Chapter 138 That’s It?

Chapter 138: Is That All?

The entire training ground suddenly fell into a deadly silence.

Even the imperial physician, about to treat Xie Mingyuan, froze mid-motion.

Zhou Mingqi's face was terrifyingly dark, and everyone felt a bone-chilling murderous intent pouring out.

The Imperial Guards around them gripped their sword hilts, glaring at the Northern Di with fierce hostility.

"What did you just say?" Cheng Ge slowly rose, his voice barely a whisper. "Say it again."

Batur, exhilarated by Alutai's words, shoved Xie Mingyuan's head down against the table.

His hand pressed harder, baring a mouthful of yellow teeth as he leaned close to Cheng Ge's face, slowly repeating Alutai's words.

"Cui Ji!—Died at the hands of the Northern Di warriors!"

Zhou Mingqi's face hardened, and he signaled the Imperial Guards to arrest the Northern Di.

Cheng Ge lowered his head and let out a cold laugh, tonguing the inside of his cheek. Then he shoved Xie Mingyuan to the ground.

His eyes turned icy in an instant.

Those eyes, always holding a hint of a smile, now were as cold as a frost-forged blade.

A flash of white light cut through the air.

Batur's voice cut off abruptly. He looked down in disbelief, seeing half a hairpin buried in his throat.

The end of the hairpin still quivered, glinting coldly in the sunlight.

A faint smile played on Cheng Ge's lips, but the force in his hand suddenly intensified.

At first the blood congealed for a moment, then slowly seeped out.

The crimson blood trickled down Batur's bronze neck, rapidly pooling in the hollow of his collarbone.

Cheng Ge's hand was steady, not a single drop on his fingertips. Only the dark embroidery on his cuffs was faintly visible in the sunlight.

"Y-you..." Batur opened his mouth in disbelief, his throat moving as a few bloody bubbles popped.

His pupils contracted violently, as if he finally realized what was happening.

Expressionless, Cheng Ge pulled out the hairpin.

He did it excruciatingly slowly, savoring the subtle friction as the sandalwood separated from flesh and blood.

The moment it came free, a spurt of blood shot out, splattering onto Yang Guanlan's face.

Batur's heavy body crashed to the ground, stirring up a fine cloud of dust.

His eyes were still open, his hands clutching his throat, frozen in shock and confusion.

Blood quickly pooled beneath him, slowly spreading outward at the edges.

Dead silence fell over the whole scene.

Alutai's smile froze on his face, his wine cup hanging in midair.

The laughter of the Northern Di delegation died in their throats, like chickens being strangled, leaving only short gasps.

Cheng Ge calmly took out a handkerchief and meticulously wiped the sandalwood hairpin.

His movements were elegant and composed, as if he had just brushed a speck of dust from his sleeve.

Even if the Cui family had no descendants left, the keepsake left by Prince Zhenbei can still take the lives of you Northern Di dogs.

Sunlight filtered through his eyelashes, casting a fine shadow under his eyes.

When his gaze swept over every Northern Di present, they involuntarily stepped back half a step.

That look, for a moment, reminded them of the most ferocious wolf king on the grasslands.

Cheng Ge casually tucked the hairpin back into his hair, vaulted over the table, and landed heavily on Batur's head with his foot.

Slowly lifting his eyes to look at Alutai, he abruptly kicked Batur off the side of the platform, stirring up a cloud of dust.

"—Snakes and vermin—barking at me like that—"

The air seemed to thicken as the smell of blood hung in the air.

The gilded wine cup in Alutai's hand clattered to the ground, the amber liquid snaking like a river across the bluestone, reflecting his twisted face.

His pupils contracted sharply as he stared at the still-twitching body on the ground.

That was a Northern Di warrior—Batur—who had once torn a grizzly bear apart with his bare hands!

"Y-you..." Alutai's throat moved with difficulty, his voice forced out as if from the depths of hell.

Cheng Ge calmly adjusted his sleeves and stepped over Batur's body.

His black boots trod through the pool of blood, making a soft squelching sound, piercingly loud in the dead-silent training ground.

"Prince Alutai." Cheng Ge's voice was very soft, yet every word was heard clearly by everyone present. "I heard that Northern Di warriors can wrestle wolves with their bare hands?"

He suddenly lifted his foot and kicked Batur's body over.

The burly frame rolled twice like a sack of rags, finally stopping three feet in front of Alutai's seat.

"Is that it?"

Those two words were like a slap across the faces of all the Northern Di.

Alutai's face went from green to white, then white to red, finally turning the color of liver.

Yang Guanlan picked up a cup of hot tea with both hands, trying to steady himself, but his hands were shaking so badly he couldn't get the cup to his lips.

The colleague beside him turned his head mechanically to look at Yang Guanlan, his voice trembling: "Lord Yang... am I seeing things? Since when did that Cheng Ge..."

Another colleague's mouth was hanging open wide enough to fit an egg: "He... he used a hairpin just now?"

"If I remember correctly, Lord Cheng is a civil official, isn't he?"

Yang Guanlan wiped the blood off his face and let out a stiff, dry laugh.

"Just... routine procedure, nothing more. Don't... don't be alarmed, my lords. It's a minor incident... just a minor incident..."

On the civil officials' seats, several white-bearded old ministers were so frightened that their beards trembled, and they quickly shifted nervously in their seats.

Not to mention the civil officials' shock—even the military officers were no exception, all wore completely bewildered expressions and stared at one another in shock.

They had naturally heard of Cheng Ge's name, but only because of his death-defying protest at the Meridian Gate some days ago.

According to eyewitness accounts, Cheng Xiezhi single-handedly berated the entire court, his words were sharp as swords and spears, honed to a fiery edge, every single one a gem.

By using his own blood as a catalyst, he won Heaven's favor and rang the alarm bell, and truly earned his place as a paragon of remonstrating officials.

But!!! Those damned civil officials never mentioned that this Cheng Xiezhi also possessed peerless martial arts—a deadly technique that silences throats at the first drop of blood, an instant kill...

So this guy also has to set an example for military officers?

Tsk, this really puts them in a tough spot—makes them look like total losers, you know?

How can they hold their heads up? Can they still take their paychecks with a straight face?

But speaking of which—

Lord Cheng's appearance is truly like a jade tree in the breeze, a face as smooth as jade, with the bearing of a dragon and the elegance of a phoenix—a true rarity among men...

Absolutely stunning—

"Hey, has Lord Cheng gotten married or not?"