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Chapter 550 The Tiger's Might of the Imperial City Guard
Xu Yuan knew about the "Penetrating Eye" because it was recorded in the secret manual of the Purification Bureau.

Wei Gang recounted in detail to Xu Yuan the evil deeds committed by the Chan Sect in Shangsha County.

Xu Yuan occasionally chimed in to ask about some details.

Outside, Di Youzhi and his men finished dealing with the ins and outs of the battle, then yawned and told Zhou Leizi and the others to go to sleep.

But Yu Yunhang stopped Liu Hu and ordered him to make four refreshing side dishes; then he went downstairs, invited the shopkeeper who was trembling like a leaf under the counter in fright, bought two jugs of good wine, and sent them in to his master and the newly appointed prefect, Lord Wei.

Wei Gang was speaking passionately with Xu Yuan.

He made great contributions in Shangsha County, but offended the powerful families in the county.

His superiors and the Chan sect had some clandestine ties.

Therefore, although he was rewarded and promoted by the court for his merits, he was exiled from Zhengzhou to the remote southern Jiaozhi.

Along the way, the Repentance Sect bullied people excessively and relentlessly pursued and killed them.

The heroes of the county risked their lives to protect him, and three of them died in succession.

The various government offices along the way made all sorts of excuses and refused to provide any assistance!
Wei Gang felt that the world was shrouded in darkness, and that the officialdom was full of evil spirits in human skin!
He thought he was going to die tonight, but unexpectedly he was saved. Moreover, Xu Zhanglu, who was about to serve as an official in Champa with him, was quite to his liking.

Therefore, when the food and wine were served, Wei Gang found them to be very much to his liking.

He grabbed the wine jug and gulped down half of it, then let out a burp and exclaimed, "That's refreshing!"

Yu Yunhang stood guard outside, observing Lord Wei's drinking capacity—then went downstairs again and bought the remaining half-jar of wine that the shopkeeper had in stock.

Yu Yunhang wasn't trying to flatter anyone.

I just wanted to help my parents by first building good relationships with my colleagues.

Don't repeat the mistakes of the previous prefect, which led to irreconcilable conflict.

Although my family didn't suffer any loss, it's still not a good thing.

If this were to happen again, it would be detrimental to your official reputation.

Xu Yuan stayed up late chatting with Wei Gang until Wei Gang got very drunk and was helped back to rest by his wife and stepmother.

But Xu Yuan didn't sleep; he was thinking about the matter in Shangsha County.

Digging out the "filthy eye" is not a simple task.

This isn't the first time the Repentance Sect has done this.

The Zhou family and the Repentance Sect had made meticulous arrangements, but almost at the last moment, Wei Gang saw through their scheme and led the "heroes" of the county to smash up a villa belonging to the Zhou family outside Sanxian Lake.

They only stopped it all by destroying the key arrangements of the Repentance Sect here.

At that time, Wei Gang relied on a fourth-rate cultivator who happened to be passing through Shangsha County.

But after this matter was over, that fourth-rate cultivator left Shangsha County to wander around.

That's why the six men who later escorted Wei Gang were too weak and were killed by the Repentance Cult. Each time, only one brave man could sacrifice himself to hold off the pursuers and buy Wei Gang and his family a chance to escape.

However, Xu Yuan only listened to Wei Gang's explanation and realized that although Wei Gang had led people to stop it, the truth might not be as Wei Gang thought.

Although both are yin energy, the yin energy of the underworld is different from that of the turbid world.

The sinister energy that can corrupt and change comes from the turbid realm.

The "penetrating eye" of the Repentance School opens the path to the underworld, not the turbid realm.

Therefore, the purpose of the Repentance Sect is not, as Wei Gang believes, to expand the Sanxian Lake area beyond civilization by dozens of times.

However, the idea of ​​the Repentance Sect to absorb the Yin energy of the underworld is certainly not for any good purpose.

In addition, there was another point of doubt. Xu Yuan felt that the Chan Sect's pursuit of Wei Gang for thousands of miles, determined to wipe out his entire family, was somewhat strange.

Wei Gang was, after all, a prefect appointed by the imperial court.

It is not uncommon for officials to die on their way to their new posts.

Some suffer from illness, while others encounter various accidents along the way, such as torrential rains and flash floods; the teachings of repentance can cover these up.

But this behavior is still too outrageous.

There is a great risk that things will escalate and become unmanageable.

