Chapter 367: Many Backing Patrons

"I bullied it?!"

"It defecated at my door!"

"It tore down my entire courtyard; can't I teach it a lesson?"

This time, Gao Wanli felt she was entirely in the right.

Xu Yuan said offhandedly, "Your courtyard was torn down long ago..."

Gao Wanli glared at him.

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "You are a living human being; why argue with a domestic fowl?

Besides, the yamen's rear courtyard has so many empty yards; why must you live in this one?"

Gao Wanli was stunned for a moment.

Yes, I just moved into this courtyard myself.

Many of my belongings are still in the boxes, not yet taken out.

The scenery I liked most in this courtyard has already been destroyed.

Why should I repair it? And suffer repeated humiliation from this man surnamed Xu because of it!

Gao Wanli was unwilling to admit that, in her rage, she had never even considered moving to another one...

If she admitted it, she would look foolish.

But if she didn't admit it, she could only go down this path to the end and continue repairing this courtyard.

"I... I just like it here!" Gao Wanli gritted her teeth and said viciously.

Xu Yuan looked at the dilapidated state of the courtyard: What is good about this place?

"Very well," Xu Yuan suddenly became magnanimous: "If you wish to repair it, then repair it. As long as the accounts are not too excessive, the office will pay for it."

After all, it is the yamen's rear courtyard.

Thus, Xu Yuan managed to brush the matter of Dafu aside.

He took back the beast-tendon rope, held Da Fu, and said with a smile, "Wang Shen, stepmother, let's go back. Living here is much more spacious than the Nancheng patrol station."

"Good, good." Wang Shen smiled and nodded.

Gao Wanli watched them from behind and noticed Lin Wanmo.

She had gathered intelligence on Xu Yuan and knew that Xu Yuan's stepmother was a craftsman cultivator of unknown skill level.

The moment Lin Wanmo saw her, she disliked her.

Similarly, Gao Wanli felt that no matter how she looked at Lin Wanmo, she was simply unpleasant to the eye!

This woman's waist is so slender, her two legs so long, and the skin on her face and neck so fair and tender!

Truly detestable!

So beautiful; one look and she is clearly improper! She must have been born loving to seduce men!

As Gao Wanli was constantly cursing the old craftsman beauty in her heart, she suddenly heard a voice drift over; it was Lin Wanmo asking Xu Yuan:

"Who is this fat-headed, big-eared person?"

Gao Wanli "Awooged" and leaped up; a dense array of gears instantly materialized behind her, interlocking and clanking loudly.

Countless metal structures spread out, covering her body.

She donned a suit of iron armor full of foreign styles.

Sharp claws extending a foot and a half long emerged from her hands, and a pair of metallic bat wings unfolded behind her.

"Who are you calling fat-headed and big-eared!"

She threw herself at Lin Wanmo like a tantrum-throwing child.

Lin Wanmo took out a leather pouch.

She squeezed it toward Gao Wanli, and a spray of oil shot out from inside.

Hiss—

Fine droplets of oil fell onto Gao Wanli.

In her suit of iron armor, the gears suddenly lost control and began to spin rapidly.

Halfway through her lunge, Gao Wanli fell to the ground with a thud.

Those gears continued to spin at high speed, uncontrollable.

The iron armor tightened more and more, locking Gao Wanli tightly inside.

Gao Wanli screamed in agony and hastily retracted the craftsman artifact.

She could no longer bother to trouble Lin Wanmo; instead, she carefully inspected her precious craftsman artifact.

But she discovered that those oil droplets had already seeped into every single part.

And they were tightly adhering to their surfaces.

The entire thing would need to be disassembled to find a way to clean it thoroughly.

Otherwise, this craftsman artifact would be ruined.

"You—" Gao Wanli gritted her teeth fiercely and glared at Lin Wanmo with venom.

Lin Wanmo put on an expression of utter confusion: "What is this person going mad about?"

"You called me fat-headed and big-eared!"

