APSIL -Chapter 50 Villains Die from Talking Too Much

Ding Hai stared at Zhang Chen with the look of an eagle watching a chick.

Seeing that the young man was so frightened that he could barely even sit steadily, Ding Hai did not withdraw his mocking gaze. Instead, he continued examining this noble young master who had once caused a massive purge within the Linhai Naval Camp.

In fact, he almost hoped Zhang Chen would be so terrified that he wet himself. That way, after taking such a huge risk this time, he would have one more amusing story to tell in the future.

However, he soon became disappointed.

Because after the initial shock and fear, Zhang Chen suddenly let out a cold snort. He raised his head, straightened his back, and sat upright. His voice became smooth and steady.

“You rebel! Don’t think I’ll be afraid of you just because you’ve come here!”

“Many people in your Linhai Naval Camp colluded with corrupt merchants, murdered innocent people, and lined their own pockets. You deserved your fate!”

“The Emperor is benevolent and did not order a complete massacre. Instead of being grateful, you actually caused a mutiny and rebelled!”

Ding Hai’s expression instantly darkened. His words became even more vicious.

“People like you, born into wealth and honor, know nothing about what life is like in a military camp from top to bottom!”

“Regardless of storms or harsh weather, whenever there was a military order, we had to go out to sea and patrol. Yet the military funds were limited. We were supposedly proper soldiers of the imperial court, but sometimes we had to go out fishing like ordinary fishermen just to fill our stomachs!”

“Those merchants make huge profits every time they go overseas. They bring back worthless junk from foreign lands and sell it for thousands or tens of thousands of taels of silver. Why?”

“The people who go to sea are all desperate men who cannot survive back home, or vicious criminals chasing wealth. Such people deserve to die!”

“Is your own household any cleaner? Everything you eat comes from the sweat and blood of common people!”

While Ding Hai grew more and more emotional, Zhang Shou noticed that all his attention was focused on Zhang Chen.

He glanced toward Zhu Ying.

At some point, Zhanjin and Liuyin had already moved to either side of her, standing protectively beside their mistress with expressions of absolute loyalty.

Yet Zhu Ying herself sat calmly, lowering her head to examine her freshly dyed crimson nails, as if she did not feel any danger at all.

Perhaps sensing Zhang Shou’s gaze, Zhu Ying suddenly looked up.

When she saw the unmistakable concern in his eyes, the corner of her mouth curved upward into a proud smile.

There was not the slightest trace of fear on her face.

She even glanced toward Lu Sanlang, who was still desperately working on his problems, his forehead covered in sweat.

When she saw Zhang Shou’s helplessly amused expression, she lightly waved her small fist.

She was telling him that she wanted to make the first move.

But Zhang Shou shook his head.

Seeing the young lady become annoyed, Zhang Shou noticed that Zhang Chen had already been verbally cornered by Ding Hai.

The young man clearly wanted to argue back, but Ding Hai’s fierce attitude had left him unable to respond.

So Zhang Shou calmly tapped the armrest.

“Commander Ding, judging from what you’ve said, do you believe you are robbing the rich and helping the poor? Eliminating evil and protecting justice?”

Before Ding Hai could answer, Zhang Shou suddenly stood up.

The usually gentle and refined expression on his face was now filled with anger.

“Sweet words and shameless excuses. Calling you a rebel is already giving you too much credit.”

“In my opinion, you are nothing more than a despicable rat who exaggerates your own suffering while ignoring the hard work and sacrifices of others. A piece of trash!”

Zhu Ying’s eyes widened.

Although she had previously heard Zhang Shou argue fiercely with Tang Ming and Xie Wanquan on the rooftop of the Zhang residence, those exchanges were mostly sarcasm and mockery.

When had she ever seen him directly curse someone like this?

The elegant and refined Zhang Shou could actually insult people?

And he was calling someone a rat and trash!

As expected, Ding Hai, who had just been relentlessly attacking Zhang Chen, suddenly became furious after being struck by Zhang Shou’s words.

But before he could retaliate, Zhang Shou continued.

“Is the imperial army’s military pay insufficient?”

“Perhaps the soldiers at the bottom truly do not have enough to eat or warm clothes to wear. But why?”

“Because people like you, military officers, exploit them layer by layer!”

“Because you flatter your superiors and waste enormous amounts of money on drinking, entertainment, and luxury!”

“You say soldiers had to fish during patrols to survive?”

“Why don’t you admit that it was because officers like you wanted the profits from those catches, so you treated soldiers like fishermen?”

Ding Hai’s expression changed.

Zhang Shou’s voice grew colder.

“You say merchants make huge profits from overseas voyages?”

“Why don’t you mention that every trip across the sea is a life-and-death gamble?”