Therefore, the fact that the Repentance Cult was hunting down Wei Gang may seem like the cult was venting its anger, but there may also be other motives behind it.

However, since Xu Yuan has encountered this matter, he is determined to see it through to the end!
As it is the duty of the Exorcism Bureau, no matter the circumstances, they will never back down to evil spirits or demons.

The docks were bustling with activity as soon as it was light the next day.

This is the norm at canal wharves across the country; merchants are in a hurry to get their goods to their destination as soon as possible.

Therefore, many boatmen get up in the morning and start working first thing.

Some goods are not suitable to be left on the ship at night, so they have to be moved back early in the morning.

Once everything was ready, we set sail immediately.

Only after the boatmen finish this busy period can they have a bite to eat on the boat.

The street in front of the inn was bustling with activity.

Besides the ragged boatmen and laborers, there were a few men dressed as constables from the Grand Canal government, peeking into the inn.

When Di Youzhi saw this, he sneered and went back to his master, saying, "The Chan Sect must have bribed the local canal government last night."

These people were sent to find out the results.

They've loitered in front of the door three times already, trying to see if anything has happened inside the inn.

The three men in straw hats from the Chan sect went to the shop last night after dark.

They then brazenly sealed off the inn with their tools.

It wasn't completely dark yet, and a chilling aura enveloped the inn, which was easily discernible from afar.

But the canal authorities pretended not to see it.

Xu Yuan was sitting in the lobby of the inn downstairs, having breakfast with Wei Gang.

Breakfast was prepared by Liu Hu: two side dishes, four boiled eggs, white porridge, and flatbread.

Xu Yuan finished his porridge without making a sound, then put down the bowl and wiped his mouth.

Seeing that Wei Gang had finished eating, he smiled slightly and said, "Lord Wei, would you like to punish these parasites at the docks and cut off the tentacles of the Chan Sect in Qianyang Prefecture?"

Wei Gang was taken aback and said, "This is Qianyang Prefecture..."

This is not southern Jiaozhi.

Last night's battle showed Wei Gang that Xu Yuan was extremely strong and his subordinates were all formidable.

Although he had never heard of Lord Xu's name, just by looking at these elite troops, he knew that Lord Xu was no ordinary law enforcement officer in southern Jiaozhi.

If they were on his own turf, Wei Gang believed that Xu Yuan could teach the Chan Sect a lesson.

However, this is Qianyang Prefecture, and the Zhengzhou area often discriminates against newly conquered territories such as Jiaozhi, Goryeo, and Fusang.

Wei Gang felt that it was here that he exposed the fact that someone in the Grand Canal government was colluding with the Chan sect, but most people in Qianyang Prefecture ignored it.

Why bother making a fool of yourself?

Xu Yuan had already stood up and said with a smile, "Lord Wei should just observe the situation."

Xu Yuan waved his hand, and his men immediately followed.

After leaving the inn, Xu Yuan headed into Qianyang Prefecture.

On the way, Xu Yuan said to Zhou Leizi, "When we came here, we were warmly received by the local officials at the Qianyang Prefecture Wharf. Now that we're back, we should pay them a visit so as not to be impolite."

Zhou Leizi immediately understood: "Sir, are you going to report this to the Provincial Governor?"
But didn't you tell your subordinates that the Guizhou Provincial Governor was only giving us special treatment because he was afraid of the Imperial City Guard? Don't take it seriously..."

Xu Yuan laughed loudly and said, "Then I'll teach you one more time. Sometimes you can use someone else's name to intimidate others!"

Zhou Leizi's eyes lit up: "Really? Then I can too..."

Xu Yuan interrupted him bluntly, saying, "You can't do it."

Zhou Leizi immediately looked like a wilted eggplant.

But I understand what the adults mean.

To do this, one must be an adult.

Even if Zhou Leizi came on his own, hoping to use the Imperial City Guard's authority to intimidate others, they wouldn't believe him.

Wei Gang looked completely bewildered: What does that mean?
What happened next left Wei Gang even more bewildered.

Xu Yuan led his men to the Provincial Administration Commission, and after announcing their names, they were actually received by the Provincial Administration Commissioner!
Even though Wei Gang considered himself upright and incorruptible, he still felt a certain degree of awe when he met the highest-ranking official in the province.

He was just a county magistrate before, and the gap between him and others was too big.

But when Lord Xu spoke with him, he was neither humble nor arrogant, and even when he talked about what happened last night, his words were full of accusations.

