Chapter 252: Chapter 252 Official Government Visitors

With that loud shout, several fast horses came galloping from a distance.

Seeing this, the members of the Tian Family rushed forward to block them.

However, the riders did not slow down, and the leading one raised his hand, revealing a black token, while shouting loudly, “Official business for Qingning Prefecture, all unrelated persons step aside!”

From the prefectural city? The few who were blocking the way hesitated, their bodies inevitably slowing down.

The Tian Family could act with impunity in Dongmu County, and in neighboring Zhige County, they feared no one, having even bribed the entire county government office. But they still had some reservations about the people from the prefectural city.

The reason was simple. Qingning Prefecture governed not only Zhige and Dongmu, but also Yangning County where Lang Zhen was located, as well as Yangshan County, and others.

A prefecture’s territory was not to be taken lightly. The Gu Family in Yangshan alone was a colossal entity; other counties also had forces comparable to the Tian Family, not to mention Xiyin City where the prefectural government office was located.

It was not impossible for the Tian Family to quietly eliminate a few government officials from the prefectural city but causing them trouble in broad daylight could lead to an uncontrollable situation unless the Tian Family was planning a rebellion.

Feng Jun saw the reaction of the Tian Family members and knew a change was afoot. Without hesitation, he flashed to Deng Lao Er’s side, snatched his fast knife, and with a flick of his wrist, chopped down.

“Audacious!” The newcomers were still half a mile away when they saw him draw his knife and let out a desperate shout, their voices changing in their urgency.

At the same time, a figure leaped from horseback, shooting towards Feng Jun like an arrow, “You’re courting death!”

Feng Jun beheaded the martial master from the Gu Family with one stroke of the knife and, seeing that the incoming adversary was an Intermediate-Level Martial Master, didn’t hesitate to raise his hand for another slash while shouting like thunder, “Scram!”

The Intermediate-Level Martial Master was sensible. Seeing Feng Jun swinging the knife at him, he immediately slowed down and dodged to the side, all the while shouting, “How dare you attack an official!”

Seeing that the man evaded, Feng Jun withdrew his knife and casually handed it back to Deng Lao Er, then turned and walked away without sparing any further words for the scene. There was no need for him to deal with such a minor character—with the Tian Family members present.

Sure enough, Tian Yangni also charged out, shouting loudly, “The Tian Family of Dongmu is handling things here; any friend who wants to challenge us is welcome to try!”

To display the Tian Family banner so brazenly in such a situation was risky—even though everyone knew the Tian Family had sided with Feng Jun, as long as they didn’t reveal their identity, others could pretend ignorance.

The most direct threat did not come from the officials of Qingning Prefecture but from the Yangshan Gu Family. With the Tian Family openly challenging the Gu Family, it was impossible for the Gu Family to feign ignorance anymore.

However, Tian Yangni had no regrets. If it hadn’t been for the Divine Doctor’s quick action, allowing the warrior from the Gu Family to survive might have revived the fool, and his list of grievances against the Gu Family would have spread anyway. The Tian Family still couldn’t avoid a confrontation with the Gu Family.

Now, by stepping forward himself, he could distract from the situation—after all, it was the Divine Doctor who hired the Tian Family as bodyguards. It wasn’t personal against the Gu Family; it was just business.

Of course, such a defense seemed rather weak, but Tian Yangni didn’t care. The Tian Family was now firmly bound with the Divine Doctor, and they had no choice but to continue their bold gamble.

As for the outcome of this gamble… who could guarantee it? There’s risk in riding horses and being carried in a sedan chair, too.

In any case, even with the Yu Family’s reputation, the Divine Doctor had refused their entry. The Tian Family managed to get involved early, seizing the initiative.

The several riders arrived quickly, and the Tian Family disciples heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing them.

Among the eight, the one with the highest cultivation level was that Intermediate-Level Martial Master who had fled halfway and hadn’t dared to respond to the challenge.

It was unclear where these eight people got their confidence from. With only three among them being Early-Level and Intermediate-Level Martial Masters, they marched proudly into the scene.

Yet the Intermediate-Level Martial Master did not seem embarrassed. He stepped forward, showing the black token, and spoke sternly, “I serve as the head of the Qingning Prefecture guard. I’ve heard there’s a swindler in Zhige County and have been ordered by the Magistrate to investigate.”

“A swindler?” Tian Yangni sneered, “Then go search for your swindler. What are you doing here?”

“This is precisely where the swindler is located,” the Intermediate-Level Martial Master said coldly, “It’s been said that someone was buying useless talc at a high price… May I ask why?”

“Are you out of your mind?” someone in the crowd shouted. “One side is willing to buy, the other to sell. What business is it of yours?”

The Intermediate-Level Martial Master chuckled coldly, “If someone has amassed a large quantity of talc and is offloading it cheaply, and people find that no one wants to buy the talc later… isn’t that the work of a swindler?”

This response was logically correct and, in fact, could be considered a rather cunning scam.

But the problem was that this method did not apply here.

Just like before, someone in the crowd mocked loudly, “Are you stupid? This place is near Mount Zhige. As long as you’re willing to work, there are countless talc stones. Who’s the idiot buying talc to sell?”

The Intermediate-Level Martial Master heard this and remained unflustered, instead scanning the crowd, “Cowards! If you have the guts, stop hiding and come out to speak!”

