Chapter 294 (1)
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Linhe City is over a hundred miles away from a city called Yangmen City.
Yangmen City is also a big city in the Southwest Province, not as big as Linhe City but still one of the rare big cities in the Southwest Province.
This capital city was besieged by the Feather King Army for half a month before being conquered. On the day the city fell, the local magistrate killed his wife and children with his sword before taking his own life in sacrifice.
Inside Yangmen City, in a corner of the inner city, there was a house.
A chubby middle-aged official struggled to lift a water jar, blocking the entrance of the house tightly and locking all the doors and windows, sweating profusely from his busy work.
"Father, is it really necessary to be so cautious?" a young woman beside him asked.
"The Feather King’s army is a powerful group led by a great leader who aims to overthrow the ruling government. I heard they are well-disciplined, especially the Feather King himself, who has a good reputation for defeating dangerous monsters in the village."
"You don’t understand. You are still very young and naive, believing everything others say… " The middle-aged clerk wiped his sweat and took out a statue from the drawer in the corner, replacing the Yunxiao Sect statue on the family shrine with one from the Featherhood Sect.
"Dad, why do you have statues of the immortals from the Feather King Army’s Featherhood Sect?" The woman’s voice was filled with surprise."Do you finally realize that this Feather King is the right person to bring order and justice, not our Yunxiao Sect immortals from Southwest Province?"
"Shut up, be careful what you say!" The middle-aged clerk carefully cleaned the Yunxiao Sect statue and placed it back in the corner drawer before explaining:
"I have planned ahead for the city’s fall, buying statues of the Featherhood Sect immortals in advance, all prepared."
"When these two groups of immortals fight, discussing their beliefs, can we ordinary people intervene?"
Just then, footsteps could be heard approaching the door.
The middle-aged clerk gestured for his daughter to keep quiet, and they both stayed silent, huddling together.
Knock knock knock, the wooden door was knocked.
"Is anyone home?" The person outside the door spoke with a clear local accent:
"We are from the Feather King Army, we won’t harm you. We just want to ask if you have heard of the rumors about Golden Village."
The room was quiet.
The Feather King Army outside the door sighed slightly in frustration and walked away.
After a while, when there were no more sounds outside the door, the young lady inside the room breathed a sigh of relief and whispered softly:
"Father, it’s someone from the Feather King…"
Just as she finished speaking, a cold laughter could be heard from outside the door.
"Indeed there are people."
At the next moment, a loud bang was heard.
The locked gate collapsed with a bang, and the water tank behind the gate shattered. A burly man entered.
"This is the Feather King Army’s business, so all unauthorized people should leave!" Before entering, the man shouted loudly.
No one dared to peek out from the neighbors, all doors and windows were tightly closed, and there was no sound at all.
"The master has already passed away. How can a mere official like you still be alive?" The man sneered, "In the past, when you were running around collecting taxes as a corrupt official, did you ever think about today?"
"Sir…" The middle-aged official hurriedly smiled.
"Taxes are collected by the court. I’m just a small official trying to make a living, and I am also just an ordinary commoner…"
Meanwhile, a young woman standing nearby carefully examined the man’s face, then exclaimed:
"Are you… Zhao Ergou from the outer city? When did you join the Feather King Army?"
"Do you recognize me? It’s too late," the big man grinned.
"In the past, you treated me indifferently… You’re just a corrupt official, all birds of a feather. Today, I will uphold justice!"
After saying that, he grabbed the young woman with his large hand, squeezed hard, and tore her clothes to shreds.
"You… you… you…" The middle-aged clerk trembled and rushed over.
"Dare to touch my daughter, you’ll have to get through me first!"
"Ha, such deep father-daughter love! Then I shall enjoy it." The big man sneered, then reached out, pushed the middle-aged clerk down, and straddled him.
"Today, I’ll see what it feels like to have the tables turned…"
After that, the big man ripped open the pants of the middle-aged clerk:
"Since you have such deep father-daughter love, today I’ll make you even closer!"
The animals were running and jumping around.
A long spear pierced through the wall, accurately entering the head of a big man and pinning him against it.
A young woman wearing a face mask walked in from the door and calmly pulled out the long spear.
The father and daughter were shaken, and after carefully glancing at the approaching woman, the daughter suddenly exclaimed:
"Feather King?"
The newcomer didn’t say much, turned and left, but paused briefly before leaving:
"Although my Feather King Army is disciplined, the ongoing battles in the Southwest Province may attract troublemakers. Be cautious."
With that, the Feather King walked out the door and disappeared.
The middle-aged official, whose face turned red, changed into a new pair of pants and muttered cursing words.
"What a nonsense Feather King…"
"Is this pretending to be a good person now? The ones who burn, kill, and plunder are troublemakers in the military, yet you still strictly follow the rules and have a good reputation."
Outside the alleyway.
Feather King and a black-robed female general beside her stood quietly, listening to these complaints.
It’s not that they are eavesdropping…they just have exceptionally sharp hearing, able to pick up on these whispered complaints.
"This little official rescued him and he doesn’t even know how to be grateful…" the black-robed female general frowned.
