751: Normal is not right

Before long, Lin Yang and the others saw those Prefecture Army members who had submitted their resignations leaving Baichi City via the Teleportation Array, looking very happy.

Their resignations weren't blocked; they were allowed to leave.

Everyone looked at each other, feeling a strange sense of relief.

This proved that what Liu Ling had said earlier was indeed a rumor.

Cheng Fu laughed, "I told you so. How could such a thing be true? If it were, why would they have allowed so many people to evacuate Baichi City earlier?"

Li Rui nodded, "Alright, everyone can rest easy now. Don't overthink it. This is a rare opportunity; we don't have to go on missions but still get paid. It's most important to take this chance to cultivate and improve yourselves."

The members of the Squad returned to their rooms to continue cultivating.

Lin Yang glanced at Liu Ling, whose expression looked a bit unnatural, as if he felt awkward about what had just happened, and then returned to his room.

Truth be told, the current situation in Baichi City was very favorable for him.

He was currently in need of a stable opportunity for secluded cultivation.

As long as that Ancient Ruins remained safe for the time being, he would be perfectly happy for these days to continue for another twenty or thirty thousand years.

By then, he would be able to break through to the Late Dao Fire Realm and initially possess power comparable to an ordinary Nie Kong Realm cultivator.

At that time, his personal safety would be greatly improved.

Baichi City began to quiet down.

But as time passed, Baichi City slowly regained some of its bustle.

After several thousand years, seeing that the power of that Ancient Ruins had indeed not leaked out, some people whose homes were originally in Baichi City returned.

Furthermore, many people came to visit the Ancient Ruins out of curiosity.

Yes, that's right.

Some "tourists" started appearing in Baichi City.

These people had traveled specifically from other cities and even neighboring prefectures to see the Ancient Ruins.

There are quite a few Ancient Ruins on the Primal Ancient Continent, but the Primal Ancient Continent is too vast.

Some Ancient Ruins are not even in the human race's territory.

Even those Ancient Ruins within human territory are incredibly far from Jidong Prefecture.

Therefore, many people had never seen an Ancient Ruins with their own eyes.

Although the Ancient Ruins that appeared in Baichi City were Fierce Ancient Ruins, at the end of the day, they were still Ancient Ruins.

And as long as one didn't enter, it was safe.

Even if they could only look from the entrance, many people were willing to make a special trip.

Thus, a dramatic turn of events occurred.

Baichi City became a tourist destination.

To be precise, that Ancient Ruins became a tourist destination.

Although it wasn't as crazy as the treasure-hunting craze of the past, it slowly regained quite a bit of vitality.

Some families that had originally moved away with their whole clans, finding their development elsewhere unsatisfactory, even moved back.

Baichi City was returning to and developing along its original path of normal life.

If not for the endless stream of tourists in the city, people would have almost forgotten the existence of that Ancient Ruins.

After learning about these changes during a break in his secluded cultivation, Lin Yang also found it quite marvelous.

A perfectly good Baichi City now actually had the feel of a tourist attraction from Blue Star.

At the same time, he sighed inwardly.

There are just too many rich people!

Just to take a look at that Ancient Ruins, even if it was only the entrance, there were plenty of people willing to travel thousands of miles to get there.

However, he could understand these people.

Although one couldn't hunt for treasure in this Ancient Ruins, Ancient Ruins are rare. As cultivators, while cultivation is definitely the top priority, broadening one's horizons is also very important.

Thus, another several thousand years passed.

By now, more than ten thousand years had passed since Lin Yang and the others returned to Baichi City from the Ancient Ruins.

Baichi City was already a different scene, quite bustling.

This day, Lin Yang was cultivating.

Li Rui's voice echoed throughout the base: "Everyone, assemble. New orders have been issued. Baichi City's population is complex now, and we need to resume patrols."

Upon hearing this, the members of the Squad walked out of their rooms and gathered together.

"Captain, is the mission still patrolling? Just patrolling in Baichi City? This means they intend to keep us in Baichi City indefinitely," Cheng Fu said, smacking his lips.

Li Rui glanced at him, "Isn't that a good thing? Doing missions in the city is convenient for you to eat and drink whenever you want, isn't it?"

Cheng Fu chuckled.

Li Rui added, "Our Squad has limited strength. Actually, these kinds of missions are most suitable for us—easy and safe."

Everyone nodded.

Actually, it's the same wherever they perform missions, but this situation hadn't occurred before, where a Squad would execute missions in the same place continuously.

That was why everyone was a bit surprised.

Soon, everyone left the base and began their mission.

