Bone Painting Coroner

Note: This is the second version of the chapter edited by Lunalark.

What? A robbery?

Jing Rong made sure he did not miss a word – it wasn’t even sundown yet, how were there robbers? Did they not hear of who was in the sedans?

Jing Rong was crushed underneath Mo Ruo and Wei Yi, his face turning green at the strong, overpowering scent of alcohol. He frowned as he pushed the two alcoholics aside, causing Mo Ruo and Wei Yi to painfully smack their foreheads together!

As Jing Rong dusted his robes disgustedly, a soft voice was transmitted from outside, “Your Highness, it’s a group of bandits!” No, it was a group of bandits with balls of steel!

Jing Rong pulled back the curtains calmly, checking the situation outside, only to hear Lang Po and several of his guards warning the bandits loudly, “It seems like none of you have a grip on reality. Move aside if you want to live!”

The bandits guffawed amusedly as they swung their knives around, “You should be the ones who have lost your marbles. Quickly hand over all your valuables, and maybe this lord will spare your measly life. If not, we’ll slaughter you all and feed you to the wild dogs!” They erupted in laughs once more.

Lang Po was not as patient as he looked – if a fight could resolve it, why use words? He dismounted immediately, wielding his sword with pure killing intent. The seven guards followed suit.

The two parties stood opposite each other, sizing the other down. There were thirty or forty bandits; ten stood on the official path, another ten on the hills, with the others on either side of the forest, practically surrounding Jing Rong and his men. Far from possessing the advantage, Jing Rong had only seven or eight guards!

Inside the second sedan.

Ji Wanxin peeked outside at the commotion before hurriedly shrinking back inside, petrified by what she saw. She leaned snugly in Ji Yunshu’s embrace, extremely troubled, “Yunshu, will we be alright?”

Ji Yunshu also glanced outside. She held Ji Wanxin’s hands, consoling her, “Don’t worry, it’ll be alright.”

“But there are so many people outside, I’m just afraid that…”

“His Highness’ men aren’t weaklings. You and I should remain in the sedan.”

Ji Wanxin was at a loss of words.

She was not worried about herself, but Jing Rong!

At the front of the group.

Jing Rong had already gotten up and tidied his clothes, leaving the extremely drunk Wei Yi and Mo Ruo to continue arguing over the same topic as before.

Outside, Lang Po finished scanning the group of bandits before he addressed their leader directly, “Shanhuai County is not far off – you bandits sure have guts!”

Those bandits laughed again on hearing the words ‘Shanhuai County’. They scoffed, “Shanhuai County? That county magistrate still has to give our leader face and respect – he has even called our leader ‘daddy’. That magistrate wouldn’t dare to touch this turf, he can’t!”

“Are there still any rules?”

“Rules? Our Gaoshan Gang’s rules are the law.” That leader bandit was an annoying hooligan – he acted like he owned the place as he swung the large knife in his hand, first pointing at Lang Po, then at their sedans and continued, “Come on, get everyone inside to come out. Hand over your valuables quietly and we’ll let you go on your way.”

Lang Po ignored him, instead heading to Jing Rong’s sedan. The lightly rapped on the window before asking in hushed tones, “How should we proceed, Your Highness?”

Jing Rong commanded, “Catch those that we can and send them to the Shanhuai County prison. Leave those who escaped.”

“And if there is a scuffle?”

Jing Rong opened his curtains after a long while. He stared intently at the scene in front of him before ordering coldly, “Kill them!”

Lang Po bowed, “Understood!”

Jing Rong’s curtains fell.

The harsh sounds of battle quickly traveled to the ears of those inside the carriages, narrating the chaos outside.

The sedan’s interior was completely different – Jing Rong was seated in an upright position, Mo Ruo and Wei Yi at either side, their argument still ongoing. They were completely oblivious to the ongoing fight outside!

Wei Yi’s cheeks were very flushed. He leaned weakly against a board as he waved with difficulty, “I’m not playing with you anymore – it’s not fun at all!”

Mo Ruo’s lips curved into a devious smile, “You can never win against me.” Winning this war of words made him as smug as if he held the whole world in his hands!

He closed his eyes, cupping his ears, and began his nap!

On the other hand, Wei Yi huffily exited the sedan too quickly for even Jing Rong to catch him, still fuming from his loss. When he took notice of his surrounding, it scared him witless.

Unfortunately for him, Wei Yi’s legs turned to jelly as he viewed the bloody scene of bodies spread across the ground; the two parties still involved in a mini-war. Before he could register what was happening, he was suddenly held in a chokehold, a shiny knife pressed against his throat.

“Drop your weapons!” The bandit shouted.

Lang Po quickly had his men withdraw their swords.

Wei Yi was dragged back step by step at knifepoint. That bandit himself was in no better shape – his group of thirty had been reduced to ten by Lang Po’s men in the struggle! Of course, he was angry!

Wei Yi tensed up, eyes widening in fear, afraid to even breathe out. He stammered, “Brother, please, I’ve made a mistake. Please don’t kill me, I know I’m wrong! Really, please, I’m not going to be angry anymore, I’m not going to be angry at Brother Jing Rong or Brother Mo Ruo anymore. Please don’t kill me, I’m afraid of pain!”

“Shut up!” The bandit bellowed.

“Mother told me this before. Knives cannot be used for slitting throats – heads will fall! I once saw a man do something wrong and was killed in front of so many people. His head was chopped off. Please, Brother, don’t kill me. Father said that only those who commit crimes will be beheaded, but I didn’t do anything wrong, so why do you want to kill me?” He was practically sobbing!

The bandit was filled with fear and panic; he had just lost his comrades and still had to face Lang Po and his men, a feat that had already proved itself beyond him. The more his hostage spoke with such a panicked tone, the more the bandit’s emotions were similarly affected.

Lang Po was afraid that he would harm Wei Yi, causing him and his men to remain passive, “If you let him go, I’ll also let the rest of you leave.”

The bandit screamed, “My brothers have all been killed by you, are you really asking us to just leave like this? Hand over all your money, otherwise, I’ll kill him!” His knife slipped slightly as he spoke, creating a small open wound on Wei Yi’s neck.

“Stop right there!” Ji Yunshu stepped down from the sedan, over the corpses, and headed straight for Wei Yi.

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