Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Luo Feng’s black and red cape fluttered fiercely under the immense pressure. As the black tiles under his feet were cracking, the cracks were spreading wider by the second. The sweat that covered his forehead was trickling down his face.
‘Who is this man? The sword qi materialized around him, and he moves like he can teleport through space! How can there be such a powerful person in a small county like Anping!?’
The man in green pressured him even more than the court minister back at the court had.
The appearance of the man in green made Luo Feng understand the situation. He must be related to the young man back at the rear court.
‘Could he be from the Luo Residence?’
Luo Feng’s thoughts were going out of control when a misty sword qi gushed and grazed his face, leaving a cut on his cheek.
The next cut would be at his neck! Unable to hold it back anymore, Luo Feng was terrified.
He was a Fifth Grade Martial Cultivation back at the capital, yet he could not even hold himself together before the sword qi, which meant that the man’s sword qi cultivation must be beyond the Fifth Grade, which was the Life Sword!
“Senior, it’s a misunderstanding!’ Luo Feng blurted out since his life was on the line.
Butler Chen’s snake-like sword qi hissed, but it then froze when the sword qi was an inch away from Luo Feng’s face.
If Luo Feng had been any slower, the sword qi would have punctured his face!
He was terrified. Although he was the emissary from the Court of Judicial Review and an imperial officer, the mysterious master wanted to kill him.
“Hoho? Misunderstanding? Fine, I, Chen, am not an unreasonable man either. Speak,” Butler Chen commanded while his hand still held on to Luo Feng’s shoulder.
“Senior, you must be here for Young Lord ‘Long Hoe’, aren’t you? I’m the emissary of the court and I’m tasked to investigate the massacre case in the village outside Anping County.”
“The reason I summoned the young lord is because the village that the young lord visited, Jishan Village, was raided by evil beings. All 32 villagers were massacred, including the young lord’s bodyguards. He is here for questioning, nothing else,” Luo Feng stated.
He had skipped every single detail about Jia Sidao because he was not an idiot. He knew why Butler Chen had appeared to threaten him.
“Hoho? Jishan Village has been massacred? Is it the act of the Heavenly Earth Demons?” Butler Chen furrowed his brows when he heard Luo Feng. The Court of Judicial Review had summoned Luo Hong because of the massacre of the village, not because of Jia Sidao’s case.
After knowing the cause, Butler Chen slowly released the sword qi around him. It was less intense and the terrifying pressure was fading.
After all, the emissary from the court was an imperial officer, so it was not wise for Butler Chen to simply kill him without a solid reason.
“If that’s the case, I understand. You can continue your investigation, but I assure you, my young lord has nothing to do with those evil beings. My young lord possesses the aura of righteousness. If you don’t believe me, get a Qi Observer and check on him,” Butler Chen said.
When the sword qi faded and the white snake disappeared, he returned to his normal, gaunt look.
Luo Feng reacted with a bitter smile. “You are right, senior. Young Lord ‘Long Hoe’ is humble and easy-going. He’s the representative of justice in Anping County. I’ve heard of his name before and I’m deeply impressed.”
Butler Chen smiled. “As expected of someone from the Court of Judicial Review, you are exactly like your court minister, you shameless b*stards.”
He looked deeply at Luo Feng. When his words subsided, his figure figure had already disappeared, leaving only flutters of his robe in the air. He was nowhere to be found within sight and following his departure, the mountain-like pressure completely faded.
When Luo Feng fell on his backside, his back was already drenched wet by his own sweat.
“My lord…who is that person?” Luo Feng’s subordinate asked in a timid tone.
Luo Feng sighed as he looked towards the empty night sky.
“There are no more than three in Great Xia who have cultivated the sword qi to this level. Based on his words, he seems to be quite familiar with the lord minister…the Luo Residence…Maybe it’s him.” Luo Feng gasped in fear after some thoughts, leaving both his subordinates confused.
“Xin Wei, Fang Zheng, neither of you will speak of what happened today,” Luo Feng instructed as he looked at them.
His gaze turned sharp as he added, “Young Lord ‘Long Hoe’ is a righteous man and with such a powerful senior protecting him, evil can never get close to him. He’s not related to the village massacre…If you two have the chance, try to befriend the young lord. You might even learn something useful from him.”
