Li Yang looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young man of about eighteen or nineteen years old.
He wore a black martial arts uniform, his back straight, and his sword held steady. When he planted his feet on the ground, it was as if they had taken root. He was clearly an expert.
His appearance wasn't particularly striking, but one could say he had a handsome face.
What left the deepest impression were his eyes—very clean, bright, and filled with determination.
Just those eyes alone made him stand out from the ordinary.
It seemed as if nothing could stop this young man.
This person could only be Jiang Chen.
"Who are you?" Li Yang asked in a deep voice. "The City Lord's mansion is conducting official business, capturing fugitives. I advise you not to bring trouble upon yourself!"
Two Transcendent constables had also walked behind him. Regardless of the situation, when facing an outsider, they naturally stood on Li Yang's side.
After leaving the Rizhao Commandery mansion and just stepping into Yue City's territory, they had encountered such a matter.
He hadn't intended to meddle in other people's business, but after hearing a few words, he suddenly remembered that Sun Ping who had been paraded through the streets in a prison carriage.
If he had asked one more question back then, would that young physician not have died? Could he have learned the truth about the plague earlier, and fewer people in all of Qingyang Town and even Jiacheng would have died?
So he held his sword horizontally before him, blocking the obviously ordinary old man.
He had absolutely no trust left in the Yang Kingdom's government!
Jiang Chen didn't turn back or even move his feet, only asking: "Old man, what crime did you commit?"
Qin Nianmin gave a bitter laugh behind him. "Perhaps... the crime of speaking plainly, of telling the truth, of seeking justice!"
Jiang Chen pressed his lips together before saying: "I've never heard of such crimes existing in the world."
"Exactly... but here in Yue City, we have them! Isn't that strange, young man? Go on, leave. Yue City as it is now isn't worth anyone else shedding blood for it!"
Jiang Chen still didn't move, only fixing Li Yang with a sharp gaze as he spoke: "If it's not worth it, old man, why are you doing this?"
"I'm not doing this for the Yue City of the City Lord's mansion, but for the Yue City of its people. Not for those officials who hold positions without serving and whose heads are filled with fat, but for the place where my ancestors lived and struggled for generations."
"What do you want to do?"
"Go to the capital, file an imperial complaint!" Qin Nianmin finally spoke words that made Li Yang and the two Transcendent constables tremble with fear.
He said: "Before my father died, he said he wanted His Majesty the Monarch to know what suffering his subjects were enduring!"
Thinking of the Rizhao Commandery mansion's attitude, Jiang Chen sighed inwardly and said: "Do you know that what you're doing might very well have no meaning at all?"
"Some things, whether they have meaning or not. If you do them, you can face yourself." Qin Nianmin said: "My father is already dead, and I don't have many years left to live. If I do nothing, I don't know how I can face him when we meet again. Young man, how can you tell me to stop?"
Li Yang finally couldn't listen anymore and, letting go of his wariness toward this unfamiliar cultivator, directly lunged forward with a claw strike.
An eagle's cry suddenly pierced the cloudy sky as claw winds tore through the air toward him. Just before reaching, they transformed into blade light, slashing wildly downward.
Blade-Claw Windstorm.
Condensing blade stance into claw stance was his proudest technique.
Even though this person before him seemed imposing and difficult to deal with, he would still try to kill him with a single strike!
But he only saw a flash of sword light rise and spread across the space before him, scattering all the blade light that filled it.
And the sword momentum continued relentlessly, forcing him back step by step until he finally retreated to his original position!
Jiang Chen stood there, still not turning back, only asking Qin Nianmin: "Old man, do you know how to get there?"
"I do."
"Then go. Don't look back." Jiang Chen said: "Until I break my sword, your retreat will be safe!"
Qin Nianmin had lived half his life and knew very well that delaying was only adding risk for Jiang Chen, so he said nothing and directly mustered his remaining strength and ran.
