Borrowing Official Authority to Press? Chu Feng Cleverly Fixes a Label

In an instant, chaos engulfed the entire village.

Wang Wei was the first to charge forward, brandishing a wooden club and bringing it down fiercely upon a young man.

The battle erupted instantly.

The brawl between the villagers was no different from the street fights Chu Feng had witnessed in his past life.

The only difference, perhaps, was that the people here truly had the stomach to deal lethal blows.

They struck even more ruthlessly than the gangsters of his former life.

Whether wielding hoes, sickles, or wooden clubs, they locked onto their enemies and hammered mercilessly at their heads.

Soon, blood was streaming from many a wound.

Liao Zi'ang wanted to halt the violence.

Yet, no matter how he screamed and shouted, not a single villager in the vicinity paid him any mind.

At this moment, Liao Zi'ang's authority vanished completely.

Wang Wei and Sun Can charged the fastest.

Whenever anything detrimental to Chu Feng occurred, these two were invariably the first to rush out and uphold Chu Feng's honor.

At this, Chu Feng felt a genuine sense of warmth.

He stepped slowly out of his house, carrying an axe.

With the entire village fighting others to protect him, how could Chu Feng possibly stand idly by on the sidelines?

"You Yulong Villagers certainly have immense nerve, actually daring to lay hands on the Assistant Magistrate!"

Guo Yong was still attempting to pin a heavy charge upon them.

Du Dahai immediately fired back.

"Cut the damn bullshit! What I'm beating are you bastards from Taoyuan Village! It has nothing to do with the officials!"

These words only served to escalate the conflict between the two sides even further.

Some individuals even began to strike to kill.

Right at that very moment, a crisp sound of neatly ordered marching echoed from the distance.

Liu Xi led a contingent of constables and government runners into Yulin Village.

The government runners and constables were scheduled to arrive precisely today.

Had Tian Zhuang been willing to wait, he would not have died so prematurely.

These men had come specifically to deal with the rebels of the White Lotus Cult.

A large number of them had arrived—well over a hundred men at a single glance.

More than a hundred representatives of the imperial court facing a mob of unruly villagers created an immediate disparity in presence.

The villagers subconsciously halted their attacks.

Liao Zi'ang finally heaved a sigh of relief and straightened his official cap.

He felt profoundly aggrieved.

The reason Liao Zi'ang held the village chief of Taoyuan Village in such high regard was that Guo Yong was a distant relative of his.

It was thanks to Guo Yong's financial sponsorship that Liao Zi'ang had been able to continue his studies and ultimately secure the position of Assistant Magistrate of Xueling Town.

Yet, when all was said and done, the Assistant Magistrate was not an exceptionally high-ranking official.

Even the County Magistrate was merely a minor official of the ninth rank; the Assistant Magistrate held no official rank at all.

While he wielded a degree of authority, his actual power was quite limited.

He truly had no viable solution when two villages broke out into a bloody brawl.

If Liu Xi had not arrived, and news of the inter-village fight reached the ears of the magistrate, his career as Assistant Magistrate would undoubtedly have come to an end.

Fortunately, Liu Xi had come, bringing such a formidable force that it instantly cowed both villages.

Never before had Liao Zi'ang felt such profound affection for Liu Xi as he did at this moment.

"Constable Liu, you've finally come!"

Liu Xi merely glanced briefly at Liao Zi'ang before asking in a peculiar tone, "What has happened?"

"The people of Yulong Village are attempting to revolt!"

"Nonsense! It is clearly you people of Taoyuan Village who are trying to rebel!"

Once the charge of treason began to be flung at opponents, it meant both sides had become mortal enemies.

After all, such a charge inherently carried the intent of utter annihilation.

Liu Xi's expression darkened.

"I care not what grievances exist between your two villages, but cease hurling accusations of treason at one another so casually. The situation at the borders of our Great Qian is already complex, and those scoundrels from the White Lotus Cult have fled into the Yulong Mountains. The laws of Xueling Town dictate that no one save the designated mountain wardens is permitted to set foot in the Yulong Mountains. To trespass there is to attempt rebellion, and even if one is slain by a mountain warden, it is considered mere bad luck. Let this matter rest here and now; no one shall pursue it further. Whoever dares to press the matter further, do not blame the blade in my hand for being merciless!"

