27: Chapter 27 Changes

After waiting for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the True Qi inside Zheng Xinyue's body finally stabilized. Her face was full of excitement; she had been stuck at the ninth-grade for several years. In truth, her Aptitude was not bad, at least far better than Su Jiuchuan's. However, she had been unmotivated in her daily life, which was why she had been stuck for several years.

With some effort now, she had finally achieved a Breakthrough. However, she quickly grew dejected again. When she thought of the peers she had encountered this time—whether it was Xue Mingcai, who had just begun to Cultivate, or Shen Xiuru—they all made her feel inferior, let alone the cultivation Genius right in front of her.

Back in Hechuan City, she had still looked down on this man who only cared about money. But later, she followed him as he dealt with so many powerful enemies.

Her perception of Su Jiuchuan was overturned time and time again. It seemed that every time they encountered a master, he would always be just a little bit stronger.

Her mindset gradually shifted, moving from initial disdain to admiration and even worship, and finally to a deep sense of inferiority.

“Congratulations on your Breakthrough.”

Su Jiuchuan had no idea she had so many thoughts running through her mind.

“Brother Su, please don't tease me,” Zheng Xinyue said with a bitter smile. “How could this meager cultivation of mine catch your eye?”

Su Jiuchuan didn't dare to reply, feeling that whatever he said would sound like boasting.

“Your father is an Imperial Secret Agent. I heard that the Lu Family has colluded with City Lord Lan Sheng of Hechuan City. Do you have any channel to report this?”

This was the method he had come up with to deal with the Lu Family. Since his current strength was still insufficient to face them, he would borrow the power of the imperial court.

Moreover, Hechuan City's attempt to deal with the Third Prince—which ended with the Third Prince escaping—already counted as a complete falling out with the imperial court.

For the Lu Family to dare collude with rebels and act so arrogantly, they were simply seeking death.

“Though there is no evidence for now, I suppose Imperial Secret Agents don't really need evidence, do they?”

In Su Jiuchuan's memories of his past life, these Imperial Secret Agents could fabricate things out of thin air, let alone this matter, which was basically true.

Zheng Xinyue frowned and said after a long pause, “I once met Deputy City Lord Cao Hexing, the Vice City Lord of Xuzhou City, with my father. I will try to go find him.”

Su Jiuchuan nodded.

...

In the early morning, the back door of the Lu Family residence slowly opened, and a carriage slowly rolled out, with five or six guards closely following behind.

The carriage passed through the bustling market and arrived at the market district in the west of the city, where Cuihong Brothel, the largest brothel in the city, was located.

“Who goes there?”

The leading guard abruptly drew the long saber at his waist and shouted.

Standing in the middle of the street was a man holding a scabbard in both arms. The newcomer was none other than Su Jiuchuan.

The carriage came to a halt, and someone inside parted the curtain, revealing Su Yunxia's pale face. She cried out in alarm, “Jiuchuan, run!”

The guard beside her lost his patience. He raised his hand and jabbed the scabbard through the curtain. With a cry of pain, Su Yunxia instantly fell back inside.

“You're courting death!”

Furious, Su Jiuchuan drew his long saber and charged forward.

The guards also drew their weapons one after another.

However, the strongest among these guards was only at the sixth-grade Realm. Within a few exchanges, they were all knocked flat on the ground.

Seeing this, Su Jiuchuan was about to check on Su Yunxia in the carriage when he heard the sound of slow clapping. He turned his head to look.

From the corner of the street, a Young Master dressed in a green robe walked out. Su Jiuchuan recognized him; it was Lu Yuanzhen, the one who had plotted against him in the life simulation.

“Fourth-grade already?” Lu Yuanzhen said with a look of amazement. “With your background, to reach this level at your age can only be described as a true Genius.”

“How about this? Join my Lu Family, and I will make the call to write off everything that happened in Hechuan City.”

Su Jiuchuan sneered and cursed, “Fuck you!” With that, he drew his saber and lunged forward.

Both of them were in the fourth-grade Realm, and for a moment, they were evenly matched.

While the two were locked in a fierce battle, the sound of galloping hooves rang out. Before long, a troop of cavalry poured out from the streets and alleys like a tide, surrounding them.

Seeing this sudden turn of events, the two of them separated.

Leading them was a burly man clad in full steel armor, who was likely the Vice City Lord, Deputy City Lord Cao Hexing, whom Zheng Xinyue had mentioned.

Su Jiuchuan breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the Vice City Lord Zheng Xinyue had contacted yesterday had arrived quite in the nick of time. Otherwise, he might not have been able to defeat Lu Yuanzhen.

“Vice City Lord Cao, what is the meaning of this?” Lu Yuanzhen frowned and asked.

The Lu Family was a prominent and powerful clan in Xuzhou City, with a deep Foundation here. Having intermarried with various other noble families for many years, their connections were deeply intertwined. Even though this Vice City Lord was in the third-grade Realm, he was not afraid.

“Someone reported that the Lu Family has colluded with Hechuan City and is preparing to rebel?”

Deputy City Lord Cao Hexing said unhurriedly.

“That's nonsense!” Lu Yuanzhen frowned. This matter was highly confidential; the City Lord's Manor shouldn't have known about it.

“Is there any evidence?”

“There is none, actually. I believe the Lu Family is a great clan in Xuzhou and surely wouldn't harbor treasonous intent. However, rebellion is a capital offense after all, so I must ask the Lu Family to clarify things later,” he said with a fake smile.

Lu Yuanzhen frowned, knowing that he would be heavily extorted by this smiling tiger once again, but he did not dare to take a hard line.

“The Lu Family will certainly cooperate and guarantee your satisfaction, My Lord!” As he spoke, Lu Yuanzhen felt a pang of distress. This guy's appetite would not be small; it was impossible not to bleed some wealth today.

With just a few words, the two of them had completed a transaction right in front of so many people.

“You... how could you do this!” Zheng Xinyue, who had been hiding at the corner of the street, had not expected this outcome either. Furious, she immediately leaped out.

Deputy City Lord Cao Hexing snorted coldly and said, “This official has already investigated and found that this Su Jiuchuan is merely a bandit and a bully. He colluded with the Fuyuan Escort Agency to oppress the innocent and is guilty of heinous crimes. Today, I shall arrest you all and bring you to justice.”

How could this be?

Su Jiuchuan was stunned. A matter he thought was a sure thing had actually taken such a turn.

“You... are spitting blood and making false accusations!” Zheng Xinyue was furious, completely unable to understand how things had turned out this way.

“Hehe, this official is not speaking without basis.” Deputy City Lord Cao Hexing waved his hand, and a person quickly ran up from behind the soldiers.

Su Jiuchuan focused his gaze and saw that the newcomer was actually Gu Liangcai.

“My Lord, please see clearly. It is him! Yesterday, he barged into the Hefeng Martial Arts Hall and, relying on his high cultivation, extorted five thousand taels of silver from me. Please uphold justice for me, My Lord!” Gu Liangcai said, pointing at Su Jiuchuan.

Su Jiuchuan instantly understood. People always said that if you wanted to make a name for yourself, you needed to have a backer.

Gu Liangcai had such a low cultivation, yet he was able to make the Hefeng Martial Arts Hall so famous in Xuzhou City. His backer was likely this Deputy City Lord Cao Hexing.

Now that Zheng Xinyue had gone to him for help, wasn't that just walking right into a trap?

He was in trouble now. Su Jiuchuan was about to charge his way out first, but he discovered that Deputy City Lord Cao Hexing's aura had already locked onto him. He had a premonition that if he dared to move even a fraction, he would probably be killed instantly.