Lin Yang noticed that two other Squads were also moving at the same time.

It was obvious that they hadn't been transferred away either.

Looking at the bustling scene in Baichi City, Li Rui reminded them as before: "Those who can come here specifically to see the Ancient Ruins are basically people with some strength. You still need to be vigilant during the mission."

"Understood, Captain." Everyone nodded.

Actually, there was no need for Li Rui to remind them; everyone was very clear about it.

Anyone who could travel thousands of miles just to see an Ancient Ruins must be rich, powerful, or have a background.

In any case, they wouldn't be ordinary cultivators.

...

Performing patrol missions is relatively boring.

But on this day, while Lin Yang was patrolling as usual, his brows suddenly furrowed slightly, and he looked at a middle-aged male cultivator not far away.

This person was nothing special, yet he made Lin Yang feel inexplicably that something was wrong.

This made him take a couple of extra looks.

The other party seemed to have sensed it and looked over at him.

Their gazes met; Lin Yang couldn't dodge in time, so he had to meet the other's gaze.

After seeing the Prefecture Army uniform on him, the middle-aged male cultivator revealed a faint smile, nodded slightly at him as if in acknowledgment, and then turned to leave.

Lin Yang withdrew his gaze. This person's behavior had nothing wrong with it; one could even say it was very normal, making him unsure for a moment if he was overthinking things.

This scene was seen by Li Rui, who said to Lin Yang, "What's wrong? Do you know that person?"

Lin Yang shook his head, "I don't know him, I just felt he was a bit strange, but I can't say what's strange about him."

"Strange?" Li Rui frowned and looked over, but the person had already walked away.

"Maybe it was my imagination," Lin Yang said.

From the moment he discovered the other party, the middle-aged male cultivator actually hadn't displayed any abnormal behavior, including his reaction after making eye contact, which was very normal.

As cultivators, their perceptions are very sharp.

He had looked at this person a few times, so it was normal for the other party to notice.

It was also normal for the other party to look back when they noticed he was looking.

Seeing that he was from the Prefecture Army, smiling and nodding in acknowledgment was also normal.

After all, Prefecture Army patrols, to a certain extent, are also protecting the cultivators in the city.

It is normal for some cultivators to have a favorable impression of the Prefecture Army.

In any case, everything was very normal.

The only abnormal thing was his own feeling.

"It's really strange, why would I inexplicably feel that he's strange?"

Lin Yang thought to himself, unable to figure out the reason.

Suddenly, a burst of noisy sounds came.

First came two arrogant voices: "Hmph, a small place is a small place. For me, this young master, to take a liking to your goods is your honor. You actually dare not to sell? You really are an ungrateful wretch."

"Exactly, if it weren't for my young master coming to see the Ancient Ruins, for a small place like yours, even if you begged my young master to come, he wouldn't! If you know what's good for you, hurry up and bring the item over, otherwise... hmph hmph."

Then came a polite voice: "Valued guest, it's not that our shop won't sell it, but this item has already been reserved by someone else, and the money has already been paid. Would you like to look at something else? If you see anything else you like, I can even give it to you. How about that?"

"Heh heh, this young master has taken a liking to it today. If you know what's good for you, bring it over. Otherwise, this shop of yours has reached its end." The arrogant voice rang out again.

This noise caused people around to stop and watch.

Lin Yang also looked over.

The source of the noise was a shop, and it seemed to be a Yun Family shop.

It sounded like a young master from a prominent family from out of town had taken a liking to an item in the shop that had been reserved by someone else and wanted to force a purchase.

This kind of matter originally didn't fall under the jurisdiction of the Prefecture Army.

But Lin Yang still walked forward a few quick steps.

His relationship with the Yun Family was quite good, and he still owed them a favor. Since a Yun Family shop was encountering trouble right before his eyes, he naturally had to take a look.

Seeing Lin Yang's actions, Li Rui paused for a moment and followed, and the other members of the Squad also walked quickly to the shop entrance.

Seeing their Squad approach, the onlookers cleared a path, allowing them to enter the shop smoothly.

Inside the shop, there were five or six young cultivators, four men and two women.

Among them, a young man wearing a brocade robe was looking at the shopkeeper arrogantly.

The shopkeeper was explaining and apologizing in a mild-mannered way.

But no matter what he said, the arrogant young man refused to let it go, insisting on a hairpin in the shop that appeared to be made of some kind of high-grade jade marrow, and kept saying nasty things.

"Shopkeeper, what is going on here?"

After entering the shop, Lin Yang wanted to speak, but Li Rui asked first.

