Free Web NovelChapter 1057: Chapter 730: The Hongmen Banquet Part 2
Aside from these five people and the serving maids, there were several others in the hall. A young man with a high ponytail tied at the back of his head stood diagonally behind President Heimu, carrying a Japanese sword with a red sheath on his back.
This person was President Heimu’s adopted son, serving as a Sword and Sword Servant, also known as the Back Sword Officer. The sword he bore was President Heimu’s Magic Artifact, and the most famous Demon Sword of the Black Wood Society.
Back in the day, President Heimu’s father wielded this sword to carve out a formidable reputation on the island of Japan, staining the sheath red with the blood of countless masters, thus the title Blade of Japan was born.
Apart from this Sword and Sword Servant, in the shadows at the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest corners of the hall, a Samurai stood in each corner. They held no visible weapons, but each had a plain white wooden-handled short knife at their waist.
The samurais’ gazes occasionally fell behind the young Sect Master, only to flit away the next instant like dragonflies skimming water.
After a prolonged silence, finally, someone couldn’t bear the restraint and spoke. It was the second-in-command Wakatou of the Black Wood Society, who toyed with a wine cup in his hand, his sharp eagle eyes fixed on the young Sect Master.
"Sect Master, our Black Wood Society paid a bloody price to rescue you from your cage. Our president is your savior, yet you have not given us enough respect."
The young Sect Master slowly swallowed a mouthful of fish and smilingly replied, "I have already expressed my gratitude to your society, but Wakatou, you must understand that this is essentially a transaction. You rescued me, and I informed you of the Japan Ghost Society’s hiding place. The goods have been delivered, and the two parties owe each other nothing."
"Bastard! How dare you disrespect our president like this? The president is your savior, akin to a rebirth parent. You should kneel and repent, no, commit seppuku to apologize!!" The Sword and Sword Servant behind President Heimu glared fiercely, loudly rebuking the young Sect Master below.
These words were spoken quite unkindly, yet no one present stood up for the young Sect Master. The President of Black Wood Society acted as if he hadn’t heard anything, not even sparing a glance at the young Sect Master, simply picking up his wine cup and taking a small sip of sake.
The young Sect Master finally restrained his smile, gazing at President Heimu with a respectful tone, "President, you keep saying I’m a guest. Is this how the Black Wood Society treats its guests?"
Slowly putting down his wine cup, President Heimu didn’t turn his head, speaking faintly, "Rongyi, did you not hear what the Sect Master said?"
Hearing these words, the man called Rongyi took two steps forward, kneeling directly in front of President Heimu, banging his head on the ground, saying loudly, "I simply cannot endure this person’s disrespect towards you!"
"This is not something you should concern yourself with; you know what to do next as I’ve taught you," President Heimu placed his hands on either side of his knees, exuding the presence of a superior elder.
"Yes! Rongyi knows what to do!"
After once again kowtowing to beg for forgiveness from President Heimu, Rongyi stood up, facing the young Sect Master, walking step by step while taking out an antique short knife with a sharkskin sheath from his bosom.
The woman kneeling beside the young Sect Master, who had been serving, was terrified by this scene. Her face turned pale, and instinctively she wanted to flee, but didn’t dare to, and only knelt trembling uncontrollably.
The young Sect Master, keeping his eyes straight ahead, gently reached out his hand, letting it rest on the snow-white thigh exposed below the woman’s kimono, as if giving her strength.
When there were only 5 steps left between him and the young Sect Master, Rongyi steadied himself, kneeling slowly, heavily banging his head on the ground, "I’m sorry, Sect Master, it’s my breach of etiquette. Please don’t mind my abruptness, don’t let me affect the relationship between our president and you!"
After straightening his body again, Rongyi took out a white handkerchief from his bosom, respectfully and skillfully laid it on the ground, placed his left pinky on it, grasping the short knife with his hand and biting his teeth, without changing his expression.
With a clean and decisive cut, he left his pinky on the handkerchief, and an instant later, the spilled blood dyed the handkerchief red, the crimson stains resembling a plum blossom blooming in a sea of snow.
