Chapter 122: The Older One Gets, the More Cunning One Becomes

"Xiaowu!"

Hearing the exclamation from behind, the villagers surrounding and attacking Shen Yu turned their heads one after another. At this moment, Lin Xiaowu had already collapsed completely in a pool of blood, his entire body long since devoid of any signs of life.

This scene made the already volatile people of Lin Family Town even more frantic; their eyes were bloodshot, as if they wanted to devour someone.

"You not only killed Xiaowu's wife and child, but now you won't even spare Xiaowu. The government is bullying us too much!"

"Exactly! A few days ago, the Gu Family beat to death a clansman of ours in Lin Family Town who refused to sell his land, and the government just let it slide, not even allowing us to seek revenge. Now they have killed Xiaowu too. Do they really think the people of Lin Family Town are easy to bully? Everyone, tell me, what should we do!"

"Beat them to death, avenge Xiaowu!" A shout suddenly erupted from the crowd, instantly acting like a bucket of oil poured onto a fire. The anger in everyone's hearts surged, as if it could never be extinguished.

"Hit them, hit them well, hit them beautifully!" Outside the Prefecture Office, many commoners had long been gathered there to watch the excitement. Among them, two men dressed in brocade robes wore expressions of joy as they watched the chaotic scene inside, as if they were watching a magnificent play.

"The master truly has a good strategy. You only had to move your hand slightly, and these bumpkins fell for it!"

"Hmph, in the entire Songnan Prefecture, who dares not give my Gu Family face? Only this Lin Family Town is the most ignorant of the times. My Gu Family buying land is giving them face, yet they actually dare not to sell. And this new Prefect, he dared to beat a member of my Gu Family to death as soon as he took office. He is courting death!"

With a cold snort, the middle-aged man in the brocade robe looked on with utter disdain. "A mere Prefect dares not give my Gu Family face? Then my Gu Family will teach him how to behave. I want them to kill each other!"

"Steward, has the letter to the eldest brother been sent?"

"Master, rest assured, the letter to the eldest master was prepared long ago. Killing a man's wife and daughter, then severely injuring commoners, inciting a riot, and leading to an assault on the government office. Heh heh, this new little Prefect, even if he doesn't die, he will be dismissed from his post!"

Speaking of this, the steward could not help but offer some flattery. "Master is wise; this strategy of killing two birds with one stone is truly formidable!"

"That goes without saying. These bumpkins in Lin Family Town are just a bunch of idiots. They actually believe that there is no crime if there are many people. Assaulting a Prefect and attacking the government office—such a grave crime, how could it possibly be downplayed!"

"When these bumpkins are dead, our Gu Family won't have to spend a single copper for all the land in Lin Family Town!"

"All of you stop, what are you doing!" Suddenly, an old but resonant voice came from behind the crowd. An old man with white hair and beard walked up angrily, leaning on a cane.

This old man was already very aged; it felt as if he had to take a few deep breaths for every two steps he took.

Upon seeing this old man, all the people of Lin Family Town instantly quieted down, each of them showing a look of restraint and respect. "Grand Elder, why have you come?"

"You ask me why I've come? If I didn't come, you would have caused a huge disaster!" Just as he reached the front of these people, the cane in the hands of the Grand Elder Lin struck them head-on.

Facing the incoming cane, these people of Lin Family Town wanted to dodge but dared not, so they could only endure it head-on.

"Why did this old fellow come?" Seeing the arrival of this old man, the expression of the Gu Family master watching from the outside suddenly turned somewhat ugly. Those bumpkins were easy to fool, but this old fellow was not easy to hoodwink.

He gave a wink to the steward beside him, who immediately understood, nodded at him, and quietly retreated.

Looking over, a trace of killing intent appeared in the eyes of the Gu Family master. It was fine that this old fellow had come; if he were killed here, the people of Lin Family Town would definitely go completely insane. By then, it wouldn't matter who came!

At this moment, inside the Prefecture Office, the old man was still waving his cane, striking them head-on repeatedly, while scolding them as he hit. "You bastards, I'll beat you to death, so as to save you from implicating your own families!"

"Grand Elder, please calm your anger, don't hurt your health!"

