"..."
The old Emperor blinked, trying hard to muster an innocent smile.
This old dog...
Xu Qing gritted his teeth and walked step by step toward the retreating old Emperor with his sword in hand.
Seeing that there was no room for recovery, Emperor Jingxing's face twisted into a snarl: "You simply covet my empire and state. All this talk of revenge and justice is just to fool the world! Just an excuse!"
Xu Qing lifted his long sword and stabbed it directly into the old Emperor's retreating ankle.
"As for your Dayong's empire and state, I wouldn't take them even if they were given to me for free! I've come here just to vent for my cat! Decades ago, you sent Feng Dehai to Yunmeng Mountain to seek an immortal medicine and wanted to use a Nine-Life Profound Cat as the medicinal guide. That cat was mine, and you cost it one life. Today is the day you pay back!"
"But listen carefully, even if I kill you, this old dog, a hundred thousand times today, it won't equal a single hair of my cat!"
Cat? Emperor Jingxing even forgot to cry out in pain; his eyes went blank. To destroy Dayong's Dragon Vein for a cat and want to take my life?
That's the rise and fall of a nation!
"You're going to kill me for a cat?"
Xu Qing bared his teeth, saying, "That's my cat!"
Emperor Jingxing's face changed dramatically. If what the other said was true, that he came back for a cat implicated in his quest for immortal medicine back then, thus destroying Dayong's hundreds-of-years-old state, then his name, Zhao Rong of Emperor Jingxing, would truly become a stinking laughingstock in history books.
From then on, his descendants, generation after generation, would curse his name, and even if enshrined, they would spit on his plaque!
Emperor Jingxing knew he wouldn't live long, and he was already on borrowed time. What he cared about was only his posthumous name.
He would never allow such a thing to happen!
Emperor Jingxing's face contorted, and he spoke frantically, disregarding everything:
"You can't destroy me over a cat. I am a human monarch; how can I suffer such humiliation?"
"If you fancy yourself a virtuous gentleman, you should let me end it myself. That way, history would record it as an eternal story of virtue! But if you kill me for a cat, causing the people of the world to suffer war's hardship, you would also carry a blemished name for eternity!"
Xu Qing grabbed the old Emperor by the collar, slapping his face.
"You old hen hiding in the Grand Hall without nesting but want to crow to make the world think you're a rooster, what, are you that important?"
The old Emperor's face swelled high on one side, and Xu Qing slapped the other cheek to make it symmetrical.
"This slap is for my cat; your imperial dignity means nothing to me, and outside it would also be a historic shame, spat upon by all!"
Smack, Xu Qing stepped on the old Emperor's hand and slapped him again.
"This is for the innocent people of Baiyun Temple whose lives you've taken."
"This slap is for the righteous people under heaven fighting against a tyrant emperor; do you think you're worthy of a knight's duel?"
"I haven't figured out who this slap is for, but just looking at you asks for a beating. Once it's done, historians will document all your sins!"
"Ah— you!"
The old Emperor had taken good care of himself; even at seventy, he had a full set of bright white teeth, now spitting blood. His eyes were swollen, blood-red as he looked at the young man who seemed like a demon in front of him.
"What about you, thinking you have a say here?"
"Pfft—"
This time, just as Xu Qing raised his hand, before he could strike, the respected ruler in front of him widened his eyes, spewed out heart's blood, and literally died from rage on the spot.
———————
This time, just as Xu Qing raised his hand, before he could strike, the respected ruler in front of him widened his eyes, spewed out heart's blood, and literally died from rage on the spot.
This time, just as Xu Qing raised his hand, before he could strike, the respected ruler in front of him widened his eyes, spewed out heart's blood, and literally died from rage on the spot.