Chapter 214 - 214 202 Return to Prefecture City

Chapter 214: Chapter 202: Return to Prefecture City! Chapter 214: Chapter 202: Return to Prefecture City! Sun Residence.

County Magistrate Sun Yuan sat upright at the head of the room, beside him a cup of tea steaming hot. The room was silent, and he frowned slightly, his heart inevitably filled with worry.

The people he had sent hadn’t returned yet, and it was likely something had gone wrong.

With such thoughts, his anxiety grew even stronger, and he harbored some resentment towards Zhang Hefeng. If it weren’t for his insistence on reporting, how would the Heavenly Patrol Bureau’s people have come to Qingshui County, this remote backwater?

He decided that as soon as Chen Yuan left, he would take action against Zhang Hefeng, forcing him to leave Qingshui County. Nothing he couldn’t control should happen here.

That thought was fleeting, and Sun Yuan couldn’t help but turn his attention back to Red Sun Mountain. It must not be exposed, or he wouldn’t be able to hold onto his official hat.

That territory had been sold to a wealthy merchant from Prefecture City for the price of a single coin. At that time, he had boasted for a long while, believing that he had Qingshui County well under control.

No trouble could arise, and with the protection of that influential figure from Prefecture City, the news of the Red Sun Stone Vein couldn’t possibly spread to Prefecture City.

Regrettably, Chen Yuan somehow came to know of Red Sun Mountain.

At first, Sun Yuan didn’t react, but being able to sit in the position of County Magistrate also meant he wasn’t a fool. Not long after Chen Yuan left, he sensed something fishy.

Why would those bandits make such a sudden ruckus on Red Sun Mountain and then leave, almost without any gain? Moreover, Chen Yuan’s timing was just too coincidental.

The news had just come in when Chen Yuan immediately wanted to search.

This clearly indicated that he knew about Red Sun Mountain all along, it was just a pretext, and in the County Government, apart from Zhang Hefeng, there was no one else who could interact with Chen Yuan and possibly know about Red Sun Mountain.

Sun Yuan believed this was entirely Zhang Hefeng’s conspiracy, to let the Heavenly Patrol Bureau intervene.

But having realized this, Sun Yuan didn’t have many good solutions. Chen Yuan didn’t seem to take him seriously, determined to investigate Red Sun Mountain.

After thinking it over, he decided to send a trusted subordinates to Red Sun Mountain to advise Cheng Tao to first show weakness, and then consider other strategies after Chen Yuan had left.

If worse came to worst, he could act through the Government, pressuring Chen Yuan and then enticing him with benefits, as long as this matter wasn’t exposed, everything would be fine…

‘Master, Master…’

As Sun Yuan was deep in thought, a servant of Sun Residence rushed in anxiously, his face seemingly tinged with urgency.

“What has happened?”

Sun Yuan faintly sensed trouble and placed the tea cup on the table.

“Sun Hai has returned.”

The servant hurriedly exclaimed.

“Returned?” Sun Yuan was startled and then showed a hint of joy. Sun Hai was the trusted subordinate he had sent to Red Sun Mountain; he had even granted him the surname Sun.

He was considered quite loyal.

He had been somewhat worried before, but if he had returned, it likely meant there were no issues.

Seeing the unease on the face of the servant beside him, Sun Yuan frowned:

“Let him in quickly.”

“Master… Sun Hai is covered in blood.”

Sun Yuan’s body stiffened slightly and he spoke in a low voice:

“Let him in.”

“Yes.”

Soon, Sun Hai, covered in blood, was brought in. The bloodstains on him were left by the foremen from before, and yes, under the command of a certain Heavenly Patrol Guard, Sun Hai had also taken part in killing.

“Master.”

Seeing Sun Yuan, Sun Hai quickly lowered his head and bowed.

“Why did you return so late?” Sun Yuan’s expression was very calm.

“Master, I was detained by that Patrol Envoy from the Heavenly Patrol Bureau…”

“Hmm?”

“When I arrived at Red Sun Mountain…”

Sun Hai swallowed nervously and recounted the day’s events in detail.

After listening, Sun Yuan clenched and then unclenched his fist, staring straight into Sun Hai’s eyes as he said coldly:

“Then how did you manage to come back?”

“It was… it was Patrol Envoy Chen who sent me to persuade Master to surrender,” Sun Hai hastily knelt on the ground, speaking in a subdued voice.

“What!”

Sun Yuan slammed his palm heavily onto the table:

“Sun is an official appointed by the imperial court, does Chen Yuan dare to use the word ‘surrender’?”

He felt insulted. No matter what, he was the local authority, a seventh-ranked County Magistrate. Did Chen Yuan really dare to lay a hand on him?

“Master, Patrol Envoy Chen asked me to relay to you, all at the county government side are charges against you. If you’re sensible, surrender as soon as possible… You… You know the Heavenly Patrol Envoy has the right to execute first and report later.”

Sun Hai stammered as he repeated Chen Yuan’s message.

“Outrageous!”

Sun Yuan immediately stood up, intending to summon the Protectors of the residence and order the constables from the County Government to come for defense. The Heavenly Patrol Bureau might have the right to execute first and report later, but they didn’t have the authority to directly remove him from his post as County Magistrate.

Even if they had evidence of his crimes, he was still the County Magistrate of Qingshui County.

“You… Go to the County Government quickly…”

Before Sun Yuan could finish his orders, he noticed the bitter expression on Sun Hai’s face and frowned:

“What do you want to say?”

After hesitating for a moment, Sun Hai pointed outside and said in a low voice:

“My lord, let’s back off. Outside is full of people from the Heavenly Patrol Bureau!”

