As an official, what's wrong with raising a few monsters?

Chapter 249 Bandits Robbing the Road
Some conflicts will always exist and are destined to be difficult to eliminate.

The Jinglan Alliance has taken over the continent, situated between Beilie and Qianyuan, at the crossroads of their cultures.

There are too many contradictions in all aspects, which cannot be alleviated at all, and rebellion is bound to arise.

In that case, instead of suppressing everything by brute force, it would be better to plan ahead and bring this power under our control.

This was Hong Ling Shuang's method.

Create a Zhuyou Gang, and create a target.

Since someone is destined to turn against her, she might as well turn against herself first, keeping everything under control and knowing the truth. This is worse than letting unexpected forces spread and grow.

The first person to shout a slogan will always get the most attention, and those who share the same ideas will definitely think of joining first.

An opposition alliance has already emerged, and newcomers cannot and will not seek alternatives.

Even if someone were to create another organization, it would be crushed by chance amidst the prevailing trends.

Over time, the Zhuyou Gang eventually grew to its current size.

No one would have guessed that the biggest leader behind this notorious anti-government organization was actually the leader himself.

A knife thrusting towards you is also a knife, and also a force.

It can be used to stab enemies behind you.

It doesn't mean it can't be used.

Hong Ling Shuang held a high position, so there were some evil deeds that were inconvenient for her to do.

For example, subordinates may be corrupt or have ulterior motives.

Instead of going through the trouble of finding evidence and scheming against others, it's better to use Zhu Youbang as a weapon and kill him outright.

Gao Panhai, who was previously on the platform, was the sacrifice for this knife.

By killing Gao Panhai, he also eliminated dissidents within the Zhu You Gang.

As the Zhu You Gang causes more and more trouble, it also arouses more and more resentment among the people, which can actually deepen people's sense of belonging to the Jing Lan Alliance.

It can be considered killing two birds with one stone.

Of course, there were risks involved in Mingchen giving her advice.

The higher the potential reward, the greater the risk.

If you don't handle this knife well, you'll hurt yourself.

Was power usurped from within the Zhu You Gang?

What if the leader of the Zhu You Gang rebels?

The news has leaked?

These things will cause considerable damage to Hong Ling Shuang's rule.

Safe, safe, safe.

Those in high positions should seek the most stable and threatening security.

Instead of drifting in the storm, or taking an adventure dancing on the edge of a knife.

Only a stable regime can be called a regime.

Hong Ling Shuang is an excessively intelligent and excessively dangerous woman.

But even the most skilled surfer will eventually fall off the board and into the sea.

Many things in this world are beyond our control, and we have to pay a price and take risks.

But not everything has to be done on a knife's edge.

For leaders, every move has far-reaching consequences. If it is possible to act prudently, even if it is troublesome, it is better not to take a risky approach.

If it were Xiao Xinyue, Mingchen wouldn't have suggested she take this path.

"Brother, am I right?"

The child turned his head and stared intently at Mingchen, asking a question.

The girl, unusually, showed Mingchen her command skills.

Mingchen fixed her braids and said with a smile, "Yes~"

"Our Xiu Die'er is skilled enough to become a high-ranking official in the imperial court!"

Those who rarely speak, but quietly stand aside and listen, are often the most insightful.

Despite his young age, the child saw things more clearly and wiser than those who had been in the court for many years and whose eyes were blinded by greed.

Shy Butterfly simply shook her head: "With my brother here, I won't go anywhere."

Mingchen playfully pinched her nose and chuckled, "Not getting married?"

This child was raised into a little monster by him, and he also has this kind of background.

I can't stand being bullied.

But it's unlikely that anyone will catch her eye anymore.

Shy Butterfly nodded matter-of-factly: "No!"

"Hey~"

Seeing the child's decisiveness, Mingchen simply smiled and shook his head: "Okay~"

"People don't necessarily have to form connections."

"If you can't find your destined partner, then I'll take care of you for the rest of your life!"

"Um……"

The child spoke quite a bit, probably saying everything he had to say this month.

She simply leaned against Mingchen quietly and responded softly.

The white wolf sped along the dirt road, and the peculiar people and the chaotic city gradually faded into the distance.

They hadn't gone far when the view suddenly opened up before them.

