Chapter 200: Blank Paper
"Who is this audacious scoundrel?! How dare you disregard the laws of Great Liang and commit murder on the street?!" The county chief shouted at the top of his voice.
Whether was it due to being overly agitated or because he was extremely plump, his face turned extremely red with a single yell. Then, he began panting heavily.
It looked extremely comical.
"If you still have some conscience left, you should surrender now and submit to judgment. Perhaps this official might show leniency so as to not implicate others!" The county chief rubbed his chest. This sentence was clearly not as vigorous as his previous yell. Nevertheless, as soon as he finished speaking, he immediately turned to the daoist in green robes on the other side, his face full of flattery.
The daoist in green robes was expressionless, he just looked at Chen Chao.
Seeing that his words received no response from the black-clad young man on the opposite end, the county chief's expression turned ugly, and he cursed, "What are you all still standing there for? Why haven't you tied up that guy yet? If he dares to resist, kill him on the spot!"
Hearing this, the constables exchanged glances. So many immortal masters were lying on the ground over there, their fate unknown. It was sufficient to prove that the black-clad youth who looked ordinary, was anything but ordinary. If they rushed over now, they might not be able to capture the black-clad youth, but instead become one of the incapacitated ones themselves.
Seeing that he could not command his subordinates, the county chief's expression became extremely ugly. However, he knew that his men were only capable of bullying ordinary commoners normally. When they encountered a real challenge, they would definitely be helpless. He decided not to say anymore and instead looked at the daoist in green robes beside him, whispering, "Exalted Immortal, since this person dares to commit violence, he must be no ordinary individual. I'm afraid this lowly official's subordinates are no match for him."
The county chief was an official of Great Liang, logically speaking, he should only address himself as 'lowly official' when addressing the state capital's officials. This daoist in green robes was clearly not a daoist who held an official position in the Great Liang Dynasty, he should not be addressed in such a way.
The daoist in green robes glanced at the county chief and said with some disgust. "This is your territory and it happened in the city too. After such an incident occurred, are you not going to give us an explanation?"
Hearing this, the county chief's face immediately broke into a sweat. If they were alone instead of being outside, he might have already knelt down long ago. However, with so many people watching at this moment, he had to maintain some semblance of dignity. After all, it would not sound good if it spread later.
"Exalted Immortal, this lowly official's subordinates are all useless things who only know how to eat and drink. How can they be mentioned in the same breath with you immortal masters? I implore Exalted Immortal to uphold justice and capture this scoundrel."
The county chief was drenched in sweat. He feared that if the daoist in green robes still did not let him off, he would be scared to death on the spot.
The daoist in green robes could not be bothered to argue with him and instead looked at Chen Chao, asking, "Which sect does Fellow Daoist belong to? Why did you kill my sect's disciples for no reason?"
Hearing this question, the common people hidden behind the door slits found it shameless, but they dared not say anything at the moment.
They held their breath and some even pulled their door slits narrower.
Chen Chao looked at the daoist in green robes and said calmly, "It's not entirely without reason. They were apprehending this boy here and I happened to come across it. So, I asked them to release him. Whatever grave crime this boy may have committed, it should be judged by Great Liang's laws. How can they take him away in private?"
The daoist in green robes laughed coldly and said, "This boy is a disciple of our sect. He couldn't endure hardships, so he sneaked down the mountain. This eminent self dispatched people to bring him back to the mountain. What fault is there in that? On the contrary, it seems like Fellow Daoist is completely unreasonable. You killed our sect's disciples without authorization, do you really think that our Sublime Bright Daoist Sect is easy to bully?!"
He had a way of words, skillfully shifting all the blame onto Chen Chao.
Furthermore, he even brought up his sect, Sublime Bright Sect. This sect was one of the top sects in Cang Prefecture. Even if Chen Chao had some background, he might not be able to provoke such an existence.
The county chief also chimed in, "You are absolutely right! Since this is an internal matter of the Immortal Sect, what do the laws of Great Liang have to do with it? It seems like it's you who disregarded the Great Liang's laws, and killed so many immortal masters without authorization. You deserve punishment!"
