Outside the Lin Jiang Department.
Liang Hu stood there for a while before finally letting out a cold laugh.
"Looks like this newly appointed Banner Bearer is even younger and more hot-blooded than I expected."
"Tonight, within these three hundred and sixty paces of city wall, I'd like to see how he plans to defend it all by himself!"
"I've heard that anyone who tramples on the rules of darkness is bound to meet with ill fortune. And tonight, while defending the city, his section of the line will be the most empty and weakest of all. I'd like to see whether he can still walk away alive tomorrow!"
"You don't need to worry too much. This man's abilities aren't anything special. Even if he survives by sheer luck, he'll have learned just how dangerous this place is."
Liang Hu said mildly, "He'll most likely die tonight. Even if he happens to survive, he'll be coming to ask us for help tomorrow."
The Twelve Junior Banners exchanged glances.
In truth, that was what they had thought at first, too.
They had assumed that even if the other party refused to show Commander Liang the proper respect, he would still need to rely on them.
But they had never expected that Fifth Master would dismiss every one of them.
Although the position of Junior Banner did not make them official members of the Heavenly Supervision Department, they were still under a Banner Bearer and held a fairly high status in the city.
For the past three years, in the eyes of the various forces and ordinary people of Lin Jiang Ward, they had been upper-class figures who wielded power.
Apart from the four taels of silver issued by the Heavenly Supervision Department each month, the offerings they received from the various parties were no small amount either.
What was more, a medicinal bath provided by the Heavenly Supervision Department was immensely beneficial to Martial Arts cultivation.
If they completely lost this identity, what were they supposed to do from now on?
Commander Liang already had twelve Junior Banners in Qing Shan Ward.
Even if they returned to Qing Shan Ward, there were no vacant positions for them.
"What? He's only just arrived, and you're already wavering?"
Liang Hu said coldly, "Could it be that you think following behind me was the wrong path?"
Before the Twelve Junior Banners could respond, he swept out his broad sleeve and shouted, "Did you think that when I yielded earlier, it was because I feared him?"
"Think about it. At most, this boy is only at the Blood Tempering realm. At the absolute limit, he's merely reached Marrow Cleansing."
"I completed Marrow Cleansing two years ago. If I hadn't been accumulating Merit Points to obtain cultivation methods, I would have advanced to the Inner Sinews realm two years back."
"I'll make this clear to you today as well: at the beginning of the year, I had already tempered my heart, brought my qi and blood into full circulation, and achieved the Inner Sinews realm!"
"This boy acted recklessly and drew his blade on me. I simply couldn't be bothered to stoop to his level!"
"With his cultivation, he's far from being my match!"
"If I hadn't been mindful of our fellow-official relationship, why would I have needed to retreat?"
The more Liang Hu spoke, the colder his gaze became.
The young man called Impermanence was, after all, now the rightful Banner Bearer of Lin Jiang Ward.
Earlier, Liang Hu had refused to step down after taking the principal seat, which had led to the other party drawing his blade against him.
When all was said and done, Liang Hu's side was the one that lacked justification.
If the matter grew serious and the Outer Southern Department came to demand an explanation, the dispute would ultimately be blamed on his attempt to seize power.
That was the true reason he had yielded.
And in fact, he felt rather helpless about it.
He had thought that this young man called Impermanence was inexperienced and ignorant of struggles over power. All Liang Hu needed to do was speak to him amicably on the surface and discuss matters with him, making the other party believe he had come out of goodwill to help shoulder his burdens.
He had not expected this young man to see through his intentions at a glance and turn hostile on the spot.
He had originally considered that his own cultivation far surpassed the other party's. With a little intimidation in secret and pressure from his background, he could make the boy obediently submit.
Who would have thought that the boy would flip the table the moment he arrived?
Liang Hu had even intended to have these twelve Junior Banners make things difficult for him a little more.
He had not expected the other party to strip all twelve of them of their positions outright.
