Soul of the Revered Banner
Chapter 83: Pledge of Allegiance

The gaunt-faced Old Ghost¹ looked toward Tietou.

He was the one who had brought the man in, now it was Tietou’s turn to act.

Sensing something was amiss, Wang Zhi had just opened his mouth to cry for help when Tietou’s thumb pressed firmly against a point on his neck.

No matter how Wang Zhi tried to open his mouth, not a single sound emerged.

Tietou naturally stuffed the cloth back into Wang Zhi’s mouth.

Under the moonlight, his face looked grim and sinister.

There was a solemn silence to him, tinged with a hint of madness. He drew a dagger.

“This stab is for Boss Xiang.”

Puchi.

The dagger, as wide as a finger, plunged into Wang Zhi’s belly.

Wang Zhi did not die. In fact, he barely felt anything at first. Just a chill, and then the pain began.

Tietou turned to the others, lowered his voice, and said, “One stab per person. Don’t kill him yet.”

Each man stepped forward and stabbed Wang Zhi once.

Wang Zhi fainted from pain again and again, but each time he did, Tietou used silver needles to revive him, refusing to let him lose consciousness, forcing him to remember the face of every man who stabbed him.

In the end, even Old Ghost and Short Rat came up and gave him a stab.

But the two of them, not being trained like the Embroidered Guards, nearly killed Wang Zhi by accident.

Seventeen stabs later, Wang Zhi was barely breathing. His eyes were dim, filled with hatred as he glared at Tietou.

Wang Zhi now realized how carelessly he'd acted.

Boss Xiang had always been too slick to handle, always slipping from his grasp. It was difficult to pin him down. Back when the heir was still in power, he hadn't dared to go too far.

He had failed to vent his anger, and instead gave himself more reasons for frustration.

So more often than not, he turned his ire on Shizhu.

Shizhu’s hot temper made him easy to provoke, a few jabs and he would explode.

But after Boss Xiang’s death, Shizhu vanished. No one knew where he went.

The remaining men were silent, seemingly resigned and careful.

The quietest of them all was this man now before him, Tietou.

Tietou had become the new leader of their little circle.

Wang Zhi had thought they were all soft persimmons, easy to squeeze.

He thought Tietou was just another submissive brute, too afraid even to resist.

But it turned out Tietou was the most ruthless one of all.

Usually silent, methodical in his work, seemingly meek and yet, at a moment like this, he struck with such brutality.

Completely caught off guard, Wang Zhi was utterly stunned.

He knew he was going to die.

He could feel himself growing weaker, the darkness closing in. He probably didn’t have long.

Seventeen stabs, how could one survive that?

He was only still conscious because Tietou had used silver needles and ginseng to keep him alive.

Tietou pulled the cloth from Wang Zhi’s mouth.

Blood surged instantly, trickling down from the corners of Wang Zhi’s lips.

His body twitched slightly, his head tilted weakly, and he coughed blood with a rasp, murmuring feebly:

“Make it… quick…”

Tietou brought forth the Hundred-Battle Saber, raising his arm.

Without a word-

Shing!

A flash of cold steel.

He lopped off Wang Zhi’s head in one clean stroke.

San Gou rushed up, catching the head in a cloth sack, wrapping it quickly, and placing it into a box that had been prepared in advance.

Old Ghost’s face twitched. He hadn’t expected a man this vicious to exist in Boss Xiang’s team. So ruthless, not even saying a single extra word.

After wringing every ounce of usefulness out of Wang Zhi, Tietou simply beheaded him.

Though they’d had plenty of contact, one could even call them old acquaintances, that only made Old Ghost all the more afraid.

Tietou rolled up his sleeve, clamped the saber between arm and bicep, and wiped the blood clean from its edge.

At that very moment, after beheading Wang Zhi, a realization dawned in him.

He had finally shattered the barrier that had held him back for so long, and officially stepped into the realm of second-rate Bone Tempering experts.

And yet, even after his breakthrough, there was no change to his face or demeanor, he looked as if nothing had happened at all.

“Bring the prepared items.”

It was the gold powder and the large vat of black dog’s blood the others had pooled together.

Tietou poured the gold powder into the black dog’s blood, stirred it to a uniform mixture, and dumped it over Wang Zhi’s corpse.

With this, even if Wang Zhi harbored resentment, his soul would be scattered, unable to become a fierce ghost.

No one spoke.

Every man here had stabbed a qianhu commander, while he was still alive.

“Tomorrow at the Chen Hour(7-9am), follow me to pay respects to the heir.”

Tietou spoke coolly.

The others nodded in agreement.

Xiao Wu swallowed hard, fear in his eyes, but he changed his form of address:

“Boss, what do we do with the body?”

“Bury it in the disused cellar out back. No one will ever know,” Old Ghost offered.

Now that they had all boarded Tietou’s boat, there was no turning back.

Might as well hide the corpse in that old abandoned cellar, three or four meters deep. No one would ever find it.

Together, they buried Wang Zhi’s body deep underground.

They were all exhausted.

But not physically, these men had martial training, and this kind of work was second nature.

It was their hearts that were weary.

They had, in a daze, collectively murdered a qianhu commander.

And each had delivered a blade, sworn their blood oath.

Looking back now, it felt like madness.

They didn’t even know if the heir would accept them.

After a long night of labor, they huddled together.

Filled with nervousness and dread for what lay ahead, they eventually fell asleep in Old Ghost’s little courtyard.

...

The next morning.

“Young Master, a man named Tietou has come with a group. Says he used to serve under Baihu Xiang.”

Chu Jiu reported the visitors to Wen Yue.

Having just finished his morning training, Wen Yue was puzzled but didn’t delay:

“Invite him to the main hall.”

Then he changed his clothes and headed toward the hall.

Upon entering, Tu Shanjun within the soul-banner detected a faint trace of malevolent energy.

It was coming from the gift box that Tietou had placed nearby.

“Your Highness, I am Tietou,” Tietou said, clasping his fists with precision and propriety.

Wen Yue gave him a once-over. The man before him was calm and composed.

It wasn’t an act. Standing next to him, one could feel the weight of his presence.

He nodded slightly.

“I remember you. You once came to the marquis estate with Baihu Xiang.”

“What is it you’ve come to see me for?”

Tietou did not mince words, “We wish to follow Your Highness. To serve you loyally.”

Wen Yue was surprised. He hadn’t expected that.

As he pondered,

“This is the gift we’ve brought to Your Highness.”

Wen Yue’s gaze shifted to the box. He’d noticed it upon entering, it reeked of blood.

A flicker of curiosity crossed his face.

Not out of greed, he had no shortage of treasure or silver, but genuine curiosity about what was inside.

Truthfully, he would’ve sheltered these Embroidered Guards even without a gift, simply for Xiang Hu’s sake.

Now that his injuries were fully healed, putting pressure on the Southern Office would be effortless.

Tietou opened the box. Inside, it was a human head.

Tu Shanjun recognized it instantly, the fat white qianhu who had once humiliated Old Xiang.

Who would’ve thought Tietou would bring that man’s head as a gift?

Wen Yue was visibly shocked. He looked up at Tietou, “This man was a qianhu commander of the Southern Office.”

“All I knew was that,” Tietou replied, “Your Highness hated him.”

“Good!”

“How many came with you?”

“Seventeen in total.”

“Come with me to the military camp. I’ll appoint you as a captain. As for the Embroidered Guard, forget it.”

(Chapter End)

¹Both Old Ghost and Short Rat first appeared in c37.