Chapter 758 - 361: Protect My Horse

At this moment, the subordinate of that important figure was killed just a few hundred meters outside the city gates. If that important figure were angered, wouldn’t he be held accountable? So he was even more eager to catch the killer.

"Who did this!!"

The leading officer’s voice was like thunder, and he was so furious that the fat on his cheeks quivered.

You Su didn’t want to get involved further. When he first heard the clamor of weapons, he instinctively pulled up his collar and took a step back.

He remained quite calm, looking at the official sitting high on horseback and pointing backward, he said:

"Officer, it was the Daoist who killed the person."

However, upon hearing this, the officer struck viciously with his whip. Fortunately, You Su was agile, and nobody saw how he dodged, but the whip landed on the corpse lying on the ground. The refugees snickered, thinking this dog of an officer simply missed his target, and even the officer himself turned livid.

"Tell me, where the hell is the Daoist?!" the officer roared.

You Su was slightly taken aback, quickly turning his head, only to find that the flower Daoist had quietly vanished along with his shabby stall, as if he had never existed.

It was only then that You Su realized that now he was the only one left next to the corpse.

"Seize him!!"

The officer shouted angrily, giving orders, and the soldiers behind him rushed out like a stream, surrounding You Su tightly.

The surrounding refugees, feeling a sense of camaraderie with You Su dressed similarly as them, voiced their grievances for him, explaining:

"Sir, this young man didn’t kill anyone! It truly was a Daoist who did it!"

Yet their explanations only earned colder lashes.

"Shut up! If you think you know so much, join me in prison to talk about it! A bunch of lowly scum!!"

The leading officer looked coldly over the group of poor and weak refugees, showing not a trace of compassion.

With those words, even if the refugees felt indignant for You Su, they dared not speak out. After all, what in this world could be more important than their own lives?

So many people said the same thing, and the officer naturally knew that the culprit was likely that nonexistent Daoist. But clearly, capturing this refugee in front of him was far easier than catching a Daoist with divine abilities.

With only a Meridian Passage Realm cultivation, he thrived because he understood his limits; his whip only struck the weaker. As for that Daoist, it was best left to someone more capable to investigate. He just needed a scapegoat to show he was doing his job.

"Take him away!"

With the order given, the soldiers stepped forward to arrest You Su.

A moment later, You Su, subdued, was escorted away by the soldiers along with the corpse.

Seeing the young man, who was about to change his fate with a stroke of luck, fall into the abyss in an instant, the refugees sighed and shook their heads, lamenting whether their fate was truly destined to remain unchanged.

"Hey...why didn’t this young man make another effort to argue for himself, just so willingly going to jail?"

"What do you know? In jail, there’s food and a place to sleep; at least it’s considered a job, not much worse than here, is it?"

"Then why don’t you go?"

"Scram!"

...

Of course, You Su didn’t willingly follow these people into the city for the sake of a criminal’s job in prison.

His only purpose was simply to get into the city.

The biggest hurdle to entering the city was passing the rigorous inspections at the city gate, and evidently, the inspection for prisoners didn’t take place at the gate but in the major prison inside the city.

As long as he could smoothly enter the city, You Su was confident he could escape.

"Boss, who died?"

A city guard at the gate saw the fat officer returning with grandeur on his steed and quickly approached to ask quietly.

The fat officer sighed deeply, "Don’t mention it, it’s Chen Xian, the one always tagging along behind Mr. Qi like a lapdog."

The city guard, who had been working alongside the fat officer and was considered close, understood quite a bit of insider information. Hearing this, his eyes turned, immediately realizing the complication of the situation.

"Was it this kid who killed him?!" The city guard looked at the tall figure surrounded by colleagues, finding it hard to believe.

This kid, always with his head down, looking so meek, could really turn violent and kill?

"It. Was. Him. Get it?"

The fat officer pronounced each word deliberately, his threatening demeanor immediately understood by the city guard.

"Yes, yes, yes."

The city guard, while flattering him, quickly stepped aside to make way for his superior.

You Su followed the officials silently, advancing until he passed through the gate, feeling slightly more at ease, though he sighed at how arduous the journey into the city truly was.

Suddenly, a long spear thrust forward, landing directly in front of You Su and blocking his path.