But the provincial governor was not angry at all. Instead, he changed his previous indifferent attitude, stood up and bowed to Xu Yuan with his fists clasped: "Brother Xu, I will remember this favor."

"Please sit here for a moment, I'll go and deal with these troublemakers right now!"

Then the provincial governor acted swiftly and decisively, and within just two hours, he had completed the collusion with the canal administration, and imprisoned a deputy governor at the dock and more than a dozen mid- to low-ranking officials.

In Qianyang Prefecture, there were also corresponding government offices, and four or five officials were dismissed from their posts for "failing to apprehend the suspects."

The Exorcism Bureau and the Mountain and River Bureau in the prefectural city destroyed two more secret strongholds of the Repentance Sect.

Xu Yuan was delayed in Qianyang Prefecture for a day.

He secretly instructed Yu Yunhang: "Don't come back with us. Go to Shangsha County and thoroughly investigate the matter of the Chan Sect."

The next day, when he and Wei Gang were traveling south by boat, the provincial governor personally came to see them off and secretly sent two boxes onto the boat.

Wei Gang was in a dream.

The Provincial Governor was grateful to Xu Yuan for giving him the opportunity and not directly reporting the matter to the Imperial City Guard.

When the matter reached the Imperial City Guard, His Majesty learned of it.

Your Majesty is harsh and ungrateful, but Your Majesty is the person in the whole world who most wants the best for the Ming Dynasty.

If they didn't know, fine, but if they did, they would definitely reopen the case.

The Provincial Governor will inevitably be escorted back to the Northern Capital to await his judgment.

Even the Provincial Governor didn't know the true relationship between Xu Yuan and that Commander Zhao Beichen.

But he didn't dare to gamble.

So after discussing it with the canal authorities, they quickly put forward a scapegoat of sufficient weight.

After the ship left the dock, Xu Yuan explained the reasons to Wei Gang in detail.

Lord Wei felt a mix of emotions.

Lord Xu did use some tricks.

But it did punish those corrupt officials.

Although it wasn't a complete success, it was still more than ten times better than Wei Gang's helplessness.

He couldn't help but feel a sense of regret and lament: "Why didn't I meet Lord Xu sooner?"

He is not the kind of person who is rigid and inflexible.

At this moment, all I could think about was, if I had Lord Xu by my side when I was in Shangsha County, I wouldn't have felt so stifled.

In the end, he was nominally promoted but actually demoted, and was sent to Jiaozhi!
He couldn't help but feel full of anticipation for the future!
But by this time his mindset had changed dramatically: once he arrived in Champa, he would consult with Lord Xu on everything.

The prefect is the chief official of a region.

In terms of rank, whether it's the Bureau of Purification, the Bureau of Mountains and Rivers, or the Canal Administration, they are all lower than the Prefect in the imperial court's hierarchy, and are considered subordinates of the Prefect.

Xu Yuan saved his family's lives, and he was grateful. He thought that if he served as an official in the same city as Xu Yuan in the future, he would take good care of him.

From today onwards... I will never have such thoughts again.

Instead, he thought: "Since Lord Xu has such skills, I should consult him more often when I encounter difficulties in the future."

Wei Gang learned his lesson the hard way.

After leaving Shangsha County, he realized that his previous ways of doing things would not work in the current Huangming Dynasty.

If he were alone, he would simply die.

But now that my wife and children are with me, I can't let them be implicated. The two boxes that the Provincial Governor sent contained five thousand taels of silver and some "materials".

Xu Yuan accepted the money without sharing it with Lord Wei Gang.

Lord Wei probably can't stand these bribes either.

The governor wanted to assign a fast steamer to take Xu Yuan and his party directly to Champa.

Xu Yuan refused.

Wei Gang had already rented a fast ferry.

Xu Yuan then traveled on the same boat as him.

Wei Gang's boat is small, and he specializes in this kind of long-distance charter business.

Of course, Lord Wei couldn't afford this money; it was the merchants in Shangsha County who pooled their resources together.

Regardless of whether Lord Wei was willing or not, they chartered the boat first. When Wei Gang and his family set off, more than a dozen people surrounded him and forcibly "lifted" him onto the boat.

Wei Gang was a scholar, but not a literary talent, so naturally he couldn't resist such "enthusiasm".

The boat wasn't very big, so it was a bit crowded for Xu Yuan and the others to stay on board.

No one else dared to say anything, but Lang Xiaoba, with his big mouth, couldn't control himself: "Sir, the provincial governor is willing to provide a ship, why should we crowd onto it?"

