Chapter 163: Further Deliberations at the City Lord

Let us turn the clock back a little.

Nanmo Border City, City Lord's Mansion.

On this day, the three high-ranking officials of the city—the old City Lord Yang Feng, Inner City Superintendent Gao Feng, and Outer City Superintendent Tang Yiping—gathered once again to discuss matters.

The matter was quite simple.

The report they had jointly falsified to cover up Tang Yiping's dereliction of duty and downplay the losses in the Outer City had been sent back by their superior, the Southern Hub City of the Immortal Sect.

There were no pointed-out errors, no attached comments, no hidden guidance—nothing at all. It was simply sent back exactly as it was. Other than being certain that some superior had indeed read it, nothing else could be determined.

Old City Lord Yang Feng was feeling quite anxious at this moment.

Strange!

"Tell me, what is going on here?"

Tang Yiping suddenly spat out a mouthful of tea in fright. Fortunately, Gao Feng, sitting opposite him, reacted in time and raised his hand to channel his Qi to block it; otherwise, he would surely have been sprayed all over his face.

Gao Feng: "..."

Yang Feng was drenched in sweat. Having learned that the person before him was difficult to deal with and could not be fooled, he immediately told the whole story from beginning to end, not caring about Tang Yiping, who had since recovered and now wore a look of miserable despair.

Although he was a bit slower to react, the moment he sensed Gao Feng's subtle gaze, he instinctively grew alert and reacted subconsciously, making his response lag only a split second behind theirs—a very slight difference.

Because among those people were his own subordinates, the elite confidants he had painstakingly cultivated!

Thus, he braced himself and said, "Envoy, this..."

The Envoy did not care for the infighting of such a border city and had already finished his tea.

Therefore, whenever necessary, kicking someone while they were down or shifting blame was entirely an instinctive behavior.

Gao Feng and Tang Yiping looked at each other, both feeling uneasy and equally unable to understand why such a situation had occurred.

No matter how resourceful one is, without basic intelligence, how can one reach any valid conclusion by relying on wild guesses and imagination?

Gao Feng wanted to say exactly that; he felt dissatisfied with the other two he worked with, but when the words reached his lips, they came out like this: "The situation is unclear. It would be better to first probe Yunyi City. At the very least, we can rule out one option, and from the attitude of the Great Cultivator there, we should be able to catch a glimpse of the truth."

"Agreed. I can send a letter later to probe them, but the specific pretext and the wording to use are all worth deliberating."

They were all terrified and panicked, because they did not know how much of their "conspiracy" had just been overheard. No, it should be said that since the other party had sent the report back, it was clear they had guessed there must be a hidden story!

It's over!

He had served as the City Lord of Nanmo Border City for three hundred years, and he had never encountered such a situation. He had no confidence at all and even suspected whether this report had ever reached the Hub City, or if it had been intercepted halfway by someone.

"No, no, it... it is, when and how did he get in?!"

An envoy from the sect!

Then.

Thus, old City Lord Yang Feng turned his gaze toward Gao Feng, hoping that this Inner City Superintendent—his most capable subordinate, who was resourceful and always entrusted with heavy responsibilities—could provide him with answers.

Gao Feng, who had long been dissatisfied with this perfunctory, negligent, and ill-behaved fellow, was immediately enraged and questioned him: "Superintendent Tang, what is the meaning of this?"

"Who is it?!"

Tang Yiping was actually being somewhat deliberate, but his current surprise was not feigned. The other two were also shocked upon hearing this and turned their heads abruptly, only to see a person sitting calmly in the guest seat, drinking tea in a leisurely and natural manner.

Gao Feng reacted the fastest, his heart skipping a beat.

If this were the work of a Great Cultivator from Yunyi City, it could not possibly be in this style. But if there were any possibility, it seemed it could only be related to that factor?

Gao Feng also sighed inwardly.

Because for the first half of this matter, he bore no primary responsibility, but for the second half, he was entirely the mastermind.

"This..."

In terms of rank, whether it was a large city or a small city, both were one level below the Hub City. Therefore, as the City Lord of this small border city, he was actually only half a rank lower than a Great Cultivator of Yunyi, and on the surface, they were of equal rank.

"Pfft!"

What do I know?

If you, the City Lord, don't know about this, how could I, a mere Inner City Superintendent whose rank and duties generally don't allow me to discuss matters with other cities or the superior Hub City, possibly know?

After listening, the Envoy spoke again, flatly: "Present a list of the relevant figures involved in the imprisonment of that Du En."

"Speak, the true sequence of events."

"If the Envoy likes it, that is good. This old man is usually incompetent, I just like..."

Then, he realized that his previous report had not been sent back by the local Hub City, but had been rejected by this Envoy from the sect!

Gao Feng also realized this, so after the Envoy nodded slightly, he gave a start, left his seat with the old City Lord, and stood by with his hands bound, feeling deeply uneasy.

"The idea wasn't mine. I only bear the responsibility when things go wrong. There is no need to come and ask me anything now. Anyway, in your eyes, I always do more and err more, and only my cultivation can be considered first-rate."

Therefore, although there was a large gap in their cultivation levels, there was still some room for maneuver. At the very least, things like exchanging letters could be done proactively.

"Dare to... uh... En... Envoy?"

Yang Feng's old face twitched, his wrinkles trembling. He had quickly realized that to be able to silently bypass the heavy defenses and layers of measures from the Outer City to the Inner City and then to the City Lord's Mansion, it could only be someone whose authority was far higher than his own, higher even than that of the Hub City.

Tang Yiping could not figure out what was going on, so he simply spread his hands and dumped the problem entirely onto Gao Feng.

Thus, aside from Tang Yiping, who had finished shifting the blame and was now drinking tea with composure, the other two engaged in a tense and fierce deliberation over the subject of the letter and the tone of the probe.

If I let this guy take some of the heat, it should reduce our punishment, right?

Just as he thought this, Tang Yiping shot up and followed suit, standing obediently.

While secretly lamenting, he caught a glimpse of Tang Yiping, who still hadn't reacted, and felt both teeth-grindingly angry and secretly amused.

Yang Feng was not Tang Yiping after all; he did not intend to dump it directly on Gao Feng and planned to do it in his own name.

This made Gao Feng subconsciously feel a bit of regret. Although he had used the previous incident to suppress this rival, he knew that with Tang Yiping's personality, he would certainly not let it go, and their mutual hostility was actually growing day by day.

"So that's how it is."

"Speak."

And so, the answer was ready to emerge!

There was no blame or questioning; instead, the words spoken left the three of them stunned.

"The tea is not bad at all."

"Yes, yes."

Before the words were even finished, they heard the Envoy speak with pointed implication: "The sentiment of avoiding and fearing battle is a bit serious."

The three of them immediately understood the meaning, their scalps tingling, terrified beyond measure.

(End of chapter)