The next morning, in the County Governor Manor’s study.
County Governor Gongye stood in front of an unfinished drawing. He was flicking his brush and dabbing it in ink, drawing in an unbridled manner. Long stretches of mountains gradually appeared on the canvas.
“Lord.” The door opened and a subordinate entered silently. He whispered, “Qin Liehu is already in Six Fans Gate.”
“Alright,” Gongye replied indifferently.
A few moments later.
Another subordinate entered the study and whispered, “Lord, Qin Yun’s elder brother, Qin An, has just left Qin Manor. He will most likely be heading to his restaurant or store.”
Qin An was a businessman so he naturally had many matters to tend to.
“Alright.” Gongye placed his brush down and marveled at the canvas in front of him. It depicted an extended mountain range with black clouds spreading from the ends of the sky. It felt like dark clouds were bearing down on the city in an overwhelming manner.
“Eldest Liu, Second Liu,” Gongye suddenly bellowed.
“Present.” Two men responded reverentially from outside the study.
Gongye threw a token. “Heed my orders. Head to Six Fans Gate and apprehend Qin Liehu, then lock him in the dungeon. Raise the security at the dungeon and guard it! And from now on, no one is to enter or exit Six Fans Gate without specific orders from me!”
“Yes!”
The Liu family’s five brothers were infamous cultivators. However, they yielded to Gongye and had been working for him for a long time. They were Gongye’s trusted henchmen.
“Fifth Liu, lead a group of personal guards to silently apprehend Qin An. Similarly, lock him in the Six Fans Gate’s dungeon. Remember, be careful when taking action and make sure you leave no evidence,” Gongye instructed.
“Lord, rest assured,” Fifth Liu answered immediately from outside the study. He had worked for Gongye Bing for years. He knew that Qin An’s capture was not to be discovered. That was what he meant by ‘silently apprehend.’ To genuine cultivators, such an act posed no challenges.
Gongye walked out of the study where two other Liu family experts, Commander Tie, and several personal guards stood at the entrance.
“Commander Tie, take my token and a group of guards with you out of the city,” Gongye commanded. “Bring three divisions of men and soldiers into the city and encircle Qin Manor! Capture everyone in the Qin family, especially Qin Yun. He is not to be spared.”
After Commander Tie listened from beginning to end, he could not help but ask, “Lord County Governor, we are capturing Qin Liehu and Qin An. Now, we are even capturing Qin Yun? That Qin Yun is a cultivator who previously killed Water God. He has accomplished a great deed.”
“Hmph!”
Gongye looked him in the eye. “Qin Liehu has been a silver-badge constable for many years. He should have dealt with demons to ensure peace long ago. But despite all his years as a constable, he has not killed many demons. I originally thought that he was incompetent but now, I’ve discovered that he was colluding with demons in secret. He has earned a great amount of wealth as a result, and so turned a blind eye to the demons’ heinous acts. Now, with so much evidence pointing to him, how can the Qin family not be apprehended considering the atrocious crime?”
“Colluding with demons?” Commander Tie was alarmed. “Such an accusation cannot be so easily decided.”
The accusation was too serious.
Typically, it would lead to the beheading of the entire family! Those that were relatively benevolent would only behead the main offender while the women in the family would be sent to be maids in the residences of officials, while the men would be forced to do hard labor until their deaths.
“There is insurmountable evidence. Colluding with demons is a crime punishable by death. However, since this matter involves a cultivator, Qin Yun, and he has done a great deed, I will report it to the imperial government. It will have the final decision on Qin Yun’s life and death. However, what happens now will be in accordance with the laws set forth by the imperial government. Capture his entire family and throw them into the dungeons.” Gongye acted in a manner where personal considerations did not interfere with his execution of public duty. “Commander Tie, execute the order without delay.”
Commander Tie nodded obediently. Although he felt that his master had gone overboard on the matter, he was still a subordinate of the county governor.
…
The security of the city was Six Fans Gate’s responsibility. Inside its main headquarters, Qin Liehu and two other silver-badge constables were in a room, busying themselves with official matters.
Boom. The door was flung open.
“Who is it?” Qin Liehu and another silver-badge constable, Lei Xiong, were somewhat infuriated. They were members of the upper echelons of Six Fans Gate. Three silver-badge constables each had departments they oversaw. The regular constables did not dare barge in while they were doing official businesses.
The duo who entered after flinging the door open was none other than Eldest Liu and Second Liu. They led five guards. From afar, some constables watched with curiosity.
“During Qin Liehu’s tenure as silver-badge constable, he has colluded with demons. There is insurmountable evidence supporting the charge. Now, under Lord County Governor’s orders, we shall apprehend and imprison him,” Eldest Liu held a token in hand and bellowed. “Take him away!”
