His entire family perished in battle; he rose from the ashes to conquer the world.

He didn't want to see that damned county magistrate for even a second longer.

County Magistrate Wu Quan was forcibly taken away by the Western Army. He wanted to make one last desperate struggle and beg Mu Yuan for mercy.

However, the Western Army had already seen through his petty tricks and delivered a powerful slash to his throat, rendering him unable to shout anymore.

Thus, Magistrate Wu Quan, along with his advisor who acted as his strategist, were forcibly removed from the county office by the Western Army.

The remaining constables witnessed this scene.

They all knelt down before Mu Yuan, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Mu Yuan warned in a deep voice:

"You people, aiding and abetting evil, would normally deserve to die. However, considering that you were working for someone else and had no choice in the matter, I will pardon you this time and not punish you further. If you continue your incorrigible ways, what Wu Quan is experiencing today will be your fate!"

Upon hearing this, the constables felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and they kowtowed even more vigorously, thanking Mu Yuan for sparing their lives.

Mu Yuan looked past the kowtowing constables and towards Lan Que.

The other party's expression was cold, and his eyes were full of resentment.

After lingering on him for only a moment, Mu Yuan looked at Zhu Zhu, took a step, and walked towards her.

Zhu Zhu had no idea that Mu Yuan was actually the heir of the Xiping Prince's Mansion.

Having witnessed him order the magistrate's eyes gouged out and his body thrown into a death row cell, and considering that the Mu family was undoubtedly the local tyrant in the southwest, and that she had even clashed with them and ended up in the county government office, Zhu Zhu mistakenly thought that Mu Yuan was going to harm her, and she was so frightened that she kept backing away.

Mu Yuan noticed Zhu Zhu's nervousness and said with a smile:

"Miss Zhu, don't worry, I have no intention of harming you."

If Zhu Zhu hadn't stepped forward to rebuke Magistrate Wu Quan's actions, Mu Yuan would never have treated her so kindly.

Secondly, Zhu Zhu has quite a background. If she is indeed a member of the royal family, Mu Yuan should naturally treat her with courtesy to avoid disrespecting his status as a host.

As for Lan Que, who also came from a significant background, Mu Yuan didn't have a good impression of him.

It was just a street collision to begin with.

It's something that can be resolved with just a few words.

The other party was clearly at fault, but instead of admitting their mistake, they were arrogant and even threatened to report it to the authorities, causing a scene at the county government.

This shows that Lan Que is an arrogant and domineering person in his daily life.

"Zhu Zhu, let's go. Don't get too close to this person!"

When Lan Que saw Mu Yuan take the initiative to talk to Zhu Zhu, he felt a surge of jealousy and immediately tried to pull Zhu Zhu away.

Although Zhu Zhu was somewhat willful, she was not an rude person, so she said to Lan Que:

"They meant no harm, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

"He bumped into you, and now he's treating you with such courtesy. He must have ulterior motives," Lan Que said urgently.

Upon hearing this, Mu Yuan gave a cold laugh and said:

"Young Master Lan, you need evidence to speak. It was clearly Miss Zhu who bumped into me while walking with her head down. How did it become you claiming that I bumped into Miss Zhu? You're all too familiar with this 'thief crying 'stop thief'' act! Or is this something you usually do?"

Faced with Mu Yuan's sarcasm and ridicule, Lan Que's face turned red with anger.

Unfortunately, this is not the capital city.

In addition, there's Mu Yuan's identity and status.

He could only swallow his anger.

"You'd better never go to the capital in your life, or I'll make you pay a hundredfold for what happened today!" Lan Que knew this was not a place where he could make a move, so he made a harsh statement.

Beijing?

Mu Yuan narrowed his eyes.

Lan Que's words confirmed his suspicions.

One was surnamed Lan, and the other was surnamed Zhu; both came from the capital city, thousands of miles away.

In addition, after Lan Que whispered to Magistrate Wu Quan, Magistrate Wu Quan bowed and scraped to Lan Que in various ways.

All signs.

Mu Yuan had already guessed their identities with a high degree of accuracy.

"Who is Lan Shi to you?"

Mu Yuan suddenly asked.

Upon hearing Mu Yuan mention Lan Shi, Lan Que's face was full of smugness: "I didn't expect that even in this godforsaken place, they would know my father's name!"

Having said that, Lan Que, no longer bothering to conceal his identity, spoke with a provocative tone:

"What? Are you scared now that you know my father's name?"

Mu Yuan frowned. He noticed that Lan Que always had an inexplicable confidence about him that made people feel disgusted.

"Throughout this journey, you've been advising me to conceal my identity to avoid danger. How come you blurted out the truth when others were just guessing?" Zhu Zhu looked at Lan Que with dissatisfaction.

Lan Que was momentarily at a loss for words, but quickly found a reason to defend himself:

"It's different. We're in danger now, and if we don't identify ourselves, it will be bad for us."

Zhu Zhu rolled her eyes at him and said, "If you want to show off your status, just say so directly. No need for this beating around the bush!"

After being ruthlessly exposed by Zhu Zhu, Lan Que was embarrassed, but he didn't dare to get angry at Zhu Zhu. After thinking it over, he turned to look at Mu Yuan and decided to vent his anger on him. Anyway, he had already revealed his identity, and even if Mu Yuan had connections in the Southwest, he wouldn't dare to do anything to him.

"You've gone too far! Even if the magistrate's actions were biased, they should have been reported to the imperial court for a decision. You've gouged out someone's eyes and thrown them into a death row cell! This is clearly an abuse of power!"

Mu Yuan was so angry at his words that he laughed.

"You dare not offend Miss Zhu and think you can make amends through me? You've miscalculated. My Mu family has guarded the Southwest for generations and has jurisdiction over everything there. If the magistrate doesn't handle cases impartially, I naturally have the right to execute him!"

A well-reasoned rebuttal made Lan Que's face turn bright red.

"Let's go!"

Having failed to gain any advantage over Mu Yuan, Lan Que found himself in an awkward situation and immediately prepared to leave with Zhu Zhu.

"Wait!"

Mu Yuan suddenly called out to Lan Que.

The latter stopped and looked at Mu Yuan coldly: "What else do you want?"

"You were the one who wanted to report this to the authorities. The case isn't over yet, so how can you leave prematurely?" Mu Yuan said with a playful smile.

Lan Que, unaware of the impropriety, angrily said:

"You've already arrested the magistrate, who's going to handle the case now?"

Mu Yuan pointed to himself and said, "The magistrate has been arrested, but I'm still here. My handling of the case won't tarnish Young Master Lan's reputation, will it?"

Lan Que suddenly realized what was happening and gritted his teeth in anger:

"You're clearly trying to settle a personal score!"

"Young Master Lan, you've wronged me." Mu Yuan feigned surprise. "If you voluntarily report this to the authorities and the case remains unresolved, wouldn't that spoil your trip to the Southwest?"

Hearing Mu Yuan's barbed tone, Lan Que wished he could rush forward and punch Mu Yuan a few times to vent his anger.

Unfortunately, this was the southwest, and no matter how prominent his status was, he dared not run wild on someone else's territory.

Secondly, if Mu Yuan were to solve the case, he would certainly not have a good ending.

Thinking of this, Lan Que's tone softened, no longer as arrogant and domineering as before:

"What exactly do you want?"