“General Bu, please stop.”

Bu Liu suddenly turned his head. Seeing an elegant young nobleman, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

Xie Zhifei walked before him and cupped his fists.

“Five Cities Military Commission Commander Xie Zhifei. Please stop the caning immediately.”

Bu Liu looked at him expressionlessly, as if he hadn’t heard a word.

Xie Zhifei’s voice hardened: “May I ask which law and regulation of Great Hua he violated that General Bu would exercise private punishment and cane him to death?”

Bu Liu finally spoke in a deep voice: “Does Master Xie want to interfere in this?”

Xie Zhifei’s gaze met his: “I must interfere, because it’s my duty.”

A strange gleam flashed in Bu Liu’s eyes. He raised his hand in a slight gesture, and the caning immediately stopped.

The male attendant called Shaotang, seeing a glimmer of hope, struggled to raise his head and shouted loudly at Xie Zhifei:

“Master Xie, save me! Young Master Xu came to find me of his own accord. I just drank with him and slept with him. I didn’t do anything else—you can’t bully people with your power… mmph!”

His mouth was stuffed with cloth. The male attendant could only thrash about desperately with his hands and feet.

Bu Liu’s eyes widened, two sharp beams shooting out like daggers.

“How does Master Xie intend to interfere?”

“Very simply. I intend to use the laws of our Great Hua Kingdom.”

At first glance, Bu Liu knew this person came from a noble family.

Looking at his age, he judged this person could only sit in the position of Five Cities Military Commission Commander through family connections.

Seeing him in casual clothes at Yusheng Tower, he further judged this person was just a dissolute playboy.

A dissolute playboy wanted to interfere in the Bu Family Army’s business?

“How so?”

Bu Liu’s lips curled with some contempt: “Do the laws of our Great Hua Kingdom stipulate I cannot kill people?”

“That’s right. You don’t have that qualification.”

Xie Zhifei’s eyes stirred with gathering storms: “First, this is Yusheng Tower, a place where the world seeks pleasure. This establishment has complete documentation and was registered with the Five Cities Commission when it first opened—legal and legitimate.”

“Right, right, right!”

Seeing Master Xie backing her, Madam Chu quickly swayed her slender waist forward.

“Our Yusheng Tower conducts legitimate business.”

The thick scent of powder and perfume wafted over. Xie Zhifei wrinkled his brow in disgust.

“Second, since the business is legal and proper, when this establishment opens its doors for trade, it speaks of mutual willingness. Your adopted son came seeking pleasure, the male attendant took money to accompany him—one willing to buy, one willing to sell.”

“Right!”

Madam Chu thrust her chest out at Bu Liu: “One willing to buy, one willing to sell!”

Bu Liu raised half an eyebrow, indicating Xie Zhifei should continue.

Xie Zhifei: “The male attendant came from the opera world. Entering this place of pleasure was mostly because he had no other choice. A lowly life is still a life. General Bu opening his mouth to demand his life—on what basis?”

Before Bu Liu could speak, Xie Zhifei pointed upward.

“Taking ten thousand steps back, even if the male attendant deserves to die, is your adopted son without fault? Who bound and dragged him into this establishment?”

Madam Chu put her hands on her hips. “No one did. He walked in on his own two feet.”

“Since he walked in on his own, then why does General Bu only target the male attendant?”

Xie Zhifei laughed coldly: “Or is it that General Bu, relying on numbers and power, simply wants to bully the weak?”

“Well said!”

Hidden in the shadows, He Yun couldn’t help but applaud and cheer.

Every sentence hit the mark!

Your Bu Family Army may be impressive, but that doesn’t mean you can demand lives at will, does it? Especially innocent lives.

There’s no such principle!

“General Bu protects the nation and guards the country—naturally he’s a first-rate hero and warrior. But the nation has its laws, families have their rules. No law in Great Hua stipulates that generals may kill innocents at will. The law only states: when princes break the law, they are punished the same as commoners.”

