Chapter Sixty-One: The Lifesaving Tattoo

At that very moment, a tremendous force surged from the tattoo on Liu Yao's left arm, abruptly hurling him more than a meter away. The arrow whistled past, grazing his body as it flew by.

Having narrowly escaped death, Liu Yao’s back was drenched in cold sweat. He stood dazed for a moment. This was the first time he had truly felt the threat of death, and even he could not react right away.

Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong looked on in astonishment. With their keen eyes, neither of them had seen how Liu Yao had managed to evade the arrow.

But none of that really mattered—as long as Liu Yao was unharmed, it was enough. Both men let out a sigh of relief, though in their hearts, guilt and fury burned ever hotter. They blamed themselves for failing to protect Liu Yao, nearly allowing him to come to harm. In their rage, they vented all their wrath on the remaining household guards.

With the final scream of one last servant, the fifty-odd retainers were all cut down by their combined onslaught, leaving only Zheng Jian alive.

Liu Yao was jolted awake by the dying wail, instantly realizing it was the tattoo that had saved him. But he gave the matter no further thought. This time, he was truly enraged—without the tattoo’s help, he would have been seriously wounded, if not dead. Yet on his face, no trace of anger could be seen. He was utterly calm, but that very calm was chilling to behold.

“Master, please forgive us—this was our failure!” Having dealt with the enemy, Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong knelt before Liu Yao to beg his pardon.

“It’s fine. Get up. I do not blame you; the fault was my own carelessness,” Liu Yao replied coolly. Sword in hand, he strode step by step toward Zheng Jian.

Seeing the three slaughterers advance, Zheng Jian collapsed in terror, scrambling backward and screaming in panic, “Don’t come any closer! I’m the head of the Zheng family—you can’t kill me!”

Liu Yao sneered inwardly. The head of the Zheng family? What did that amount to? Just then, someone came running with over a hundred soldiers at his back.

“Magistrate Zhang! Magistrate Zhang! Save me!” Zheng Jian, spotting the county magistrate, scrambled toward him as if grasping at salvation.

“You’re the head of the Zheng family?” Magistrate Zhang exclaimed in shock at the disheveled figure. He had received a report of a killing in the street but hadn’t expected the victim’s side to be led by Zheng Jian, head of the Zheng clan. Though the Zhengs had only recently entered the ranks of prominent families in Yingchuan, their status was not insignificant.

Looking at the fifty corpses strewn on the ground, Magistrate Zhang broke out in a cold sweat. “Master Zheng, what exactly happened here?”

Zheng Jian pointed at the three and shouted, “It was them! They’re bandits and robbers! I discovered them and tried to arrest them for the authorities, but they killed all my men. Arrest them at once!”

Liu Yao let out a cold laugh. He hadn’t expected Zheng Jian to be so quick to distort the facts, playing the villain who complains first. He turned to Magistrate Zhang, curious to see what he would do.

“Men! Arrest these three criminals at once!” Magistrate Zhang ordered without hesitation. This was his chance to curry favor with the Zhengs—he would not let it slip by.

“How dare you! Do you know who my lord is? He is the Great Han’s General Who Guards the North, the Governor of Youzhou, and the current Imperial Crown Prince, Liu Yao. If you dare show disrespect, you must be tired of living!” Zhao Yun stepped forward and bellowed.

At that, both Zheng Jian and Magistrate Zhang were struck dumb by the string of titles. If true, they would be doomed, with no hope of burial.

Zheng Jian gritted his teeth and shouted, “Nonsense! Why would His Highness the Crown Prince be here? You’re an impostor!”

Magistrate Zhang, convinced by this logic, called out, “Right! You must be impersonating the prince. Men, seize this fraud at once!” Both were too foolish to know that Liu Yao had come to Yingchuan to quell the unrest.

Liu Yao looked coldly at the two. “The Han has decayed precisely because of scum like you.” He showed not the slightest fear before the hundred-odd soldiers, for he could already hear the approaching footsteps—his personal guard was near.

Indeed, before the troops could act, a thunderous voice rang out. “The commander of the General Who Guards the North’s personal guard, Shi A, is here! Who dares harm my lord?”

With the voice came Shi A himself and a thousand armed guards. “Drop your weapons at once, or do you mean to rebel?”

Immediately, all the soldiers threw down their arms without hesitation—rebellion meant extermination of one’s entire clan.

Confronted by these fully armored troops, Zheng Jian and Magistrate Zhang were stupefied. There was no denying such an identity—how else could someone have so many soldiers at his command?

“Your Highness, have mercy! We were blind and failed to recognize the mountain before us. Spare us, I beg!” The two fell to their knees, kowtowing for their lives.

Liu Yao strode forward, looking down at them from on high, and spoke coldly, “Now you beg for mercy?”

“Your Highness, I beg you, spare our humble lives!” The two continued to kowtow.

“Too late.” With those icy words, the sword flashed, and two heads fell to the ground.

“Shi A, these two were guilty of treason. By dawn tomorrow, I do not wish to see any of their families left.” Liu Yao spoke coolly. He understood the old adage: if you do not kill the snake, it will bite you. He had no intention of leaving trouble behind, even for lesser foes.

“Yes, my lord,” Shi A replied at once. He and Huang Zhong saw nothing amiss—anyone who dared lay hands on Liu Yao deserved the extermination of their entire clan.

The government troops were thoroughly cowed. No one expected Liu Yao to kill without hesitation and wipe out an entire house. All gazed at him in terror, fearing for their own lives.

“What about them?” Liu Yao glanced at the government soldiers who had dropped their weapons. Silence reigned; one could have heard a pin drop as they awaited his verdict, sweat pouring down their faces.

After letting them stew in terror, Liu Yao finally said, “Forget it—they were only carrying out orders.”

A collective sigh of relief swept through them all. As long as their lives were spared, nothing else mattered.

Liu Yao watched with a cold smile. With his status, he had no need to stoop to their level. Turning to Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong, he said, “Hansheng, Zilong, let’s go. We’ll find an inn and rest for the night.”

“Yes, my lord,” they replied, falling in step behind him.

As the three passed by Xu Shu, Liu Yao paused before the stunned man, untied his bonds, and asked, “My friend, would you care to share a drink with us?”

Only then did Xu Shu come to his senses. To be invited to drink by the Crown Prince himself—what an honor! He bowed deeply and replied, “Thank you, Your Highness, for saving my life. If Your Highness is willing, I would be honored to join you!”

Liu Yao nodded and moved on, the others following unhurriedly behind.

As for Shi A and the thousand personal guards, they went off to deal with the remaining trouble, ensuring that this would be a night of bloodshed.