69: Chapter 69 Your widows' quarters are just sitting there empty anyway...

After leaving, Qin Feng headed straight for the base. Just as he was still a short distance from the Ninth Squad's main gate...

A commotion mixed with arrogant laughter, the shrill cries of women, and the dull thuds of beating suddenly carried on the cold wind and reached Qin Feng's ears with startling clarity!

"Hahaha! Run? Where do you think you're running to?!"

"You ungrateful bitch, all your men are dead and buried, so stop acting like some chaste, virtuous woman!"

"Drag her over here! This one has a slim waist; I'm taking her tonight!"

Hearing these sounds, Qin Feng's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

He looked up and saw that the Ninth Squad's already dilapidated main gate had been brutally kicked open, with half of the door panel hanging crookedly from the frame.

A violent surge of Qi and blood, far exceeding that of a Mortal Stage 8, instantly erupted from within his body!

Fully unleashing Clear Wind Shadow, Qin Feng transformed into a black bolt of lightning, and with a piercing shriek that tore through the air, he shot directly toward the Ninth Squad's courtyard!

At this moment, the Ninth Squad's courtyard was in complete chaos.

Over a dozen guards wearing the dark grey uniforms of the Fifth Squad were rampaging through the courtyard without restraint.

Like a pack of starving wolves that had broken into a sheepfold, they were lecherously tugging and grabbing at seven or eight haggard-looking women dressed in mourning clothes.

These women were all widows of the Ninth Squad brothers who had been hacked to death by Zhang Zhongjiu not long ago in the Luanzang Mountain Range while covering the main force's retreat.

According to the cutthroat unwritten rules of the Servant District, once a guard died in battle, if there was no powerful superior to step in and protect them, their surviving family members had to fend for themselves. If they lacked money or strength, they could only end up as playthings.

"Let go of me, you animals!"

"My husband's body isn't even cold yet! Aren't you afraid of retribution?!"

The women cried out in despair, struggling desperately, but in the face of the ferocious guards, their resistance was feeble and weak. Their coarse hempen clothes were torn to shreds, which only incited the Fifth Squad members even further.

In the center of the courtyard, Chen Pingan, the Ninth Squad's last remaining top fighter and a Mortal Stage 8, was currently being pinned down in the muddy flagstones in utter humiliation!

Chen Pingan's cheek was swollen high, blood constantly spilling from the corner of his mouth. His eyes, bloodshot from extreme rage, were locked onto the brawny man standing before him, who had a face full of flab and high cheekbones.

The Fifth Squad's Vice Captain, Vice Captain Zhang Hu!

The opponent possessed the cultivation of a Mortal Stage 9. Since the Ninth Squad had lost all its high-end combat power, Vice Captain Zhang Hu, relying on his superior numbers and strength, had led his men to barge in.

"Vice Captain Zhang Hu, you're going too far!"

Chen Pingan struggled violently, trying to mobilize his Qi and blood to fight back, but with two Stage 8 experts stomping on his back, he couldn't move at all.

He roared hoarsely: "We all serve the Management Hall! Captain Luo just died, and you're already here to snatch our brothers' women! Does the Fifth Squad have no shame at all?!"

"Shame? Hahaha! Chen Pingan, has water entered your brain? You want to talk to me about shame in the Servant District?!"

Vice Captain Zhang Hu acted as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. He strode forward, raised his heavy, steel-toed leather boot, and stomped hard on Chen Pingan's face, grinding his head deep into the mud.

"I'll tell you this: in the Servant District, whoever has the biggest fist has the most face."

Vice Captain Zhang Hu bared his teeth, the flesh on his face twitching violently as he acted with unparalleled arrogance. He said: "Your Ninth Squad is nothing but a bunch of trash now, without even one person capable of shouldering the burden. Do you expect these juicy widows to just sit here and rot? I brought my brothers here to help you digest your resources; you should be damn grateful!"

"Pah! Keep dreaming!" Chen Pingan spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with mud.

"Still acting tough?!" Vice Captain Zhang Hu's eyes turned cold. He suddenly raised his hand, and with a crisp "slap," he delivered a solid, heavy blow across Chen Pingan's face, instantly making him see stars and spit out bloodied teeth.

"Beat him! As long as you don't kill him, beat him to within an inch of his life! Let the trash of the Ninth Squad learn what it truly means to respect strength." Vice Captain Zhang Hu waved his hand arrogantly.

