Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 541 - 504

Chapter 541: 504

Lunchtime had not yet arrived, yet the whole of Spring Breeze Town was already abuzz with a piece of news that shocked everyone.

At this moment, in several teahouses, restaurants, and even some streetside stalls, people began to discuss the matter fervently.

"Did you hear?"

"Is Feng Bubian about to marry into and marry Feng Wenqing?"

"No, something big happened last night!"

Upon hearing that something serious had occurred, many people became curious.

"I heard that recently someone went with the Shuofang Army to the grasslands to raid the Tujue, completely annihilating a Tujue tribe!"

Upon hearing that a tribe of the Tujue had been wiped out, everyone cheered loudly in unison.

"With this battle, they must have brought back quite a bounty!"

"I heard that there were thirty thousand sheep and cattle alone, not to mention gold, silver, jewels, and Tujue slaves!"

Hearing this, many began to envy the Martial Artists who had gone with them.

"Those Martial Artists who went, they must have made a fortune!"

"Made a fortune? Hmph! The problem arose exactly because of this!"

"Those Martial Artists who went to the plains with the Shuofang Army, charging into battle and serving as scouts and vanguards along the way, what happened then? They didn’t get sheep, horses, or even a single strand of wool from the spoils of war."

Hearing this, many people were already filled with indignant fury.

Although many onlookers were not Martial Artists, they now put themselves in the shoes of these Martial Artists.

Having struggled alongside the Shuofang Army for such a long time and ended up with nothing, anyone would feel extremely frustrated.

"You think it ended there? Later, it was discovered that the rewards Mei Fei promised were not even all the rewards issued by the Imperial Court, only two-thirds of the normal rewards! Two-thirds!"

Hearing this, many of the spectators began to curse loudly.

It was already outrageous not to share any of the spoils they helped to secure, and now a third of their well-deserved rewards had been withheld on top of that.

It was completely unconscionable!

As the news spread quickly, people immediately ran to the Town Martial Office to verify it.

After all, the affairs of Martial Artists still had to be managed by the Town Martial Office.

In no time, at the gates of the Town Martial Office’s outpost, a crowd of about three to four hundred Martial Artists had gathered.

Everyone came to Zhang San seeking an explanation.

"Although the Town Martial Office wasn’t responsible for this, it still represents us Martial Artists of the Longyun Path, and they must stand up for us in this matter!"

"Exactly! Where is Military Chief Zhang San? We want to see Military Chief Zhang San!"

At this moment, outside the gates of the Town Martial Office, numerous Martial Artists were clamoring loudly.

Then, some Martial Artists rushed over hastily and directly stormed into the gates.

The other Martial Artists were just about to charge in when they were stopped by those who had come rushing along with them.

"Don’t add to the chaos! You probably don’t know yet! Last night, Mei Fei had General Shen Buxing lead men to surround and kill our Martial Artists! Do you know how many of our brothers died? One hundred twenty-seven! A full one hundred twenty-seven lives!"

Hearing this, the Martial Artists outside were stunned.

Initially, they thought the withholding from the Martial Artists was already excessively unfair.

Now, what was even more egregious was that Mei Fei, not only withholding what rightfully belonged to everyone, even resorted to murder!

At this moment, many people involuntarily placed their hands on their weapons, ready to act at any moment.

Soon, although the news spread farther and wider, many martial path forces unrelated to this matter also sent people to inquire.

For a while, everyone within Spring Breeze Town felt a hint of panic and tension in the air.

Especially among the martial artists, everyone could distinctly feel that something was increasingly amiss at the Town Martial Office.

Initially, many martial path forces just sent people to inquire about the situation, but later, Sect Leaders and Sect Masters came in person to wait outside the Town Martial Office for news.

After all, everyone knew that for the Town Martial Office to eradicate a sect, they needed a plausible excuse and had to dispatch many experts, but it was different with the military.

The military already had experts and a large number of soldiers, so once they decided to crush a sect, they just sent troops to flatten it.

And by pinning a charge of rebellion on you, you had no place to reason your case.

At this moment, many realized that the Town Martial Office was actually much more reasonable than the military.

After all, the Town Martial Office still aimed to maintain stability among the martial path forces.

But the military didn’t care about these things; if you provoked the military, they would come and deal with you. If you continued to resist, the military would kill you!

And offending the Town Martial Office did not equate to offending the Great Sui, but killing military personnel was rebellion, directly deemed as challenging the Imperial Court, and you were undoubtedly doomed.

But soon, many Sect Masters and Sect Leaders saw Zhang San, along with the Second and Third Hall Masters of Wind Divine Hall and numerous martial artists seeking shelter, walking out from the stronghold in Spring Breeze Town.

Everyone immediately cleared a space for Zhang San and his group to exit.

Once out, Zhang San fist-palmed salute towards everyone present.

"I understand why you all have come, so I won’t waste time with pleasantries here," he said.

"The Town Martial Office belongs to our Great Sui. It is the martial artists’ Town Martial Office of the Great Sui! If you have been wronged, you should come to me! I, Zhang San, will now take all of you to meet with Grand Commander Mei Fei at the Shuofang Army’s main camp on Longyun Path!"

"Today, I, Zhang San, am not motivated by brotherhood nor the sentiment of the martial path. I go to the Shuofang Army’s main camp for only three things."

"Justice! Justice! And damn it, justice!"

"If Mei Fei does not offer us martial artists justice, then I, Zhang San, am willing to risk my life, and go to the Capital to reclaim justice for you all!"

"If I, Zhang San, die, remember that I died for justice!"

Having said this, Zhang San led his people away from Spring Breeze Town, heading directly to the Shuofang Army’s main camp.

The martial artists present, moved by Zhang San’s righteous words, were deeply touched.

Quickly, hundreds walking with Zhang San were followed by a vast procession of two to three thousand martial artists.

Even many martial path forces realized that if they did not support and cheer for Zhang San today, they might be the unlucky ones in the future.

Thus, many martial path forces immediately called their disciples to hurry over.

By the time Zhang San arrived outside the Shuofang Army’s main camp,

Mei Fei had just gotten up since his wife had finally arrived at Shuofang, and he had stayed up all night trying to impress her.

After getting dressed, Mei Fei called the Deputy General inside.

"This noon, send someone to Spring Breeze Town and order a table of good banquets. Our family should gather and celebrate," he said.

At this moment, Mei Fei was joyous about the family reunion but then noticed that the Deputy General’s face looked as uncomfortable as if he had been cuckolded.

"Wang Lihui, what’s wrong?" he asked.

"Grand Commander, terrible news!"