With that, the group did not linger, pressing onward toward the Yulong Mountains.

It appeared that following this investigation, the authorities had thoroughly pinpointed the White Lotus Cult.

Unwilling to be captured without a fight, the members of the cult had fled with all their followers into the Yulong Mountains.

Liu Xi's mission this time was to hunt down and capture the White Lotus cultists in the mountains.

It seemed they were merely passing by, happened upon a fight between two villages, offered a casual word of dissuasion, and promptly moved on.

The sky began to grow faintly pale.

The figures of everyone present became visible to one another.

Until Liu Xi had walked far away did Guo Yong finally seize the opportunity.

He lunged forward and grabbed the hem of the Assistant Magistrate's robe.

"My lord, this humble commoner has been wronged! My son merely went up the mountain to hunt—how did he become a rebel? I must take this grievance to the higher authorities; I must restore my son's innocence!"

"Enough with the innocence; your son will never be innocent," Chu Feng interjected coldly from the side with a derisive laugh.

"You villainous dog, you finally dare to show your face outside?"

"Watch your tongue when you speak to me, you old bastard," Wang Wei snapped at Guo Yong.

Since the feud between the two villages was now absolute, Wang Wei held nothing back.

Chu Feng stopped Wang Wei and questioned Guo Yong before him, "Do you still believe your son went up the mountain merely to hunt?"

"What else could it be? What else would my son go up the mountain for besides hunting? If not for you, my son would have already returned home with his game!"

Chu Feng shook his head, his expression gradually growing cold.

"Old man, do not forget my status. I am a mountain warden. I carry an axe in my hand and a bow and arrows on my back. When your son saw me, instead of turning to flee, he actually dared to attack me. If he is not a rebel, what is he?

Don't tell me your son didn't launch an attack; his bow and arrows are right in my house, and the traces of his assault upon me are still up on the mountain. I can take you there right this instant."

"Don't give me those words. I knew nothing of what happened at the time. You can spin whatever lies you like here, and I have no way to disprove you. I only trust my son's character. I am certain he would never launch an unprovoked attack against you," Guo Yong stubbornly retorted, abandoning all shame.

"Old man, it is not merely my words now; it is what the constable lord just said. He declared that your son's entry into the mountain involves treason, and he likely has ties to the White Lotus Cult. And you, Assistant Magistrate, you had better ponder carefully: what consequences might arise from shielding a member of the White Lotus Cult like this?"

"What do you mean by that?" Guo Yong's expression flickered with a trace of panic.

"I mean nothing beyond a reasonable deduction. Just as you said, old man, perhaps your son went up the mountain merely to hunt. But what I fail to understand is why your son chose to attack me upon seeing me? On the mountain, who else wears my attire besides a mountain warden? To rashly assault a mountain warden... just what kind of person would dare to do such a thing?"

"You are slandering him!" Guo Yong roared at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking.

Chu Feng smiled.

Whether he was slandering them or not was entirely irrelevant.

"Lord Liao, what do you think?"

Making Liao Zi'ang hear these words was the most crucial part.

The sole reason Taoyuan Village acted so arrogantly was their acquaintance with Liao Zi'ang, and the fact that their relationship ran quite deep.

The only condition under which Liao Zi'ang was willing to help Taoyuan Village was if the matter brought him no trouble.

Yet the moment Chu Feng suggested that Guo Yong's son, Guo Wu, might be connected to the White Lotus Cult, Liao Zi'ang was forced to think twice.

Whether Guo Wu was truly tied to the White Lotus Cult was beside the point.

Liao Zi'ang could not afford to gamble.

If the Guo family were genuinely linked to the White Lotus Cult, when the imperial court executed the punishment of exterminating the nine familial relations, he, Liao Zi'ang, would not escape either.

With that realization, Liao Zi'ang cupped his hands toward Guo Yong.

"Elder Guo, this matter has nothing to do with me. I have brought you safely to Yulong Village; as for how you resolve this, settle it amongst your two villages. Remember well: no more fighting."

Having said that, Liao Zi'ang turned and strode away without the slightest trace of hesitation.