Just as the Fifth Squad members were preparing to lay on more heavy hands and continue their rampage, a voice rang out: "Stop!!!"

A crisp, angry shout came from the corridor of the main house. Immediately after, Lin Yuxi, dressed in a simple, elegant grey cloth dress, walked out quickly, accompanied by Su Yourong, Yu Jingxiang, Wu Mengmeng, and a few other women.

Although Lin Yuxi had just endured last night's devastation and her face was still somewhat pale, she was, after all, the former Captain's wife and possessed the cultivation of a Mortal Stage 8. Standing in the courtyard, her dignified and cold aura instantly brought the chaos in the yard to a momentary halt.

"Fifth Squad, you are too insolent!"

Lin Yuxi's willow eyebrows arched, her beautiful eyes fixed on Vice Captain Zhang Hu. Her voice, though not loud, carried an unquestionable dignity: "This is the Ninth Squad's jurisdiction. Whatever you have to say, release them and wait for our respective captains to sit down and communicate! It is not your place to act so wantonly here!"

Seeing Lin Yuxi walk out, Vice Captain Zhang Hu's eyes instantly lit up like two thousand-watt bulbs. He looked her up and down, taking in her proud figure and cold, beautiful face, and couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Oh, who could it be? It's none other than the high-and-mighty Sister-in-law Lin."

Vice Captain Zhang Hu moved his foot off Chen Pingan's face, rubbed his calloused hands together, and walked toward Lin Yuxi with a lecherous grin.

"Sister-in-law, that's not right. Communicate? Communicate with whom? With that new Qin Feng of yours who got lucky and popped out of nowhere?!"

Vice Captain Zhang Hu spat disdainfully on the ground and sneered: "A greenhorn who climbed up through petty tricks—does he deserve to have Captain Zhang Yan sit down and talk with him?"

As he said this, Vice Captain Zhang Hu's gaze became extremely brazen, sweeping directly across Lin Yuxi's chest and waist.

"Sister-in-law, that short-lived ghost Old Luo is dead. You're such a delicate beauty; it's such a waste for you to stay in this dump."

As he spoke, Vice Captain Zhang Hu impatiently reached out his rough hand, actually aiming to stroke her fair, tender cheek. "Why don't you come with me today? I guarantee you'll live in luxury in the Fifth Squad, and I'll make you happy as a fairy every single night... Hehehe..."

A flash of disgusted murderous intent crossed Lin Yuxi's eyes. She instantly circulated her Stage 8 Qi and blood, preparing to counterattack.

"BOOM!!!" At that critical moment, a terrifying noise like a thunderclap on a clear day exploded at the entrance of the Ninth Squad's courtyard!

"Who the hell is looking for death?!" Vice Captain Zhang Hu, startled by the massive commotion, whipped his head around and roared.

"Cap... Captain! The Captain is back!!!"

The Ninth Squad guards, who had been in despair and beaten to the ground, saw Qin Feng's figure appear. At that moment, their eyes erupted with fanatical hope, and they all shouted at the top of their lungs.

Chen Pingan, enduring excruciating pain, took advantage of everyone's momentary distraction to shove off the two Fifth Squad guards trampling on his back and scrambled to his feet.

"Captain!" Chen Pingan rushed to Qin Feng, his eyes rimmed with red. Gritting his teeth, he quickly recounted the events that had just occurred.

After listening to Chen Pingan's report, Qin Feng did not speak. He simply turned his head slowly and fixed his gaze upon Vice Captain Zhang Hu.

Being stared at by Qin Feng's emotionless gaze, Vice Captain Zhang Hu felt a sudden, inexplicable chill run down his spine. But then he thought to himself, it's just a newcomer who just took power, what could he possibly do to him?

Thinking this, Vice Captain Zhang Hu forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart, straightened his back, and swaggered two steps closer.

With his nostrils flared and looking down his nose, he provocatively challenged: "So you're the new Captain Qin? Fine, since you're back, let's lay our cards on the table."

"Your Ninth Squad lost so many people in the Luanzang Mountain Range and left behind so many widows. Women sitting around are useless and just waste food! The Fifth Squad will take a few away today to help you share the burden. We all work together in the Management Hall, consider this us making friends. You don't have any objections, right?!"

As Vice Captain Zhang Hu's voice trailed off, the dozen or so Fifth Squad guards behind him burst into unbridled laughter.