And Jiang Chen faced Li Yang and the two Transcendent constables, alone with his sword, standing in the middle of the road, saying: "I don't want to break my word. If you still want to chase after him, I'll have no choice but to kill you."
His voice was calm, but because of the sword that had previously forced Li Yang back, it carried an unquestionable, irrevocable momentum.
At least for the three Transcendent cultivators of Yue City present, they understood very well in their hearts that they were far from being this young man's match.
"Fellow Daoist," Li Yang said through gritted teeth. "The person you're letting go is indeed guilty of grave crimes. You mustn't listen to his one-sided story!"
"Then, what crime did he commit?"
"This..." Li Yang was momentarily speechless.
The two Transcendent constables exchanged glances, unable to stop themselves from cursing silently in their hearts.
No wonder the City Lord always called him an idiot—shouldn't he have prepared an excuse before trying to deceive someone?
He was actually stumped by a casual question!
Li Yang struggled for a long time before changing his tune: "What would it take for you to turn a blind eye to this matter?"
Qin Nianmin was already running further and further away, so Jiang Chen wasn't in a hurry to leave either, only saying leisurely: "Once words are spoken, can I really take them back?"
"Who exactly are you?" Li Yang asked again.
Asking this question again now carried the threatening undertone of settling scores later.
With the backing of Yue City's City Lord, representing to some extent the institutional power of the entire Yang Kingdom, he naturally had this confidence.
Jiang Chen snorted coldly: "My name is Zhang Yuan, and I neither change my name nor my surname!"
He had even killed Jiacheng's City Lord, so of course he wouldn't fear Yue City's City Lord. But the less trouble, the better. He had no need to announce his name and then sit at home waiting for the other party to come seeking revenge.
"Very well, Zhang Yuan, I'll remember that!"
Li Yang hurriedly threw out a harsh warning before leaving with the two Transcendent constables.
Since they clearly couldn't win, it was better not to court death—dying would be pointless anyway. Now that things had reached this point, it was best to report to the City Lord as soon as possible. If that Qin Weimin actually went to file an imperial complaint, the City Lord should prepare accordingly in advance.
As for this Zhang Yuan...
After getting far away from Jiang Chen, Li Yang said angrily: "Old Song, you've seen much and know a lot. Who is this Zhang Yuan?"
"I've never heard of him?" Constable Song pondered. "So young yet so strong—could he be from some noble family in the State of Qi..."
Li Yang was stunned: "Among the famous families in the State of Qi, none have the surname Zhang."
"The State of Qi is so vast, there must be a few families that aren't very famous but possess great strength." Another constable shrank back, not wanting to attract trouble. "You should go back quickly and consult with the City Lord about what to do regarding Qin Weimin."
"Indeed, perhaps the City Lord knows who Zhang Yuan is," Constable Song said.
While saying this, his thoughts were actually about letting the City Lord worry about it himself—he didn't want to get involved.
Those experienced in the world knew best that young prodigies were often the most difficult to provoke. These individuals were usually arrogant, looked down on everyone, and had no sense of restraint when striking.
Yet behind them, there was always a bunch of people waiting to clean up their mess. How could they, small figures, afford to offend such people?
They hurried back to the city, muttering messy complaints all the way.
But suddenly, they heard the sound of bells.
Ding-ling-ling, ding-ling-ling.
In Li Yang's field of vision, a small bell suspended by a green cord appeared first.
Strangely enough, although he clearly heard the sound of the bell, at this moment he distinctly felt that the small bell wasn't making any sound—the ringing seemed to come from the depths of his own heart.
Was it an auditory hallucination?
He followed the green cord upward, where the hand holding the cord was tucked into a sleeve.
Further up, a cloak that completely covered the person hung down.
Then from beneath the cloak came a thin, feminine voice: "I think I heard you discussing Zhang Yuan?"
This voice gave a cold, slippery, and dangerous feeling, like a venomous snake.
"Could it be that the Messenger has also come here in person?"
Le Wen