Chapter Forty-One: Arrogance Beyond Measure, Truly Deserving Death!

Chen Qingzhi entered the office with a hint of anger on his face. He truly hadn’t expected that even in this small county town, the mere commander of a security regiment would dare to speak with such arrogance! It was truly an eye-opener for him.

“How dare you! Who are you?” Black Kui’s eyes narrowed at the audacity of these words, and he shouted angrily.

But before he could finish, the world seemed to spin—a loud slap rang out, pain seared across his face, and his head reeled.

“Are you blind? How dare you shout at our brigade commander! Believe me, I’ll cut you down right here!” Huzi roared.

Black Kui saw stars, his left cheek burning. He could feel the swelling already, and when he reached up to touch it, the pain made him gasp sharply. At that moment, he felt a wetness at the corner of his mouth—his fingertips came away bloody.

Fury surged through Black Kui. Since becoming commander of the security regiment, no one in Qingyuan County had ever dared defy him, let alone lay a hand on him! He was about to call his men to arrest these insolent fools, but Huzi’s words suddenly struck him.

Brigade commander!

The moment he heard that title, a cold chill ran down Black Kui’s spine, making his hair stand on end. A brigade commander!

He could hardly believe his ears, terror flashing across his face. Now, at last, Black Kui was afraid.

A brigade commander might seem only one rank above a security regiment leader, but the difference was like heaven and earth! A regular army brigade commander held real power—commanding thousands of fully armed soldiers. His own security regiment, for all its pretensions, was just a local militia: a motley crew of three hundred, the elderly and infirm included. Half didn’t even carry firearms, and those who did wielded outdated rifles or even ancient muskets. In the eyes of the regular army, their fighting power was nothing.

If it had been a platoon or company commander, Black Kui wouldn’t have cared. But a brigade commander? That was a different matter entirely.

He was instantly scared out of his wits! Clambering down from the county magistrate’s seat in a panic, he even tripped and fell—something that, under other circumstances, would have made him furious with embarrassment.

But now, he pretended not to notice, hastening to Chen Qingzhi’s side. Flustered, he snapped to a hasty salute, stammering, “C-c-commander, sir!”

“And who are you?” Chen Qingzhi cast him a sidelong, contemptuous glance.

“Humble subordinate, sir—I-I’m the major in command of the Qingyuan County Security Regiment. My name is Black Kui!”

Chen Qingzhi looked at this Black Kui, at how his arrogance had melted into obsequiousness the moment he learned who he faced. Such behavior was truly revolting.

“Your uniform is a disgrace, your bearing shameful—you’re an embarrassment to the uniform!” Chen Qingzhi’s voice was laced with fury, his gaze as cold as death itself, staring at Black Kui as though he were already a corpse.

That look sent a shudder through Black Kui.

“Before I arrived, I heard your shouting. Why have you fallen silent now?” Chen Qingzhi’s voice was low and grave. “You, a mere security regiment commander, dared to threaten and coerce the county magistrate? Tell me—where did you get your nerve?”

The county magistrate was a government-appointed official; the security regiment commander was nothing but the head of a local, quasi-military force—private arms incorporated into the system, little more than a county’s auxiliary defense.

Yet here, in Qingyuan, this petty commander had dared to menace the county magistrate and commit such brazen acts of insubordination! It was lawless arrogance, a flagrant disregard for order!

“I—I—” Black Kui stammered, unable to explain, tongue-tied and utterly at a loss.

“Cat got your tongue? Speak up!” Chen Qingzhi suddenly slammed his palm on the table, his voice booming as his aura swept over Black Kui like a storm.

After all, Chen Qingzhi had fought his way out of the battlefields of Nanjing, with countless Japanese soldiers slain by his hand. Inevitably, a deadly aura clung to him.

Now, unleashing it without restraint, he bore down on Black Kui like a beast thirsting for blood, an endless killing intent swirling around him—a palpable breath of death that made Black Kui’s bladder fail him then and there.

With a thud, Black Kui’s legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees. A spreading puddle appeared beneath him, and with it, a pungent stench filled the room.

The others wrinkled their noses in disgust.

“I thought your bluster meant you were tough, but you’re nothing but a cowardly wretch—what a disgrace!” Huzi sneered at the sight.

“S-sir, please, I was wrong! I know I was wrong! Spare me, I beg you, have mercy!”

At last, Black Kui knew true fear. He kowtowed on the floor, pleading for Chen Qingzhi’s forgiveness. Terror gnawed at his heart—what if this brigade commander decided to have him shot? As the leader of the Qingyuan security regiment, he had basked in wealth and privilege, and had no wish to die so pointlessly.

As for resistance, it never crossed his mind! Others might not know the strength of the regular army, but Black Kui did. If a regiment commander were here, he might have dared to resist, but a brigade commander was on a different level. If he tried anything, the army would sweep in before the day was over, and his paltry three hundred would be crushed with ease.

So now, all he could do was beg, praying for Chen Qingzhi’s forgiveness and a chance to live.

He kowtowed again and again, weeping as he pleaded, but Chen Qingzhi didn’t spare him a glance.

“So, Black Kui, is it? You, a lowly security regiment commander—where did you find the gall to act so brazenly? Why did you send my men back when I dispatched them to find the county magistrate?”

“Tell me, who gave you the confidence to act with such impunity in Qingyuan County?”

“When my men returned, I wondered what manner of formidable man this commander must be. So I made a few inquiries when I arrived.”

At this point, Chen Qingzhi’s voice was icy, laced with a murderous chill. “Can you guess how the people described you?”

“Sir, I’m innocent! I swear I’m innocent! Those are all false accusations—slanders!” Black Kui’s heart pounded in terror.

Ever since he’d taken over the security regiment, he had bullied the people, seized women by force, committed every conceivable evil. What could the people possibly say of him that was good? They probably wished they could tear him apart and drink his blood.

But Black Kui had never cared about the common folk before. As long as he held the guns, they wouldn’t dare cause trouble—or so he thought. Little did he know, they would become the last straw to break his back.

“You have abducted women, murdered innocents, terrorized the countryside, exploited the people—your crimes are endless! Lawless, arrogant beyond measure—you deserve nothing but death!”

Suddenly, Chen Qingzhi’s face twisted in fury, and he roared.

At these words, Black Kui collapsed in despair, all hope draining from him. He knew—it was over for him.