He was definitely choosing to stand with the daoist in green robes.
Chen Chao remained indifferent and said, "Since you claim that this boy is a disciple from your mountain, where's the evidence? I don't sense even a trace of qi from his body. How about I follow you to the government office and check if it's officially registered?!"
According to the agreement made back then, when a foreign cultivation sect accepted a disciple, or expelled their disciples, they needed to register it at a nearby Great Liang warden office. However, this was merely a formality, no cultivation sect would really follow it. Similarly, there would not be Great Liang government offices that fixate on this either.
Therefore, no matter what was said or done, it was all meaningless.
The daoist in green robes gave a cold laugh, "Since Fellow Daoist insists on harassing with unreasonable demands, this eminent self wants to see how capable Fellow Daoist is!"
Chen Chao waved his hand, took a few steps, and untied the ropes on the boy before saying, "The truth can be revealed clearly. But are the laws of Great Liang really useless? You abducted a citizen of my Great Liang Dynasty. You, as the county chief, not only turned a blind eye to it, you're even helping them?"
Upon hearing this, the county chief shouted angrily, "Insolence! How dare you make slanderous remarks, spewing lies, and accusing this official! It was clearly you who committed a crime first. Now, you're even stirring up trouble here. Is someone like you showing any regard for my Great Liang's laws? Which clause in the laws of Great Liang states that you can commit murder on the streets?!"
Chen Chao looked at the county chief and said nothing.
However, in an instant, the bodies lying in front of him who were supposed to be dead, suddenly began to cough. For a moment, the street became extremely noisy.
The sound of painful coughing lingered incessantly, making the county chief's expression rather ugly.
"According to Great Liang's laws, I was merely stopping them from committing violence, I didn't kill anyone either. What will you do?"
Chen Chao looked at that county chief and also looked at that daoist in green robes.
After he killed those qi refiners cultivators, Chen Chao studied the laws of Great Liang carefully and understood many things, and about how certain matters should be handled. He remembered clearly that his actions did not constitute a major crime according to Great Liang's laws.
Despite coming from the imperial examinations, in reality, the County Chief had long forgotten the laws of Great Liang over the years. How could he still say anything?
Upstairs, Yu Xiyi had been looking at the street the entire time, briefly falling silent. He saw a hint of white mist emanating from the noses and mouths of the cultivators who fell to the ground. He naturally guessed that it was this white mist that caused them to fall into a state similar to death. However, he had some doubts too.
Weren't martial artists famous for only tempering their physiques? Since when did this young man in front of him learn other techniques
……
……
"What Great Liang's laws?"
The daoist in green robes gave a cold laugh, "In Rainwater Commandery, I'm Great Liang's law!"
At this point, he did not want to waste any more words. No matter how formidable the young man in front of him was, it would be over after killing him. Could a dead man debate Great Liang's laws with him?
Chen Chao sighed and said, "These words are really arrogant. You dare to utter such words in our Great Liang Dynasty, you truly deserve to die."
The daoist in green robes did not react at all, he just waved his hand.
The daoists who had long become impatient began to move.
A daoist swung his whisk and countless threads instantly rushed toward Chen Chao.
Other daoists shot toward Chen Chao, their robes fluttering heavily, looking terrifying.
Chen Chao's expression remained unfazed, he just pulled the boy back to evade the assaulting whisk. Then, he took a step forward and unsheathed his broken saber. A sharp saber light slashed toward the seemingly surging silk threads.
The daoist's expression changed and he controlled the silk threads to entangle Chen Chao's saber. Unfortunately, when the silk threads met Chen Chao's broken saber, they were all cut off.
Countless threads fell to the ground, looking like someone's severed hair.
At the same time, another daoist already arrived at Chen Chao's side.
He swung his whisk and his other hand launched a palm strike.
A terrifying qi surged out of his palm, aiming for Chen Chao's head. But Chen Chao did not dodge, he just charged at that daoist.
The daoist was stunned. He never expected that Chen Chao would not dodge, but even take the initiative to charge at him.