Lin Wanmo's eyes shifted, and she said cunningly, "If you spew insults at me with such a big mouth, I do not acknowledge them. You are a new craftsman; I have heard that in the foreign lands there are craftsman artifacts capable of preserving human voices; you should have one too, right? Did you record what I just said?

If you didn't record it, then there is no evidence.

Without evidence, what are you talking about?"

Gao Wanli was left speechless with rage.

Let alone that such a craftsman artifact is flashy but useless, difficult to make, and expensive; she simply did not have one.

Even if she had it, who could possibly save your words in such a rush?

Xu Yuan, of course, sided with his own rather than reason: "I didn't hear anything about 'fat-headed and big-eared'."

Xu Yuan winked at Gao Wanli: "Did you mishear?"

Gao Wanli finally calmed down, realizing the scolding she endured was for nothing.

She vowed to remember this grudge deeply: "Good, good, good! Just you wait!"

Xu Yuan shrugged his shoulders and left with his stepmother and Wang Shen.

Gao Wanli continued repairing the courtyard.

Her subordinates worked cautiously; though they were laboring, they dared not make any loud noises, or they would surely incur her wrath.

These people were cultivators, so they worked very quickly.

Before nightfall, the courtyard was repaired.

Gao Wanli said nothing, entered the house, and closed the door.

The grievances she suffered these past two days exceeded those of her entire first half of life combined.

After returning to her room, she retrieved a jewelry box from the bottom of a chest.

Upon opening it, she found a strange seed the size of a fist inside.

"Tomorrow, we begin the operation!"

"At that time, evil spirits will rise throughout the countryside outside Zhan City, attacking and devouring villagers!"

"The surname Xu has just taken office, and such a major case has already occurred under his jurisdiction. If he fails to handle it properly, I will report him severely to the higher authorities!"

"Dare to provoke me? Do you truly not know how strong my backer is?"

"This time, I must have the surname Xu removed from office and investigated, and his family members implicated as well."

"That damned old artisan: first throw her into the Music Bureau, let a thousand men ride her and ten thousand trample her, torture her severely for several years, then find a way to extract her, control her, and make her obediently craft artifacts for us!"

Gao Wanli viciously fantasized about her revenge on Xu Yuan and Lin Wanmo, feeling much relieved in her heart.

The next day, the prohibitions: Near the River, Street Racing, Heavy Makeup, and Treading Shadows.

After reading these prohibitions, Xu Yuan rubbed his brow in headache.

The prohibition "Treading Shadows" meant one could not step on the shadow of anything.

Including people's.

Therefore, extra caution was required today.

One could imagine that the city would surely be desolate once again today.

Everyone would avoid moving if possible.

Even while alone in a room, one had to be careful.

During the day, there were too many shadows.

The Captains of the Purification Bureau arrived for their shifts on time but kept very far apart from each other.

They even dared not enter through the main gate; most flew over the courtyard walls to enter.

Lang Xiao Ba came to report to my lord: "My Lord Gao went out early this morning."

"Did she say what she was doing?"

"No," Lang Xiao Ba said. "I asked from a distance and received a scolding from her."

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "Ignore her."

"Yes."

Xu Yuan went to his office to handle some official documents.

Around mid-morning, Behind Miao Yu Sect sent someone to deliver a Juan Sect file to Xu Yuan.

The messenger did not even dare approach the main gate of the yamen.

A large shadow cast by the sunlight fell before the main gate of the Zhan City Office.

After giving an instruction, he threw the Juan Sect file inside and turned to leave immediately.

Lang Xiao Ba brought the Juan Sect file to Lord Xu; Xu Yuan unfolded it and saw detailed information about the Gao family.

After reading it, Xu Yuan burned the Juan Sect file.

"Just as I guessed."

The Juan Sect file showed that the Gao family and the Fu family had a deep relationship.

Moreover, Xu Yuan analyzed from some clues that the Gao family was likely one of the owners who consumed the batch of cocoons last time.

Gao Wanli's purpose in coming to Zhan City was by no means simple.

(End of this chapter)