We all looked at each other in astonishment, and no one had the urge to beat him up anymore. We were truly at a loss for words, unsure whether to hate him or pity him. Qin Hui was, after all, a complete psychopath!
Qin Hui said, "Of course, I betrayed the Song Dynasty for reasons of being afraid of death and greedy for money, but that was only a small part of it."
Wu Sangui could no longer contain himself. He stepped forward from the crowd and kicked Qin Hui, cursing, "You old traitor!" We all shuddered...
Suddenly remembering something, I grabbed Qin Hui by the collar and shouted, "By the way, where's Lao Hao?"
Qin Hui said with a smile, "Look, now you need me to betray him again, so you should treat me better."
I straightened his clothes and said politely, "Old Qin, please tell us. Old Hao knows too much. If he runs away abroad, there will be endless trouble. I need your help."
Qin Hui nodded ecstatically, "Yes, yes, that's the feeling—then let me tell you, he's currently waiting for Gu Debai and the others to bring the goods to meet him at your old pawnshop. But since something happened here, he should have already become aware. If you run fast enough, you can still catch him." This old traitor has indeed betrayed his master again…
Dai Zong put on his armor and said, "I'll go first, you all follow." With that, he disappeared in a flash, and Zhang Qing and the others hurriedly followed.
Everyone looked at each other, unsure what to do with Qin Hui. I asked Li Jingshui, "What do you plan to do? By the way, where's your Commandant Xu?" Logically, all 300 should have come to help me in this situation, but I only realized then that Li Jingshui was the only one from 300 who had come.
Li Jingshui glared angrily at Qin Hui and said, "It's really unfortunate today. Our Marshal Yue is coming to see you, and Lieutenant Xu and the others have gone to greet him."
I asked in surprise, "Your Marshal Yue is coming?"
Just then, several buses stopped in front of us. The first person to jump off was Xu Delong, followed by 300 soldiers of Yue Fei's army. Everyone knew that Yue Fei was about to make his appearance, and they all became solemn.
Before the 300 honor guards were even fully arrayed, a man in his fifties stepped out of a vehicle with a smile. The 300 men stood at attention, their eyes filled with respect. The old man was slightly overweight, dressed in casual clothes, and his gaze was clear and resolute. He smiled and waved to everyone, asking, "Which one of you is Xiao Qiang?"
I glanced at Qin Hui with pity; now, even if I wanted to spare his life, it would be difficult. If Yue Fei and Qin Hui met in this situation, and each member of Yue Fei's army poked him with a finger, he would be riddled with holes. I hurried forward, first giving an American military salute, then said in a clear voice, "Hey, Marshal Yue!"
Yue Fei was taken aback, then laughed, "You brat, you're so unruly, still trying to pull off those fascist tricks?" Yue Fei truly lived up to his reputation; even in his laughter, he exuded an aura of righteous indignation. Li Jingshui first saluted Yue Fei, then silently stepped aside, revealing Qin Hui on the ground.
Yue Fei asked in surprise, "It's you?"
Qin Hui smiled, but it sounded like he was crying: "Marshal Yue..."
The Yue Family Army, known for its strict military discipline, finally couldn't hold back any longer and began to clamor: "Marshal, kill him!" Yue Fei waved his hand and half-squatted in front of Qin Hui: "You've come too?"
Qin Hui said with a bitter smile, "Don't say anything more. Whether it's slow slicing or whatever, you decide. If you give me a quick death, I'll be grateful to you for the rest of my life."
Yue Fei said solemnly, "Qin Hui, you betrayed your country for personal gain, framed loyal officials, and misled the emperor with slanderous words. Your crimes deserve death."
Qin Hui said, "Hey, do you even need to tell me that?"
Yue Fei suddenly stood up and shouted to those around him, "But everyone, do you think I should kill him?"
Everyone shouted in unison, "He deserves to die!" Even people like Hua Mulan and Guan Yu, who didn't know who Qin Hui was, nodded in agreement. Baozi stared at everyone, muttering, "He deserves to die."
Yue Fei looked at Qin Hui and said, "You already didn't have much time left. If I kill you now, it will only make you feel better. I won't kill you!"
Many people exclaimed, "Yes, yes, let's leave him to us. It's better to stab him a few times and punch him a few times every day than to kill him all at once."
Qin Hui's face was ashen, and he collapsed to the ground.
Yue Fei said to Qin Hui, "My current identity is the secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of a prefecture-level city in the People's Republic of China." I whispered, "My goodness, being an official in your area must be incredibly difficult."
