A frigid aura emanated from Shen Bai, like a death blossom on a snowy peak. It chilled Steward Yang to the bone, paralyzing him to the point he couldn’t even move a finger.
All he could feel was the hand on his neck gradually tightening, as if it would tear his head from his shoulders in the very next second.
Chief Zheng’s eyes went wide. He even thought his vision was playing tricks on him.
’When did Shen Bai learn such a superb Body Technique?’
In that brief mont, Shen Bai had vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving Chief Zheng no ti to react, let alone stop him.
Just then, hearing Shen Bai’s voice, Chief Zheng finally snapped out of it. He strode forward and grabbed Shen Bai’s arm, his voice laced with urgency.
"Shopkeeper Shen, this is the Governnt Office! Don’t be rash. You need to calm down. Whatever the matter is, we can talk it through."
A man must do the duties of his station.
Although Chief Zheng was disgusted by Li Yun and Steward Yang’s actions, he was the Chief Constable of the Shengyun County Governnt Office. He couldn’t just pretend he didn’t see what was happening.
If he still had his old Jianghu temper, he would have already drawn his saber to help Shen Bai cut these two down before leaving without a second thought.
But his position was different now. He could only say what he did.
Shen Bai turned his head, his gaze ice-cold. "A seventy-year-old woman should be able to live out her twilight years in peace. At the very least, she should have been able to live comfortably for a few more years. But she died a miserable death at their hands. Before she died, she had to watch as her own granddaughter was taken away. Chief Zheng, can you stand for that?"
A flash of anger crossed Chief Zheng’s eyes as he glanced at Steward Yang. "I can’t."
"Then why are you trying to stop ?" Shen Bai asked.
Chief Zheng looked away. "The Governnt Office requires evidence for everything. You and I have faced death together. If you trust , let him go for now. I will get justice for Zhou Qing."
Shen Bai shook his head and looked at Steward Yang. "You think you’re pretty clever, don’t you?"
Steward Yang swallowed hard, still unable to utter a single word.
He had never felt death so close. It was like a mountain was crushing him.
Seeing this, Li Yun drew the folded fan from his waist and snapped it open in front of Shen Bai. "How dare you attack soone in the Governnt Office!"
The folded fan was covered in tiny, dense script. The characters lifted off the fan and imdiately shot toward Shen Bai.
The entire attack happened in an instant, accompanied by a great shout from Li Yun.
"You country bumpkin, you’re courting death!"
As the characters closed in, Shen Bai’s gaze swept over them with indifference.
A sheen of white light rose from his body, as flawless as white jade.
The mont the characters entered the white light, they vanished without a trace.
Li Yun’s eyes widened in disbelief.
A Scholar’s power was based on using the written word to attack others, and these characters could produce myriad wondrous effects.
But he never expected his attack would have absolutely no effect on Shen Bai.
Shen Bai sneered. "It seems you’re eager to die first."
The next mont, the sa characters that had just entered the white light re-erged. They condensed into a single line and shot back toward Li Yun at an even greater speed.
At the mont of crisis, Li Yun threw his folded fan in front of his chest to block. He was sent flying backward and landed hard on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His face turned ashen.
"Shen Bai, stop!" Chief Zheng cried out urgently.
But the killing intent radiating from Shen Bai was almost palpable.
"I am taking Zhou Qing with today. Who dares to stop ? As for these two, they both must die."
Shen Bai drew the longsword at his waist, its blade glinting with a terrifying light.
"Is the Governnt Office a place for you to run wild?"
Just then, a voice rang out.
Shen Bai looked toward the source of the voice and saw Magistrate Li, dressed in official robes, walk out of the main hall.
Magistrate Li carried an air of natural authority. He strode slowly into the courtyard.
"I know who you are. Your contributions in the great tomb were significant. Let go now, and I shall only te out a minor punishnt. If you commit murder, however, I will report it to Fenglin State and have you arrested."
"So, Lord Magistrate, you hide away while all this is happening, but now that your nephew is about to die, you finally decide to show your face?"
Shen Bai smiled, slowly thrusting his longsword toward Steward Yang. "Today, I’d like to see just who can protect him."
’Actually, I had initially planned to calm down and handle this matter slowly.’
