Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

Xiao Chen's voice had turned icy cold at some point.

He slowly raised his head, his previously deliberately restrained aura now surfacing like a sleeping dragon.

"Who...who are you?" The tax collector felt a chill run down his spine as Xiao Chen's gaze suddenly changed, and he subconsciously took a step back.

"who I am?"

Xiao Chen's lips curled into a cold smile. "I am Xiao Chen."

"Xiao...Xiao Chen?"

The tax collector froze for a moment, then his face turned deathly pale, and he began to tremble violently. "Prince Jing... Prince Jingbei?!"

His voice wasn't loud, but the three words "Prince Jingbei" were like a thunderclap, instantly exploding in front of the noisy tax office!

All eyes immediately turned to Xiao Chen!

The tax inspector, who was sitting upright, dropped his teacup on the ground with a "clatter" and shattered it.

"Your Highness...?"

Zhou Tong no longer concealed himself, stepped forward, and revealed his Maritime Trade Office badge, saying, "Your Highness, I, Zhou Tong, pay my respects!"

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

The disguised "buddies" and "guards" around them also knelt down in unison, revealing their true colors and exuding murderous intent.

"Splash! Splash!"

At the tax checkpoint, all the tax officials, clerks, and patrolmen were terrified, collapsing to their knees and kowtowing repeatedly, crying, "Your Highness, spare us! Your Highness, spare us!"

"Spare me?"

Xiao Chen's gaze was like an ice blade, scraping across the faces that had been arrogant just moments before but were now as wretched as mud.

"Just now, when you were demanding your reward, did you ever consider sparing the lives of these merchants?"

"Just now, when you were extorting and exploiting the people, did you ever consider that you were undermining the foundation of my Han Yuan and undermining Xiao Chen's cause?!"

"Guards!" Xiao Chen shouted.

"exist!"

Liu Yidao led thirty elite "Merchant Protection Army" soldiers, charging over like wolves and tigers, and completely surrounded the tax checkpoint.

"Arrest all the tax collectors, clerks, and patrolmen in this area!"

"yes!"

"Your Highness! I'm innocent! It was all their doing..."

The tax supervisor still tried to argue.

"You're kidding me!"

An old merchant who had been ripped off couldn't help but spit in his face, yelling, "You ripped me off five taels of silver last month!"

"Yes! He even confiscated my goods!"

"He forced me to buy his leather, offering only half price!"

The people's anger was instantly ignited, and cries and curses filled the air.

"Did you hear everything?"

Xiao Chen looked at the tax inspector. "This, is this your innocence?"

"Give me my sword!" Xiao Chen reached out.

A soldier protecting the merchants presented a long sword wrapped in yellow silk.

This was the imperial sword bestowed upon Xiao Chen by the old emperor when he left the capital. It was a sword with the inscription "As if I were personally present, I will execute first and report later," and he had never used it lightly.

"Rip—" The yellow silk was torn off, revealing the ancient and majestic sword blade.

Xiao Chen slowly drew his sword from its sheath. With a clear "clang," the sword's twang sounded particularly jarring in the deathly silence of the tax office.

"Tax Supervisor Zhang Gui," Xiao Chen looked at the tax supervisor, "as an official appointed by the imperial court, he does not think of serving the country, does not care about the people's feelings, indulges his subordinates, exploits merchants and travelers, and is corrupt and lawless. The evidence of his crimes is conclusive."

"According to the 'Hanyuan Law,' he shall be executed!"

"Your Highness, spare me!" Zhang Gui was so frightened that he soiled himself.

"Slash!" Xiao Chen said expressionlessly, swinging his sword!

"Pfft!" A beam of blood shot into the sky, and Zhang Gui's head rolled far away, his eyes wide open in horror.

"Hiss—" A collective gasp filled the room.

The prince... really killed an official! And he did it himself!

"Tax collectors Wang San, Li Si, Zhao Wu..."

Xiao Chen's gaze swept over the tax officials who had been jumping around the most earlier, and he called them out one by one, "They solicited and accepted bribes, bullied the innocent, and their actions were serious."

"cut!"

"cut!"

"cut!"

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Liu Yidao personally carried out the executions. With a flash of his blade, head after head fell to the ground, blood staining the ground in front of the tax office. A strong stench of blood filled the air.

Xiao Chen stood beside the pool of blood, holding the Shangfang sword, its tip still dripping blood.

His face was calm, but his eyes were as cold as ice as he swept over the remaining clerks who were so frightened they almost fainted.

"Did you see it clearly?"

His voice seemed to come from the deepest hell: "This is the consequence of corruption, bribery, and exploitation of the people!"

"The Cold Abyss belongs to the common people, to merchants, not to you parasites who hoard our wealth!"

"All officials of my Cold Abyss, listen up:"

"Don't stretch out your hand, or you will be cut off!"

"Do not be greedy, for greed will surely bring disaster!"

"Today, these thirteen heads have been severed! Tomorrow, if anyone remains unrepentant, I wouldn't mind dyeing this 'Imperial Sword' even redder!"

"Someone come here!"

"Hang these thirteen heads on this tax gate for public display for three days!"

"All the confiscated funds from this place should be registered and returned to the merchants who were exploited!"

"All officials at this tax station have been replaced, and the Maritime Trade Office, the Night Owls, and the Merchant Protection Army have jointly taken over to reorganize the tax system!"

"Yes!" the crowd roared in response, their voices filled with awe and excitement.

"Your Highness, benevolent judge!" someone shouted, seemingly taking the lead.

"Your Highness, benevolent judge!"

"Prince Jingbei, the Upright Judge!"

Instantly, the shouts erupted like a tsunami in front of the tax gate, among all the merchants and common people! Countless people knelt down, their eyes filled with tears of emotion.

They witnessed the prince's ruthless methods and saw those arrogant and domineering parasites beheaded!

This exhilaration, this awe, this yearning for and faith in the "blue sky" reached its peak in an instant!

"Zhou Tong." Xiao Chen sheathed the imperial sword and handed it to the attendant.

"Your humble servant is here," Zhou Tong bowed.

"Investigate this matter thoroughly! It's not just about this tax card, and it's not just about these few people."

Xiao Chen's gaze drifted into the distance. "I want you to use these thirteen heads to establish a rule for all the tax collectors of Hanyuan, and for all the officials in the world!"

"The sky above the Cold Abyss is clear! The land above the Cold Abyss is pure! Whoever tries to defile it, to make it stink, I will wash it with their blood, their head!"

"Yes, sir! I will not fail you!" Zhou Tong replied solemnly, his heart pounding with excitement.