The shopkeeper seemed to breathe a sigh of relief inwardly and said quickly: "I've caused trouble for you, members of the Prefecture Army. This valued guest has taken a liking to that jade hairpin, but it has already been reserved by someone else. However, the valued guest insists on buying it, which led to some misunderstandings. I didn't expect it to disturb you all."

Li Rui turned to look at the arrogant man in the brocade robe: "Young Master, since it's an item that has already been reserved by someone else, why make things difficult for the shopkeeper? I see that you all have an extraordinary bearing and must be from prominent families. Why get angry over such a small matter and damage your reputation?"

This kind of matter indeed didn't fall under the jurisdiction of the Prefecture Army.

However, since he had already entered with Lin Yang, Li Rui still intended to try and persuade them first.

Lin Yang glanced at Li Rui; he didn't expect this captain to be quite righteous.

However, the young man in the brocade robe sneered: "You are the Prefecture Army of Jidong Prefecture. This matter has nothing to do with you. If you know what's good for you, leave immediately."

After saying that, he stared at the shopkeeper and said coldly: "This young master will say it one last time: bring the item over, otherwise, bear the consequences."

The shopkeeper's expression was ugly, and he said with difficulty: "Valued guest, this matter is really hard to handle. How about you wait for the buyer to come and buy it from him? According to the agreed pickup time, he should be here soon."

"Heh heh, this young master does not have the habit of waiting for people." The young man in the brocade robe sneered.

The shopkeeper was extremely troubled: "This... I really cannot make the decision. How about this, valued guest, please wait a moment. I will notify the family's senior to come and handle it, is that okay?"

This shop belonged to the Yun Family; he was just a shop manager.

According to the rules, he indeed did not have the authority to sell an item that someone else had already paid for and reserved to someone else; this concerned the reputation of the Yun Family's shop.

Therefore, he prepared to let the Yun Family's higher-ups come and handle it.

The young man in the brocade robe was immediately very displeased: "Since you can't make the decision, why are you wasting words here? Hurry up and have someone who can make the decision get over here. Are you looking to die?"

The person behind him who looked like an attendant also said again: "As expected of a small, crappy place. You can't make decisions yet you dare to waste my young master's time with nonsense. I think you really want to die!"

"Yes, yes, yes, it's all my fault. Please wait a moment, valued guest." The shopkeeper dared not refute anything and just kept apologizing.

Clearly, these few, dressed in luxurious clothing, were obviously not ordinary children of prominent families.

And they were from another prefecture.

The shopkeeper dared not break the shop's rules, but he also dared not offend these children of prominent families, lest he bring unnecessary trouble to the Yun Family.

So he quickly notified the higher-ups.

Seeing this, the man in the brocade robe snorted coldly again, then turned to look at another cold-faced female cultivator beside him, and said in a slightly ingratiating tone: "Sister Rou, since you like this hairpin, I will buy it for you no matter what today!"

The female cultivator called Sister Rou just smiled faintly: "It seems, Young Master Qian, your face is still not big enough. You can't even handle such a small matter and have to make me wait."

The man in the brocade robe heard this and glared fiercely at the shopkeeper again, then said softly: "Sister Rou, don't be angry. Just wait a little longer. If the person who comes later still doesn't know what's good for them, I'll tear down this shop."

"..."

Hearing this, Li Rui frowned.

This guy saying this in front of the Prefecture Army was indeed too dismissive of the Prefecture Army.

Fighting is strictly prohibited within the city.

Disputes in shops are not under the jurisdiction of the Prefecture Army, but if they really started fighting in the city, then since their Squad was here, they definitely couldn't sit idly by.

Lin Yang also frowned.

These guys didn't know where they came from, but they were excessively arrogant.

Moreover, he originally thought it was just a second-generation rich kid causing trouble, but he didn't expect that even that female cultivator was not a good person either.

Birds of a feather really do flock together.

But he didn't say anything more.

Since the shopkeeper had already reported the matter to the Yun Family, he believed that someone from the Yun Family who could actually make decisions would come to handle it in a moment.

However, for some reason.

Liu Ling suddenly said: "I say, are you people being reasonable? Since the item has already been sold, why are you still making a scene? What? Do you want to rob it?"

Once these words were spoken, the others were fine, but all the members of the Squad were stunned for a moment.

Then, with a "whoosh," they all stared straight at Liu Ling.

Li Rui was shocked in his heart.

Lin Yang was also extremely stunned.

What's up with Liu Ling?

Why did he suddenly say that?

(End of chapter)