Chapter 14 The Magistrate Who Promises a Pie in the Sky

The trap was sprung.

Chen Mu understood perfectly; he knew the other party was using the recommendation as a bargaining chip to force him to risk his life in Sangye Village.

But this played right into his hands.

Whether it was monsters or ghosts, they could all provide Lifespan.

Since the situation in Sangye Village was so severe, the thing lurking there could not be too weak.

If he could slay it, wouldn't the plunderable Lifespan be...

Before Chen Mu could speak, a rustling sound came from behind him; it was Liu Ziming.

This young man, who had just been wailing on the ground, had somehow managed to crawl up.

He was still clutching his lower abdomen, his face pale, yet he forced himself to tug on Chen Mu's sleeve.

Once, twice.

The force was light, but the meaning was clear: 'Don't go.'

Chen Mu glanced at him, his expression softening slightly.

This skinny monkey had been beaten half to death just for speaking up for him earlier; even though he could not take care of himself, he was still trying to warn him.

Although he was a bit cowardly, he was still someone worth befriending.

"I will go."

Chen Mu said firmly. Liu Ziming looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with a mix of terror and confusion, his fingers trembling as they clutched Chen Mu's sleeve.

A flash of smugness crossed Xu Changze's eyes. Before he could say a few perfunctory words, Chen Mu added.

"But I have a condition."

Chen Mu pointed to Liu Ziming beside him. "I want him to come with me."

"Huh?!"

Liu Ziming was shocked, instantly scared to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering. His legs went weak, and he truly slumped onto the ground, unable to get up.

Xu Changze raised an eyebrow slightly, rolled his eyes, and readily agreed.

"Granted. Liu Ziming, from this day forth, you are to assist Chen Mu in handling the monster infestation in Sangye Village. Any shirking of duty will be punished as dereliction of duty!"

Chen Mu said no more, cupped his hands in salute to Xu Changze, turned, and strode out of the county office.

Not until that figure disappeared at the doorway did Liu Ziming wake from his daze. He let out a wail like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"It's over... It's all over now..."

He slumped on the ground, muttering to himself: "That baleful star! My good intentions were all for nothing, all for nothing..."

Seeing that Chen Mu had gone far away, Head Constable Wang's arrogant demeanor gradually appeared. He walked over, looked down at him, and curled his lips into a cold sneer.

"You rotten monkey, what are you still staring at? Your good brother has already gone far; why aren't you hurrying up to assist with the case?"

Liu Ziming looked up, his heart filled with despair, but he also knew he had no choice.

It is said that when gods fight, Mortals suffer. It was already difficult enough for him to navigate between them; now he could only let them knead him as they pleased.

Struggling to crawl up, he did not care about the dust covering his body and stumbled after them, every step feeling as if he were treading on the tip of a blade.

Watching the two figures leave, one after the other, Xu Changze and Head Constable Wang exchanged a glance and left the main hall in tacit understanding.

Only then did the county office hall explode into chaos; several bailiffs gathered together, chattering away.

"He did it! He really just flipped through the book, closed his eyes, and in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he practiced that movement technique to Perfection..."

"Did you see those afterimages? Eight of them! My heavens, I once peeked at Lord Xu practicing, and he only manifested three!"

"To think that such a Genius would emerge in our Yunmeng City! Hmph, I've long disliked that Squad Leader, relying on the fact that he is..."

"Shut up! Do you want to die?!"

An older bailiff looked around, lowered his voice to stop the others' discussion, and then shook his head and sighed.

"So what if he's a great talent or a Genius? That place, Sangye Village, is a death trap!"

Everyone looked at him and fell silent.

"Do you know how the five people before him died?"

"Some were left with only a human skin, some hanged themselves with their own intestines, and others, when discovered, were shattered into hundreds of pieces. What a tragedy!"

A deathly silence fell, and everyone felt a chill down their spines.

"That's not even the most evil part!" another younger bailiff chimed in.

"Last year, a traveling Taoist priest passed by. It was said he had real cultivation. He stayed in the village for one night and went mad the next day! He kept muttering about ghosts eating souls, monsters eating flesh..."

"Ghosts eat souls, monsters eat flesh?"

"Yes! Monsters eat human flesh and blood, while fierce ghosts suck human souls. The two coexist, acting as each other's facade, gnawing people clean!"

The old bailiff stopped talking, but no one else spoke up. Monsters and ghosts coexisting—going to such a place was no different from throwing one's life away.

"Chen Mu..." someone finally could not hold back, "No matter how much of a Genius he is, he's at most a Martial Artist at the Dao Entry Realm, right? Can he handle that thing?"

No one answered, but everyone had the answer in their hearts.

"It's a pity, so young, and with such top-tier Aptitude..."

The discussion gradually ceased; everyone knew that their County Magistrate was not a man who could tolerate others.

The more astonishing the talent Chen Mu displayed, the less Xu Changze would let him return alive.

Besides, this Genius did not listen to orders.

...

Inside the county office.

Xu Changze picked up a white jade teacup, skimmed off the foam, and took a slow, deliberate sip.

It was good tea, Dragon Well tea plucked before the rains, the fragrance refreshing, but it was a pity that when it reached his hands, the tea bag was stained with blood.

Head Constable Wang stood obsequiously behind him, fanning him diligently, not forgetting to sow discord.

"Brother-in-law, did you really just let that kid go? I see signs of rebellion in him; he's not someone who can serve you peacefully."

Xu Changze glanced at him and slammed the teacup down with a bang, the lid tilting and splashing out some hot tea.

"Otherwise? He practiced a technique in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and both 'Taibao Horizontal Training' and 'Divine Void Step' reached Perfection. Such Aptitude—let alone in a small place like Yunmeng City, even across the entire world, it is rare."

Head Constable Wang swallowed his saliva and asked cautiously: "Then, Brother-in-law, do you mean to really recommend him?"

"Recommend?" Xu Changze smiled, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

"If recommended, superiors will send people down to investigate his background and origins. If he is clean, they will focus on cultivating him and pouring resources into him."

"In a few years, this brat will surely achieve something and become a figure of some standing."

He paused and lowered his voice, like a cunning viper.

"But that achievement will have nothing to do with me. You saw how this person acted in the main hall today. He has no respect for superiors or inferiors, acting entirely on his own whims."

"If he gains power, what do you think the first thing he will do is?"

Head Constable Wang froze, remembering how he had framed the other party today after failing to extort a bribe, and recalling how the other party had cursed Xu Changze for being biased and blind.

And that long sword—the long sword that had thrust straight toward his throat.

Today, his brother-in-law, the County Magistrate, could still stop him for a moment, but when he reached the pinnacle of the world, that would likely be the day his own soul would be severed!

Xu Changze did not wait for his answer, playing with the tea lid, his eyes deep.

"A Genius is a good thing to have. But a Genius who cannot be controlled is not necessarily a good thing."

"Especially... a Genius who stood on the opposite side from the very beginning."

Head Constable Wang felt cold sweat dripping down. He spoke coldly, his voice dry but laced with malice.

Xu Changze nodded, and then their eyes met. They smiled at each other and spoke simultaneously.

"So... we cannot let him live!"