Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 237 Compromise
"Infinite World Honored One, all things are impermanent, sin and suffering abound. On the path to rebirth, good causes and bad results, karma accumulates and dissolves..."

While the Forbidden Military Department was busy searching for the criminal, the sound of chanting was heard in the night.

No one was causing trouble, so Chen Xuan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a gray-robed monk, several dozen feet away from him, beside a fire, turning Buddhist beads with his eyes closed and chanting scriptures. He looked solemn and kind, and was not moved by external things.

He looked to be in his fifties, thin, with a foot-long green beard and a scar on his head. He was a monk who had taken vows.

On one side of him was a three-ring staff, and on the other side lay a little monk in gray clothes, about ten years old. The little monk had obviously been drugged and was in a coma.

It seems that the master brought his apprentice here to broaden his horizons.

There was no clear marking on him, and Chen Xuan couldn't tell which temple he came from.

"I don't know if it's a high-ranking monk from Wuxiang Temple, but there are powerful masters there. In terms of status in the martial arts world, Wuxiang Temple is on par with Taixuan Sect. One Buddha and one Tao are clearly the leaders of the righteous path. In short, strength speaks for itself, and influence also plays a part."

After a quick look, Chen Xuan withdrew his gaze. Staring at someone is impolite.

The opponent looks thin, but in fact he has deep internal strength, and is strong and domineering. It is obvious that he has practiced advanced martial arts. Even the drugs used by the Forbidden Martial Arts Bureau cannot do anything to him. However, monks usually give people a kind and benevolent feeling, but at the critical moment they can also become a furious Vajra. His staff should be quite powerful when it hits people.

I think the other party is not chanting sutras for the criminals who have been executed, but more for the people who have been harmed by those criminals.

In fact, there were quite a lot of monks and Taoists who came to Tuoling Town. Those who couldn't stay in the inn spent the night in the wild. Different factions gathered in their own groups. There were many monks gathered around the monk, but now they were lying on the ground, with him as the leader. His cultivation was not the highest, so he must have a special identity.

Without caring too much, Chen Xuan continued to eat barbecue...

As soon as he turned his gaze away, he heard the sound of fighting coming from the town. It was quite fierce, and the sharp edges of weapons could be seen flashing in the night.

One of the red blades was particularly eye-catching, and every flash was like a guiding light. Due to the distance and angle, Chen Xuan could not see the details. He guessed that the person wielding the knife was the criminal Bloodline Knife who was arrested by the Forbidden Weapons Bureau. Chen Xuan also heard the previous conversation of the Forbidden Weapons Bureau.

As the fight broke out, dozens of people from the Forbidden Martial Arts Department surrounded that direction, while the rest of the people went about their own business in an orderly manner, as if they were in an orderly manner.

Soon someone reported to Zuo Kaichou: "Sir, we have found the trace of Bloodline Knife. He is very powerful. The brothers are trying to capture him. He won't be able to escape for long."

"Well, let everyone be careful and try to lure him out of the town. If too many civilians are affected, we will be unable to explain it," Zuo Kaichou nodded slightly.

"Don't worry, sir. The brothers know their limits and won't let him harm the people. Otherwise, we would have already captured him..."

After all, they are government officials and have their concerns. They cannot ignore the lives of the people in order to do their jobs. This is normal. If they cause a large number of casualties among the people because of their work, they will also be punished.

Whoosh~!

Under the cover of night, a whistle arrow, fueled by internal energy, shot up into the sky, emitting a red light. It exploded dozens of feet in the air with a sharp sound. It was the signal arrow of the Forbidden Weapons Division.

With the appearance of this signal arrow, the sounds of fighting in the town also ended. Many people who were still sober looked over, but no one ran to join in the fun up close. The Martial Arts Prohibition Bureau was handling cases, and if anyone interfered with them, they would deserve to be killed. Everyone knew this unspoken rule.

"Sir, we've found Grandma Wuxin..." The subordinates around Zuo Kaichou said in surprise as they looked in the direction of the signal. However, when they turned around, Zuo Kaichou was nowhere to be found, only a strong wind blowing his clothes.

Chen Xuan could see it clearly. As soon as the signal arrow rose, Zuo Kaichou's figure shot towards that direction. Being in the innate realm, he was extremely fast, like a phantom.

But in Chen Xuan's opinion, his lightness skill was actually average. Although he was fast, he couldn't be silent at that speed, and there was also a sound of breaking through the air, which was really not very good.

It is highly likely that although his cultivation level is high, he has not practiced any advanced light skills, or his identity does not need to be hidden, and the matter is urgent, so he gave up hiding for the sake of speed.

But after all, he was at the Innate Realm, and that speed was something that no one below the Innate Realm could react to at all. Only Chen Xuan could comment on it in secret.

When Zuo Kaichou arrived at the town, a sharp, old voice soon rang out from there, saying coldly, "Mr. Zuo, we know you're powerful and we're no match for you, but we still advise you to be sensible and let us go, or else don't blame us for being ruthless!"

Chen Xuan raised his eyebrows upon hearing this. "Have we, that Wuxin Granny, teamed up with someone else?" It made sense to think about it. Facing the pursuit of the Forbidden Martial Arts Division, if they joined forces, they would have a greater chance of escaping capture.

Then Zuo Kaichou's cold voice was heard saying: "The Forbidden Martial Arts Division has never been threatened by anyone. I advise you to give up struggling and suffer less!" Having said that, the two sides seemed to be in a state of confrontation and did not take action. Obviously, Zuo Kaichou also had some concerns. Many times, strength cannot decide everything.