A high-ranking officer clad in silver armor came riding on a tall horse, stepping through the snow. His gaze was sharp, not fixed on You Su, but rather aimed at the fat, pig-faced official.

"Mr. Li, your authority seems to be quite grand," the officer’s voice was steady and powerful, yet laden with sarcasm.

The fat official’s heart tightened upon seeing who it was, silently cursing his bad luck for running into the garrison commander with whom he always clashed.

He managed the city gate affairs and skimmed a fair amount of profit from it. However, the garrison commander was in charge of the City Lord’s guards, receiving only a fixed salary. To add to it, the commander’s rank was a notch above his, often making trouble for him in routine work.

"Commander, don’t scare me now. I wouldn’t dare exercise such authority," the fat official replied pleasantly, but the commander remained stern.

"The Divine Mountain has issued a Divine Mountain Order; anyone entering the city must be inspected. You caught a criminal and wanted to ignore the divine decree. Isn’t that an exercise of authority?"

The fat official could only say sheepishly, "Criminals are usually taken to the dungeon for inspection; what’s the point of doing it here..."

"The Divine Mountain’s rules are the rules."

The commander knew well enough that a refugee likely had no identity to inspect, but he was determined to use the Divine Mountain Order to trouble the fat official today. If the official disobeyed him, he’d find ways to accuse the man.

The fat official gritted his teeth secretly, then cracked his long whip and shouted:

"It’s my oversight! Come, inspect this kid!"

"Yes!"

The officials immediately obeyed the order.

You Su clenched his fists, not expecting yet another twist in his path into the city. He felt it was not the intermediary who was unfortunate, but himself.

"Take off the hat! Pull down the collar!"

A soldier with a wanted poster image walked over and rudely ordered You Su.

You Su’s heart pounded like a drum, and his breath grew unconsciously heavier. His trembling hand hovered at his collar, hesitating whether to gamble.

Indeed, he looked somewhat different from his former spirited self. He had deliberately grown a beard and tried to tan his face as much as possible. However, he could not guarantee no one would recognize him, as he was still himself.

But if he wished to reach the Divine Mountain, he would inevitably have to reveal his face. Trying here once was better than being discovered at the gates of the Divine Mountain.

"Hurry up! Do you need my help?" the official urged impatiently.

You Su grit his teeth internally, his hand gripping the collar.

Just then, a somewhat familiar voice called out.

"I’ve been looking all over for you. Why are you here, making your master search for so long? Come, follow me into the city."

You Su looked back in shock at the Daoist priest who had appeared behind him at some point. The Daoist priest smiled endlessly and affectionately put his arm around You Su’s shoulders.

"You’re the Daoist priest they mentioned?!" The fat official immediately whipped his horse and cursed in anger.

But before the whip reached the Daoist priest, it was tangled by a long spear.

"Impudence!!"

The commander shouted loudly and yanked the fat official off his horse, making him fall painfully, shouting in pain.

The Daoist priest laughed heartily and greeted the commander:

"I assume this must be Commander Gao, here to accompany me!"

The typically stern Commander Gao quickly dismounted at these words and kneeled respectfully.

"Gao greets Mr. Hua!"

The Daoist priest raised his hand lightly, helping the commander to his feet.

"No need for formalities. Just now someone tried to assault me, and I accidentally killed him in self-defense. I’m truly sorry for the trouble; I hope Commander Gao can handle this for me."

"What needs handling? This person dared to offend Mr. Hua, and he got what he deserved!" Commander Gao’s righteous manner left all the surrounding soldiers exchanging glances, "Please, enter quickly, the City Lord is still waiting for you in the residence!"

"Thank you, thank you," the Daoist priest thanked the commander with a smile, then swaggered off with You Su, who was on the brink of inspection.

Watching the Daoist priest and the refugee leave in the distance, the soldier still holding the wanted poster asked blankly:

"Commander, aren’t we checking those two? What about the Divine Mountain Order..."

Unexpectedly, his attention to the rules didn’t earn him praise from his superior but rather a sharp slap.

"Watch my horse! And protect your own horse too!"

With that, the commander handed the reins to the soldier, then scurried off after the Daoist priest.