The Legend of Fangren

Chapter 110 Public Wrath

"Boom—"

With a loud bang, Fang Shi, covered in dust and dirt, crawled out of the ground.

"Holy crap!"

He truly hadn't expected the collapse of the secret cave to be so massive. Not only did the cave leading to the surface collapse, but even a small hill on the surface crumbled to the ground, burying the sunken pit.

Having finally managed to dig his way out of the ground, Fang Shi looked at the flattened hilltop in front of him and imagined that there would be many more such incidents in the future.

When he becomes incredibly powerful in the future, he might as well adopt a name like "Great Sage of Pingshan," which sounds very majestic.

Influenced by a certain monkey, he felt that the last two words were very necessary.

After patting the dirt off his body and making sure no one was around, he headed towards Emerald City. Being alone, he didn't need to suppress his speed, and Fang Shi was several times faster than when he came.

As dusk fell and night approached, he returned to the gate of Emerald City. Finding nothing amiss, he went back to the inn and happened to see Luo He and the others eating downstairs, so he sat down with them.

Luohe pulled him aside and asked, "Fangzi, where have you been all day? You're only coming back so late."

Fang Shi replied, "I went to various shopping malls in the city to look for materials and see what was available to buy."

"So, you've been shopping all day?" Senior Sister Qu frowned and pursed her lips unhappily, and the other senior and junior sisters looked the same way.

"We've been busy with the soldiers all day, without a moment's rest. We only had dry rations for lunch, not even a bowl of hot porridge."

Fang Shi then asked, "So, what did you gain today?"

To their surprise, this question only made the women feel worse: "That's exactly what's bothering us. We haven't found any good materials, and we haven't made much money either. We've been busy all day. Who can be motivated? We really don't understand why the elders want us to go with the troops."

At this moment, Elder Qian walked over carrying a plate of dishes. Hearing their complaints, he said, "The reason we went on patrol the first day was to familiarize you with the environment. Emerald City is different from other places; there are many more cultivators. If we went out alone, we would not only have to be careful of mystical beasts, but also be wary of villains. With the troops by our side, at least we have someone to look after us, and no one would dare to provoke us. Secondly, today was relatively peaceful, and we didn't encounter any mystical beast disasters. You all really need to practice your patience more."

In fact, let alone disciples, even the elders themselves find it exhausting to follow the troops around all day. But that's how it is on the path of cultivation; there are often more disappointments than surprises, and it's far from something that elders can help plan for.

"Yes—" The disciples naturally understood this principle, but they were tired after a long day and complained a little.

Fang Shi then asked, "So, you didn't see or hear anything new or interesting all day?"

"Yes, there is." Someone started gossiping, and the sisters immediately got excited. "It's said that when we were returning to the city today, we passed by the city gate and saw a rogue cultivator carrying a person from the Ministry of War back. He was covered in injuries. The soldiers who were with us went to check on him, and later a few more soldiers came to lead the way. Apparently, it was a big deal, and that rogue cultivator was arrested."

Upon hearing this, Fang Shi immediately asked, "Are you sure that rogue cultivator was 'captured'?"

"Of course! After the Ministry of War arrested that rogue cultivator, everyone around was talking about it, saying that the rogue cultivator was usually an honest man who was often bullied by a leader of the Ministry of War. Today, it seems that the person he rescued was the one who bullied him. It was a perfect example of repaying evil with good. But the Ministry of War was really unreasonable and actually arrested him." Senior Sister Qu slammed her hand on the table, looking like a storyteller. She almost put her legs on the stool, which was really unseemly. Elder Qian glared at her and stopped her.

Elder Qian then spoke up: "Don't make wild guesses. Soldiers in armor and carrying swords have official business when they leave the city. Now that they are so badly injured, and were rescued by a rogue cultivator, they must have encountered an accident. It is reasonable for the Ministry of War to take them away for questioning."

Senior Sister Qu immediately protested, "But Elder, you saw it yourself. Those people from the Ministry of War arrested that rogue cultivator without saying a word, and even verbally abused him. They took him away like a serious criminal, without any questioning whatsoever. It seems they're trying to force a confession out of him and make him a scapegoat."

Qu Mei was, after all, a young lady from a noble family in the city. She had heard plenty of stories about such things. If Qu Mu City was like this, then the larger city of Emerald City, with its many soldiers and generals, would inevitably have ineffective supervision at each level. Such incidents would only increase.