Then another voice shouted, "It's well known that the Jinwu Division never accepts threats. We are not a threat either. We just want to survive. Let us go, or we will take at least half of the town with us. If you keep forcing us, Tuoling Town may be wiped off the map in the future!"

These words seemed to be said intentionally for everyone to hear, with the purpose of creating pressure on the people in the Forbidden Weapons Department.

The people from the Forbidden Martial Arts Department didn't seem to want his actions to be known to everyone, so they whispered angrily, but Chen Xuan still heard it. He heard the people from the Forbidden Martial Arts Department gritting their teeth and saying, "Mr. Du, you dare to poison the water source? You are dead!"

"Hahaha, you guys forced us to do this. If you don't let us go, don't even think about me taking out the antidote. Do you want to see the residents here poisoned to death, or die of thirst due to lack of water? Make a decision, we don't have time to waste with you," the voice sneered.

Then another unfamiliar voice spoke up, "Even if you, the Jinwu Division, disregard the lives of the townspeople in order to capture the three of us, what about him? The local mayor, a seventh-rank official, a Jinshi (Jinshi)? Even though he's been demoted here, do you want to watch him die? If he dies, you won't have a good time either. He's in my hands, and I have no eyes for you. I advise you not to act rashly."

"Mr. Zuo, make a decision now. Are you going to arrest us regardless of the consequences, or let this seventh-rank mayor and all the people in the town be buried with us?" the sharp and old female voice threatened.

It's really ironic that a scholar who graduated from the Jinshi degree was demoted here to be the mayor. He must have offended someone.

As their brief conversation ended, the situation seemed to be at a stalemate. Although people outside the town were not there in person, they could still feel the oppressive atmosphere there.

It seemed that the three prisoners had appeared, and the rest of the members of the Forbidden Martial Arts Department, except for a small number of guards who had already captured the criminals, all rushed over there.

After a moment, as if under pressure, Zuo Kaichou had to compromise and said in a cold voice: "Get out of the way, let them go!" He paused and said sinisterly: "I advise you to be sensible and release Lord Zhou after you leave and hand over the antidote. Otherwise, I will make sure you are killed without a burial place to the ends of the earth. As for your nine clans and friends, they will definitely not have a good end. I mean what I say!"

"Hmph, Lord Zuo, please don't say anything angry. We know that we have committed heinous crimes, so you don't have to worry about anything else. Don't chase us. I guess you don't need my instructions anymore, right? Let's go!" Grandma Wuxin snorted coldly.

Looking in that direction, Chen Xuan thought that the people from the Forbidden Martial Arts Bureau were finally afraid to act rashly. Although they were a violent organization, they had to compromise with the situation that threatened the entire town.

If the town is destroyed because of their actions, no matter how great their past achievements are, they will not be able to save themselves. They may even be imprisoned and executed, because it is their fault for not doing their job well.

In order to catch criminals, the people from the Forbidden Weapons Department can drug the entire town. When the criminals are desperate, they can also poison the town, threatening the survival of the entire town.

Soon three people rushed out of the town, heading towards Chen Xuan and his group.

This is normal. If they go west, they will reach the vast desert. If they go north, they will reach the influence of the Hanshan Sword Sect, which cannot accommodate them. If they go south, they will reach Liuquan Town, which is no safer than here. Therefore, they can only escape to the grassland in the east.

There were three people, two men and one woman. Their identities were easy to identify by looking at their appearance.

Bloodline Knife is about forty years old, exuding a cold aura. He holds a thin and slender knife in his hand. No one knows how the knife is made. The blade is covered with bloodline-like textures, and the murderous aura makes people feel cold at the sight of it.

The Poisonous Young Master looked to be in his twenties, dressed in white and holding a folding fan. He was quite handsome, and it was hard to associate him with a heinous crime. He seemed like a well-mannered scholar, but he could do such a cruel thing as poisoning the water source.

As for Grandma Wuxin, she had an orange peel face, looked old and hunchbacked, and she didn't hold any weapons, but the nails on her hands were very sharp, like the claws of a zombie, as if she could "open her heart" to people at any time, which was in line with her nickname "Wuxin".

However, Chen Xuan could tell at a glance that it was not the real face of Grandma Wuxin at all, and she should not be very old. After all, Chen Xuan himself was an expert in disguise. A person's appearance is easy to change, but the inner spirit is not so easy to change.

The three of them quickly left the town, ignoring the unconscious people lying on the ground around them. They just wanted to get away from this deadly place. The man with the bloody knife was holding a man in his forties, who was probably the local mayor.

After all, he is a scholar, and a Jinshi at that. Even though his life is in the hands of others, Mayor Zhou remains calm and his skills in cultivating his energy are truly extraordinary.

As they appeared, Chen Xuan noticed that the chanting monk stopped and placed his hand on the staff.

All those arrested by the Forbidden Martial Arts Department are extremely evil. Ordinary petty thieves have no right to be investigated by them. Since they have encountered them, Chen Xuan does not mind punishing the evil and promoting the good to the best of his ability.

However, before he could make a move, after the three men had reached the wilderness, away from the crowd, a dark figure rushed out of the town and quickly approached them. It was Zuo Kaichou, who said in a cold voice, "I have said that the Forbidden Martial Arts Division has never been threatened. Today, all of you will stay here."

He clearly had no intention of letting any of them go, otherwise where would the Martial Arts Banning Department put their face?
The reason for the compromise was simply to strike in a less crowded area, so as to avoid harming innocent people...

(End of this chapter)