I Become a Martial Arts God in the Chaotic Demon World-Chapter 173 Are You So Eager for Me to Die?

Han Zheng stared intently at Li Tianbao, unable to tell if the other party was lying.

And at this point, there was no need for Li Tianbao to lie anymore.

He was well aware of the serious consequences of killing Liao Hongsheng, so he hadn’t gone all out against him.

Han Zheng rubbed his head with furrowed brows.

The person who made a move against Liao Hongsheng was truly vicious, aiming to completely eliminate Liao Hongsheng without leaving any chance for survival.

First, he provoked the hot-tempered Dragon King of Smoke Wave Lake to strike against Liao Hongsheng.

These two meeting would surely fight to the death, neither willing to concede.

But this battle might not be enough to completely finish Liao Hongsheng, as too many variables were involved, so he had also arranged for Li Tianbao of the Red Flag Thieves, who bore a grudge against Liao Hongsheng, to act.

However, Li Tianbao’s strength was too weak; he couldn’t even overcome an injured Liao Hongsheng, and he also didn’t have the guts to kill him.

Thus, that person must have had a secondary or even tertiary plan in place to ensure the death of Liao Hongsheng.

"Did you see that person’s face clearly?"

"No, he was too far away, I could only make out his figure vaguely."

"What about the arrow and the letter he shot at the time?"

"I disposed of them immediately."

There was no more information to gain from Li Tianbao, and Han Zheng proceeded to tear apart the meridians in his body one by one, finally placing a palm strike on his dantian, utterly destroying his martial arts.

Li Tianbao spit out a mouthful of fresh blood, looking at Han Zheng with bloodshot eyes, "Kill me! Just kill me! I’ve already told you everything I know, why won’t you kill me!?"

Having his martial arts destroyed, the days ahead would definitely be worse than death; Li Tianbao wished he could die right then and there.

"Want to die? It’s not that easy.

You are, after all, the notorious Red Flag Thief. We must first put you through a public trial before execution."

The Demon Cleansing Bureau dealt with demons promptly and decisively, with no need to talk about human rights, and would directly kill them.

But for these bandits and felons, capturing them alive was actually more valuable than dead—for a public trial followed by a public execution could deter a large group of people.

Han Zheng waved his hand, ordering people to lock up both Li Tianbao’s hands and feet.

Shortly thereafter, Zhang Yan also returned with his men, his face full of joy, unable not to smile broadly.

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"Sir! We’ve made a huge profit this time!

Excluding a few who resisted fiercely, we’ve captured more than seventy of the Red Flag Thieves!"

Han Zheng said gravely, "Some people should completely empty out the Red Flag Thieves’ stronghold, while the rest are responsible for escorting the thieves.

Anyone who doesn’t behave should have their cultivation destroyed on the spot to prevent them from causing trouble on the way back to Smoke Wave Prefecture."

On the way there, Zhang Yan and his men had only brought a small boat for the sake of speed.

On the way back, Zhang Yan and his team appropriated the Red Flag Thieves’ boats, filling eight large ships with various goods.

Entire ships’ worth of silk brocade, porcelain fur, along with various gold and silver treasures, and more, left Han Zheng somewhat dazed.

He knew that the Red Flag Thieves must have grown rich from plundering merchant ships on Smoke Wave Lake over the years, but he had not expected them to be so wealthy.

Seeing the Red Flag Thieves’ accumulated wealth, Han Zheng felt increasingly that Li Tianbao was nothing but useless, a guard dog without the capacity to protect.

The terrain of Five Elders Mountain was indeed suitable for use as a base.

The normal direction of development for the Red Flag Thieves should have been to expand from Five Elders Mountain as their foundation, but Li Tiansheng was only interested in ruling like a king over his minor domain.

With so many goods and treasures accumulated within the stronghold, some brocades even moldy, Li Tianbao didn’t distribute them to his subordinates; it’s no wonder his men refused to die for him.

When the fleet arrived back at Smoke Wave Prefecture, it was already dawn and even initially caused some misunderstandings.

The Red Flag Thieves were so named because their sails were all red.

Thus, the arrival of eight Red Flag ships at the docks on the east shore of Smoke Wave Lake instantly caused a commotion.

People thought the Red Flag Thieves had the audacity to directly attack Smoke Wave Prefecture.

Someone immediately reported this to the Demon Cleansing Bureau.

Inside the government office of the Demon Cleansing Bureau, Pei Xiuyuan and Zhao Rongye were shocked when they received the news.

Pei Xiuyuan looked down at the reporting Xuanjia Guard and asked gravely, "Are you sure you didn’t see wrong? It’s really the Red Flag Thieves who landed?"

The Xuanjia Guard nodded repeatedly in agreement, "Absolutely no mistake! Eight large ships, all flying the flags of the Red Flag Thieves!"

"I knew it, Han Zheng is good at nothing but causing trouble!"

Pei Xiuyuan scoffed coldly, "Instead of sticking to his duties, he just had to infiltrate Five Elders Mountain as an undercover operative, but now look what’s happened. Not only has he lost his life and those of over thirty brothers, but he’s also completely enraged the Red Flag Thieves so much that they even dare to attack Smoke Wave Prefecture!"

