Chapter 167: Then Can I?

Two insignia stars rested on his shoulders.
A military rank of Lieutenant General!
Such a figure, even in retirement, still commanded immense authority and influence within the military region!
No matter where he went, he would be revered by thousands!
Yet, just moments ago, members of the Meng family had repeatedly provoked him right to his face.
They had even claimed that refusing to obey a Japanese colonel was a disgrace to the Chinese people?
Just thinking about it now sent chills down their spines, leaving them overwhelmed with lingering fear!
"C-Could this lieutenant general rank be fake?" some young members of the Meng family whispered, paralyzed and trembling against the tables, their limbs going cold as they instinctively tried to harbor doubt.
The moment he spoke, Meng Xianglong, eyes wide and shaking, lunged forward and struck him across the face.
Slap!
"Shut your damn mouth! Are you trying to get our entire Meng family killed?!"
Meng Xianglong was beside himself, his eyes split wide with rage, his heart practically frightened out of his chest.
Who would dare to doubt a lieutenant general bearing two stars?!
Did they still want to keep their heads on their shoulders?!
Outside the Meng family hall,
Yamamoto was frozen in place, his complexion turning ashen.
Faced with the old man's interrogation, his lips tightened into a hard line, a look of bitter resentment on his face, yet he remained utterly silent.
"Weren't you acting quite arrogant just a moment ago?"
"Weren't you going to report this and issue an official notice against us?"
"Come on, this old man is standing right here. Go ahead and file your report, I'll wait!"
The old man straightened his military uniform, speaking with magnanimous ease as he gazed at Yamamoto, as if genuinely expecting him to step forward and report the matter.
Yet Yamamoto had merely been bluffing; how could he possibly dare to take actual action?
He had to remember that the man standing before him right now was a Lieutenant General! The weight of that position was simply too immense!
"Chinese General, you push too far! Just recently, a member of our Japanese Martial Arts Association died a tragic death here in China, and it happened today!"
"My purpose in coming here is to demand justice for Sato-kun!"
"In turn, I would like to ask you, esteemed old general: why is the murderer still standing here so brazenly and openly? Is the law of your China nothing more than an indulgence for assassins?"

Yamamoto seemed to have found a breakthrough point, pointing from a distance straight at Qin Mu, who stood within the Meng family hall.
Qin Mu's public execution of Sato was precisely what the stubborn old veteran had been worried about.
Sure enough, Yamamoto was now using it as ammunition!
Seeing that the stubborn old veteran remained silent, Yamamoto grew immensely smug. He turned on his heel, strode into the Meng family hall, and pressed the tip of his sheathed sword directly toward Qin Mu.
"Got nothing to say now, do you? You Chinese people must understand, Sato-kun was a genuine grandmaster of the Transformation Realm!"
"His sacrifice is not merely the loss of a single martial artist to our Martial Arts Association! It means our entire Greater Japan has needlessly lost a martial arts grandmaster!"
"How does China intend to compensate us for this loss?!"
Yamamoto spoke with righteous indignation and grand swagger, his passionate words inciting the other Japanese present, who immediately began fiercely denouncing Qin Mu in Japanese.
"Compensation?"
"You'd better worry about whether you can walk out of this Meng family gate alive today!"
Qin Mu, silent for a long while, finally spoke.
"What did you say..."
Hearing Qin Mu's words, Yamamoto opened his mouth to retort, when a razor-sharp gust of wind suddenly grazed his ear, slicing across his cheek to leave a long trail of blood before embedding itself deeply into the wall behind him!
Yamamoto's expression instantly stiffened.
He had almost forgotten.
Sato Mukai was a Transformation Realm expert!
And Qin Mu was the one who had forcefully slain Sato right in front of Noda's squad of armed men.
How could his strength possibly be lacking?
"Y-You dare to attack me?! I am a Colonel officially commissioned by the Japanese government!" Yamamoto demanded, forcing his voice to remain steady.
"Old Veteran, have you brought the evidence of Sato Mukai's crimes?"
Ignoring him entirely, Qin Mu called out coldly. Outside the main hall, the stubborn old veteran immediately understood and issued a brief instruction to young Wei standing beside him.
Holding a file in his hands, young Wei hurried over to Qin Mu and handed the documents across.
"Insulting the national name of China, illegally smuggling our cultural relics, illegally possessing firearms, and distributing internationally banned combat drugs..."
"Every single crime is recorded in black and white."
"Since you demand justice for him, were you perhaps an accomplice to these?" Qin Mu held up the documents, displaying them before Yamamoto as he spoke coldly.
Yamamoto gritted his teeth, forcing the words out: "Do not spout nonsense and slander us here! No matter how many crimes Sato Mukai allegedly committed, it is not your place to execute him publicly!"

"You are a mere civilian! You are not a law enforcement officer!! You have no such right!"
"Who says I am not a law enforcement officer?"
Even as Yamamoto spoke, Qin Mu suddenly drew a military officer's identification booklet from his pocket.
"I serve in the armed forces of China. Does this suffice?"
As these words fell, Yamamoto's self-assurance instantly collapsed.
He had never imagined that the person he came to accuse was, in fact, a soldier of the Chinese military as well!
No one had mentioned this in the intelligence report!!
Yamamoto's triangular eyes constricted sharply. He racked his brain frantically before speaking with bitter desperation: "Regardless, Sato-kun was a citizen of Japan. Even if he violated the law, he should have been handed over to our Japanese..."
"This is China!"
Qin Mu's thunderous shout made Yamamoto's soul tremble, nearly causing him to drop the sword in his hand!
Yamamoto glared at Qin Mu, cold sweat involuntarily beading on his forehead.
W-Was this the kind of imposing aura a mere soldier could possess?
"To cross national borders to enforce the law and settle accounts—your Martial Arts Association certainly wields grand authority!"
With a casual flick of his hand, Qin Mu unleashed an invisible force that snapped Yamamoto's sword in half with a crisp crack!
The impact sent Yamamoto staggering backward repeatedly, the webbing of his right hand tearing open from the shockwave, shooting pain that made him want to scream.
"Chinese General! Look at your subordinate! How dare he attack me—"
"I'm watching," the stubborn old veteran replied indifferently from outside.
Hearing this, Yamamoto's face turned livid, resembling that of a mourning family member. He glanced back and forth several times before hardening his resolve.
"I will report this matter truthfully! We shall await the final verdict then!"
"I will not keep you company any longer!"
With that, Yamamoto turned on his heel and prepared to leave.
"Colonel! Colonel, you cannot leave!"
"If you leave, what will happen to us?!"