173: This hatred will never end

Madam Jin was quite satisfied with the environment of the Bamboo Lake Pavilion.

She chirped like a girl, arranging for the maids to decorate the pavilion.

Finally, she tugged at Chu Qing's hand and shook it, saying, "Qing'er, tell them to build a few more bamboo pavilions nearby!"

"Make a Library, a study, a place for tea, a place for wine, and a..."

Madam Jin chirped on and on, non-stop.

These things were useless to the rebels.

But Chu Qing still nodded, committing each to memory.

Then, he called Zhao Wuji and Zhao Hongxiu over.

"Curator, arrange for people to immediately build bamboo pavilions."

"These bamboo pavilions must be exquisite!"

Zhao Wuji quickly cupped his fists and said, "Master Qing, just call me Little Zhao!"

Chu Qing was silent.

He felt that Zhao Wuji was half a father-in-law; calling him Little Zhao might be a bit too much.

Pfft!

Zhao Hongxiu, standing nearby, laughed and said, "Father, whatever Qing Ge wants to call you, just let him call you that."

"You must not refuse."

Zhao Wuji immediately nodded and said, "Understood!"

Chu Qing then said to Zhao Hongxiu, "Select some Female Martial Warriors to protect Madam Jin."

"Do not let anyone harm her."

Zhao Hongxiu nodded and said, "Qing Ge, don't worry, I will not leave her side; I will not allow anyone to harm Madam Jin."

Chu Qing nodded.

Soon:

Bamboo Lake became lively, with bamboo pavilions rising at a visible speed.

Under Chu Qing's will:

These bamboo pavilions were not only beautifully constructed but also extremely sturdy.

Madam Jin was very satisfied, only wanting Chu Qing to give her a few more massages to resolve her inner turmoil.

Chu Qing smiled and said, "I'm going out tonight; when I return tomorrow, I'll help you resolve your inner turmoil!"

Madam Jin nodded.

As night fell:

Chu Qing told Cui Moyang and the others, "I'm going to participate in the Prefecture City exchange competition!"

Cui Moyang and the others looked strange and said, "Zheng Xilong's vanguard has already arrived; his main army is expected to arrive tomorrow morning."

"If you leave, what will we do?"

"We don't have the confidence or the ability to withstand Zheng Zhixiang."

Zheng Zhixiang was too brutal, too fierce.

Even though they were Young Masters of a Prominent Family, they feared him.

Chu Qing smiled and said, "It's fine, the Martial Arts Academy Dean can stop Zheng Zhixiang."

At these words, Cui Moyang and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, a strong curiosity arose:

"Qing Ge, how did you trick the Dean into coming over?"

Chu Qing smiled but said nothing.

Ximen, standing nearby, suddenly said, "Qing Ge, I want to go to Prefecture City with you!"

Chu Qing wondered, "Why?"

Ximen excitedly said, "Qing Ge, you crippled Ximen Feng!"

"The Family wants me to curry favor with you, and then find a way to scheme against you!"

"But I don't want to, and I don't dare to do that."

"I want to use this exchange competition to go back and mock them."

Chu Qing... was speechless.

Cui Moyang, Nangong, and the others were equally speechless.

Instead, Ximen was smug, as if he was the one who had crippled Ximen Feng.

"Alright!"

Chu Qing didn't care.

After agreeing to Ximen, he found Madam Shi as his backing, and then they set off together.

Under the night sky:

Passing by a small rebel camp, Chu Qing casually took some weapons and sighed,

"Ordinary people are truly not very effective against Martial Artists."

Madam Shi said coldly, "Ordinary people forming a military formation can still kill experts."

"In short, don't underestimate anyone."

Chu Qing nodded, unconsciously quickening his pace.

Madam Shi, with her arms spread, stood behind him, like a graceful butterfly, swept by the wind behind him, floating and following closely.

Ximen, nearby, slowly started to sweat on his forehead.

But, relying on his 365 Golden Tendons, he gritted his teeth and persevered.

The group of three finally arrived at Prefecture City at dawn.

