Brother Dao Took the Entertainment Industry by Storm, Fans Beg Me Not to Kill Anymore

Chapter 755: "Thief Catcher 2"

Once they arrived at the frontier, all the truths and conspiracies surfaced one by one.

And this latter half of the plot had also become abundantly clear.

The power balance within the frontier garrison had been thrown into chaos. The original commanding general, Old General Feng, had fallen ill, while his adopted son, Deputy General Feng, seized the opportunity to usurp power, taking control of the voice here. Using his current identity, he deceived the imperial court and pursued his own private interests.

And with the sky high and the road long, the imperial court had been kept in the dark as well.

—No, that wasn't quite right either. This was actually just the result of the various factions at court competing and checking each other's power.

The only one truly deceived was the single person sitting on the dragon throne.

Yet that single person could still decide the fate—even life and death—of many people at the frontier.

The entire dynasty had already begun to crumble. Even the frontier was plagued by such massive problems, yet that man above was blind and deaf, still wallowing in the illusion of a flourishing reign filled with song and dance. How could this not be called ironic?

Jiang Rushu didn't know how things were at court now, nor what the future held for the nation. His eyes saw only the bleached bones along the roadside and the decade-long, unyielding hardship of the frontier soldiers.

This place should not have been dragged into the power struggles of those at the top. It should not have become a tool for someone's bid for authority.

Before the great battle, Jiang Rushu gazed into the distance at the solitary smoke rising over the vast desert, quietly fingering the copper coin in his hand.

The people suffered hardship; bandits ran rampant; the government was useless. And so, the Thief Catchers had appeared.

Thief Catchers lived by capturing criminals for bounties. Sometimes, they also worked for the court, and other times, for certain nobles.

Risking life and limb was, in the end, just a way to scrounge up a single meal in this chaotic situation.

So some people said that Thief Catchers were nothing more than mud-footed rascals who couldn't even be considered yamen runners.

Yamen runners were the court's dogs. But Thief Catchers? They were the muddy sludge scraped up by those dogs.

In truth, they were merely the impotent products of an era on the verge of losing its grip on governance.

How could anyone expect them to change everything happening now?

It was laughable that those above couldn't see clearly, while those below—merely surviving was already difficult enough—who had the energy to think about whose fault all of this was?

That copper coin was tossed up by Jiang Rushu, spinning through the air before landing steadily back into his palm.

Taking money to do the job—that was the code of conduct for most of them.

Jiang Rushu was no exception.

One copper coin for that head—a fair and square deal.

Deputy General Feng deserved to die!

The frontier absolutely could not fall into this man's hands!

The young swordsman leaped down from the sand dune, his clothes snapping in the wind. But in his eyes, there was only newfound determination and resolve.

Some things, in the end, needed to be done by others.

Why couldn't it be him?

—

The final assassination was simpler than imagined. The only thing that wasn't simple was Deputy General Feng's martial prowess—truly nothing to sneeze at.

Jiang Rushu had encountered the strongest opponent he had ever faced in his life—

Deputy General Feng stood tall, wielding a Guandao, mounted on a tall warhorse, looking down at him from above.

"A Thief Catcher? This isn't your place to meddle. I advise you to get the hell out of here!"

Jiang Rushu swallowed his saliva. Beneath his cloak, his hand was aching from the earlier clash of weapons. But with a stoic expression, he simply steadied his wrist to ease the internal injuries from the vibration, and without drawing attention, shifted the "Thief Catcher" badge at his waist further behind him, completely hidden from sight.

"I'm just doing what I need to do."

He replied calmly. "Someone paid a copper coin for your life, so I came."

Hearing Jiang Rushu's words, Deputy General Feng threw his head back and laughed heartily, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous story.

