Alex locked eyes with the head soldier and felt it clearly-the man wanted him dead.
Not as a threat. Not as intimidation. Real killing intent.
Alex hadn''t felt that sensation in a long time.
The fear of death.
In the past few days, he had brushed against death again and again.
Each close call dragged him back to an older memory-back to when he was young, powerless, hunted, when people tried to kill him as casually as swatting a fly. Those were things he had long forgotten, buried the moment he became king.
"Everyone!" a voice suddenly roared through the square. "Magistrate Bai Xi wants to kill City Lord Bai Xiaochun so he can steal the City Lord''s position permanently!"
The shout was loud enough to tear through the chaos.
People who had fled earlier but hadn''t gone far froze. Heads turned. Bodies leaned out from alleys and behind stalls.
One by one, citizens gathered at the edge of the square, watching from what they thought was a safe distance.
At the entrance, the head soldier had already swung his sword toward Alex.
The de stopped halfway through the air.
"The corrupt judge wants to seize power!" another voice cried.
"Where is the justice?!"
The head soldier stiffened. He nced around and realized dozens—then hundreds —of eyes were fixed on him. Unease crept into his expression. He turned toward Bai Xi, waiting for orders.
Bai Xi''s heart pounded.
He had waited half a year for Bai Xiaochun to die. He had schemed, manipted, set traps-each one failing at thest moment. This time, he couldn''t afford hesitation.
If Bai Xiaochun died now, the problem would disappear forever.
A dead man couldn''t use him.
A dead man couldn''t reim anything.
Bai Xi''s lips tightened. He gave a subtle nod.
The head soldier''s hesitation vanished. He swung his sword down at Alex with brutal speed.
Then-
ng!
Something struck the de.
The sword jerked violently off course and flew from the soldier''s hand, spinning through the air before crashing to the ground.
Silence mmed into the square.
A single copper coin bounced once, twice, then rolled to a stop on the stone floor.
"Who dares!" the head soldier shouted.
A woman in flowing blue robes stepped forward. Her posture was calm, her gaze icy as it swept over the head soldier and then settled on Bai Xi.
Bai Xi''s face changed instantly. He rushed forward and bowed deeply. "Pure Snow Sword Maiden, immortal Li Qingxue of the Wudang Sect."
The moment the name left his mouth, the entire square reacted.
Citizens dropped to their knees in unison, heads lowered, bodies trembling.
Among the people of Xia, there were two kinds of figures they feared. First were the officials who served directly under the king-men who controlledw, punishment, and life itself.
Second were martial artists, warriors of the wuxia world, who could kill ordinary people as easily as breathing.
But both of those groups feared a third.
Cultivators.
Those who had shattered the mortal realm and stepped onto the path of immortality.
Anyone who could live beyond a hundred years had already crossed that threshold. Tomon people, cultivators were no longer human they are immortals.
And Li Qingxue was no ordinary cultivator.
She was one of the Ten Most Beautiful immortals in all of Xia-famous not just for her beauty, but for the cold sword in her hand and the blood she had spilled.
Before anyone could spe the woman in yellow robes stepped forward, her voice sharp and mocking.
"You fat pig," she snapped at the Bai Xi. "We were standing right here. We clearly saw you trying to kill this man simply because he gave his money to the poor."
Bai Xi''s heart sank.
He had no idea these two immortal maidens were present.
He hurriedly bowed again. "Wind-Piercing Sword Fairy, immortal Sun Muran. This young man was not distributing his own money. We were only trying to arrest him.”
"Not his money?" Sun Muran echoed, tilting her head slightly. "Then whose money was he giving out? Yours?"
"N-no, Young Miss Sun," Bai Xi said quickly, bowing once more. "He was distributing the City Lord''s funds."
Sun Muran''s eyes narrowed into thin slits. "Then tell me who is the City Lord? Him? Or you?"
Bai Xi swallowed and bowed again, sweat forming at his temples. "Young Miss Sun, the previous City Lord was my elder brother. Before his death, he named Bai Xiaochun as his heir."
“However, Bai Xiaochun proved ipetent and caused repeated harm to the citizens. Because of this, the people raised me as Acting City Lord-until the central authorities grant formal approval."