At the same time:

Zheng Zhixiang's army also arrived at Shiji County in a mighty procession.

When Zheng Zhixiang saw the empty Shiji County, he was so angry he almost spat blood.

Good heavens, three days!

In just three days, the vast Shiji County, except for the county magistrate cowering in the yamen and a few prominent families, everyone else had vanished.

Slaughter the city to vent anger?

Not a single chicken or duck could be seen, slaughter what?

No, not even a single hair could be slaughtered.

Zheng Zhixiang's face was gloomy.

He summoned the prominent families and Fortress Lord Wus, sternly saying, "So many people ran away, and you didn't do anything?"

The Fortress Lord Wus said aggrievedly,

"General, we thought at the time that they were just Mud Leg, and there was no need to worry."

"Later, too many Mud Leg ran away; but at the time, we didn't know how to stop them."

"Finally, everyone was gone; when we thought we should do something, we found it was no longer necessary."

"So... this is the situation now."

At this moment, Zheng Zhixiang was silent.

He was a broad-minded person, rarely getting angry.

But at this moment, he was so infuriated by Fort Lord Lan and the others that his whole body trembled.

After a long while, Zheng Zhixiang roared in a low voice, saying,

"Prepare food!"

"Then... go to the Quarry and eliminate Chu Qing."

"Yes, sir!"

A group of generals hung their heads in dejection.

They had just learned about the situation at the Quarry:

Inside the Quarry, there was only one path, about thirty to fifty meters long.

At this time:

That path was already blocked by piles of rubble.

The casualties required to break through would be greater than those from assaulting the Prefecture City walls.

Moreover:

Because there was no one in Shiji County, they couldn't even find targets to plunder.

After eating and drinking their fill, many more small rebel squads arrived.

They regrouped and formed ranks.

During this time:

Zheng Zhixiang heard that a strange incident had occurred during the night in a team that had arrived yesterday:

Last night, it seemed an expert had infiltrated the camp and taken some weapons.

However, because not many weapons were lost, they didn't take it seriously.

Nevertheless:

Zheng Zhixiang's face turned ugly; "Chu Qing has a few Young Masters of a Prominent Family under him."

"Those Young Masters of a Prominent Family are powerful; my experts are no match for them at all."

"It seems that to eliminate Chu Qing, I will have to act personally."

Zheng Zhixiang closed his eyes in contemplation, and after a long while, he muttered to himself, "Later, when I see Chu Qing, I'll kill him directly."

"Once he's dead, everything will end."

Zheng Zhixiang was not afraid of offending Madam Shi.

At worst, after killing Chu Qing, he would hide somewhere for a few days.

Once Madam Shi's anger subsided, he would be fine.

He deployed three thousand elite rebel soldiers, who swarmed to the entrance of the Quarry.

What surprised him was:

Chu Qing did not appear.

Instead, Cui Moyang and the others appeared, escorting an old man.

When Zheng Zhixiang saw the old man, he felt a slight unease in his heart.

He roared, saying, "Where is Chu Qing?"

Cui Moyang and the others remained silent.

Zheng Zhixiang's unease grew stronger.

He roared, "Where is Chu Qing?"

The old man suddenly smiled and said, "Chu Qing went to Prefecture City last night."

"He's going to participate in the Prefecture City Open Competition!"

"And while he's there, he'll kill an unlucky fellow named Zheng Xilong."

Boom!

Zheng Zhixiang's head buzzed, and his eyes went black.

Good heavens:

I wanted to launch a surprise attack on the front lines and forcibly kill you.

I didn't expect you to quietly run off to Prefecture City to kill my younger brother?

How cruel you are!

Zheng Zhixiang immediately wanted to go to Prefecture City.

But he also knew that it was already too late.

By this time, the Open Competition would have already ended.

If Chu Qing wanted to kill Zheng Xilong, they were probably already fighting.

"I wonder if Xilong can withstand that fierce and terrifying Chu Qing!"

At this moment:

Zheng Zhixiang gritted his teeth, unable to help but roar,

"Chu Qing, I hate you!"

At this moment:

His hatred was endless—without end!