Chapter 185: Commercial Laws

Third Lady performed a complex and arduous ritual to load the two artisan artifacts onto the carts.

Every cart had been reinforced and required four horses to pull.

They parked the carts outside the Nancheng Patrol Station.

Afterwards, most of the congregation withdrew, leaving only the Great Wei Wei Huoshi and the Fire Masters behind.

To avoid drawing attention, everyone, including the Great Wei Wei Huoshi, dressed as carters and porters, squatting by the wheels and waiting.

Tattered felt hats were pulled low, and the eyes beneath the brims glanced furtively at the door from time to time.

When the shift ended, they saw Xu Yuan walking out of the gate accompanied by a young, beautiful woman.

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi was about to learn the answer.

Yet he never in a million years expected his "good idea" to go awry again.

The two ancestors were causing even more trouble!

The Heart-Weighing Scale had even destroyed the carriage, displaying an unparalleled sense of urgency.

With such a commotion, Lin Wanmo immediately pinched a leather shadow puppet hidden in her sleeve.

Xu Yuan pressed down on her arm, preventing her from throwing it.

Lin Wanmo looked at Xu Yuan in confusion, then gazed at the scale beam exposed in the shattered carriage... and suddenly recognized it.

"This was made by your father..."

Xu Yuan raised a finger, signaling her not to say more.

Lin Wanmo's mind was in chaos; how could she have encountered her master's artisan artifacts here?

Xu Yuan walked toward the Great Wei Wei Huoshi and the others.

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi was extremely embarrassed.

Once again, his little schemes had been exposed before Lord Xu.

He could only place his last hope in Lord Xie Qingman.

Wei Yunhua had met Xie Qingman in Hun City a few years ago, back when Xie Qingman was merely an Inspector.

Xu Yuan approached the large cart, swept his gaze over the group, and sneered, "The Third Lady Society has quite the boldness."

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi forced a smile: "My lord, this, this is a misunderstanding..."

"I recall Captain Lang has already sealed the Huode Jishitang."

"Yes, this is also a misunderstanding," the Great Wei Wei Huoshi said bitterly.

"These two artisan artifacts belong to the Huode Jishitang. Since they were sealed with official notices, how dare you transport items from inside out?"

"Ah?" The Great Wei Wei Huoshi was dumbfounded, not expecting Lord Xu to be waiting for him here.

Xu Yuan barked, "Guards!"

From within the Nancheng Patrol Station, a huge group of fierce-looking Captains burst out with a clatter.

Leading them was Qin Ze.

"My lord!"

"Seize all these items."

"Yes!"

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi and the others panicked; these were the lifeblood of the City-Occupying Bureau.

"My lord, my lord..." The Great Wei Wei Huoshi spread his arms to block them, but Xu Yuan's expression turned cold: "Do you intend to resist the law by force?"

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi dared not.

With such a heavy accusation pinned on them, not only he, but the entire Third Lady Society could not bear it.

Had they not seen the fate of the Pingtian Society just a few days ago?

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi withdrew his arms in grievance and said mournfully, "Please, my lord, be sure to take good care of them..."

Wei Yunhua suddenly stepped forward and whispered, "Lord Xu, I have some connection with Lord Xie Qingman. Please grant me a favor and do not make things ugly for everyone!"

Xu Yuan glanced at her sideways and said coldly, "People from your City-Occupying branch do not seem very bright."

Wei Yunhua was somewhat angry; who was he insulting?

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "Seize the items and take everyone away!"

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi: "Ah?!"

Wei Yunhua was also stunned.

No, why did invoking Lord Xie result in even harsher punishment?

Just moments ago, it was only the artisan artifacts being seized; now even the people were being arrested!

Qin Ze did not care what the Third Lady Society members thought; he waved his hand and shouted, "Brothers, grab them for me!"

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi kept saying, "Eh, eh, eh... this is a misunderstanding..."

Qin Ze, without a word of explanation, slapped the handcuffs onto him.

Wei Yunhua wanted to resist on the spot; a golden pellet had already reached her throat, ready to be spat out with a single opening of her mouth.

