When Lu Dingtai carried Shi Xiqu back to the government office, Zhao Ya had already teamed up with Jin Zhenming, Shang Tiefeng, and the martial artists to round up Wei Hongbin and his men.
At this moment, Wei Hongbin had already lost his usual arrogance, his face pale as paper, and he was filled with endless regret.
He should have known that if these so-called experts sent from the Capital were so useless, he would have escaped earlier no matter what.
But now, it’s too late to say anything.
The escape route was blocked, and his guards were dispirited, lacking the slightest bit of fighting spirit.
Actually, it wasn’t their fault either.
It was truly because the strength Lu Dingtai had just displayed was too overwhelming that even the two Fifth Realm experts from the Capital were no match for him, being dealt with swiftly like chopping melons and slicing vegetables.
If he turned against them, even with the battle formation’s support, they probably couldn’t withstand three moves.
Faced with such a certain-death situation, who could muster any morale?
Just then, Lu Dingtai came back carrying Shi Xiqu.
He casually tossed him to the ground, and the immobilized Shi Xiqu hit the ground heavily, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Wei Hongbin trembled, and fear immediately flashed in his eyes.
For someone like him, born into an aristocratic family, nothing was more important than his own life.
After all, people like them were born into the wealth and luxury of the world, living in comfort and superiority, and no one would want to give that up.
So he took a deep breath, trying hard to keep his voice from trembling.
"Gentlemen, I surrender! I’m willing to withdraw from the Commandery with my men immediately and return to Boling Valley, never stepping into the Commandery again. How about it?"
Hearing what he said, many martial artists looked at each other and finally turned their gaze to Lu Dingtai and Zhao Ya.
Lu Dingtai said calmly, "Ya, do as you see fit, whether to kill or let go."
With that, Lu Dingtai crossed his arms over his chest, adopting a completely indifferent attitude, leaving Zhao Ya to make the decisions.
Zhao Ya nodded at this, then smiled slightly at Wei Hongbin.
"Do you think we are all fools?"
Wei Hongbin’s expression stiffened, just about to speak, when Zhao Ya interrupted him.
"Let me guess what you’re thinking. You simply think that because you’re from a wealthy family in the Capital, we wouldn’t dare to kill you! So you propose this delaying tactic, but once you leave the Commandery, you’d definitely find ways to summon an army and continue your assault on Yunxiao County for revenge, isn’t that right?"
A flash of panic appeared in Wei Hongbin’s eyes.
What Zhao Ya said was indeed what he truly thought.
However, at this moment, he dared not admit any of it, so he quickly started explaining.
"You misunderstand, I have no intention of revenge. Although I’m of the Wei Family’s direct lineage, I’m just from one of the three branches, how would the Wei Family listen to me and send an army from miles away?"
"If that’s the case, then if you die here, wouldn’t your family also not bother coming miles away to avenge you?" Zhao Ya immediately countered.
Wei Hongbin was stunned.
Only then did he realize that the previous conversation was merely a trap set by Zhao Ya to extract his thoughts.
But now it was too late to change his words.
He stood there stupefied, a deep sense of shame and annoyance surfacing on his face shortly thereafter.
"No matter how you twist it, you’re not going to let me off, are you?"
"Right, after all, everything started because of you. Now that so many people have died, if you can walk away unscathed, preserve your life, wouldn’t that be unfair?" Zhao Ya said lightly.
"My Wei Family is one of the top aristocratic families in the Capital. If you kill me, my family will definitely avenge me." Wei Hongbin shouted hysterically, trying to quell his inner fear, regardless of the contradictions.
But the next moment, Lu Dingtai, who had been standing there, suddenly leapt forward to him, raising his hand with a slap.
With a cracking sound, Wei Hongbin couldn’t dodge, and his head was twisted three times and then hung on his back.
Even then, his face still had a slight look of confusion, as if he couldn’t understand why he suddenly saw the scenery behind him.
Then his eyes gradually dimmed, and he died.
Lu Dingtai clapped his hands and said indifferently, "It’s just an aristocrat from Yan Kingdom, how dare they act so arrogant?"
The whole place was silent.
Seeing this, Zhao Ya couldn’t help but have a bitter smile on his face.
He originally thought of extracting more information from Wei Hongbin, but he didn’t expect that his master, after breaking through to the Fifth Realm, became more domineering, ending Wei Hongbin’s life with a single slap.
But dead is dead. In Zhao Ya’s plan, after draining Wei Hongbin of his value, he had to be killed.
Such a person, left alive, is a menace; only in death can there be peace.
Now, with Wei Hongbin’s death, his subordinates scattered in chaos, some surrendered, some resisted stubbornly.
But soon, those who attempted to resist were all wiped out, and those who surrendered were handed over to Sun Yingkui for screening.
He would determine whether there were any malicious individuals among them, executing those who were, and imprisoning those who had committed no crimes or minor offenses, awaiting disposition.
After taking care of these trivial matters, Shi Donglai and Shi Xiqu, these two brothers, surprisingly, were still alive.
Thanks to the strong life force of the Fifth Realm martial artists, even though their organs had been shattered, they were still clinging to life.
However, that was their limit.
Their eyes were dimming at a visible pace, estimated to perish in two or three minutes.
Yet even so, they still struggled to keep their eyes open and stared straight at Lu Dingtai.
Shi Xiqu, whose injuries were slightly lesser, asked, "Are...are you a disciple of...the Azure Dragon Temple?"
Lu Dingtai nodded, "Yes!"
The Shi Brothers’ expressions became much more relaxed.
Shi Xiqu continued, "To...to die at the hands of a disciple of the Azure Dragon Temple... isn’t too dishonorable for the martial prowess of us brothers."
With those words, Shi Xiqu tilted his head and died.
Shi Donglai murmured, then also breathed his last.
Lu Dingtai did not say anything further.
After all, the Shi Brothers were just serving their master, and between them, there was no real enmity.
"Later, buy two coffins, carry these brothers outside the city, and dig a hole to bury them," Lu Dingtai ordered.
"Yes!"
Zhao Ya responded, then crouched down and began the familiar task of searching the corpses.
Lu Dingtai did not stop him, knowing that this was customary in Jianghu conflicts: the belongings of the dead go to the victor.
Once Zhao Ya finished searching the corpses, Lu Dingtai lifted his gaze to the distance, saying calmly, "Come with me to meet those little brats from the Capital."