Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

Yi Yang slowly walked out from behind the patrol team, his hands tucked into his sleeves, his steps dragging, looking no different from an old man who was late for the market.

Huang Yushu followed half a step behind him, his hand on the hilt of his knife, his back ramrod straight, his eyes filled with vigilance as he watched the people making the transaction opposite him.

The torchlight fell on Yi Yang's official robes as a candidate for chief steward, making the crimson cloud and thunder patterns shine.

Upon seeing the two people who appeared, Ye Yang's face immediately turned deathly pale and ugly.

It wasn't the whiteness of being illuminated by firelight, but the whiteness of blood being drawn from the face.

His lips moved slightly, and he still clutched the stack of silver notes in his hand, his ten fingers gripping them as if they were rooted to the spot.

"Manager Ye."

Yi Yang's voice drifted over from the firelight, neither too loud nor too soft, and even carried a hint of regret.

"You've really disappointed this old man."

When those six words landed, Ye Yang's knees buckled, but he didn't kneel. Decades of struggling in the cracks between various forces had given him a life tougher than a cockroach.

He gritted his teeth, forced himself to stand up, stuffed the silver note into his sleeve, and forced a smile that looked worse than crying.

"Lord Yi... please let me explain. This batch of pills is old stock that has been piling up in the warehouse. I was thinking that instead of letting them get moldy, I might as well sell them at a discount and add some income to the building's accounts—"

"Discount?"

Yi Yang took two steps forward, the firelight illuminating the lines on his face clearly. There was no anger in his cloudy old eyes, only a chilling disappointment.

"A fourth-grade Blood Qi Pill costs fifty-two taels per bottle at the internal allocation price of the Sky Patrol Division. You sold it to the Li family for less than fifteen taels per bottle. Steward Ye, the way you're discounting it isn't just discounting the price, it's discounting the lives of our brothers in the Sky Patrol Division!"

He paused, his tone turning somber.

"Colluding with outsiders and reselling confidential treasury materials is a capital offense according to the laws of the Celestial Patrol."

The last two words crashed into the alley, causing the firelight to flicker.

Ye Yang's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. His eyes darted around three times. The alley was completely blocked at both ends, and the faces illuminated by the torches were all from the Sky Patrol Division. He clearly couldn't escape. Fight his way out? That was obviously not something he could do either. There was only one path left in front of him—his mouth.

Ye Yang straightened his back abruptly.

"Yiyang!"

When he shouted those two words, he even dropped the honorifics, his voice so shrill it was ear-piercing.

"It's true that you, a candidate for the Grand Inspector, oversee the business of Qianyang Tower, but what right do you have to sentence me to death? The laws of the Heavenly Patrol Bureau clearly state that cases involving the outflow of high-grade elixirs must be heard in court by the Martial Law Hall and require the Grand Inspector's signature! What right do you, an old man who just runs a shop, have to do this?"

These words were spoken with such conviction that the guards in the alley exchanged glances, their eyes involuntarily turning towards Yi Yang.

Yi Yang didn't answer immediately.

He tilted his head, his expression as if he were looking at a mangy dog ​​that had bitten his shoe but still thought it was right.

"you're right."

Yi Yang nodded, his tone relaxed as if they were discussing what to eat today.

"It's not my responsibility to judge your case. I'm just an old man who runs a shop."

He fanned himself behind his ear.

"But I'm just an old man running the shop. Can I stop the people in my shop from taking things out? If I find someone stealing, I can report it to the authorities. That's not illegal, is it?"

Ye Yang's lips trembled slightly.

The word "you—" had barely left his mouth when the middle-aged man he was dealing with made the first move.

The contact person for the Li family hadn't uttered a single word since the Sky Patrol appeared at both ends of the alley.

His eyes were constantly observing, checking the number of people at the alley entrance, whether there were any ambushes on the walls on both sides, and comparing the strength of his four men with that of the enemy.