’But it’s clear now that reasoning with this lot is completely useless.’
’Granny Zhang once saved my life, but now she has co to such a tragic end.’
’They clearly want to use this to ensure Zhou Qing can never get back on his feet.’
’They killed the person who saved my life and frad my brother.’
Even with the calming effect of the Mystic Heart Spell, Shen Bai was now consud by the urge to kill.
’I’ll kill them, take Zhou Qing and leave, then figure out the rest later.’
’After all, the Great Zhou Country isn’t the only nation in this world.’
Seeing this, Magistrate Li took a writing brush from his sleeve, preparing to strike.
He was the County Magistrate of Shengyun County, but he was also a Scholar, and a powerful one.
But just then, the sound of footsteps suddenly rang out.
A clear female voice accompanied the footsteps.
"Shen Bai, hold on. Do this for my sake."
Shen Bai looked toward the voice, a single eyebrow raised.
Qin Shuang, dressed all in black, walked in slowly from the entrance. The distinctive fan hung at her waist.
On the other side of her slender, willow-like waist hung a token of an indistinct shape.
"And who might you be?"
Magistrate Li, who had been on the verge of attacking, turned to Qin Shuang with a deep frown.
’So much has happened today,’ he thought. ’My nephew only used a little trick to eliminate a rival, yet this commoner, Shen Bai, dared to cause trouble right here in the County Magistrate’s Office.’
’Causing trouble is one thing; I could just have him arrested. But I never, ever expected another woman—one of such stunning beauty—to appear.’
’Today, I’ll see just what is going on.’
Qin Shuang walked in, her gaze sweeping over Magistrate Li. She then unhooked the token from her waist and held it up, displaying its face.
On the token was a single, imposing character: "Overseer."
Aside from that, it was adorned with intricate and beautiful patterns.
The mont the token was revealed, a hush fell over the Governnt Office. Even Li Yun, who was still spitting up blood, was stunned into silence.
Chief Zheng wore the sa expression and silently took two steps back.
Qin Shuang stared directly at Magistrate Li, her tone as cold as a snow lotus. "You see this token and still fail to recognize it?"
Magistrate Li put away his brush, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He gave a cupped-fist salute and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency from the Observatory. May I ask for your na?"
Qin Shuang lowered the token. "I am Qin Shuang, State Governor for the Observatory in Fenglin State, here on orders to inspect Shengyun County."
"Ah, so it is Lord Qin." Magistrate Li saluted again. "Your arrival was so sudden, Lord Qin, that I failed to prepare a welco banquet. Please forgive my oversight. I will have my n arrange one at once to welco you properly."
But Qin Shuang shook her head. She turned to Shen Bai, her voice soft and persuasive. "Shen Bai, please, let him go for now. I’m here now. You can trust , right?"
Shen Bai smiled. "I admit, I never would have guessed your identity. So, how do you intend to handle this?"
Qin Shuang said, "We will investigate the matter thoroughly. If those two are guilty, they will be punished according to their cris."
CRACK!
The crisp sound of a cracking bone echoed.
Steward Yang instinctively looked down, only to see that Shen Bai had torn his cervical spine straight out of his neck.
The vertebrae, still connected, were in Shen Bai’s hand, enveloped in a golden light.
"You..."
The last word escaped Steward Yang’s lips. His eyes filled with a deathly stillness as he collapsed to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.
His cervical spine had been ripped out, but Steward Yang could still feel the pain; he wasn’t completely dead.
After all, Steward Yang was a Cultivator of sorts.
But now, agony wracked his entire body.
No one could have imagined that Shen Bai would act so decisively.
Magistrate Li bellowed, "Seize him!"
"Wait!" Qin Shuang raised a hand. "There’s sothing suspicious about this matter. Though Shen Bai is at fault for killing, he cannot be arrested."
"Lord Qin, this is a matter for the Governnt Office," Magistrate Li said with a frown. "The Observatory may inspect all officials, but this incident occurred within my office."
Qin Shuang gritted her teeth. "This matter involving Shen Bai is part of my inspection, which ans the Observatory can also investigate it."
Magistrate Li considered this for a mont, then lowered his hand.
Qin Shuang opened her mouth to say more but was cut off by another voice.
