Mo Zhan’s heart suddenly began to race.
Mo Li was his precious darling. What was Su Bei doing taking her away!? Could it be he was planning to strike first?
While he was lost in his wild thoughts, he heard a disciple report, "Oh! The young miss is fine. Elder Su just took her to the Red Pavilion..."
Mo Zhan breathed a sigh of relief. Ah, the Red Pavilion... The Red Pavilion?
In an instant, he leaped to his feet, his face livid with anger, and said with extreme urgency, "Are you saying he took Li Er to a brothel?"
"Quickly... prepare the horses! I need to make a trip to the City Master Mansion."
"Damn it, isn’t the Sword Sect just bullying honest people?"
"I have to report this!..."
「Mo City, City Master Mansion.」
The warm sunlight shone on the brass doors of the City Master Mansion, adorned with double lion heads, as the cold wind brushed off the accumulated snow.
This was the City Master Mansion of Mo City; the streets here were somewhat quieter than others.
The roads were wide, lined on both sides with beautiful, majestic, or solemn wooden and stone structures, their flying eaves soaring towards the sky like phoenixes.
This was the nerve center of the entire Mo City.
The street wasn’t very long. On the left side of the road grew a dense thicket of wax plum trees, their faint fragrance wafting through the air. Commoners passing by would slow their pace, their calls and noises gradually diminishing.
Sunlight scattered over the wax plums, over the lion heads, and over a bald, burly man...
A bald middle-aged man, snotty and teary-eyed, arrived before the City Master Mansion’s gates.
Gazing at the massive drum, nearly six meters tall, he wiped a handful of snot on his pants, picked up a mallet from the ground, and began to beat it.
The sound was strikingly clear in the quiet street.
Instantly, everyone’s gaze was drawn to the man.
Murmurs and whispers spread through the air:
"Eh? Isn’t that Liu Big Head? What grievance has he brought to the City Master Mansion?"
"Yeah! It’s been a long time since anyone dared to beat the City Master Mansion’s drum."
"Who would dare knock on an Immortal’s door? Only that fool Liu Big Head!"
"Ah! What else could it be? His ’Youjia Tavern’ was cleaved in two by Elder Su of the Sword Sect..."
"To be honest, the fact that we common folk can appeal injustices is all thanks to the new Emperor!"
"Right, right, right! Long live the new Emperor!"
He was very likely the most dedicated and selfless ruler in the history of the Dongfeng Ancient Country.
The people knew him for his diligence in state affairs, for not taking concubines or building palaces, and for the importance he placed on integrating the worlds of immortals and mortals.
With an iron fist, he abolished the State Preceptor, who had been eroding the foundation of the Dongfeng Ancient Country for hundreds of years. He also personally established an oversight committee to coordinate and monitor the City Master Mansions in each city within the ten provinces of the Dongfeng Ancient Country.
He also signed hundreds of treaties with the various Great Sects in the Dongfeng Ancient Country. These treaties stipulated that the ancient country and the Great Immortal Sects would coexist harmoniously, without encroaching on one another. If a Cultivator committed a crime within the jurisdiction of any city in the Dongfeng Ancient Country, the imperial court had the right to punish them according to the law.
Under these various measures, the morale of the Dongfeng Ancient Country’s people surged unprecedentedly. Citizens wished they could hang the Emperor’s portrait on their walls and worship it daily with incense.
Under the leadership of this new Emperor, the Dongfeng Ancient Country ushered in an era of unprecedented prosperity.
Ordinary people finally emerged from the bleakness of a life where mortals were deemed insignificant compared to Cultivators. The country was thriving.
A hundred years passed, and the new Emperor’s reputation grew throughout the Twenty-One Provinces. Yet everyone, including Cultivators, still had no inkling of the true depths of the new Emperor’s power.
It was only known that a hundred years ago, Yuan Da Yuan’s Sect Master, Xieding Kun, dissatisfied with the myriad restrictions the imperial court imposed on Yuan Da Yuan, had used the power of his Mahayana realm to pressure the Dongfeng Ancient Country.
The new Emperor, having no alternative, had personally stepped forward to meet the challenge.
No one knew the outcome of that battle, except for the new Emperor and Xieding Kun themselves.
It was said that the Sect Master became uncommunicative after the battle and secluded himself in his Sect for over twenty years.
In contrast, the new Emperor still sat securely in the Imperial Palace, commanding the world.
No one wanted to become the second Xieding Kun, and all doubts about the new Emperor vanished.
Since then, the entire Twenty-One Provinces were no longer solely dominated by the Allied Sects Council. The Dongfeng and South Wind Emperors now also held power, creating a balance.
Soon, more and more people surrounded Liu Big Head. They grabbed stools, sat down, and settled in to watch the spectacle.
"City Lord, I demand justice!"
"Imagine, me, Liu Big Head, working diligently and conscientiously, striving to pay my taxes—a law-abiding citizen in Mo City!"
"I’ve been a driving force for Mo City’s economy!"
"Who could have foreseen such an unexpected disaster? I spent a little time at the Red Pavilion, and when I came out, my tavern was gone!..."
"City Lord, you must stand up for me!"
"Those people from the Sword Sect and Wuhua Palace, they... they are so unreasonable!..."
Liu Big Head knelt on the ground, wailing loudly.
The onlookers all wore solemn expressions as they gazed at the stately City Master Mansion.
"The City Lord will surely provide Liu Big Head with an explanation!"
"Yes, yes! Our City Lord is renowned for his impartiality..."
At this moment, inside the City Master Mansion.
A middle-aged man with a dark expression looked at another middle-aged man who wore a similar look.
Silence hung in the air.
After a while, a middle-aged man with a slightly larger nose finally chuckled and said, "Inspector, for such a trivial matter, just handle it as you see fit, hahaha..."
"I am only a humble City Lord. Such trivial matters, especially involving Elder Su of the Sword Sect, surely don’t require my intervention."
The other man panicked, hastily waving his hands. "No, no, no, you are the City Lord! Even the smallest matters in Mo City are under your jurisdiction!"
"You take care of it!"
The air once again sank into silence.
"Aren’t you afraid the new Emperor will discover your negligence, your disinterest in affairs, and punish you?"
"Nonsense! Who’s neglecting their duties? I’m a dignified Refining Void expert! Should I be bothered daily with these trivialities?"
"If you ask me, just have Elder Su give that fellow some money and be done with it. It’s not a big deal anyway!..."
"True, Elder Su is surely not so miserly as to not offer a single coin, especially since he shattered the man’s tavern..."
The two men glanced at each other and smiled knowingly, a sense of camaraderie passing between them.
The City Lord of Mo City gently picked up the teapot and poured a cup of hot tea for the inspector. They lightly clinked their cups.
"Speaking of Elder Su, he really gave me a surprise! To be able to draw out the Qingping Sword... his cultivation must have reached Peak Refining Void by now, right?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! The whole world underestimated Su Bei! I always said, how could his cultivation not have advanced at all in a hundred years? He’s been hiding his strength all along..."
"Perhaps this Sword Sect recruitment will bring us a huge surprise!"
"Who knows what kind of trouble Su Bei could cook up?"
"Surprise? More like a shock!..."
Just then, suddenly, a commotion erupted from the entrance.
Then, the great drum sounded again.
A clear male voice instantly echoed throughout the entire City Master Mansion:
"Mo Zhan of the Mo Family accuses the Fifth Elder of the Sword Sect, Su Bei, of heinous misdeeds!"
"He... this man has kidnapped my daughter and taken her to a brothel!!!"