28: Chapter 28 The Code to Wealth

"Take him down!"

Vice City Lord Cao Xinghe spat out these two words coldly.

Immediately, the surrounding soldiers began to close in, their spears emitting a cold, chilling gleam.

Lu Yuanzhen smiled, turned around, and retreated to the outside of the encirclement, a cruel smile appearing on his face.

Su Jiuchuan knew that if he were truly taken away, neither the Lu Family nor that Gu Liangcai would let him go.

In the final analysis, it was because he was rootless and baseless, without any background, which was why this Vice City Lord felt he had him in the palm of his hand.

Even though Chief Escort Master Zheng Nanhai once had some friendship with him, in the face of interests, it was not worth mentioning.

Zheng Xinyue looked resolute; she drew her longsword and stood with Su Jiuchuan.

"Sigh!" Su Jiuchuan let out a long sigh, fished an object from his bosom, held it up, and said, "Vice City Lord Cao, look at what this is."

Vice City Lord Cao Xinghe had originally been watching coldly from the sidelines, but upon seeing the object Su Jiuchuan brought out, he couldn't help but be stunned.

It was precisely the Auspicious Cloud Jade Pendant that the Third Prince had used to mortgage ten thousand taels of silver to Su Jiuchuan.

This item was a well-known royal treasure; the jade pendant was carved with clusters of auspicious clouds, and upon closer inspection, a golden Dragon could be seen faintly emerging.

It was a treasure obtained by the founding monarch of the Great Wei Dynasty, with a total of three in existence, which the current Emperor Jing had bestowed upon his three most favored princes.

"This... this is the Auspicious Dragon Pendant?"

"How is that possible?" Lu Yuanzhen did not know about the matter between City Lord Lan Sheng and the Third Prince; the Lu Family just had ongoing dealings with Hechuan City.

This time, City Lord Lan Sheng had entrusted someone to ask the Lu Family for help, thinking it was merely to deal with a rootless and baseless Fifth-Rank Martial Artist.

Who would have known that they would miscalculate repeatedly? The other party was not only a Fourth-Rank Martial Artist but also carried a supreme royal treasure. Could he be a member of the royal family? He was afraid they had been scammed by the Lan Family this time.

Gu Liangcai's martial arts were not high, but he had long mingled in the upper circles of Xuzhou and was very well-informed; he roughly knew the origin of this Auspicious Dragon Pendant, and his face turned ugly.

Could it be that he was going to kick an iron plate today?

Vice City Lord Cao Xinghe was a cautious person, and he reached out his hand.

Su Jiuchuan knew what he meant and threw the treasure directly over.

Watching this supreme royal treasure trace an arc in the air, the hearts of the onlookers leaped into their throats, and only when it was caught by Vice City Lord Cao Xinghe did they feel relieved.

This guy has too much guts!

Everyone thought this involuntarily.

Once such a supreme royal treasure was damaged, no one could truly save him.

This wasn't because Su Jiuchuan was bold, but purely because he didn't know. He thought this item was just a royal token, as long as it was genuine, that was enough.

Vice City Lord Cao Xinghe turned it over and over in his hands for a while, and sure enough, amidst the clouds and mist of the jade pendant, specks of golden light could be faintly seen moving.

This jade pendant was actually real.

He was at a loss for a moment.

Coming here this time was originally just to deal with a wild Fourth-Rank Martial Artist; how did it get involved with the royal family?

Although the Great Wei world was currently precarious, it was not something a Vice City Lord like him could ignore.

"This matter is of great importance. I will take you to see the City Lord!"

Vice City Lord Cao Xinghe finally decided to leave this matter to the City Lord to resolve.

It looked like he had kicked an iron plate today, but he hadn't actually arrested the person yet. If it really came down to it, he would just say Gu Liangcai had made a false accusation and throw him out.

As for what the background of this person was and why he held a royal token, it looked deep regardless of how one viewed it; it was better to be less involved.

Seeing the surrounding soldiers put away their weapons and stand in formation to the side.

Su Jiuchuan finally breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed this hurdle had been passed.

The City Lord's Mansion was located in the center of Xuzhou City and was a compound with a huge area.

Under the guidance of Vice City Lord Cao Xinghe, Su Jiuchuan and Zheng Xinyue passed through a veranda and waited in a side room, while several servants went to report.

After entering here, Vice City Lord Cao Xinghe was not as imposing as he was outside; he just sat upright to the side, drinking tea, as if a student waiting to see a teacher.

Looking at the well-behaved demeanor of this Second-Grade expert, Su Jiuchuan couldn't help but feel a little nervous; it seemed this City Lord was no ordinary person.

Xuzhou City Lord Guan Lin had stepped into the First Grade Realm for over twenty years, possessed extraordinary combat power, and had guarded Xuzhou for over ten years without a single defeat.

The few of them had refilled their tea three times before they waited for the servant to notify them to go to the garden to meet him.

Walking along the way, seeing the carved beams and painted pillars, he wondered how much silver had been spent; Su Jiuchuan suddenly realized.

He had taken a detour before.

Thinking about how Gu Liangcai seemed to be doing well, in reality, placed in later generations, he was just running a training class in this Xuzhou City. To say he was rich was only relative to ordinary people.

As for those mountain strongholds he robbed, they were miserable; they didn't dare to touch the wealthy aristocratic families at all. It was just snatching some silver from the common people—how much money could that be?

In this world, the martial power value was so high, and those martial arts families had even passed down their Legacy for thousands of years; how much silver must they have accumulated?

No wonder he was so poor; despite holding such a powerful Golden Finger, he was still struggling to the point where he couldn't afford to run the simulator. He had taken the wrong path.

Thinking of this, Su Jiuchuan felt as if he had found the wealth code, and his heart was faintly excited.

Soon, the few of them walked through a garden path and, in front of clusters of precious plants, met a middle-aged man.

This person was wearing a white long gown and looked to be only in his forties; he was refined and calm, completely lacking the image of a fierce general.

City Lord Guan Lin did not look at them; instead, he was holding scissors and pruning a sapling.

Vice City Lord Cao Xinghe then gave a light cough, stepped forward, and said in a low voice, "My Lord, this person possesses a royal Auspicious Dragon Pendant. This subordinate did not dare to make a decision, so I brought him here."

City Lord Guan Lin's movements did not stop; he continued pruning. After a good while, he straightened up and said, "Hmm, I know. You may withdraw first!"

Upon hearing this, Vice City Lord Cao Xinghe felt as if he had been granted amnesty and immediately turned and retreated.

At this time, only City Lord Guan Lin, Zheng Xinyue, and Su Jiuchuan remained.

Su Jiuchuan also clearly felt the pressure at this moment; such a superior, even without using True Qi, naturally possessed an aura of authority that made people afraid to act rashly.

"Speak, where did you get the jade pendant!" City Lord Guan Lin glanced at the jade pendant in Su Jiuchuan's hand and said indifferently.

It was hard for Su Jiuchuan to explain; he couldn't just say the Third Prince had mortgaged it to him. However, his eyes rolled, and he thought of his encounter outside the city.

"The Third Prince was traveling incognito near Xuzhou and unintentionally discovered that Guo Fan and others were gathering mountain bandits, seemingly intending to be detrimental to Xuzhou City. Furthermore, he discovered that the Lu Family also seemed to have treacherous schemes, so he had me hold the jade pendant to find the Xuzhou troops for suppression."

This explanation was something Su Jiuchuan had repeatedly pondered while waiting outside just now; logically, if a local garrison official was told by a royal family member to suppress bandits, you couldn't say it was wrong.

"Hmph! You dare to lie to me, you are courting death!"