Chapter 32

As the merit was absorbed, Su Yuanshan clearly felt a slight increase in the divine power within his body. "Prefect, Prefect, look! Ahead is Huangliang County!"

The little white fox's excited voice interrupted Su Yuanshan's thoughts. He looked into the distance and saw a city appear.

The tall city gate tower stood in the distance like a mountain pass.

Fortunately, Su Yuanshan was walking on a secluded path with no one around, but for the sake of caution, Su Yuanshan decided to give the little white fox a reminder.

"Xiaobai, from now on, in places with many people, you must be cautious in your speech, so as not to be taken for a demon. Do you understand?"

The little white fox was startled upon hearing this, appearing somewhat ashamed, and said in a low voice.

"Prefect, Xiaobai was wrong!"

Su Yuanshan smiled, crouched down, and touched its snow-white head.

"You weren't wrong! But you must be more careful in the future, so as not to bring unnecessary trouble upon yourself!"

Seeming to enjoy Su Yuanshan's petting, the little white fox tilted its head and squinted its eyes.

"Understood, Prefect!"

Su Yuanshan patted its head.

"And from now on, in front of people, you must call me Young Master Su. Don't call me Prefect, Prefect, so as not to give the game away!"

The little white fox nodded.

"Understood!"

Su Yuanshan used a small spell to conceal his divine aura, lightly gathered his sleeves, and said with his hands behind his back: "Very good, let's go! Let's go and take a look at Huangliang County."

To be honest, deep down, Su Yuanshan felt an inexplicable sense of intimacy toward his new territory. He was about to govern the entire Huangliang County, and this would be his base of operations.

Compared to Su Yuanshan's inner reflections, the little white fox felt more curiosity—curiosity about the human world, as the county seat was the place where humans gathered the most.

It was born in the mountains and forests and was always full of curiosity about unfamiliar places, just like its mother.

One god and one fox, one in white as snow, one white as a ball, walked along the path against the autumn breeze with light steps, onto the main road, heading toward the gate tower of Huangliang County.

Compared to the quiet and deserted path, there were significantly more people on the main road.

Especially at the entrance of the city gate, there were even more people.

There were peddlers pushing carts, woodcutters carrying loads, merchants driving carriages, wealthy men and young ladies of noble families sitting in sedan chairs, wandering knights riding fine horses, and fishermen wearing straw sandals and carrying fish baskets, intending to enter the city to sell their catch.

Some were lost in thought, some were laughing and talking, some were standing on tiptoe to look at why the line ahead was so slow, some had blank expressions, and others appeared very quiet, tucking their hands into their sleeves and taking a nap against their carriages while waiting in line to enter the city; they had likely not slept all night in order to stock up on goods.

People were entering the city very slowly because the guards at the gate were checking very carefully, fearing that someone would not pay taxes or would carry contraband.

A gate guard was seen searching an old man, even checking his shoes and socks, and finally found two pears in the old man's pocket, which he confiscated directly, then said while munching on one.

"Next!"

The old man could only smile bitterly, not daring to show the slightest dissatisfaction.

The arrival of Su Yuanshan and the little white fox attracted many people's attention, mainly because he stood in the line to enter the city like a crane in a flock of chickens, appearing out of place with the people around him.

He was dressed in white as snow, with a graceful demeanor that seemed to carry its own immortal aura, appearing outstanding and elegant, forming a sharp contrast with the thick rustic atmosphere and the anxious, numb expressions of the people around him.

And this was while he was deliberately concealing his aura and keeping a low profile.

Another point of interest for the crowd was the little white fox by his side.

It became a topic of discussion for everyone.

"Hey, look, it's actually a white fox, very rare!"

"Indeed, the fur is very beautiful. If it were made into a scarf for my wife, it would certainly be warm in winter!"

The little white fox naturally understood the surrounding discussion, which made it very annoyed; if Su Yuanshan hadn't been by its side, it would have already unleashed its divine might.

"Tsk tsk, the key is that this white fox seems very obedient; it really has spirit!"

A hunter carrying a bow and arrow and a pheasant even came over, glanced at the little white fox, and asked greedily.

"Young master, you are lucky. Where did you catch this white fox? This is a rare, top-quality item!

Do you want to sell it? I'll buy it at a high price!"

Su Yuanshan smiled faintly at him and politely refused.

The hunter seemed very disappointed; as he left, he specifically looked back at the little white fox, appearing somewhat regretful.

After waiting in line for a long time, Su Yuanshan was finally about to enter Huangliang County.

His first impression of the county was that the city walls were very high and thick, built with large, grey-blue bricks. The city gate tower had eight pillars and eight eaves, with copper bells hanging from the corners that made a tinkling sound as the wind blew. Several guards stood in front of the battlements of the gate tower, holding spears, but they all looked lazy, as if they hadn't woken up yet.

The city gate was a heavy, red-lacquered door, with rows of copper studs embedded in it like steamed buns. Wooden caltrops wrapped in iron and copper spikes were placed on both sides of the gate.

Because the archway of the gate tower had been in disrepair for a long time, some of the brick surfaces had peeled off, appearing uneven. Su Yuanshan passed through the archway and entered the city, seeing that the main road was paved with large blue bricks. Upon entering the city, the first thing he saw was a marble archway with four large characters engraved on it: "Divine Protection for Huangliang."

It is said that this archway was written by a top scholar who was moved while visiting the Huangliang County City God Temple. Later, the then-magistrate of Huangliang County invited craftsmen to specially build this archway according to the scholar's handwriting, which naturally carried a suspicion of flattery.

But for some reason, upon seeing this archway, Su Yuanshan felt a sense of intimacy deep in his heart. Just as he was staring blankly at the archway, he suddenly heard the sound of a gong behind him, followed by someone shouting.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way! You ignorant thing, do you dare to block the Magistrate's path?"

Su Yuanshan turned around in confusion and saw an eight-bearer sedan chair approaching, preceded by a group of yamen runners beating gongs to clear the way, looking very imposing and spirited.

Behind them followed two teams of soldiers with their hands on their waist swords, each looking arrogant.

The people around them fled as soon as they saw them, as if they were a plague, clearing a path.

Su Yuanshan was just about to step aside, but he was a step too slow, and two of the yamen runners seemed somewhat annoyed, so they came over with their gongs to drive him away.

At this moment, a voice was heard.

"Magistrate, this common woman has been wronged! Please, my lord, seek justice for this common woman!"

A white-haired old woman was seen kneeling on the road, blocking the way to cry out for justice.

The Magistrate of Huangliang County, who had been sleeping groggily in the sedan chair, was suddenly startled by the shout and couldn't help but feel displeased.

He reached out to lift a corner of the sedan curtain and asked irritably.

"What's going on? Who is making such a loud noise here?"