Li Yun pointed his folded fan at Shen Bai, blood still staining the corner of his mouth. "You’re finished! You killed soone in the Governnt Office! You can’t escape now! HAHAHAHA!"
On the ground, Steward Yang was still twitching, his face a mask of agony.
Shen Bai looked down at the twitching Steward Yang and smiled. "Are you in pain?"
"Guh... ghh..."
All Steward Yang could manage was a whimpering gurgle.
"You’ll have company soon," Shen Bai continued.
At these words, everyone present started, a sudden realization dawning on them.
Just as they were about to speak, a golden Fist Gang erupted from Shen Bai’s fist.
The golden Fist Gang slamd into Li Yun’s chest with the force of a tidal wave.
Half of Li Yun’s chest was obliterated, leaving a massive, bloody cavity.
Agony flooded Li Yun’s body. He collapsed to the ground and began to twitch, just like Steward Yang.
Shen Bai said lightly, "It seems having strong Life Energy as a Cultivator can be a curse. You just have to suffer endless pain before you’re allowed to die."
The two n twitched in perfect sync, wracked by unimaginable pain.
Seeing his own nephew fall, Magistrate Li could no longer contain his rage. He jabbed his writing brush toward Shen Bai. "Villain! No one can save you today!"
BAM!
A muffled thud echoed.
Shen Bai’s fist collided with the characters from Magistrate Li’s brush.
The characters from Magistrate Li’s brush shimred with light, but they couldn’t get within an inch of Shen Bai.
Shen Bai took a slow step forward, his presence as oppressive as a mountain. "And you call yourself a County Magistrate?"
A look of astonishnt filled Magistrate Li’s eyes.
He felt himself being completely suppressed by Shen Bai. He was already using his full strength, yet Shen Bai seed perfectly at ease.
"Chief Zheng! Lord Qin! This villain is acting with such impunity! Why aren’t you doing anything? What are you waiting for?"
At this point, Magistrate Li completely lost his composure.
He could feel the killing intent rolling off Shen Bai.
Just then, Qin Shuang tried to reason with him again.
"Shen Bai, I’m begging you. I ca here to help you. You have a bright future ahead of you, don’t throw it all away."
Shen Bai smiled and suddenly withdrew his fist.
But as he did, the Fist Gang on it suddenly exploded outward.
Magistrate Li was sent flying backward into a wall, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"I killed them. But don’t think for a second you can take ."
"Qin Shuang, we’ve faced death together. Since you said you would help , then get to the bottom of this."
"Hah. People who fra others and murder my benefactor... death is too good for them."
"Oh, right. There are two more."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Shen Bai raised his hand and unleashed two more blasts of Fist Gang.
The terrifying blasts shot toward two constables standing at the entrance to the main hall.
The two constables had no ti to react before the attacks pierced their bodies. They collapsed to the ground, twitching as they died.
In the blink of an eye, Shen Bai had killed four people.
The entire Governnt Office fell into an eerie silence.
Seeing this, Qin Shuang turned to Magistrate Li and gave a bitter smile. "Lord Li, how about you let the Observatory take over this investigation?"
Magistrate Li looked at the corpses on the ground, then at Shen Bai and Qin Shuang. He gritted his teeth and said, "I hope Lord Qin can see that justice is done."
He could see it clearly now. Shen Bai was no re commoner; even after killing all these people, he was being protected by soone from the Observatory.
Qin Shuang walked to Shen Bai’s side and took his arm. "Let’s go. We’ll leave the Governnt Office first. I’ll figure out a way to clear Zhou Qing’s na once we’re back, okay?"
The astonishnt in Magistrate Li’s eyes deepened.
Even though his nephew had just been killed, he found it hard to believe that a high-ranking official from the Observatory would use such a gentle tone with Shen Bai.
He was now beginning to have serious doubts about Shen Bai’s true identity.
Shen Bai nodded, but instead of preparing to leave, he looked toward the Governnt Office’s jail. "I want to see Zhou Qing and Xiaoxue."
Beside them, Chief Zheng stepped forward. "Co with . They’re in the cells."
Seeing this, Magistrate Li said nothing.
After all, Qin Shuang had already said everything that needed to be said.
Then, led by Chief Zheng, Shen Bai headed toward the Governnt Office jail.
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