Wu Hong looked at Yelu and said.
Yelu glanced at Old Arutai, only to see his face a mix of blue and purple. He chuckled to himself, thinking that the old man probably didn’t expect the kid to really stand up to him.
However, the old man’s face still needed to be given some consideration; one shouldn’t go too far.
Thinking this, Yelu cleared his throat gently and said, "Hmm, I understand, Tang County Magistrate."
Tang Wannian led Wu Hong down, and then Yelu turned his head to Old Arutai and said, "Uncle Aru, why must you wrongly accuse Chen Jiusi and ignore the real murderer? In doing so, the deceased Tara and his family won’t rest peacefully even under Eternal Heaven."
Arutai said, "Lord Yelu, you are the guardian deity of us Mulan people, the safety of our Mulan people hinges entirely on you. I hope you can help us seek justice."
Yelu said, "Seeking justice is possible, but Chen Jiusi is not the murderer."
Arutai said, "That’s because he is your man, Lord Yelu, but you must know that we are Mulan people, descendants of the Great Khan."
Yelu said, "Now it’s called His Majesty the Emperor, not Great Khan."
"What His Majesty the Emperor? That’s a Han conspiracy. With ’His Majesty the Emperor,’ the Great Khan forbids us from slaughtering Han people. With ’His Majesty the Emperor,’ the Great Khan will let the Han ride over our heads!"
Arutai was extremely angry as his plans had failed, and it was clear Yelu wouldn’t help him kill Chen Jiusi.
So he vented his frustration.
Hearing this, Yelu looked at Old Arutai and said, "Uncle Arutai, it really saddens me to hear you say that. However, I must tell you that the Han are no longer the people we once slaughtered at will. Now, we should hold onto a friendly relationship with the Han. I don’t know if you’re aware, but Lord Bo Yan has been impeached by Tuotuo, and his excellency intends to remove Bo Yan from office, and Lord Tuotuo is pro-Han. This means we need to get along with the Han!"
"Hah, even if Lord Bo Yan is removed and Lord Tuotuo takes over, there’s no way I can be on good terms with these worthless Han dogs. I can’t be friends with the incapable Han; I must be above them!"
Old Arutai roared with fierce emotion.
His national pride wouldn’t allow him to bow down to the incapable Han. Yelu watched Old Arutai, feeling helpless about his rigidity.
Nevertheless, the situation remained unchanged. This was done by the people of the Zoroastrian Sect, not Chen Jiusi.
Yelu immediately ordered the posting of a sea arrest warrant, ordering a citywide manhunt for the demon people of the Zoroastrian Sect, and vowed not to let any criminal escape.
And Old Arutai was persuaded to step down.
Back with the Mulan people, when asked about today’s events, Arutai grit his teeth and said, "Yelu favors the Han, truly unfair. But I’ve decided to reclaim our status for our Mulan people. We cannot let the Han people oppress us; otherwise, we will not be able to stand tall in Mianshui County again."
Hearing this, the Mulan people were united in their resentment. Now that even Darugachi was favoring the Han, they had to press down on the Han to keep their future prospects bright.
Thinking so, a group of them gathered together, scheming how to suppress the Han, especially targeting Chen Jiusi, intending to suppress him.
Then, a piece of gossip came up: Chen Jiusi was apparently planning a funeral at the White Tiger Hall to honor their twenty-eight heroes.
Lately, the story of Chen Jiusi spending a thousand taels on twenty-eight fine golden-threaded nanmu coffins for his subordinates had spread throughout Mianshui Countyü—who else would spend so much money on quality coffins for their subordinates?
Moreover, on the day of the funeral, it was said to circle half the city and finally exit from the East City Gate, to be buried in the green mountains.
"What? Chen Jiusi is organizing such a grand funeral for a group of lowly Han guards, naming them twenty-eight heroes. Why should these Han be called heroes? No, we must suppress them."
Hearing the reports from the surrounding Mulan people, Old Arutai suddenly stood up and declared, "No, we must suppress them. We will also hold a funeral, and it must be more grandiose than theirs. If their Han can be called heroes, our Tara brothers are even more so. We will also hold a funeral."
Hearing this, a Mulan person said, "But, but we don’t have the custom of burial?"
Indeed, the Mulan people didn’t have the custom of burial, and thus were unfamiliar with the rules of earth burial. Old Arutai said, "That’s not important. If not, we’ll learn. Find the most famous Feng Shui Master in the city and tell him we’re holding a grand funeral. By the way, which day is Chen Jiusi’s funeral?"
A Mulan person replied, "In three days."
"Then ours will be in three days as well. He’s circling half the city; we will circle the entire city. We must let everyone in the city know that in Mianshui County, we Mulan people call the shots!"
Old Arutai roared angrily; this time, he must suppress Chen Jiusi. This was a battle for dignity!
At Chen Jie’s mansion, Chen Jie was leisurely practicing his Hand Technique in the courtyard. Now that all his plans were in place, all he needed to do was to wait for the right moment to act.
Meanwhile, he had some leisure time, so he took the opportunity to practice his martial arts.
Just as Chen Jie was practicing, Xiao Hu hurriedly ran in. Seeing Chen Jie practicing, he didn’t disturb him but rushed over to grab the teapot, pouring water directly from the spout to quench his thirst.
Chen Jie turned around and saw Xiao Hu drenched in sweat and said, "Drink slowly."
Xiao Hu replied, "Hehe, Fourth Brother, the task you assigned is completed. Han He said that once the item leaves the city, they will tell us the location of the Elixir Recipe."
Chen Jie responded, "Hmm, I’m not afraid they’ll play tricks."
"By the way, my lord, our actions these past two days have aroused the suspicions of Nan Batian. He’s already sent people to investigate our coffin purchases."
Chen Jie heard this and said, "Oh, it seems they’re not so foolish. But fortunately, whatever they find will only be what we want them to find. Hehe, this game, Nan Batian, I’ll play you to death!"