I am Master Maoshan

Chapter 2227 The big fish takes the bait
"Have you considered the consequences of doing this? Aren't you afraid that people from the God King City will come to investigate you?" Jin Yueyue had a cold face and a slight tremor in her voice, but she still tried to stay calm.

Hearing this, Li Wancai sneered, his eyes full of contempt. "Investigate? Ha, do you think your brother is still in that high position? I have already found out that after the new God King took office, he made drastic changes to the government. Your brother was exiled to the frontier because he embezzled too much money. Now, who can help you? You are just an orphan who has lost your backer."

Jin Yueyue heard this, and a cold light flashed in her eyes. She bit her lower lip tightly, trying hard not to let her tears fall. Her brother was indeed exiled to the frontier by the new God King, and his family was not allowed to accompany him.

At the time, the news was like a bolt from the blue, and it made her heartbroken. But she also knew that her brother had indeed taken a lot of bribes, and that was an indisputable fact.

Liu Jun, who was not far away, heard their conversation, touched his nose, and showed a hint of embarrassment on his face. He remembered that he had indeed exiled a corrupt official named Jin to the border. However, he did not know at the time that this corrupt official was Jin Yueyue's brother. Moreover, even if he knew, as a God King, he could not bend the law for personal gain, which was his duty.

"Because Haoyue Restaurant evaded taxes, it is now closed for seven days as a warning." Li Wancai ordered grimly.

When the men heard Li Wancai say that Jin Yueyue's backers had collapsed, they no longer cared about such a weak woman. They rushed forward like hungry wolves and rudely drove away the guests in the restaurant. The guests panicked and fled in all directions, and the whole restaurant fell into chaos in an instant.

In the chaos, one of the men came up to Liu Jun. Just as he was about to open his mouth to shout, Liu Jun slapped him hard and sent him flying out the door like a kite with a broken string, falling heavily to the ground and unable to get up for a long time.

This scene made the entire restaurant quiet down. All eyes were focused on Liu Jun, his eyes were firm and cold, like a tiger ready to pounce.

Li Wancai narrowed his eyes, looking Liu Jun up and down, thinking in his heart. He knew that this seemingly weak guest was actually a hidden master. Looking at the power of this slap, one could imagine that he was definitely not an ordinary person.

He can now be sure that these people are the big fat sheep who possess top-grade spirit stones as mentioned by the waiter.

"Sir, obstructing officials in their work is a serious crime." Li Wancai narrowed his eyes, with a hint of threat in his tone.

However, Liu Jun was not moved at all. He sneered and said disdainfully: "You are just a bunch of officials. Are you trying to pull a tiger and raise a banner? Just because of you, you want to close down the Haoyue Restaurant?"

Li Wancai's face darkened when he heard this. He didn't expect Liu Jun to be so arrogant and not take his threats seriously at all. He clapped his hands and sneered: "Oh, you are arrogant enough, but let's see if you have the capital to be arrogant."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless thugs who had been lying in ambush suddenly rushed out from all directions and surrounded the restaurant. They were holding sticks and had fierce looks on their faces, like a group of bloodthirsty beasts, ready to attack at any time.

Seeing this, Liu Jun was not panicked at all. He stood up calmly and scanned the thugs around him with a sharp gaze.

A fierce conflict is about to break out, and the air is filled with a strong smell of gunpowder.

At this moment, a burst of neat and powerful footsteps echoed in the street, gradually becoming clearer as they got closer and closer.

This group of people, wearing the uniform armor of the city guards, marched in unison and with great momentum. They were obviously the subordinates of the city guard officer Chu Nanchang, and they were walking towards this side in a mighty manner.

"What's going on? Why is it so lively?" Chu Nanchang's voice was loud and clear.

He was dressed in armor, with a long sword at his waist, looking heroic. He walked at the front of the team with his attendants, and his eyes revealed a sharp look that examined everything.

Li Wancai stood at the door of the restaurant with a dark face, frowning, and his eyes were full of doubt and dissatisfaction. He looked at the sudden scene in front of him and couldn't help but murmur in his heart.

"Lord Chu, what do you mean? Are you, the city guards, going to be in charge of the affairs of the inner city?" Li Wancai's tone was somewhat questioning, and he was obviously surprised and dissatisfied with the appearance of Chu Nanchang.

Chu Nanchang heard this and raised a playful smile. He said slowly, "Of course I don't care. The inner city has its own managers. But it's a rare gathering for our city guards today. It should be okay for us to have a meal at the restaurant, right?"

Li Wancai frowned even more, thinking to himself: Chu Nanchang would always give in when he saw him in the past, but what happened today? Who gave him the confidence to be so reckless?
Just as Li Wancai was puzzled, Chu Nanchang had already strode into the restaurant without paying any attention to him.

"The restaurant is closed, Lord Chu, let's find another place to have dinner." Li Wancai shouted hurriedly, trying to stop Chu Nanchang's actions.

However, Chu Nanchang seemed not to have heard it. He stopped and looked back at Li Wancai, still with a playful smile on his face: "Isn't it still sealed? Besides, we're having a dinner party for the city guards, so where can't we go? Come on, brothers, go in and sit down and order some food. It's my treat today!"

As he spoke, Chu Nanchang waved his hand and strode into the restaurant with his men, leaving Li Wancai standing at the door with a stunned look on his face.

As for the officers under Li Wancai in the restaurant, although they were all ferocious and burly, they were only wearing coarse cloth clothes after all. They were obviously inferior to the city guards in front of them who were wearing standard armor and had a fierce momentum.

Faced with these well-trained city guards who had experienced the baptism of war, the officials had no choice but to retreat even if they were extremely reluctant.

After all, in this world where the strong are respected, no one wants to easily come into conflict with those iron-blooded warriors returning from the battlefield. That would undoubtedly be asking for trouble.

