stiff and motionless.

Wiping sweat from his brow and panting heavily, he awkwardly apologized to Shi Weigong, “Lost my composure.”

Shi Weigong’s entire face twitched. His hands and arms trembled inside his sleeves. He had no doubt that if he were the one who had stepped through the door, Xiao Zhi would have killed him without hesitation.

This man was a madman.

A madman who never played by the rules, never followed convention.

If he dared kill Huai Zhong, this young director was nothing in comparison.

The scene was eerily silent; the sound of rain was chilling everyone’s hearts.

Xiao Zhi looked across the faces before him; not a single person dared meet his gaze. If this madman remembered their voices, they might find their homes ransacked before dawn.