Bu Liu’s expression suddenly stiffened, his gaze erupting with sharp light.

Xie Zhifei’s brow was bathed in shadows, without a trace of fear.

Establishing a troop wasn’t easy. If word got out, it would ruin the Bu Family Army’s reputation.

“Why doesn’t General Bu spare the male attendant’s life, take your adopted son back for strict discipline, and never let him come to such romantic places again?”

These words were reasonable and well-founded, advancing and retreating appropriately. The last two sentences even placed a ladder at Bu Liu’s feet for him to climb down.

At this point, forget He Yun—even the other patrons were secretly praising him. Third Master Xie might be a playboy, but he still had some substance in his belly.

However, Bu Liu only laughed coldly once, then gave one order: “Continue the beating!”

What?

More beating and killing?

Everyone let out a gasp of shock.

“General Bu.”

Xie Zhifei’s tone became resolutely stern: “Does General Bu not want to listen to reason?”

Bu Liu suddenly smiled, his smile cold and iron-blooded.

“This person today must die without question!”

“Then please give me a reason why he must die. Otherwise…”

Xie Zhifei stepped forward, his gaze meeting Bu Liu’s. “Though the Five Cities Military Commission is a small office, we cannot simply ignore our duties.”

“Right, our Yusheng Tower isn’t easy to bully either.” Madam Chu gritted her silver teeth.

You bunch of boorish soldiers—do you know who backs Yusheng Tower?

If I told you, it would scare you witless!

“A reason, you say?”

Bu Liu’s blade-like gaze showed disdain: “Zhang Kui, give him the reason.”

Zhang Kui was the young soldier who had made the hand signals earlier.

He stepped forward and announced loudly: “This person’s stage name is Shaotang. He’s sixteen years old, from the opera world, performing as a woman in female roles. Three years ago when the opera troupe disbanded, he sold himself to Yusheng Tower.”

Madam Chu was stunned. “How do you know all this so clearly?”

Zhang Kui ignored her and continued: “The troupe master’s surname was Bai, given name Liu. This person’s real name is Timur.”

“Timur?”

He Yun was shocked: “A foreigner?”

Zhang Kui ignored him too, continuing on his own:

“Timur’s father was a Tartar, his mother a Central Plains person. Shaotang was someone he picked up along the way and carefully trained for over ten years. His greatest skill isn’t singing opera or serving men—it’s stealing intelligence.”

As these words fell, everyone was stunned. The entire Yusheng Tower fell silent.

Xie Zhifei instantly understood.

This Shaotang had deliberately seduced Bu Liu’s adopted son for the purpose of extracting intelligence about the Bu Family Army from him.

The male attendant was his cover. His true identity was a dark chess piece the Tartars had planted in the Hua Kingdom.

“Master Xie.”

As Bu Liu spoke, his large palm pressed down with such force that Xie Zhifei nearly staggered.

“Is this reason satisfactory to you?”

Xie Zhifei wanted to shake off the hand on his shoulder. Bu Liu effortlessly pressed him down again.

This action triggered the rebellious bone in Xie Zhifei’s heart.

“Satisfactory, but I still need to hear what Shaotang has to say. The Military Commission won’t wrongly accuse a good person, but we also won’t let a bad person go.”

“No need to hear what he says.”

Zhang Kui’s face was full of pride: “When the Bu Family Army kills, we always have proper justification. If we got it wrong, I’ll cut off my head and give it to him.”

With that, he walked before Shaotang and looked down from above, asking: “Have I wrongly accused you?”

On Shaotang’s deathly pale face appeared an expression of utter despair.

Clearly not.

Bu Liu deliberately applied more force with his hand: “Master Xie, any more words?”

Using his internal energy, this hand felt like a mountain trying to press Xie Zhifei down.

Xie Zhifei ground his back teeth to bits before managing not to be forced down. “No more words.”

Bu Liu: “Permission to kill?”

Xie Zhifei: “Permission to kill.”