The wide river stretches to the horizon, rushing into the sea.

……

Instead of taking a boat directly from Bailing City to Beilie, Mingchen traveled east for a while and took a boat across the river from another, smaller city.

Mingchen had seen the sea many times in his previous life, but he had seen few mighty rivers.

Early in the morning, before the sun had risen, the child slept soundly in the cabin.

He stood on the deck of the ferry, watching the ripples on the water and the distant, misty mountains rising abruptly, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

The last time I passed through, I was in a hurry to go on a diplomatic mission.

This trip is definitely worthwhile; it's a beautiful place.

"Guest, it has been raining recently, and the morning air is the coldest. Please put on an outer coat so you don't catch a cold."

Seeing that Mingchen had an extraordinary demeanor and was generous, the boatman and his two companions chartered the entire boat for him, clearly indicating that he was a person of great importance.

He spoke as if offering constant reminders.

Mingchen simply smiled and waved his hand: "It's alright!"

"Brother, you're not wearing much either!"

The other person told Mingchen to wear more clothes, while they themselves wore only a coarse cloth vest, revealing their arms, which were much less revealing than Mingchen's.

The boatman laughed heartily upon hearing this, "Hahaha~"

"You flatter us, sir. We're used to floating on the water every day!"

This guest is indeed an interesting person.

He must have a very high social status, but his behavior was not at all like that of a high-ranking official or nobleman.

"Why are you out so early, guests? Why not sleep a little longer?"

"Come and see, brother, don't you think the scenery here is delightful? I see mist swirling in the distance; perhaps some immortals reside here!"

"Hahaha~ Guest, we're roughnecks, we see each other every day, hundreds of times! Even the most beautiful scenery can't withstand seeing it every day! And as for immortals... guest, you're just joking~"

Mingchen didn't refute, but instead nodded in agreement: "Yes~ After seeing so many, even the most beautiful woman isn't beautiful anymore. But if you're going to love her, you still will, right?"

The boatman was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes, yes, yes! The guest is right."

Two men of vastly different social standing stood on the deck, gazing at the river, chatting idly: "The guest isn't from around here. I wonder what he's going to Beilie for? Beilie is quite different from here; the rules are much stricter!"

"Going to see an old friend."

The Northern Emperor lost his bet, but what about his friends?

Mingchen believed that this person would be Xiao Xinyue's biggest rival in the struggle for supremacy. Now that he had come to the Northern Border, he naturally wanted to come up and take another look.

Let's see how the Northern Emperor fares!

Let's examine his policy of isolationism.

"Old friend?"

"In this day and age, it's best for guests like us to stay home as much as possible!"

It turns out I was just meeting a friend.

When is it not okay to see friends?
In this situation, it's not a good time to go out and meet friends.

The right thing to do is to stay at home quietly.

Of course, if the boatman knew who Mingchen was going to see, he probably wouldn't have thought that way.

Upon hearing this, Mingchen simply shook his head indifferently and said nothing more.

Seeing Mingchen's attitude, the boatman kept pointing to the distant shore.

The riverbank was too far away; the morning mist was thick, and the light was dim, making it impossible to see clearly.

"Do you know where that is, guest?"

Mingchen shook his head: "I don't know."

The boatman said, "That is Jiuxing City, which was originally the territory of Beilie."

"Later, the Jinglan Alliance entered the mainland and conquered along the river. They even dared to provoke the domineering Beilie Kingdom and occupied a lot of Beilie's territory. Jiuxing City was one of them."

"Beilie is busy with canal construction and can't spare any manpower, so the Alliance has temporarily taken over."

"When the winter frost arrived and the Liehe River froze, water transport was disrupted. The Northern Lie sent troops to retake the city, but the Alliance leader was shrewd and had already redeployed his forces. There were few casualties, and the Northern Lie recaptured the city without much effort. After the frost ended, neither side sent large armies to garrison here, and no one was in charge. It was unclear whether this place belonged to the Alliance or the Northern Lie... It became a city that neither side cared about."

"If no one is in charge, it will become chaotic."

"A guest like this would likely suffer some hardships if he traveled by land."

The boatman felt that Mingchen had shown him respect, so he said a few more words.