No one came forward to speak, and instead, a chorus of boos and loud jeers arose.

Clearly, they weren’t afraid of him but rather found it amusing to tease the government runners.

The Intermediate Level martial master had seen much of the world and paid no mind to those trivial fellows—in fact, their collective martial prowess wasn’t enough to support such reckless behavior.

So he looked directly at Feng Jun, whose short hair was unmistakably distinctive, “Are you the one who has been buying talc?”

Feng Jun didn’t even bother with him, but instead pulled out a cigarette, lighting it leisurely. If Tian Yangni couldn’t handle even this situation, he would have truly wasted the effort of drawing his sword earlier.

As expected, an elder of the Tian Family spoke up, “I won’t say much else, but who here claimed that there were fraudsters?”

The Intermediate Level martial master could ignore the words of others, but he couldn’t ignore this person—this was a High-Rank martial master speaking, “Informers are protected by the law, what do you mean by asking this?”

“Without an informer to testify, you want to make things difficult for a High-Rank martial master?” Tian Yangni sneered, “Could it be that you believe all High-Rank martial masters are weak and easily bullied?”

“I have official documents from the Prefectural Government Office,” the Intermediate Level martial master retorted without showing weakness, “Are you suggesting that you want to start a rebellion?”

As he spoke, he took a paper pouch from his chest and waved it in his hand, exuding arrogance.

Then he looked at Feng Jun again, “Your hairstyle and clothes are obviously those of a foreigner, do you have an identification plaque?”

“None of your damn business whether I have an identification plaque or not!” Lang Zhen came forward, speaking coldly, “Since when does the Prefectural Government Office take responsibility for checking identities? Better go and call someone from the county office.”

Ordinarily, the other party shouldn’t care about him since he was just a beginner martial master, but the Intermediate Level martial master’s face changed immediately at the sight of him, “Lone Wolf? You really are here.”

“Don’t try to make connections, I don’t know you,” Lang Zhen stretched out his single arm, waving it casually, unconcerned about the other’s cultivation level and status, “However, I don’t mind giving you a fresh introduction… If you want to trouble my master, you’ll have to get past me first.”

Clearly, the Intermediate Level martial master knew how troublesome Lone Wolf could be, especially since right now he was surrounded by many, a simple glance revealing at least a dozen martial masters including at least two High-Rank martial masters.

So, even though he held the official documents from the Prefectural Government Office, he dared not provoke the other side too much.

He could only look at Feng Jun and say coldly, “Let’s put aside the matter of fraud for now, you did kill someone just now, that’s a fact, isn’t it?”

“That’s right,” Feng Jun nodded, speaking impatiently, “I did kill someone. That was a personal grudge… any objections?”

“Heh,” the Intermediate Level martial master sneered, “In Donghua Country’s laws, murder is met with the death penalty, you know that, don’t you?”

Murder was met with the death penalty indeed in Donghua Country’s law, but that was just a guideline. The sentence could be adjusted according to the specifics of the case.

If the murderer was avenging a blood relative, a verdict of not guilty was quite normal, and even a fine could be waived.

However, if the murderer aimed at rebellion by killing those in the know, even if there was no actual rebellion, sentencing them to the punishment of being related to a criminal nine degrees of kinship wasn’t considered strange.

“The one I killed was from the Wonderful Hand Pavilion,” Feng Jun replied unhurriedly, “they tried to murder me. After I captured the person, I tried to communicate with the Wonderful Hand Pavilion, but they ignored me, so I had no choice but to behead him publicly, as a warning to others.”

And the reason he gave for his actions was actually pretty good—if considered credible, he could just pay a fine and avoid the death penalty. With a larger bribe and some greasing of palms, release the same day wasn’t impossible.

“Is that so?” sneered the Intermediate Level martial master, “Without proof, come with me to the Prefectural Government Office.”

“Wang San, get the hell out of here!” someone shouted angrily, “For murder, you repay with your life… how come you’re fine after you killed your widowed sister-in-law?”

The Intermediate Level martial master’s expression changed at these words, and turning his head, it shifted again, “Heh, if it isn’t Shopkeeper Mi, from Yuanguang Prefecture, what brings you to Qingning? As for my sister-in-law, she was immoral, abused my nephew… she deserved execution!”

“Get lost!” Shopkeeper Mi dismissed him mercilessly with a wave of his hand, “You have reason when you kill someone in broad daylight, but others are guilty for killing a thief from Wonderful Hand Pavilion in a hidden corner?”

The Intermediate Level martial master knew this was not someone to be easily provoked, but he still stubbornly spoke, “My innocence was declared by the Prefectural Government Office. This man killed someone in front of an official… shouldn’t he go to the Prefectural Government Office?”

“When they judged you, you were hiding,” Shopkeeper Mi coldly responded, “Did you ever go to the Prefectural Government Office?”

Feng Jun listened and was somewhat enlightened; so, in this world, there was such a thing as trial in absentia?

And what was most shocking was… one could be absent and still be declared innocent of murder?

The Intermediate Level martial master was at a loss for words for a moment, then finally said fiercely, “I must bring this person to justice today. Does anyone here object?”

“If you have the guts, just try to lay a hand on him,” Lang Zhen sneered, “damn it, Mount Zhige is so vast, a few people die, throw them in a ravine… who would find them?”

The Intermediate Level martial master’s face turned pale at those words.

(Update to this point, summoning March monthly tickets.)