Damon's Ascension-Chapter 103: War in Xiangyang 4

Young Master Sun Jianhao sneered in response. "They are retainers under our branch’s influence. Their honor is ours and their loss is our humiliation, so you owe us compensation."

"I see. So, by that logic... would your family also like to compensate me for the inconvenience of being forced to breathe the same air as you, a Neanderthal?" Damon’s tone was even, but the edge was there.

The crowd gasped with horror and fear, taking many steps back and distancing themselves from Damon as if he had rabies.

"W-What nerve!"

"He dared to insult Young Master Sun to his face!"

However, seeing Li Chang’s unconscious body nearby made them all think twice before criticizing Damon with harsh words in order to ingratiate themselves with Young Master Sun.

Sun Jianhao’s face twisted with fury, then quickly reset into a mocking grin. "Very well. Since you seem capable, allow me to be gracious."

He stepped forward and extended a hand. "Join the Sun family. Swear fealty under my name and rather than punishment, you’ll receive land, a personal manor, and a position as our southern defense enforcer."

"Or?" Damon asked with a tilted head.

Sun Jianhao took his hand back and extended his folding fan with a cruel smile. "Or I’ll crush your bones and use your corpse to grease my carriage wheels."

Damon didn’t reply right away as he simply stared at the fellow intensely in silence, his brown eyes displaying silver slowly.

Instead, he turned to the freed prisoners behind him and casually said, "Now watch carefully, this is a lesson on how to handle flies."

He turned back, raising his hand casually and then flicked his fingers through the air with a sharp snap. The sheer sound of it echoed like a thunderclap, though no one could see him move.

In the next second, one of Sun Jianhao’s top guards behind him collapsed forward with blood streaming from his nose and mouth, teeth shattered and unconscious before he hit the ground.

Young Master Sun Jianhao’s eyes went wide with fear and confusion. "W-What just...?!"

"That, Young Master Sun, is my answer," Damon said lightly.

"If you’re still confused, I shall gladly explain once more, though the next explanation will be with your life as the brush stroke." He added with a cold glance toward the fellow, who trembled slightly despite himself.

Gasps erupted again, but this time it was mixed with nervous laughter that couldn’t be suppressed. Some in the crowd were already starting to shift from fearful admiration to delighted awe, as if witnessing a legend of folklore in the flesh.

Sun Jianhao’s face darkened as he raised his hand, but an older guard behind him quickly stepped forward and whispered urgently into his ear.

"...That man’s presence is unnatural, Young Master. He’s not a wandering beggar... he might be a hidden grandmaster in disguise. Or worse."

Young Master Sun Jianhao clenched his fists but forced a laugh, turning back toward his followers.

"Very well! Consider this a test! If you survive the next month in Xiangyang... the Sun family will return. And then we’ll see if your tongue is as sharp as your fists!"

With a swish of his sleeves, he turned and stalked off, his entourage following with less bluster and more caution than they had entered with.

Inside the carriage, Second Young Master Liu looked utterly delighted and he laughed uproariously.

"Oh yes, we are absolutely recruiting that man!" He whispered, voice rich with glee.

The Third Elder sighed deeply, seeing countless bloodshed and dead bodies in the future. "And if he refuses?"

Second Young Master Liu smiled wider. "Then we’ll recruit him anyway. One way or another."

Back in the square, Damon dusted off his robes and turned to the captain once more.

"I trust the matter is now settled?"

The captain nodded so quickly it could’ve caused whiplash.

"Yes. All is settled, Exalted Scholar. Please... go where you will."

The crowd finally burst into full applause that was genuine this time, like peasants watching a divine spirit descend to bring justice.

And Damon, calm as ever, simply smiled and nodded to the prisoners to follow him.

When the group left the square, a few skilled persons wanted to trail them, but one look from Damon and they felt their blood chill, deciding that this was one matter they could stay out of.

"Where is the nearest Inn or Tavern?" Damon asked the middle prisoner casually.

"At the north side of the square, Noble Sir," the man answered hesitantly, unsure if he had just escaped the tiger’s mouth only to stumble into the jaws of a dragon.

Damon took his time as they approached the northern side of the square, scanning the streets and alleys with a calm gaze.