"Get away from me, I don't need your help. You bunch of bastards, even if you don't care about your own lives, don't drag your wives and children down with you. Assaulting the government office is such a grave crime, yet you dare to do it. I'll beat you to death!"

After hitting them for a good while, the old man was panting heavily, looking as if he would fall over at any moment. However, when people nearby came to support him, he shook them off.

"My Lord, the commoner was ignorant, I beg the Lord to forgive us!" Trembling, he walked up to Shen Yu and prepared to kneel down with a thud. To be honest, he was very anxious inside.

When he first entered, he saw the Prefect surrounded in the middle, and his heart skipped a beat. At this moment, Shen Yu looked indescribably disheveled, covered from head to toe in rotten vegetable leaves and stinking eggs.

Not to mention that he was a dignified Prefect, even if he, a commoner, encountered such a situation, he would absolutely have no way to endure it. If they didn't use a bit of a bitter-meat scheme, their Lin Family Town would be finished.

"Old man, you must not!" Before the other party could kneel, Shen Yu stepped forward and caught him. He didn't feel he could afford to have such an elderly man kneel to him.

However, when Shen Yu caught him, he was suddenly startled. This old man actually had the strength of the Postnatal Realm perfection, almost stepping into the Innate Realm. He had looked like a gust of wind could blow him over just now—so he was putting on an act for me.

"The older one gets, the more cunning one becomes"—this saying is truly not false. Being so fierce upon entering, and beating the people of Lin Family Town with that cane, it was clearly done for him to see. None of these people from Lin Family Town even had a serious injury!

"Old man, rest assured. The ignorant are not guilty; they were also deceived by others, so it is understandable!"

"Really?" The old man looked up at Shen Yu in surprise. From the other's eyes, he saw only sincerity, and he gripped Shen Yu's hand a little tighter. "Good, good, thank you, Prefect!"

"You bastards, why don't you hurry up and thank the Prefect!"

"Grand Elder, he killed Xiaowu's wife and child, he is the enemy of our Lin Family Town!"

"Fart! I—I'll beat you to death, you bastard!"

"Stop!" At this moment, a middle-aged man in tight-fitting clothes appeared in the crowd, hurriedly walking up with a woman and a child. "Lin Xiaowu's wife and child are not dead. Look who this is!"

"This is Xiaowu's wife and child? Weren't they killed?" Seeing the woman who suddenly appeared, the Lin family members were completely stunned. People couldn't possibly come back from the dead.

"Xiaowu's wife, you—you are okay? Weren't you killed?"

"Big Brother, last night my husband suddenly told me to go back to my maiden home, and I didn't know what was going on. Just as we were halfway there, someone wanted to kill us. Fortunately, this hero arrived in time and saved our mother and child!"

"What? What exactly is going on?"

"Don't you understand yet? How can you be so stupid? Xiaowu's wife is perfectly fine; it was Xiaowu who has been lying to you all along!" Seeing the confused expressions of the clansmen around him, the old man wore an expression of being disappointed that they wouldn't live up to expectations.

While speaking, Grand Elder Lin beckoned to the clansmen who had come with him, and then the clansmen immediately placed a cloth bag on the ground and opened it, revealing white, gleaming silver.

"Look for yourselves. This was found in Xiaowu's house—a full one hundred taels of silver. Just for this one hundred taels, that bastard Xiaowu sold his conscience and, incidentally, sold all of you too!"

As he spoke, Grand Elder Lin's cane struck the ground fiercely, as if venting the anger in his heart.

"Where is Xiaowu? Tell him to get out here and see me!"

"This... Grand Elder, Xiaowu was just killed. It was the government that did it!"

"Killed well!" Upon hearing this news, Grand Elder Lin felt no grief; instead, he seemed relieved.

"That little bastard Lin Xiaowu deceived our Lin Family Town people into attacking the government office; this is a capital crime. Even if the government didn't kill him, the clan rules would not have spared him!"

At this moment, a sound of breaking air suddenly rang out from the crowd behind, aiming directly at Grand Elder Lin opposite Shen Yu, which also made Shen Yu startle and his expression change slightly.

"How bold, daring to make a move on my territory!"