Luo Feng’s words shocked the young man and the lady. They did not expect their superior to say something like this.
“Besides that, don’t forget what the senior said earlier. We are officers of the Court of Judicial Review, thus we must operate in an honorable way. We are here to execute the imperial orders and we must do it righteously, that is, without committing any kind of improper dealings.”
Luo Feng stood up and sighed heavily. Then, he took a piece of credit out from inside his pocket as he glanced at his subordinates and cleared his throat.
Both Xin Wei and Fang Zheng understood what their superior was trying to express. They exchanged a quick gaze before they took out the credit notes that they had received from the master of records, Wang Long.
The man in green made it clear that he was Luo Hong’s protector, hence Luo Feng could not accept bribery from Luo Hong. Since he could not accept it, he had to come up with an excuse to stop his subordinates from following him.
Luo Feng said with a heavy expression, “Young Lord ‘Long Hoe’ is a noble man with integrity. He has always been on the side of justice. No wonder he boldly bribed the magistrate in front of us. It’s actually a reminder to remind us of our mistake. Plus, the senior’s teachings…”
Luo Feng himself was shocked by his own words. He suddenly realized that after working in the court for many years that he had started to lose himself, and it exhausted him.
Back then, he had joined the Court of Judicial Review with a bold dream and a clear mind. He was ready to serve the people of the empire. Despite hating those who committed crimes, he eventually became the very person that he used to hate.
Maybe it was the price to pay for growing older.
While Luo Feng looked at his subordinates with a fierce expression, he bellowed, “Do you understand what I mean?”
Xin Wei and Fang Zheng were stunned because they were clueless about exactly what they had learned from the situation.
…
Nonetheless, Luo Hong had no idea what was happening above the rooftop.
The three emissaries from the court had just disappeared before his eyes, hence allowing him to understand their background a little.
Those three might be mysterious imperial cultivators who possessed outstanding powers. At least, they were better than himself, who had to start with a lousy Ninth Grade cultivation art.
A while later, the three of them returned back to the rear court, and Luo Hong’s eyes gleamed upon their return.
However, he noticed that the emissaries’ gaze on him felt a little different.
‘Huh? What’s wrong? Did they talk it out and decide to take my bribe?’ Luo Hong gave them a polite smile and then took the stack of credit notes from his pocket.
“My lords, here. This is a little something. I’m sure you understand what I mean.” He pushed the stack of credit notes to the three of them.
Luo Feng looked at the credit notes and then at Luo Hong’s smile. The smirk on his face definitely meant more than it looked, and it was filled with disdain and mockery.
The seemingly kind smile impacted Luo Feng’s heart strongly. He had just lectured his subordinates a while ago, and now on second thought, maybe Luo Hong really meant to remind them.
“Young Lord ‘Long Hoe’, we understand what you mean. We won’t take the bribe, never for as long as we live,” Luo Feng announced as he looked at the young man. He then bowed to Luo Hong.
Surprisingly, the bow felt like it freed him from the shackles and connected all the dots in his mind. His qi that had been suppressed by Butler Chen earlier returned and spread throughout his body like a gushing tide.
It was at this moment that Luo Feng broke through the bottleneck, which had been troubling him for a while now.
Xin Wei and Fang Zheng gasped in shock.
Had their superior successfully connected his thoughts and realized his original intention?
At first, when Luo Feng said that Luo Hong was teaching them a lesson by bribing them, they thought that their superior was just blabbering.
Now, when they realized that Luo Feng had achieved a breakthrough in his cultivation, maybe it was true.
Young Lord ‘Long Hoe’ was really teaching them a lesson by bribing them.
‘The leader isn’t blabbering without reason?!’
They looked at each other, and this time, maybe they really did learn a little something from the situation.
Could accepting bribes affect their cultivation?
No, they were still young, so they still had hope of turning it around.
The two of them bowed deeply at Luo Hong at the thought of that. “Thank you, Young Lord ‘Long Hoe’ for your teachings.”
Luo Hong looked at the two of them, and his smile slowly froze.
Something was not right.