"Honorable Miss Sun Muran,” Zhuge Liang said, stepping forward and bowing deeply.
"The citizens of Qingshui City never
5 of
asked Bai Xi to be Acting City Lord. He appointed himself. We, the people of Qingshui, recognize on the rightful City Lord-chosen by inheritance and confirmed by the king. By thatw, Young Master Bai Xiaochun is our City Lord?"
"Yes!" someone shouted.
Then another.
Soon, more than thirty voices rose together in agreement.
Everyone here knew the truth.
Bai Xiaochun was no saint. He was crude, arrogant, and shameless a small-time tyrant with too much power and too little discipline. Butpared to Bai Xi, he was a lesser evil.
Bai Xi was rotten to the bone.
In public, he smiled and spoke of order and prosperity. In the shadows, he drained
the city dry.
If Bai Xiaochun assaulted a woman and walked away, it was already unforgivable—
but Bai Xi took women and made them disappear.
No one ever saw them again. No one dared to ask. Anyone who did vanished as
well.
So the people chose survival.
They would rather have Bai Xiaochun as City Lord. They would rather have a dog
on the throne-anything, as long as it wasn''t Bai Xi.
"Immortal Sun. Immortal Li." Zhuge Liang bowed again, even deeper this time.
"We beg you to grant justice to the tens of thousands of citizens of Qingshui City. We ask only to follow the imperial edict Let Bai Xiaochun assume his rightful position as City Lord Stop Bai Xi from illegally raising himself as Acting City Lord."
Bai Xi snapped.
"You ingrates!" roared. did all this for your own good! Open your eyes-can
you not see what kind of useless trash Bai Xiaochun is?"
"He can barely read. He knows nothing of governance. If the city falls into his hands,
all of you will suffer. The city will rot and move backward. I am the one protecting your future!"
The crowd trembled.
Many wanted to scream that Bai Xi was a demon wearing human skin. That he
sucked the poor dry and crushed anyone who resisted him. But their mouths stayed
shut.
Because in Qingshui City, Bai Xi was thew.
And thew could kill.
"It is human nature to follow the will of Heaven," Zhuge Liang said clearly, his voice steady and unshaken. "And by Heaven''s will, Bai Xiaochun is the City Lord. Chosen by Heaven itself."
He lifted his head, eyes firm.
"We are ordinary citizens. We worship Heaven, and we follow Heaven''s will. We do
not follow human greed."
He bowed deeply.
“Immortal Sun. Immortal Li. Please grant us justice so we may obey Heaven''s will. If
we abandon it and follow human ambition instead, Heaven will answer with disaster."
Alex watched quietly.
He had already sensed it-the people of Xia believed Heaven was the source of all creation. To them, the natural order mattered above all else.
Cultivators sought immortality by aligning themselves with that order. Anyone who defied Heaven''s will did not walk the immortal path—they walked the demonic one. Sun Muran, dressed in yellow robes, turned her gaze to Bai Xi.
"I order you to return the City Lord''s position to Bai Xiaochun," she said. "In ordance with Heaven''s will."
"But-Young Miss Sun-" Bai Xi tried to speak.
Sun Muran''s eyes flicked toward him.
Bai Xi''s body jerked violently. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of
blood, stumbling backward.
"Please forgive me, Young Miss Sun," Bai Xi said hastily, panic flooding his face. "I
will return the City Lord''s seal at once."
He straightened his robes and walked toward Alex, forcing a weak, fatherly smile. In
his hand was the ck gold seal engraved with the words Qingshui City.
"Xiaochun he said gently, lifting the seal as if it were a gift. "I am your
uncles the only family you have left.
The only one who truly loves you Everything I have done was for your own good."
Alex said nothing. He simply looked at him.
Bai Xi stepped closer, close enough that it almost looked like he was about to embrace him. His voice dropped into a poisonous whisper meant for Alex alone.
"Don''t you dare take the City Lord''s seat," he hissed. “Or I will kill you. Never forget who you really are, you bastard."
He truly believed it, as he always had that the timid Bai Xiaochun would return, bow his head, and step back into the shadows where he belonged.