The conclusion is that although our side is quite strong, the opposing team has a large and powerful roster, so there's clearly no way we can escape.

But we can give it a shot.

The middle-aged man raised his right hand, which had been hidden behind his back, and made a quick downward gesture to his followers behind him. It was some kind of pre-arranged signal—to break out of the encirclement.

His entourage dispersed half a step, their hands reaching for their waists.

The middle-aged man's gaze fell on Yi Yang.

He ranked thirteenth in the quarterly exam, with a Qi and Blood level of four.

Oh.

As the steward of the Li family in the inner city, he was at the fifth level of Qi and Blood cultivation, so dealing with a fourth-level Qi cultivator was naturally a piece of cake for him.

Without a word, the middle-aged man lunged forward, drawing his short sword from his waist. The blade was narrow and thin, flashing a cold light in the firelight, its tip aimed straight for Yi Yang's chest.

The angle of the knife strike is tricky, it goes straight down the middle, if you don't dodge it it will pierce you through, if you do dodge it it will use the momentum to rush towards the alley entrance, a way to avoid losing either way.

Huang Yushu's pupils contracted sharply, and a single word escaped his throat.

"Small--"

The word "heart" hadn't even been uttered yet.

A long black iron spear fell from the wall on the right side of the alley.

The spear tip was precisely positioned three inches in front of Yi Yang's chest. The spear shuddered and made a crisp clang, forcefully stopping the blade of the short knife in mid-air.

Sparks flew out from where the guns and knives clashed, landing on the ground with a crackling sound.

Immediately afterwards, a person jumped down from the top of the wall.

The sound of the boot landing was dull and powerful, leaving two shallow marks on the bluestone slab.

The torchlight shone on that face.

He had broad shoulders and a solid waist, and his arms were thicker than the average person's. The black iron spear in his right hand was as steady as if it were nailed to the air.

Stone-crushing gun.

Qin Dynasty phrase.

The middle-aged man's pupils constricted.

Of course he recognized this person. The top scorer in the quarterly exam, with perfected Qi and Blood at the fourth level, he had just been promoted to Deputy Chief Administrator of the Sky Patrol Division and concurrently the Head of the Martial Law Hall and the Contribution Hall.

Despite knowing each other, the middle-aged man didn't stop walking. He tried to sidestep the gun barrel and rush towards the alley entrance.

Qin Ju pulled his spear back, and when he thrust it out again, it had changed direction.

The tip of the gun touched the middle-aged man's chest, not as a thrust, but as a deflection, using minimal force to knock him over. The middle-aged man staggered a couple of steps and before he could regain his balance, the gun barrel swung back and swept across his knee.

The bone wasn't broken, but the landing point was too tricky; his knee buckled and he fell to his knees.

Qin Ju's spear tip was pressed against his throat, but the spear didn't even sway.

It took no more than three breaths.

Before the four henchmen in the alley could draw their swords, the guards at both ends of the alley rushed at them.

Ye Yang's face turned from white to green, then from green to gray. He finally saw clearly that the guards were not wearing ordinary uniforms; the shoulders of their uniforms were embroidered with the exclusive emblem of the Martial Law Hall.

Wulu Hall.

Qin Ju's territory.

Ye Yang's legs went completely limp, and two guards grabbed his arms and dragged him out. His heels left two long marks on the stone slabs, and he was pulled so hard he was swaying from side to side.

But he kept talking.

"Steward Qin! Steward Qin, I have something to report!"

Ye Yang twisted his neck and turned around, his voice hoarse, his eyes bloodshot as he stared in Yi Yang's direction.

"That old bastard is in cahoots with me! He took my money! 1,500 taels! I gave it to him by slipping it inside an old book! He accepted it! He's one of those people who took bribes, just like me!"

He was like a venomous snake whose tail had been stepped on, spitting out his last bit of venom.

The alleyway fell silent for a moment.