Chapter 745

Bang bang bang!

"Open the door quickly!"

Yamen runners and officials, holding torches and weapons, patted the door urgently.

As for the Kong family guests and Mingde Academy experts, they all dispersed to guard the periphery, their eyes full of murderous intent.

They were people in the Jianghu, but they were even more Kong family members, and they knew what rules were.

The meaning of rules is not to strictly follow them, but to know when to follow them and when not to.

They could exert pressure on the Jinan Prefecture Yamen; this was the status of the Kong family.

But when performing official duties, they could only cooperate and could not overstep their authority, otherwise, they would not be following the rules and would easily be targeted, especially at this time.

But looking at the officials patting the door constantly, the middle-aged Confucian scholar who was the leader of the Kong family frowned.

These officials looked like wolves and tigers, and their momentum was not small, but they were very particular about the rules.

The copper lock that could be twisted off with a hand was not damaged at all.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar guessed the reason immediately.

The Jiangzhe Chamber of Commerce was wealthy and powerful, and its influence in the entire south was not small; even in Jinan City, it had a close relationship with Prince De's mansion, and it was said that they were also working together to prepare a fleet to go to sea.

These officials did not want to offend the Kong family, but how could they be willing to annoy the Jiangzhe Chamber of Commerce?

"Humph!" The middle-aged Confucian scholar's face was not good, he snorted coldly in his nose, and took out a copper coin, flicking it with his fingers.

Clang!

The copper coin whistled out with amazing force, breaking the copper lock with a clatter.

The gate opened with a bang.

But in the front courtyard of the Chamber of Commerce, the shop assistants and guards were holding sticks and lanterns, at a loss.

And Shopkeeper Qian also happened to be running over, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead while wearing his clothes.

"Masters, what is the reason for this?"

He carried a trace of indignation, bowed and said: "Our Jiangzhe Chamber of Commerce abides by the law, pays the monthly tax without missing a cent, and has never committed any crime; why are you all coming to the door with such great fanfare, what exactly are you doing?"

The leading black-faced head constable's eyes softened slightly, his face was full of difficulty, but his voice was hard: "Shopkeeper Lin, it's not that we don't give you face. The Prefect has ordered to arrest the thief who kidnapped the important criminal Shopkeeper Kong, and the accomplices of the suspect."

"Someone testified that the thief is hiding in your Chamber of Commerce; duty-bound, I have offended you!"

"Thief?"

Shopkeeper Qian was dumbfounded and hurriedly shook his head: "Head Constable Liu, this must be a mistake..."

The middle-aged Confucian scholar in the back could no longer listen, stepped forward and said in a deep voice: "Don't talk nonsense and climb connections! The imperial court is arresting important criminals; if you delay, you, a mere merchant, cannot afford to bear it!"

Shopkeeper Qian's face also became gloomy, and he said with a fake smile: "If I am not mistaken, this is Master Zhao of Mingde Academy; you are right, I really cannot afford to bear it."

After saying that, he turned sideways and bowed: "Please!"

The Kong family is indeed amazing, but this Divine Land has the Southern Kong and Northern Kong.

The Southern Kong is in Quzhou, and there are several Dukes Yansheng in the Southern Kong, and they have a good relationship with their Jiangzhe Chamber of Commerce.

The imperial court is already raising the status of merchants, but this person is still belittling them so much, which makes him feel angry in his heart.

"Humph!"

Master Zhao knew that he had offended this Shopkeeper Qian, but he was too lazy to pay attention to him, nodded to the side, and many guests of the Kong Mansion rushed in like wolves and tigers, knocking over the shop assistants who were blocking the way, and rushed straight in.

Seeing this, the yamen runners could only grit their teeth and follow.

"Search for me!"

"Guard the front and back doors well, don't let the thief run away!"

For a time, the Chamber of Commerce courtyard, front hall, and workshop were filled with the noise of overturning boxes and cabinets, kicking doors and smashing windows.

Figures were flickering, and the light of torches jumped wildly on the walls.

In the Jiangzhe Chamber of Commerce, there were also many other merchants staying, who were driven out one after another.

Some of them lowered their heads and didn't speak, not wanting to cause trouble, while others were full of anger.