“How many ships sink every year?”

“You say desperate criminals board ships and return rich after one trip?”

“Bullshit!”

“When they are enduring storms, loneliness, and the fear of death at sea, other people are sitting comfortably at home with their wives and children!”

After saying this in one breath, Zhang Shou sneered.

“You attack Zhang Chen simply because he was born with things you never had.”

“You are jealous and resentful. Just admit it.”

“Why wrap it up in all these ridiculous excuses?”

“When he exposed your crimes, neither he nor his father gained anything from it. He did it simply because his sense of justice exceeded his desire for profit.”

“But you and those who followed you into rebellion?”

“You are murderers. You deserved your punishment.”

Ding Hai’s face twisted completely.

He had entered Qingfeng Xulai Hall with the arrogance of a revenge-seeking victor.

He had expected fear.

He had expected pleading.

He had expected these pampered noble children to collapse before him.

Instead, all his confidence had been shattered by Zhang Shou’s words.

His rage nearly burned away the last bit of his reason.

He pulled out his blade and pointed it loosely at Zhang Shou.

His voice became cold and murderous.

“All I need are noble children like Zhu Ying, Zhang Chen, and Lu Sanlang.”

“I never intended to let someone like you—someone who pretends to be righteous—live.”

“When I cut your tongue into pieces later, when you can no longer even scream, I want to see what kind of expression you’ll have.”

Zhang Shou smiled faintly.

“That’s better.”

“Since you’re clearly the villain, don’t pretend to be some tragic victim.”

“This cruel and vicious face suits you much better.”

“You’re courting death!”

Ding Hai finally lost all restraint.

He suddenly charged toward Zhang Shou.

At that exact moment, Zhu Ying grabbed a teacup from the small table beside her and threw it violently toward Ding Hai’s leg.

Bang!

The teacup struck perfectly against the side of his right knee.

Ding Hai staggered from the pain and finally realized he had acted impulsively.

But an arrow already released could not be recalled.

He reacted instantly.

Using his left foot, he pushed hard against the ground and launched himself forward, blade flashing toward Zhang Shou.

The distance was so close that the seemingly delicate and scholarly young man should have been impossible to avoid.

Yet Zhang Shou suddenly smiled.

Then he shifted sideways.

The blade missed.

And immediately afterward—

Ding Hai heard the sound of a bowstring behind him.

The next moment, he felt as if his back had been struck by a heavy hammer.

His body flew forward and crashed onto the ground.

Almost instantly, he realized—

He had been shot.

An arrow had struck him from behind.

There was someone else inside this room?

Just as this thought appeared in his mind, screams suddenly erupted outside.

They were the voices of his own men.

Before he could call out, Zhang Shou rushed forward.

He stepped firmly on Ding Hai’s sword hand and violently seized the weapon away.

At the same time, Zhu Ying leapt forward.

With one flip of her right hand, a shining short sword appeared and pressed against Ding Hai’s neck.

Her left hand immediately stuffed a cloth into his mouth.

Zhang Shou glanced at Zhu Ying’s delighted expression.

Only then did he look behind him.

Lu Sanlang’s hand holding the short bow was still trembling violently.

And outside the bamboo curtain of Qingfeng Xulai Hall, a pair of familiar shoes disappeared into the darkness.

Zhang Shou immediately understood the mystery behind that life-saving arrow.

He smiled.

“Everyone did well.”

“Look, the leader of the bandits has already been captured by our combined efforts.”

Only then did Zhang Chen feel as if he had truly come back to life.

Thinking back to how Zhang Shou had verbally crushed Ding Hai just moments ago, defending him and speaking on his behalf, an unfamiliar thought slowly emerged in his mind.

This teacher whom he had previously thought was somewhat questionable…

Perhaps, maybe, actually wasn’t such a bad person after all.

He took a deep breath and wanted to say something, but in the end, the only thing that came out was a dry sentence.

“Lu Sanlang, I didn’t expect you to know how to shoot arrows.”

Lu Sanlang lowered his head and gave a bitter smile.

“My arrow didn’t even leave the bow. It fell before it was fired.”

“The arrow seems to have come from behind me, outside the door…”

Zhu Ying was currently calling Zhanjin and Liuyin over to tie Ding Hai up.

Hearing Lu Sanlang’s words, she immediately became furious.

“You useless pig!”

“You really are completely unreliable at the most critical moments!”

“If A-Liu hadn’t arrived in time, A-Shou would have almost been injured by this bastard!”

“Earlier you kept bragging about how accurate your archery was, saying you would shoot down enemies with your bow. Hmph!”

“Luckily, I gave my bow to A-Liu. Giving such a good weapon to you would have been a waste!”

Lu Sanlang lowered his head and did not dare say anything.