But in the end, she swallowed it back.

She stared fiercely at Xu Yuan and gritted her teeth, "I hope Lord Xu can be this tough when facing Lord Xie's questioning!"

Xu Yuan no longer wanted to deal with this woman.

You should have waited until after to ask Xie Qingman to intervene, so we could sit down, have a cup of tea, and chat a bit; even if my relationship with Xie Qingman was merely average, I would have granted a favor and returned the two artisan artifacts to you.

How could you use Xie Qingman to pressure me right here, right now?

Let alone that I am not afraid of Xie Qingman; even if I truly feared her, with so many subordinates watching, how could I maintain order and enforce commands in front of them if I backed down on the spot?

These martial arts societies and sects... the quality of their members is truly worrying.

Xu Yuan waved his hand, and Qin Ze escorted both the people and the items back to the Nancheng Patrol Station.

There was a temporary cell in the courtyard.

Of course, it could not be used to imprison those utterly vicious criminals.

But it was enough to hold the people of the Three Ladies Society.

The stepmother watched from the side, feeling somewhat dazed.

For the first time, she felt that Xu Yuan's choice to join the Filth-Exorcism Bureau might have been the right one.

How little time had passed? With just a single sentence, he had made a group of seventh- and eighth-rank Dan Xiu surrender!

If he were merely a commoner, even a sixth-rank cultivator would not possess such authority.

But the stepmother was not in a hurry to return; after Qin Ze brought the people and the items back to the Nancheng Patrol Station, she said in a low voice, "Go take a look."

Xu Yuan led her there.

Lin Wanmo quickly confirmed, "It truly is your father's craftsmanship!"

"Hehehe!" Xu Yuan laughed. "Lin Wanmo, how much do you know about Wang Shen's past?"

Lin Wanmo looked utterly bewildered.

Xu Yuan then told her about the affairs of the Three Ladies Society.

Lin Wanmo was shocked. "Truly Wang Shen? The kind and gentle Wang Shen in our alley who only knew how to dote on children?"

"That very old lady!"

Lin Wanmo remained silent for quite a while.

"Wang Shen's disciples and their disciples are quite unruly," she finally said.

Inside the cell, Great Wei Wei Huoshi and the others were as grief-stricken as if they had lost their parents.

But in the warehouse, two artisan artifacts were very well-behaved.

The Heart-Measuring Scale and the Hundred-Ailments Cabinet were even more "affectionate" toward Lin Wanmo.

Xu Yuan and the stepmother simply stayed at the Nancheng Patrol Station.

Lin Wanmo did not cook; the Nancheng Patrol Station lacked the conditions for it.

For dinner, they just ate something casual.

After the meal, Lin Wanmo asked, "How is your Dan Xiu level now?"

"Still seventh-rank," Xu Yuan replied. "I dare not try to rise further."

Xu Yuan told the stepmother about his experiences since coming to Zhan City, especially the incident where he encountered that Fate Cultivator and his own "Dan Xiu" aspect nearly got him captured.

"I want to cultivate a second path as well," Xu Yuan stated his one's own idea. "If I cannot continue to improve my Dan Xiu level, relying solely on a seventh-rank level will certainly not be enough."

Xu Yuan looked at Lin Wanmo. "Do you have any suggestions?"

Lin Wanmo still did not want him to inherit the several techniques from the alley.

"The Commerce Art," Lin Wanmo said. She had considered this matter for a long time; ever since learning that Xu Yuan's inner core was condensed from gunpowder, she had been thinking about a solution.

Xu Yuan was puzzled. "The Commerce Art?"

Xu Yuan had always considered the Commerce Art to be a "deviant path" among Law Cultivators.

Lin Wanmo said, "If you cultivate the Commerce Art, you can achieve 'barter,' using your gunpowder inner core to exchange with others for a more suitable inner core!

We will make arrangements in advance to ensure this transaction can be completed.

The inner core you exchange for will still count as your own.

Then you can continue to cultivate and improve your level."

(End of this chapter)