Though a flicker of surprise crossed his mind at the young man's martial skills, Deputy General Feng still didn't take Jiang Rushu seriously at all. A sneer curled on his face. "Just a mud-footed rascal with a big mouth. Do you really think being a Thief Catcher is some kind of official game of catching criminals for the government? Here to play the righteous hero? Hahaha—"

Then, without waiting for Jiang Rushu's response, he raised his Guandao again and slashed viciously at Jiang Rushu—

Jiang Rushu had already seen the power of that Guandao. He knew he couldn't take it head-on. Biting down, he rolled on the ground, thrusting his longsword out as he launched a flying attack at Deputy General Feng's wrist from a tricky angle—only to have it deflected by the flexible armor on the opponent's arm.

This Deputy General Feng had fought on the battlefield for years, clawing his way out of a sea of blood with his own strength. He had even been Old General Feng's designated successor. His strength was not to be underestimated.

Even Jiang Rushu, repeatedly blocked in his attacks, was forced back step by step by the general's onslaught.

Fighting in the desert was definitely not in Jiang Rushu's favor. In fact, it severely restricted his performance.

And his opponent was just too tough. He had to find a way to break through—

Jiang Rushu's mind raced. Then, once again, he dodged around the general's Guandao.

The next moment, a sound of something slicing through the air reached his ears.

A short blade, carrying a spinning gust of wind, brushed past Jiang Rushu's cheek.

Just as Jiang Rushu retreated, the young blade master appeared out of nowhere, swinging directly at the general's Guandao!

*Clang!*

Where the weapons met, sparks erupted fiercely!

The live audience erupted in excited cheers.

But Shen Jue's eyes were as cold as ink. He forcibly swallowed the blood forced up by the impact, put all his strength into his wrists, and fiercely knocked back the opponent's Guandao!

Seeing this, Jiang Rushu didn't hesitate for a second. He charged forward, continuing his assault on the general's wrist, and managed to knock him off his horse!

Then Shen Jue switched positions with him again. The biting, blood-soaked blade wind swept toward Deputy General Feng's lower body.

Deputy General Feng's eyes sharpened. He just raised his Guandao to block—and in the same moment, Jiang Rushu flew in again, sword aimed at his face!

In an instant, the tide of battle had turned, the offensive completely reversed!

...

In the end, as expected, Jiang Rushu and Shen Jue won by a narrow margin.

When he and Shen Jue stood before the dying Deputy General Feng, silently watching him breathe his last, Jiang Rushu couldn't help the doubts that surged in his heart.

Deputy General Feng was the strongest expert he had ever encountered in his life. If it weren't for Shen Jue, he probably wouldn't have walked out of this battle in one piece.

A man like this had genuine skill, just like the others at the frontier who had held their ground here for over a decade. Yet, in the end, he had still degenerated into a lackey for the power struggles of the upper echelons.

Secretly hoarding grain, embezzling military pay, falsifying military reports... one crime after another. Hadn't Deputy General Feng, in all his actions, become exactly the kind of person he once despised the most?

In the past, he had led from the front, the most reliable general in the soldiers' hearts. Now, he exploited the trust of his troops, lining his own pockets, taking the blood and sweat of his comrades for himself. He even concealed the truth of the main commander's grave illness, deceiving everyone day after day with lies, monopolizing military power, and committing shady acts under the guise of warfare.

That once iron-clad, devoted heart had been corroded by greed, leaving behind nothing but a sanctimonious, empty shell.

When he picked up his old Guandao again, did his conscience really not ache?

Jiang Rushu didn't know.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't get answers from a dead man.

But then again, a despicable loser had no right to quibble or bargain for a chance to kneel and repent for his crimes.

A melancholy settled in Jiang Rushu's heart. But Shen Jue's expression was merely indifferent. Finally, he picked up the Bone-Cleaving Knife from the ground and said calmly, "We should go."

It was time to go back.

Everything was over...

Yellow sand filled the sky. All the corpses would be buried. For certain people to vanish from this world without a sound—wasn't that, in its own way, a form of posthumous redemption?

At the very least, this place could hide all the secrets and the filth—