Sun Yuan’s pupils shrank, and he took a deep breath; then, as if all strength had left his body, he collapsed onto the chair. The outside was filled with Heavenly Patrol Bureau’s men,

his own men had no chance of breaking out.

Moreover, Zhang Hefeng must have intervened. Otherwise, the few men that Chen Yuan brought would not have been enough to surround the Sun residence.

Inside the Sun residence, there was also no one who could withstand the Gang Condensing Martial Artists.

Draining the water from the teacup on the table in one gulp, Sun Yuan said in a low voice:

“Take me to see Chen Yuan.”

…

…

Accepting his fate, Sun Yuan, who had lost the will to resist, walked out of the residence under Sun Hai’s lead. As he stepped out the door, he indeed saw dozens of people completely surrounding the Sun residence.

He didn’t like living in the County Government quarters, and so he had a large manor built outside, but this made him more vulnerable. At least if he lived in the County Government, ordinary people wouldn’t dare surround it.

Sun Yuan’s gaze swept over those people; most were constables from Qingshui County, and apart from the few from the Heavenly Patrol Bureau, no one dared to meet his gaze.

He was almost escorted all the way to the inn where Chen Yuan was staying.

Actually, Chen Yuan’s original intention was to arrest Sun Yuan directly to save time, but Zhang Hefeng felt this was inappropriate. After all, no matter what, Sun Yuan was currently an official appointed by the court.

Without the Magistrate’s order, taking action against a Seventh-Rank County Magistrate was a serious crime. Although Chen Yuan possessed the authority to execute before reporting, it was best not to utilize that authority if possible.

Furthermore, if they wanted to take control of the Red Sun Stone Mine, they could not make too big a fuss.

Otherwise, they could not suppress the matter, let alone swallow up the Red Sun Stone Mine.

When Sun Yuan was brought into the inn, Chen Yuan was chatting and laughing with Zhang Hefeng. Seeing Sun Yuan’s ashen face, Zhang Hefeng stood up smiling and waved his hand:

“How can we treat County Magistrate Sun like this? You may leave first…”

Sun Yuan, who was not much of a cultivator, could not cause any trouble with both him and Chen Yuan present.

The people from the Qingshui County Government turned and left, but Mo Donghe and his men stood quietly in place, as if they had not heard Zhang Hefeng’s words.

This made his expression somewhat unsightly, but he dared not say more.

He could only turn his gaze towards Chen Yuan: “Brother Chen?”

“Just go down.”

Chen Yuan gestured with his hand and instructed.

Only then did Mo Donghe and his men turn and leave.

“County Magistrate Sun, please take a seat.”

Chen Yuan looked at Sun Yuan impassively and pointed to a chair nearby.

“County Magistrate Zhang has a good plan, to actually make use of Patrol Envoy Chen’s hand to make a move on me…” Sun Yuan looked at Zhang Hefeng and let out a cold snort, not caring about his expression and taking a seat directly.

“What words are County Magistrate Sun saying? I don’t understand at all.” Zhang Hefeng smiled and did not admit to anything.

But under the current circumstances, admitting or not admitting was no longer important.

“Is Patrol Envoy Chen really going to take action against me?” Sun Yuan looked straight at Chen Yuan: “As long as Patrol Envoy Chen stops now, I can pretend today’s incident never happened.”

“Do you think it’s still necessary to say that now? The only reason I was willing to meet you was to ask you one question,” Chen Yuan’s expression remained neutral, his indifferent gaze lingered on Sun Yuan for a moment.

“What question?”

“Who is the person behind you?”

“Do you think I would tell you?”

“Do you think that just because you don’t tell me, I can’t find out?”

“You…” Sun Yuan was momentarily at a loss for words.

“County Magistrate Sun, you’re not going to survive this, but your family is still alive. Think carefully… Otherwise, by tonight there might be a gang of bandits attacking the Sun residence.”

“And there are some of your relatives in Prefecture City… If you want to keep them safe, then speak honestly. Rest assured, I, Chen, am merely giving them a warning. As long as no one pursues the matter further, we can all live in peace.”

Chen Yuan tapped his fingers on the tabletop, each tap rhythmic and consistent, as if striking directly at Sun Yuan’s heart, making him involuntarily feel a little panicked.

After a long silence, perhaps sensing that Chen Yuan’s words were true, Sun Yuan let out a sigh,

“It’s the current Prefecture Chief!”

A look of realization flashed in Chen Yuan’s eyes; there were only a few people who could stand behind Sun Yuan, among them was this Prefecture Chief… Afterward, Chen Yuan got some evidence of the Prefecture Chief’s crimes from him.

With this information, that person would not dare to make a move, and might even collaborate with him a few times.

Sun Yuan confessed a lot, from how they initially discovered that the abandoned mine had Red Sun Stones again to how they smuggled the stones out, all were meticulously recorded.

As compensation, Sun Yuan also got Zhang Hefeng and Chen Yuan to promise not to harm his family.

After dealing with Sun Yuan’s situation, Zhang Hefeng brought up his departure. He wanted to grasp power in his hands before the next County Magistrate of Qingshui County assumed office, while Sun Yuan was locked up in the Qingshui County Prison, waiting for someone to come to deal with him after Chen Yuan returned to report to the Government.

The next morning, Chen Yuan and his group set off for Prefecture City. Ghost Child and Ghost Fire had been released by Chen Yuan shortly after he subjugated them, preparing to head back to Prefecture City ahead of him.

One reason was to take control of the other two Ghost Children, and the other was to investigate the Azure Flood Dragon Association more thoroughly…

Zhang Hefeng did not come to see them off out of the city, and Chen Yuan was not interested in making a big display; it was better to keep a low profile.

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