"Lord Chu, if you insist on doing so, don't blame me for not remembering our friendship. I'm welcome." Li Wancai's voice was low and cold, like a chilly winter wind, piercing people's hearts.

"Haha, you're welcome. I'm just worried that I don't have a chance to stretch my muscles." Chu Nanchang laughed. There was no fear on his face. Instead, he showed a sense of desperate. "However, I have to tell you in advance that my brothers have been hungry for several days. If we don't let them fill their stomachs, once they get angry, the situation will be difficult to control." "Hmph, Lord Chu, you'd better think it over carefully, or you will regret it later." Li Wancai snorted coldly, his eyes like knives, coldly scanning the city guards in the restaurant.

These city guards were all Chu Nanchang's former trusted subordinates who followed him to Hezhou City. Although their numbers were small, each of them was a carefully selected elite soldier whose combat effectiveness should not be underestimated.

The atmosphere in the restaurant suddenly became tense, and the air seemed to freeze as the two sides confronted each other. Li Wancai and Chu Nanchang's eyes met in the air, sparks flew, and an invisible contest was quietly unfolding.

The people around who were just watching had already run away to watch, fearing that they would be drawn into the dispute.

"The Lord of the City has arrived—"

A loud announcement pierced the sky, and the people on both sides of the street retreated one after another. The originally noisy restaurant entrance suddenly became silent.

With the sound of uniform footsteps, a team of guards in silver armor led the way.

Afterwards, a gilded carriage pulled by four pure white horses slowly drove up. Lifelike coiled dragon patterns were carved on the shafts of the carriage, and the brocade curtains hanging from the windows were embroidered with the emblem of Hezhou City in gold thread.

Sixteen maids in lavender gauze skirts lined up on both sides, holding peacock feather fans and walking lightly as if on clouds. Behind the carriage were more than thirty fully armed guards, and the swords on their waists made dull metallic clanging sounds as they walked.

"Oh my god, this guy is just the lord of a small city, but he's even more pompous than me!" Liu Jun couldn't help but mutter when he saw this scene.

"That's right, how much money must have been embezzled to afford such a grand occasion?" Xu Baoer didn't have a good impression of these corrupt officials.

When the gilded carriage stopped steadily in front of the Haoyue Restaurant, the air seemed to freeze. A bony hand lifted the curtain, and the Lord of Hezhou City, Mo Huaiyuan, bent down and walked out of the carriage. He was wearing a black official uniform, and the jade pendant on the jade belt around his waist swayed gently with his movements.

"what happened?"

This question, neither too light nor too heavy, made everyone present tense up. Mo Huaiyuan's sharp eyes swept across the mess on the ground, and when he saw the injured tax collector, his brows knitted slightly.

Li Wancai immediately dragged his injured right leg forward, with a flattering smile on his face: "Brother-in-law, you are finally here! This Haoyue Restaurant not only refused to pay the newly issued wine-making tax, but also condoned the waiters to beat the officials. Look at my legs." He said, lifting up his trouser legs, revealing the purple scars, "We argued with reason, but so many people were beaten. This is clearly..."

"It's clear that you don't take the laws of the divine realm seriously." Mo Huaiyuan took over the conversation coldly, his fingertips gently stroking the jade pendant on his waist, "Tax evasion? This is no small matter."

At this moment, a clear female voice came from the entrance of the restaurant: "City Lord, please judge for yourself."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Jin Yueyue, wearing a moon-white dress, standing on the steps with neither arrogance nor humility.

"Our Haoyue Restaurant has been open for 30 years and has never defaulted on any taxes." Jin Yueyue's voice was particularly clear in the quiet street, "But the new wine tax this time is not only as high as 50% of the wine price, but also retroactively requires us to pay many years of taxes. Has there ever been such a precedent in the Divine Realm for thousands of years?"

Mo Huaiyuan's gaze lingered on Jin Yueyue's stubborn face for a moment, and he suddenly chuckled: "Boss Jin has a sharp tongue. But..." His eyes suddenly turned cold, "I want to see, your reason is stronger, or my words are stronger."

As Mo Huaiyuan said this, the guards around him all put their hands on the hilts. There were several suppressed exclamations from the onlookers, and a few timid ones had quietly retreated into the alley.

"Hey? Aren't you being unreasonable and simply bullying me?" Liu Jun couldn't help but speak out in a loud voice.

"Who are you?" Mo Huaiyuan frowned and squinted his eyes to look at the young man who suddenly appeared.

"I'm your grandfather!" Liu Jun grinned, revealing a row of white teeth. He deliberately dragged out the tone, and the provocation was obvious.

There was a sudden gasp from the onlookers, and some even took a few steps back in fear.

Mo Huaiyuan was instantly furious. He had been the Lord of Hezhou City for such a long time, but who dared to provoke him like this? His face turned ashen, the veins on his forehead bulged, and his right hand unconsciously clenched into a fist.

"What are you standing there for? Kill him!" Mo Huaiyuan shouted angrily, his voice echoing in the street like thunder.

The guards behind him immediately drew their weapons, ready to fight.

"Wait, wait!" Li Wancai's face changed drastically, and beads of sweat oozed out of his forehead. He hurried to Mo Huaiyuan's side, tiptoed and whispered in the ear of the city lord: "Brother-in-law, he is the man who has so many top-grade spirit stones that I mentioned. He can't be killed."

Mo Huaiyuan's face was uncertain, with a hint of hesitation in his eyes. He stared at Liu Jun for a long while, and finally waved his hand: "Catch him alive!"

The guards rushed towards Liu Jun and his men, their heavy footsteps echoing on the bluestone slabs. Li Wancai's officers also rushed over, obviously wanting to help.