As he was speaking, his head accidentally bumped into a board.

With a crack, the wooden board shattered.

His large head was completely unharmed.

After consuming the artifact crafted by the Chan Sect, Lang Xiaoba was able to hold on.

I feel lethargic every day, often drowsy and lacking energy.

The ship is small, and the comfort level of high-level martial arts practitioners has not been taken into consideration.

Lang Xiaoba is about to be promoted to the sixth rank. His body has been slowly growing these past two days, and he is taller than before. Lang Xiaoba is still adapting, so he often bumps his head and feet.

Xu Yuan sat upright in the cabin, drinking a cup of tea.

There was wine on the boat, but it was under the control of Madam Wei.

The night before, Lord Wei poured out his heart to the world and drank heavily before getting completely drunk.

He vomited for the entire second half of the night, and Madam Wei took care of him the whole time, saying that Lord Wei was about to vomit bile.

After that, she forbade her husband from drinking alcohol anymore.

Lord Wei was furious but dared not speak out.

Lord Xu smiled but said nothing.

Therefore, drinking tea is now "popular" on ships.

Xu Yuan's complaints to Lang Xiaoba were meant to be an explanation.

If you explain something to Zhou Leizi, he will learn and remember it.

Explaining to this blockhead martial arts practitioner is a waste of breath.

Lord Xu glanced out the window, but suddenly changed his mind, saying, "We don't want the ship arranged by the Provincial Governor. There are two reasons for this."

Firstly, the Provincial Governor's motives are impure; he must have had spies on board this ship to find out if I, the Provincial Governor, still have any connection with the Imperial City Guard.

I don't want him to see through my true intentions.

Secondly...

Xu Yuan smiled slightly, picked up his teacup and took a sip: "The Repentance Sect suffered heavy losses in Qianyang Prefecture while hunting down Lord Wei. I guessed they wouldn't let it go so easily, and they'll most likely continue to hunt down Lord Wei. Look, here they are—"

Lang Xiaoba stood up abruptly.

The big head crashed through the ship's deck with a loud bang.

The upper level is the deck.

Xiao Ye was patrolling on the deck when, to his utter surprise, a large head suddenly appeared beneath his feet, and he kicked it.

"Ouch, my toe..."

Lang Xiaoba didn't feel anything, but Xiao Ye jumped up, clutching her foot and screaming repeatedly.

Lang Xiaoba ripped his head off, roaring repeatedly, "Where is he? Where are those villains from the Repentance Cult?"

He rushed up to the deck and looked around:
By this time, the fast ship had been away from Qianyang Prefecture for a day and a half and had left Guizhou Province.

This section of the river is wide, and as far as the eye can see, several cargo ships are slowly sailing in the distance.

A line of water was rapidly approaching from the right-hand diagonal ahead of the fast ship's route.

Lang Xiaoba shouted, "There's an evil spirit here!"

The people on the ship immediately sprang into action.

Eighth Master shouted, "Protect the master!"

Uncle Sun dragged Xiao Ye into the cabin and stood guard outside Lord Wei's door.

The members of the Exorcism Division then boarded the deck together.

Xu Yuan strolled over, and Pi Long was swimming happily in the river.

The waterline surged to within three or four zhang of the fast ship, and the splash suddenly became enormous, as if the thing beneath the surface was about to burst out.

Lang Xiaoba let out a strange "Aow!" and suddenly leaped up from the deck, soaring across the river and landing in the splashing water.

The strange creature in the river was rushing out when, unexpectedly, a huge, ferocious fish head emerged from the water and Lang Xiaoba smashed it on the head with a thud!

They smashed it until it sank again!

This strange creature can quickly submerge underwater, and people on a boat often panic when they see the waterline it leaves rapidly approaching.

Once it got close, it leaped high out of the water, creating a tremendous roar.

The people on the ship immediately lost their composure and did not know how to deal with it.

This method has been tried and tested many times, and it is extremely easy for him to use.

I never expected to encounter someone who acts without thinking.

It jumped straight off the boat and hit it on the head!

Just as it was about to raise its head, it drooped down again—not only could the girls in the brothel not stand this kind of thing, but it couldn't stand this strangeness either.

The enormous fish head sank down, while its body continued to swing along its original trajectory. The huge, guillotine-like tail churned the water, creating giant waves and splashing water everywhere.

These strange creatures, in a fit of rage, suddenly plunged towards the bottom of the river.

