Chapter 45: You Are Exactly Who We Are Here to Catch

"Stop! Who are you people, daring to come to my Baian County and act so presumptuously!"

Hearing that they seemed to be about to use torture on Zhou Yuan inside, Shen Yu pushed open the doors of the County Government Office from the outside and strode in. He was quite curious to know who had such great courage to dare bark wildly on his turf.

Sitting in the main hall was a middle-aged man dressed in constable attire with an iron badge hanging at his waist; this getup suggested he was an Iron Badge Constable from the Capture Gate. However, this Iron Badge Constable was pot-bellied, a far cry from the image Shen Yu had in mind.

But thinking about it, that was the main headquarters of the Capture Gate for the entire prefecture, so naturally, they were all elites. Not everyone in the Capture Gate was like this; it was not strange for some dregs to appear occasionally.

"My Lord!" Upon seeing Shen Yu, Zhou Yuan, who was being held down by several men, was first overjoyed, then panicked. "My Lord, leave quickly! These people are framing you; you must leave!"

"Fart! This Constable is a dignified Iron Badge Constable of the Capture Gate, the most impartial and selfless of all. How could I frame others? Everything this Constable says is based on solid evidence!"

With an angry shout, the middle-aged constable looked coldly at Shen Yu, his face full of mockery. "So you are the Baian County Magistrate, Shen Yu. Your crimes have been exposed. As a County Magistrate, you not only colluded with river-and-lake bandits but also engaged in extortion and oppression of the good within Baian County. Your various actions are backed by ironclad evidence. Do you acknowledge your guilt?"

"Get down. Is that a place you are fit to sit?" The answer to him was not trembling pleas for mercy, but a cold, explosive shout.

"This official tells you to get down!" Before the middle-aged constable could react, the cold voice exploded in his ears again. At the same time, Shen Yu's figure had already reached his side, and a hand reached out toward him.

Yet this light movement, in his eyes, felt as if an unreachable giant peak were pressing down upon him, leaving him feeling extremely powerless. Before they had even exchanged blows, his momentum had already collapsed completely, causing his expression to change drastically.

"An expert!" At this moment, only this single thought remained in the middle-aged constable's mind. Immediately after, a terrifyingly great force struck him, sending him flying. The middle-aged constable fell to the ground in a sorry state, rolling several times before finally stopping.

Arrogant, too damn arrogant! He had been stationed in Changling Jun for many years and had never seen such an arrogant County Magistrate, nor had he ever been made to look so pathetic!

"Shen Yu, you dare! I am an Iron Badge Constable of the Capture Gate!"

"So what? This official is a dignified Jinshi degree holder and a County Magistrate personally appointed by the imperial court! You are merely an Iron Badge Constable; you are not fit to sit in this seat!" After tossing the middle-aged constable aside, Shen Yu straightened his clothes and sat down in that seat.

"You!"

"You what you! As a constable of the Capture Gate, you do indeed have the authority to apprehend river-and-lake bandits, but I am afraid you have no right to interfere in the internal affairs of my County Government Office. Besides, you are merely an Iron Badge Constable of the Capture Gate; do you think you are a Black-Clad Guard?"

"You, you!" Stifled to the point of internal injury by the series of questions, especially the last one which was the most heart-piercing. Although the Capture Gate and the Black-Clad Guards sometimes cooperated, they were more often competing for power and profit.

However, the Capture Gate seemed to be a head shorter when facing the Black-Clad Guards. There was no helping it; they were the ones with the duty of monitoring all officials, and the Capture Gate was actually within their scope of surveillance.

Shen Yu was quite right. Although the Capture Gate had various privileges, they had no right to interfere in the affairs of local government offices. Of course, if your fists were hard enough, others wouldn't dare say anything. After all, in this world where might makes right, fists were the greatest authority.

"Shen Yu, you colluded with river-and-lake bandits to harm the innocent, and the evidence is ironclad. Are you trying to resist arrest?"

"Resist arrest? Haha, what a joke!" Although the other party was an Iron Badge Constable, nominally of the same rank as himself, and facing such a violent organization, an ordinary County Magistrate would usually harbor some fear, but Shen Yu did not care at all.

They were clearly here to cause trouble, so why should he give them a smiling face? Not having them beaten out with sticks on the spot was already giving them plenty of face.

"An Iron Badge Constable of the Capture Gate? I wonder which law of this dynasty says that your Capture Gate has the authority to apprehend imperial officials? This official would like to ask, who gave you the courage to overstep your authority?"

"You!"

"Besides shouting this word, can you not say anything else?" Slapping the table, Shen Yu shouted directly at those around him, "As a constable of the Capture Gate, you do not think to apprehend bandits, but instead privately interfere in the affairs of this county. What crime should you be charged with? Someone, take him down for me!"

"You dare? When the Capture Gate acts, all levels of government offices have an obligation to cooperate!"

"This official did not say I would not cooperate, but you are the one overreaching! Since you dared to do it, you should be prepared to pay the price!" Raising his head, Shen Yu's cold gaze fell upon the middle-aged constable opposite him, the murderous intent in his eyes completely undisguised.

Shen Yu had just returned from a bloodbath; the killing intent on him was incredibly thick. Under the shroud of that cold murderous intent, the middle-aged man was instantly drenched in sweat, as if even moving an inch had become a luxury.

This kind of primitive fear from the depths of one's heart was impossible to imagine if one hadn't experienced it personally. It was over; he was afraid he had truly kicked an iron plate. The most vicious river-and-lake bandits he had ever encountered were not as terrifying as this seemingly frail County Magistrate before him.

How could a County Magistrate have such great killing intent? Could it be that he had stumbled upon a real river-and-lake bandit wearing the skin of a County Magistrate? Oh no, would the other party really kill him to silence him?

I just wanted to make some money; I didn't mean to get myself killed!

"Bang!" Just at this moment, the doors of the County Government Office were suddenly and violently kicked open again, and a team of constables rushed in quickly. Leading them were two Iron Badge Constables dressed the same as the middle-aged one.

Upon seeing these two, although he didn't know them at all, the middle-aged constable felt an indescribable sense of kinship. Everyone was from the Capture Gate; the Capture Gate of the four seas was one family—they were kin!

"Great, brothers, hurry and help me take this man down!" At this moment, the middle-aged constable still thought his guess was correct, and various speculations instantly surfaced in his mind.

Seeing the marks embroidered on the clothes of these newly arrived constables, the middle-aged constable immediately knew they were from the Tanzhou headquarters. It seemed this County Magistrate really did have a problem, and his affairs must have been noticed by the Capture Gate, which was why they had dispatched a team specifically to arrest him.

No, this was a great opportunity to show his face at headquarters!

Having made up his mind, the middle-aged constable didn't know where he found the courage; he drew his saber and shouted coldly at Shen Yu, "Brothers, this corrupt official colluded with river-and-lake bandits, and the evidence is ironclad! Furthermore, I suspect that he himself is a river-and-lake bandit disguised as a County Magistrate. Let's take him down together!"

The newly arrived team of constables did not answer him. The two leading Iron Badge Constables even looked him up and down with cold eyes before waving their hands lightly. "Take him!"

"Right, take him down!" Holding his saber, the middle-aged constable looked cautiously at Shen Yu. But before he could react, two iron chains suddenly appeared from behind, locking him firmly. Then, several gleaming sabers were placed against his neck, making him afraid to move easily.

This script is wrong; aren't you supposed to take down that County Magistrate? Why are you grabbing me?

"Brothers, did you grab the wrong person?"

"No mistake, we are here to grab you!"