My heart tightened. The Qin family's reach was truly far-reaching—they had actually pulled the timeline so far back. Could it be that they even knew my identity?
"Looks like Commander Xia came from a treasure-hunting merchant's background and wants to expand his mercantile business across all the immortal realms." Qin Zonglin smiled. I was startled, but quickly replied, "The City Lord is right. Back when I came from the Liuxian Immortal Realm, I was indeed troubled by poverty. After I was forced to set out on my own, I earned my first fortune in the Zongyun Immortal Realm. With many companions protecting me along the way, I achieved my current standing and scale. Later, I purchased land in this Star River Immortal Realm, never expecting that its City Lord would be so overbearing and arbitrary as to declare my contracts invalid. After it happened twice, I could only let a commoner's fury take hold."
"Indeed. If this place could be governed properly, who would abandon their home and flee? Commander Xia bought so many contracts, so they naturally should have been recognized. The previous City Lord handled this matter poorly. Before I came, I investigated the case files, and after arriving, I verified and thoroughly reviewed everything. Only then did I learn that Commander Xia was not at fault." Qin Zonglin was quite easy to talk to, and the Qin family did not know nearly as much as I had imagined.
"Thank you for your understanding, City Lord," I hurriedly said.
However, Qin Zonglin waved his hand the next moment and said, "There's no need to thank me just yet. Actually, there's something I'm quite curious about... Why did Commander Xia, after obtaining the City Lord's military tally, immediately redeploy his troops from attacking the Jie Sect to attacking the