“If I were to order your execution, it would tarnish my innocence. More importantly, if I did that, I would never be able to honestly question others about their past…” Someone in Yue Fei’s army immediately cried out, “Marshal—” Yue Fei waved his hand and said, “In this life, I am a Chinese citizen, and he… he could barely be considered one. But I cannot judge him based on my memories from my past life. In my previous life, I died a convicted criminal, while he was the Prime Minister. Although justice resides in the hearts of the people, if I were to truly kill him, unless I could return to my past life and the Emperor gave the order, Yue Fei would rather die again to prove his innocence!”
We've all figured it out. Yue Fei couldn't let go of this thousand-year-old resentment in his heart, and he still wanted to clear his name through official channels. To put it simply, he wanted to get back up where he fell down, but... was that even possible?
Suddenly someone in the crowd shouted, "I wonder if my order will work?" As he spoke, a big man stepped out. I knew at a glance that something interesting was about to happen. This man was none other than Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin!
When Zhao Kuangyin revealed his identity, Yue Fei was momentarily stunned. In his previous life, he should have absolutely kowtowed nine times and bowed eight times, but in the end, Yue Fei, mindful of his position as the Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the new China, awkwardly stepped forward and shook hands with Zhao Kuangyin…
Old Zhao didn't mince words. He looked at Qin Hui and said, "I've heard the gist of what happened between you and this man. That brat is truly despicable and deserves to die! Now, as the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, I hereby issue this decree: Yue Fei, loyal to the country, is reinstated; Qin Hui, who betrayed the country and slandered the emperor, is to be executed immediately, and his entire family will be exterminated." The tall, dark-skinned man, a veteran of many battles, spoke succinctly and decisively. After finishing, he stood back in the crowd, expressionless.
Yue Fei seemed somewhat bewildered. He first clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhao Kuangyin, then suddenly seemed enlightened, laughing, "Actually, not long after my death, another Song emperor exonerated me. Even if that weren't the case, people have their own judgment, so why should I care so much about empty fame? Hehe, I was narrow-minded." Yue Fei finally felt relieved. He looked at Qin Hui as if he were a stranger and said, "I'll ask you one last question. We had no personal grudges back then. Even if you were trying to harm me by guessing the emperor's intentions, you could have simply been dismissed from office and returned to your hometown, or at most sent someone to secretly monitor you. But why did you insist on putting me to death?"
Qin Hui chuckled dryly a few times and said, "It's like owing someone money. If you owe a little, you might still think about paying it back. But if you keep owing more and more, one day you'll wish the creditor were dead. It was one thing to harm you the first few times, but later I couldn't help but hate you so much because I can't see you anymore, so I have to make sure you're dead."
Yue Fei chuckled and said, "I understand. You're not heartless, your conscience is just crooked. Alright, I don't hate you. Haven't many historians said that history always needs people like you? As the saying goes, 'No destruction, no construction.' Without parasites like you, the Song and Jin dynasties might have fought to the death with all their might, which would not have benefited the progress of humanity. However, as a person, you are terrible and a failure."
After saying this, Yue Fei shouted, "300 Beiwei soldiers, listen up! There is no such person as Qin Hui in this world. If you see this person in front of you in the future, you will not recognize him at all. Do you understand?"
300 answered, word by word: "Understood!"
"From now on, there will be no Yue Fei in this world. I will be a stranger in your eyes. Do you understand?"
This time, not a single one of the 300 answered. Yue Fei smiled calmly and said to us, "I hope you won't make things difficult for me. So many heroes are here today, and I really wanted to have a good get-together with everyone, but I have official duties and must leave first. Come visit me sometime. But let me be clear, my salary isn't high. You'll only get noodles if you come." Everyone laughed.
Yue Fei shook hands with me and said, "It still comes down to those eight words: 'Keep yourself pure and upright, and be awe-inspiring in your integrity.'"
I replied as if it were a secret code: "I will dedicate myself to the cause until my dying breath."
Yue Fei smiled, waved to everyone, and said, "Don't see me off, I'll take a taxi to the station."
Qin Hui suddenly grabbed Yue Fei's leg and exclaimed, "I'll go with you!"
We were both angry and amused, and we all shouted, "Let go!"
Yue Fei reached out and lifted Qin Hui up—Marshal Yue still possessed impressive skills—and chuckled, "What are you coming with me for?"
Qin Hui looked at us, his eyes darting around, and said, "Although I don't know what the Discipline Inspection Commission does, if you're dealing with corrupt officials, perhaps I can help you."
Yue Fei's eyes lit up: "Fighting poison with poison, that really is a good idea."
Qin Hui hurriedly replied, "I'm no good at fighting, and you're no good at punishing corrupt officials..."
Zhu Yuanzhang interjected from the crowd, "I'm quite adept at this too!"
Qin Hui rolled his eyes at him and said, "What's your secret? Have you ever been a corrupt official?"