145: How could I not be anxious?!

"Hehe."

Hearing Qian Santong let out a cold laugh, Zhou Yan confirmed that the other party had taken the bait. But soon, he realized it wasn't a cold laugh, but rather... "Drink, ah, another... another cup..."

"Eh?"

"Where is this? How did I suddenly end up here?"

Qian Santong looked around in a daze, then, as if still drunk, he staggered back, swaying as he went, muttering loudly to himself.

"Oh dear, I must have drunk too much again and brought out my second personality."

"It seems I need to drink less recently. I should go see a doctor to cure this second personality; I can't let it hinder my contributions to the West Jiangnan Circuit."

"Lord Qian, what's wrong? This isn't what we agreed upon!"

"Isn't he just capable of forming a small Three Judicial Offices by himself? You are a fourth-rank official, what do you have to fear from him!"

Old fox!

Qian Santong looked at Judge Chen, who was hugging his leg, and cursed inwardly.

He had originally intended to feign weakness and foolishness to make the conflict he just had with the other party seem less conspicuous.

At least in the upcoming negotiations, he could use a weak stance to gain more benefits and gloss over the matter.

He was helping Judge Chen only because he owed Qiao Wenbin a favor and had received many benefits.

However, repaying Qiao Wenbin's favor and directly confronting Zhou Yan were not comparable in terms of the price to pay.

As a Nascent Soul Cultivator, he naturally saw at a glance that Zhou Yan's identity token was real.

Although investigating a high-ranking official like him indeed required multiple officials to jointly review and ultimately report to the imperial court for decision, as Judge Chen said, Zhou Yan could only represent the temporarily formed small Three Judicial Offices and couldn't do anything to him.

But since the other party had such an identity, one could easily guess how powerful his background was.

And Judge Chen must have seen it long ago.

Now, pulling this stunt, he most likely wanted to drag him into the mess and muddy the waters.

You bastard, I came to save you, and you want to drag me down with you even in death!

Qian Santong thought this, but Judge Chen did not.

He knew that Qian Santong's identity was unusual; rumor had it that he was a true Disciple of a certain Elder from Qingxu Grotto-Heaven.

Although he would certainly offend this person thoroughly after this, since he was going to die anyway, he might as well use his life to force him into the situation, at least to make Zhou Yan lose a piece of flesh.

With that thought, Judge Chen glanced at Zhou Yan's "Trinity" posture again, grinding his teeth.

How did this guy manage it? He's practically inhuman!

Qian Santong took a deep breath and put on his fake smile again.

"Chief Censor Zhou, there is actually no enmity between you and me."

"As for this Judge Chen..."

He glanced at Judge Chen, flicked his foot, kicking him into the air, then performed a 360-degree spinning kick that landed squarely on the other's head, knocking him unconscious to the ground.

"This official was momentarily confused and was misled by this scoundrel into troubling Chief Censor."

"Mainly, time was short, and I hadn't yet received the results of the Three Judicial Offices' trial, so I thought the procedure was irregular, which is why I intervened."

"I am an unwitting victim in this; I wronged a good person and allowed a scoundrel to take advantage."

Zhou Yan could tell he was showing weakness, but these officials were too shrewd.

To prevent future complications, even if the other party genuinely wanted to distance himself now, Zhou Yan couldn't easily let him off, lest further problems arise later.

"Lord Qian, your attitude changed so quickly, I'm not used to it. I still prefer your arrogant and unruly look from before; please revert to that."

Seeing that Zhou Yan was unyielding, Qian Santong knew he was truly in trouble this time.

"I hope Chief Censor Zhou understands that this world ultimately operates on human relationships and social conventions. We are both young; why must we fight to the death?"

Knowing the outcome was already decided, Qian Santong still wanted to subtly bring up his background, hoping to see if he could suppress the other party.

Just then.

A bald man suddenly burst out of the crowd! No, it was Wang Yao who rushed forward, throwing a punch directly at Qian Santong.

Qian Santong frowned and instinctively released his oppressive aura, pinning Wang Yao to the ground.

Foundation Establishment Stage?

What does this mean? Sending a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator to assassinate me?

As he pondered whether this was Zhou Yan's arrangement, he saw Zhou Yan quickly walk to Wang Yao's side, looking anxious.

And Li Cheng, who was sitting, also quickly stepped forward, shielding Wang Yao from the oppressive aura.

Immediately after, Zhou Yan exaggeratedly shouted.

"You, you, you! Lord Qian, what can I say about you!"

"First, you disrupted the execution, and now you're using your oppressive aura to pin down Qingxu Grotto-Heaven Sixth Elder's newly accepted and most beloved junior Disciple! What exactly do you want to do!"