"Ah!" The woman sitting beside the young Sect Master couldn’t help but be so scared that her pretty face turned pale, letting out a short scream.
Enveloping the severed finger with the handkerchief, Rongyi knelt on both knees, respectfully lowering his head, held the handkerchief upwards with both hands, "Sect Master, this is my sincerity. Please...forgive me!"
Seeing that the young Sect Master didn’t react, Rongyi took a deep breath, slowly withdrawing the handkerchief, slightly nodded his head, his voice low and hoarse, "I understand, Sect Master needs to see greater sincerity from me."
After saying this, without wasting words, Rongyi slowly straightened his body, catching a plain white sheathed dagger tossed by a samurai, using his left hand to carefully pull open his kimono, revealing his bronze, scarred sturdy chest, appearing ready to disembowel himself on the spot.
Seeing this, the young Sect Master finally spoke up, unable to bear watching this person die right in front of him, knowing that this person held an extraordinary position. Being President Heimu’s Sword and Sword Servant, he must surely be the most trusted among trusted ones, nearly equivalent to the concept of an adopted son in Japanese tradition.
"Enough, I have seen your sincerity," the young Sect Master turned to look at the seated President Heimu, nodding slightly, "President, you manage your subordinates well, dispensing reward and punishment fairly, I am impressed!"
With a wave of President Heimu’s hand, Rongyi, whose hand was bleeding endlessly, simply wrapped the wound with a cloth, returning once more to stand behind him, straightening his body without altering his expression, as if nothing had happened.
The next second, President Heimu’s eyes fixed on the young woman who had just cried out, "Panicking without reason, bringing shame to us Japanese, take her away and punish her with death by beating!"
As soon as the words fell, two samurais strode forward, the woman was so scared out of her wits, she pursed her lips, eyes welling with tears, mouth slightly open, yet dared not let out a sound.
With a desperate gaze, she looked at the young Sect Master beside her, as if placing all hope on this young man.
Just as the samurai reached out to grab her, there was a tightening at her waist, the young Sect Master had already pulled her into his arms, "Such a beautiful creature, it would be a waste to kill her, so I ask the president to show me some courtesy."
The two samurais looked towards the president at the head seat, and seeing him nod, they withdrew.
The woman clung to the young Sect Master like a boneless snake, tightly attaching herself, her whole body trembling incessantly.
"Alright, don’t be afraid, the president has already spared you," the young Sect Master comforted, holding the limp woman in his arms, then leaning closer to her ear, whispering in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Now listen to me, leave here and never return."
After receiving President Heimu’s tacit approval, the woman rose and slipped past the paper screen behind the young Sect Master, shaking on her legs, escaping as if in flight.
With these two incidents concluded, the hall once again returned to quiet, though an undercurrent was stirring beneath this calm.
"My subordinate has already paid the price for his presumptuousness, now I’d like to ask, shouldn’t the Sect Master also display some of your sincerity?" President Heimu’s eyes, looking down imposingly, rested on the young Sect Master.
"I have already informed you of the hiding place of the Japan Ghost Society, I don’t understand what kind of sincerity the president means?" fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Upon hearing this, President Heimu’s mouth tightened, his body straightened, and his expression turned grim, "Then let me remind the Sect Master, a month ago, you disseminated a piece of information through an agent you had bewitched, saying you had discovered an Innate Treasure, known as the Hundred Demons Coffin Clothes."
These words abruptly shifted the atmosphere in the room, causing even the temperature to drop significantly. A barrage of ill-intentioned gazes, like an array of arrows, shot towards the young Sect Master.
Upon hearing this, the young Sect Master took a deep breath, squinting his eyes, and only after a long pause did he slowly speak, "So you were indeed after that treasure. I suppose it was my Deputy Sect Master who told you."
"That no longer matters, now, Sect Master, please inform us of the whereabouts of that Innate Treasure."
"Please!"
President Heimu stood erect, slightly inclining his head.
