CHAPTER 548: CHAPTER 5: DEFYING AUTHORITY

The crowd could now see clearly that standing in front of Lie Rou were ten handsome teenagers around sixteen or seventeen years old.

With starry eyes and rhombus lips, half of their faces covered by gold leaf masks and the other half exceedingly beautiful, it was hard for one to immediately distinguish their genders.

In his hand was a Great Sword covered in patches of rust, not yet sharpened. At this moment, the Great Sword had spots of crimson blood on it, and Ji Yun lay on the ground, clutching his right hand, crying out in pain.

There were similarities, about fifty to sixty percent, between the boy’s features and those of Lie Rou behind him, suggesting he was a member of her family.

However, this young man had disabled two of Ji Yun’s fingers with a single move, and his extremely strange movement technique along with his ruthless methods were completely at odds with his appearance.

At this point, the Imperial Guard had begun to somewhat believe that this person could indeed be the ruthless sky bandit.

"Huahua," Lie Rou looked at Ji Yun who was wailing on the ground, and then at the Ji Family’s servants who were quickly surrounding them, feeling anxious as she pulled on Yue Jinghua’s sleeve.

"Mother, your child is unfilial for frightening you," Yue Jinghua ignored Ji Yun’s state and gently comforted his mother.

Had he been a step slower, his mother would have been humiliated by that cruel young master. Thinking of this, Yue Jinghua couldn’t help but become angry. How could the mighty Blood Cherry Duke Mansion endure such an indignity? He secretly thought that his earlier strike was too light and should have directly slain Ji Yun.

Seeing the son of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue attacked and seriously injured, the Imperial Guard also turned vigilant. They ordered several squads of soldiers to surround Yue Jinghua.

"You... you dare commit assault; do you know who I am?" Ji Yun was in agony, barely alive, and Yue Jinghua’s Great Sword still pointed at his chest while the servants and Dark Practitioners by his side were at a loss on how to intervene.

His two severed fingers were almost impossible to reattach. The wound on his hand continued to bleed profusely, and without stemming the blood flow soon, he would lose half his life simply from blood loss.

"How could I not know, the infamous ’official evil substitute’ of the Imperial City, people avoid seeing you as much as they avoid dogs, relying on your father being the custodian of the treasury, acting arrogantly as if everyone were beneath you," Yue Jinghua gave Ji Yun a disdainful glance.

Behind her, Shalman couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter upon hearing this.

This alarmed the nearby Imperial Guard Captain. The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was a meticulous person, and Ji Yun was his only son. Seeing Ji Yun being attacked at the Sky Port, regardless of right or wrong, the Sky Port couldn’t be absolved of blame. For now, he had to find a way to ease the conflict and save Ji Yun first.

"Gentlemen, please refrain from using lethal force. Since you are aware of Young Master Ji’s identity, you should know that in the Wo Hua Imperial City, civilians injuring nobles constitutes an act of lèse-majesté, punishable by hanging. Do not act rashly."

"Lèse-majesté?" Yue Jinghua signaled Hongling to take away Lie Rou, and she bent down, grabbing Ji Yun’s hair, causing him to cry out in pain, "You mean to say, injuring this mad dog warrants a hanging?"

The embarrassed Imperial Guard cleared his throat, "If you would please show mercy, indeed Ji Yun is the only son of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

"A mad dog named Ji? Heh," Yue Jinghua released Ji Yun’s hair and patted his face, "Well then, let me ask you, what rank are you in the government?"

"This young master..." Before Ji Yun could finish his sentence, Yue Jinghua delivered a firm slap to his face.

He was of Dark Earth Cultivation, yet for some reason, he couldn’t move an inch under Yue Jinghua’s grip.

"Young Master Ji has not entered official service; he is the son of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue," the leader of the small team of guards hurriedly explained, fearing that Yue Jinghua might strike again with severity.

"Oh, so does Ji Mad Dog have an inherited noble title?" Yue Jinghua delivered another slap, leaving Ji Yun utterly powerless to talk back.

"Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is from a long-established family line, and there’s no hereditary title in his ancestors’ history," the team leader watched with desperate eyes as Yue Jinghua’s hand moved as fast as lightning, leaving no chance to rescue Ji Yun.

"No official position and no noble title? Tsk, tsk, that truly is an act of insubordination," Yue Jinghua freed up one hand and began cleaning her ear, "Tell me, what did you say just now about the Imperial Laws concerning insubordination? What punishment does it warrant?"

"Hanging! You lowly civilian! You dare to insult my father, you dare to sneak attack this young master! I will have your entire family, all eighteen generations, sentenced to be hanged," Ji Yun, insulted and abused, suffering from immense pain in his wounds, was itching to fight Yue Jinghua to the death.

"Tch," Ji Yun had just finished speaking when he felt a splash of red before his eyes, and the remaining three fingers of his right hand flew off. Yue Jinghua’s face was cold like frost, and her sword pressed against his throat: "You’re right, acts of insubordination are punishable by death. Since you, a mongrel, have disclosed your identity, it’s about time for my turn."

She sheathed her Great Sword, pointing to Lie Rou behind her: "Her, Lie Rou, the Duchess of Blood Cherry Duke Mansion, a First-class Duchess personally granted by Emperor Long Teng the 71st. I, Yue Jinghua, inherit a second-class noble title from the Empire."

The Blood Cherry Duke Mansion, whose founder was Duke Long Zhan, a pioneer of the nation, was granted a perpetual duke title by Emperor Long Teng I. Aside from the firstborn son who inherits the first-class title, all direct male and female descendants in the mansion enjoy a second-class title.

Once Yue Jinghua made this declaration, it exploded like a clap of thunder, dumbfounding all the soldiers of the Imperial Army and the Ji Family’s servants and Dark Practitioners.

Considering Yue Jinghua and Lie Rou’s appearances and manner of speech, the crowd started to believe them sincerely.

Although the Blood Cherry Duke Mansion was in financial ruin, Emperor Long Teng the 72nd, in remembrance of the ancestral contributions to the Empire, had not revoked the Mansion’s noble titles.

As for the Ji family, they had only risen to prominence as a new noble household in the past decade. As the saying goes, ’Even a lean camel is bigger than a horse’; the old noble Duke Mansion and a freshly prominent minister cannot be compared.

If these two truly belong to the Duke Mansion, then Ji Yun’s earlier behavior indeed constitutes insubordination for having insulted a Duchess.

The Captain of the Imperial Guard had a terrible feeling, knowing that if today the young lord from the Duke Mansion truly killed Young Master Ji Yun, it would inevitably lead to much unrest.

"The... Duke Mansion, pah, is just a declining noble family. To really think themselves something special. The Duke Mansion still owes a huge debt to the Ministry of Revenue. If you dare touch a single hair on me, my father will certainly not let you off. Wait for your family to be raided, ah----you wouldn’t dare," Ji Yun, not knowing to repent, still threatened.

Upon hearing this, Yue Jinghua grabbed one of his ears, ready to slice it off completely.

The Captain of the Skyport Guards was also terrified, his heart leaping to his throat, not knowing where the Duke Mansion got such a Little Evil Star, with a temperament so fierce.

Just at that moment, a long cry was heard from the sky.

In the sky above, a large empty ship began to descend.

Seeing the slowly descending empty ship, the already anxious Captain of the Imperial Guard was enlightened, thinking jubilantly in his heart: "Truly, the heavens are on my side. Lord War God has arrived."