"Let him curse," Feather King’s voice was calm, without any ripples:
"Since I have taken the title of king, I naturally have to bear the responsibility for the actions of my soldiers."
"Whether it’s unruly soldiers or disasters caused by weapons…no matter how you put it, as this so-called Feather King, I cannot escape blame."
"Feather King is truly generous and extraordinary," said the woman in the black robe with starry eyes.
The rest of the soldiers around also showed expressions of respect.
Feather King’s strength far exceeds the common understanding of martial artists by people. After all, she is not purely human.
As an unprecedentedly powerful top martial artist in Southwest Province, Feather King can even confront the major demons in the area, gaining a prominent reputation.
Therefore, with her extraordinary skills, Feather King can establish a high prestige in the army solely based on her own strength.
Not to mention Feather King’s humility and concern for the people, she has repeatedly defeated the major demons that have caused trouble in all directions and saved many villagers from their clutches.
"I’m tired of hearing compliments." Although Feather King wore a mask, hiding his expression, his voice was always cold and steady:
"Listening to criticism can help me see things clearly."
The more humble Feather King acted, the more his soldiers thought of him as wise and calm, like a forever rational saint.
Instead of speaking insults, the soldiers secretly praised him.
Feather King waited for a long time without hearing any insults, feeling a bit disappointed.
"I am a bit tired," he said.
"Jade Carp," Feather King instructed the woman in black robes beside him, "If you hear any rumors about Golden Village, let me know."
After speaking, Feather King turned and entered the lord’s mansion to rest.
However, after closing the door, she didn’t rest but stood quietly next to the door, listening carefully to the sounds outside the mansion.
Her hearing was much better than regular martial artists, her senses sharp, trying to hear if there were any unusual sounds in the army.
The great Feather King, who almost conquered half of the Southwest Province, was always surrounded by flattery and praise.
So, after her hints and suggestions, were there any different opinions among the soldiers?
Feather King listened intently for a while before hearing his subordinates discussing her name.
"I wish I could be Feather King’s loyal companion…"
"Brother, that’s not right. Feather King has fought to end beast slavery in the Southwest Province, so that ordinary people don’t have to serve the Yunxiao Sect’s spiritual beasts. And you want to be called Feather King’s pet dog? That’s just not respectful!"
"Then let me be Feather King’s loyal companion."
"Woof woof woof."
"Woof woof woof woof woof…"
Feather King twitched at the corner of his eyes in secret, never expecting the whispers behind his back to be like this…
"What are you all barking at?" a woman’s voice scolded at this moment.
This voice was very familiar to Feather King, it was his deputy, Jade Carp, who always accompanied him.
"The Feather King said, listening only to criticism helps one see clearly, but listening to nonsense leads to confusion. She wants to hear criticism, not your foolishness."
"Instead of causing trouble here, it would be better to go out and gather information about the Golden Village."
"If we can find the famous Golden Village nearby, our Feather King Army will be better off."
After being scolded by Jade Carp, several of the rebels around them walked away, and the discussions finally ceased.
Feeling a slight sense of emotion in her heart, the Feather King thought about Jade Carp, her most trusted companion who truly understood her thoughts. Jade Carp had already guessed the Feather King’s intentions, which made her quite touched.
With that in mind, she heard Jade Carp muttering softly outside the mansion:
"Why does the Feather King always imply that we should insult her openly or secretly? Is she someone who gets excited when insulted?"
"Ah… I see now, it all makes sense." Jade Carp suddenly understood:
"For the sake of the Feather King, I need to learn some dirty words to insult others from the elders in the city."
Feather King: ?
When finally there was no sound outside the mansion, Feather King sighed softly and took off the mask on his face.
Under the mask, Feather King’s face was as beautiful as jade, with sharp and resolute eyes, exuding a rare heroic aura that was similar to the shadow of Qing Li from Xishan Village that day.
In fact, Feather King was not the type of person who got excited by being scolded.
She just felt empty inside.
"During these days, I have done many good deeds, entering the mountains to remove the great monsters that plague the village; conquering many cities, and punishing corrupt officials who exploit the people."
"I maintain strict discipline in my troops, ensuring that they don’t harm the people, and have established clear rules. Any soldier who breaks the rules, regardless of their past achievements, will be dealt with fairly."
"The people are grateful to me, the soldiers admire me, and the officials fear me…"
Feather King reached out, clenched her fists, and pressed them against her chest, as if she wanted to hold onto her heart tightly, whispering:
"The more they respect and admire me, the emptier I feel inside… It’s not worth it."
"After all, the so-called Feather King who sets things right is just a lackey of the Immortal Gate."
Feather King Army, Featherhood Sect.
They raised the banner of rebellion against the Great Yan Imperial Court and the Yunxiao Sect, igniting a fierce war in the Southwest Province. Many responded, and within just two months, they had swept through half of the province.
However, as the leader of the rebellion, Feather King knew the true nature of the Featherhood Sect.
"The people believed that this was a battle among immortals, a dispute transcending life and death, a struggle to correct the wrongs and resist the harsh rule of Great Yan…."
"But all of this is false, it’s all false."
Feather King looked at his reflection in the mirror with a blank expression, feeling a hint of fatigue creeping over him.