The words were roundabout, but the real meaning was that the situation was very chaotic and people shouldn't run around recklessly.

"Yeah~"

Mingchen lowered his eyes and smiled, it was unclear whether he understood what the boatman meant.

"Woooooo~"

During the conversation between the two,

Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew by, and the distant sound of bugles echoed.

The boatman, who had been chatting happily with Mingchen, immediately put on a smile. His eyes narrowed suddenly, and he kept looking in the direction he had just pointed to Mingchen.

Suddenly, through the hazy mist, several boats appeared to be rapidly approaching them from the direction of the shore.

"This this……"

He looked terrified and became somewhat incoherent.

Mingchen remained calm and asked him, "Big brother, what's wrong?"

The boatman looked around, his eyes filled with fear, and shook his head, saying as if trying to reassure himself, "We're just an ordinary ferry...it's alright...it's alright..."

"Bandits! Guest, you're bandits!" His boat was neither big nor small, with little cargo and no profit to be made, so it shouldn't have caught the eye of these bandits.

These people may just be passing through, just passing through.

However, the closer the small boats got, the heavier the boatman's heart became.

"River bandits?"

Mingchen raised an eyebrow, watching with great interest.

Their boat was clearly not as fast as those smaller boats.

They were caught up very quickly.

"thump!"

"thump!"

As they got closer, one by one they jumped into the water.

"Oh no, the customer is really here for us! What... what are we going to do?!"

The worst happened.

As they drew closer, groups of bandits dressed in black and armed with knives, guns, and clubs stood atop the small boats.

Their identities were now obvious.

One by one, the water ghosts jumped into the water, as if they had burrowed into the boatman's heart, filling him with fear and despair.

The world is not peaceful these days. He has heard many stories of bandits killing and robbing people, but he always felt that they were far removed from his own life. This is the first time he has actually encountered such a thing, and he was at a loss for a moment.

Standing there, looking around, I was somewhat lost in thought.

Mingchen glanced at him with interest, then looked away and turned to the other side.

Compared to ordinary bandits, these people were quite quiet.

They neither shouted nor made a fuss.

He just got things done and didn't say a word.

"Whoosh!"

With a whooshing sound, hooks were thrown onto the boat, and in a few flips, the agile bandits boarded the ship.

The water ghosts who had jumped into the water also took out tools to prepare to chisel the bottom of the boat.

With this configuration, the ship will sink very soon, and all the crew, sailors, and passengers on board will die.

Just the next moment,
The green light flashed by so quickly that the pirates who had just boarded the ship didn't seem to have time to react.

He stared wide-eyed at the jade rod that had pierced his throat, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"thump!"

The jade was retrieved, and the man fell into the river, his blood staining the water, and he lost his life.

"careful!"

The surrounding bandits' eyes narrowed suddenly, and they finally uttered a word of warning to each other.

at the same time,

The underwater monsters were just about to try and scuttle the bottom of the ship.

Suddenly I shuddered, and for some reason, inexplicably, a sense of foreboding arose in my heart.

For no apparent reason, they all turned their heads and looked in the same direction.

The next moment, his eyes widened in shock.

"Gulu gulu."

They are the best at holding their breath and breathing underwater.

The water was like another home for them.

However, at this moment, this house felt like a haunted house to them.

He couldn't control his breathing either.

As far as the eye could see, an indescribable and unimaginable colossal body came into view.

what is this?
What kind of monster is this? !
dragon?
Jiao?
In the deep water, the blue scales shimmered, and a pair of indifferent vertical pupils stared silently at them from the bottom.

It did nothing but watch from the water, yet its invisible power emanated from it, terrifying everyone.

It was so terrifying that people became disoriented and their minds went blank.

I forgot everything else and just kept swinging my arms to escape this place of trouble.

"monster!"

"monster!"

One by one, the water ghosts emerged, gasping for breath, shouting, and scattering in all directions as if fleeing.

"Ouch!"

The eerie howls of wolves echoed across the ship.

"what!!!"

Amidst screams of agony, the bandits stared wide-eyed at what lay before them, their faces filled with terror.

They stood guard at the child's hatch.

The white wolf, carrying a wolf-tooth broadsword, flashed a white light and cleanly cleaved the man in half at the waist.

