Chapter 87 – Encountering the Bureau of Patrol Again

Zhan Changfeng’s little plump lamb expression turned serious. “The Day-Counter is broken, so who are you to say I stayed seven extra months just because you claim so? Manager, have you ever heard this saying: admitting one’s mistakes is a matter of character, while refusing to argue with petty people is a matter of breeding. I have managed the latter, yet you cannot manage the former.”

She said lazily, “If you had honestly admitted your mistake, the contract would only require you to compensate me one-fifth of the rent. Instead, you push every excuse you can find, and your attitude is truly intriguing. What’s more, why did the so-called regular patrol arrive nearly three quarters of an hour late? Could it be that seeing me alone and young, you conspired together to scheme against my fortune — and when you failed to kill me, you falsified the time to squeeze money out of me?”

The manager flushed with shame and anger. “I recorded every single entry in the ledger, truthfully, without any tampering. Don’t you know how many days you stayed?!”

“Hmph. And don’t you know how the seal broke?” Zhan Changfeng turned his own words back on him and said, “The Bureau of Patrol is right next door. Shall we invite them to arbitrate the matter?”

“Even if nothing is settled, it doesn’t matter — I happen to have a recording stone running. I can show all the cultivators of Luoying City exactly how your establishment, while fully aware of its own mistake, argued shamelessly and pinned all the blame on a guest. People come to stay here for the sake of safety. If you cannot even guarantee that much, how do you have the face to charge twenty spirit stones a day in rent, hmm?”

Suddenly, Zhan Changfeng changed her line of attack. “That guard there — when I mentioned the Bureau of Patrol, your eyes went completely frantic. What are you afraid of? Let me guess… wine! Food! No, that’s not it — collusion!”

“What are you talking about?!”

Her words came too fast, rolling through the short guard’s mind like a crack of thunder. The short guard tried to avoid her gaze, but those eyes — dangerous and mysterious as an abyss — refused to let him go.

Zhan Changfeng stated with certainty, “Someone bribed you, so today you used food and wine to lure away the patrolling guards. Am I right?”

The sudden accusation left everyone stunned before they could react, and instinctively they all turned to look at the short guard.

The manager’s eyes moved faster than his brain. One glance told him the young man was genuinely panicking. A flicker of relief crossed his face, and he immediately jumped on the opportunity. “So it was you causing trouble all along, ruining the reputation of our Welcome Pavilion! Seize him at once!”

The guards swarmed forward and pinned the short guard to the ground. The short guard cried out, “It has nothing to do with me! Manager, save me please — I really don’t know anything!”

The manager ignored him and laughed broadly. “My young friend, this was all a misunderstanding. I was deceived by him too. Let’s talk this over calmly — no need to involve the Bureau of Patrol. How about I waive one-fifth of your rent?”

“That won’t do. Your establishment colluded with outsiders in an attempt on my life. I believe it is necessary to have the Bureau of Patrol uphold justice.”

The manager’s face went pale. “Young friend, know when to stop. Right now there are no bystanders watching. If I hide this guard and refuse to acknowledge the bribe, what can you actually do? When you walk around in this world, knowing how to read a situation is crucial.”

Zhan Changfeng gave a slight flick of her sleeve and raised her hand.

When the manager saw what she held, his head buzzed. She actually had a recording stone — and it was already running!

This habit of running a recording stone at all times and in all places — don’t your parents have anything to say about it?!

It was over. Even if the earlier mud-slinging could be explained away, that blatantly threatening remark just now was impossible to spin back.

If the owner found out about this, he wouldn’t even be able to hold onto a posting on some godforsaken little island.

The manager wanted to drag his past self from half a quarter-hour ago — the one who had seen a child and decided to bully her — over and beat him senseless. Let you drink wine on the job. Let you run your loose mouth.

“Dear guest, please have some sympathy for those of us working hard in our posts. At home, I have parents who are a hundred and twenty-eight years old, and a grandchild who has only just opened his eyes, a whole family of sixteen mouths all depending on me. You are a person of great compassion and surely will not hold our mistakes against us. How about this — I’ll waive another three months of rent for you?”

The manager’s heart ached terribly. Waiving two thousand and four hundred spirit stones already, and now with the penalty for drinking on duty, just how much would be docked from his pay? This would ruin his future prospects for certain.

If she refused to budge, he might not have any future prospects at all.

When he heard Zhan Changfeng agree, the manager could finally let his cold sweat fall in relief. “Then this recording stone — could it possibly be…”

“Trade it for him.” Zhan Changfeng glanced at the short guard.

The manager tensed again. “What do you want him for?”

Zhan Changfeng said, “Your establishment’s guards arrived very promptly, especially the manager himself, who helped me repel the attackers. However, this man was bribed by the attackers and misled all of you — he is an important witness.”