The other Golden Rune Team Leaders, who hadn’t joined Han Zheng in the assault on Five Elders Mountain, were now profoundly relieved.

Thankfully, they hadn’t followed Han Zheng in meddling with those messy affairs.

"Gather our brothers, we’ll confront the Red Flag Thieves! They might swagger about on the waters, but on land, it’s not their turn to strut their stuff!

Since Han Zheng has created this mess and can’t handle it, we will!"

With that, Pei Xiuyuan immediately gathered his men and headed toward the shore of Smoke Wave Lake.

Zhao Rongye sighed and, seemingly with regret, gently shook his head, following after Pei Xiuyuan.

A group of men surged forward with the utmost speed, seething with killing intent as they made directly for those large ships of the Red Flag Thieves.

Pei Xiuyuan watched as the ships were docking, and suddenly bellowed, "How audacious, Red Flag Thieves! It would be one thing if you killed Mr. Han, but to have the gall to land and attack Smoke Wave Prefecture, you’re really asking for it!

As long as I, Pei Xiuyuan, am here, don’t even think about setting foot—— Huh?"

Before Pei Xiuyuan could finish his sentence, he abruptly choked on his words.

Han Zheng, accompanied by Zhang Yan and others, jumped straight off the ship, trailed by a string of Red Flag Thieves bound together like candied hawthorns.

With a smile that was not quite a smile, Han Zheng looked towards Pei Xiuyuan, "Mr. Pei, what’s with all this murderous aura? What are you planning to do?"

Pei Xiuyuan’s face flushed between red and pale.

He truly hadn’t expected Han Zheng to actually annihilate Five Elders Mountain!

He had been part of the assault on Five Elders Mountain when Liao Hongsheng led the entire Demon Cleansing Bureau of Smoke Wave Prefecture. They struggled to cross undercurrents, withstanding attacks from the Siege Crossbow.

Liao Hongsheng was genuinely fierce, charging ahead of his troops and using his powerful Gang Qi to part the waters, forcibly contending with the undercurrents.

He also stood in the front, bearing the brunt of the Siege Crossbow’s assault, the closest they got was near the shore of Five Elders Mountain.

But then Li Tianbao, along with a swarm of Red Flag Thieves, intercepted Liao Hongsheng in the waters.

Liao Hongsheng, having been in the lead the whole time, had exhausted a considerable amount of True Yuan and Qi Blood Power; and with Li Tianbao having the advantage of the terrain, Liao Hongsheng, who was not adept at water combat, eventually repelled the attack after heavy casualties.

That battle was so brutal that they failed to conquer Five Elders Mountain. Who would have thought that Han Zheng, with his wild ideas, would infiltrate Five Elders Mountain and not only capture it but also apprehend Li Tianbao and a host of Red Flag Thieves!

"I thought the Red Flag Thieves were audacious enough to attack the State Mansion, so I came to lend support, not knowing that it was actually Mr. Han returning triumphantly."

Pei Xiuyuan forced a smile.

This was the first time he had referred to himself as a subordinate in front of Han Zheng.

"It seems Mr. Pei doesn’t have much confidence in me.

And you just said that it would be fine if the Red Flag Thieves had killed me, as if the death of the Demon Sweeping Captain tasked with garrisoning Smoke Wave Prefecture is a trivial matter?"

Han Zheng glared at Pei Xiuyuan, his face wearing a smile, but his eyes somewhat icy.

Pei Xiuyuan’s face turned crimson as he murmured softly, "I didn’t mean it like that."

Zhao Rongye interjected from the side, "Mr. Han, Mr. Pei was just anxious and spoke without thinking, he truly didn’t mean it.

Mr. Han is in charge of garrisoning Smoke Wave Prefecture, so it would cause tremors throughout the prefecture if anything happened to him, how could it be a small matter?

It’s just that Smoke Wave Prefecture hasn’t been openly attacked for a long time; his concern is understandable.

Congratulations to Mr. Han on conquering Five Elders Mountain and eradicating the Red Flag Thieves, wiping out these bandits who have plagued us for over a decade. That’s indeed a great accomplishment.

There’s still a lot to deal with after this, let’s not stand around here any longer. Shall we go back and discuss further?"

Zhao Rongye, with his seniority, had always been reasonably respectful to Han Zheng regardless of his inner thoughts.

Seeing him smoothing things over, Han Zheng did not pursue the matter with Pei Xiuyuan but simply waved his hand, "It’s good that you’ve brought men. Take the Red Flag Thieves to the dungeons. Move the seized goods back to the Demon Cleansing Bureau government office, and prepare for commendation and rewards."

Watching Han Zheng finally leading the people away, Pei Xiuyuan breathed a sigh of relief, showing a grateful smile towards Zhao Rongye.

Typically, he found this old fellow somewhat irksome, acting senile for favors.

Yet, in today’s critical moment, Zhao Rongye actually spoke up for him.

Watching Han Zheng’s retreating back, Zhao Rongye patted Pei Xiuyuan’s shoulder, "Mr. Pei, Mr. Han is still our superior after all. Some things still have to look good officially."

With that, Zhao Rongye showed a smile full of deeper meaning as he followed behind Han Zheng and left.