Chapter 56 The Four Heavenly Kings

Half an hour later, Chen Xuan had acquired a general understanding of the situation in Qingfeng City. He immediately asked, "What is going on with the bailiffs in this yamen? Even if it's high mountains and the emperor is far away, there should still be bailiffs to maintain public order."

Lin Zedong smiled bitterly and said, "Ever since so many magistrates and chief constables were killed, all the remaining bailiffs fled. Everyone knows that someone is intentionally defying the imperial court, so who would dare to stay? Moreover, Ninth Master Wang's men act with total impunity, coming and going freely through the yamen as if it were their own backyard. This makes the other bailiffs even more afraid to linger, terrified of provoking Ninth Master Wang."

Chen Xuan nodded gently. Suddenly, his gaze swept over two small-time thugs nearby, and he shouted, "You little rascals, I'll give you a chance to bring honor to your ancestors!"

The two thugs trembled, roughly guessing what Chen Xuan was about to do, and hurriedly dropped to their knees, begging bitterly for mercy.

"My lord, spare our lives! Spare our lives!"
"This humble one will never dare again!"
They kowtowed repeatedly.

"What in the world are you howling about!"
Chen Xuan glared at them, slammed his palm on the table, and said, "This chief constable is appointing you right now as the new bailiffs of Qingfeng City, and you shall take office immediately!"

He looked at Lin Zedong and asked, "Lord Lin, are there any bailiff uniforms left in the yamen?"
"Aside from this subordinate's set of official robes, all the bailiff uniforms were taken by others. Some were made into tablecloths, and others into curtains," Lin Zedong replied.

"Damn it, then we'll just have them custom-made again!" Chen Xuan declared.

Upon hearing that they were expected to serve as bailiffs, the two thugs were even more terrified, kowtowed continuously.
"My lord, please spare us! We don't want to be bailiffs!"
"Being a bailiff gets you killed! Have pity on me, with elderly parents above and a young child below. My baby is only eight months old and still crying for milk..."

Bang!
Chen Xuan struck out with a single palm, and a nearby table instantly shattered into pieces.
The complexions of the two thugs turned pale with fright, and they dared not howl any further.

"You little rascals, does anyone have an objection? Who still dares to oppose?" Chen Xuan cursed.

The two thugs swallowed hard, nodding repeatedly with ingratiating smiles.
"My lord, we are willing to serve as head bailiffs."
"Yes, we are willing to follow you, my lord."

They began to introduce themselves.
One was called Zhang Jinmao (Golden Hair), and the other was Li Erha (Erha). Both were natives of Qingfeng City whose ancestors had lived there, and they were thoroughly familiar with all walks of life in the city.

Heh.
Chen Xuan couldn't help but be amused.
Are these names for real?
He seriously suspected that their parents might also be time-travelers!

"Jinmao, Erha, don't you worry. Follow this chief constable closely, and I will not treat you unfairly," Chen Xuan said, squeezing out a kindly smile as he looked at them.

The two felt a pang of bewilderment, failing to understand why Chen Xuan had suddenly turned so gentle.
Wasn't he just acting fierce a moment ago?

The two nodded repeatedly, breaking into ingratiating smiles.
"Yes, my lord."
"Thank you for looking after us, my lord."

Chen Xuan nodded gently, retrieved two hundred-tael silver banknotes from his bosom, handed them to them, and said calmly, "This is money to make uniforms and buy official sabers. Take it and go out to get twenty sets of bailiff uniforms made!"

Twenty sets?
The two of them were inwardly startled.

Chen Xuan suddenly stood up, tapped them lightly on their shoulders, letting a shred of the Five Poisons True Qi infiltrate their bodies, and said calmly, "Remember, don't try any tricks behind my back, or you'll suffer the consequences. If you don't believe me, just roll up your sleeves and take a look."

The two hurriedly rolled up their sleeves, their expressions shifting dramatically.
They saw that a patch of greenish-purple had appeared out of nowhere around their elbows.

"Do you see the bruising here? I've struck your fatal acupoints. Only I know how to undo it. If you dare to run away secretly, this bruising will instantly cause you to die a miserable death, understand?" Chen Xuan said placidly.

The two were even more terrified, their calves trembling.
"My lord, spare us! We would never dare to run."
"Yes, spare our lives!"

"Alright, go on then," Chen Xuan said.
The two scurried anxiously toward the door.

The talk of hitting their fatal acupoints was naturally a fabrication, being nothing more than the effect of the Five Poisons True Qi. However, if they truly dared to run, once the Five Poisons True Qi flared up, it would be more than enough to make them suffer bitterly.

Chen Xuan walked out of the room, looked at the two men whose acupoints he had previously sealed, and pondered slightly. He walked over, hoisted them directly into another room, tossed them onto chairs, and began his interrogation.

"Damn it, how many experts does Wang Nine have under him?" he asked.