It was only now, with some distance from the square, that he turned back and regarded the three prisoners in full.

The first was a broad-shouldered man in his late thirties, skin darkened by years of labor, with a prominent scar that ran down his left cheek and a tightly knotted topknot. His hands were calloused and cracked, clearly no stranger to the sword.

"I’m Chen Yuan," he offered after a respectful bow, noticing Damon’s scrutiny.

"I used to belong to the County Guard and joined the rebellion two winters ago when Lord Sun’s taxes tripled overnight and my brother starved to death. I’m not much of a speaker, but I can still swing a sword."

The second was a wiry man with sharp cheekbones, a scholar’s build, and a pair of intelligent eyes that didn’t stop darting about. His robes were worn but had once been refined, so clearly he came from a literate or semi-noble background.

"Sun Liang," he introduced with a bitter smile. "Don’t let the name fool you though. I’m from the commoner Sun clan, not the noble one. I was an apprentice record keeper for the Cao family before I was accused of leaking grain stock reports to a rebel cell."

He then adjusted his torn sleeve with a shameless smile. "They were right, of course. I did leak them. I didn’t think the poor deserved to die in famine while the Cao warehouse rats grew fat."

The last was a young woman around her early twenties. She had short-cropped hair, dirt on her face, and a hardened look in her eyes despite her thin frame. She didn’t bow or grovel, instead, she stood straight, staring Damon in the eye.

"Xue Rou," she stated simply.

Seeing the look on his face that demanded more, she reluctantly added, "No noble blood. My father was a member of the North Cloud Sect. When the Liu family accused the sect of harboring rebels and had half the outer disciples executed, my father included... I stopped being a farmer and started learning how to fight."

Damon nodded slowly. "So you’re all part of this rebellion."

Chen Yuan shrugged. "We didn’t start it. The noble families and sects lit the fire and we just got tired of being burned."

Sun Liang glanced around nervously before speaking again. "Well... the truth is... our group was stirred up by a wandering martial cultivator who called himself ’Brother Mian’."

Sun Liang continued hesitantly. "He said he came from a minor sect near Mount Tai. He encouraged the rebellion, even supplied us with martial manuals, but then... he vanished just as the crackdown began."

Damon’s brow lifted slightly. "A mysterious man who radicalized civilians, then disappeared when the hammer came down?"

Xue Rou nodded grimly. "It’s been happening across the region, various sect disciples being accused of rebel activity, then executed. But sometimes, the evidence is too neat and seems too perfect."

Sun Liang added, "We believe someone is stoking the conflict and feeding the fire from the shadows, maybe to make the noble families weaken themselves or maybe to create a power vacuum."

"And you want to stop it?" Damon asked to be sure.

The three looked at each other, then at Damon.

"No, we want to survive and live a better life. But if you can stop it... you’ll have our support." Chen Yuan answered bluntly.

Damon gave a faint smile. "Then stay close. I rescued you not because I need pawns, but because I could use eyes and ears."

Xue Rou narrowed her eyes. "We’re not cowards. If you plan to fight, we’ll join."

"Good, then let’s begin with rest, then food and maybe some answers." Damon said, already filing their information away with quiet efficiency.

As they approached the chosen inn - which was modest and framed with wood in most places along with faded red banners fluttering gently in the spring breeze - the innkeeper, still shaken from the spectacle at the square which he had witnessed from afar, nearly dropped the bowl he was holding when he saw Damon enter.

"S-Sir Scholar...! This humble establishment... please, whatever you want! It’s yours!" He almost begged, the servers who worked trembling with fear at Damon’s presence.

"Three rooms and a quiet table, and your best meal please." Damon requested calmly.

"Of course! Immediately!" The innkeeper acquiesced and scurried away, many of the servers following along.

As they sat down, Damon casually scanned the interior with his upgraded Mentality that enhanced his five senses to a great extent.

There was one suspicious merchant who kept glancing over, a beggar who wasn’t really blind that lowered his head but was fixated here, and two other patrons pretending not to be listening who were likely spies of various powers, or intelligence agents for information brokers planted in various places.

Despite this, he did not stop them yet as it was currently in his best interest to let them report, as the storm was only just beginning and he needed it to rile up further to achieve his goals.