Chapter 37: Becoming Alliance Leader, Stabilizing the Situation

Chapter 37: Becoming the Alliance Leader, Stabilizing the Situation

If Ming Hanche hadn't said that one thing, many among the crowd—aside from the Ming family guards—would have originally intended to follow him.

He'd built up that kind of authority over the years—even a paper tiger could find blind believers willing to trust him.

But to lose his nerve and beg for peace when the arrow was still that far off didn't fit the image of a true hero that martial artists expected.

"Old Master Ming, we've been sick of those dog officials for ages. Why don't we just capture this General of the Western Expedition alive and see how long he can stay arrogant!"

"Exactly, Old Master Ming, why waste our time dealing with these government lackeys? We've got thousands of brothers here, and we're in the mountains—even if we can't win, we can still get away."

But at that moment, Ming Hanche was genuinely panicking.

He sat up high, his advisor standing below him. Even if he wanted to run, he'd have to get past the hundred-stone bow in Xie Jingxing's hands first.

He still had big plans—his granddaughter Ming Qianliu was about to become the Crown Princess... Once the emperor kicked the bucket and the crown prince took the throne, he could puppet the crown prince and become the all-powerful regent!

No way—he couldn't die like this.

"General Xie, as long as you spare my life, I swear I'll keep my mouth shut—"

Before Ming Hanche could even finish his sentence, Xie Jingxing had already let the arrow fly.

The hundred-stone bow—the legendary move that had made General Xie famous out on the frontier when he was just fifteen!

A few martial artists in the know were already shouting in shock: "The hundred-stone bow! The hundred-stone bow! I never thought I'd actually get to see General Xie use this bow in person!"

"So he doesn't use it much?"

"Duh—a commander doesn't make a move often, but when he does, it's a one-shot kill."

Ning Xishi was in the crowd too. Honestly, even though he'd been expecting something, he nearly jumped when he looked up and saw those soldiers appear out of nowhere.

And these martial artists around him had no idea what was coming.

As the people around him talked about Xie Jingxing's past deeds, Ning Xishi looked up at the young man on horseback on the far mountain, bow already drawn.

The wind howled, the young man's back was ramrod straight, and a specially made silver-white arrow left the string at insane speed, seeming to get even faster as it flew. Ning Xishi could barely track the arrow with his eyes.

"Whoosh—"

Right before Ning Xishi's eyes, the arrow shot straight in and buried itself in Ming Hanche's forehead. It still had enough force to knock his old body backward and pin him straight into the cliff wall.

"Old Master Ming's dead..."

"Help! The government's gonna wipe us all out!"

There was precedent for this—when the last Martial Arts Alliance Leader tried to make himself king, the court wiped him and all his people out in one go.

Not a single one survived.

The whole tournament grounds turned into complete chaos. All the martial artists grabbed their weapons—some genuinely loyal to the Ming family and ready to fight Xie Jingxing to the death, others just scared and thinking a weapon might keep them safe.

"Someone's gotta go explain things to the general!"

"Yeah, now that Old Master Ming's dead, we can't just have no leader. What if they're planning to slaughter us all?"

"What about Old Master Chen? He's well-respected too..."

Before the guy could even finish, Old Master Chen—who'd been sitting there watching the matches—was already being hustled into a tent by his men, clearly not wanting any part of this.

With General Xie's hundred-stone bow reputation hanging over them, whoever spoke up first would probably be the first to die—basically suicide.

Seeing Old Master Chen and Gang Leader Qi both go into hiding, with only that young Beggar Gang chief still up on the stage watching, everyone immediately swarmed toward Ning Xishi.

Guardian Ye and the elders formed a defensive circle around the arena. Seeing so many people coming at them, she immediately drew her sword.

"Back off, or I won't be nice about it."

The crowd raised their hands and quickly dropped their weapons, showing they didn't mean any harm.

"Beggar Gang Chief, Alliance Leader—you're our leader now. Please go talk to the general... We're begging you!"

"Alliance Leader, please!"

"Alliance Leader, that old bastard Ming Hanche tricked us all into coming here—we had no intention of rebelling at all!"

Ning Xishi stayed quiet for now, because he saw Xie Jingxing drawing his bow again.

The martial artists around him nearly lost it at the sight: "General Xie's not gonna accept our surrender—he's dead set on killing us all right here?"

"This is so unfair! I've got an eighty-year-old mother at home..."

"I never should've listened to Old Master Ming and come to this damn thing."

"Crying? What good's that gonna do a grown man? Better to grab your weapon and fight!"

"They're all up there—how the hell are you supposed to get up? Fly?"

"Exactly. There's not a single tree here, no cover at all. Once those arrows start raining down, we're all dead!"

Ning Xishi looked down—a lot of them had already thrown down their weapons and were on their knees begging for mercy.

It was mostly because Ming Hanche had picked this spot well. If it'd been an open plain or anywhere they could actually fight, these martial artists wouldn't have caved so easily.

But Xie Jingxing still hadn't said a word. As long as he stayed quiet, none of his soldiers dared make a sound, and that silence just made the martial artists fall apart, begging for their lives.

Guardian Ye's heart clenched when she saw Xie Jingxing draw his bow again. On this field now, besides Ming Hanche already pinned to the cliff, their chief was the highest-ranking person there.