The Jiangzhe Chamber of Commerce was the main force of the open-sea faction, supported by many officials in the court; since the imperial court opened the sea, it had been smooth sailing, like cooking oil on a hot fire, and had never encountered such a thing.

But seeing that Master Zhao, many people immediately closed their mouths.

This Master Zhao was named Zhao Tong, one of the direct disciples of Grandmaster Lu Hongyuan, who cultivated the Meng Haoran Qi, and his martial arts cultivation was also amazing; it was heard that he had already stepped into the Gang Jin realm and had a prominent reputation in the Qilu Jianghu.

The most critical thing was that this person was very rigid.

He had publicly stated that changing the rules of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants was shaking the foundation of the country.

He looked down on these merchants very much.

Facing everyone's gaze, Master Zhao didn't care at all, walked with his hands behind his back, his toes touched the ground, the blue bricks on the ground shattered, and he stood straight up into the air on the beast ridge of the Chamber of Commerce's front courtyard roof.

The person who robbed the Yamen prison was an expert, and he was here to hold the field.

This Master Zhao pinched the Yang formula, closed his eyes slightly, his clothes moved without wind, and a breath of air scattered.

Soon, he frowned and looked at the side courtyard room.

He exerted force under his feet again, his sleeves fluttered, and he broke through the air diagonally and landed outside the room, saying coldly:

"Fellow Daoists inside, come out!"

Creak~

Li Yan pushed the door out slowly, his face calm: "What's the matter?"

Master Zhao's pupils shrank, "Who are you?"

He awakened the most mysterious of the six supernatural powers, the Intent Yi Shentong.

Compared to other supernatural powers, those who awaken this supernatural power have the strongest spiritual sense and have many mysterious abilities, usually having talent in divination, underworld travel, and god-inviting arts.

But as a disciple of the Sage, how could he be contaminated with such low-class arts, so he focused on cultivating Meng Haoran Qi; although he didn't have related arts, his spiritual sense had become abnormally strong.

He could feel the threat inexplicably coming from Li Yan.

What is the background of this young man?

Li Yan had no good feelings for the Kong family, and the status of Mingde Academy in his heart also dropped straight down, so he didn't have a good face, sneered: "Not reporting your background when asking others, is this the 'etiquette' of the academy?"

Master Zhao heard this, but was not angry, nodded slightly and said: "I am Zhao Tong, a master of Mingde Academy; last night a thief robbed the prison, and the clues led here, please reveal your identity!"

The words were polite, but his muscles were already tense.

The two were no more than two meters apart, and a fatal blow could be launched at any time.

Just at this time, the Kong family guests and Mingde Academy disciples also rushed upstairs one after another.

One of the young men saw Li Yan, was shocked, his eyes uncertain, gritted his teeth and stepped forward, bowed to Zhao Tong and said: "Master, the disciple knows this person; he is Li Yan of the Twelve Twelve Yuan Chen, and Kong Shangzhao was protected by them; I estimate that they are in the room at this moment!"

Li Yan glanced sideways and looked at this young man.

No wonder he could call his name; it turned out they had met once before.

Before they arrived at Linqing Pass, Zhao Wanfang guarded there and invited them to drink; unfortunately, this young man coveted Zhao Wanfang's beauty, competed with others for jealousy, and even lied that he knew Li Yan.

The lie was exposed, and he left in shame immediately.

If he remembered correctly, this person was named Kong Shangming, and was of the same generation as Kong Shangzhao.

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Zhao Tong's eyes immediately became sharp.

Twelve Twelve Yuan Chen, Kong Shangzhao's friend, and happened to be in this Jiangzhe Inn.

Needless to say, even a fool could see that something was wrong.

He looked into the door and said in a deep voice: "Shangzhao, you have seen your master, why don't you pay your respects!"

This time, it was Li Yan's turn to be surprised.

He didn't expect that the person who came was Kong Shangzhao's master.

A master of Mingde Academy is like a master of a Jianghu sect, not only to teach martial arts, but more importantly to teach knowledge, so he is called a master.

Sure enough, Kong Shangzhao walked out of the room slowly, his eyes red, and bowed: "I have seen the master."

Zhao Tong ignored Li Yan, his face solemn: "It's fine as long as you still recognize me as your master; I ask you, did you sneak into the Jinan Prefecture Yamen prison and rescue your father?"

Kong Shangzhao lowered his head, "The disciple did not."