These words made Fang Shizhi frown. His previous calculations were based on the premise that the Ministry of War's general order was still intact.

But if the corruption in the Ministry of War is really as serious as Senior Sister Qu guessed—wouldn't Fellow Daoist Chu have jumped into a fire pit?

The next day came with worry in my heart.

Fang Shi did not separate from Luo He and the others today, but went with them to the Ministry of War's camp. The soldiers in the camp were lined up in neat rows and were carrying out their first day's drills.

But today, unlike usual, a large number of people had gathered in front of the camp, many of them cultivators. They were peeking around, as if they were looking at something.

Before long, several soldiers emerged from the tent carrying a man covered in wounds, shackled, and with disheveled hair, seemingly trying to leave the camp early and head elsewhere.

The group of rogue cultivators immediately surrounded them, and the leader of the troops, upon seeing this, immediately shouted, "What are you doing? What are you doing? This is a matter for the Ministry of War; you are not to interfere!"

But the rogue cultivators wouldn't move aside, and the leader of them asked, "Where are you taking this fellow cultivator?"

The commander snorted and said, "This man interfered with the important business of our Ministry of War yesterday due to a personal grudge, resulting in the deaths and injuries of several of our soldiers, and seriously injuring our commander. This morning, the Ministry of War's physician awoke the commander and learned the truth from him. Therefore, this man is found guilty of heinous crimes and is now being held in prison. Any questions? Get out of the way immediately, or you will all be arrested!"

After speaking, the leader was about to break through the encirclement, but the rogue cultivators all blocked his way, angrily shouting, "Nonsense! Yesterday, we helped the city gate and clearly learned that it was this Chief Wang who encountered the calamity in the secret realm, suffering heavy casualties, and was rescued by Fellow Daoist Chu. Some of us even witnessed the secret realm collapsing and causing a sinkhole yesterday afternoon. Could Fellow Daoist Chu possibly have the ability to destroy the entire secret realm?!"

"Exactly!" another fellow Daoist shouted. "Besides, the laws of Emerald City are strictly enforced. A crime must be tried and sentenced publicly! There must be officials and judges as witnesses, and detailed evidence must be gathered before a conviction can be made, and the person must be paraded through the streets and sent to prison. Even the Ministry of War is no exception! You soldiers are now only listening to your own side of the story, neither gathering evidence nor holding a public trial, yet you want to secretly detain and imprison this person. What are your intentions?!"

"You—" The soldier's eyes widened in anger, but the enemy outnumbered him, making it truly inconvenient for them to conduct their clandestine mission. He could only stubbornly insist, "This man has a grudge against that Chief Wang. Otherwise, why would he have just happened to save Chief Wang? Even if the secret realm had truly collapsed, it would have been him who kicked him while he was down and refused to help, and then tried to bring back two seriously injured people to gain a good reputation—"

This statement is full of flaws, and even the commander himself doesn't have much confidence in it.

Upon hearing this, the rogue cultivators roared in anger, "Bullshit! Who in the city doesn't know that Chief Wang has been using his power to oppress people, skimming profits everywhere, and oppressing the rogue cultivators? We've tolerated it all in the past, but now that Fellow Daoist Chu is repaying evil with kindness, you soldiers from the Ministry of War are still colluding with us to kick us when we're down. If this continues, will there be any place for us rogue cultivators in this vast Emerald City?!"

Ultimately, the reason so many rogue cultivators are blocking the gate today is because Fellow Daoist Chu represents the bullied and oppressed situation of many rogue cultivators.

His character was well-known among the independent cultivators in the city. Although they outwardly feared that Chief Wang and avoided having much contact with Attorney Chu, they were happy to befriend this chivalrous and straightforward person in private, and often felt indignant on his behalf.

Yesterday, everyone was relieved to see that he had a chance to rise in the ranks, but who would have thought that the Ministry of War would be so lawless and arrest him directly? This morning, they even subjected him to private torture, disregarding the law.

If even someone like Fellow Daoist Chu is destined for such a fate, and they stand by and do nothing, thus fueling corruption within the Ministry of War, many of them will inevitably meet with their own doom sooner or later.

So how can we just sit here and wait to die?!