If Xie Jingxing kept making examples of people, their chief would be in serious danger.

Just as Guardian Ye was about to leap onto the platform to shield Ning Xishi, she saw Xie Jingxing's second arrow already flying—

Everyone held their breath, wondering who'd be next to die.

Ming Hanche's advisor thought the same thing as Guardian Ye—that Ning Xishi was next—until that flash of cold light got closer and he realized the arrowhead was aimed straight at him!

In that instant, everything clicked for the advisor—

Why the soldiers had shown up so perfectly on time, how they knew the martial arts gathering was here, and why they'd killed their master without saying a word.

It was because they knew who Ning Xishi really was!

Xie Jingxing had come to wipe out every threat for the sake of his male wife!

Poor him and his master—they'd thought the two were at odds, that the great general, being so righteous and all, couldn't stand having a martial artist as a husband. They'd always figured the two of them hated each other.

The advisor's heart went ice cold. Only he and his master had known Ning Xishi's identity—now that they were dead, the only one left was Old Fourth Ming locked up in the Ming family dungeon...

The advisor's mouth fell open, just about to shout out that the Beggar Clan Chief was General Xie's husband, when the arrow made of special material arrived.

Another person died silently.

Leaving only eyes that would never close and a mouth wide open, ready to speak.

Before the crowd could erupt in shock, Xie Jingxing lowered his bow and reined in his horse: "Who is your alliance leader?"

In an instant, almost everyone turned to look at Ning Xishi, still standing on the stage.

Ning Xishi: "..."

Thanks. Please don't.

A hint of obvious amusement flickered in Xie Jingxing's eyes: "Oh, tell him to come up and speak."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Ning Xishi watched as the soldiers lowered the ropes. With just a slight use of force, he climbed up lightly like a beautiful white dove.

"The alliance leader's martial arts skill is truly impressive."

"That's incredible. The alliance leader looks very young—how did he develop such formidable skills?"

"And the alliance leader is both brave and resourceful, entering the enemy camp alone!"

Guardian Ye finally caught on as well. She had been somewhat worried that General Xie would not consider their past relationship and would only seek to eliminate the martial arts world. Unexpectedly, General Xie fired two arrows and killed both men who threatened their Gang Leader—this was nothing short of true devotion.

So, this was hardly the "entering the enemy camp alone" that the martial artists imagined—it was simply a private rendezvous between the two.

The Left Protector was still on edge, startled by this: "Lady Ye, aren't you worried?"

Guardian Ye: "I am worried—which of your eyes saw me not worrying?"

The Left Protector thought to himself that both eyes saw it, but he didn't dare provoke Guardian Ye, so he kept his mouth shut.

Meanwhile, Ning Xishi went up and faced Xie Jingxing directly, with Qiu Changyu beside him, sizing him up continuously.

"Military advisor, you may go down first."

Qiu Changyu instinctively responded and took two steps back before suddenly realizing—wait, isn't this supposed to be negotiating terms with the new Martial Arts Alliance Leader? Why is he being sent away so soon???

He had a whole list of conditions prepared.

"Qiu Changyu?"

Damn, he called him by his full name. Qiu Changyu had no idea what the general was up to, so he had no choice but to leave.

Only after confirming there was no one nearby who could eavesdrop did Xie Jingxing approach Ning Xishi and say, "As promised, I've succeeded."

Ning Xishi: "I don't know how to thank you, General Xie."

"You've helped me greatly, Alliance Leader. If you hadn't lured the enemy alone and kept Ming Hanche in check, I wouldn't have been able to intimidate him so easily or take his life." Xie Jingxing was in a good mood, and it was rare to see Ning Xishi show a bit of youthful spirit. He couldn't help but look at him a few more times. "If it weren't for you, Alliance Leader, with Ming Hanche stationed in Ningzhou Prefecture, I'm afraid I would have returned empty-handed."

Ming Hanche had a good hand but insisted on rebelling, so he deserved his fate.

"After this, I will lead troops to purge Ming's guards. I've also sent people to keep an eye on that Old Fourth Ming you mentioned."

This Old Fourth Ming was actually someone Senior Brother Xiao Shaoqing planned to eliminate, but Xie Jingxing insisted on handling this matter himself—he would protect his own people.

Ning Xishi nodded: "Many people below recognize me as their alliance leader. With the entire martial arts world without a leader, I'll temporarily act as alliance leader to stabilize them."

"Then you've done me a great favor, Alliance Leader," Xie Jingxing said.

"This place isn't far from Shaozhou, where I grew up. I love this land and don't want everyone killing each other over power." From this vantage point, Ning Xishi looked down and saw everyone as small as ants. He wondered how Xie Jingxing had managed to shoot through their heads with such precision.

This was the first time Xie Jingxing had seen the young man so serious. He always had a carefree attitude and had never been this serious.

For some reason, his heart began to race. He wanted to pull the young man into his arms right there and kiss his slightly thin lips.

The mountain wind blew the young man's hair toward him, and Xie Jingxing couldn't help but think back to that day in the theater, when the young man grabbed him, their positions instantly reversed, his back pressing hard against the bed, with only the young man's hair cascading before his eyes.

If only those people had searched a little longer that day.

==========Author's Note:==========

Good night.