Chapter 56: White Lotus

Zhang Tianci was completely dumbfounded. You are just leaving like this?

Are you completely unconcerned about whether I live or die?

Because of Ling Mo's arrival and the backing he provided, Zhang Tianci had just uttered harsh and arrogant words right in front of Chen Xuan.

Now that Ling Mo was walking away, what if Chen Xuan decided to deal with him?

Just the mere thought of it made Zhang Tianci tremble uncontrollably!

Seemingly sensing the fear within Zhang Tianci, Ling Mo suddenly halted his steps. Without turning his head, his voice rang out:

"If you don't want to die, follow behind me."

He could tell that Chen Xuan genuinely had the guts to kill people.

If he were to just leave like this, and Zhang Tianci foolishly provoked Chen Xuan once more,

then Zhang Tianci would undoubtedly die!

Hearing this, Zhang Tianci felt an overwhelming sense of grievance and frustration in his heart.

He had originally thought that Ling Mo's appearance would allow him to regain all the face he had lost.

Instead, he now felt as though he had lost even more face than before.

Yet, there was nothing he could do about it.

Gritting his back teeth in secret, Zhang Tianci nervously steeled himself and followed closely behind Ling Mo.

Chen Qing's expression shifted drastically.

If you leave, what is going to happen to me?

He desperately wanted to follow behind Ling Mo as well.

However, Ling Mo had not invited him to follow.

Therefore, he did not dare to make a rash move.

Yet, if he didn't follow, what would happen if Chen Xuan came looking for trouble with him?

At that moment, Zhang Tianci suddenly glanced back at him and said coldly and indifferently, "Young Master Qing, you can handle your own family matters yourself!"

The implication was clear: do not follow us.

Chen Qing's expression stiffened.

Since the other party had made it that obvious, if he still foolishly tagged along, it would be utterly lacking in self-awareness.

Meanwhile, the corpses of the chiliarch and centurion killed by Chen Xuan had already been dragged away.

At Ling Mo's command, the soldiers surrounding the city gate also retreated.

The entrance and exit resumed normal traffic flow.

Not a single person dared to give Chen Xuan a hard time anymore!

"My husband is truly amazing!"

Although Xu Ruolan's flattery was a bit late, it always arrived right on time. Her primary focus was on providing emotional value, praising Chen Xuan from head to toe—she was practically ready to hug him and shower him with kisses.

The rest of the young women also visibly breathed sighs of relief.

If anyone breathed the greatest sigh of relief, it had to be Liu Jinyu and his bandit subordinates.

Just now, they had experienced a heart-stopping ordeal. Every single one of them felt as though their heads were resting precariously on the belts of their trousers, ready to be severed at any moment.

To be surrounded by thousands of elite soldiers!

This was an experience they had never encountered before!

To be fair, even when the imperial court dispatched large armies to suppress bandits over the past few years, they had never faced such a situation.

After all, whenever the imperial court's army approached, catching wind of the trouble, they would have long received news and fled far in advance.

[Ding!]

[Li Xiuning's favorability +1]

[Xu Ruolan's favorability +2]

[Lu Qiqi...]

[An Ruxue's favorability -5]

In Chen Xuan's mind, the system's voice rang out, bringing him a subtle sense of satisfaction. In just this short span of time, his favorability ratings had increased once more.

Although the amounts were small, just a tiny bit at a time,

mosquito legs were still meat; accumulation leads to abundance.

Huh? Wait a minute, something is wrong. Why did one of them decrease?

When Chen Xuan heard the system mention that An Ruxue's favorability had dropped by five points, he couldn't help but freeze in place.

What is going on with An Ruxue?

Why did her favorability actually go down?

He couldn't help but cast a glance in An Ruxue's direction.

At that moment, the latter's face had already returned to that icy expression. She looked as though she suffered from chronic resting stern face, exuding a cold aura that kept strangers at a distance.

Well, he had no idea what he had done to displease this woman, and Chen Xuan certainly didn't dare to offend her further.

Be that as it may, the fact that this crisis had been so easily resolved was largely thanks to An Ruxue and Li Xiuning.