“Haha, yes, yes, the guest is absolutely right! Take him with you by all means.” The manager put on a flattering smile. “Could you write down an account of what happened? I need to present it to my superiors.”

If things were framed according to Zhan Changfeng’s version of events, the entire nature of the matter would be completely different. Though he had a small dereliction of duty, he could be said to have compensated for it with merit. Most importantly, those two thousand four hundred spirit stones of rent could be reimbursed from above — he wouldn’t have to pay it himself!

Zhan Changfeng deliberated. “Then as for my remaining four months of rent…”

“It is entirely our fault for misjudging people and employing the wrong man, causing a guest to be injured. Naturally it shall all be waived, as a gesture of Welcome Pavilion’s sincerity!” the manager declared magnanimously. After all, it wasn’t his money.

After the matter was settled, the manager personally saw her out the door. Once she was gone, he let out a long breath. What a rollercoaster this day had been — his heart could barely take it. He would never be so lazy again, and he could never again underestimate anyone. One wrong step and you could end up reduced to dust.

After leaving, Zhan Changfeng walked directly into the Bureau of Patrol. Her reason was perfectly legitimate: people from the Gongsun Clan wanted to kill her, and had already acted — a serious violation of Luoying City’s rules.

She brought the witness along for good measure.

Zhang Rusong, who was recording the case, felt this child had come to play a joke on him. “How do you know it was the Gongsun Clan? And why would they want to kill you?”

Zhan Changfeng looked at him sidelong. “I am the Crown Prince of the Yin Dynasty.”

Zhang Rusong choked. Good heavens — so this was the Crown Prince of the Yin Dynasty, who was said to be somewhere in Shenzhou yet had been giving both the Bureau of Patrol and the Gongsun Clan no end of grief.

Right, right — the Gongsun Clan and your family have a blood feud that can never be buried, and yet here you are, of all places, at Cangyun Ravine. Of course they’d want to kill you.

Zhang Rusong believed her about seventy percent. “Who were the attackers, and where are they now?”

Zhan Changfeng naturally could not say she had already killed them. “They escaped. However, I can draw their portraits.”

“They?” Zhang Rusong was startled.

Zhan Changfeng hesitated over whether to cough up some blood to prove her credibility. As it turned out, she didn’t need to hesitate — the stagnant blood was already rising. This backlash was truly rather severe.

Zhang Rusong watched as the child before him went deathly pale and spat up blood, and hurried to say, “What’s wrong with you? Let me call a physician!”

“No need. I just need to regulate my breathing. Give me a brush — I’ll draw the people who attacked me first.”

“Life is precious! We will absolutely bring those who hurt you to justice — please don’t force yourself!”

“Just give me the brush!”

“Alright, alright, alright.”

Drawing from the memories of her assassins, Zhan Changfeng rendered portraits of all the Gongsun Clan members who had come, including the Sour-faced Cultivator and the others. “I’ll leave this in your hands.”

“We’re only doing our duty.” Zhang Rusong had her rest in a guest room in the rear courtyard, then arranged personnel to question the witness and investigate the whereabouts of the individuals in the portraits.

When the Bureau of Patrol had originally investigated the Gongsun Clan over the matter of disturbing Shenzhou’s order, they had been ganged up on by several great clans and forced to swallow a bitter loss. Just thinking about it made one’s chest tighten.

Zhang Rusong reported the matter to the Bureau Prefect, who said, “Do everything in your power to apprehend these individuals.”

The Bureau Adviser, who had listened to the report from the side, said, “If we can truly get a handle on the Gongsun Clan this time, we might be able to turn the tables.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.” The Bureau Prefect looked somewhat troubled. “It is understandable for the great clans to present a united front. But this time, their stance has been far too unyielding. Going forward, will they even have any regard for the Council of Elders? Moreover, Gongsun Jing — just a wet-behind-the-ears boy — supposedly toppled the entire Yin Dynasty. Do you believe that?”

“Whether we believe it or not, what can we do? For now we can only compromise. Given the old enmity between Jialan and the Yin Tribe, it’s not strange that the Gongsun Clan would go after the Yi Family.”

“No, I don’t think it’s that simple. The Gongsun Clan has been rising for three hundred years now — why wait until this very moment to move against the Yi Family?” The Bureau Prefect bowed his head in deep thought, and after a long while said, “Have the people below keep a close watch over Shenzhou. Don’t let demons and monsters take advantage of any gaps.”

The Bureau Adviser was stunned. “You mean to say…”

[The female lead is quite literally risking her life to cause trouble for the Gongsun Clan, haha! By the way, readers browsing the web version — if you think this book is decent, please take a moment to light up the rating in the top right corner. Also, I’ve discussed the matter of going behind the paywall with my editor. Barring any surprises, it will go V in May. I’ll share more details when the time comes. Thank you for your support!]

(End of Chapter)