"Wh... what? True Disciple of Qingxu?!"

Seeing Qian Santong's reaction, Zhou Yan knew the plan had succeeded. That's right, this was a pre-arranged act.

Mo Ran had long told Zhou Yan that Judge Chen would seek help from the Transport Commissioner Qian Santong.

So Zhou Yan had been thinking about how to deal with this fourth-rank official early on.

A fourth-rank official was too high; regardless of whether he had the "Three Judicial Offices Integrated" identity, Zhou Yan had no intention of clashing head-on.

Since "True Disciples of Qingxu" held a special status in Great Yu, he could simply stage an incident to get this fourth-rank official locked up for a few days.

A fourth-rank official versus a True Disciple might not lead to a conviction, but with the small Three Judicial Offices pushing from behind, the imperial court should organize a formal Three Judicial Offices joint trial.

Even if nothing ultimately happened and it wasted some imperial resources, at least it would get him detained for a few days, allowing Zhou Yan to calmly finish his business in Jiangzhou.

"You're lying!"

"I didn't do anything at all! He actively rushed up to attack me; I merely suppressed him!"

Seeing the other party panic, Zhou Yan secretly laughed, but his face still showed exaggerated anger.

"Still quibbling at this point? It takes two to tango; why didn't he hit anyone else but you? You must both be at fault! With so many people watching now, you must first return to the yamen with me to undergo investigation!"

"At that time, the people from Qingxu Grotto-Heaven and the imperial court will naturally listen to your explanation."

"Don't even think about arresting me!" Qian Santong's expression turned fierce, his body trembling slightly.

His eyes turned red, he thrust out a palm, and turned to flee.

"Damn it, this kid has a problem!"

"Lord Li, quickly catch him!"

Noticing Qian Santong's abnormal state, Zhou Yan immediately ordered Li Cheng to act.

Upon hearing Zhou Yan's command, Qian Santong's eyes grew even redder.

"Don't block my way!"

He waved both hands, and four streams of magical power struck the ground in front of him.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Amidst a series of explosions, the obstructing soldiers were all sent flying, their formation collapsing before it could even be established.

Just as Qian Santong thought he could escape, Li Cheng's voice came from behind him.

"You're celebrating too early!"

"You're not getting away!"

Li Cheng conjured a longbow with both hands, and an arrow, like a piercing rainbow, struck Qian Santong squarely in the back, knocking him to the ground.

"Ugh!" Qian Santong cried out in pain as he fell, quickly surrounded by soldiers. Now, with Li Cheng holding the line, the formation was complete, and he had no chance of escape.

"I didn't expect that among Early Stage Nascent Soul Cultivators, the difference could be so great."

"Lord Li is truly robust despite his age, able to easily 'kè miǎo' his opponent."

Although Li Cheng didn't understand the meaning of 'kè miǎo,' he understood it was a compliment and humbly accepted it.

"Not at all, it's Lord Zhou's profound foresight."

"Not at all, it's Lord Li's superior skill."

"Here, here! Can you two please dig me out of this pit before you continue with your pleasantries?"

The two turned around and saw Wang Yao still lying in the human-shaped pit created by the oppressive aura. They quickly helped him up.

Checking Wang Yao's condition, Zhou Yan was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected Wang Yao, known for his toughness, to be in such a sorry state.

Although Qian Santong hadn't used his full power earlier, the Divine Sense oppressive aura released in his angry state might have inadvertently carried a trace of mental attack, injuring Wang Yao's spirit or Sea of Consciousness.

It seems that Wang Yao, with his powerful Physical Body, had a weakness in his spirit.

Of course, his spirit wasn't weak; it was even strong among those of the same rank, but compared to his Heaven-Defying Physical Body, it seemed insignificant.

Next, it was time to invite the two "distinguished guests" to the dungeon. After a day, the dungeon welcomed esteemed visitors once more.

In the dungeon, Judge Chen said to Qian Santong with a speechless expression.

"I say, Lord Qian, why were you so anxious then? Aren't you also a Disciple of Qingxu Grotto-Heaven?"

"If you had revealed your identity then, you wouldn't have ended up in this predicament."

That's right, Judge Chen hadn't fainted at all; he was just pretending to be unconscious to go along with the atmosphere, so he naturally heard their entire conversation.

At the mention of this, Qian Santong's eyes turned red.

"I'm a fake! How could I not be anxious, damn it!"

"You're the one who caused this, I'm going to kill you, damn it!"

With that, Qian Santong pounced, trying to choke Judge Chen. However, because their cultivation had been restricted, it merely turned into an intense brawl between an old man and a young man, neither able to overpower the other.