It was clearly a wolf, yet it seemed to wield its broadsword with more skill than a human.

This is the wolf fang knife that the white wolf gave him after his wish was fulfilled. It's just a big knife with no special function. Like the white wolf, it can be made to any size. Mingchen didn't find it convenient to use, so he returned it to the white wolf.

Later, when they went to the battlefield, this guy had a big knife hanging from his mouth, and he charged around recklessly, which was quite cool.

The environment here is cramped, and the white wolf has only grown a little bigger, not as handsome and domineering as it usually is when it carries Mingchen.

However, the image of someone wielding a large knife and readily killing others does indeed create a sense of oppression.

on deck,
"Are you here for me?"

Mingchen toyed with the blood-stained jade stick in his hand, watching the bandits around him with great interest.

"Let me guess, who sent you?"

He seemed to be in danger, but Mingchen looked very relaxed.

His gaze seemed to be able to see into people's hearts, making the bandits feel somewhat uneasy.

"kill!"

"It's no use talking more!"

They didn't want to listen to what Mingchen had to say anymore, so they raised their knives and charged at him.

The next instant, a green light flashed, and yet another person fell to the ground.

"Don't disturb my child's sleep."

Instead of retreating, Mingchen charged forward, his fists and feet clashing, his jade staff swirling, and swords flashing as he fought with the bandits.

He was physically strong, skilled in martial arts, and had been tested on the battlefield, so he was not afraid of being dipped in beans.

On the roof of the ferry, a small red bird stood quietly watching, its little eyes darting around, seemingly not intending to do anything.

Fighting demon cultivators is acceptable, but Mingchen has never really approved of her killing.

Even during the campaign against the Xiongnu in the west, when Mingchen killed so many people on the battlefield, swords and spears had no eyes, she simply watched from the sidelines.

She wasn't worried about Mingchen.

On the battlefield against the Xiongnu, thousands of troops had already passed by.

There are only a few bandits at the moment, they're easy to deal with.

Not long after, blood soaked the deck as many people came aboard.

They were either killed, or Mingchen kicked them back into the river.

But at this moment,
One of the people on the small boat seemed to sense that something was wrong and kept raising something in his palm.

An invisible force rippled outwards from its center.

As if sensing something interesting, the little bird instantly turned its gaze and looked in that direction.

At the same time, the air in this circular water space condensed, as if a heavy pressure was pressing down on one's shoulders, causing a feeling of unease.

The sailors and boatmen on the ship felt as if their bodies had become several times heavier, and some could not stand up.

"Ah~"

"Wow~"

The mournful cries of waterbirds echoed from the sky.

"thump!"

"thump!"

The passing birds shuddered suddenly, as if they had lost the strength to stretch their wings, and fell into the water, flapping their wings and struggling.

But no matter how hard he tried, he could not return to the heavens.

In this space, gravity seems a bit heavier.

This power has no problem dealing with ordinary birds.

But... this is rather child's play for the sovereign of the sky, the god born of fire...

The light flashed by in an instant, incredibly fast.

The bandits holding the ritual implements seemed to be caught off guard and turned around in a daze.

The little red bird stood behind him, tilting its head and watching him with great interest.

For some reason, the bandit seemed to see flames in its eyes.

The flames seemed to travel from its eyes to its body.

"Uh...ah..."

I don't know when, but I started to feel a burning sensation below me.

He shuddered violently, letting out a scream. Crimson flames rose from the soles of his feet, spreading upwards at an incredible speed, corroding...

Everything it touched was instantly burned to ashes.

The moment he screamed in agony, his feet were burned to ashes.

Unable to support himself, he fell directly to the ground.

Strangely, the flames only burned him, not the others; the wooden boat wasn't charred at all.

"save……"

His face was filled with terror as he reached out his hand to the bird, but before he could finish speaking, it was burned to ashes.

He used a magic weapon!
He must be a cultivator!

This doesn't count as breaking the rules.

She had a reason to relay the message to the young master.

Thinking this way, the little bird had no qualms about killing.

The flames were still effective; the ashes drifted away in the wind, leaving not a trace.

"Clap!"

The heavy object landed, and a small, jet-black bead rolled twice before lying quietly on the boat.

With a flap of its wings, the little bird took it away.

(End of this chapter)