Chapter Thirty-Three: An Absolute Surprise

As these men knelt on the ground in an instant, Lin Qian’s gaze was filled with a stern majesty. His tone, too, had hardened slightly.

"Someone, pull them apart! I want to see for myself how you all managed to beat each other like this!"

"These people were once your comrades-in-arms. I do not expect you to understand the iron blood of the battlefield or the bonds of brotherhood, but to think that you have now turned your hands against your former brothers-in-arms."

"Tell me yourselves, how should I punish you for this?"

As Lin Qian spoke, the group of men before him were all struck dumb. It was true; only a few days ago, they had been comrades, fighting side-by-side against the enemies from the Northern Wu Kingdom, all just trying to survive in these chaotic times. They had even shared what little rations they had among themselves. How was it that, once they had finally found stability, they could become so cold-hearted as to raise a hand against their own kin? At this moment, many lowered their heads in shame.

Lin Qian dismounted, his gaze sweeping over each of them like an emperor’s inspection. Every man touched by his eyes broke into a cold sweat; some were even trembling.

"Lord City Master, we, we..."

Seeing his followers acting so spineless, Jin Jun had no choice but to step forward. "Lord City Master, this isn't us deliberately looking for trouble! Our fields were naturally further from the water source, but we felt that having land to till was a blessing in disguise, so we didn't complain and worked hard every day to carry water to irrigate our crops."

"But these people! They actually surrounded the entire water source and built a dam. They claimed it was to prevent the water from flooding their fields, but what were we supposed to do? Were we expected to climb over their dam and jump into the water just to get a bucket?"

Hearing this, Lin Qian felt a twinge of sympathy. It was true—having land to cultivate was a rare stroke of luck in these times. However, it was ultimately his own fault for failing to consider this sooner. After all, upon entering the city, in his haste to stabilize the populace, provide hope, and establish order, he had issued the decrees for military and civil merit. The land had been distributed, but as long as the irrigation issue remained unresolved, the common people would never truly know peace.

Lin Qian nodded. "I will certainly give you a satisfactory resolution!"

"But what I am asking about today is the fact that you turned on your own comrades. What is your explanation for that?"

Jin Jun, being forthright, stood at the front of the crowd. "Punish me alone! I was the one who started it!"

Immediately, Zhao Qianying also stepped forward, gritting his teeth. "I was the one who fought him! If you’re going to punish anyone, just punish the two of us. The others were just following the crowd!"

Hearing this, Jin Jun was stunned. "Since you stood up to take the blame, why did you have to drag me into it?"

Zhao Qianying chuckled. "Kid, you punched me in the head three times just now. I only returned one blow. How could I not drag you down with me?"

Seeing this, Lin Qian couldn't help but be amused despite his anger. "Fine, fine, fine. Since you have the awareness to admit your faults, then so be it! Ying Zhao!"

A second later, Ying Zhao rushed forward, whip in hand. "My Lord!"

Lin Qian wanted to ensure they learned a lesson, while also showing everyone in Chunping City that harming one's former comrades would not be tolerated. That bond was more important than anything else.

"Give them a beating. Twenty lashes for the two ringleaders, and five lashes for everyone else who bears wounds!"

At that moment, Ying Zhao tentatively asked, "My Lord, what about those who aren't wounded?"

Lin Qian was taken aback. The brawl had been so fierce—from the moment he saw them to the moment he fired those three arrows, they had battered each other black and blue. How could there be anyone without injuries?

"Who?"

Ying Zhao swallowed hard and pointed into the distance. "It’s him!"

Lin Qian followed Ying Zhao’s gaze and immediately realized he had found a treasure. The man was not only physically robust but possessed extraordinary strength. He had never expected to find such a hero in Chunping City.

"You... I recognize you! You were a hunter from the mountains around Chunping, named Ran Min, is that right?"

Seeing this, Ran Min cupped his fists and dropped to one knee. "Ran Min, greetings to the Lord City Master!"

"How many did you hit?" Lin Qian asked, noticing that Ran Min bore no wounds, not even a speck of dust on him.

His instincts told him that this man was a warrior capable of facing ten thousand, a general in the making if properly trained.

"I hit them all!" Ran Min replied nonchalantly.

At that moment, Lin Qian was utterly dumbfounded. Even the valiant Ying Zhao could barely contain his shock upon hearing this. "Is that true? So it was him—he hit everyone. I’m afraid if it weren't for him, the others wouldn't have been injured so badly!"

Ran Min smiled foolishly.

Lin Qian narrowed his eyes at the heroic man. "Why did you strike your comrades without holding back? Look at what you’ve done to them!"

Ran Min flushed red, looking at his calloused palms with a look of grievance. "I... I was already pulling my punches..."

"What did you say?" Ying Zhao was stunned.

Lin Qian, however, was not surprised. Most of the world's great warriors were like this; they were simply different from ordinary people. He tossed the bow he had used earlier to the man.

"Try this. This is a yellow-wood longbow. Let me see if you can draw it."

Back when Lin Qian was at the Prince of the West's estate, his own arm strength had been top-tier, the mark of a master archer. Yet, the moment Ran Min took the bow, he pulled it with effortless grace, drawing it into a full moon. Then, with a casual tug, he snapped the bow in two.

"Snap!"

The recoil of the broken bowstring, had it struck a person, would have left them with a swollen, numb arm at best, or a broken one at worst. Just as Lin Qian cried out in alarm, he saw that Ran Min was completely unharmed. Not only was he strong, but his resilience was also top-tier—the snapping string hadn't caused him a scratch.