Because Li Xiuning's favorability had surpassed thirty points, it had directly propelled Chen Xuan to a Ninth-Tier Martial Artist.

And because An Ruxue's favorability had also exceeded thirty points, it had directly broken him through to the Martial Master realm, while additionally granting a critical strike reward—an Earth-grade martial art technique!

To put it bluntly, if Chen Xuan had not broken through to the Martial Master realm,

then this Ling Mo would definitely not have been so easy to talk to, and would undoubtedly have made a move against him!

After all, although a Martial Artist and a Martial Master were only separated by a single realm, the actual gap between them was as vast as heaven and earth!

"You must be Chen Qing, right?"

Next, it was time to settle accounts. Chen Xuan looked at Chen Qing, who was dressed in cyan robes, with a smiling expression.

"I am Chen Qing, paying my respects to Young Master Chen Xuan of the capital's main clan."

Chen Qing cupped his hands and bowed to Chen Xuan, maintaining the perfect demeanor of an elegant young master.

"Alright, spare me the pleasantries. Stopping me from entering the city—that was your idea, wasn't it?"

Chen Xuan's smile turned somewhat chilly.

Chen Qing froze, but instantly adopted a terrified and panicked expression, waving his hands hurriedly as he stammered, "There is no such thing! Young Master Chen Xuan, there must be some sort of misunderstanding regarding this matter."

Not even if beaten to death would he ever admit that keeping Chen Xuan out of the city was his idea.

After all, he had witnessed Chen Xuan's ruthlessness with his own eyes; this guy killed people over the slightest disagreement.

Even Zhang Tianci had almost been butchered—slaughtering a mere Chen Qing would be as simple as crushing an ant, wouldn't it?

Although Chen Qing was also a Martial Artist, he was only at the Fourth-Tier, still a very long way from becoming a Martial Master.

"A misunderstanding?"

Chen Xuan chuckled, "Since it's a misunderstanding, why didn't you put in a good word for me with Zhang Tianci just now?"

Chen Qing smiled bitterly and said, "I did try to plead on your behalf, but Zhang Tianci was determined to give you a harsh welcome. He figured that since you came from the capital, you would inevitably act arrogant and overbearing, so he wanted to deflate your ego. My pleading was completely useless."

This explanation was pure nonsense, fabricated on the spot simply because Zhang Tianci was not around.

As long as he could distance himself from the blame, dumping the entire pot of filth onto Zhang Tianci was fair game.

"Is that so?"

Chen Xuan looked at him with a meaningful gaze, his expression making it abundantly clear: Do you really think I believe your bullshit?

Chen Qing nodded and said, "It is the absolute truth!"

In any case, no matter what, he had to present himself as innocent as a white lotus.

Chen Xuan couldn't be bothered to argue further with him; after all, dealing with a nobody like Chen Qing held little significance.

Besides, he had already provided enough deterrence. Even if Chen Qing harbored hidden schemes in his heart, he certainly wouldn't dare to show them anytime soon.

"Lead the way ahead. You must properly arrange the food, clothing, housing, and transportation for my five hundred men."

Chen Xuan raised his chin slightly, gesturing for him to lead.

Chen Qing let out a silent breath of relief. As long as Chen Xuan wasn't going to pursue the matter, his little life was temporarily saved.

As for the living expenses of five hundred men, although it was not a trivial sum,

for a wealthy and influential family like the Chen family, such an expense was practically nothing.

"Please follow me. My father has already prepared a welcoming banquet for all of you."

Chen Qing made an inviting gesture with his hand and obediently walked ahead to lead the way.

Meanwhile,

at the prefecture office in the central district of the Man City,

Prefecture Magistrate Zhang Tao was leaning over his desk, browsing through official case files.

Thump, thump—

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door.

From Zhang Tao's throat came a deep, resonant voice: "Enter!"

The door pushed open, and a tall, graceful woman walked in, whispering a few words softly into Zhang Tao's ear.

"Oh? Such a thing actually happened?"

Zhang Tao's eyes abruptly narrowed into slits.