You dare jump on my head? Once you're in the water, you'll be completely at my mercy!
First, give it a burst of speed and leave this idiot behind.

Its scales are extremely slippery, offering no leverage.

But as soon as it lunged downwards, it felt a sharp pain on its head!

Lang Xiaoba had a pair of "gauntlets" on his hands.

Five long, hooked blades shot out from among them, easily piercing its scales and hooking into its brain!

These are a pair of handcrafted items, which Zang Tianlan secretly gave to Lang Xiaoba before leaving Beidu.

Zang Tianlan spent several days "instructing" Lang Xiaoba in Beidu, and before leaving, he shook his head repeatedly: "Your aptitude is too poor, and you'll be easily beaten to death in a fight."

In order to have the opportunity to continue to guide him in the future, Zang Tianlan gave him this pair of gauntlets.

This was specially made for him by Mr. Feng Si when his skill level was not high.

Zang Tianlan never used it.

Zang Tianlan was unwilling to rely on external resources.

That would surely hinder my sincere martial spirit.

It's not good for my development.

Now he gave it to Lang Xiaoba and said to him, "You don't exist, so feel free to use it."

The strange creature plunged headfirst into the riverbed, trying to throw Lang Xiaoba off, but the more it charged, the deeper the hooked blade sank into its brain!
It was in unbearable pain and could only rinse twice before it could stop.

Piron observed everything from a distance.

On the deck, Di Youzhi and the others were in a panic. Zhou Leizi stomped his feet and cursed, "Xiao Ba, you idiot, come back here right now!"

With a wave of his hand, he scattered a field of seeds.

These seeds fell into the water and immediately sprouted, quickly growing into a lush patch of aquatic plants.

It was as if a small green island had risen from the surface of the river.

"Lang Xiaoba—" he shouted, "Climb up quickly!"

The roots of the aquatic plants grew wildly, spreading underwater as if trying to find Lang Xiaoba.

Xu Yuan stood with his hands behind his back on the ship's side, but he wasn't looking in the direction where Lang Xiao was going.

Just where Xu Yuan was looking, another huge, dark shadow appeared beneath the water.

Xu Yuan opened his mouth and spat out a sword pellet with a clang. It flew out above the dark figure and transformed into a giant sword made of door panels with a whoosh!
The giant sword, tip pointing downwards, swiftly pierced into the water!
The dark figure, however, seemed to accelerate like a harpoon, suddenly dodging the sword strike.

But this also caused it to leap directly out of the river.

wow-

The sound of the water was like thunder.

After the thing rushed out, everyone finally got a clear look at it and couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

Its size was comparable to their fast ship!

It is spindle-shaped, with pointed ends and a rounded middle.

Its entire body gleamed with a metallic silver-white luster.

It was actually a large artifact capable of submerging underwater!
Xu Yuan's expression was solemn; the Chan Sect had actually managed to acquire such a large-scale artifact.

But as soon as the thing broke out of the water, it was immediately covered by a large net.

A foul web.

The thing landed in the net, but quickly opened a gap in its body, sprang out scissor-like blades—

But Kenmaru had already caught up.

The artifact was cut vertically from back to front!

How could this craftsman's work possibly withstand a third-rate sword pellet?
But then a grating "crunch" was heard, and the entire artifact was cut open, the scissor-like blade sliced ​​into two pieces.

A series of screams came from the craftsmen's workshop.

I wonder how many of the people hiding inside are broken and torn apart!

A figure suddenly appeared on the riverbank.

She came treading on water.

The riverbank is wide here, and the fast steamer is two or three miles away from the river.

The man took only two steps to reach the fast ship.

He stood on the river, but his shoes didn't get wet.

Its appearance is peculiar, with strange dark brown lines on its face.

He gazed at Xu Yuan, his eyes gleaming with a deep, emerald light, like the eyes of a wolf in the night.

"You do have some skill." He nodded slowly, relaxed and carefree. "No wonder even the Lord of the Scoundrels suffered a loss at your hands."

"Today is a good day to settle both old and new scores."

Xu Yuan looked at him and asked, "Why are you so persistent in pursuing Wei Gang?"

"He has been tainted by the karma of our Repentance Sect. There is absolutely no place for him in heaven or on earth. Even if he hides in the imperial city, he will still face certain death!"

"What arrogance!" Xu Yuan snorted coldly, but he was now certain that the matter in Shangsha County was not over. What the Chan Sect wanted now was Wei Gang, not revenge.

(End of this chapter)