Having had their internal energy drained, the two men were completely limp and extremely weak, yet as they looked at Chen Xuan, their eyes remained filled with deep terror.
"You... what kind of divine skill are you actually using?" one of them asked in fright.

"Damn it, you want to learn my divine skill? Tell me everything you know, and I'll teach you," Chen Xuan said.
"Ninth... Ninth Master will not let you go," the other man managed to say with difficulty.

Bang!
Chen Xuan brought his palm down, landing squarely on the man's forehead, killing him on the spot.
The man's eyes bulged wide, blood bleeding from his seven orifices, dying with eternal regret.
Never in his wildest dreams had he expected this chief constable to be so decisive.

Why didn't you torture me?
If you had tortured me just a little bit, wouldn't I have confessed?
I was just trying to play hard to get.

The other man nearby shuddered, even more terrified. Looking at Chen Xuan, he hurriedly cried out, "I'll talk! I'll talk right now!"

They were desperate men themselves, and the reason they worked for Wang Nine was simply to seek stability. But business was business; they had never intended to throw their own lives into it.
Now that his second brother had been killed with a single palm strike, how could he dare to play coy any longer?

"You little rascal, speak!" Chen Xuan sat in the chair and demanded.

"Our pair of brothers defected to Ninth Master Wang last year. Ninth Master Wang has experts gathered like clouds under his command. There are more than ten individuals at the Ninth Layer of Qi Gathering alone. Among them, four possess the most terrifying strength and are known as the Four Heavenly Kings: the Eastern Heavenly King 'Iron Butcher' Lu Fanghan, the Western Heavenly King 'Asura Saber' Yang Guangzhao, the Southern Heavenly King 'Venom-Heart Scholar' Chu Yunting, and the Northern Heavenly King 'Universe in the Palm' Guo Bing.

Aside from the Eastern Heavenly King, who is already an expert at the Vein-Opening realm, the other three have not yet opened their Ren and Du channels, but they each possess at least thirty-five years of internal energy. They all wish to accumulate further, waiting for their internal energy to deepen before breaking through to the Vein-Opening realm.

Apart from these Four Heavenly Kings, Ninth Master Wang has a marquis's estate backing him up behind the scenes. Within the marquis's estate, experts emerge in even greater numbers, with multiple older-generation powerhouses guarding the place, including seven or eight at the Vein-Opening realm," the man recited.

Chen Xuan nodded slightly and asked, "What are the unique martial arts of the Four Heavenly Kings?"

"The Eastern Heavenly King's unique skill is the Iron-Melting Palm. With a single strike, he can melt a handprint even into a hundred-refined pig-iron. The Western Heavenly King's unique skill is the Thirty-Six Routes of Blood Demon Saber Technique, rumored to originate from an expert of the Blood Saber Sect. Years ago, he committed a shocking major crime, and the Six Doors Division pursued him several times to no avail. The Southern Heavenly King's unique skill is the Gloomy Wind Claw. With a single grab, it shatters tendons and breaks bones, specifically targeting vital lifelines. Even if one manages to survive the moment, they would later suffer an endless, agonizing death. The Northern Heavenly King's unique skill is the Vajra Palm Technique. He was once a disciple of the Western Regions Shaolin, but later secretly learned the Vajra Palm, betrayed the Western Regions Shaolin, and fled all the way here," the man explained.

"Western Regions Shaolin?"
Chen Xuan couldn't help but tilt his brow.
Does this world have a Western Regions Shaolin as well?

"The Western Regions Shaolin is a branch of Shaolin. Years ago, a high monk left Shaolin and established it in the wilderness province. Most of its unique skills differ greatly from those of the Central Plains Shaolin; they do not focus on internal Qi cultivation, but rather on physical body conditioning," the man hurriedly explained.

Chen Xuan fell into thought.
This was quite similar to the Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre world he had read about in his past life.

"Are there older-generation experts by Wang Nine's side?" he continued to ask.

"It seems there are a few, but the two of us were often sent out to watch the grounds and weren't very close to Ninth Master, so we don't know many details," the man replied.

"Mm."
Chen Xuan nodded and did not continue questioning him.
He left the man right there and stepped out of the room.

In the courtyard, nearly a hundred people were busy bustling about, rapidly repairing the yamen. Looking at it now, it was already in much better shape than before.
Following this trend, by dusk, the yamen would practically take on a completely new look.

Dong!
Suddenly, a massive sound of a drum echoed from the front hall.
Then, a voice of extraordinary power rang out, laced with profound internal energy.

"Ninth Master has learned that the imperial court's new chief constable has arrived here, and specifically sends this humble person to extend an invitation, requesting the new chief constable to attend a banquet!"

The voice rolled in, shaking numerous roof tiles and gravel into a rustling tremor.

Hoh, coming this fast?
Chen Xuan smiled, took a lordly stride, and walked outward.