“I did not collude with demons,” Qin Liehu glared.
The guards charged forward and immediately held Qin Liehu down.
Qin Liehu was very aware that resistance was futile in such a situation. It would only lead to him being killed. Furthermore, it would add another charge to the crimes he was accused of. Then, there was the fact that he was in Six Fans Gate, the headquarters of law enforcement with many experts. In addition, Eldest Liu and Second Liu were extremely powerful cultivators against which he could not resist.
“Lock him in the dungeon,” Eldest Liu instructed coldly.
Following that, he turned around and raised the token. He shouted loudly, “Under Lord County Governor’s orders, entry and exit of Six Fans Gate are prohibited from this moment forth. Violators will be executed!”
All the constables in Six Fans Gate, as well as some minor officials, were alarmed.
“Something serious has happened.”
“Entry and exit to the entire Six Fans Gate are prohibited?”
The constables did not dare defy the orders.
After all, the imperial government had bestowed the county governor with absolute powers. With military and political powers concentrated on him, he had the authority to persecute any official under the seventh grade without permission from his superiors. The silver-badge constables that held the highest-ranking in Six Fans Gate were only eighth-grade officials. How could they defy the county governor?
…
Inside a shop.
Qin An was overseeing the business of his store when there was a call from outside.
“Brother Qin An, Brother Qin An!”
Qin An heard it. Who was calling him? Out of curiosity, he went out.
However, he vanished after exiting the door.
The manager and apprentices in the store noticed that their boss was no longer around. They were puzzled but guessed that he had left with friends.
******
“Rumble!”
Three thousand soldiers entered the city. With so much manpower diverted into the city, it naturally alerted the large family clans in Grand Dominance City.
However, the Qin family did not have many people working for them. So they did not know that a huge number of troops had entered the city. Even if they had known, they would likely have ignored it.
Inside Qin Manor, it was silent. The porter, Uncle Li, was chewing on watermelon seeds leisurely.
The guards inside the manor were also chatting casually. The servants and maidservants were doing the daily chores while Qin Yun’s mother, Changlan, accompanied her daughter-in-law and grandchildren in a garden in the backyard.
As for Qin Yun, he was alone in his compound where he was practicing his swordplay. His compound was able to accommodate his cultivation of a flying sword so it was naturally very large.
“Phew–Phew–”
With black sword in hand, he leisurely practiced his swordplay. Sword shadows appeared in a hazy fashion like spring’s misty rains.
Although he would release his flying sword in true combat, he wielded a sword to train and fight from a young age. His being able to attain the Expertise Nearing Dao that led to him finally grasping Misty Rain Sword Intent was a result of him engaging in melee combat. Therefore, he saw the best results when practicing his swordsmanship holding a sword. This was also a way for him to relax his body and mind.
“Oh?” Qin Yun’s ears moved.
He could hear a faint din. He could not help but stop his swordplay out of curiosity. He left his yard and looked far into the distance. Through the cracks in the vegetation, he could see the mirror-like lake behind Qin Manor. He could also see that a large number of soldiers were being mobilized by the bank.
“Why are so many soldiers suddenly mobilized?” Qin Yun muttered and found it somewhat puzzling. “The soldiers seldom enter the city, isn’t that so?”
Only during major events like the Courtesan Belle selection was so much manpower needed. Only then did the soldiers enter the city.
Qin Yun shook his head slightly before turning to return to his yard. As the soldiers were being mobilized on the mirror-like lake far away, they were still rather far from his place. He thought nothing of it. Of course, he never imagined that the soldiers would do anything to him. He had accomplished great feats in the northern borders and had also killed Water God. Even if the local officials wanted to take action against him, they would be questioned by the imperial government.
Furthermore, cultivators had an intricate relationship with the imperial government. When things got bad, they could hide deep in the mountains or woods. It was not difficult for them to assassinate officials.
Therefore, the more powerful the cultivator, the more careful the imperial government had to be before acting against them.
Of course, it was best if one didn’t clash with the imperial government! If one truly offended the imperial government, even Connate Golden Core realm experts could only flee desperately for their lives. After all, the imperial government ruled the entire world.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Just as Qin Yun entered the yard to continue his training, he heard minute footsteps turning denser. “That’s not right. Why are these soldiers approaching my house?”
He could ignore it if the soldiers were on the far bank of the lake.
However, these new footsteps he heard were coming from the streets outside Qin Manor. Clearly, a large number of troops were heading for his house.
“Sou!”
Qin Yun tapped his feet.
He flew up hundred-plus feet and landed in the crown of a large tree. Standing there, he overlooked his surroundings.
The sight that greeted Qin Yun changed his expression.