Chapter 581

Before the warden returned, Lin Cheng stayed in the cell, discussing theories with his colleagues from the other three cells. Although they couldn't put them into practice, there was no issue with theoretical discussion. They chatted quite happily among themselves and were not disturbed by anyone in the prison; it could be said that everything was going quite well.

Seeing this, the other blacksmiths also stopped their steps toward leaving the prison one after another. If Master Lin Cheng was not leaving, then they would not leave either.

"Master Lin Cheng, I beg you, I'll call you Grandpa, please don't stay here anymore! I really can't afford to be responsible for you. If the General finds out, he will definitely skin me alive!"

"Fine, I'll give you some face."

The warden was a man who understood the ways of the world. Since things had reached this point, Lin Cheng did not want to make things difficult for him and walked straight out of the prison door. The other blacksmiths followed suit.

"Yes... gentlemen, let me see you out." Seeing Lin Cheng and the other blacksmiths walk out, the warden finally showed a relieved smile and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He was considered a person of some standing in this prison, but compared to Lin Cheng and President Hoelder, his status was worth nothing. If these gentlemen had stayed in the cell, his wealth and career would truly have been in jeopardy. Fortunately, they were leaving; everything was fine now.

"What about that bastard from before? Did he not show any remorse? Grabbing us and throwing us in here for no reason." The blacksmith who had spoken up for Lin Cheng earlier was Gongsun Li, the Vice President of the Blacksmith Guild from a neighboring city. He was now extremely dissatisfied with the captain of the city guards who had arrested them.

Even though the warden had already said it was a misunderstanding, he still felt very uncomfortable in his heart.

"Sir, you must be referring to the subordinate of our City Lord's Deputy General Li. You are right, please don't be angry. They are just like that—ignorant of etiquette and stubborn... I apologize to you on their behalf. You are a person of great stature who does not hold grudges against small people... They don't understand the contributions you have made to the Empire, do they?"

A round of flattery caused most of Gongsun Li's anger to dissipate. It was better to be forgiving when possible; there was no need to truly fall out with the city guards, as he still had to stay here for a while.

"Don't let me see him again! Otherwise... humph."

"Rest assured, sir, the General has already relayed the message to Deputy General Li, and he will definitely punish the other party severely." The warden knew about the large number of blacksmiths arriving at Rock Fortress City recently, all because Master Lin Cheng had made the new Encyclopedia of Inscriptions public, and His Majesty was very pleased with this, subsequently fully supporting the rise of the Empire's blacksmiths.

It could be said that the status of the blacksmithing industry had risen rapidly; today was completely different from the past.

In the past, if they grabbed a blacksmith, they grabbed a blacksmith, and released them after a few days. Now, if they weren't careful, the blacksmith they grabbed might be a famous master from some city. Not only did the city guards have to act with caution, but even the prison of Rock Fortress City had to take careful care of the other party, fearing that if the person was in the middle of some forging research, they would be punished at best, or lose their official position at worst.

Just like the current incident, the blockhead of a city guard had raided the Blacksmith Guild and even dragged two 8th-rank blacksmiths in. If he didn't handle this matter well, he would definitely be finished.

"Humph, that's about right." Gongsun Li put on a haughty face.

Seeing that this gentleman's anger had subsided, the warden ran over to fawn over Lin Cheng and President Hoelder again.

"Master Lin Cheng and President Hoelder, would you like me to find a few carriages to take you back?"

"Forget it."

President Hoelder had just experienced this incident and had been innocently implicated; he was still feeling quite depressed and in a bad mood.

Lin Cheng, on the other hand, was quite indifferent.

"Actually... we won't go to the Blacksmith Guild. Arrange a carriage to take us to the Flying Fox Restaurant; we have a private room booked there."

"Very well, Master Lin Cheng." The warden immediately went to carry out the order.

There were carriages in the prison, and as for the coachmen, they could just pull a few jailers to serve as them. Whoever didn't want to do it would have their salary deducted next month!

Just like that, the prison's exclusive carriage took Lin Cheng and the large group of people to the Flying Fox Restaurant. It was a real treat for these blacksmiths; the days of being stifled were finally over. His Majesty had begun to support them, and the era belonging to them, the blacksmiths, had arrived!

On the way, the captain of the city guards who had arrested Lin Cheng and the others found out about this and went to question the warden.

"Why did you let them go? Do you know what crimes they committed? One of them violated the Rock Fortress no-fly ordinance, and the others openly obstructed our law enforcement. Are these charges not enough to keep them in jail?"

The warden didn't take the city guard captain's questioning seriously at all and replied coldly.

"Don't think that just because Deputy General Lin is your uncle, you can act recklessly. Do you know whose family they are? You dared to arrest two of the only four 8th-rank blacksmiths in the Empire, delaying..."

"But they violated the ordinances of Rock Fortress City. Are we supposed to just watch them ignore the regulations?"