"Young people act without restraint, turning hostile the moment they arrive. They have no method at all and don't follow the rules!"
Liang Hu seethed inwardly and thought, After tonight, I'll personally come collect his corpse!
--
Inside the Lin Jiang Department.
Clerk Yang ordered two scribes under him to move over every record and register from the past three years.
"That's enough. You may go."
Lin Yan waved his hand and said indifferently, "Don't disturb me while I consult the records before dusk."
He was a native of Lin Jiang Ward, at least, and had a fairly good grasp of the various forces operating throughout the ward.
He was not consulting the records to learn about Lin Jiang Ward's current situation. Rather, he wanted to investigate what had happened last night.
He vaguely felt that it had been aimed at "Lin Yan," not Impermanence.
The Lin Family, Chen Jiangbao's family, Chen Yuannü, the Demon Tiger, and even that "mutated egg"—there were far too many clues he wanted to investigate. Since he currently had no leads, he would begin with Lin Jiang Ward at the outermost edge.
In Clerk Yang's eyes, however, it was perfectly normal for the Banner Bearer of Lin Jiang Ward to read through the ward's records from the past three years.
It was just that the timing seemed somewhat inappropriate.
"Tonight's situation is urgent. Why don't you temporarily set these trifling matters aside, Fifth Master, and consider how to deal with the city's defenses?"
Clerk Yang hesitated before saying, "How about I write a letter to request reinforcements from the Outer Southern Department? If Commander Han has men to spare, he'll surely send someone to assist us..."
"The Outer Southern Department is near the Inner City, in the First District! Our Lin Jiang Ward, on the other hand, is the outermost ward—the Twelfth District!"
Lin Yan said slowly, "By the time you travel from Lin Jiang Ward to the Outer Southern Department, it'll already be dark! And by the time the Outer Southern Department makes a decision and sends people to reinforce us, dawn will probably be close."
He raised his head slightly and continued, "Not to mention that simply passing through Qing Shan Ward will be enough for Liang Hu to refuse you entry. I think that fellow already anticipated we would request reinforcements and will set up roadblocks for our Lin Jiang Department..."
Clerk Yang's expression changed slightly. He opened his mouth, but did not know how to answer.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally said, "Then tonight..."
He looked at the Banner Bearer above him, whose expression remained calm, and truly could not understand what gave the other party the confidence to treat tonight's matter with such indifference.
According to the information he knew, he had calculated it over and over in his mind, and each time he had concluded that this Banner Bearer Impermanence would never survive tonight's calamity.
"If the city defense personnel request reinforcements, tell them to wait. I'll leave before sunset."
Lin Yan said this and indicated that Clerk Yang should withdraw.
His gaze was cold as he lowered his head and continued reading the records.
He knew clearly that tonight, many forces would turn their attention toward the city's defenses, and that many eyes would also fall upon Lin Jiang Ward.
As the newly appointed Banner Bearer of Lin Jiang Ward, he would inevitably have entered the sights of every faction by now.
At this moment, any action he took, any sign whatsoever that he intended to seek outside help, would provoke speculation from the various forces—and perhaps even attempts to obstruct him!
Perhaps many people believed that he must be plotting how to break through this predicament, and that a battle of wits and courage was unavoidable.
Many of them might even have already prepared traps for him.
"For me, as long as I have a blade in hand tonight, why would I need all that elaborate scheming?"
--
At that moment, Clerk Yang, standing outside the room, also felt rather helpless.
Fifth Master had only just arrived, and with him facing this predicament, every faction was bound to be watching closely, perhaps even waiting to see him make a fool of himself.
Now that he had just become a Banner Bearer, every faction was bound to doubt his abilities.
At a time like this, Fifth Master should have racked his brains and exhausted himself making arrangements, coordinating the overall situation, dismantling the predicament before him, and intimidating the various forces.
But how did it look as though he had simply decided to smash the jar and let everything fall apart?
Before you continue