Zhang Shou, however, smiled and stepped in to smooth things over.

“Don’t blame Lu Sanlang.”

“Shooting a person is completely different from shooting a target.”

“Besides, our earlier conversation delayed enough time. It was just enough for A-Liu to arrive.”

Seeing that Zhanjin and Liuyin had already efficiently tied Ding Hai’s hands and feet together, Zhang Shou crouched down.

He looked at the unwilling expression of the commander of Linhai Naval Camp and smiled.

“Commander Ding, do you feel like you lost Jingzhou through carelessness?”

“Actually, you shouldn’t have talked so much.”

“And you definitely shouldn’t have patiently listened to me talk for so long.”

“I was only buying time, waiting until the people outside began moving before capturing you.”

“If you had attacked the moment you entered, your chances of success would have been much higher.”

“As a villain, you should have some awareness.”

“Be a man of action.”

“Otherwise…”

“A villain will always die because he talks too much!”

Of course, there was one more thing Zhang Shou did not say.

The protagonist always wins through talking too much.

Ding Hai angrily struggled several times.

But then, he heard Zhu Ying say something that made him even more furious.

“Have the small fries outside all been dealt with?”

“If there are still any left, I want to go out and loosen up my muscles a little.”

Ding Hai nearly went insane from anger.

If you already set up an ambush outside, why did you even bother blocking my mouth?!

Meanwhile, outside Qingfeng Xulai Hall.

The sounds of fighting had already faded.

The night breeze swept through the bamboo forest.

What Ding Hai did not know was that the situation outside was even more hopeless than he imagined.

When his men secretly entered the bamboo buildings around Cuiyun Pavilion, they believed they were carrying out a flawless operation.

After all, these were merely spoiled young masters and their servants.

What kind of resistance could they possibly offer?

However, they quickly discovered something was wrong.

The moment they stepped into the bamboo houses, they were greeted not by sleeping noble youths—but by waiting guards.

The first few attackers were caught completely off guard.

Before they could even draw their weapons, arrows flew from the darkness.

Not many.

But every shot was precise.

The guards of the Zhao State Duke’s residence were not ordinary servants.

They had followed General Zhu Jing through battlefields.

Even after years away from war, their instincts had never disappeared.

Meanwhile, the guards belonging to the noble youths were far less united.

Some wanted to fight.

Some wanted to flee.

Some simply froze.

And before they could organize themselves, Zhu Ying’s arrangement had already separated them.

The noble young masters themselves were sleeping peacefully.

Because before the chaos began, Zhu Ying had already made sure they would not interfere.

The only people still awake were those needed for the plan.

Back inside Qingfeng Xulai Hall, Zhang Shou looked at Ding Hai thoughtfully.

This man was indeed dangerous.

Not because of his strength.

Not because of his hatred.

But because he had gathered a group of desperate people around him and convinced them that their crimes were justified.

People like this were always the hardest to deal with.

They never believed they were villains.

They believed they were victims.

And once someone convinced themselves they were fighting for justice, they became capable of doing anything.

Zhu Ying walked over proudly.

“A-Shou, how was that?”

“I told you, I could handle it.”

Zhang Shou looked at her.

Then at the tied-up Ding Hai.

Then at the short sword still in her hand.

He sighed.

“You really are different from what I imagined.”

Zhu Ying raised her eyebrows.

“What did you imagine?”

“A spoiled young lady who only knew how to spend money?”

Zhang Shou shook his head.

“No.”

“I imagined a spoiled young lady who only knew how to spend money.”

“And I was wrong.”

Zhu Ying immediately smiled proudly.

“Of course.”

“I’m the daughter of General Duke Zhao.”

“How could I possibly be ordinary?”

At this moment, footsteps came from outside.

A-Liu entered quietly.

He bowed.

“Miss, everything has been settled.”

“Twenty-seven people were captured.”

“Two escaped, but they were pursued.”

Zhu Ying nodded.

“Good.”

Then she suddenly looked at Zhang Shou.

“A-Shou.”

“What should we do with this person?”

She pointed at Ding Hai.

Zhang Shou looked at the former commander.

After a moment, he smiled.

“First, keep him alive.”

“We still need to know exactly what happened at Linhai Camp.”

“And…”

He glanced toward the dark night outside.

“This matter probably isn’t as simple as a few soldiers causing a mutiny.”

Zhu Ying’s expression slowly became serious.

Because she knew—

Zhang Shou was right.

A hundred desperate soldiers escaping toward the capital.

A military camp suddenly erupting into rebellion.

The Emperor collapsing after hearing the news.

And now, these people coming directly to their village…

There were too many coincidences.

Behind the chaos of this autumn night…

Someone was most likely moving the pieces on a much larger chessboard.